Refrigerator

Abstract

To solve a problem with a conventional refrigerator reducing user convenience due to a variation in rotation speeds when closing an insulation door.SOLUTION: A refrigerator 10 comprises an automatic closing mechanism 41 which causes a first insulation door 14 and a second insulation door 15 to automatically close and another automatic closing mechanism 37 which causes a third insulation door 18 and a fourth insulation door 19 to automatically close. The automatic closing mechanisms 37 and 41 each include a catcher section 42 which is arranged in an insulation box 11, striker sections 44 which are arranged on the first insulation doors 14 and similar components and detachably connected to the catcher section 42, and a soft closing section 45 which reduces a rotation speed of the catcher section 42. With this configuration, the refrigerator allows the rotation speed when closing the first insulation door 14 and similar components to change from a first speed to a second speed through the automatic closing mechanisms 37 and 41 and thereby enhancing convenience of a user.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly to a refrigerator in which the rotation speed during closing of an insulating door is changed from a first speed to a second speed via a self-closing mechanism, thereby improving convenience for a user. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a conventional refrigerator. The refrigerator includes a refrigerator body used as a storage compartment, and a heat-insulating door that closes a front opening of the refrigerator body. The right end of the heat-insulating door is rotatably supported on the refrigerator body via an upper hinge. A self-closing mechanism for the heat-insulating door is provided on the ceiling surface of the refrigerator body near the upper hinge.

[0003] The self-closing mechanism mainly comprises a first mechanism rotatable coaxially with the upper hinge portion, an L-shaped second mechanism rotatably attached to the first mechanism, a permanent magnet disposed on the first mechanism, a damper portion that regulates the rotational movement of the first mechanism, a first spring portion that assists the rotational movement of the first mechanism, and a position detection switch that detects the fully closed state of the insulated door.

[0004] Meanwhile, a connection part is formed on the inside of the insulated door, which presses the second mechanism when the insulated door is closed. The connection part enters the interior of the self-closing mechanism part through a notch in the cover in conjunction with the closing of the insulated door. The connection part presses the second mechanism, causing the first mechanism to rotate, and the first mechanism presses the position detection switch. The refrigerator's control part determines whether the insulated door is fully closed based on an input signal from the position detection switch. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 3953082 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] In a conventional single-door refrigerator, the size of each door is larger than that of a double-door refrigerator, and the amount of items stored in the door pocket inside the refrigerator is larger, resulting in a heavier insulated door. Furthermore, due to the difference in door size, the distance from the rotation axis (hinge axis) to the end of the insulated door is longer in a single-door refrigerator, resulting in a larger centrifugal force. Also, the rotation distance of the insulated door from the open state to the fully closed state is longer in a single-door refrigerator.

[0007] Due to the above-mentioned structural difference, in the single-door refrigerator, the impact between the insulated door and the insulated box body becomes large when the insulated door is fully closed, and if a user of the refrigerator gets his / her fingers caught between the insulated door and the insulated box body, the risk of injury increases. In addition, the amount of force used when closing the insulated door varies from user to user, and if the closing force is too strong, the risk of injury increases.

[0008] On the other hand, in a double-door refrigerator, the risk of injury from finger pinching is smaller than in a single-door refrigerator. However, in a double-door refrigerator, the two insulated doors on the left and right close at the center of the insulated box when fully closed and are arranged side by side in the width direction, which makes it difficult for users to visually check whether the insulated doors are fully closed.

[0009] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and aims to provide a refrigerator in which the rotation speed when the insulated door is closed is changed from a first speed to a second speed via a self-closing mechanism, thereby improving convenience for users. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] In a first aspect of the refrigerator of the present invention, the refrigerator includes an insulated box in which a storage compartment is formed, an insulated door that closes the front opening of the storage compartment of the insulated box in an openable and closable manner, and a self-closing mechanism that closes the insulated door to the insulated box, and is characterized in that the rotation speed of the insulated door changes from a first speed to a second speed via the self-closing mechanism at least while the insulated door moves from an open state to a fully closed state relative to the insulated box. With this structure, when the insulated door is closed, the insulated door receives a resistance force in stages via the self-closing mechanism, so that the rotation speed of the insulated door changes from a first speed to a second speed. As a result, although the force used to close the insulated door varies depending on the user, the rotation speed of the insulated door is adjusted and made constant via the self-closing mechanism, and convenience for the user is improved, for example, by reducing the sound of items colliding with each other in the storage section of the insulated door.

[0011] In a second aspect of the refrigerator of the present invention, the self-closing mechanism includes a catcher section rotatably disposed with respect to the insulated box body, a striker section disposed on the insulated door and connected to or detached from the catcher section in conjunction with the opening and closing operation of the insulated door, and a rotation restricting section that applies a resistance force to the catcher section in stages to restrict the rotation of the catcher section, and the rotation speed of the insulated door changes from the first speed to the second speed according to the resistance force that the catcher section receives from the rotation restricting section. With this structure, when the insulated door is closed, the catcher section receives a resistance force from the rotation restricting section in stages, so that the rotation speed of the insulated door changes from the first speed to the second speed. As a result, although the amount of force used to close the insulated door varies depending on the user, the rotation speed of the insulated door is adjusted and made constant via the rotation restricting section, and convenience for the user is improved, for example, by reducing the sound of items colliding with each other in the storage section of the insulated door.

[0012] In addition, in a third aspect of the refrigerator of the present invention, the rotation speed of the insulated door changes from the first speed to the second speed by being restricted by the plurality of rotation restricting parts having different resistance forces of the catcher part. With this structure, the rotation speed of the insulated door changes from the first speed to the second speed by the catcher part receiving resistance forces in stages from the plurality of rotation restricting parts having different resistance forces. As a result, when the second speed is faster than the first speed, a collision sound is generated between the insulated door and the insulated box when the insulated door is fully closed, and the user can determine the fully closed state of the insulated door from the collision sound.

[0013] In addition, in a fourth aspect of the refrigerator of the present invention, the first speed is a speed at which the insulated door rotates from the open state to a state where the insulated door is open at a desired angle from the fully closed state, and the second speed is a speed at which the insulated door rotates from the desired angle to the fully closed state, and when the insulated door is a double-door, the second speed is faster than the first speed. With this structure, when the insulated door is a double-door, the second speed is faster than the first speed. As a result, a collision sound is generated between the insulated door and the insulated box when the insulated door is fully closed, and the user can determine the fully closed state of the insulated door from the collision sound.

[0014] In addition, in a fifth aspect of the refrigerator of the present invention, the first speed is a speed at which the insulated door rotates from the open state to a state where the insulated door is open at a desired angle from the fully closed state, and the second speed is a speed at which the insulated door rotates from the desired angle to the fully closed state, and when the insulated door is a single-leaf door, the first speed is faster than the second speed. With this structure, when the insulated door is a single-leaf door, the first speed is faster than the second speed. As a result, the rotation speed of the insulated door slows down just before it is fully closed, so that a user's fingers or the like are prevented from being injured even if they are caught between the insulated door and the insulated box body.

[0015] In a sixth aspect of the refrigerator of the present invention, the self-closing mechanism includes a housing portion fixed to the insulated box body, a catcher portion rotatably disposed relative to the housing portion, a first guide groove formed in the housing portion, a roller portion whose rotation shaft is inserted into the first guide groove and rotatably supported by the catcher portion, and a rotation restricting portion that applies a reaction force to the roller portion to reduce the rotation speed of the catcher portion, and is characterized in that the rotation speed of the insulated door changes from the first speed to the second speed according to the reaction force that the roller portion receives from the rotation restricting portion. With this structure, during the closing operation of the insulated door, the catcher portion receives a reaction force from the rotation restricting portion in stages, and the rotation speed of the insulated door changes from the first speed to the second speed. As a result, the user can know the fully closed state of the insulated door by the collision sound between the insulated door and the insulated box body, thereby improving the convenience of the user.

[0016] In a seventh aspect of the refrigerator of the present invention, the surface of the rotation restricting part that is pressed by the roller part is formed with a flat surface extending in the width direction of the insulated box body and an inclined surface that is continuous with the flat surface and inclined in the depth direction of the insulated box body, and the roller part moves from the flat surface to the inclined surface, thereby changing from the first speed to the second speed. With this structure, the flat surface and the inclined surface are formed in the rotation restricting part, and the contact angle between the roller part and the rotation restricting part changes. As a result, the catcher part receives a reaction force from the rotation restricting part in stages, and the rotation speed of the insulated door changes from the first speed to the second speed.

[0017] In an eighth aspect of the refrigerator of the present invention, the self-closing mechanism includes a housing portion fixed to the insulated box, a catcher portion rotatably disposed relative to the housing portion, a guide groove formed in the housing portion, a pressing member slidably disposed relative to the catcher portion and having a guide shaft inserted into the guide groove, and a rotation restricting portion for reducing the rotation speed of the catcher portion, and when the insulated door is closed, the catcher portion rotates toward the front opening while being guided by the guide groove, and the pressing member presses the rotation restricting portion toward the depth direction of the insulated box. With this structure, when the insulated door is closed, the pressing member receives a reaction force from the rotation restricting portion in stages, and the rotation speed of the insulated door changes from a first speed to a second speed. As a result, the user can know the fully closed state of the insulated door by the collision sound between the insulated door and the insulated box, and the convenience of the user is improved.

[0018] In a ninth aspect of the refrigerator of the present invention, the surface of the rotation restricting portion that is pressed by the pressing member is formed with a flat surface extending in the width direction of the insulated box body and an inclined surface that is continuous with the flat surface and inclined in the depth direction, and the pressing member moves from the flat surface to the inclined surface, thereby changing the rotation speed from the first speed to the second speed. With this structure, when the insulated door is closed, the flat surface and the inclined surface are formed on the rotation restricting portion, so that the contact angle between the pressing member and the rotation restricting portion changes. As a result, the catcher portion receives a reaction force from the rotation restricting portion in a stepwise manner, and the rotation speed of the insulated door changes from the first speed to the second speed.

[0019] In addition, in a tenth aspect of the refrigerator of the present invention, the inclined surface is inclined toward the back side in the depth direction more than the flat surface, and when the insulated door is a double-door, the second speed is faster than the first speed. With this structure, when the insulated door is a double-door, the second speed is faster than the first speed. As a result, when the insulated door is fully closed, a collision sound is generated between the insulated door and the insulated box body, and the user can determine whether the insulated door is fully closed by the collision sound.

[0020] In addition, in an eleventh aspect of the refrigerator of the present invention, the inclined surface is inclined toward the front in the depth direction from the flat surface, and when the insulated door is a single-leaf door, the first speed is faster than the second speed. With this structure, when the insulated door is a single-leaf door, the first speed is faster than the second speed. As a result, the rotation speed of the insulated door just before it is fully closed is slowed down, so that even if a user's fingers or the like are caught between the insulated door and the insulated box body, injury is prevented. Effect of the Invention

[0021] In the refrigerator of the present invention, the rotation speed during the closing operation of the insulating door is changed from a first speed to a second speed via the self-closing mechanism, thereby improving convenience for the user. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0022] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view illustrating a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 1 is a front view illustrating a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] 1 is a side cross-sectional view illustrating a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5A] FIG. 2 is a top view illustrating an open state of an insulating door of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5B] FIG. 2 is a top view illustrating a fully closed state of an insulating door of a refrigerator compartment of the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6A] FIG. 2 is a top view illustrating the automatic closing mechanism of the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6B] 1 is a perspective view illustrating a catcher portion of a self-closing mechanism of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7A] FIG. 2 is a bottom view illustrating an open state of an insulating door of a freezer compartment of the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7B]FIG. 2 is a bottom view illustrating a fully closed state of an insulating door of a freezer compartment of the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] 1 is a bottom view illustrating the automatic closing mechanism of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 9A] 1 is a top view illustrating the operation of the automatic closing mechanism when the insulating door of the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention is closed. FIG. [Figure 9B] 1 is a top view illustrating the operation of the automatic closing mechanism when the insulating door of the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention is closed. FIG. [Figure 9C] 1 is a top view illustrating the operation of the automatic closing mechanism when the insulating door of the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention is closed. FIG. [Figure 10] 1 is a perspective view illustrating a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11A] 1 is a top view illustrating the operation of the automatic closing mechanism when the insulating door of the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention is closed. FIG. [Figure 11B] 1 is a top view illustrating the operation of the automatic closing mechanism when the insulating door of the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention is closed. FIG. [Figure 11C] 1 is a top view illustrating the operation of the automatic closing mechanism when the insulating door of the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention is closed. FIG. [Figure 12A] 1 is a diagram illustrating a force applied to a heat-insulating door of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 12B] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the rotation speed of the insulating door of the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 13A] 1 is a diagram illustrating a force applied to a heat-insulating door of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 13B] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the rotation speed of the insulating door of the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 14A] An oblique view illustrating a recovery portion formed in the catcher portion of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 14B] A cross-sectional view illustrating a restoration portion formed in the catcher portion of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 15] FIG. 11 is a perspective view illustrating a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 16A] FIG. 11 is a top view illustrating an open state of an insulating door of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 16B] FIG. 13 is a top view illustrating a fully closed state of an insulating door of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 17A] 13 is a perspective view illustrating an automatic closing mechanism of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 17B] 13 is a perspective view illustrating an automatic closing mechanism of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 17C] 13 is a perspective view illustrating an automatic closing mechanism of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 18A] 13 is a perspective view illustrating a catcher portion of an automatic closing mechanism of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 18B] 13 is a perspective view illustrating a catcher portion of an automatic closing mechanism of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 19A] 13 is a bottom view illustrating an automatic closing mechanism of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 19B] A cross-sectional view illustrating an automatic closing mechanism of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 20A] 13 is a bottom view illustrating an automatic closing mechanism of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 20B] 13 is a bottom view illustrating an automatic closing mechanism of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 21A] 13 is a top view illustrating the operation of the automatic closing mechanism when the insulating door of the refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention is closed. FIG. [Figure 21B] 13 is a top view illustrating the operation of the automatic closing mechanism when the insulating door of the refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention is closed. FIG. [Figure 22A] 13 is a top view illustrating the operation of the automatic closing mechanism when the insulating door of the refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention is closed. FIG. [Figure 22B] 13 is a top view illustrating the operation of the automatic closing mechanism when the insulating door of the refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention is closed. FIG. [Figure 23A]FIG. 11 is a bottom view illustrating an open state of an insulating door of a freezer compartment of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 23B] FIG. 13 is a bottom view illustrating a fully closed state of an insulating door of a freezer compartment of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 24A] 13 is an oblique view illustrating a recovery portion formed in a catcher portion of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 24B] A cross-sectional view illustrating a restoration portion formed in a catcher portion of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 25] FIG. 11 is a perspective view illustrating a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 26A] 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating forces acting on a heat-insulating door of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 26B] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating the rotation speed of an insulating door of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 27] 13 is a top view illustrating a catcher portion of an automatic closing mechanism of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 28A] 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating forces acting on a heat-insulating door of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 28B] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating the rotation speed of an insulating door of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 29] 13 is a top view illustrating a catcher portion of an automatic closing mechanism of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 30A] 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating forces acting on a heat-insulating door of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 30B] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating the rotation speed of an insulating door of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 31A] 13 is a perspective view illustrating an automatic closing mechanism of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 31B] 13 is a perspective view illustrating an automatic closing mechanism of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 31C] 13 is a perspective view illustrating an automatic closing mechanism of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 32A] 13 is a perspective view illustrating a catcher portion of an automatic closing mechanism of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 32B] 13 is a perspective view illustrating a catcher portion of an automatic closing mechanism of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 32C] A cross-sectional view illustrating a catcher portion of an automatic closing mechanism of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 33A] 13 is a top view illustrating the operation of the automatic closing mechanism when the insulating door of the refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention is closed. FIG. [Figure 33B] 13 is a top view illustrating the operation of the automatic closing mechanism when the insulating door of the refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention is closed. FIG. [Figure 34A] 13 is a top view illustrating the operation of the automatic closing mechanism when the insulating door of the refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention is closed. FIG. [Figure 34B] 13 is a top view illustrating the operation of the automatic closing mechanism when the insulating door of the refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention is closed. FIG. [Figure 35A] 13 is a perspective view illustrating a catcher portion of an automatic closing mechanism of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 35B] 13 is a perspective view illustrating a catcher portion of an automatic closing mechanism of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 35C] A cross-sectional view illustrating a catcher portion of an automatic closing mechanism of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0023] The refrigerator 10 of this embodiment will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the up-down direction indicates the height direction of the refrigerator 10, the left-right direction indicates the width direction of the refrigerator 10 as viewed from the front, and the front-rear direction indicates the depth direction of the refrigerator 10. In addition, when describing this embodiment, the same reference numbers are used for the same members as a general rule, and repeated description will be omitted.

[0024] Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the external structure of refrigerator 10 of this embodiment as viewed from the front side. Fig. 2 is a front view illustrating the internal structure of refrigerator 10 of this embodiment as viewed from the front side. Fig. 3 is a side cross-sectional view illustrating the structure of refrigerator 10 of this embodiment. Fig. 4 is a block diagram illustrating control for detecting whether refrigerator 10 of this embodiment is in a fully closed state or not.

[0025] 1 and 2, a refrigerator 10 includes an insulated box 11 and a storage compartment formed inside the insulated box 11. The storage compartments include, from the upper side, one refrigeration compartment 12 and two freezer compartments 13. For ease of explanation, FIG. 1 shows the numbers of the storage compartments.

[0026] The refrigerator compartment 12 is an area above the center of the insulated box 11, and is formed using approximately half of the internal space of the refrigerator. The front opening 12A of the refrigerator compartment 12 is closed by a first insulated door 14 and a second insulated door 15 that open from approximately the center of the insulated box 11 in a manner that allows them to be opened and closed freely. The first insulated door 14 is a rotating door, and the upper and lower ends on the left side of the paper surface are rotatably supported by the insulated box 11 via a hinge mechanism 31. The second insulated door 15 is a rotating door, and the upper and lower ends on the right side of the paper surface are rotatably supported by the insulated box 11 via a hinge mechanism 31. The lower hinge parts of the hinge mechanisms 31 on the lower end sides of the first insulated door 14 and the second insulated door 15 are of known structure and are omitted in the drawing.

[0027] A center pillar 16 is disposed at the end of the center of the first insulated door 14 on the inside of the first insulated door 14. A striker portion 44 is disposed on the top surface 14A side of the first insulated door 14 corresponding to the mounting position of a catcher portion 42 (see FIG. 6A) of a self-closing mechanism 41 disposed in the insulated box body 11, as will be described in detail later. Similarly, a striker portion 44 is disposed on the top surface 15A side of the second insulated door 15 corresponding to the mounting position of the catcher portion 42 of the self-closing mechanism 41 disposed in the insulated box body 11. The refrigerator compartment 12 is divided into a plurality of stages in the vertical direction of the drawing by, for example, a partition member (not shown).

[0028] The freezer compartment 13 is an area below the center of the insulated box 11, and is formed using approximately half of the internal space of the freezer. The freezer compartment 13 is formed by partitioning it in the left-right direction of the drawing by a partition wall 17 that is a part of the insulated box 11. The third insulated door 18 is a rotating door, and the upper and lower ends on the left side of the drawing are rotatably supported by the insulated box 11 via a hinge mechanism 31. The fourth insulated door 19 is a rotating door, and the upper and lower ends on the right side of the drawing are rotatably supported by the insulated box 11 via a hinge mechanism 31. The upper hinge parts of the hinge mechanisms 31 on the upper end sides of the third insulated door 18 and the fourth insulated door 19 are of known structure and are omitted in the drawing.

[0029] When the freezer compartment 13 is fully closed by the third and fourth insulated doors 18 and 19, which open both ways, the third and fourth insulated doors 18 and 19 come into contact with and are magnetically attached to the partition wall 17. A striker portion 44 is provided on the bottom surface 18A side of the third insulated door 18 in correspondence with the mounting position of a catcher portion 42 (see FIG. 8) of the self-closing mechanism 37 (see FIG. 8) provided in the insulated box body 11. Similarly, a striker portion 44 is provided on the bottom surface 19A side of the fourth insulated door 19 in correspondence with the mounting position of the catcher portion 42 of the self-closing mechanism 37 provided in the insulated box body 11. The freezer compartment 13 is partitioned into a plurality of stages in the vertical direction of the drawing, for example, by a drawer-type storage case (not shown).

[0030] As shown in the figure, a gasket 36 is disposed in an annular shape along the outer circumferential edge of the inner surface plate material 35 on the inside of the first insulated door 14 and the second insulated door 15. Also, a bulge 35A is formed on the inside of the gasket 36 on the inside of the first insulated door 14 and the second insulated door 15. The bulge 35A supports a storage rack 34, thereby forming a storage area on the door side.

[0031] 3, the insulating box 11 mainly includes an outer box 21 made of a steel plate forming the outer shape of the refrigerator 10, an inner box 22 made of a box-shaped synthetic resin plate formed inside the outer box 21, and an insulating material 23 disposed between the outer box 21 and the inner box 22. As the insulating material 23, for example, urethane foam is used.

[0032] A cooling chamber 24 is defined behind the freezing chamber 13. A cooler 25 is disposed in the cooling chamber 24. A machine chamber 26 is defined behind the bottommost part of the insulated box body 11, and a compressor 27 and the like are disposed in the machine chamber 26. The cooler 25 and the compressor 27 are connected to an expansion means and a condenser (not shown) via refrigerant piping to form a vapor compression refrigeration cycle. The components of the vapor compression refrigeration cycle are connected to each other via refrigerant piping (not shown).

[0033] As the refrigeration cycle operates, the air inside the cooling chamber 24 is cooled by the cooler 25. In the cooling chamber 24, a blower 28 is disposed above the cooler 25. The blower 28 is, for example, an axial flow blower or a centrifugal blower, and blows the cold air inside the cooling chamber 24 toward the refrigerator chamber 12 and the freezer chamber 13. Then, as the cold air is blown to each storage chamber via various air ducts 29, the refrigerator chamber 12 becomes in the refrigerator temperature zone, and the freezer chamber 13 becomes in the freezing temperature zone.

[0034] A defrost heater 20 is disposed below the cooler 25 in the cooling chamber 24. As the refrigeration cycle operates, thick frost forms on the surface of the cooler 25. When this occurs, the control unit 30 (see FIG. 4) performs a defrosting operation by stopping the compressor 27 and energizing the defrost heater 20 to heat it, thereby melting and removing the frost. Note that an electric resistance heater, a sheath heater, a hot gas defroster, or the like is used as the defrost heater 20.

[0035] As shown in Fig. 4, the control unit 30 of the refrigerator 10 detects an input signal from a detection device 46 in the automatic closing mechanism 41, 37 disposed for each of the first to fourth insulated doors 14 to 19, and determines whether the first to fourth insulated doors 14 to 19 are fully closed. Specifically, the control unit 30 of the refrigerator 10 detects an input signal indicating that the button 46B (see Fig. 6A) of the mechanical switch 46A (see Fig. 6A) is pressed by the catcher unit 42, thereby determining that each of the first to fourth insulated doors 14 to 19 is fully closed.

[0036] On the other hand, when the control unit 30 of the refrigerator 10 does not detect the input signal from the detection device 46 for a certain period of time, it determines that any one of the first to fourth insulated doors 14 to 19 is in an open state including a half-open state. Then, the control unit 30 of the refrigerator 10 controls the notification unit 40 to, for example, emit a sound to notify the user of the refrigerator 10 that any one of the first to fourth insulated doors 14 to 19 is in an open state. The notification unit 40 in this embodiment is a device for emitting, for example, a sound or a light to the user of the refrigerator 10.

[0037] Next, the automatic closing mechanism 41 provided for the first insulated door 14 and the second insulated door 15 on the refrigerator compartment 12 (see FIG. 2) side of the refrigerator 10 of this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 5A to 6B. In the following description, the automatic closing mechanism 41 provided for the first insulated door 14 will be described, and the automatic closing mechanism 41 provided for the second insulated door 15 side will be described with reference to the description of the first insulated door 14 side, and will not be described here.

[0038] Fig. 5A is a top view illustrating a state in which the first insulated door 14 of the refrigerator 10 of this embodiment is open relative to the insulated box body 11. Fig. 5B is a top view illustrating a state in which the first insulated door 14 of the refrigerator 10 of this embodiment is fully closed relative to the insulated box body 11. Fig. 6A is a top view illustrating an internal structure of the soft-close unit 45 of the automatic closing mechanism 41 of the refrigerator 10 of this embodiment. Fig. 6B is a perspective view illustrating the catcher unit 42 of the automatic closing mechanism 41 of the refrigerator 10 of this embodiment.

[0039] As shown in Fig. 5A, the first insulated door 14 is rotatably supported by the insulated box 11 via a hinge mechanism 31 at its upper and lower ends on the left side of the drawing. An upper hinge part 31A of the hinge mechanism 31 is disposed on the top surface 11A of the insulated box 11, and its upper surface is covered by a cover part 33. Note that the detailed structure of the upper hinge part 31A of the hinge mechanism 31 is not shown, but is a known structure. The upper hinge part 31A includes, for example, a main body frame fixed to the insulated box 11 and extending to the first insulated door 14 side, a hinge pin disposed on the first insulated door 14 side of the main body frame, and a hinge mounting hole of the first insulated door 14 through which the hinge pin is inserted.

[0040] The automatic closing mechanism 41 mainly includes a catcher unit 42, a striker unit 44, a soft-close unit 45, and a detection device 46. The automatic closing mechanism 41 is a mechanism for automatically closing the first and second insulated doors 14 and 15 while adjusting the rotation speeds of the first and second insulated doors 14 and 15.

[0041] A part of the self-closing mechanism 41 is disposed adjacent to the upper hinge portion 31A of the hinge mechanism 31 and fixed to the top surface 11A of the heat-insulating box 11. A part of the self-closing mechanism 41 is stored inside the cover portion 33 together with the hinge mechanism 31. As shown in the figure, the catcher portion 42 of the self-closing mechanism 41 is on the top surface 11A side of the heat-insulating box 11 and is rotatably supported by the soft-close portion 45 of the self-closing mechanism 41. When the first heat-insulating door 14 is in the open state, a part of the catcher portion 42 is led out from the cover portion 33. An engagement groove 42A is formed in the catcher portion 42 into which the engagement pin 44A of the striker portion 44 can enter or be released.

[0042] The striker portion 44 of the self-closing mechanism 41 is disposed on the top surface 14A side of the first insulated door 14, facing the inside of the container. An engagement pin 44A that enters the engagement groove 42A of the catcher portion 42 is disposed at the tip of the striker portion 44. As will be described in detail later, when the first insulated door 14 is closed, the engagement pin 44A enters the engagement groove 42A, and the catcher portion 42 and the striker portion 44 are connected to each other. Thereafter, the engagement pin 44A moves to the base side of the catcher portion 42 in the engagement groove 42A while pushing the catcher portion 42 toward the inside of the container.

[0043] As shown in FIG. 5B, the catcher part 42 rotates when pressed by the engagement pin 44A, and is stored in the cover part 33. As shown in FIG. 6A in detail, a soft-close part 45 that regulates the rotation of the catcher part 42 and a detection device 46 that detects the fully closed state of the first insulated door 14 are stored in the arrangement area of ​​the self-closing mechanism 41 inside the cover part 33. The detection device 46 has, for example, a mechanical switch 46A, and when the catcher part 42 presses a button 46B of the mechanical switch 46A, a signal indicating the press is transmitted to the control part 30 (see FIG. 4) of the refrigerator 10. The control part 30 of the refrigerator 10 detects the fully closed state of the first insulated door 14 from the signal, and executes various controls, such as turning off the door light of the first insulated door 14.

[0044] On the other hand, in the process of the first insulation door 14 transitioning from the fully closed state shown in Fig. 5B to the open state shown in Fig. 5A, the engagement pin 44A moves to the tip side of the engagement groove 42A while pushing the catcher part 42 toward the outside of the storage unit, and then disengages from the engagement groove 42A through the tip opening 39. At this time, the catcher part 42 rotates by being pushed by the engagement pin 44A, and a part of the catcher part 42 is led out to the outside of the cover part 33.

[0045] When the first insulated door 14 is in an open state and the catcher part 42 and the striker part 44 are not connected to each other, the catcher part 42 stops at a position of, for example, 20 degrees with respect to the front surface 11B of the insulated box body 11. Then, a part of the bottom surface of the catcher part 42 fits into a protrusion (not shown) of the storage part 32 of the soft-close part 45, so that the above-mentioned stopped state is maintained even if the catcher part 42 is biased by the connecting part 48B via the spring part 48. Then, when the first insulated door 14 is in an open state, if the catcher part 42 is in light contact with the user of the refrigerator 10, the above-mentioned stopped state can be maintained.

[0046] As shown in FIG. 6A, in the area where the self-closing mechanism 41 is disposed inside the cover portion 33 (see FIG. 5A), the spring portion 48, the second damper portion 50, the first damper portion 49, and the detector 46 are arranged side by side from the hinge mechanism 31 side. The soft-close portion 45 mainly has the spring portion 48, the first damper portion 49, and the second damper portion 50. The soft-close portion 45 of this embodiment corresponds to the speed reduction mechanism of the present invention. The first and second damper portions 49, 50 of this embodiment correspond to the rotation restriction portion of the present invention. The spring portion 48 of this embodiment corresponds to the elastic portion of the present invention.

[0047] The spring portion 48 has, for example, three compression coil springs 48A and a connecting portion 48B that fixes the tip end of the compression coil springs 48A. The rear end of the compression coil springs 48A is fixed to the storage portion 32 of the soft-close portion 45. The connecting portion 48B is in contact with the rear end side of the catcher portion 42.

[0048] With this structure, the connecting portion 48B is pushed by the catcher portion 42 in conjunction with the rotational movement of the catcher portion 42, or by pushing the catcher portion 42, the compression coil spring 48A expands and contracts in the direction of the arrow 51 (front and back on the page).

[0049] Specifically, in the process in which the first insulating door 14 transitions from the open state shown in Fig. 5A to the fully closed state shown in Fig. 5B, the compression coil spring 48A expands, and the connecting portion 48B presses the catcher portion 42, assisting the rotational movement of the catcher portion 42. Meanwhile, in the process in which the first insulating door 14 transitions from the fully closed state shown in Fig. 5B to the open state shown in Fig. 5A, the compression coil spring 48A is compressed by being pressed by the catcher portion 42. Note that, although the present embodiment will be described with reference to a case in which three compression coil springs 48A are used, the number of compression coil springs 48A can be arbitrarily changed in design.

[0050] The first damper section 49 and the second damper section 50 are arranged to expand and contract in the direction of the arrow 51, similar to the spring section 48. The tip section 49B of the shaft section 49A of the first damper section 49 contacts the slider section 52 arranged on the side surface of the catcher section 42. Similarly, the tip section 50B of the shaft section 50A of the second damper section 50 contacts the slider section 52 arranged on the side surface of the catcher section 42. When the first insulation door 14 transitions from the open state shown in FIG. 5A to the fully closed state shown in FIG. 5B, the first damper section 49 and the second damper section 50 are pushed by the catcher section 42, so that the shaft sections 49A, 50A are stored in the main body sections 49C, 50C, respectively.

[0051] 6A and 6B, the slider portion 52 is disposed in a slider storage recess 42D that opens to a side surface of the catcher portion 42. The slider portion 52 is rotatably connected to the catcher portion 42 via a rotation shaft portion 42E. With this structure, the slider portion 52 moves in the direction of the arrow 51 by being guided by the slider storage recess 42D in conjunction with the rotational movement of the catcher portion 42. As a result, the slider portion 52 can push the tip portions 49B, 50B of the first and second damper portions 49, 50 in the direction of the arrow 51.

[0052] Although details will be described later, when the first insulated door 14 is closed, the slider portion 52 successively contacts the first damper portion 49 and the second damper portion 50 in conjunction with the rotation of the catcher portion 42, so that the resistance force restricting the rotation of the catcher portion 42 changes stepwise. With this structure, when the catcher portion 42 and the striker portion 44 are connected to each other, the catcher portion 42 rotates to the end, and the first insulated door 14 is fully closed.

[0053] The detection device 46 has, for example, a mechanical switch 46A, and the mechanical switch 46A is connected to the control unit 30 (see FIG. 4) of the refrigerator 10 via a wiring unit 46C. When the catcher unit 42 presses a button 46B of the mechanical switch 46A, a signal indicating the press is transmitted to the control unit 30 of the refrigerator 10. The mechanical switch 46A of the detection device 46 is disposed at a position where the button 46B is pressed by the catcher unit 42 when the first insulated door 14 is in a fully closed state, in other words, when the catcher unit 42 is in a horizontal state as shown in FIG. 5B.

[0054] Next, the automatic closing mechanism 37 provided for the third insulated door 18 and the fourth insulated door 19 on the freezer compartment 13 (see FIG. 2) side of the refrigerator 10 of this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 7A to Fig. 8. In the following description, the automatic closing mechanism 37 provided for the third insulated door 18 will be described, and the automatic closing mechanism 37 provided on the fourth insulated door 19 side will be described with reference to the description of the third insulated door 18 side, and will not be described here. Also, for the automatic closing mechanism 37, the same components as those of the automatic closing mechanism 41 are designated by the same reference numerals, and repeated description will be omitted.

[0055] Fig. 7A is a bottom view illustrating a state in which the third insulated door 18 of the refrigerator 10 is open relative to the insulated box body 11. Fig. 7B is a bottom view illustrating a state in which the third insulated door 18 of the refrigerator 10 of this embodiment is fully closed relative to the insulated box body 11. Fig. 8 is a bottom view illustrating the internal structure of the automatic closing mechanism 37 of the refrigerator 10 of this embodiment.

[0056] First, as shown in Fig. 8, the self-closing mechanism 37 uses the same components as those of the self-closing mechanism 41 shown in Fig. 6A, but the arrangement of the components is different from that of the self-closing mechanism 41. Specifically, in the area where the self-closing mechanism 37 is disposed, the detection device 46, the first damper section 49, the second damper section 50, and the spring section 48 are disposed side by side from the hinge mechanism 31 side. Also, the catcher section 42 is disposed so as to rotate toward the hinge mechanism 31 side. Note that the operation of the third heat insulating door 18 and the fourth heat insulating door 19 to automatically close by the self-closing mechanism 37 is the same as that when the self-closing mechanism 41 described above is used, although the direction of rotation is different.

[0057] 7A, the self-closing mechanism 37 is disposed adjacent to the hinge mechanism 31 and fixed to the bottom surface 11C of the insulating box 11. When the third insulating door 18 is in the open state, a part of the catcher portion 42 is extended from the cover portion 38 of the self-closing mechanism 37.

[0058] As shown in the figure, the striker portion 44 of the self-closing mechanism 37 is disposed on the bottom surface 18A side of the third insulated door 18, facing the inside of the container. An engagement pin 44A that enters the engagement groove 42A of the catcher portion 42 is disposed at the tip of the striker portion 44. When the third insulated door 18 is closed, the engagement pin 44A enters the engagement groove 42A, and the catcher portion 42 and the striker portion 44 are connected to each other. Thereafter, the engagement pin 44A moves to the base side of the catcher portion 42 in the engagement groove 42A while pushing the catcher portion 42 toward the inside of the container.

[0059] As shown in Fig. 7B, the catcher part 42 is pushed by the striker part 44, and the rotation speed is slowed down by the soft-close part 45, so that the catcher part 42 rotates to a state approximately horizontal with respect to the front surface 11B of the insulating box body 11. The catcher part 42 is stored in the cover part 38. Then, when the catcher part 42 presses the button 46B of the mechanical switch 46A, a signal indicating the press is transmitted to the control part 30 of the refrigerator 10 (see Fig. 4).

[0060] On the other hand, in the process of the third insulation door 18 transitioning from the fully closed state shown in Fig. 7B to the open state shown in Fig. 7A, the engagement pin 44A moves to the tip side of the engagement groove 42A while pushing the catcher part 42 toward the outside of the storage unit, and then disengages from the engagement groove 42A through the tip opening 39. At this time, the catcher part 42 rotates by being pushed by the engagement pin 44A, and a part of the catcher part 42 is led out to the outside of the cover part 38.

[0061] As described above, in the automatic closing mechanism 37, the catcher portion 42 rotates toward the hinge mechanism 31, so that when the third insulated door 18 is in the open state, the tip side of the catcher portion 42 projects near the hinge mechanism 31 of the insulated box body 11. In other words, when the third and fourth insulated doors 18, 19 are in the open state, the pair of catcher portions 42 project toward the front surface 11A of the insulated box body 11 and are deployed outward to the left and right so as to form a shape that is approximately a chevron shape as seen from the top surface 11A side of the refrigerator 10.

[0062] With this structure, for example, when a user searches for food in freezer compartment 13 or stores food in freezer compartment 13, the user approaches freezer compartment 13, but catcher portion 42 is unlikely to come into contact with the feet, slippers, or the like of the user of refrigerator 10. As a result, catcher portion 42 remains in a predetermined position, and when third insulated door 18 is closed, engaging pin 44A does not enter engaging groove 42A, preventing third insulated door 18 from being left half-open.

[0063] Next, the operation of the self-closing mechanism 41 when the first insulated door 14 of the refrigerator 10 of this embodiment is shifted from an open state to a fully closed state will be described with reference to Figs. 9A to 9C. In the following description, the operation of the second insulated door 15 to the fourth insulated door 19 will be described with reference to the description of the first insulated door 14, and will not be described here. For convenience of description, the positional relationship between the soft-close part 45 and the catcher part 42 disposed inside the cover part 33 is shown by solid lines, and the mechanical switch 46A and the button 46B of the detection device 46 are also shown by solid lines. In the case of the third insulated door 18 and the fourth insulated door 19, the self-closing mechanism 41 is replaced with the self-closing mechanism 37 as described above with reference to Fig. 8, and the description thereof will be referred to.

[0064] 9A to 9C are top views illustrating a state in which the first insulating door 14 of the refrigerator 10 of this embodiment transitions from an open state to a fully closed state relative to the insulating box 11. FIG.

[0065] 9A shows the first insulated door 14 in the middle of transition from an open state to a fully closed state, for example, the first insulated door 14 is opened 45 degrees from the fully closed state. As shown in the figure, the engagement pin 44A of the striker part 44 arranged on the first insulated door 14 is in a state of being disengaged from the engagement groove 42A of the catcher part 42. Then, the user of the refrigerator 10 pushes the first insulated door 14 toward the front surface 11B of the insulated box body 11 in order to close the first insulated door 14. Due to this closing action by the user, the first insulated door 14 rotates toward the front surface 11B of the insulated box body 11 by utilizing the pushing force and the load of the first insulated door 14.

[0066] In this embodiment, the catcher part 42 is structured to rotate, for example, from the front surface 11B of the insulating box 11 toward the outside of the refrigerator by approximately 20 degrees. The formation area of ​​the engagement groove 42A of the catcher part 42 is exposed to the outside from the cover part 33. As described above, the catcher part 42 is disposed on the top surface 11A of the insulating box 11. With this structure, when the first insulating door 14 is in an open state, the catcher part 42 is located above the eye level of the user, and the minimum necessary portion protrudes from the front surface 11B of the insulating box 11, resulting in an inconspicuous structure and making it difficult for the design of the refrigerator 10 to be impaired.

[0067] 9B shows the first insulated door 14 in the middle of transitioning from the open state to the fully closed state, for example, the first insulated door 14 having been opened three times from the fully closed state. As shown in the figure, the engagement pin 44A of the striker portion 44 disposed on the first insulated door 14 is inserted into the engagement groove 42A of the catcher portion 42. Then, the catcher portion 42 and the striker portion 44 are connected to each other and operate in conjunction with each other.

[0068] Here, as shown in FIG. 9A, the catcher part 42 has a first base part 42B and a second base part 42C on either side of the engagement groove 42A. As shown by a circle 53, the tip part of the second base part 42C extends further toward the center of the interior than the tip part of the first base part 42B. With this structure, the engagement groove 42A has a wider opening width of the tip opening part 39 and the second base part 42C on the interior side is longer, so that the engagement pin 44A and the second base part 42C are more likely to collide with each other. When the engagement pin 44A enters the engagement groove 42A, the engagement pin 44A collides with the second base part 42C and is guided to the engagement groove 42A, so that the connection state between the catcher part 42 and the striker part 44 is more likely to be realized.

[0069] Specifically, the first insulated door 14 rotates and moves toward the front surface 11B of the insulated box 11 due to the pushing force and load (hereinafter referred to as "the load, etc."), and the engaging pin 44A also approaches the catcher portion 42. Then, when the first insulated door 14 opens, for example, 13 degrees from the fully closed state, the engaging pin 44A of the striker portion 44 enters the inside through the tip opening 39 of the engaging groove 42A of the catcher portion 42.

[0070] 9B, as the first insulated door 14 continues to rotate in the closing direction by utilizing the load and the like, the engagement pin 44A moves in the engagement groove 42A toward the base side of the catcher part 42 while pushing the catcher part 42 toward the inside of the container. Meanwhile, the catcher part 42 rotates toward the mechanical switch 46A of the detection device 46 by being pushed by the engagement pin 44A.

[0071] Here, the operation of the soft-close section 45 will be described. As described above, in the soft-close section 45, during the closing operation of the first insulated door 14, a rotation assisting force that assists rotation is applied to the catcher section 42 by the spring section 48, while a resistance force that restricts the rotation is applied by the first and second damper sections 49, 50. In this embodiment, the first and second damper sections 49, 50 are disposed in the soft-close section 45, so that the resistance force for restricting the rotation of the catcher section 42 is applied to the catcher section 42 in stages.

[0072] 9A, in the first stage, the engagement pin 44A enters the engagement groove 42A, and for a certain period of time after the striker portion 44 and the catcher portion 42 are connected, the tip portion 49B of the first damper portion 49 is in contact with the slider portion 52 of the catcher portion 42. At this time, the tip portion 50B of the second damper portion 50 is separated from the slider portion 52 of the catcher portion 42.

[0073] In the first stage, a resistance force is applied to the catcher section 42 via the first damper section 49. The resistance force in the first stage can be countered by applying the load or the like to the catcher section 42. The engagement pin 44A is guided by the engagement groove 42A by maintaining the state in which it is inserted into the engagement groove 42A, and the load or the like is transmitted to the catcher section 42. The resistance force of the first damper section 49 is designed for the purpose of slowing down the rotation speed of the first insulation door 14 when the first insulation door 14 is forcefully closed by a user, for example.

[0074] 9B, in the second stage, the first insulating door 14 further rotates toward the fully closed state, so that the tip portion 50B of the second damper portion 50 comes into contact with the slider portion 52 of the catcher portion 42. In this state, the tip portions 49B, 50B of the first and second damper portions 49, 50 come into contact with the slider portion 52 of the catcher portion 42.

[0075] In the second stage, a resistance force is applied to the catcher section 42 via the first and second damper sections 49, 50. In addition, in the connected state between the striker section 44 and the catcher section 42, the above-mentioned load and the like are applied to the catcher section 42, and a rotation assist force is applied by the spring section 48 of the soft-close section 45, so that the resistance force in the second stage can be countered.

[0076] 9C shows a fully closed state of the first insulating door 14. As shown in the figure, the engagement pin 44A of the striker portion 44 disposed on the first insulating door 14 is inserted into the engagement groove 42A of the catcher portion 42.

[0077] As described above, the tip portions 49B, 50B of the first and second damper portions 49, 50 contact the slider portion 52 of the catcher portion 42 in conjunction with the rotational movement of the first heat-insulating door 14. A resistance force is applied to the catcher portion 42 via the first and second damper portions 49, 50. Although a resistance force larger than that in the first stage is applied to the catcher portion 42, the catcher portion 42 continues to rotate to the horizontal state using the rotational assist force of the spring portion 48 of the soft-close portion 45. As a result, the catcher portion 42 presses the button 46B of the mechanical switch 46A of the detection device 46. Then, the first heat-insulating door 14 is fully closed to the refrigerator compartment 12.

[0078] In the refrigerator 10 of this embodiment, the engagement pin 44A enters the engagement groove 42A, and the catcher part 42 and the striker part 44 are connected to each other. In this connected state, the first insulated door 14 is fully closed to the refrigerator compartment 12 while the rotation speed is adjusted by the soft-close part 45.

[0079] With this structure, even if a user pushes the first insulated door 14 vigorously to close it, the first insulated door 14 slowly magnetically attaches to the gasket 36 on the front surface 11B of the insulated box body 11. As a result, the first insulated door 14 is quieter when fully closed, for example, the sound generated when the first insulated door 14 is fully closed and the sound generated when the first insulated door 14 vibrates and the stored items hit the surroundings are reduced, improving the comfort of the user.

[0080] On the other hand, in the refrigerator 10 of the present embodiment, when the engagement pin 44A fails to enter the engagement groove 42A, the striker portion 44 and the catcher portion 42 are in a non-connected state. In this non-connected state, for example, the catcher portion 42 is displaced from the normal stop position, and the striker portion 44 is not in contact with the catcher portion 42, so that the above-mentioned load and the like are not applied to the catcher portion 42. Alternatively, the contact angle between the striker portion 44 and the catcher portion 42 is displaced from the desired position, so that the above-mentioned load and the like applied to the catcher portion 42 are reduced. As a result, the catcher portion 42 cannot resist the resistance force of the first and second damper portions 49 and 50, and the first insulating door 14 stops rotating in a half-door state.

[0081] In this case, button 46B of mechanical switch 46A is not pressed by catcher portion 42, and control portion 30 (see FIG. 4) of refrigerator 10 is prevented from erroneously determining that first insulated door 14 is fully closed when first insulated door 14 is half-open. As described above, control portion 30 of refrigerator 10 controls alarm portion 40 (see FIG. 4) to emit an alarm sound to the user of refrigerator 10, thereby enabling the user to resolve the half-open state of first insulated door 14.

[0082] Next, the rotation speed of the first insulated door 14 of the refrigerator 10 of this embodiment when it moves from an open state to a fully closed state will be described with reference to Figs. 9A to 9C and Figs. 12A to 12B. In addition, as shown in Figs. 10 to 11C and Figs. 13A to 13B, the rotation speed of the first insulated door 71 of the single-door refrigerator 70 equipped with the above-mentioned self-closing mechanism 41 when it moves from an open state to a fully closed state will also be described. The rotation speed of the second to fourth insulated doors 15, 18, 19 of the double-door refrigerator 10 when they are closed is the same as the rotation speed of the first insulated door 14 when they are closed, which will be described below.

[0083] As shown in FIG. 10, the single-door refrigerator 70 includes a right-opening first insulated door 71 and a second insulated door 72, similar to the first insulated door 14 of the double-door refrigerator 10. The first insulated door 71 is a door that closes a front opening 73A (see FIG. 11A) of the refrigerator compartment 73 in an openable and closable manner. The second insulated door 72 is a door that closes a front opening (not shown) of the freezer compartment 74 in an openable and closable manner. The second insulated door 72 includes a self-closing mechanism 37 on the bottom surface of the insulated box body 75, similar to the third insulated door 18 described above. The rotation speed of the second insulated door 72 during the closing operation is similar to the rotation speed of the first insulated door 71 during the closing operation, which will be described below.

[0084] FIG. 10 is a perspective view illustrating the external structure of the refrigerator 70 of this embodiment as viewed from the front side. FIGS. 11A to 11C are top views illustrating a state in which the first insulated door 71 of the refrigerator 70 of this embodiment transitions from an open state to a fully closed state with respect to the insulated box body 75. FIG. 12A is a diagram illustrating the force applied to the first insulated door 14 and the opening angle of the first insulated door 14 during the closing operation of the first insulated door 14 of the refrigerator 10 of this embodiment. FIG. 12B is a diagram illustrating the rotation speed of the first insulated door 14 and the opening angle of the first insulated door 14 during the closing operation of the first insulated door 14 of the refrigerator 10 of this embodiment. FIG. 13A is a diagram illustrating the force applied to the first insulated door 71 and the opening angle of the first insulated door 71 during the closing operation of the first insulated door 71 of the refrigerator 70 of this embodiment. FIG. 13B is a diagram for explaining the rotation speed and the opening angle of the first insulated door 71 during the closing operation of the first insulated door 71 of the refrigerator 70 of this embodiment. In FIG. 10, the numbers of the storage compartments are shown for the convenience of explanation. In addition, in FIG. 12A and FIG. 13A, the vertical axis on the right side indicates the resistance force applied to the first insulated door 14, 71, the vertical axis on the left side indicates the rotation assist force applied to the first insulated door 14, 71, and the horizontal axis indicates the opening angle of the first insulated door 14, 71. On the other hand, in FIG. 12B and FIG. 13B, the vertical axis indicates the rotation speed of the first insulated door 14, 71, and the horizontal axis indicates the opening angle of the first insulated door 14, 71.

[0085] First, the rotation speed of the first insulating door 14 of the refrigerator 10 will be described.

[0086] As shown in Fig. 9A, when the engagement pin 44A of the striker portion 44 and the catcher portion 42 are not in contact with each other, the catcher portion 42 rotates about 20 degrees from the front surface 11B of the insulating box body 11 toward the outside of the container and stops. During the closing operation of the first insulating door 14, for example, the first insulating door 14 rotates from the fully closed state shown in Fig. 9C to an open state of 13 degrees, causing the engagement pin 44A to collide with the catcher portion 42 and enter the engagement groove 42A.

[0087] As described above, in the first stage of the closing operation of the first insulating door 14, a resistance force is applied to the catcher part 42 via the first damper part 49. As a result, as shown in Fig. 12B, the first insulating door 14 continues the closing operation while rotating at the first speed from the above-mentioned 13 degree open state to the 3 degree open state shown in Fig. 9B.

[0088] Next, as shown in FIG. 9B, in the second stage of the closing operation of the first insulating door 14, a resistance force is applied to the catcher portion 42 via the first damper portion 49 and the second damper portion 50.

[0089] Here, in the automatic closing mechanism 41, while the first insulating door 14 rotates from the 13 degrees to the 3 degrees, as shown in Fig. 6A, the corner portion 42F of the catcher portion 42 contacts the flat surface 48C of the connecting portion 48B of the spring portion 48. Then, the catcher portion 42 applies a force in a direction to compress the spring portion 48. When the angle of the catcher portion 42 is 20 degrees, the spring portion 48 is in a maximally compressed state.

[0090] On the other hand, while the first insulated door 14 rotates from the 3 degrees to the fully closed state, the corner portion 42F of the catcher portion 42 contacts the inclined surface 48D of the connecting portion 48B, and the flat surface 42G of the catcher portion 42 contacts the flat surface 48C of the connecting portion 48B. Then, the spring portion 48 is released from the state where it is pushed by the catcher portion 42 and expands from the compressed state, so that the catcher portion 42 is pushed by the spring portion 48, and the rotation to the fully closed state is assisted.

[0091] With this structure, in the second stage of the closing operation of the first insulated door 14, the first insulated door 14 continues the closing operation while rotating at the second speed from the above 3 degrees to the above fully closed state, as shown in Fig. 12B. Then, as shown in Fig. 12A, a resistance force is applied to the catcher part 42 via the first damper part 49 and the second damper part 50, while a rotation assist force in the rotation direction is applied by the spring part 48. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the resistance force applied to the first insulated door 14 by the second damper part 50 is set to be smaller than the resistance force applied to the first insulated door 14 by the first damper part 49.

[0092] As a result, as shown in Fig. 12B, the second speed is faster than the first speed in the rotation speed of the first insulated door 14. When the first insulated door 14 is fully closed, it is closed at the center of the insulated box body 11 and is arranged in parallel with the second insulated door 15, so that it is difficult for a user to visually confirm the fully closed state of the first insulated door 14. However, due to the above speed relationship, a collision sound between the first insulated door 14 and the insulated box body 11 is generated when the first insulated door 14 is fully closed, so that a user can easily determine the fully closed state of the first insulated door 14 by the collision sound. The collision sound is set within a range that does not impair the comfort of the user of the refrigerator 10.

[0093] Next, the rotation speed of the first insulating door 71 of the refrigerator 70 will be described.

[0094] 11A, the upper and lower ends of the first insulated door 71 on the left side of the page are rotatably supported by the insulated box 75 via the hinge mechanism 31. The upper hinge portion 31A of the hinge mechanism 31 is disposed on the top surface 75A of the insulated box 75, and the upper surface of the hinge mechanism 31 is covered by the cover portion 33. A part of the self-closing mechanism 41 is disposed adjacent to the upper hinge portion 31A of the hinge mechanism 31 and fixed to the top surface 75A of the insulated box 75. A part of the self-closing mechanism 41 is stored inside the cover portion 33 together with the hinge mechanism 31.

[0095] That is, the first insulated door 71 of the refrigerator 70 is structured to close automatically via the automatic closing mechanism 41, similar to the first insulated door 14 of the refrigerator 10 described above. The automatic closing mechanism 41 is disposed at the same position on the first insulated door 71 as the first insulated door 14. As a result, as shown in Figs. 11B and 11C, in the closing operation of the first insulated door 71, the first insulated door 71 rotates at a first speed from the 13 degree open state to the 3 degree open state. The first insulated door 71 rotates at a second speed from the 3 degree open state to the fully closed state.

[0096] On the other hand, in the automatic closing mechanism 41 of the first insulated door 71, as shown in Fig. 13A, the resistance force applied by the second damper section 50 to the first insulated door 71 is set to be larger than the resistance force applied by the first damper section 49 to the first insulated door 71. And, the first insulated door 71 also receives a rotation assist force in the rotation direction by the spring section 48.

[0097] As a result, as shown in FIG. 13B, the second speed is slower than the first speed in the rotation speed of the first insulating door 71. In the case of the single-door refrigerator 70, the user can easily visually check the fully closed state of the first insulating door 71, since the edge of the front opening 73A of the refrigerator compartment 73 can be seen, compared with the double-door refrigerator 10. On the other hand, even if the user puts food in or takes food out of the storage rack 34 or the like until the first insulating door 71 is fully closed, and the user's fingers or the like are caught between the first insulating door 71 and the insulating box 75, the impact when the first insulating door 71 and the insulating box 75 are fully closed is significantly reduced by slowing down the rotation speed just before the first insulating door 71 is fully closed, and the user's fingers or the like can be prevented from being injured.

[0098] In addition, the rotation speed of the first insulating door 14, 71, etc. can be adjusted by the stroke length of the first damper part 49 and the second damper part 50. With this structure, the change point of the rotation speed of the first insulating door 14, 71, etc. can be easily designed, and the change point can be easily fine-tuned according to the user's request.

[0099] For example, in the case of a structure that adjusts the rotation speed of the insulated door using a cam mechanism, parts may deteriorate due to friction between parts that undergo repeated sliding motion in the cam mechanism. In this case, the resistance value during the sliding motion varies, causing the change point of the rotation speed of the insulated door to vary, or in some cases, the speed may not change stepwise at all. In addition, depending on the material of the sliding parts of the cam mechanism, problems such as abnormal noise due to aging, increased manufacturing costs, and increased weight of the cam mechanism itself may occur.

[0100] Next, a modified example of the structure of catcher portion 42 will be described with reference to Fig. 14A and Fig. 14B. Fig. 14A and Fig. 14B explain a state in which catcher portion 42 and striker portion 44 of refrigerator 10 of the present embodiment are connected via recovery portion 61, Fig. 14A is a perspective view thereof, and Fig. 14B is a cross-sectional view thereof.

[0101] 14A, a recovery portion 61 may be formed in the first base portion 42B on the outside of the storage unit, which is the formation area of ​​the engagement groove 42A of the catcher portion 42. The recovery portion 61 is an inclined surface 61A for the engagement pin 44A to return to the engagement groove 42A from the lateral side of the catcher portion 42 after the engagement pin 44A initially fails to enter the engagement groove 42A during the closing operation of the first insulated door 14. The recovery portion 61 may be formed on the entire first base portion 42B, or may be formed on a portion of the first base portion 42B.

[0102] 14B, the recovery portion 61 has an inclined shape formed on the front surface of the catcher portion 42, and forms an inclined surface 61A that slopes upward from the side surface on the outside of the storage toward the engagement groove 42A. On the other hand, the engagement pin 44A is biased by, for example, an elastic spring, and is structured to be slidable in the vertical direction relative to the housing portion of the striker portion 44.

[0103] 9A, when the engagement pin 44A is released from the engagement groove 42A with the opening operation of the first insulation door 14, the catcher part 42 maintains the angle of 20 degrees. However, due to the structure in which a part of the catcher part 42 protrudes toward the front side of the refrigerator compartment 12, the angle of the catcher part 42 may become smaller than the angle of 20 degrees when the catcher part 42 comes into contact with the user.

[0104] In this case, the catcher portion 42 is displaced from the normal stop position, and the engagement pin 44A cannot enter the engagement groove 42A through the tip opening 39. As a result, the engagement pin 44A collides with the inclined surface 61A of the recovery portion 61 of the catcher portion 42. Then, immediately after the collision, the first insulated door 14 continues to rotate in the fully closed direction due to the load and the like, and the engagement pin 44A moves along the inclined surface 61A of the recovery portion 61.

[0105] As described above, the engagement pin 44A comes into contact with the inclined surface 61A of the recovery portion 61, and when moving along the inclined surface 61A, it slides upward of the housing portion of the striker portion 44, climbing over the recovery portion 61 and entering the engagement groove 42A. As a result, the connection state between the catcher portion 42 and the striker portion 44 is realized, and the first insulated door 14 becomes rotatable to the fully closed state.

[0106] On the other hand, as shown in the figure, the inclined surface 61A of the recovery portion 61 is not continuous to the engagement groove 42A. With this structure, when the engagement pin 44A enters the engagement groove 42A from the tip opening 39 of the engagement groove 42A during normal operation of the soft-close portion 45, the engagement pin 44A is not pushed upward from the lower tip, and is prevented from falling out of the engagement groove 42A. The operation after the engagement pin 44A is restored into the engagement groove 42A is as described above.

[0107] In the present embodiment, the first and second damper parts 49, 50 are the rotation restricting parts of the present invention, the catcher part 42 is connected to the striker part 44, and the catcher part 42 rotates to the horizontal state while resisting the resistance force that restricts the rotation by the first and second damper parts 49, 50. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a recess that fits with a protrusion on the bottom surface of the storage part 32 of the soft-close part 45 may be formed on the back side of the catcher part 42, and the resistance force that restricts the rotation of the catcher part 42 may be applied stepwise according to the shape of the protrusion. Even when the uneven shape is the rotation restricting part of the present invention, the same effect as the above can be obtained by connecting the catcher part 42 to the striker part 44 and rotating to the horizontal state while resisting the resistance force.

[0108] In addition, in the explanation of the rotation speed of the first heat insulating door 14, 71, an example of the angle of the catcher part 42 at the transition point between the first speed and the second speed is shown, but it is not limited to this case. The angle of the catcher part 42 can be arbitrarily changed in design.

[0109] In addition, the detection device 46 is disposed in the self-closing mechanism 37, 41, the catcher unit 42 presses the button 46B of the mechanical switch 46A, and the control unit 30 of the refrigerator 10 detects a signal indicating that the button has been pressed to determine whether the first insulated door 14, etc. is fully closed. However, the present invention is not limited to this. As described above, when the second speed of the rotation speed of the first insulated door 14, etc. is faster than the first speed, and the user can determine whether the door is half-closed based on the sound of the collision between the first insulated door 14, etc. and the insulated box 11, 75, the detection device 46 may not be disposed in the self-closing mechanism 37, 41. In addition, various modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0110] Next, refrigerator 100 according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the up-down direction indicates the height direction of refrigerator 100, the left-right direction indicates the width direction of refrigerator 100 as viewed from the front, and the front-rear direction indicates the depth direction of refrigerator 100. In addition, when describing this embodiment, the same reference numbers are used for the same members as a general rule, and repeated description will be omitted.

[0111] First, in refrigerator 100, the structure of automatic closing mechanism 141 that automatically closes first insulated door 114 to fourth insulated door 119 is different from the structure of automatic closing mechanism 41 of refrigerator 10 described using Figs. 1 to 14B. However, in refrigerator 100, as in refrigerator 10 described above, the rotation speed during the closing operation of first insulated door 114 to fourth insulated door 119 changes from a first speed to a second speed via automatic closing mechanism 141, thereby improving the convenience for the user of refrigerator 100. Note that the structure of refrigerator 100 other than automatic closing mechanism 141 is the same as the structure of refrigerator 10 described above, and the same members are generally designated by the same reference numerals, and repeated explanations will be omitted.

[0112] Fig. 15 is a perspective view illustrating the external structure of refrigerator 100 of this embodiment as viewed from the front side. Although first insulated door 114 to fourth insulated door 119 of refrigerator 100 have the same structure as first insulated door 14 to fourth insulated door 19 of refrigerator 10, for convenience of explanation, different reference numerals are used for explanation. Also, the control method, cooling method, notification method, etc. of refrigerator 100 are the same as those of refrigerator 10 described using Figs. 2 to 4.

[0113] As shown in FIG. 15, the refrigerator 100 includes an insulated box 11 and a storage compartment formed inside the insulated box 11. The storage compartments are, from the upper side, one refrigerator compartment 12 and two freezer compartments 13. The front opening 12A of the refrigerator compartment 12 is closed by a first insulated door 114 and a second insulated door 115 that open both ways from approximately the center of the insulated box 11 so as to be freely opened and closed. The front opening 13A of the freezer compartment 13 is closed by a third insulated door 118 and a fourth insulated door 119 that open both ways from approximately the center of the insulated box 11 so as to be freely opened and closed. The first to fourth insulated doors 114 to 119 perform an opening and closing operation by self-closing with respect to the insulated box 11 via a self-closing mechanism 141, as will be described in detail later.

[0114] Next, the self-closing mechanism 141 provided for the first insulated door 114 and the second insulated door 115 on the refrigerator compartment 12 side of the refrigerator 100 of this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 16A to Fig. 22B. In the following description, the self-closing mechanism 141 provided for the first insulated door 114 will be described, and the self-closing mechanism 141 provided for the second insulated door 115 side will be described by referring to the description of the first insulated door 114 side, and will not be described here.

[0115] FIG. 16A is a top view illustrating a state in which the first insulated door 114 of the refrigerator 100 of this embodiment is open relative to the insulated box body 11. FIG. 16B is a top view illustrating a state in which the first insulated door 114 of the refrigerator 100 of this embodiment is fully closed relative to the insulated box body 11. FIG. 17A is a perspective view illustrating the housing part 146 and the catcher part 142 of the self-closing mechanism 141 of the refrigerator 100 of this embodiment. FIGS. 17B and 17C are perspective views illustrating the internal mechanism of the self-closing mechanism 141 of the refrigerator 100 of this embodiment. FIGS. 18A and 18B are perspective views illustrating the catcher part 142 of the self-closing mechanism 141 of the refrigerator 100 of this embodiment. FIGS. 19A, 20A, and 20B are bottom views illustrating the catcher part 142 of the self-closing mechanism 141 of the refrigerator 100 of this embodiment. Fig. 19B is a cross-sectional view illustrating catcher portion 142 of automatic closing mechanism 141 of refrigerator 100 of this embodiment, and shows a cross section along line AA shown in Fig. 19A. Figs. 21A to 22B are top views illustrating the operation of automatic closing mechanism 141 when first insulated door 114 of refrigerator 100 of this embodiment is closed. Note that Figs. 21A to 22B mainly explain the operation of catcher portion 142 and soft close portion 145 of automatic closing mechanism 141 when first insulated door 114 is closed.

[0116] As shown in Fig. 16A, the first insulated door 114 is rotatably supported by the insulated box 11 via the hinge mechanism 31 at its upper and lower ends on the left side of the drawing. The upper hinge part 31A of the hinge mechanism 31 is disposed on the top surface 11A of the insulated box 11, and its upper surface is covered by the cover part 33. Note that the detailed structure of the upper hinge part 31A of the hinge mechanism 31 is not shown, but is a known structure. The upper hinge part 31A includes, for example, a main body frame fixed to the insulated box 11 and extending to the first insulated door 114 side, a hinge pin disposed on the main body frame on the first insulated door 114 side, and a hinge mounting hole of the first insulated door 114 through which the hinge pin is inserted.

[0117] The automatic closing mechanism 141 mainly includes a catcher portion 142, a striker portion 144, a soft close portion 145 (see FIG. 17B), and a housing portion 146 that supports the catcher portion 142 and the soft close portion 145. Although details will be described later, the rotational movement of the catcher portion 142 is performed by the soft close portion 145. The automatic closing mechanism 141 is a mechanism that automatically closes the first insulating door 114 while adjusting the rotational speed of the first insulating door 114 in multiple stages.

[0118] The housing part 146 is adjacent to the upper hinge part 31A of the hinge mechanism 31, and is fixed to the top surface 11A of the heat-insulating box 11. The housing part 146 is stored inside the cover part 33 together with the hinge mechanism 31. As shown in the figure, the catcher part 142 is on the top surface 11A side of the heat-insulating box 11, and is rotatably supported by the housing part 146. When the first heat-insulating door 114 is in an open state, a part of the catcher part 142 is led out from the cover part 33. An engagement groove 142A is formed in the catcher part 142, and a tip opening part 139 is formed on the tip side of the engagement groove 142A.

[0119] The striker portion 144 is disposed on the top surface 114A side of the first insulated door 114, facing the inside of the storage unit. An engagement pin 144A that enters into an engagement groove 142A of the catcher portion 142 is disposed at the tip of the striker portion 144. The engagement pin 144A is led out toward the lower side of the first insulated door 114. When the first insulated door 114 is closed, the engagement pin 144A enters into the engagement groove 142A, and the catcher portion 142 and the striker portion 144 are connected to each other. The engagement pin 144A moves in the engagement groove 142A toward the base side of the catcher portion 142 while being pulled by the catcher portion 142.

[0120] In this embodiment, the catcher part 142 is disposed on the top surface 11A of the heat-insulating box 11, and is structured to be rotatable from the front surface 11B of the heat-insulating box 11 toward the outside of the container by, for example, about 20 degrees. When the first heat-insulating door 114 is in an open state, the tip side of the catcher part 142 where the engagement groove 142A is formed is in a state of protruding from the front surface 11B toward the outside of the container. Although the details will be described later, the catcher part 142 is formed with a protruding part 162 extending to the side thereof, and at least a part of the protruding part 162 is always located above the top surface 11A. When the first heat-insulating door 114 is closed, the catcher part 142 collides with the front surface 11B of the heat-insulating box 11, and the rotation of the catcher part 142 stops, thereby preventing the first heat-insulating door 114 from being in a half-open state.

[0121] In addition, when the first insulated door 114 is in the open state, the catcher portion 142 is located higher than the user's eye level, and only the minimum necessary portion protrudes from the front surface 11B of the insulated box body 11, resulting in an inconspicuous structure and making it difficult for the design of the refrigerator 100 to be impaired.

[0122] 16B, when the first insulating door 114 is in a fully closed state, the catcher part 142 rotates until it is approximately parallel to the front surface 11B of the insulating box 11. Then, the catcher part 142 is stored in the cover part 33 while being connected to the striker part 144.

[0123] On the other hand, in the process in which first insulated door 114 transitions from the fully closed state shown in Fig. 16B to the open state shown in Fig. 16A, a user performs an operation to open first insulated door 114 toward the outside of the storage unit. Then, engagement pin 144A moves toward the tip side of engagement groove 142A while pushing catcher part 142 toward the outside of the storage unit, and then disengages from engagement groove 142A through tip opening 139. Then, catcher part 142 rotates by being pushed by engagement pin 144A, and a part of catcher part 142 is led out to the outside of cover part 33.

[0124] When the first insulated door 114 is in an open state and the catcher part 142 and the striker part 144 are separated from each other, the catcher part 142 stops at a position of, for example, 20 degrees with respect to the front surface 11B of the insulated box body 11. A recess (not shown) on the bottom surface of the catcher part 142 fits into a protrusion (not shown) of the housing part 146 to maintain the stopped state. As a result, when the first insulated door 114 is in an open state, if the catcher part 142 is in light contact with the user of the refrigerator 100, the stopped state can be maintained. In addition, in the standby state of the catcher part 142, as described above, a part of the tip side of the protrusion part 162 is located above the top surface 11A.

[0125] 17A, housing part 146 of self-closing mechanism 141 is a box-shaped body, and is fixed to top surface 11A of heat-insulating box 11 with screws via a plurality of screw holes 147. Catcher part 142 is rotatably supported by housing part 146 via rotation shaft 151. Then, catcher part 142 is pushed by striker part 144 (see FIG. 16A) and starts to rotate, and then receives a rotating force directly from rotation drive part 155 (see FIG. 17B) of soft-close part 145, thereby rotating relative to housing part 146 with rotation shaft 151 as a rotation fulcrum.

[0126] A first guide groove 152 is formed in the cover 146A of the housing 146. When the housing 146 is fixed to the top surface 11A, the first guide groove 152 has a vertical groove 152A extending linearly in the depth direction of the heat-insulating box 11 (front-to-back direction on the paper), and an oblique groove 152B extending linearly and inclined diagonally in the depth direction of the heat-insulating box 11. A pair of first guide grooves 152 are formed on the front and back sides of the housing 146.

[0127] As shown in the figure, the first guide groove 152 is inserted with a rotating shaft 153 of the roller part 164 (see FIG. 18B) which is supported by the catcher part 142. A pair of rotating shafts 153 are formed in the up-down direction of the roller part 164, and each is inserted into the first guide groove 152. Then, the width W1 in the short side direction of the first guide groove 152 is approximately equal to or slightly wider than the diameter of the rotating shaft 153, so that the housing part 146 supports the roller part 164 rotatably via the first guide groove 152. Although details will be described later, when the roller part 164 rotates together with the catcher part 142 relative to the housing part 146, the rotating shaft 153 is forcibly guided by the first guide groove 152, and the movement trajectory of the roller part 164 is adjusted.

[0128] As shown in FIG. 17B, the housing 146 houses the rotation restricting part 154 and the rotation driving part 155 which constitute the soft-close part 145. The rotation restricting part 154 has, for example, two damper parts 154A and a connecting part 154B which connects the shaft ends of the two damper parts 154A. When the first insulated door 114 is closed, the rotation restricting part 154 restricts the rotation of the catcher part 142. As shown by the arrow 156, when the first insulated door 114 is opened or closed, the connecting part 154B is pushed by the roller part 164 in conjunction with the rotation of the catcher part 142, or the damper part 154A expands and contracts in the depth direction of the insulated box 11 by pushing the roller part 164. At this time, the connecting portion 154B reciprocates in the depth direction along the storage wall 149 of the rotation restricting portion 154, so that the pressing force from the roller portion 164 is efficiently transmitted to the damper portion 154A. As a result, during the closing operation of the first insulating door 114, the reaction force F1 (see FIG. 21B) transmitted from the damper portion 154A to the roller portion 164 becomes a resistance force that restricts the rotational operation of the catcher portion 142, and the reaction force F1 is also efficiently transmitted.

[0129] The rotation drive unit 155 has, for example, two compression coil springs 155A and a connecting portion 155B that houses the tip side of the compression coil spring 155A. When the first heat-insulating door 114 is closed, the rotation drive unit 155 rotates the catcher portion 142. As shown by the arrow 156, when the first heat-insulating door 114 is opened or closed, the connecting portion 155B pushes the rear end side of the catcher portion 142, or is pushed by the rear end side of the catcher portion 142, so that the compression coil spring 155A expands and contracts in the depth direction of the heat-insulating box body 11. At this time, the connecting portion 155B reciprocates in the depth direction along the storage wall 150 of the rotation drive unit 155, so that the force with which the connecting portion 155B presses the catcher portion 142 is efficiently transmitted to the catcher portion 142.

[0130] With this structure, when the first insulated door 114 is closed, in the soft-close section 145, the damper section 154A of the rotation restriction section 154 is pressed by the roller section 164 via the connecting section 154B and contracts, thereby restricting the rotation of the catcher section 142 and adjusting the rotation speed of the catcher section 142. Meanwhile, the compression coil spring 155A of the rotation drive section 155 presses the rear end side of the catcher section 142 via the connecting section 155B, causing the catcher section 142 to rotate. In other words, when the first insulated door 114 is closed, the rotation drive section 155 serves as a drive source for the rotation of the catcher section 142.

[0131] As shown in Fig. 17C, a flat surface 154C that contacts the roller portion 164 and an inclined surface 154D that inclines toward the back side in the depth direction of the housing portion 146 from the flat surface 154C are formed on the surface of the tip portion 157 of the connecting portion 154B facing the roller portion 164. Then, in a state in which the housing portion 146 is fixed to the top surface 11A of the thermal insulation box 11, the flat surface 154C is formed extending in the width direction of the thermal insulation box 11 so as to be approximately parallel to the front surface 11B of the thermal insulation box 11. Although details will be described later, when the first thermal insulation door 114 is closed, the roller portion 164 pivotally supported by the catcher portion 142 rolls on the flat surface 154C and the inclined surface 154D and presses the connecting portion 154B toward the damper portion 154A, thereby adjusting the rotation speed of the first thermal insulation door 114. Furthermore, tip portion 157 of connecting portion 154B is inserted between support plates 165 (see FIG. 18B) of catcher portion 142 that axially supports roller portion 164, so that roller portion 164 is supported in an approximately vertical state between support plates 165 and can roll stably on flat surface 154C.

[0132] As shown in FIG. 18A, the catcher portion 142 has a main body portion 161, an engagement groove 142A formed in the main body portion 161, a protrusion 162 protruding in the width direction from the main body portion 161, and a second guide groove 163 formed in the main body portion 161.

[0133] The main body 161 of the catcher part 142 has a first base 161A and a second base 161B on either side of the engagement groove 142A. As indicated by a circle 159, the second base 161B extends longer than the first base 161A. The engagement groove 142A is formed as a recess recessed from the front surface side of the main body 161, so that the first base 161A and the second base 161B are formed as an integral structure. With this structure, the second base 161B in particular repeatedly collides with the engagement pin 144A during the closing operation of the first insulating door 114, but the necessary rigidity as a part is realized.

[0134] Further, second base 161B is formed with protruding portion 162 that protrudes toward the opposite side to engagement groove 142A. In other words, in a state in which self-closing mechanism 141 is fixed to top surface 11A of thermally insulated box 11, protruding portion 162 protrudes toward top surface 11A. Protruding portion 162 is formed, for example, as an integral structure with second base 161B, and has a shape that gradually narrows toward the tip side.

[0135] 18B, a second guide groove 163 is formed in the main body 161. The rotating shaft 153 of the roller part 164 is inserted into the second guide groove 163, and the roller part 164 is supported by the first guide groove 152 (see FIG. 17A) and the second guide groove 163. The second guide groove 163 is an elongated hole formed along the longitudinal direction of the main body 161, and is formed in a pair on the support plate 165 on the front and back sides of the main body 161. The width W2 of the second guide groove 163 in the short side direction is approximately equal to or slightly wider than the diameter of the rotating shaft 153, and the main body 161 rotatably supports the roller part 164 via the second guide groove 163.

[0136] Further, the diameter of roller portion 164 between vertical rotation shafts 153 is wider than width W2 of second guide groove 163, and roller portion 164 is disposed to be rotatably fitted between a pair of support plates 165. With this structure, roller portion 164 is rotatably supported by main body portion 161, and is movable in the longitudinal direction of second guide groove 163. Furthermore, tip portion 157 (see FIG. 17C) of connecting portion 154B is assembled in a state where it is inserted between support plates 165, so that roller portion 164 can stably roll on flat surface 154C (see FIG. 17C).

[0137] Details will be described later using Figures 21A to 22B, but when the first insulated door 114 is closed, the catcher portion 142 connects to the striker portion 144 and rotates toward the insulated box body 11, while the roller portion 164 rolls toward the inclined surface 154D while pressing the flat surface 154C of the connecting portion 154B in the depth direction.

[0138] At this time, roller portion 164 makes line contact with flat surface 154C of connecting portion 154B and presses connecting portion 154B, but the location of line contact changes with respect to flat surface 154C as roller portion 164 moves while rotating. With this structure, the opening and closing operation of first insulated door 114 is repeated, but the amount of wear of roller portion 164 and flat surface 154C is significantly reduced by changing the location of line contact of roller portion 164 with flat surface 154C.

[0139] As a result, the contact position between roller part 164 and connecting part 154B is prevented from changing from the initially set position due to deterioration over time according to the number of years of actual use. Also, the rotation speed of first insulated door 114 is prevented from changing from the initially set rotation speed according to the number of years of actual use due to the fluctuation in the resistance value at the time of contact between roller part 164 and connecting part 154B. As a result, the user of refrigerator 100 can use refrigerator 100 for many years without feeling any discomfort from the automatic closing operation of first insulated door 114, improving convenience. Also, the frequency of repairs of automatic closing mechanism 141 is reduced, which prevents an increase in the maintenance cost for the user.

[0140] 19A and 19B, on the back surface 162A side of the protruding portion 162, a protruding piece portion 162B is formed along the outer peripheral end portion 162C of the protruding portion 162. The protruding piece portion 162B is formed integrally with the protruding portion 162 and protrudes downward from the back surface 162A. That is, as shown in the drawings, the protruding piece portion 162B is formed, for example, in a substantially semicircular shape in cross section, and a formation region R1 of the protruding piece portion 162B is a region that protrudes further than a non-formation region R2 of the protruding piece portion 162B.

[0141] With this structure, even if the protruding piece 162B comes into contact with the top surface 11A of the heat-insulating box 11 during the rotation of the catcher part 142, the tip of the protruding piece 162B comes into contact with the top surface 11A, and the contact area with the top surface 11A is reduced, making it difficult for the resistance value during sliding to increase. As a result, the rotation speed of the catcher part 142 is prevented from becoming slower than the design value. In addition, the protruding piece 162B is in point contact with the top surface 11A due to the curved surface, so the amount of wear caused by the above-mentioned sliding is also reduced, and the frequency of parts replacement due to deterioration of the catcher part 142 is reduced. In addition, an increase in maintenance costs for users is also prevented.

[0142] As shown in FIG. 20A, the protruding piece 162B may be formed around the outside of the tip side of the protruding part 162 along the outer circumferential end 162C of the protruding part 162. As described above, the periphery of the tip of the protruding part 162 is always located on the top surface 11A within the rotation range W3 (see FIG. 21A) of the catcher part 142, and is the area that comes into contact with the top surface 11A first. Therefore, by forming the protruding piece 162B at least in the illustrated area, it is possible to reduce the contact area between the protruding piece 162B and the top surface 11A. With this structure, the structure shown in FIG. 20A also has the same effect as the structure shown in FIG. 19A and FIG. 19B described above.

[0143] 20B, the protruding piece portion 162B may be, for example, semispherical, and may be formed in a plurality of portions scattered on the back surface 162A of the protrusion 162. In the structure shown in the figure, it is also possible to reduce the contact area between the protruding piece portion 162B and the top surface 11A, and the same effect as the structure shown in Figures 19A and 19B described above can be obtained.

[0144] 19A and 19B, an opening may be provided in the non-forming region R2 of the protruding piece portion 162B to reduce the amount of material used and the manufacturing cost. As long as the resistance value during sliding between the protruding piece portion 162B of the protrusion 162 and the top surface 11A of the heat-insulating box body 11 is reduced, the arrangement location and shape of the protruding piece portion 162B can be arbitrarily changed in design.

[0145] 21A to 22B, in a state in which the housing part 146 is fixed to the top surface 11A, a part of the protrusion 162 is always located above the top surface 11A regardless of the rotational position of the catcher part 142. In addition, in the initial setting, the protrusion piece 162B of the protrusion 162 is separated from the top surface 11A. Note that the protrusion piece 162B of the protrusion 162 may be in contact with the top surface 11A from the initial setting.

[0146] As described above, when the first insulated door 114 is repeatedly opened and closed, or due to aging of the refrigerator 100, the tip of the catcher part 142 may hang down below the insulated box body 11. In this case, the protruding piece part 162B of the protruding part 162 comes into contact with the top surface 11A, and at least a part of the protruding part 162 is supported on the top surface 11A, thereby preventing the tip of the catcher part 142 from hanging down below the top surface 11A of the insulated box body 11. When the first insulated door 114 is closed, the catcher part 142 collides with the front surface 11B of the insulated box body 11 and stops its rotation, thereby preventing the first insulated door 114 from being left half-open.

[0147] Next, the operation of the self-closing mechanism 141 when the first insulated door 114 of the refrigerator 100 of this embodiment transitions from an open state to a fully closed state will be described with reference to Figs. 21A to 22B. In the following description, the first insulated door 114 will be used for the description. The description of the operations of the second insulated door 115 to the fourth insulated door 119 will refer to the description of the first insulated door 114, and will not be repeated here. The dotted line 158 shows a line on the front surface 11B of the insulated box 11. For convenience of description, the cover portion 146A (see Fig. 17A) of the housing portion 146 will be omitted for the description, but the first guide groove 152 and its vertical groove 152A and oblique groove 152B formed in the cover portion 146A will be illustrated and described.

[0148] First, the first guide groove 152 is a groove for adjusting the movement trajectory of the roller portion 164, and the rotating shaft 153 of the roller portion 164 receives a reaction force F2 from the inner surface of the first guide groove 152 in association with the rotational movement of the catcher portion 142. The second guide groove 163 is a groove for applying a rotational force F3 to the roller portion 164, and the rotating shaft 153 of the roller portion 164 receives a rotational force F3 from the inner surface of the second guide groove 163 in association with the rotational movement of the catcher portion 142. In addition, in Figs. 21A to 22B, the reaction force that the roller portion 164 receives from the connecting portion 154B of the rotation restricting portion 154 is illustrated as F1, the reaction force that the rotating shaft 153 receives from the inner surface of the first guide groove 152 is illustrated as F2, and the rotational force that the rotating shaft 153 receives from the inner surface of the second guide groove 163 is illustrated as F3. The reaction forces F1 and F2 act as resistance forces that restrict the rotation of the catcher portion 142.

[0149] In this embodiment, the reaction forces F1, F2 and the rotational force F3 are used for the convenience of explaining the force acting on the rotation shaft 153 of the roller part 164. However, in reality, the force that rotates the catcher part 142 is not limited to the rotational force F3. For example, the force that rotates the catcher part 142 may be a force that the catcher part 142 receives directly from the rotation drive part 155 of the soft-close part 145. Depending on the rotation angle of the catcher part 142, the reaction forces F1, F2 also contribute to the force that rotates the catcher part 142. The reaction forces F1, F2 and the rotational force F3 change depending on the rotation angle of the catcher part 142, and the lengths of the reaction forces F1, F2 and the rotational force F3 shown in the figure are shown as schematics and do not indicate the actual magnitude of the force.

[0150] In FIG. 21A, the first insulated door 114 is in an open state, and the engagement pin 144A of the striker portion 144 is disengaged from the engagement groove 142A of the catcher portion 142. The catcher portion 142 is stopped at a position at, for example, 20 degrees with respect to the front surface 11B of the insulated box body 11. Then, in order to close the first insulated door 114, a user of the refrigerator 100 pushes the first insulated door 114 toward the front surface 11B of the insulated box body 11, applying a rotating force to the first insulated door 114. This closing action by the user causes the first insulated door 114 to rotate toward the front surface 11B of the insulated box body 11 using the rotating force and the load of the first insulated door 114.

[0151] As described above, the rotating shaft 153 of the roller portion 164 is inserted into the first guide groove 152 and the second guide groove 163 on the front and back sides of the housing portion 146, respectively. The rotating shaft 153 is supported by receiving the reaction force F2 and the rotation force F3 in different directions by at least the first guide groove 152 and the second guide groove 163. With this structure, the roller portion 164 is supported in a stable upright state in a direction approximately perpendicular to the top surface 11A of the heat-insulating box 11. The roller portion 164 is in contact with the flat surface 154C of the connecting portion 154B and receives the reaction force F3, so that the roller portion 164 is in a more stable upright state.

[0152] As shown in the figure, when connecting portion 154B of rotation restricting portion 154 presses roller portion 164 toward the outside of the storage unit with reaction force F1, rotating shaft 153 is located at the tip side of first guide groove 152 and comes into contact with the inner surface of first guide groove 152. Then, rotating shaft 153 receives reaction force F2 from the inner surface of first guide groove 152.

[0153] On the other hand, catcher section 142 maintains a stopped state by, for example, fitting a recess (not shown) on its bottom surface into a protrusion (not shown) of housing section 146. Then, the rear end side of catcher section 142 receives a force from connecting section 155B of rotation drive section 155 that rotates catcher section 142, but maintains a balanced state due to the stopped state. As a result, rotation shaft 153 does not receive rotation force F3 from the inner surface of second guide groove 163.

[0154] Arrow W3 indicates the rotation range of catcher section 142, and in Fig. 21A, catcher section 142 is located at the outermost part of the rotation range. A part of the tip side of protrusion 162 is located above top surface 11A even when catcher section 142 is in the stopped state. Although not shown, protruding piece portion 162B is formed on back surface 162A of protrusion 162 located above top surface 11A.

[0155] 21B, the first insulating door 114 is in a closing operation, and the engagement pin 144A of the striker part 144 enters into the engagement groove 142A of the catcher part 142, and the striker part 144 and the catcher part 142 are in a connected state. Then, the catcher part 142 is in a state where it is rotated up to 10 degrees with respect to the front surface 11B of the insulating box body 11, for example. Note that a part of the protruding part 162 is located above the top surface 11A.

[0156] 21A, engagement pin 144A of striker portion 144 hits the tip end side of second base portion 161B as indicated by circle 159, thereby releasing the standby state. Then, catcher portion 142 receives a rotational force from connecting portion 155B of rotation drive portion 155, thereby starting the rotational operation.

[0157] As shown in the figure, the rotating shaft 153 receives a rotational force F3 from the inner surface of the second guide groove 163, and moves together with the catcher portion 142 toward the front surface 11B of the heat-insulating box 11. Meanwhile, the rotating shaft 153 comes into contact with the inner surface of the vertical groove 152A of the first guide groove 152, and the movement trajectory is adjusted. The rotating shaft 153 receives a reaction force F2 from the inner surface of the first guide groove 152. Furthermore, the roller portion 164 receives a reaction force F1 from the flat surface 154C of the connecting portion 154B.

[0158] With this structure, the rotating shaft 153 and the roller portion 164 are supported in a state in which they receive the reaction force F1, the reaction force F2, and the rotational force F3 from at least three directions. As a result, the roller portion 164 is supported by the catcher portion 142 in a stable upright state in a direction approximately perpendicular to the top surface 11A of the heat-insulating box 11.

[0159] At this time, in conjunction with the rotational movement of the catcher section 142, the roller section 164 rolls on the flat surface 154C of the connecting section 154B and presses the connecting section 154B toward the inside of the container, so that the rotating shaft 153 moves toward the center of the vertical groove 152A of the first guide groove 152. Meanwhile, the rotating shaft 153 moves from the center of the second guide groove 163 to the right end. As described above, the vertical groove 152A of the first guide groove 152 extends linearly in the depth direction of the heat-insulating box body 11 (front-back direction on the paper). As a result, the rotating shaft 153 draws a linear trajectory in the depth direction of the heat-insulating box body 11, so that the roller section 164 presses the connecting section 154B as uniformly as possible, and the rotation speed of the catcher section 142 is made uniform.

[0160] In this embodiment, the rotating shaft 153 is designed to move in the vertical groove 152A of the first guide groove 152 until the catcher part 142 rotates to a position of 3 degrees with respect to the front surface 11B of the heat-insulating box 11. At this time, the roller part 164 is designed to come into contact with the flat surface 154C (see FIG. 17C) of the connecting part 154B of the rotation restricting part 154 and roll toward the inclined surface 154D (see FIG. 17C). Then, the engagement pin 144A of the striker part 144 moves in the engagement groove 142A toward its base side while being pulled by the first base part 161A of the catcher part 142. With this structure, the rotation speed of the catcher part 142 is made uniform, and the rotation speed of the first heat-insulating door 114 is also made uniform.

[0161] In Fig. 22A, the first insulating door 114 is in a closing operation, and the striker part 144 and the catcher part 142 are still connected to each other as in Fig. 21B. The catcher part 142 is rotated, for example, up to 3 degrees with respect to the front surface 11B of the insulating box 11. The protruding part 162 is located above the top surface 11A.

[0162] As shown in the figure, the rotating shaft 153 receives a rotational force F3 from the inner surface of the second guide groove 163, and the roller portion 164 moves integrally with the catcher portion 142 toward the front surface 11B of the heat-insulating box 11. Meanwhile, the rotating shaft 153 comes into contact with the inner surface of the inclined groove 152B of the first guide groove 152, and the movement trajectory is adjusted. Then, the rotating shaft 153 receives a reaction force F2 from the inner surface of the first guide groove 152. Furthermore, the roller portion 164 receives a reaction force F1 from the inclined surface 154D of the connecting portion 154B.

[0163] With this structure, the rotating shaft 153 and the roller portion 164 are supported in a state in which they receive the reaction force F1, the reaction force F2, and the rotational force F3 from at least three directions. As a result, the roller portion 164 is supported in a stable upright state in a direction approximately perpendicular to the top surface 11A of the heat-insulating box 11.

[0164] As shown in the figure, the rolling area of ​​the roller portion 164 shifts from the flat surface 154C of the connecting portion 154B to the inclined surface 154D in conjunction with the rotation of the first insulating door 114, and the rotating shaft 153 moves from the vertical groove 152A to the oblique groove 152B of the first guide groove 152. As described above, the oblique groove 152B of the first guide groove 152 is inclined obliquely toward the depth direction of the insulating box 11 and extends linearly.

[0165] With this structure, inclined surface 154D of connecting portion 154B slopes downward with respect to the traveling direction of roller portion 164, thereby dispersing and reducing reaction force F1 that roller portion 164 receives from rotation restricting portion 154. Then, in catcher portion 142, the rotational force received from rotation drive portion 155 is less likely to be canceled out by reaction force F1, so that catcher portion 142 rotates more vigorously than in the rotational state of FIGS. 21A and 21B.

[0166] In Fig. 22B, the first insulating door 114 is in a fully closed state. The striker part 144 and the catcher part 142 are still connected to each other as in Fig. 21A, and the catcher part 142 is stopped at a position of 0 degrees with respect to the front surface 11B of the insulating box body 11. The protruding part 162 is located above the top surface 11A.

[0167] As shown in the figure, when the connecting portion 155B of the rotation drive portion 155 is in a state of pressing the rear end side of the catcher portion 142, the rotating shaft 153 is positioned on the rear end side of the first guide groove 152. On the other hand, the rotating shaft 153 is positioned at the left end with respect to the second guide groove 163. When the rotating shaft 153 is positioned at the rear end of the first guide groove 152, the catcher portion 142 is restricted from rotating further toward the inside of the container. In this embodiment, when the protruding portion 162 of the catcher portion 142 abuts against the side surface of the housing portion 146, the catcher portion 142 is also restricted from rotating further toward the inside of the container.

[0168] In addition, in the fully closed state of the first insulating door 114 shown in Fig. 22B, the magnet contained in the gasket 36 of the first insulating door 114 comes into contact with and is magnetically attracted to the outer box 21 and the center pillar 16 on the front surface 11B of the insulating box body 11. As a result, as shown in the figure, the reaction force F2 and the rotation force F3 are applied to the rotating shaft 153, and the reaction force F1 is applied to the roller portion 164, but the magnetic attraction force of the first insulating door 114 is stronger, and the catcher portion 142 maintains the stopped state.

[0169] As described above, in this embodiment, when the first insulating door 114 is closed, the running surface of the connecting portion 154B on which the roller portion 164 rolls is changed from the flat surface 154C to the inclined surface 154D. As a result, the reaction force F1 that the roller portion 164 receives from the rotation restricting portion 154 changes, and the rotation speed of the catcher portion 142 changes in at least two stages.

[0170] For example, when the first insulated door 114 is a double-leaf door, in the closing operation of the first insulated door 114, the first insulated door 114 rotates at a first speed from the 20 degree open state to the 3 degree open state. Then, the first insulated door 114 rotates at a second speed from the 3 degree open state to the fully closed state. The first and second speeds will be described later, but by making the second speed faster than the first speed, the rotation speed of the first insulated door 114 just before it is fully closed becomes faster than the rotation speed in the intermediate stage. As a result, the first insulated door 114 firmly collides against the insulated box body 11, and the first insulated door 114 is prevented from being ajar.

[0171] Furthermore, when the first insulated door 114 is a double-door, the first insulated door 114 is closed at the center of the insulated box 11 when fully closed, and is arranged in parallel with the second insulated door 115. This makes it difficult for a user to visually confirm that the first insulated door 114 is fully closed. However, in the catcher section 142, by providing the above-mentioned stepwise speed difference, a collision sound between the first insulated door 114 and the insulated box 11 when fully closed is generated, and the user can easily determine the fully closed state of the first insulated door 114 from the collision sound. The collision sound is set within a range that does not impair the comfort of the user of the refrigerator 100.

[0172] In addition, even if a user pushes the first insulated door 114 vigorously to close the first insulated door 114, the rotation speed of the first insulated door 114 is decelerated while the rotating shaft 153 moves in the vertical groove 152A of the first guide groove 152. Then, the magnet contained in the gasket 36 of the first insulated door 114 is slowly magnetically attached to the front surface 11B of the insulated box body 11. As a result, the quietness when the first insulated door 114 is fully closed, for example, the sound when the first insulated door 114 is fully closed and the sound generated when the first insulated door 114 vibrates and the stored items hit the surroundings are reduced, and the comfort of the user is improved.

[0173] 23A and 23B, the automatic closing mechanism 141 provided for the third insulated door 118 and the fourth insulated door 119 on the freezer compartment 13 side of the refrigerator 100 of this embodiment will be described. In the following description, the automatic closing mechanism 141 provided for the third insulated door 118 will be described, and the automatic closing mechanism 141 provided on the fourth insulated door 119 side will be described by referring to the description of the third insulated door 118 side, and the description thereof will be omitted here.

[0174] Fig. 23A is a bottom view illustrating a state in which the third insulating door 118 of the refrigerator 100 is open relative to the insulating box body 11. Fig. 23B is a bottom view illustrating a state in which the third insulating door 118 of the refrigerator 100 of this embodiment is fully closed relative to the insulating box body 11.

[0175] 23A, the self-closing mechanism 141 is disposed adjacent to the hinge mechanism 31 and fixed to the bottom surface 11C of the insulating box 11. When the third insulating door 118 is in the open state, a part of the catcher portion 142 is extended from the cover portion 168 that covers the housing portion 146 of the self-closing mechanism 141.

[0176] 16A and 16B, and is fixed to the bottom surface 11C of the insulating box 11, so that the catcher part 142 rotates toward the hinge mechanism 31. The operation of the soft-close part 145 of the automatic closing mechanism 141 can be described with reference to the above description, and the description will be omitted here.

[0177] As shown in the figure, the striker portion 144 of the self-closing mechanism 141 is disposed on the bottom surface 118A side of the third insulated door 118, facing the inside of the container. An engagement pin 144A that enters the engagement groove 142A of the catcher portion 142 is disposed at the tip of the striker portion 144. When the third insulated door 118 is closed, the engagement pin 144A enters the engagement groove 142A, and the catcher portion 142 and the striker portion 144 are connected to each other. Thereafter, the engagement pin 144A moves to the base side of the catcher portion 142 within the engagement groove 142A while being pulled by the catcher portion 142.

[0178] Incidentally, housing part 146 of automatic closing mechanism 141 is fixed to bottom surface 11C of insulated box body 11 with the top and bottom sides reversed from the fixed state on the refrigerator compartment 12 side, so that engagement groove 142A of catcher part 142 faces the installation surface side of refrigerator 100. Therefore, engagement pin 144A of striker part 144 is disposed so as to lead out to the upper side of third insulated door 118.

[0179] 23B, when the third insulating door 118 is in a fully closed state, the catcher part 142 rotates via the soft-close part 145. Then, the catcher part 142 is stored in the cover part 168 in a state where it is connected to the striker part 144.

[0180] On the other hand, in the process in which the third insulated door 118 transitions from the fully closed state shown in Fig. 23B to the open state shown in Fig. 23A, the user performs an operation to open the third insulated door 118 toward the outside of the storage unit. Then, the engagement pin 144A moves toward the tip side of the engagement groove 142A while pushing the catcher part 142 toward the outside of the storage unit, and then disengages from the engagement groove 142A through the tip opening 139. Then, the catcher part 142 rotates by being pushed by the engagement pin 144A, and a part of the catcher part 142 is led out to the outside of the cover part 168.

[0181] As described above, in the automatic closing mechanism 141, the catcher portion 142 rotates toward the hinge mechanism 31, so that when the third insulated door 118 is in the open state, the tip side of the catcher portion 142 projects near the hinge mechanism 31 of the insulated box body 11. In other words, when the third and fourth insulated doors 118, 119 are in the open state, the pair of catcher portions 142 project toward the front surface 11B side of the insulated box body 11 and are deployed outward to the left and right so as to form an approximate V-shape as viewed from the top surface 11A side of the refrigerator 100.

[0182] With this structure, for example, when a user searches for food in freezer compartment 13 or stores food in freezer compartment 13, the user approaches freezer compartment 13, but catcher portion 142 is unlikely to come into contact with the feet, slippers, or the like of the user of refrigerator 100. As a result, catcher portion 142 remains at a predetermined position, and engagement pin 144A enters engagement groove 142A when third insulated door 118 is closed.

[0183] Next, a structure of catcher portion 142 will be described with reference to Fig. 24A and Fig. 24B. Fig. 24A and Fig. 24B explain a state in which catcher portion 142 and striker portion 144 of refrigerator 100 of the present embodiment are connected via recovery portion 171, and Fig. 24A is a perspective view thereof, and Fig. 24B is a cross-sectional view thereof.

[0184] As shown in FIG. 24A, the catcher part 142 has a first base part 161A and a second base part 161B on either side of the engagement groove 142A. As shown by a circle 159, the tip part of the second base part 161B is longer than the tip part of the first base part 161A. With this structure, the width of the tip opening part 139 of the engagement groove 142A is wider, and the second base part 161B on the inside of the storage unit is longer, so that the engagement pin 144A and the second base part 161B are more likely to collide with each other. When the engagement pin 144A enters the engagement groove 142A, the engagement pin 144A collides with the second base part 161B and is guided to the engagement groove 142A, so that the connection state between the catcher part 142 and the striker part 144 is more likely to be realized.

[0185] A recovery portion 171 may be formed in the first base portion 161A on the outside of the storage unit, which is the formation area of ​​the engagement groove 142A of the catcher portion 142. The recovery portion 171 is an inclined surface 171A for returning the engagement pin 144A from the lateral side of the catcher portion 142 to the engagement groove 142A after the engagement pin 144A initially fails to enter the engagement groove 142A during the closing operation of the first insulated door 114. The recovery portion 171 may be formed on the entire first base portion 161A, or may be formed partially on the first base portion 161A.

[0186] 24B, recovery portion 171 has an inclined shape formed on the front surface side of catcher portion 142, and forms inclined surface 171A that slopes upward from the side surface on the outside of the storage toward engagement groove 142A. On the other hand, engagement pin 144A is biased by an elastic spring, for example, and is structured to slide vertically relative to the housing portion of striker portion 144.

[0187] 16A, due to the structure in which a part of catcher part 142 protrudes toward the front side of refrigerator compartment 12, when catcher part 142 comes into contact with a user, catcher part 142 rotates independently via soft-close part 145. When catcher part 142 rotates to the fully closed state, it is stored inside cover part 33.

[0188] In this case, since the catcher part 142 is not waiting at the normal stop position, the engagement pin 144A cannot enter the engagement groove 142A through the tip opening 139. Then, the engagement pin 144A collides with the inclined surface 171A of the recovery part 171 of the catcher part 142 stored in the cover part 33 just before the first heat-insulating door 114 is fully closed, and moves along the inclined surface 171A of the recovery part 171.

[0189] As described above, engagement pin 144A comes into contact with inclined surface 171A of recovery portion 171, and when moving along inclined surface 171A, it slides upward of the housing portion of striker portion 144, climbing over recovery portion 171 and entering engagement groove 142A. As a result, a connected state between catcher portion 142 and striker portion 144 is realized. Then, when first insulation door 114 next opens and closes, automatic closing mechanism 141 has been restored, improving user convenience.

[0190] On the other hand, as shown in the figure, the inclined surface 171A of the recovery portion 171 is not continuous to the engagement groove 142A. With this structure, when the engagement pin 144A enters the engagement groove 142A from the tip opening 139 of the engagement groove 142A during normal operation of the soft-close portion 145, the engagement pin 144A is not pushed upward from its lower tip by the catcher portion 142, and is prevented from falling out of the engagement groove 142A. The operation after the engagement pin 144A is restored into the engagement groove 142A is as described above.

[0191] In the refrigerator 100 of the present embodiment, the front opening 12A of the refrigerator compartment 12 is closed by the first and second insulated doors 114 and 115 which open both ways and the front opening 13A of the freezer compartment 13 is closed by the third and fourth insulated doors 118 and 119 which open both ways, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, Fig. 25 shows a refrigerator 180 with a single door, and by providing the above-mentioned automatic closing mechanism 141 in the refrigerator 180, the first and second insulated doors 181 and 182 in the refrigerator 180 can be opened and closed by automatic closing.

[0192] 25, the single-door refrigerator 180 includes a right-opening first insulated door 181 and a second insulated door 182, similar to the first insulated door 114 of the double-door refrigerator 100. The first insulated door 181 is a door that closes a front opening (not shown) of a refrigeration compartment 183 in an openable and closable manner. The second insulated door 182 is a door that closes a front opening (not shown) of a freezer compartment 184 in an openable and closable manner. The second insulated door 182 includes an automatic closing mechanism 141 on the bottom side of the insulated box body 185, similar to the third insulated door 118 described above.

[0193] As described above, in the refrigerator 180, in the closing operation of the first insulated door 181, the first insulated door 181 rotates at the first speed until the catcher part 142 reaches the above-mentioned three degrees open state. Then, the first insulated door 181 rotates at the second speed from the above-mentioned three degrees to the above-mentioned fully closed state.

[0194] For example, as described later with reference to Fig. 29, the second speed becomes slower than the first speed by making the inclination angle of inclined surface 154D of connecting portion 154B of rotation restricting portion 154 an upward inclination that is the reverse gradient of inclined surface 154D shown in Fig. 17C. As a result, in refrigerator 180, the rotation speed immediately before first insulated door 181 is fully closed becomes slower than the rotation speed immediately before refrigerator 100 is fully closed.

[0195] Due to this structure, in the case of the single-door refrigerator 180, compared to the double-door refrigerator 100, the user can easily visually check the fully closed state of the first insulated door 181 by visually checking the edge of the front opening of the refrigeration chamber 183. On the other hand, even if the user puts food in or takes food out of the storage rack 34 or the like until just before the first insulated door 181 is fully closed and the user's fingers or the like are caught between the first insulated door 181 and the insulated box body 185, the impact when the first insulated door 181 and the insulated box body 185 are fully closed is significantly reduced by slowing down the rotation speed of the first insulated door 181 just before it is fully closed, and it is possible to prevent the user's fingers or the like from being injured.

[0196] Next, the rotation speed of the first insulating door 114 of the refrigerator 100 and the rotation speed of the first insulating door 181 of the refrigerator 180 will be described with reference to Figs. 26A to 30.

[0197] 26A and 28A are diagrams for explaining the rotational force applied to the first insulated door 114 through the catcher part 142 and the opening angle of the first insulated door 114 during the closing operation of the first insulated door 114 of the refrigerator 100 of this embodiment. FIG. 26B and FIG. 28B are diagrams for explaining the rotational speed and the opening angle of the first insulated door 114 during the closing operation of the first insulated door 114 of the refrigerator 100 of this embodiment. FIG. 27 is a top view for explaining the connecting part 154B of the rotation restricting part 154 of the soft close part 145 of the refrigerator 100 of this embodiment. FIG. 29 is a top view for explaining the connecting part 154B of the rotation restricting part 154 of the soft close part 145 of the refrigerator 180 of this embodiment. Fig. 30A is a diagram for explaining the rotational force applied to the first insulated door 114 via the catcher part 142 when the first insulated door 181 of the refrigerator 180 of this embodiment is closed, and the opening angle of the first insulated door 181. Fig. 30B is a diagram for explaining the rotational speed of the first insulated door 181 and the opening angle of the first insulated door 181 when the first insulated door 181 of the refrigerator 180 of this embodiment is closed.

[0198] First, in FIGS. 26A and 26B, the first and second speeds at which the first insulating door 114 is closed will be described when the connecting portion 154B of the rotation restricting portion 154 having the shape shown in FIG. 17C is used.

[0199] In Fig. 26A, the vertical axis on the left side of the page indicates the rotating force applied to the first insulated door 114 via the catcher part 142, and the vertical axis on the right side of the page indicates the reaction force F1 (see Fig. 21B) applied to the first insulated door 114 via the catcher part 142. The horizontal axis indicates the opening angle of the first insulated door 114. As described above, reaction forces F1 and F2 are applied to the catcher part 142 via the roller part 164 and its rotation shaft 153 as resistance forces that attenuate the rotational movement of the catcher part 142, but here, only the reaction force F1 will be described. The same applies to Figs. 28A and 30A described later.

[0200] As shown in the figure, the solid line indicates the reaction force F1 applied to the first insulated door 114 through the catcher part 142, and the dotted line indicates the rotational force applied to the first insulated door 114 through the catcher part 142. As described above, the catcher part 142 receives the rotational force directly from the rotation drive part 155 (see FIG. 21B) and performs the rotational operation. The rotation drive part 155 is composed of, for example, two compression coil springs 155A. With this structure, when the first insulated door 114 transitions from the open state to the fully closed state, the compression coil spring 155A expands and gradually attenuates.

[0201] On the other hand, as described above, the roller portion 164 comes into contact with the flat surface 154C and the inclined surface 154D of the connecting portion 154B of the rotation restricting portion 154 and presses the connecting portion 154B toward the inside of the storage unit, whereby the roller portion 164 receives a reaction force F1 from the connecting portion 154B. Then, until the opening angle of the first insulated door 114 becomes 13 degrees, the catcher portion 142 absorbs the impact of the rotating force of the first insulated door 114 applied when the user closes the first insulated door 114. Next, until the opening angle of the first insulated door 114 becomes 3 degrees from 13 degrees, the catcher portion 142 receives the reaction force F1 from the rotation restricting portion 154. Then, the roller portion 164 rolls on the flat surface 154C, so that the reaction force F1 gradually attenuates. Next, until the opening angle of the first insulating door 114 changes from 3 degrees to 0 degrees, the catcher portion 142 continues to receive the reaction force F1 from the rotation restricting portion 154. However, the roller portion 164 rolls on the inclined surface 154D, so that the reaction force F1 is dispersed and greatly attenuated.

[0202] In Fig. 26B, the vertical axis on the left side of the page indicates the rotation speed of the first insulating door 114, and the horizontal axis indicates the opening angle of the first insulating door 114. The same applies to Figs. 28A and 30A described later.

[0203] As shown in the figure, the first insulated door 114 rotates at a first speed until the opening angle of the first insulated door 114 changes from 13 degrees to 3 degrees. Then, the first insulated door 114 rotates at a second speed until the opening angle of the first insulated door 114 changes from 3 degrees to 0 degrees. Then, as described above, the rotational force and the reaction force F1 received by the catcher part 142 change according to the opening angle of the first insulated door 114 as shown in FIG. 26A, so that the second speed becomes faster than the first speed. As a result, the rotational speed of the first insulated door 114 during the closing operation changes in a multi-stage manner, and the refrigerator 100 with the double door can achieve the above-mentioned effects. The second insulated door 115 to the fourth insulated door 119 of the refrigerator 100 are also similar to the first insulated door 114.

[0204] Next, as shown in FIG. 27, in the refrigerator 100 of this embodiment, the inclination angle of the inclined surface 154D of the connecting portion 154B of the rotation restricting portion 154 may be designed to be a steep angle of, for example, 80 degrees to 90 degrees.

[0205] 28A, in this case, until the opening angle of the first insulating door 114 changes from 3 degrees to 0 degrees, the catcher portion 142 does not receive the reaction force F1 from the rotation restricting portion 154. As described above, this is because the inclined surface 154D has a steep shape, and therefore the roller portion 164 is not in contact with the inclined surface 154D.

[0206] As a result, as shown in Fig. 28B, the second speed, which is the rotation speed of the first insulating door 114, becomes faster than that of the structure shown in Fig. 26B. Then, the first insulating door 114 is fully closed with force, so that a user can easily determine the fully closed state of the first insulating door 114 by the sound of the fully closed state.

[0207] Next, as shown in Fig. 29, in refrigerator 180 of the present embodiment, inclined surface 154D of connecting portion 154B of rotation restricting portion 154 has a gradient opposite to that of inclined surface 154D shown in Fig. 17C and is formed as an upward gradient. The inclination angle of inclined surface 154D is set to a relatively gentle angle of, for example, 80 degrees or less.

[0208] As shown in FIG. 30A, until the opening angle of the first insulated door 181 becomes 13 degrees, the catcher part 142 absorbs the impact of the rotating force of the first insulated door 181 applied when the user closes the first insulated door 181. Next, until the opening angle of the first insulated door 181 becomes 3 degrees from 13 degrees, the catcher part 142 receives a reaction force F1 from the rotation restricting part 154. Then, the roller part 164 rolls on the flat surface 154C, so that the reaction force F1 gradually attenuates. Next, until the opening angle of the first insulated door 181 becomes 0 degrees from 3 degrees, the catcher part 142 receives the reaction force F1 from the rotation restricting part 154. At this time, the roller part 164 rolls on the inclined surface 154D, but the reaction force F1 increases because the inclined surface 154D becomes upwardly inclined. As shown in the figure, the reaction force F1 increases toward the fully closed state of the first insulated door 181, but the reaction force F1 becomes smaller than the rotating force applied to the catcher portion 142, so that the first insulated door 181 rotates to the fully closed state. The solid line indicates the reaction force F1 applied to the first insulated door 181 via the catcher portion 142, and the dotted line indicates the rotating force applied to the first insulated door 181 via the catcher portion 142.

[0209] As shown in FIG. 30B, the first insulated door 181 rotates at a first speed until the opening angle of the first insulated door 181 changes from 13 degrees to 3 degrees. Then, the first insulated door 181 rotates at a second speed until the opening angle of the first insulated door 181 changes from 3 degrees to 0 degrees. Then, as described above, the rotational force and the reaction force F1 received by the catcher part 142 change according to the opening angle of the first insulated door 181 as shown in FIG. 30A, so that the second speed becomes slower than the first speed. As a result, the rotational speed of the first insulated door 181 during the closing operation changes in a multi-stage manner, and the single-door refrigerator 180 can achieve the above-mentioned effects. The second insulated door 182 of the refrigerator 180 is the same as the first insulated door 181.

[0210] Next, a first modified example of the automatic closing mechanism 141 will be described with reference to Figs. 31A to 34B. In the first modified example, the structure of the catcher portion 142 is mainly different, but the function and effect of changing the rotation speed of the catcher portion 142 from a first speed to a second speed in a multi-stage manner during the closing operation of the first insulating door 114 are the same. Therefore, in principle, the same reference numbers are used for members that are the same as the structures of the members used in the automatic closing mechanism 141 described above, and repeated explanations will be omitted. Also, the explanations of Figs. 1 to 30B described above will be referred to as appropriate.

[0211] FIG. 31A is a perspective view for explaining the housing part 146 and the catcher part 142 of the automatic closing mechanism 141 of the refrigerator 100 of this embodiment. FIG. 31B and FIG. 31C are perspective views for explaining the internal mechanism of the automatic closing mechanism 141 of the refrigerator 100 of this embodiment. FIG. 32A and FIG. 32B are perspective views for explaining the catcher part 142 of the automatic closing mechanism 141 of the refrigerator 100 of this embodiment. FIG. 32C is a cross-sectional view for explaining the catcher part 142 of the automatic closing mechanism 141 of the refrigerator 100 of this embodiment, showing a cross section in the direction of line BB shown in FIG. 32A. FIG. 33A to FIG. 34B are top views for explaining the operation of the automatic closing mechanism 141 when the first insulating door 114 of the refrigerator 100 of this embodiment is closed. Note that in FIG. 33A to FIG. 34B, the operation of the catcher part 142 and the soft close part 145 of the automatic closing mechanism 141 during the closing operation of the first insulating door 114 is mainly explained. Also in the first modified example, as described above with reference to Figures 26A to 30, the rotation speeds of first insulating door 114 of refrigerator 100 and first insulating door 181 of refrigerator 180 change in multiple stages, and a similar effect is obtained.

[0212] As shown in Fig. 31A, the housing part 146 of the self-closing mechanism 141 is a box-shaped body, and is fixed to the top surface 11A (see Fig. 16A) of the heat-insulating box 11 (see Fig. 16A) with screws via a plurality of screw holes 147. The catcher part 142 is rotatably supported by the housing part 146 via a rotating shaft 151. Then, the catcher part 142 is pushed by the striker part 144 (see Fig. 16A) and starts to rotate. Thereafter, the catcher part 142 directly receives a rotating force from the rotation drive part 155 (see Fig. 31B) of the soft-close part 145, and rotates with respect to the housing part 146 around the rotating shaft 151 as a rotation fulcrum.

[0213] A guide groove 152 is formed in the cover 146A of the housing 146. When the housing 146 is fixed to the top surface 11A, the guide groove 152 has a vertical groove 152A that extends linearly in the depth direction of the insulating box 11 (front-to-back direction on the page) and an oblique groove 152B that is inclined diagonally in the depth direction of the insulating box 11 and extends linearly.

[0214] As shown in the figure, a guide shaft 200 of a pressing member 201 (see FIG. 31B) supported by the catcher portion 142 is inserted into the guide groove 152. The guide shaft 200 is formed integrally with the pressing member 201 by, for example, resin molding, and is formed on the upper surface side of the pressing member 201. The width W1 of the guide groove 152 in the short side direction is approximately equal to or slightly wider than the diameter of the guide shaft 200. As will be described in detail later, when the pressing member 201 rotates together with the catcher portion 142 relative to the housing portion 146, the guide shaft 200 is forcibly guided by the guide groove 152, and the movement trajectory of the pressing member 201 is adjusted.

[0215] As shown in Fig. 31B, when the first insulated door 14 is closed, in the soft-close unit 145, the damper portion 154A of the rotation restriction portion 154 is pressed by the pressing member 201 via the connecting portion 154B and contracts, thereby restricting the rotation of the catcher portion 142 and adjusting the rotation speed of the catcher portion 142. Meanwhile, the compression coil spring 155A of the rotation drive portion 155 presses the rear end side of the catcher portion 142 via the connecting portion 155B, causing the catcher portion 142 to rotate. In other words, when the first insulated door 114 is closed, the rotation drive portion 155 serves as a drive source for the rotation of the catcher portion 142.

[0216] As shown in FIG. 31C, the surface of tip 157 of connecting portion 154B facing pressing member 164 is formed with flat surface 154C that comes into contact with pressing member 164 and inclined surface 154D that is inclined toward the rear side in the depth direction of housing portion 146 more than flat surface 154C.

[0217] 32A, the catcher section 142 has a main body section 161, an engagement groove 142A formed in the main body section 161, a protrusion section 162 protruding in the width direction from the main body section 161, a pair of guide rail sections 203 formed on the side surfaces of the main body section 161, a rotating shaft 151 (see FIG. 31B), and a through hole 204 that rotatably supports the rotating shaft 151. The pair of guide rail sections 203 are in the shape of protrusions, and are fitted in a slidable state into a pair of rail recesses 207 (see FIG. 32C) formed on inner sides 208B, 208D (see FIG. 32C) facing each other in the width direction of the pressing member 201 (see FIG. 32C).

[0218] 32B, pressing member 201 has main body 205 having a hollow structure, guide shaft 200 integrally formed on the upper surface side of main body 205, and pressing portion 209 that presses connecting portion 154B of rotation restricting portion 154. Main body 205 and guide shaft 200 are formed by integral molding using a resin material, for example. Pressing portion 209 is formed as a part of main body 205. Pressing portion 209 has a shape of, for example, half of a cylinder, and a contact area of ​​pressing portion 209 with connecting portion 54B is curved.

[0219] The guide shaft 200 is formed on the upper surface of the pressing portion 209 and has a cylindrical shape having a diameter approximately equal to the width W1 of the guide groove 152 in the short side direction. Although details will be described later, when the first heat-insulating door 114 is closed, the guide shaft 200 receives a reaction force F2 (see FIG. 33B) from the inner surface of the guide groove 152. Then, the pressing member 201 slides in the longitudinal direction of the main body 161 of the catcher part 142 as shown by an arrow 206. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 31B, the pressing member 201 slides between the stopper wall 202 of the main body 161 and the rotating shaft 151. That is, the pressing member 201 comes into contact with the stopper wall 202 or the rotating shaft 151, thereby stopping the sliding movement.

[0220] With this structure, pressing member 201 rotates integrally with catcher portion 142 toward front surface 11B of insulating box 11, while sliding in the direction of arrow 206 relative to main body portion 161. Pressing portion 209 slides while pressing connecting portion 154B of rotation restricting portion 154, but the area of ​​pressing portion 209 in contact with connecting portion 154B slides slightly with respect to the rotation and sliding, thereby reducing the amount of wear caused by the sliding.

[0221] As a result, the contact position between pressing part 209 and connecting part 154B is prevented from changing from the initially set position due to deterioration over time according to the number of years of actual use. Also, the rotation speed of first insulated door 114 is prevented from changing from the initially set rotation speed depending on the number of years of actual use due to the fluctuation in the resistance value at the time of contact between pressing part 209 and connecting part 154B. Then, the user of refrigerator 100 can use refrigerator 100 for many years without feeling any discomfort from the automatic closing operation of first insulated door 114, improving convenience. Also, the frequency of repairs of automatic closing mechanism 141 is reduced, which prevents an increase in the maintenance cost for the user.

[0222] As shown in Fig. 32C, the main body 205 of the pressing member 201 is formed as a hollow structure. An insertion hole 210 (see Fig. 32B) having substantially the same shape as the outer shape of the main body 161 of the catcher part 142 is formed in the main body 205. The pressing member 201 is slidably fitted into the main body 161 from the rear end side of the catcher part 142.

[0223] As shown in the figure, the main body 205 has four inner sides 208A, 208B, 208C, and 208D formed to surround the insertion hole 210. A pair of rail recesses 207 into which the guide rail portion 203 of the main body 161 of the catcher portion 142 is fitted are formed on the inner sides 208B and 208D facing each other in the width direction. The rail recesses 207 are formed, for example, offset in position in the vertical direction of the main body 205, thereby preventing operational errors such as the guide shaft 200 being upside down in the vertical direction during the assembly work of the catcher portion 142. The guide rail portion 203 is also formed in the main body 161 offset in position in the vertical direction.

[0224] Moreover, the inner side surfaces 208A, 208C facing each other in the height direction of the main body portion 205 are formed as approximately flat surfaces. Then, in a state in which the pressing member 201 is attached to the main body portion 161 of the catcher part 142, the inner side surfaces 208A, 208C abut against the upper surface 161C and the lower surface 161D of the main body portion 161. Meanwhile, as described above, the rail recess 207 is fitted into and supported by the guide rail part 203, so that the inner side surfaces 208B, 208D may abut against the left and right side surfaces 161E, 161F of the main body portion 161 or may be slightly spaced apart from them.

[0225] With this structure, the pressing member 201 is supported by the guide rail portion 203 of the main body portion 161, and the inner surfaces 208A, 208C abut against the upper surface 161C and the lower surface 161D of the main body portion 161. As a result, when the pressing member 201 slides relative to the catcher portion 142, it is less likely to rattle. The pressing portion 209 slides stably on the flat surface 154C (see FIG. 31C), so that the catcher portion 142 is also less likely to rattle. The first heat-insulating door 114 is also less likely to rattle during the closing operation, and quietness is achieved. The sound generated when the stored items inside the first heat-insulating door 114 hit the surroundings is reduced, and the comfort of the user is improved.

[0226] As shown in FIG. 14C, a plurality of slits 174 extending in the direction of the arrow 206 may be formed on the inner surfaces 208A, 208C of the pressing member 201. In this case, the slits 174 extend in the sliding direction of the pressing member 201, thereby reducing the contact area between the inner surfaces 208A, 208C and the main body 61 of the catcher part 142. Furthermore, the sliding resistance value between the pressing member 201 and the main body 61 is reduced by filling the forming area of ​​the slits 174 with a lubricant such as grease. As a result, although the sliding action between the pressing member 201 and the main body 61 is repeated, the amount of wear of both members is significantly reduced. Furthermore, by extending the slits 174 in the sliding direction of the pressing member 201 and filling the slits 174, the lubricant can be maintained for a long period of time and supplied to the sliding surfaces of both members almost entirely.

[0227] Next, the operation of the self-closing mechanism 141 when the first insulated door 114 of the refrigerator 100 of this embodiment transitions from an open state to a fully closed state will be described with reference to Figs. 33A to 34B. In the following description, the first insulated door 114 will be used for the description. The description of the operations of the second insulated door 115 to the fourth insulated door 119 will refer to the description of the first insulated door 114, and will not be repeated here. The dotted line 158 shows a schematic line on the front surface 11B of the insulated box 11. For convenience of description, the lid portion 146A (see Fig. 31A) of the housing portion 146 will be omitted, but the guide groove 52 and its vertical groove 52A and oblique groove 52B formed in the lid portion 146A will be illustrated and described.

[0228] First, the guide groove 152 is a groove for adjusting the movement trajectory of the pressing member 201, and the guide shaft 200 of the pressing member 201 receives a reaction force F2 from the inner surface of the guide groove 152 in association with the rotational movement of the catcher portion 142. The guide groove 152 is also a groove for applying a rotational force F3 to the pressing member 201, and the guide shaft 200 of the pressing member 201 receives a rotational force F3 from the inner surface of the guide groove 152 in association with the rotational movement of the catcher portion 142. In addition, in Fig. 33A to Fig. 34B, the reaction force that the pressing portion 209 of the pressing member 201 receives from the connecting portion 154B of the rotation restricting portion 154 is illustrated as F1, the reaction force that the guide shaft 200 receives from the inner surface of the guide groove 152 is illustrated as F2, and the rotational force that the guide shaft 200 receives from the inner surface of the guide groove 152 is illustrated as F3.

[0229] In this embodiment, the reaction forces F1, F2 and the rotational force F3 are used for the convenience of explaining the sliding movement of the pressing member 201. However, in reality, the force that rotates the catcher section 142 is not limited to the rotational force F3. For example, the force that rotates the catcher section 142 may be a force that the catcher section 142 receives directly from the rotation drive section 155 of the soft-close section 145. Depending on the rotation angle of the catcher section 142, the reaction forces F1, F2 also contribute to the force that rotates the catcher section 142. The reaction forces F1, F2 and the rotational force F3 change according to the rotation angle of the catcher section 142, and the lengths of the reaction forces F1, F2 and the rotational force F3 shown in the figure are shown as schematics and do not indicate the actual magnitude of the force.

[0230] In FIG. 33A, the first insulated door 114 is in an open state, and the engagement pin 144A (see FIG. 16A) of the striker portion 144 (see FIG. 16A) is disengaged from the engagement groove 142A of the catcher portion 142. The catcher portion 142 is stopped at a position of, for example, 20 degrees with respect to the front surface 11B of the insulated box body 11. Then, in order to close the first insulated door 114, a user of the refrigerator 100 pushes the first insulated door 114 toward the front surface 11B of the insulated box body 11, applying a rotating force to the first insulated door 114. This closing action by the user causes the first insulated door 114 to rotate toward the front surface 11B of the insulated box body 11 using the rotating force and the load of the first insulated door 114.

[0231] As described above, guide shaft 200 of pressing member 201 is inserted into guide groove 152 on the front surface side of housing part 146. As described above, pressing member 201 is slidably fitted into main body part 161 of catcher part 142, and is therefore less likely to rattle relative to catcher part 142. With this structure, pressing member 201, like catcher part 142, is supported in a substantially horizontal state relative to top surface 11A of insulating box 11, and guide shaft 200 is stably erected in a vertical direction relative to top surface 11A.

[0232] As shown in the figure, when connecting portion 154B of rotation restricting portion 154 presses pressing portion 209 of pressing member 201 toward the outside of the storage unit with reaction force F1, guide shaft 200 is positioned at the tip side of guide groove 152 and comes into contact with the inner surface of guide groove 152. Then, guide shaft 200 receives reaction force F2 from the inner surface of guide groove 152.

[0233] On the other hand, catcher section 142 maintains a stopped state by, for example, fitting a recess (not shown) on its bottom surface into a protrusion (not shown) of housing section 146. At the rear end side of catcher section 142, connecting section 155B of rotation drive section 155 receives a force that rotates catcher section 142, but maintains a balanced state due to the stopped state. As a result, guide shaft 200 does not receive rotational force F3 from the inner surface of guide groove 152.

[0234] Arrow W3 indicates the rotation range of catcher section 142, and in Fig. 33A, catcher section 142 is located at the outermost part of the rotation range. A part of the tip side of protrusion 162 is located above top surface 11A even when catcher section 142 is in the stopped state. Although not shown, protruding piece portion 162B is formed on back surface 162A of protrusion 162 located above top surface 11A.

[0235] 33B, the first insulating door 114 is in a closing operation, and the engagement pin 144A of the striker part 144 enters into the engagement groove 142A of the catcher part 142, and the striker part 144 and the catcher part 142 are in a connected state. Then, the catcher part 142 is in a state where it is rotated up to 10 degrees with respect to the front surface 11B of the insulating box body 11, for example. Note that a part of the protruding part 162 is located above the top surface 11A.

[0236] 33A, engagement pin 144A of striker portion 144 hits the tip end side of second base portion 161B as indicated by circle 159, thereby releasing the standby state. Then, catcher portion 142 starts rotating by receiving a rotating force from connecting portion 155B of rotation drive portion 155. Guide shaft 200 moves to the center side of vertical groove 152A of guide groove 152.

[0237] As shown in the figure, the guide shaft 200 receives a rotational force F3 from the inner surface of the guide groove 152, and moves integrally with the catcher portion 142 toward the front surface 11B of the heat-insulating box 11. Meanwhile, the guide shaft 200 contacts the inner surface of the vertical groove 152A of the guide groove 152, and the movement trajectory is adjusted. The guide shaft 200 receives a reaction force F2 from the inner surface of the guide groove 152. Furthermore, the pressing portion 209 of the pressing member 201 receives a reaction force F1 from the flat surface 154C of the connecting portion 154B.

[0238] With this structure, in conjunction with the rotational movement of the catcher part 142, the pressing part 209 of the pressing member 201 slides on the flat surface 154C of the connecting part 154B, pressing the connecting part 154B towards the inside of the storage unit. The guide shaft 200 receives a rotational force F3 and a reaction force F2 from the inner surface of the guide groove 152, and the pressing part 209 receives a reaction force F1 from the flat surface 154C. At this time, the rotational force F3 becomes the largest force, so that the pressing member 201 slides relative to the main body part 161 towards the stopper wall part 202 side.

[0239] As described above, the vertical groove 152A of the guide groove 152 extends linearly in the depth direction (front-rear direction on the page) of the heat-insulating box 11. As a result, the guide shaft 200 draws a linear trajectory in the depth direction of the heat-insulating box 11, so that the pressing portion 209 of the pressing member 201 presses the connecting portion 154B as uniformly as possible, and the rotation speed of the catcher portion 142 is made uniform.

[0240] In this embodiment, the guide shaft 200 is designed to move in the vertical groove 152A of the guide groove 152 until the catcher part 142 rotates to a position of 3 degrees with respect to the front surface 11B of the heat-insulating box 11. At this time, the pressing member 201 is designed to come into contact with the flat surface 154C (see FIG. 31C) of the connecting part 154B of the rotation restricting part 154 and slide toward the inclined surface 154D (see FIG. 31C). Then, the engagement pin 144A of the striker part 144 moves in the engagement groove 142A toward its base side while being pulled by the first base part 161A of the catcher part 142. With this structure, the rotation speed of the catcher part 142 is made uniform, and the rotation speed of the first heat-insulating door 114 is also made uniform.

[0241] In Fig. 34A, the first insulating door 114 is in a closing operation, and the striker part 144 and the catcher part 142 are still connected to each other as in Fig. 33B. The catcher part 142 is rotated, for example, up to 3 degrees with respect to the front surface 11B of the insulating box 11. The protruding part 162 is located above the top surface 11A.

[0242] As shown in the figure, the guide shaft 200 receives a rotational force F3 from the inner surface of the guide groove 152, and the pressing member 201 moves toward the front surface 11B of the heat-insulating box 11 together with the catcher portion 142. Meanwhile, the guide shaft 200 comes into contact with the inner surface of the inclined groove 152B of the guide groove 152, and the moving trajectory is adjusted. Then, the guide shaft 200 receives a reaction force F2 from the inner surface of the guide groove 152. Furthermore, the pressing portion 209 of the pressing member 201 receives a reaction force F1 from the inclined surface 154D of the connecting portion 154B.

[0243] As shown in the figure, the sliding area of ​​the pressing part 209 shifts from the flat surface 154C of the connecting part 154B to the inclined surface 154D in conjunction with the rotational movement of the first insulating door 114, and the guide shaft 200 moves from the vertical groove 152A to the oblique groove 152B of the guide groove 152. As described above, the oblique groove 152B of the guide groove 152 is inclined obliquely toward the depth direction of the insulating box 11 and extends linearly.

[0244] With this structure, the inclined surface 154D of the connecting portion 154B slopes downward with respect to the moving direction of the pressing portion 209, so that the reaction force F1 that the pressing portion 209 receives from the rotation restricting portion 154 is dispersed and reduced. Then, in the catcher portion 142, the rotational force received from the rotation drive portion 155 is less likely to be canceled by the reaction force F1, so that the catcher portion 142 rotates more vigorously than in the rotating state of Figures 33A and 33B. In addition, the direction of the rotational force F3 applied to the guide shaft 200 and the direction of the reaction force F1 applied to the pressing portion 209 change in conjunction with the rotational movement of the catcher portion 142, so that the pressing member 201 slides relative to the main body portion 161 toward the rotating shaft 151 side.

[0245] In Fig. 34B, the first insulating door 114 is in a fully closed state. The striker part 144 and the catcher part 142 are still connected to each other as in Fig. 33A, and the catcher part 142 is stopped at a position of, for example, 0 degrees with respect to the front surface 11B of the insulating box body 11. The protruding part 162 is located above the top surface 11A.

[0246] As shown in the figure, when connecting portion 155B of rotation drive portion 155 presses the rear end side of catcher portion 142, guide shaft 200 is positioned at the rear end side of guide groove 152. When guide shaft 200 is positioned at the rear end portion of guide groove 152, catcher portion 142 is restricted from rotating further toward the inside of the container. Note that, in this embodiment, when protruding portion 162 of catcher portion 142 abuts against the side surface of housing portion 146, catcher portion 142 is also restricted from rotating further toward the inside of the container.

[0247] In addition, in the fully closed state of the first insulating door 114 shown in Fig. 34B, the magnet contained in the gasket 36 of the first insulating door 114 comes into contact with and is magnetically attracted to the outer box 21 and the center pillar 16 on the front surface 11B of the insulating box body 11. As a result, as shown in the figure, a reaction force F2 and a rotational force F3 are applied to the guide shaft 200, and a reaction force F1 is applied to the pressing portion 209, but the magnetic attraction force of the first insulating door 114 is stronger, and the catcher portion 142 maintains the stopped state.

[0248] Next, a second modified example of the self-closing mechanism 141 will be described with reference to Figs. 35A to 35C. In the second modified example, the structure of the pressing member 211 is different from that of the pressing member 201 described above, in comparison with the first modified example described above. Specifically, in the pressing member 211, the pressing portion 209 of the pressing member 201 is eliminated, and the roller portion 212 is rotatably disposed in the forming area of ​​the pressing portion 209. The roller portion 212 presses the connecting portion 154B of the rotation restricting portion 154. Therefore, in the following description, the pressing member 211 will be mainly described, and the same reference numerals will be used in principle for the same members as those in the structure of the members used in the self-closing mechanism 141 described above, and repeated description will be omitted. Also, the description of Figs. 1 to 34B described above will be referred to as appropriate.

[0249] 35A and 35B are perspective views for explaining catcher portion 142 of automatic closing mechanism 141 of refrigerator 100 of this embodiment. FIG. 35C is a cross-sectional view for explaining catcher portion 142 of automatic closing mechanism 141 of refrigerator 100 of this embodiment, showing a cross section in the direction of line CC shown in FIG. 35A. Note that, in the second modified example as well, as described above with reference to FIGS. 26A to 30, the rotation speeds of first insulating door 114 of refrigerator 100 and first insulating door 181 of refrigerator 180 change in multiple stages, and similar effects can be obtained. Also, in pressing member 211, similar to pressing member 201, the operation described with reference to FIGS. 33A to 34B is performed.

[0250] As shown in FIG. 35A, the catcher section 142 has a main body section 161, an engagement groove 142A formed in the main body section 161, a protrusion section 162 protruding in the width direction from the main body section 161, a pair of guide rail sections 203 formed on the side surfaces of the main body section 161, a rotating shaft 151 (see FIG. 31B), and a through hole 204 for rotatably supporting the rotating shaft 151. Although details will be described later, a pressing member 211 is inserted and disposed in the main body section 161. The pressing member 211 slides relative to the main body section 161 of the catcher section 142. The pair of guide rail sections 203 are in the shape of convex sections, and are fitted in a slidable state into a pair of rail recesses 218 (see FIG. 35C) formed on inner sides 217B, 217D (see FIG. 35C) facing each other in the width direction of the pressing member 211 (see FIG. 35C).

[0251] As shown in FIG. 35B, the pressing member 211 has a hollow main body 215, a roller 212 rotatably supported by the main body 215, and a pair of insertion holes 214 that support the roller 212. A pair of rotation shafts 213 extending in the vertical direction are formed in the roller 212. The roller 212 and the rotation shafts 213 are formed by integral molding using a resin material, for example. The rotation shafts 213 of the roller 212 are inserted into the insertion holes 214 of the main body 215, so that the roller 212 is rotatably supported by the main body 215. The inner diameter of the insertion hole 214 is approximately equal to the outer diameter of the rotation shafts 213.

[0252] Furthermore, the rotating shaft 213 has a cylindrical shape with a diameter approximately equal to the width W1 (see FIG. 31A) in the short side direction of the guide groove 152 (see FIG. 31A). Although details will be described later, the rotating shaft 213 of the roller part 212 penetrates the insertion hole 214 and is inserted into the guide groove 152 of the housing part 146 (see FIG. 31A). During the closing operation of the first insulating door 114, the rotating shaft 213 receives a reaction force F2 (see FIG. 33B) from the inner surface of the guide groove 152 and is forcibly guided by the guide groove 152, so that the movement trajectory of the roller part 212 is adjusted.

[0253] On the other hand, as the rotating shaft 213 receives the reaction force F2, the pressing member 211 slides in the longitudinal direction of the main body 161 of the catcher section 142 as shown by arrow 219 (see FIG. 35A). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 31B, the pressing member 211 slides between the stopper wall 202 of the main body 161 and the rotating shaft 151. That is, the pressing member 211 comes into contact with the stopper wall 202 or the rotating shaft 151, and the sliding movement stops.

[0254] With this structure, pressing member 211 rotates integrally with catcher portion 142 toward front surface 11B of heat-insulating box 11, while sliding relative to main body portion 161 in the direction of arrow 219. Then, roller portion 212 is led outward beyond main body portion 215, and rolls on flat surface 154C of connecting portion 154B while pressing connecting portion 154B of rotation restricting portion 154.

[0255] As a result, roller portion 212 makes line contact with flat surface 154C of connecting portion 154B and presses connecting portion 154B, but the location of line contact changes with respect to flat surface 154C as roller portion 212 moves while rotating. Then, the opening and closing operation of first insulated door 114 is repeated, but the amount of wear of roller portion 212 and flat surface 154C is significantly reduced by changing the location of line contact of roller portion 212 with flat surface 154C.

[0256] Furthermore, the contact position between roller part 212 and connecting part 154B is prevented from changing from the initially set position due to deterioration over time according to the number of years of actual use. Also, the rotation speed of first insulated door 114 is prevented from changing from the initially set rotation speed depending on the number of years of actual use due to the fluctuation in the resistance value at the time of contact between roller part 212 and connecting part 154B. Then, the user of refrigerator 100 can use refrigerator 100 for many years without feeling any discomfort from the automatic closing operation of first insulated door 114, improving convenience. Also, the frequency of repairs of automatic closing mechanism 141 is reduced, which prevents an increase in the maintenance cost for the user.

[0257] As shown in Fig. 35C, the main body 215 of the pressing member 211 is formed as a hollow structure. An insertion hole 216 (see Fig. 35B) having substantially the same shape as the outer shape of the main body 161 of the catcher part 142 is formed in the main body 215. The pressing member 211 is slidably fitted into the main body 161 from the rear end side of the catcher part 142.

[0258] As shown in the figure, the main body 215 has four inner sides 217A, 217B, 217C, and 217D formed to surround the insertion hole 216. A pair of rail recesses 218 into which the guide rail portion 203 of the main body 161 of the catcher part 142 is fitted are formed on the inner sides 217B and 217D facing each other in the width direction. The rail recesses 218 are formed, for example, offset in position in the up-down direction of the main body 215, thereby preventing the occurrence of operational mistakes such as the insertion hole 216 being upside down in the left-right direction during the assembly work of the catcher part 142. The guide rail portion 203 is also formed in the main body 161 offset in position in the up-down direction.

[0259] Moreover, the inner side surfaces 217A, 217C facing each other in the height direction of the main body portion 215 are formed as approximately flat surfaces. Then, when the pressing member 211 is attached to the main body portion 161 of the catcher part 142, the inner side surfaces 217A, 217C abut against the upper surface 161C and the lower surface 161D of the main body portion 161. Meanwhile, as described above, the rail recess 218 is fitted into and supported by the guide rail part 203, so that the inner side surfaces 217B, 217D may abut against the left and right side surfaces 161C, 161D of the main body portion 161 or may be slightly spaced apart from them.

[0260] With this structure, the pressing member 211 is supported by the guide rail portion 203 of the main body portion 161, and the inner surfaces 217A, 217C abut against the upper surface 161C and the lower surface 161D of the main body portion 161. As a result, when the pressing member 211 slides relative to the catcher portion 142, it is less likely to rattle relative to the catcher portion 142, and the roller portion 212 pivotally supported by the pressing member 211 is also less likely to rattle relative to the catcher portion 142. The roller portion 212 rolls stably on the flat surface 154C, so that the catcher portion 142 is also less likely to rattle. The first heat-insulating door 114 is also less likely to rattle during the closing operation, and quietness is achieved. In addition, the sound generated when the stored items inside the first heat-insulating door 114 hit the surroundings is reduced, and the comfort of the user is improved.

[0261] Also, as shown in FIG. 35C, a plurality of slits 174 extending in the direction of the arrow 219 may be formed on the inner surfaces 217A, 217C of the pressing member 211. In this case, the slits 174 extend in the sliding direction of the pressing member 211, thereby reducing the contact area between the inner surfaces 217A, 217C and the main body 161 of the catcher part 142. Furthermore, the sliding resistance value between the pressing member 211 and the main body 161 is reduced by filling the forming area of ​​the slits 174 with a lubricant such as grease. As a result, although the sliding action between the pressing member 211 and the main body 161 is repeatedly performed, the amount of wear of both members is significantly reduced. Also, by extending the slits 174 in the sliding direction of the pressing member 211 and filling the slits 174, the lubricant can be maintained for a long period of time and supplied to the sliding surfaces of both members almost entirely.

[0262] In this embodiment, an example of an angle is shown as a point where the rotation speed of the first heat-insulating door 114, 181 is changed, but the present invention is not limited to this case. The above angle of the first heat-insulating door 114, 181 can be arbitrarily changed in design depending on the characteristics of the damper part 154A of the rotation restricting part 154, the characteristics of the compression coil spring 155A of the rotation driving part 155, the shape of the first guide groove 152, etc. In addition, various modifications are possible within the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0263] 10. Refrigerator 11 Insulated box 11A Top 11B Front 11C Bottom 12 Refrigerator 13 Freezer 14 First Insulated Door 14A Top 15 Second Insulated Door 16 Center pillar 17 Compartment Wall 18 Third Insulated Door 19 The fourth insulating door 20 Defrost heater 21 Outer box 22 Inner box 23 Insulation 24 Cooling room 25 Cooler 26 Machine room 27 Compressor 28 Blower 29 Wind path 30 Control section 31 Hinge mechanism 31A Upper hinge part 32 Storage area 33,38 Cover part 34 Storage Rack 35 Inner plate material 35A bulge 36 Gasket 39 Tip opening 40 Notification Department 37,41 Self-closing mechanism 42 Catcher Section 42A Engagement groove 42B First base 42C Second base 42E Rotating shaft 42D Slider storage recess 44 Striker Section 44A Engagement pin 45 Soft close section 46 Detection Device 46A Mechanical Switch 46B Button 46C Wiring section 48 Spring part 48A compression coil spring 48B Connection part 49 First damper section 49A, 50A Shaft section 49B,50B Tip 49C,50C Main body 50 Second damper section 52 Slider section 61 Restoration Department 61A Slope 70 Refrigerator 71 First Insulated Door 72 Second Insulated Door 73 Refrigerator 73A Front opening 74 Freezer 75 Insulated box 75A Top 100 Refrigerator 114 First Insulated Door 115 Second Insulated Door 118 Third Insulated Door 119 4th Insulated Door 139 Tip opening 141 Self-closing mechanism 142 Catcher Club 142A Engagement groove 142B First Base 142C Second Base 144 Striker Section 144A Engagement pin 145 Soft close section 146 Housing 146A Lid 147 Screw hole 151 Rotation axis 152 First guide groove 152A Vertical groove 152B Diagonal groove 153 Rotation axis 154 Rotation control part 154A Damper section 154B Connection part 154C flat surface 154D Slope 155 Rotation drive unit 155A compression coil spring 155B Connection part 157 Tip 161 Main body 161A First Base 161B Second base 162 Protrusion 163 Second guide groove 164 Roller part 165 Support plate 171 Restoration Department 171A Slope 180 Refrigerator 181 First Insulated Door 182 Second Insulated Door 183 Refrigerator 184 Freezer 185 Insulated Box 200 Guide shaft 201 Pressing member 202 Stopper wall 203 Guide rail part 204 Through hole 205 Main body 207 Rail recess 208A, 208B, 208C, 208D Inner surface 209 Pressing part 210 Insertion hole 211 Pressing member 212 Roller section 213 Rotational Axis 214 Insertion hole 215 Main body 216 Insertion hole 217A, 217B, 217C, 217D Inner surface 218 Rail recess

Claims

1. A heat-insulating box in which a storage chamber is formed; A heat-insulating door that freely opens and closes a front opening of the storage chamber of the heat-insulating box; A self-closing mechanism for self-closing the heat-insulating door relative to the heat-insulating box body, At least while the insulating door is transitioning from an open state to a fully closed state with respect to the insulating box body, The refrigerator, wherein the rotation speed of the insulating door is changed from a first speed to a second speed via the automatic closing mechanism.

2. The self-closing mechanism includes: A catcher portion rotatably disposed relative to the heat-insulating box body; A striker portion is provided on the heat-insulating door and is connected to or separated from the catcher portion in response to an opening or closing operation of the heat-insulating door; a rotation restricting portion that applies a resistance force to the catcher portion in a stepwise manner to restrict the rotation of the catcher portion, 2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the rotation speed of the insulated door is changed from the first speed to the second speed in response to the resistance force that the catcher portion receives from the rotation restricting portion.

3. The refrigerator according to claim 2, characterized in that the catcher portion is regulated by a plurality of rotation regulating portions having different resistance forces, thereby changing the rotation speed of the insulated door from the first speed to the second speed.

4. the first speed is a speed at which the insulating door rotates from the open state to a state in which the insulating door is opened at a desired angle relative to the fully closed state, the second speed is a speed at which the insulating door rotates from the desired angle to the fully closed state; 3. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein, when the insulating door is a double door, the second speed is faster than the first speed.

5. the first speed is a speed at which the insulating door rotates from the open state to a state in which the insulating door is opened at a desired angle relative to the fully closed state, the second speed is a speed at which the insulating door rotates from the desired angle to the fully closed state; 3. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein, when the insulating door is a single-leaf door, the first speed is faster than the second speed.

6. The self-closing mechanism includes: A housing portion fixed to the insulating box body; a catcher portion rotatably disposed relative to the housing portion; A guide groove formed in the housing portion; a roller portion having a rotation shaft inserted through the guide groove and rotatably supported by the catcher portion; a rotation regulating unit that applies a reaction force to the roller unit to reduce the rotation speed of the catcher unit, 2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the rotation speed of the insulated door is changed from the first speed to the second speed in response to the reaction force that the roller portion receives from the rotation restricting portion.

7. A surface of the rotation restricting portion that is pressed by the roller portion has a flat surface extending in a width direction of the insulating box body and an inclined surface that is continuous with the flat surface and inclined in a depth direction of the insulating box body, The refrigerator according to claim 6, wherein the speed is changed from the first speed to the second speed by the roller portion moving from the flat surface to the inclined surface.

8. The self-closing mechanism includes: A housing portion fixed to the insulating box body; a catcher portion rotatably disposed relative to the housing portion; A guide groove formed in the housing portion; a pressing member that is slidably disposed with respect to the catcher portion and has a guide shaft that is inserted into the guide groove; A rotation regulating portion that reduces the rotation speed of the catcher portion, The refrigerator according to claim 1, characterized in that, when the insulating door is closed, the catcher portion rotates toward the front opening while being guided by the guide groove, and the pressing member presses the rotation regulating portion in the depth direction of the insulating box body.

9. The surface of the rotation restricting portion that is pressed by the pressing member has a flat surface extending in the width direction of the insulating box body and an inclined surface that is continuous with the flat surface and inclined in the depth direction, 9. The refrigerator according to claim 8, wherein the speed is changed from the first speed to the second speed by the pressing member moving from the flat surface to the inclined surface.

10. The inclined surface is inclined toward the back side in the depth direction relative to the flat surface, 10. The refrigerator according to claim 7 or 9, wherein, when the insulating door is a double door, the second speed is faster than the first speed.

11. the inclined surface is inclined toward the front in the depth direction relative to the flat surface, 10. The refrigerator according to claim 7 or 9, wherein, when the insulating door is a single-leaf door, the first speed is faster than the second speed.

Images