Refrigerator

Abstract

To provide a refrigerator which can protect an outer panel from an impact applied from the outside and inhibit expansion of a cleaning range and deterioration of efficiency of cleaning.SOLUTION: A refrigerator includes: a cold room 11 and / or refrigeration rooms 12 to 14; and heat insulation doors 1 to 6 respectively provided at the cold room and / or the refrigeration rooms. The heat insulation doors 1 to 6 include at least a rectangular outer panel 71 provided on an outer surface, and at least a door frame including a lower frame member 74b in which a side wall part 80be enclosing an outer peripheral side surface of the outer panel from the lower side of the outer panel 71 is formed. The lower frame member 74b at the lower side of the door frame is formed in a shape in which the side wall part 80be is recessed relative to a front surface of the outer panel at the end side of the lower frame member 74b and the side wall part protrudes relative to the front surface of the outer panel at the center side.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a refrigerator for refrigerating and / or freezing food and beverages. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent refrigerators, glass plates are arranged on the design surface facing the outside of insulated doors such as pivoting doors (double doors) and drawer doors to enhance the design. In addition, a configuration is adopted in which a vacuum insulation material containing inorganic fibers such as glass fibers is arranged on the back surface of the glass plate as an insulation material provided on the insulated door.

[0003] For example, JP 2019-29120 A (Patent Document 1) shows an insulated door comprising a glass plate provided on the outer surface of the insulated door, frame members (top, bottom, left, and right frame members) provided on the four sides of the outer periphery of the glass plate, and a vacuum insulation material arranged on the back surface of the glass plate, in which the outer peripheral edge on the back side of the glass plate and the frame members are bonded together using an adhesive such as double-sided adhesive tape.

[0004] In a thermally insulated door with a large area of ​​exposed glass as in Patent Document 1, protection of the outer periphery of the glass plate is an issue. For example, if an object is accidentally struck against the outer periphery of the glass plate and an impact (external force) acts on the glass plate, there is a concern that the glass plate may crack from that portion.

[0005] For this reason, in Patent Document 1, a protrusion (side wall) that surrounds the side of the glass plate is provided on the frame member, and this protrusion protrudes forward from an extension of the front surface of the glass plate (hereinafter referred to as the front surface). As a result, even when an object hits the outer edge of the glass plate diagonally from the front and causes an impact, the protrusion protruding from the glass plate acts as a protective material, making the glass plate relatively resistant to breaking. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-29120 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] Incidentally, in the refrigerator as disclosed in Patent Document 1, the protruding portion of the bottom frame member also protrudes forward from the extension of the front surface of the glass plate over the entire width of the bottom side of the glass plate. Therefore, dust and water droplets tend to accumulate and adhere to the protruding portion of the bottom frame member of the insulation door.

[0008] Therefore, the lower frame member is required to be extremely easy to clean, but if the protrusions extend across the entire width of the lower frame member, that is, to the left and right ends of the lower frame member, a lot of dust and water will accumulate and adhere across the entire width of the lower frame member, expanding the area to be cleaned. Also, since the corners of the ends of the lower frame member are located forward of the front surface of the glass plate, the cloth used for cleaning will get caught on these corners, making cleaning difficult and causing problems such as a decrease in the efficiency of the cleaning work.

[0009] An object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator that can protect an outer panel from external impact and suppress an increase in the cleaning range and a decrease in efficiency of cleaning work. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] The present invention relates to a refrigerator having a refrigerator compartment and / or a freezer compartment and an insulated door provided in each of the refrigerator compartment and / or the freezer compartment, wherein the insulated door has a rectangular outer panel provided on the outer surface and a door frame having at least a lower frame member having a side wall portion formed from the lower side of the outer panel to surround the outer circumferential side of the outer panel, and the side wall portion of the lower frame member has a recessed portion where the tip of the side wall portion is recessed from the extended surface of the front surface of the outer panel on the end side of the lower frame member, and a protruding portion where the tip of the side wall portion protrudes from the extended surface of the front surface of the outer panel on the central side of the lower frame member. Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to the present invention, it is possible to protect the outer panel from external impact, and to suppress an expansion of the cleaning range and a decrease in the efficiency of the cleaning work. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a front view of the refrigerator shown in FIG. [Diagram 3] 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 2. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a vertical section of an insulating door for a refrigerator compartment. [Diagram 5] 3 is an enlarged view of a portion P of the refrigerator shown in FIG. 2. FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the cross section BB of FIG. 5. [Figure 7] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the CC section of FIG. 5. [Figure 8] 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the underside of the ice-making compartment and the upper freezer compartment as viewed from the direction of the arrow D shown in FIG. 2. [Figure 9] 3 is a perspective view of the vicinity of a lower frame member of the upper freezer compartment as viewed from the direction of an arrow E in FIG. 2. [Figure 10] 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the underside of the upper freezer compartment on the right side as viewed in the direction of the arrow F shown in FIG. 2. [Figure 11] 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the bottom surface of the right-side refrigerator compartment as viewed in the direction of the arrow G shown in FIG. 2. [Figure 12] 3 is a perspective view of the vicinity of the heat-insulating door on the right side of the refrigerator compartment as viewed from the direction of the arrow H shown in FIG. 2. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiment, and various modifications and application examples within the technical concept of the present invention are also included within its scope.

[0014] First, the configuration of a refrigerator to which the present invention is applied will be described. Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a front view of the refrigerator 100 shown in Fig. 1.

[0015] As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, a refrigerator 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a box body 20 and an insulated door 10 attached to the box body 20. In this embodiment, the insulated door 10 is composed of a plurality of insulated doors 1 to 6. That is, the insulated door 10 is used as a general term for the insulated doors 1 to 6. An outer box 21 includes a top panel 22, a back panel (see Fig. 3), a bottom panel (see Fig. 3), a left side panel (not shown), and a right side panel 25. The insulated doors 1 and 2 are supported by hinges 36 so as to be freely rotatable.

[0016] Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the AA cross section of the refrigerator shown in Fig. 2. As shown in Fig. 3, refrigerator 100 has, from the top, a refrigeration compartment 11, an ice-making compartment 12, an upper freezer compartment 13, a lower freezer compartment 14, and a vegetable compartment 15 as storage compartments. Insulated doors 1 to 6 are doors for opening and closing openings formed in the front of each storage compartment.

[0017] 2 and 3, the insulating doors 1 and 2 are pivotable insulating doors that pivot about hinges 36, and the insulating doors 3 to 6 are drawer-type insulating doors. When the drawer-type insulating doors 3 to 6 are drawn out, the containers that constitute the respective chambers are drawn out together with the insulating doors.

[0018] Insulated doors 1 and 2 are insulated doors for the refrigerator compartment 11, insulated door 3 is an insulated door for the ice-making compartment 12, insulated door 4 is an insulated door for the upper freezer compartment 13, insulated door 5 is an insulated door for the lower freezer compartment 14, and insulated door 6 is an insulated door for the vegetable compartment 15. Here, ice-making compartment 12 can be said to be a freezer compartment arranged alongside upper freezer compartment 13.

[0019] The insulating doors 1 and 2 are pivoting doors, and the insulating doors 3 to 6 are drawer doors. Each of the insulating doors 1 to 6 is provided with a packing 37 (see FIG. 3) for sealing the refrigerator 100. The packing 37 is attached to the outer periphery of each of the insulating doors 1 to 6 on the indoor side.

[0020] As shown in Fig. 3, each of the insulating doors 1 to 6 has a design surface portion 31 facing the outside and an inner wall portion 32 facing the inside of the room. In this embodiment, inside each of the insulating doors 1 to 6, i.e., between the design surface portion 31 and the inner wall portion 32, a vacuum insulating material 50 is arranged as an insulating material, which includes a core material made of inorganic fibers (e.g., glass fiber) and an outer packaging material that covers the core material, and the inside is decompressed by drawing a vacuum.

[0021] Furthermore, the space inside each of the insulating doors 1 to 6 other than the vacuum insulating material 50 is filled with a foam insulating material 33 such as a hard urethane foam.

[0022] Further, a partitioning heat insulating wall 16 is provided to separate and insulate the refrigerator compartment 11 from the ice making compartment 12 and the upper freezer compartment 13. Because the temperature zones between the ice making compartment 12, the upper freezer compartment 13 and the lower freezer compartment 14 are the same, a partitioning heat insulating wall is not provided to separate and insulate the compartments, but a partitioning member 17 that forms a receiving surface for a packing 37 is provided.

[0023] A partition wall 18 for insulating the compartments is provided between the lower freezer compartment 14 and the vegetable compartment 15. The arrangement of the storage compartments in the box 20 is not limited to the arrangement described above. In addition, the insulating doors 1 to 6 are not particularly limited in whether they are opened or closed by pivoting or by pulling out, and in the number of divisions of the insulating doors.

[0024] The box 20 comprises an outer box 21 made of steel plate and an inner box 27 made of synthetic resin, and an insulating layer is provided in the space formed by the outer box 21 and the inner box 27 to insulate each storage chamber in the box 20 from the outside. The outer box 21 comprises a top panel 22, a back panel 23, a bottom panel 24, a left side panel (not shown), and a right side panel 25 (see FIG. 1).

[0025] A vacuum insulation material 50 is placed in the space between the outer box 21 and the inner box 27, and the space other than the vacuum insulation material 50 is filled with a foam insulation material 34 such as rigid urethane foam. The partition insulation walls 16, 18 are composed of expanded polystyrene 35 and the vacuum insulation material 50, but are not limited to this and may be filled with a foam insulation material such as rigid urethane foam.

[0026] A cooler 44 for cooling each storage compartment of the refrigerator 100 to a predetermined temperature is provided on the rear side of the lower freezer compartment 14. This cooler 44, a compressor 45, a condenser 46, and a capillary tube (not shown) are connected to form a refrigeration cycle. A blower 43 is provided above the cooler 44 to circulate the cold air cooled by the cooler 44 inside the refrigerator 100 to maintain a predetermined low temperature.

[0027] A recess 40 for storing electric components 41 such as a board for controlling the operation of the refrigerator 100 and a power board is formed at the rear part of the top panel 22 of the box body 20, and a cover 42 for covering the electric components 41 is provided. The height of the cover 42 is set to be approximately the same height as the top surface of the outer box 21, taking into consideration the external design and securing the internal volume.

[0028] Next, a general configuration between the design surface portion 31 and the vacuum insulation material 50 in the insulated door will be briefly described with reference to Fig. 4. The cross section of the insulated door shown in Fig. 4 shows a vertical cross section of a pivoting insulated door 2 that opens and closes the refrigerator compartment 11.

[0029] In Figure 4, the insulated door 2 is configured to include a rectangular outer panel (hereinafter referred to as glass panel) 60, for example made of glass, provided on the surface of the decorative surface of the insulated door 2, a door frame 61 (composed of four frame members on the top, bottom, left and right, corresponding to each side of the glass panel) provided on the outer periphery of the glass panel 60, vacuum insulation material 50 arranged on the back surface of the glass panel 60, foam insulation material 33 (see Figure 3) filled into a storage space surrounded on the front and sides by the glass panel 60 and the door frame 61, with the vacuum insulation material 50 interposed therebetween, and an inner wall portion (not shown, see Figure 3) provided on the back surface (rear surface) of the door frame 61 and covering the rear of the storage space.

[0030] The door frame 61 is formed of, for example, ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene copolymer) resin or PP (polypropylene) resin. An upper frame member 61u and a lower frame member 61b are shown in the drawing.

[0031] The vacuum insulation material 50 is not particularly limited in material, but as an example, it is made of a heat insulating material in which a core material such as glass fiber is vacuum-packed in a laminate film and the inside is reduced in pressure and sealed, and has excellent heat insulating properties. The vacuum insulation material 50 is formed in a flat plate shape and is adhered to the back side of the glass plate 60.

[0032] The glass plate 60 is made of a rectangular flat glass plate that forms the outer wall (outer shell, design surface) on the front surface (front face) side of the insulated door 2. The outer peripheral side surface 60s of the glass plate 60 is surrounded by side wall portions (corresponding to protruding portions) 65u, 65b formed on the upper frame member 61u and the lower frame member 61b. In this example, the length of the side wall portions 65u, 65b along the outer peripheral side surface 60s is set to a length that reaches the front surface 60f of the glass plate 60. Although not described here, the left frame member and the right frame member are also configured in the same way.

[0033] In addition, the glass plate 60 is preferably a flat plate material made of reinforced glass, but a flat plate material such as plastic or ceramic may be used instead of glass. Therefore, the term "outer plate" may be used instead of glass plate.

[0034] Although not shown, a paint layer is provided on the rear surface of the glass plate 60, and a shatterproof film is provided on the rear surface of the paint layer.

[0035] The frame members 61u, 61b are formed with a plate-shaped main body portion 62 extending toward the inner wall portion 32 (see FIG. 3), and a flange portion 63 extending from the main body portion 62 substantially parallel to the surface of the glass plate 60 and substantially perpendicular to the main body portion 62. The flange portion 63 is located at substantially the end of the front side (glass plate side) of the frame members 61u, 61b. A double-sided adhesive tape 64 is interposed between the flange portion 63 and the outer periphery of the glass plate 60, and the flange portion 63 and the glass plate 60 are firmly bonded together by the double-sided adhesive tape 64.

[0036] The configuration of the insulating door 2 shown in FIG. 4 is a common configuration, and other configurations may also be used, but in any case, the configurations are basically similar.

[0037] In the refrigerator having such a configuration, as described above, the side wall portion 65b of the lower frame member 61b protrudes forward from the front surface 60f of the glass plate 60 as shown by the dashed line (indicated by reference number 65p) over the entire width of the lower side of the glass plate 60. Therefore, dust and water droplets tend to accumulate and adhere to the side wall portion 65p protruding from the front surface of the glass plate 60 of the insulating door.

[0038] Therefore, if the protrusions 65p extend to the left and right ends of the lower frame member 61b, a lot of dust and water will accumulate across the entire width of the lower frame member 61b, widening the area to be cleaned. In addition, since the corners at the ends of the lower frame member 61b are located forward of the glass plate 60, a cloth or the like used for cleaning will get caught on these corners, causing a problem of reduced efficiency of the cleaning work. EXAMPLES

[0039] In order to solve such problems, the present embodiment proposed below is a lower frame member formed in such a way that the tips of the side walls at the ends of the lower frame member are set back from the extension of the front surface of the outer plate, and the tips of the side walls at the center are protruding from the extension of the front surface of the outer plate. Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[0040] In the first embodiment of the present invention, the lower frame member of the heat-insulating door 4 for the upper freezer compartment 13 is configured as described above.

[0041] Fig. 5 is a drawing of part P in Fig. 2, and shows the insulated door 3 for ice-making compartment 12, the insulated door 4 for upper freezer compartment 13, and the insulated door 5 for lower freezer compartment 14. Each of the insulated doors 3, 4, and 5 is a drawer-type insulated door, and a glass plate 70 for the ice-making compartment, a glass plate 71 for the upper freezer compartment, and a glass plate 72 for the lower freezer compartment are attached to the respective design surfaces.

[0042] Further, a lower frame member 73b for the ice-making compartment is attached to the underside of glass plate 70 for the ice-making compartment, and a lower frame member 74b for the upper freezer compartment is attached to the underside of glass plate 71 for the upper freezer compartment. Although not shown, a lower frame member for the lower freezer compartment is also attached to the underside of glass plate 72 for the lower freezer compartment.

[0043] An electric door operating unit 75 is disposed between the insulated door 3 for the ice making compartment 12, the insulated door 4 for the upper freezer compartment 13, and the insulated door 5 for the lower freezer compartment 14, and when this electric door operating unit 75 is operated, the pull-out type insulated door 5 for the lower freezer compartment 14 is automatically pulled out. As these configurations are already well known, further explanation will be omitted.

[0044] Next, the configuration of the lower frame member in this embodiment will be described. In the following, the description will be given using lower frame member 74b for the upper freezer compartment, which is arranged below glass plate 71 for the upper freezer compartment, as a representative example.

[0045] Fig. 6 shows a cross section taken along line BB in Fig. 5. This cross section BB is taken at a position close to the left end of the lower frame member 74b. Fig. 7 shows a cross section taken along line CC in Fig. 5. This cross section CC is taken at a position close to the center of the lower frame member 74b.

[0046] In Figure 6 (BB cross section), the upper figure shows a cross section on the glass plate 71 side of the insulating door 4 of the upper freezer compartment 13, and the lower figure shows a cross section on the glass plate 72 side of the insulating door 5 of the lower freezer compartment 14.

[0047] First, in the heat-insulating door 5 of the lower freezer compartment 14, a double-sided adhesive tape 79u is attached to a flange portion 78u formed on an upper frame member 77u. A glass plate 72 is attached to the front side of the flange 78u with the double-sided adhesive tape 79u. This bonds the glass plate 72 to the upper frame member 77u.

[0048] An electric door operating unit 75 is disposed on the upper level of the upper frame member 77u and is configured to be movable relative to the upper frame member 77u. When the electric door operating unit 75 is pressed by a user, the lower freezer compartment 14 and the heat-insulated door 5 are pushed forward.

[0049] Next, in the heat-insulating door 4 of the upper freezer compartment 13, a double-sided adhesive tape (not shown) is attached to the flange portion 76b formed on the lower frame member 74b. Note that the B-B cross section in Fig. 5 is not the position where the double-sided adhesive tape is attached, so the double-sided adhesive tape is not shown in the figure. Also, a glass plate 71 is attached to the front side of the flange portion 76b, also with a double-sided adhesive tape (not shown).

[0050] A side wall portion 80be is formed on the tip side (glass plate side) of the flange portion 76b of the lower frame member 74b so as to surround the side surface 71s of the outer periphery of the glass plate 71. The side wall portion 80be is formed parallel to the side surface 71s of the outer periphery of the glass plate 71 and extends toward an extension plane of the front surface 71f of the glass plate 71.

[0051] However, the tip 80bt of the side wall portion 80be does not exceed the extension plane of the front surface 71f of the glass plate 71, and extends only to a position that is set back by a length -Lr from the extension plane of the front surface 71f of the glass plate 71. Therefore, the tip 80bt of the side wall portion 80be is formed at a position hidden from the front surface 71f of the glass plate 71. For this reason, dust and water are less likely to accumulate and adhere to the area hidden by the glass plate 71.

[0052] Next, in Figure 7 (CC cross section), the upper figure shows a cross section of the glass plate 71 side of the insulated door 4 of the upper freezer compartment 13, and the lower figure shows a cross section of the glass plate 72 side of the insulated door 5 of the lower freezer compartment 14.

[0053] First, in the heat-insulating door 5 of the lower freezer compartment 14, a double-sided adhesive tape 79 is attached to a flange portion 78u formed on an upper frame member 77u. In addition, a glass plate 72 is attached to the front side of the flange portion 78u with a double-sided adhesive tape 79u.

[0054] Next, in the heat-insulating door 4 of the upper freezer compartment 13, a double-sided adhesive tape 79b is attached to a flange portion 76b formed on a lower frame member 74b. In addition, a glass plate 71 is attached to the front side of the flange portion 76b with the double-sided adhesive tape 79b.

[0055] A side wall portion 80be is formed on the tip side (glass plate side) of the flange portion 76b of the lower frame member 74b so as to surround the side surface 71s of the outer periphery of the glass plate 71. The side wall portion 80be is formed parallel to the side surface 71s of the outer periphery of the glass plate 71 and extends toward an extension plane of the front surface 71f of the glass plate 71.

[0056] However, the tip 80bt of the side wall portion 80be extends beyond the extension plane of the front surface 71f of the glass plate 71, and extends to a position protruding by a length +Lp based on the extension plane of the front surface 71f of the glass plate 71. Therefore, the tip 80bt of the side wall portion 80be is formed at a position protruding from the front surface 70f of the glass plate 71. For this reason, even if an impact due to an external force acts on the side surface of the glass plate 71, it is protected by the protruding side wall 80be, so that the risk of the glass plate 71 breaking can be reduced.

[0057] The above-described example is an example of the bottom frame member 74b of the insulating door 4 of the upper freezer compartment 13, but the bottom frame member of the insulating door 3 of the ice-making compartment 12 also has a similar configuration.

[0058] FIG. 8 is a bottom view of the bottom frame members of heat-insulating doors 3, 4 of ice-making compartment 12 and upper freezer compartment 13, as viewed from below (in the direction of arrow D in FIG. 2).

[0059] In Figure 8, the side wall portion 80be of the lower frame member 74b is formed from a recessed portion 80br, which is a region where the tip portion 80bt is recessed rearward from the extended surface of the front surface 71f of the glass plate 71, and a protruding portion 80bp, which is a region where the tip portion 80bt protrudes forward from the extended surface of the front surface 71f of the glass plate 71.

[0060] The recessed portion 80br is formed on the left and right end sides of the lower frame member 74b, and the protruding portion 80bp is formed near the center of the lower frame member 74b. The recessed portion 80br is formed in an inclined shape such that the protruding length gradually increases from the end 74be of the lower frame member 74b to the most protruding portion of the protruding portion 80bp.

[0061] As can be seen from Fig. 8 and Fig. 10 described later, the protruding portion 80bp is determined to have a linear shape so as to be parallel to the front surface 71f of the glass plate 71, and the receding portion 80br is determined to have an inclined shape so as to be inclined with respect to the side surface of the glass plate 71. As can be seen from the figure, the portion of the protruding portion 80bp that is connected to the linear portion of the protruding portion 80bp and the inclined portion of the receding portion 80br is also formed to have an inclined shape.

[0062] Here, the end 74be side of the recessed portion 80br is formed in a circular arc shape Ca, which is a shape that reduces the possibility of getting caught by a cloth or the like. This shape is the same in the embodiments described below.

[0063] Similarly, the configuration of bottom frame member 81b of insulated door 3 of ice making compartment 12 has the same shape as bottom frame member 74b of insulated door 4 of upper freezer compartment 13. Therefore, side wall portion 83be on the front side of flange portion 82b of bottom frame member 81b of insulated door 3 of ice making compartment 12 is formed of receding portion 83br, which is an area where tip portion 83bt is receded rearward from the extended surface of front surface 70f of glass plate 70, and protruding portion 83bp, which is an area where tip portion 83bt protrudes forward from the extended surface of front surface 70f of glass plate 70.

[0064] The recessed portion 83br is formed in an inclined shape such that the protruding length gradually increases from the end 81be of the lower frame member 81b to the most protruding portion of the protruding portion 83bp. Here, too, the end 81be side of the recessed portion 83br is formed in an arc shape Ca, which is a shape that reduces the possibility of the cloth or the like getting caught.

[0065] Figure 9 shows an oblique view of the lower frame member 74b of the insulated door 4 of the upper freezer compartment 13 viewed diagonally from above (arrow E in Figure 2), and Figure 10 shows a bottom view of the right end portion of the lower frame member 74b of the insulated door 4 of the upper freezer compartment 13 viewed from below (arrow F in Figure 2).

[0066] In Fig. 9, a lower frame member 74b is disposed below the insulating door 4 of the upper freezer compartment 13, and a glass plate 71 is placed on this lower frame member 74b. The configurations of the glass plate 71 and the lower frame member 74b are as already described with reference to Figs. 6 to 8.

[0067] As can be seen in Figure 9, the lower frame member 74b has a linear protrusion 80bp formed near the center that extends in a direction perpendicular to the depth direction of the upper freezer compartment 13, and also has linear recession portions 80br formed near the left and right ends that extend at an angle in the depth direction of the upper freezer compartment 13.

[0068] 10, a tip portion 80bt of a right side wall portion 80be of the lower frame member 74b is formed of a recessed portion 80br, which is an area recessed rearward from an extension of the front surface 71f of the glass plate 71, and a protruding portion 80bp, which is an area protruding forward from the extension of the front surface 71f of the glass plate 71. This is as shown in FIGS. 6 to 8 described above.

[0069] The recessed portion 80br is formed in an inclined shape in which the protruding length gradually increases from the end 74be of the lower frame member 74b to the most protruding portion of the protruding portion 80bp, but it can also be formed in an inclined shape by an arc other than a straight line. Also, the end 74be side of the recessed portion 80br is formed in an arc Ca, which is a shape that is less likely to catch on a cloth or the like.

[0070] With this configuration, the side wall portion on the center side of the lower frame member protrudes beyond the extended surface of the front surface of the glass plate, so that even if an external force is applied to the side of the glass plate, the protruding side wall portion protects the glass plate from the external force. Also, since the end side of the lower frame member is set back from the extended surface of the front surface of the glass plate, the area where dust and water accumulate and adhere is reduced, and the cleaning range can be reduced. Furthermore, since the end side of the lower frame member does not protrude from the front surface of the glass plate, the possibility of a cloth or the like getting caught is suppressed, and a decrease in the efficiency of the cleaning work can be suppressed.

[0071] In this embodiment, only the lower frame member of the drawer type thermal insulation door has the above-mentioned protruding portion and recessed portion, and in the upper frame member, left frame member, and right frame member surrounding the glass plate, the side wall portion located on the side of the glass plate is recessed from the extension of the front surface of the glass plate. This improves the design of each thermal insulation door. EXAMPLES

[0072] In the second embodiment of the present invention, the configuration of the bottom frame member of the right pivotable insulating door 2 for the refrigerator compartment 11 is the same as that of the first embodiment. Fig. 11 is a bottom view of the bottom frame member of the right insulating door 2 for the refrigerator compartment 11 as viewed from below (in the direction of the arrow G in Fig. 2).

[0073] The left pivoting heat-insulating door 1 has the same structure, so the description thereof will be omitted. Also, the structure of the lower frame member of the heat-insulating door 2 is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment, so the first embodiment can also be used as a reference.

[0074] In Figure 11, the side wall portion 91be of the lower frame member 90b is formed from a recessed portion 91br, which is an area where the tip portion 91bt is recessed rearward from the extended surface of the front surface 92f of the glass plate 92, and a protruding portion 91bp, which is an area where the tip portion 91bt protrudes forward from the extended surface of the front surface 91f of the glass plate 91.

[0075] The recessed portion 91br is formed in an inclined portion whose protruding length gradually increases from the end 90be of the lower frame member 90b to the most protruding portion of the protruding portion 91bp. Here, the end 90be side of the recessed portion 91br is formed in an arc shape Ca, which is a shape that reduces the possibility of the cloth or the like getting caught.

[0076] In this way, in the insulated door 2, the side wall portion 91be forward of the flange portion 93b of the lower frame member 90b of the insulated door 2 is formed from a recessed portion 91br, which is an area recessed rearward from the extended surface of the front surface 92f of the glass plate 92, and a protruding portion 91bp, which is an area protruding forward from the extended surface of the front surface 92f of the glass plate 92.

[0077] In the present embodiment, since the insulating door 2 is a pivoting door, the side wall of the right frame member on the hinge 36 side is recessed from the extension of the front surface of the glass plate.

[0078] On the other hand, the side wall across the entire width of the left frame member 90l on the opposite side has a protruding portion 91lp that protrudes forward from the extension of the front surface of the glass plate 92, as shown in Fig. 12 (arrow H in Fig. 2), and no recessed portion is formed. The reason for this is that the left frame member 90l side is more susceptible to external forces. For the same reason, no recessed portion is formed on the left end of the lower frame member 90b as shown in Fig. 12, and a protruding portion 91bp is formed continuously.

[0079] In this embodiment, the side wall portion on the center side of the lower frame member protrudes from the front surface of the glass plate, so that even if an external force is applied to the side of the glass plate, the protruding side wall portion protects the glass plate from the external force. Also, the end side of the lower frame member is recessed from the front surface of the glass plate, so that the area where dust and water accumulate and adhere is reduced, and the cleaning range can be reduced. Furthermore, since the end side of the lower frame member does not protrude from the front surface of the glass plate, the possibility of a cloth or the like getting caught is suppressed, and a deterioration in the efficiency of the cleaning work can be suppressed.

[0080] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but includes various modified examples. The above-described embodiments have been described in detail to clearly explain the present invention, and are not necessarily limited to those having all of the configurations described. In addition, it is possible to replace a part of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment, and it is also possible to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment. It is also possible to add, delete, or replace other configurations with respect to the configuration of each embodiment. [Explanation of symbols]

[0081] 71...outer panel (glass panel), 71s...side surface, 71f...front surface, 74b...lower frame member, 76b...flange portion, 79b...double-sided adhesive tape, 80be...side wall portion, 80br...setback portion, 80bp...protruding portion, 80bt...tip portion.

Claims

1. A refrigerator having a refrigerator compartment and / or a freezer compartment, and a heat-insulating door provided in each of the refrigerator compartment and / or the freezer compartment, The insulated door has a rectangular outer plate provided on an outer surface, and a door frame including a lower frame member having a side wall portion that surrounds the outer peripheral side of the outer plate from the lower side of the outer plate, The side wall portion of the lower frame member has a recessed portion at an end portion of the lower frame member where a tip portion of the side wall portion is recessed from an extension surface of the front surface of the outer plate, and a protruding portion at a center portion of the lower frame member where a tip portion of the side wall portion protrudes from an extension surface of the front surface of the outer plate. A refrigerator characterized by:

2. In the refrigerator according to claim 1, The outer panel is a flat glass panel. A refrigerator characterized by:

3. In the refrigerator according to claim 2, The tip of the protruding portion is formed in a straight line parallel to the front surface of the glass plate, and the tip of the recessed portion is formed in a straight line inclined with respect to the side surface of the glass plate. A refrigerator characterized by:

4. In the refrigerator according to claim 3, The heat-insulating door is a drawer-type heat-insulating door provided in the freezing chamber, The glass plate is surrounded by an upper frame member, a left frame member, and a right frame member in addition to the lower frame member, The tip end of each of the side walls of the upper frame member, the left frame member, and the right frame member is formed in a shape that is recessed rearward from the extension plane of the front surface of the glass plate. A refrigerator characterized by:

5. In the refrigerator according to claim 3, The heat-insulating doors are two drawer-type heat-insulating doors provided in two freezing compartments arranged adjacent to each other, The glass plate of each of the insulating doors is surrounded by an upper frame member, a left frame member, and a right frame member in addition to the lower frame member, The tip end of each of the side walls of the upper frame member, the left frame member, and the right frame member is formed in a shape that is recessed rearward from an extension plane of the front surface of the glass plate. A refrigerator characterized by:

6. In the refrigerator according to claim 3, The heat-insulating door is provided in the refrigeration chamber and is a pivotable heat-insulating door that pivots about a hinge, The glass plate of the insulating door is surrounded by an upper frame member, a left frame member, and a right frame member in addition to the lower frame member, The tip end of the side wall portion of the left frame member or the right frame member on the hinge side is formed in a shape that is recessed rearward from an extension plane of the front surface of the glass plate, The tip end of the side wall portion of the right frame member or the left frame member opposite the hinge is formed in a shape protruding forward from an extension plane of the front surface of the glass plate, The tip end of the side wall portion of the lower frame member on the hinge side is formed in a shape that is recessed rearward from an extension plane of the front surface of the glass plate, The tip of the side wall of the lower frame member on the opposite side to the hinge is formed in a shape that protrudes forward beyond an extension of the front surface of the glass plate. A refrigerator characterized by:

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