Refrigerator

Abstract

To solve the problem in a conventional refrigerator in which degradation of its parts occurs due to sliding between components of an auto-closing mechanism in closing operations of a heat insulation door.SOLUTION: A refrigerator 10 has a first heat insulation door 14, and an auto-closing mechanism 41 which makes a second heat insulation door 15 automatically closes. The auto-closing mechanism 41 includes a catcher part 42 disposed in a heat insulation box 11, a striker part 44 disposed in the first heat insulation door 14 or the like and detachably connected to the catcher part 42, a soft-closing part 45 which reduces the rotation speed of the catcher part 42, and a roller part 64 rotatably supported by the catcher part 42. This construction prevents degradation of parts due to sliding, since the roller part 64 presses and rolls on the rotation regulation part 54 of the soft-closing part 45.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly to a refrigerator in which deterioration of components of an automatic closing mechanism due to sliding between each other is prevented and the initial automatic closing operation of an insulated door is unlikely to change over time. [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 portion and a lower hinge portion. A self-closing mechanism for the heat-insulating door is provided on the ceiling surface of the refrigerator body near the upper hinge portion.

[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] The lower hinge portion includes a base portion having a self-closing function and a deceleration function. The path of the base portion includes an inclined portion inclined downward in the rotation direction of the refrigerator door, a horizontal portion formed from the upper end of the inclined portion in a substantially horizontal direction in the rotation direction of the refrigerator door, and a terminal portion at the end of the horizontal portion with which a pin abuts when the refrigerator door rotates to regulate the rotation of the refrigerator door. The pin formed on the side of the rotation shaft of the lower hinge portion is compressed by a spring to abut against the inclined portion and the horizontal portion when the refrigerator door rotates, and slides on the upper surfaces of the inclined portion and the horizontal portion.

[0005] Patent Document 2 discloses a conventional closing device for a door body that can be freely opened and closed to close an opening in a house, etc. The closing device includes a device main body disposed at the upper end of a frame body in which the door body is housed, and a guided member disposed at the upper end of the door body and guided by the device main body when the door body is fully closed.

[0006] The device main body mainly includes a case body, an arm part rotatably arranged on the upper surface of the case body, a guide groove formed in the arm part, a rotating piece arranged inside the case body and connected to the arm part, a damper part and a first slider part that regulate the rotation of the rotating piece, and a spring part and a second slider part that assist the rotation of the rotating piece. The guided member mainly includes a block member fixed to the door body, and a slider formed on the block member that enters the guide groove when the door body is closed.

[0007] In the door closing device, when the door is closed, the slider enters the guide groove, the arm rotates by being pressed by the guided member, and the door automatically closes into the frame. At this time, in the device main body, the rotating piece rotates in conjunction with the arm, and a part of the rotating piece presses the first slider part or slides against the first and second slider parts while being pressed by the second slider part, thereby adjusting the rotation speed of the door. In other words, in the door closing device, the rotation speed of the door is adjusted using a cam mechanism configured inside the device main body. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0008] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 3953082 [Patent Document 2] JP 2009-287237 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0009] In conventional refrigerators, the rotation speed of the insulated door is also decelerated and adjusted at the lower hinge section, but the pin of the rotation shaft slides on the inclined section and the upper surface of the horizontal section of the base section every time the insulated door is closed. Therefore, the pin and the inclined section and the upper surface of the horizontal section repeatedly slide at the same contact point, which may cause parts to deteriorate due to friction, etc. In this case, there is a problem that the rotation speed and the deceleration start position of the insulated door change from the initial setting value due to the variation in the resistance value during the sliding operation.

[0010] Although the technical field is different from that of refrigerators, conventional door closing devices adjust the rotation speed of the door using a cam mechanism. However, parts that undergo repeated sliding motion in the cam mechanism may deteriorate due to friction or the like. In this case, as with the above-mentioned conventional refrigerator, there is a problem that the resistance value during the sliding motion varies, causing the rotation speed of the door and the deceleration start position to change from the initial setting. 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.

[0011] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and aims to provide a refrigerator that prevents deterioration of components due to sliding between the components of the automatic-closing mechanism and in which the initially set automatic-closing operation of the insulated door is less likely to change over time. [Means for solving the problem]

[0012] 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 a front opening of the storage compartment in an openable and closable manner, and a self-closing mechanism that self-closes the insulated door relative to the insulated box, the self-closing mechanism having a housing part fixed to the insulated box, a catcher part rotatably disposed relative to the housing part, a first guide groove formed in the housing part, a roller part whose rotation shaft is inserted into the first guide groove and rotatably supported by the catcher part, and a rotation restricting part that reduces the rotation speed of the catcher part, and when the insulated door is closed, the catcher part rotates toward the front opening while being guided by the first guide groove, and the roller part presses the rotation restricting part toward the depth direction of the insulated box. With this structure, when the insulated door is closed, the roller part moves while rolling on the flat surface of the rotation restricting part, thereby preventing deterioration of parts caused by sliding between parts. As a result, the rotation speed of the insulated door and other settings are less likely to change from the initial settings, reducing the burden on users of having to replace parts early.

[0013] In a second aspect of the refrigerator of the present invention, the surface of the rotation restricting part facing 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 is inclined in the depth direction from the flat surface, and the roller part presses the flat surface in the depth direction and rolls the flat surface toward the inclined surface in conjunction with the rotational movement of the catcher part. With this structure, during the closing operation of the insulated door, the resistance force received from the rotation restricting part when the roller part runs on the inclined surface is smaller than the resistance force received from the rotation restricting part when the roller part runs on the flat surface. As a result, for example, the rotation speed just before the insulated door is fully closed is faster than the rotation speed in the previous stage, which prevents the insulated door from being half-opened and improves user convenience.

[0014] In a third aspect of the refrigerator of the present invention, the self-closing mechanism has a rotation drive unit that is a drive source for the rotation of the catcher unit, and the first guide groove has a vertical groove extending in the depth direction and an oblique groove that is continuous with the vertical groove and is inclined more in the width direction than the vertical groove, and while the rotating shaft moves along the vertical groove, the roller unit rolls on the flat surface, and while the rotating shaft moves along the oblique groove, the roller unit rolls on the inclined surface. With this structure, when the insulated door is closed, the resistance force that the catcher unit receives from the rotation regulating unit of the self-closing mechanism changes stepwise, so that the rotation speed of the insulated door changes stepwise. As a result, for example, the rotation speed of the insulated door when fully closed is faster than the rotation speed in the previous stage, which prevents the insulated door from being half-opened, and improves user convenience.

[0015] In a fourth aspect of the refrigerator of the present invention, the automatic closing mechanism has a striker part that is disposed in the insulated door and that connects to or disconnects from the catcher part in conjunction with the opening and closing of the insulated door, and an engagement groove into which an engagement pin of the striker part can enter is formed in the catcher part, and when the insulated door is closed, the engagement pin enters into the engagement groove in conjunction with the rotation of the catcher part. With this structure, when the insulated door is closed, the striker part and the catcher part are connected to each other using the force of closing the insulated door by the first user, thereby realizing the automatic closing operation of the insulated door.

[0016] In a fifth aspect of the refrigerator of the present invention, the self-closing mechanism has a second guide groove formed in the catcher section and through which the rotating shaft of the roller section is inserted, and during the closing operation of the insulated door, the rotating shaft receives a first force from the inner surface of the first guide groove and a second force from the inner surface of the second guide groove, and the first force and the second force are applied to the rotating shaft from different directions. With this structure, during the closing operation of the insulated door, the rotating shaft of the roller section is supported by the first and second guide grooves, so that the roller section can move while rotating stably relative to the flat surface of the rotation restriction section. As a result, the catcher section is less likely to rotate with rattle, and the insulated door also rotates stably, so that items stored in the insulated door are less likely to collide with each other, improving user convenience.

[0017] In a sixth aspect of the refrigerator of the present invention, the catcher part has a first base and a second base forming the engagement groove, and the second base is located on the inner side of the depth direction than the first base, and the second base is longer than the first base. With this structure, when the insulated door is closed, the engagement pin of the striker part collides with the second base and then enters the engagement groove of the catcher part. As a result, the insulated door is prevented from being left half-open, and the convenience of the user is improved.

[0018] In a seventh aspect of the refrigerator of the present invention, the first base of the catcher part is formed with a recovery part for guiding the engagement pin to the engagement groove. With this structure, even if the catcher part comes into contact with a user and closes by itself first when the insulated door is open, the engagement pin of the striker part enters the engagement groove of the catcher part via the recovery part when the insulated door is fully closed. As a result, the next time the insulated door is opened or closed, the self-closing mechanism is restored, improving the convenience of the user.

[0019] In addition, an eighth aspect of the refrigerator of the present invention is characterized in that the insulated door is a double-door. With this structure, the two insulated doors, left and right, close at the center of the insulated box when fully closed, making it difficult for a user to visually check whether the insulated doors are fully closed, but a collision sound is generated between the insulated doors and the insulated box when the insulated doors are fully closed, allowing the user to determine whether the insulated doors are fully closed by the collision sound. Effect of the Invention

[0020] In the refrigerator of the present invention, deterioration of the components of the automatic-closing mechanism due to sliding between each other is prevented, and the initially set automatic-closing operation of the insulated door is less likely to change over time. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0021] [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] 1 is a perspective view illustrating an automatic closing mechanism of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6B] 1 is a perspective view illustrating an automatic closing mechanism of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6C] 1 is a perspective view illustrating an automatic closing mechanism of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7A] 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 7B]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 8A] 1 is a bottom view illustrating the automatic closing mechanism of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 8B] 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an automatic closing mechanism of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9A] 1 is a bottom view illustrating the automatic closing mechanism of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 9B] 1 is a bottom view illustrating the automatic closing mechanism of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 10A] 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 10B] 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 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 12A] 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 12B] 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 13A] An oblique view illustrating a recovery portion formed in the catcher portion of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 13B] 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 14] 1 is a perspective view illustrating a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 15A] 1 is a top view illustrating a catcher portion of a self-closing mechanism of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 15B] 1 is a top view illustrating a catcher portion of a self-closing mechanism of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 16A] 1 is a perspective view illustrating an automatic closing mechanism of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 16B] 1 is a perspective view illustrating an automatic closing mechanism of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 17A] 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 17B] 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 17C] A cross-sectional view illustrating a catcher portion of the automatic closing mechanism of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 18A] 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 18B] 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 19A] 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 19B] 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. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0022] 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.

[0023] 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.

[0024] 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.

[0025] 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.

[0026] 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. 5A) 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 page by, for example, a partition member (not shown).

[0027] 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.

[0028] 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 the catcher portion 42 (see FIG. 12A) of the self-closing mechanism 41 provided on 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 41 provided on 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).

[0029] 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.

[0030] 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.

[0031] 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).

[0032] As the refrigeration cycle is operated, 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.

[0033] 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.

[0034] As shown in Fig. 4, the control unit 30 of the refrigerator 10 detects an input signal from a detection device 38 in a hinge mechanism 31 provided 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. The detection device 38 is, for example, a known door switch mechanism, and the door switch mechanism has a Hall element board (not shown) on the insulated box body 11 side and a magnet (not shown) on the first to fourth insulated doors 14 to 19 sides. The detection device 38 detects a desired voltage using the current of the Hall element board and the magnetic field of the magnet, and transmits an input signal indicating that the first to fourth insulated doors 14 to 19 are fully closed to the control unit 30.

[0035] When the control unit 30 does not detect the input signal from the detection device 38 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 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 user can close any one of the first to fourth insulated doors 14 to 19 in response to the above-mentioned notification sound, thereby eliminating the half-open state. The notification unit 40 in this embodiment is, for example, a device for emitting a sound, a light, or the like to the user of the refrigerator 10.

[0036] 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 11B. 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.

[0037] 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 perspective view illustrating the housing part 46 and the catcher part 42 of the self-closing mechanism 41 of the refrigerator 10 of this embodiment. FIGS. 6B and 6C are perspective views illustrating the internal mechanism of the self-closing mechanism 41 of the refrigerator 10 of this embodiment. FIGS. 7A and 7B are perspective views illustrating the catcher part 42 of the self-closing mechanism 41 of the refrigerator 10 of this embodiment. FIGS. 8A, 9A, and 9B are bottom views illustrating the catcher part 42 of the self-closing mechanism 41 of the refrigerator 10 of this embodiment. FIG. 8B is a cross-sectional view illustrating the catcher part 42 of the self-closing mechanism 41 of the refrigerator 10 of this embodiment, showing a cross section along the line AA shown in FIG. 8A. 10A to 11B are top views for explaining the operation of the automatic closing mechanism 41 when the first insulated door 14 of the refrigerator 10 of this embodiment is closed. Note that in Fig. 10A to 11B, the operation of the catcher part 42 and the soft-close part 45 of the automatic closing mechanism 41 during the closing operation of the first insulated door 14 is mainly explained.

[0038] 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.

[0039] The automatic closing mechanism 41 mainly includes a catcher portion 42, a striker portion 44, a soft close portion 45, and a housing portion 46 that supports the catcher portion 42 and the soft close portion 45. Although details will be described later, the rotational movement of the catcher portion 42 is performed by the soft close portion 45. The automatic closing mechanism 41 is a mechanism that automatically closes the first insulated door 14 while adjusting the rotational speed of the first insulated door 14 in multiple stages.

[0040] The housing part 46 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 46 is stored inside the cover part 33 together with the hinge mechanism 31. As shown in the figure, the catcher part 42 is on the top surface 11A side of the heat-insulating box 11, and is rotatably supported by the housing part 46. When the first heat-insulating door 14 is in an open state, a part of the catcher part 42 is protruded from the cover part 33. An engagement groove 42A is formed in the catcher part 42, and a tip opening part 39 is formed on the tip side of the engagement groove 42A.

[0041] The striker portion 44 is disposed on the top surface 14A side of the first insulated door 14, facing the inside of the storage compartment. 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. The engagement pin 44A is led out toward the lower side of the first insulated door 14. 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. The engagement pin 44A moves in the engagement groove 42A toward the base side of the catcher portion 42 while being pulled by the catcher portion 42.

[0042] In this embodiment, the catcher part 42 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 to the outside of the storage unit by, for example, about 20 degrees. When the first heat-insulating door 14 is in an open state, the tip side of the catcher part 42 where the engagement groove 42A is formed protrudes from the front surface 11B to the outside of the storage unit. Although details will be described later, the catcher part 42 is formed with a protrusion 62 extending to the side thereof, and at least a part of the protrusion 62 is always located above the top surface 11A. When the first heat-insulating door 14 is closed, the catcher part 42 collides with the front surface 11B of the heat-insulating box 11, and the rotation of the catcher part 42 stops, thereby preventing the first heat-insulating door 14 from being in a half-open state.

[0043] In addition, when the first insulated door 14 is in the open state, the catcher portion 42 is located above 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 that is less likely to impair the design of the refrigerator 10.

[0044] 5B, when the first insulating door 14 is in a fully closed state, the catcher part 42 rotates until it is substantially parallel to the front surface 11B of the insulating box body 11. Then, the catcher part 42 is stored in the cover part 33 while being connected to the striker part 44.

[0045] On the other hand, in the process in which the first insulated door 14 transitions from the fully closed state shown in Fig. 5B to the open state shown in Fig. 5A, the user performs an operation to open the first insulated door 14 to the outside of the storage unit. Then, 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. Then, 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.

[0046] When the first insulated door 14 is in an open state and the catcher part 42 and the striker part 44 are separated from 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. A recess (not shown) on the bottom surface of the catcher part 42 fits into a protrusion (not shown) of the housing part 46 to maintain the stopped state. As a result, when the first insulated door 14 is in an open state, the catcher part 42 can maintain the stopped state if it is only lightly in contact with the user of the refrigerator 10. In addition, in the standby state of the catcher part 42, as described above, a part of the tip side of the protrusion 62 is located above the top surface 11A.

[0047] As shown in Fig. 6A, the housing part 46 of the self-closing mechanism 41 is a box-shaped body, and is fixed to the top surface 11A of the heat-insulating box 11 with screws via a plurality of screw holes 47. The catcher part 42 is rotatably supported by the housing part 46 via a rotation shaft 51. The catcher part 42 is pushed by the striker part 44 (see Fig. 5A) and starts to rotate, and then receives a rotating force directly from the rotation drive part 55 (see Fig. 6B) of the soft-close part 45, thereby rotating with respect to the housing part 46 around the rotation shaft 51 as a rotation fulcrum.

[0048] A first guide groove 52 is formed in the cover 46A of the housing 46. When the housing 46 is fixed to the top surface 11A, the first guide groove 52 has a vertical groove 52A extending linearly in the depth direction of the insulating box 11 (front-to-back direction on the paper), and an oblique groove 52B extending linearly and inclined diagonally in the depth direction of the insulating box 11. A pair of first guide grooves 52 are formed on the front and back sides of the housing 46.

[0049] As shown in the figure, the first guide groove 52 is inserted with a rotating shaft 53 of the roller unit 64 (see FIG. 7B) journaled to the catcher unit 42. A pair of rotating shafts 53 are formed in the up-down direction of the roller unit 64, and each is inserted into the first guide groove 52. The width W1 in the short side direction of the first guide groove 52 is approximately equal to or slightly wider than the diameter of the rotating shaft 53, so that the housing unit 46 journals the roller unit 64 rotatably via the first guide groove 52. As will be described in detail later, when the roller unit 64 rotates together with the catcher unit 42 relative to the housing unit 46, the rotating shaft 53 is forcibly guided by the first guide groove 52, and the movement trajectory of the roller unit 64 is adjusted.

[0050] As shown in FIG. 6B, the housing 46 houses the rotation restricting part 54 and the rotation driving part 55 which constitute the soft-close part 45. The rotation restricting part 54 has, for example, two damper parts 54A and a connecting part 54B which connects the shaft ends of the two damper parts 54A. When the first insulated door 14 is closed, the rotation restricting part 54 restricts the rotation of the catcher part 42. As shown by the arrow 56, when the first insulated door 14 is opened or closed, the connecting part 54B is pressed by the roller part 64 in conjunction with the rotation of the catcher part 42, or the damper part 54A expands and contracts in the depth direction of the insulated box 11 by pushing the roller part 64. At this time, the connecting part 54B reciprocates in the depth direction along the storage wall 49 of the rotation restricting part 54, so that the pressing force from the roller part 64 is efficiently transmitted to the damper part 54A. As a result, when the first insulating door 14 is closed, the reaction force F1 (see FIG. 10A) transmitted from the damper portion 54A to the roller portion 64 becomes a resistance force that restricts the rotational movement of the catcher portion 42, and the reaction force F1 is also transmitted efficiently.

[0051] The rotation drive unit 55 has, for example, two compression coil springs 55A and a connecting portion 55B that houses the tip side of the compression coil spring 55A. When the first insulated door 14 is closed, the rotation drive unit 55 rotates the catcher portion 42. As shown by the arrow 56, when the first insulated door 14 is opened or closed, the connecting portion 55B pushes the rear end side of the catcher portion 42 or is pushed by the rear end side of the catcher portion 42, so that the compression coil spring 55A expands and contracts in the depth direction of the insulated box body 11. At this time, the connecting portion 55B reciprocates in the depth direction along the storage wall 50 of the rotation drive unit 55, so that the force of the connecting portion 55B pressing and rotating the catcher portion 42 is efficiently transmitted to the catcher portion 42.

[0052] With this structure, when the first insulated door 14 is closed, in the soft-close section 45, the damper section 54A of the rotation restriction section 54 is pressed by the roller section 64 via the connecting section 54B and contracts, thereby restricting the rotation of the catcher section 42 and adjusting the rotation speed of the catcher section 42. Meanwhile, the compression coil spring 55A of the rotation drive section 55 presses the rear end side of the catcher section 42 via the connecting section 55B, causing the catcher section 42 to rotate. In other words, when the first insulated door 14 is closed, the rotation drive section 55 serves as a drive source for the rotation of the catcher section 42.

[0053] As shown in FIG. 6C, the surface of the tip 57 of the connecting portion 54B facing the roller portion 64 has a flat surface 54C that contacts the roller portion 64 and an inclined surface 54D that inclines toward the back side in the depth direction of the housing portion 46 from the flat surface 54C. When the housing portion 46 is fixed to the top surface 11A of the insulating box 11, the flat surface 54C is formed to extend in the width direction of the insulating box 11 so as to be approximately parallel to the front surface 11B of the insulating box 11. Although details will be described later, when the first insulating door 14 is closed, the roller portion 64 pivotally supported by the catcher portion 42 rolls on the flat surface 54C and the inclined surface 54D and presses the connecting portion 54B toward the damper portion 54A, thereby adjusting the rotation speed of the first insulating door 14. Furthermore, the tip 57 of the connecting portion 54B is inserted between the support plates 65 (see Figure 7B) of the catcher portion 42 that axially support the roller portion 64, so that the roller portion 64 is supported in an approximately vertical state between the support plates 65 and can roll stably on the flat surface 54C.

[0054] As shown in FIG. 7A, the catcher portion 42 has a main body portion 61, an engagement groove 42A formed in the main body portion 61, a protrusion 62 protruding in the width direction from the main body portion 61, and a second guide groove 63 formed in the main body portion 61.

[0055] The main body 61 of the catcher part 42 has a first base 61A and a second base 61B on either side of the engagement groove 42A. As indicated by a circle 59, the second base 61B extends longer than the first base 61A. The engagement groove 42A is formed as a recess recessed from the front surface side of the main body 61, so that the first base 61A and the second base 61B are formed as an integral structure. With this structure, the second base 61B in particular repeatedly collides with the engagement pin 44A during the closing operation of the first insulation door 14, but the necessary rigidity as a part is realized.

[0056] Further, the second base 61B is formed with a protruding portion 62 that protrudes toward the opposite side to the engagement groove 42A. In other words, in a state in which the self-closing mechanism 41 is fixed to the top surface 11A of the insulating box 11, the protruding portion 62 protrudes toward the top surface 11A side. The protruding portion 62 is formed, for example, as an integral structure with the second base 61B, and has a shape that gradually narrows toward the tip side.

[0057] As shown in FIG. 7B, a second guide groove 63 is formed in the main body 61. The rotating shaft 53 of the roller portion 64 is inserted into the second guide groove 63, and the roller portion 64 is supported by the first guide groove 52 (see FIG. 6A) and the second guide groove 63. The second guide groove 63 is an elongated hole formed along the longitudinal direction of the main body 61, and is formed in a pair on the support plate 65 on the front and back sides of the main body 61. The width W2 of the second guide groove 63 in the short side direction is approximately equal to or slightly wider than the diameter of the rotating shaft 53, and the main body 61 rotatably supports the roller portion 64 via the second guide groove 63.

[0058] Furthermore, the diameter of the roller portion 64 between the vertical rotation shafts 53 is wider than the width W2 of the second guide groove 63, and the roller portion 64 is disposed to be rotatably fitted between a pair of support plates 65. With this structure, the roller portion 64 is rotatably supported by the main body portion 61, and is movable in the longitudinal direction of the second guide groove 63. Furthermore, the tip portion 57 (see FIG. 6C) of the connecting portion 54B is assembled in a state where it is inserted between the support plates 65, so that the roller portion 64 can stably roll on the flat surface 54C (see FIG. 6C).

[0059] Details will be described later using Figures 10A to 11B, but when the first insulated door 14 is closed, the catcher portion 42 connects to the striker portion 44 and rotates toward the insulated box body 11, while the roller portion 64 rolls toward the inclined surface 54D while pressing the flat surface 54C of the connecting portion 54B in the depth direction.

[0060] At this time, the roller portion 64 makes line contact with the flat surface 54C of the connecting portion 54B and presses the connecting portion 54B, but the point of line contact changes with respect to the flat surface 54C as the roller portion 64 moves while rotating. With this structure, the opening and closing operation of the first insulated door 14 is repeated, but the amount of wear of the roller portion 64 and the flat surface 54C is greatly reduced by changing the point of line contact of the roller portion 64 with the flat surface 54C.

[0061] As a result, the contact position between roller part 64 and connecting part 54B is prevented from changing from the initially set position due to deterioration over the years of actual use. Also, the rotation speed of first insulated door 14 is prevented from changing from the initially set rotation speed due to the fluctuation in the resistance value at the time of contact between roller part 64 and connecting part 54B. Then, the user of refrigerator 10 can use refrigerator 10 for many years without feeling any discomfort from the automatic closing operation of first insulated door 14, improving convenience. Also, the frequency of repairs of automatic closing mechanism 41 is reduced, which prevents an increase in maintenance costs for users.

[0062] As shown in FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B, on the back surface 62A side of the protruding portion 62, a protruding piece portion 62B is formed along the outer peripheral end portion 62C of the protruding portion 62. The protruding piece portion 62B is formed integrally with the protruding portion 62 and protrudes downward from the back surface 62A. That is, as shown in the figure, the protruding piece portion 62B is formed, for example, in a substantially semicircular shape in cross section, and the formation region R1 of the protruding piece portion 62B is a region that protrudes from the non-formation region R2 of the protruding piece portion 62. With this structure, even if the protruding piece portion 62B comes into contact with the top surface 11A of the heat-insulating box body 11 during the rotational operation of the catcher portion 42, the tip of the protruding piece portion 62 contacts the top surface 11A, and the contact area with the top surface 11A is reduced, so that the resistance value during sliding is unlikely to increase. As a result, the rotation speed of the catcher portion 42 is prevented from becoming slower than the design value. In addition, the protruding piece portion 62 has a curved surface that makes point contact with the top surface 11A, which reduces the amount of wear caused by the sliding motion and reduces the frequency of part replacement due to deterioration of the catcher portion 42. This also prevents an increase in maintenance costs for users.

[0063] As shown in FIG. 9A, the protruding piece 62B may be formed around the outside of the tip side of the protruding part 62 along the outer peripheral end 62C of the protruding part 62. As described above, the periphery of the tip of the protruding part 62 is always located on the top surface 11A within the rotation range W3 (see FIG. 10A) of the catcher part 42, and is the area that first comes into contact with the top surface 11A. Therefore, by forming the protruding piece 62B at least in the illustrated area, it is possible to reduce the contact area between the protruding piece 62B and the top surface 11A. With this structure, the structure shown in FIG. 9A also has the same effect as the structures shown in FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B described above.

[0064] 9B, the protruding piece portion 62B may be, for example, semispherical, and may be formed in a plurality of portions scattered on the back surface 62A of the protrusion 62. In the structure shown in the figure, it is also possible to reduce the contact area between the protruding piece portion 62B and the top surface 11A, and the same effect as the structure shown in Figures 8A and 8B described above can be obtained.

[0065] Although not shown, an opening may be provided in the non-forming region R2 of the protruding piece portion 62B in Fig. 8A and Fig. 8B to reduce the amount of material used and the manufacturing cost. As long as the resistance value during sliding between the protruding piece portion 62 of the protruding portion 62 and the top surface 11A of the heat-insulating box body 11 is reduced, the arrangement location and shape of the protruding piece portion 62B can be arbitrarily changed in design.

[0066] 10A to 11B, when the housing part 46 is fixed to the top surface 11A, a part of the protrusion 62 is always located above the top surface 11A regardless of the rotational position of the catcher part 42. Then, at the time of initial setting, the protruding piece part 62B of the protrusion part 62 is separated from the top surface 11A. Note that the protruding piece part 62B of the protrusion part 62 may be in contact with the top surface 11A from the time of initial setting.

[0067] As described above, when the first insulated door 14 is repeatedly opened and closed, or due to aging of the refrigerator 10, the tip of the catcher part 42 may hang down below the insulated box body 11. In this case, the protruding piece part 62B of the protruding part 62 comes into contact with the top surface 11A, and at least a part of the protruding part 62 is supported on the top surface 11A, thereby preventing the tip of the catcher part 42 from hanging down below the top surface 11A of the insulated box body 11. When the first insulated door 14 is closed, the catcher part 42 collides with the front surface 11B of the insulated box body 11 and stops its rotation, thereby preventing the first insulated door 14 from being in a half-open state.

[0068] Next, the operation of the self-closing mechanism 41 when the first insulated door 14 of the refrigerator 10 of this embodiment transitions from an open state to a fully closed state will be described with reference to Figs. 10A to 11B. In the following description, the first insulated door 14 will be used. For the description of the operations of the second insulated door 15 to the fourth insulated door 19, refer to the description of the first insulated door 14 and the description will be omitted here. Also, the dotted line 58 shows a line on the front surface 11B of the insulated box 11. For convenience of description, the lid portion 46A (see Fig. 6A) of the housing portion 46 will be omitted, but the first guide groove 52 and its vertical groove 52A and oblique groove 52B formed in the lid portion 64A will be illustrated and described.

[0069] First, the first guide groove 52 is a groove for adjusting the movement trajectory of the roller portion 64, and the rotation shaft 53 of the roller portion 64 receives a reaction force F2 from the inner surface of the first guide groove 52 in association with the rotational movement of the catcher portion 42. The second guide groove 63 is a groove for applying a rotational force F3 to the roller portion 64, and the rotation shaft 53 of the roller portion 64 receives a rotational force F3 from the inner surface of the second guide groove 63 in association with the rotational movement of the catcher portion 42. In addition, in Figs. 10A to 11B, the reaction force that the roller portion 64 receives from the connecting portion 54B of the rotation restriction portion 54 is illustrated as F1, the reaction force that the rotation shaft 53 receives from the inner surface of the first guide groove 52 is illustrated as F2, and the rotation force that the rotation shaft 53 receives from the inner surface of the second guide groove 63 is illustrated as F3.

[0070] In this embodiment, the reaction forces F1, F2 and the rotation force F3 are used for the convenience of explaining the force acting on the rotation shaft 53 of the roller part 64, but in reality, the force that rotates the catcher part 42 is not limited to the rotation force F3. For example, the force that rotates the catcher part 42 may be a force that the catcher part 42 receives directly from the rotation drive part 55 of the soft-close part 45, or a reaction force that the rotation shaft 53 receives when it comes into contact with the inner surface of the first guide groove 52 depending on the rotation angle of the catcher part 42. Depending on the rotation angle of the catcher part 42, the reaction forces F1, F2 also contribute to the force that rotates the catcher part 42. The reaction forces F1, F2 and the rotation force F3 change depending on the rotation angle of the catcher part 42, and the lengths of the reaction forces F1, F2 and the rotation force F3 shown in the figure are shown as a schematic and do not indicate the actual magnitude of the force. Moreover, the first force recited in the claims corresponds to the reaction force F2 of the present invention, and the second force recited in the claims corresponds to the rotational force F3 of the present invention.

[0071] In FIG. 10A, the first insulated door 14 is in an open state, and the engagement pin 44A of the striker portion 44 is disengaged from the engagement groove 42A of the catcher portion 42. The catcher portion 42 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 14, a user of the refrigerator 10 pushes the first insulated door 14 toward the front surface 11B of the insulated box body 11, applying a rotating force to the first insulated door 14. This closing action by the user causes the first insulated door 14 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 14.

[0072] As described above, the rotating shaft 53 of the roller portion 64 is inserted into the first guide groove 52 and the second guide groove 63 on the front and back sides of the housing portion 46, respectively. The rotating shaft 53 is supported by receiving the reaction force F2 and the rotation force F3 in different directions by at least the first guide groove 52 and the second guide groove 63. With this structure, the roller portion 64 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 64 is in contact with the flat surface 54C of the connecting portion 54B and receives the reaction force F1, so that the roller portion 64 is in a more stable upright state.

[0073] As shown in the figure, when the connecting portion 54B of the rotation restricting portion 54 presses the roller portion 64 toward the outside of the storage unit with a reaction force F1, the rotating shaft 53 is located at the tip side of the first guide groove 52 and comes into contact with the inner surface of the first guide groove 52. Then, the rotating shaft 53 receives a reaction force F2 from the inner surface of the first guide groove 52.

[0074] On the other hand, the catcher part 42 maintains a stopped state by, for example, fitting a recess (not shown) on its bottom surface into a protrusion (not shown) of the housing part 46. At the rear end side of the catcher part 42, the connecting part 55B of the rotation drive part 55 receives a force that rotates the catcher part 42, but maintains a balanced state due to the stopped state. As a result, the rotating shaft 53 does not receive the rotational force F3 from the inner surface of the second guide groove 63.

[0075] Arrow W3 indicates the rotation range of catcher section 42, and in Fig. 10A, catcher section 42 is located at the outermost part of the rotation range. A part of the tip side of protrusion 62 is located above top surface 11A even when catcher section 42 is in the stopped state. Although not shown, protruding piece portion 62B is formed on back surface 62A of protrusion 62 located above top surface 11A.

[0076] 10B, the first insulating door 14 is in a closing operation, and the engagement pin 44A of the striker part 44 enters the engagement groove 42A of the catcher part 42, and the striker part 44 and the catcher part 42 are in a connected state. Then, the catcher part 42 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. In addition, a part of the protrusion part 62 is located above the top surface 11A.

[0077] 10A, engagement pin 44A of striker portion 44 hits the tip end side of second base portion 61B as indicated by circle 59, thereby canceling the standby state of catcher portion 42. Then, catcher portion 42 starts rotating by directly receiving a rotating force from connecting portion 55B of rotation drive portion 55.

[0078] As shown in the figure, the rotating shaft 53 receives a rotational force F3 from the inner surface of the second guide groove 63, and moves together with the catcher portion 42 toward the front surface 11B of the heat-insulating box 11. Meanwhile, the rotating shaft 53 comes into contact with the inner surface of the vertical groove 52A of the first guide groove 52, and the movement trajectory is adjusted. The rotating shaft 53 receives a reaction force F2 from the inner surface of the first guide groove 52. Furthermore, the roller portion 64 receives a reaction force F1 from the flat surface 54C of the connecting portion 54B.

[0079] With this structure, the rotating shaft 53 and the roller portion 64 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 64 is supported by the catcher portion 42 in a stable upright state in a direction approximately perpendicular to the top surface 11A of the heat-insulating box body 11.

[0080] At this time, in conjunction with the rotation of the catcher section 42, the roller section 64 rolls on the flat surface 54C of the connecting section 54B and presses the connecting section 54B toward the inside of the container, so that the rotating shaft 53 moves toward the center of the vertical groove 52A of the first guide groove 52. Meanwhile, the rotating shaft 53 moves from the center of the second guide groove 63 to the right end. As described above, the vertical groove 52A of the first guide groove 52 extends linearly in the depth direction of the heat-insulating box 11 (front-back direction on the paper). As a result, the rotating shaft 53 draws a linear trajectory in the depth direction of the heat-insulating box 11, so that the roller section 64 presses the connecting section 54B as uniformly as possible, and the rotation speed of the catcher section 42 is made uniform.

[0081] In this embodiment, the rotating shaft 53 is designed to move in the vertical groove 52A of the first guide groove 52 until the catcher portion 42 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 portion 64 is designed to contact the flat surface 54C (see FIG. 6C) of the connecting portion 54B of the rotation restricting portion 54 and roll toward the inclined surface 54D (see FIG. 6C). Then, the engagement pin 44A of the striker portion 44 moves in the engagement groove 42A toward its base side while being pulled by the first base portion 61A of the catcher portion 42. With this structure, the rotation speed of the catcher portion 42 is made uniform, and the rotation speed of the first heat-insulating door 14 is also made uniform.

[0082] In Fig. 11A, the first insulating door 14 is in a closing operation, and the striker part 44 and the catcher part 42 are still connected to each other as in Fig. 10B. The catcher part 42 is rotated, for example, up to 3 degrees with respect to the front surface 11B of the insulating box 11. The protrusion part 62 is located above the top surface 11A.

[0083] As shown in the figure, the rotating shaft 53 receives a rotational force F3 from the inner surface of the second guide groove 63, and the roller portion 64 moves integrally with the catcher portion 42 toward the front surface 11B of the heat-insulating box 11. Meanwhile, the rotating shaft 53 comes into contact with the inner surface of the inclined groove 52B of the first guide groove 52, and the movement trajectory is adjusted. Then, the rotating shaft 53 receives a reaction force F2 from the inner surface of the first guide groove 52. Furthermore, the roller portion 64 receives a reaction force F1 from the inclined surface 54D of the connecting portion 54B.

[0084] With this structure, the rotating shaft 53 and the roller portion 64 are supported in a state in which they receive reaction forces F1, F2, and F3 from at least three directions. As a result, the roller portion 64 is supported in a stable upright state in a direction approximately perpendicular to the top surface 11A of the heat-insulating box 11.

[0085] As shown in the figure, the rolling area of ​​the roller portion 64 shifts from the flat surface 54C of the connecting portion 54B to the inclined surface 54D in conjunction with the rotation of the first insulating door 14, and the rotating shaft 53 moves from the vertical groove 52A to the oblique groove 52B of the first guide groove 52. As described above, the oblique groove 52B of the first guide groove 52 is inclined obliquely toward the depth direction of the insulating box 11 and extends linearly.

[0086] With this structure, inclined surface 54D of connecting portion 54B slopes downward with respect to the traveling direction of roller portion 64, dispersing and reducing reaction force F1 that roller portion 64 receives from rotation restricting portion 54. Then, in catcher portion 42, the rotational force that it receives directly from rotation drive portion 55 is less likely to be countered by reaction force F1, so that catcher portion 42 rotates more vigorously than in the rotational state of FIGS. 10A and 10B.

[0087] In Fig. 11B, the first insulating door 14 is in a fully closed state. The striker part 44 and the catcher part 42 are still connected to each other as in Fig. 10A, and the catcher part 42 is stopped at a position of, for example, 0 degrees with respect to the front surface 11B of the insulating box body 11. The protrusion part 62 is located above the top surface 11A.

[0088] As shown in the figure, when the connecting portion 55B of the rotation drive unit 55 presses the rear end side of the catcher unit 42, the rotating shaft 53 is positioned on the rear end side of the first guide groove 52. On the other hand, the rotating shaft 53 is positioned at the left end with respect to the second guide groove 63. When the rotating shaft 53 is positioned at the rear end of the first guide groove 52, the catcher unit 42 is restricted from rotating further toward the inside of the storage unit. In this embodiment, the protruding portion 62 of the catcher unit 42 abuts against the side surface of the housing unit 46, and thus the catcher unit 42 is restricted from rotating further toward the inside of the storage unit.

[0089] 11B, in the fully closed state of the first insulated door 14, the magnets contained in the gasket 36 of the first insulated door 14 come into contact with and are magnetically attracted to the outer box 21 and the center pillar 16 on the front surface 11B of the insulated box body 11. As a result, as shown in the figure, a reaction force F2 and a rotational force F3 are applied to the rotating shaft 53, and a reaction force F1 is applied to the roller portion 64, but the magnetic attraction force of the first insulated door 14 is stronger, and the catcher portion 42 maintains the stopped state.

[0090] As described above, in this embodiment, when the first insulated door 14 is closed, the running surface of the connecting portion 54B on which the roller portion 64 rolls is changed from the flat surface 54C to the inclined surface 54D. As a result, the reaction force F1 that the roller portion 64 receives from the rotation restricting portion 54 changes, and the rotation speed of the catcher portion 42 changes in at least two stages. When the first insulated door 14 is a double-leaf door, the rotation speed immediately before the door is fully closed becomes faster than the rotation speed in the middle stage, so that the first insulated door 14 firmly hits the insulated box body 11, and the first insulated door 14 is prevented from being ajar.

[0091] Furthermore, when the first insulated door 14 is a double-door, the first insulated door 14 is closed at the center of the insulated box body 11 when in a fully closed state, and is arranged in parallel with the second insulated door 15. This makes it difficult for a user to visually confirm that the first insulated door 14 is in a fully closed state. However, in the catcher section 42, by providing the above-mentioned stepwise speed difference, 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, and the user can easily determine the fully closed state of the first insulated door 14 from the collision sound. The collision sound is set within a range that does not impair the comfort of the user of the refrigerator 10.

[0092] In addition, even if a user pushes the first insulated door 14 vigorously to close the first insulated door 14, the rotation speed of the first insulated door 14 is decelerated while the rotating shaft 53 moves in the vertical groove 52A of the first guide groove 52. Then, the magnet contained in the gasket 36 of the first insulated door 14 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 14 is fully closed, for example, the sound 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, and the comfort of the user is improved.

[0093] Next, the automatic closing mechanism 41 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. 12A and Fig. 12B. In the following description, the automatic closing mechanism 41 provided for the third insulated door 18 will be described, and the automatic closing mechanism 41 provided for 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.

[0094] Fig. 12A is a bottom view illustrating a state in which the third insulating door 18 of the refrigerator 10 is open relative to the insulating box body 11. Fig. 12B is a bottom view illustrating a state in which the third insulating door 18 of the refrigerator 10 of this embodiment is fully closed relative to the insulating box body 11.

[0095] 12A, the self-closing mechanism 41 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 68 that covers the housing portion 46 of the self-closing mechanism 41.

[0096] 5A and 5B, and is fixed to the bottom surface 11C of the insulating box 11, so that the catcher part 42 rotates toward the hinge mechanism 31. The operation of the soft-close part 45 of the automatic closing mechanism 41 can be described with reference to the above description, and the description will be omitted here.

[0097] As shown in the figure, the striker portion 44 of the self-closing mechanism 41 is disposed on the bottom surface 18A side of the third insulated door 18, facing the inside of the storage compartment. 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 in the engagement groove 42A toward the base side of the catcher portion 42 while being pulled by the catcher portion 42.

[0098] Incidentally, the housing part 46 of the automatic closing mechanism 41 is turned over from the fixed state on the refrigerator compartment 12 side and fixed to the bottom surface 11C of the insulated box body 11, so that the engagement groove 42A of the catcher part 42 faces the installation surface side of the refrigerator 10. Therefore, the engagement pin 44A of the striker part 44 is disposed so as to be led out to the upper side of the third insulated door 18.

[0099] 12B, when the third insulating door 18 is in a fully closed state, the catcher part 42 rotates via the soft-close part 45. The catcher part 42 is stored in the cover part 68 while being connected to the striker part 44.

[0100] On the other hand, in the process in which the third insulated door 18 transitions from the fully closed state shown in Fig. 12B to the open state shown in Fig. 12A, the user performs an operation to open the third insulated door 18 toward the outside of the storage unit. Then, the engagement pin 44A moves toward 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. Then, 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 68.

[0101] As described above, in the automatic closing mechanism 41, 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 11B side 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.

[0102] 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 engagement pin 44A enters engagement groove 42A when third insulated door 18 is closed.

[0103] Next, a structure of catcher portion 42 will be described with reference to Fig. 13A and Fig. 13B. Fig. 13A and Fig. 13B explain a state in which catcher portion 42 and striker portion 44 of refrigerator 10 of the present embodiment are connected via recovery portion 71, Fig. 13A is a perspective view thereof, and Fig. 13B is a cross-sectional view thereof.

[0104] As shown in FIG. 13A, the catcher part 42 has a first base 61A and a second base 61B on either side of the engagement groove 42A. As shown by a circle 59, the tip of the second base 61B is longer than the tip of the first base 61A. With this structure, the engagement groove 42A has a wider opening width of the tip opening 39 and the second base 61B on the inside of the storage unit is longer, so that the engagement pin 44A and the second base 61B 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 61B and is guided to the engagement groove 42A, so that the connection between the catcher part 42 and the striker part 44 is more likely to be realized.

[0105] A recovery portion 71 may be formed in the first base portion 61A 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 71 is an inclined surface 71A 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 71 may be formed on the entire first base portion 61A, or may be formed on a part of the first base portion 61A.

[0106] 13B, the recovery portion 71 has an inclined shape formed on the front surface of the catcher portion 42, and forms an inclined surface 71A 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.

[0107] 5A, due to the structure in which a part of catcher part 42 protrudes toward the front side of refrigerator compartment 12, when catcher part 42 comes into contact with a user, catcher part 42 rotates independently via soft-close part 45. When catcher part 42 rotates to the fully closed state, it is stored inside cover 33.

[0108] In this case, since the catcher part 42 is not waiting at the normal stop position, the engagement pin 44A cannot enter the engagement groove 42A through the tip opening 39. Then, the engagement pin 44A collides with the inclined surface 71A of the recovery part 71 of the catcher part 42 stored in the cover 33 just before the first insulated door 14 is fully closed, and moves along the inclined surface 71A of the recovery part 71.

[0109] As described above, the engagement pin 44A comes into contact with the inclined surface 71A of the recovery portion 71, and when moving along the inclined surface 71A, it slides upward of the housing portion of the striker portion 44, climbing over the recovery portion 71 and entering the engagement groove 42A. As a result, the connection state between the catcher portion 42 and the striker portion 44 is realized.

[0110] On the other hand, as shown in the figure, the inclined surface 71A of the recovery portion 71 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 its lower tip by the catcher portion 42, 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.

[0111] In the refrigerator 10 of the present embodiment, the front opening 12A of the refrigerator compartment 12 is closed by the first and second insulated doors 14 and 15 which open both ways, and the front opening 13A of the freezer compartment 13 is closed by the third and fourth insulated doors 18 and 19 which open both ways, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, Fig. 14 shows a refrigerator 80 with a single door, and by providing the above-mentioned automatic closing mechanism 41 in the refrigerator 80, the first and second insulated doors 81 and 82 in the refrigerator 80 can be opened and closed by automatic closing.

[0112] 14, the single-door refrigerator 80 includes a right-opening first insulated door 81 and a second insulated door 82, similar to the first insulated door 14 of the double-door refrigerator 10. The first insulated door 81 is a door that closes and opens freely a front opening (not shown) of a refrigerator compartment 83. The second insulated door 82 is a door that closes and opens freely a front opening (not shown) of a freezer compartment 84. The second insulated door 82 includes an automatic closing mechanism 41 on the bottom side of an insulated box body 85, similar to the third insulated door 18 described above.

[0113] As described above, in the refrigerator 80, in the operation of closing the first insulated door 81, the first insulated door 81 rotates at a first speed from the 20 degree open state to the 3 degree open state. Then, the first insulated door 81 rotates at a second speed from the 3 degree open state to the fully closed state. At this time, as shown in FIG. 6C, by making the inclination angle of the inclined surface 54D of the connecting part 54B of the rotation restricting part 54 an upward inclination, which is a reverse gradient, it is possible to slow down the rotation speed of the first insulated door 81 just before it is fully closed. That is, in the refrigerator 80, the rotation speed of the first insulated door 81 just before it is fully closed is set to be slower than the rotation speed of the refrigerator 10 just before it is fully closed.

[0114] Due to this structure, in the case of refrigerator 80 with a single door, compared to refrigerator 10 with a double door, the user can easily visually check the fully closed state of first insulated door 81 by visually checking the edge of the front opening of refrigerator compartment 83. On the other hand, even if the user puts food in or takes food out of storage rack 34 or the like until just before first insulated door 81 is fully closed and the user's fingers or the like are caught between first insulated door 81 and insulated box body 85, the impact when first insulated door 81 and insulated box body 85 are fully closed is significantly reduced by slowing down the rotation speed of first insulated door 81 just before it is fully closed, and injury to the user's fingers or the like can be prevented.

[0115] In the present embodiment, as shown in Fig. 6C, the inclination angle of the inclined surface 54D of the connecting portion 54B is set to a relatively gentle angle of, for example, 80 degrees or less, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, Fig. 15A shows a case where the inclination angle of the inclined surface 54D of the connecting portion 54B is designed to be a steep angle of, for example, 80 degrees to 90 degrees.

[0116] In this case, after the roller portion 64 moves from the flat surface 54C of the connecting portion 54B to the inclined surface 54D, the roller portion 64 is out of contact with the inclined surface 54D and does not receive the reaction force F1 from the rotation restricting portion 54. As a result, in the catcher portion 42, the rotational force received from the rotation drive portion 55 is not canceled by the reaction force F1, and the catcher portion 42 rotates more vigorously than in the rotational state of Figures 10A and 10B. Then, the first insulating door 14 is fully closed with force, so that a user can easily determine the fully closed state of the first insulating door 14 by the sound of the fully closed state.

[0117] 15B shows a case where the connecting portion 54B does not have the inclined surface 54D and is designed only from the flat surface 54C. Although not shown, in this case, it is preferable that the first guide groove 52 is formed only from the vertical groove 52A.

[0118] In this case, the roller portion 64 continues to press the flat surface 54C of the connecting portion 54B as uniformly as possible, thereby making the rotation speed of the catcher portion 42 uniform. As a result, the first insulating door 14 can move from the open state to the fully closed state at a substantially constant speed.

[0119] Next, the self-closing mechanism 101 will be described with reference to Figures 16A to 19B. The self-closing mechanism 101 is a modified example of the self-closing mechanism 41, and differs from the self-closing mechanism 41 mainly in the structure of the catcher section 102. In the following description, the catcher section 102 will be mainly described, and the same reference numbers will be used in principle for the same members as those in the structure of the catcher section 42 and the structure of each member used in the self-closing mechanism 41, and repeated description will be omitted. Also, the description of Figures 1 to 15B will be referred to as appropriate.

[0120] FIG. 16A is a perspective view illustrating the housing portion 46 and the catcher portion 102 of the automatic closing mechanism 101 of the refrigerator 10 of this embodiment. FIG. 16B is a perspective view illustrating the internal mechanism of the automatic closing mechanism 101 of the refrigerator 10 of this embodiment. FIGS. 17A and 17B are perspective views illustrating the catcher portion 102 of the automatic closing mechanism 101 of the refrigerator 10 of this embodiment. FIG. 17C is a cross-sectional view illustrating the catcher portion 102 of the automatic closing mechanism 101 of the refrigerator 10 of this embodiment, showing a cross section along the line BB shown in FIG. 17A. FIGS. 18A to 19B are top views illustrating the operation of the automatic closing mechanism 101 when the first insulating door 14 of the refrigerator 10 of this embodiment is closed. In addition, in FIGS. 18A to 19B, the operation of the catcher portion 102 and the soft close portion 145 of the automatic closing mechanism 101 during the closing operation of the first insulating door 14 is mainly described.

[0121] As shown in Fig. 16A, the housing 46 of the self-closing mechanism 101 is a box-shaped body, and is fixed to the top surface 11A (see Fig. 5A) of the heat-insulating box 11 (see Fig. 5A) with screws via a plurality of screw holes 47. The catcher part 102 is rotatably supported by the housing 46 via a rotation shaft 51. The catcher part 102 is then pushed by the striker part 44 (see Fig. 5A) and starts to rotate. Thereafter, the catcher part 102 directly receives a rotational force from the rotation drive part 55 (see Fig. 16B) of the soft-close part 45, and rotates with respect to the housing 46 around the rotation shaft 51 as a rotation fulcrum.

[0122] A guide groove 52 is formed in the cover 46A of the housing 46. When the housing 46 is fixed to the top surface 11A, the guide groove 52 has a vertical groove 52A that extends linearly in the depth direction of the insulating box 11 (front-to-back direction on the page) and an oblique groove 52B that is inclined diagonally in the depth direction of the insulating box 11 and extends linearly.

[0123] As shown in the figure, the guide groove 52 is inserted with a rotating shaft 104 of a roller part 105 (see FIG. 17A) supported by a pressing member 103 (see FIG. 16B). The rotating shaft 104 is formed integrally with the roller part 105 by resin molding, for example, and is formed in the upper and lower directions of the roller part 105. The width W1 of the guide groove 52 in the short side direction is approximately equal to or slightly wider than the diameter of the rotating shaft 104. Although details will be described later, when the pressing member 103 rotates together with the catcher part 102 relative to the housing part 46, the rotating shaft 104 is forcibly guided by the guide groove 52, and the movement trajectories of the pressing member 103 and the roller part 105 are adjusted.

[0124] 16B, when the first insulated door 14 is closed, in the soft-close unit 45, the damper portion 54A of the rotation restriction portion 54 is pressed by the roller portion 105 via the connecting portion 54B and contracts, thereby restricting the rotation of the catcher portion 102 and adjusting the rotation speed of the catcher portion 102. Meanwhile, the compression coil spring 55A of the rotation drive portion 55 presses the rear end side of the catcher portion 102 via the connecting portion 55B, causing the catcher portion 102 to rotate. In other words, when the first insulated door 14 is closed, the rotation drive portion 55 serves as a drive source for the rotation of the catcher portion 102.

[0125] 17A, the catcher section 102 has a main body section 61, an engagement groove 42A formed in the main body section 61, a protrusion section 62 protruding in the width direction from the main body section 61, a pair of guide rail sections 63 formed on the side surfaces of the main body section 61, a rotating shaft 51 (see FIG. 16B), and a through hole 65 that rotatably supports the rotating shaft 51. A pressing member 103 is inserted into the main body section 61, as will be described in detail later. The pressing member 103 slides relative to the main body section 61 of the catcher section 102.

[0126] As shown in FIG. 17B, the pressing member 103 has a hollow main body 106, a roller 105 rotatably supported by the main body 106, and a pair of insertion holes 107 that support the roller 105. The roller 105 is formed with a pair of rotating shafts 104 extending in the vertical direction. The roller 105 and the rotating shafts 104 are formed by integral molding using a resin material, for example. The rotating shafts 104 of the roller 105 are inserted into the insertion holes 107 of the main body 106, so that the roller 105 is rotatably supported by the main body 106. The inner diameter of the insertion holes 107 is substantially equal to the outer diameter of the rotating shafts 104.

[0127] The rotating shaft 104 has a cylindrical shape with a diameter approximately equal to the width W1 of the guide groove 52 in the short side direction. Although details will be described later, the rotating shaft 104 of the roller part 105 passes through the insertion hole 107 and is inserted into the guide groove 52 of the housing part 46. Then, when the first insulating door 14 is closed, the rotating shaft 104 receives a reaction force F2 (see FIG. 18B) from the inner surface of the guide groove 52 and is forcibly guided by the guide groove 52, so that the movement trajectory of the roller part 105 is adjusted.

[0128] On the other hand, as the rotating shaft 104 receives the reaction force F2, the pressing member 103 slides in the longitudinal direction of the main body 61 of the catcher section 102 as shown by an arrow 108 (see FIG. 17A). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 16B, the pressing member 103 slides between the stopper wall 109 of the main body 61 and the rotating shaft 51. That is, the pressing member 103 comes into contact with the stopper wall 109 or the rotating shaft 51, and the sliding movement stops.

[0129] With this structure, pressing member 103 rotates integrally with catcher part 102 toward front surface 11B of thermal insulation box 11, while sliding relative to main body part 61 in the direction of arrow 108. Then, roller part 105 is extended outward beyond main body part 106, and rolls on flat surface 54C of connecting part 54B while pressing connecting part 54B of rotation restricting part 54.

[0130] As a result, the roller part 105 makes line contact with the flat surface 54C of the connecting part 54B and presses the connecting part 54B, but the location of the line contact changes with respect to the flat surface 54C as the roller part 105 moves while rotating. Then, the opening and closing operation of the first insulated door 14 is repeated, but the amount of wear of the roller part 105 and the flat surface 54C is significantly reduced by changing the location of the line contact of the roller part 105 with the flat surface 54C.

[0131] Furthermore, the contact position between roller part 105 and connecting part 54B is prevented from changing from the initially set position due to deterioration over the years of actual use. Also, the rotation speed of first insulated door 14 is prevented from changing from the initially set rotation speed due to the fluctuation in the resistance value at the time of contact between roller part 105 and connecting part 54B. Then, the user of refrigerator 10 can use refrigerator 10 for many years without feeling any discomfort from the automatic closing operation of first insulated door 14, improving convenience. Also, the frequency of repairs of automatic closing mechanism 101 is reduced, which prevents an increase in maintenance costs for users.

[0132] As shown in Fig. 17C, the main body 106 of the pressing member 103 is formed as a hollow structure. An insertion hole 112 (see Fig. 17B) having substantially the same shape as the outer shape of the main body 61 of the catcher part 102 is formed in the main body 106. The pressing member 103 is slidably fitted into the main body 61 of the catcher part 102 from the rear end side thereof.

[0133] As shown in the figure, the main body 106 has four inner sides 111A, 111B, 111C, and 111D formed to surround the insertion hole 112. A pair of rail recesses 110 into which the guide rail portion 63 of the main body 61 of the catcher portion 102 is fitted are formed on the inner sides 111B and 111D facing each other in the width direction. The rail recesses 110 are formed, for example, offset in position in the up-down direction of the main body 106, thereby preventing operational errors such as the insertion hole 112 being upside down in the left-right direction during the assembly work of the catcher portion 102. The guide rail portion 63 is also formed in the main body 61 offset in position in the up-down direction.

[0134] Moreover, the inner side surfaces 111A, 111C facing each other in the height direction of the main body portion 106 are formed as substantially flat surfaces. Then, when the pressing member 103 is attached to the main body portion 61 of the catcher part 102, the inner side surfaces 111A, 111C abut against the upper surface 61C and the lower surface 61D of the main body portion 61. Meanwhile, as described above, the rail recess 110 is fitted into and supported by the guide rail part 63, so that the inner side surfaces 111B, 111D may abut against the left and right side surfaces 61E, 61F of the main body portion 61 or may be slightly spaced apart from them.

[0135] With this structure, the pressing member 103 is supported by the guide rail portion 63 of the main body portion 61, and the inner surfaces 111A, 111C abut against the upper surface 61C and the lower surface 61D of the main body portion 61. As a result, when the pressing member 103 slides relative to the catcher portion 102, it is less likely to rattle relative to the catcher portion 102, and the roller portion 105 journaled by the pressing member 103 is also less likely to rattle relative to the catcher portion 102. The roller portion 105 slides stably on the flat surface 54C (see FIG. 6C), so that the catcher portion 102 is also less likely to rattle. The first heat-insulating door 14 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 14 hit the surroundings is reduced, and the comfort of the user is improved.

[0136] Although not shown, a plurality of slits extending in the direction of the arrow 108 may be formed on the inner surfaces 111A, 111C of the pressing member 103. In this case, the sliding resistance between the pressing member 103 and the main body 61 of the catcher part 102 is reduced by filling the slit areas with a lubricant such as grease. As a result, although the sliding action between the pressing member 103 and the main body 61 is repeated, the amount of wear of both members is significantly reduced.

[0137] Next, the operation of the self-closing mechanism 101 when the first insulated door 14 of the refrigerator 10 of this embodiment transitions from an open state to a fully closed state will be described with reference to Figs. 18A to 19B. In the following description, the first insulated door 14 will be used. For the description of the operations of the second insulated door 15 to the fourth insulated door 19, refer to the description of the first insulated door 14, and the description will be omitted here. Also, dotted line 58 shows a line on the front surface 11B of the insulated box 11. For convenience of description, the lid portion 46A (see Fig. 16A) of the housing portion 46 will be omitted, but the guide groove 52 and its vertical groove 52A and oblique groove 52B formed in the lid portion 46A will be illustrated and described.

[0138] First, the guide groove 52 is a groove for adjusting the movement trajectory of the pressing member 103, and the rotating shaft 104 of the roller portion 105 of the pressing member 103 receives a reaction force F2 from the inner surface of the guide groove 52 as the catcher portion 102 rotates. The guide groove 52 is also a groove for applying a rotational force F3 to the roller portion 105, and the rotating shaft 104 receives a rotational force F3 from the inner surface of the guide groove 52 as the catcher portion 102 rotates. In Figs. 18A to 19B, the reaction force that the roller portion 105 of the pressing member 103 receives from the connecting portion 54B of the rotation restricting portion 54 is illustrated as F1, the reaction force that the rotating shaft 104 receives from the inner surface of the guide groove 52 is illustrated as F2, and the rotational force that the rotating shaft 104 receives from the inner surface of the guide groove 52 is illustrated as F3.

[0139] In this embodiment, the reaction forces F1, F2 and rotational force F3 are used for the convenience of explaining the force acting on the rotation shaft 104 of the roller section 105. However, in reality, the force that rotates the catcher section 102 is not limited to the rotational force F3. For example, the force that rotates the catcher section 102 may be a force that the catcher section 102 receives directly from the rotation drive section 55 of the soft-close section 45. Depending on the rotation angle of the catcher section 102, the reaction forces F1, F2 also contribute to the force that rotates the catcher section 102. The reaction forces F1, F2 and rotational force F3 change depending on the rotation angle of the catcher section 102, and the lengths of the reaction forces F1, F2 and rotational force F3 shown in the figure are shown as schematics and do not indicate the actual magnitude of the force.

[0140] In FIG. 18A, the first insulated door 14 is in an open state, and the engagement pin 44A (see FIG. 5A) of the striker portion 44 (see FIG. 5A) is disengaged from the engagement groove 42A of the catcher portion 102. The catcher portion 102 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 14, a user of the refrigerator 10 pushes the first insulated door 14 toward the front surface 11B of the insulated box body 11, applying a rotating force to the first insulated door 14. This closing action by the user causes the first insulated door 14 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 14.

[0141] As described above, the rotating shaft 104 of the roller part 105 is inserted into the guide groove 52 on the front surface side of the housing part 46. As described above, the pressing member 103 supporting the roller part 105 is slidably fitted into the main body part 61 of the catcher part 102, and is therefore less likely to rattle with respect to the catcher part 102. With this structure, the pressing member 103, like the catcher part 102, is supported in a substantially horizontal state with respect to the top surface 11A of the insulating box 11, and the rotating shaft 104 is stably erected in a vertical direction with respect to the top surface 11A.

[0142] As shown in the figure, when connecting portion 54B of rotation restricting portion 54 presses roller portion 105 of pressing member 103 toward the outside of the storage unit with reaction force F1, rotating shaft 104 is positioned at the tip side of guide groove 52 and comes into contact with the inner surface of guide groove 52. Then, rotating shaft 104 receives reaction force F2 from the inner surface of guide groove 52.

[0143] On the other hand, catcher section 102 maintains a stopped state by, for example, fitting a recess (not shown) on its bottom surface into a protrusion (not shown) of housing section 46. At the rear end side of catcher section 102, connecting section 55B of rotation drive section 55 receives a force that rotates catcher section 102, but maintains a balanced state due to the stopped state. As a result, rotation shaft 104 does not receive rotational force F3 from the inner surface of guide groove 52.

[0144] Arrow W3 indicates the rotation range of catcher section 102, and in Fig. 18A, catcher section 102 is located at the outermost part of the rotation range. A part of the tip side of protrusion 62 is located above top surface 11A even when catcher section 102 is in the stopped state. In addition, as shown in Fig. 8A, protruding piece portion 62B is formed on back surface 62A of protrusion 62 located on top surface 11A.

[0145] 18B, the first insulating door 14 is in a closing operation, and the engagement pin 44A of the striker part 44 enters the engagement groove 42A of the catcher part 102, and the striker part 44 and the catcher part 102 are connected to each other. Then, the catcher part 102 is rotated, for example, up to 10 degrees with respect to the front surface 11B of the insulating box body 11. A part of the protrusion 62 is located above the top surface 11A.

[0146] First, in the standby state of the catcher portion 102 shown in Fig. 18A, the engagement pin 44A of the striker portion 44 hits the tip side of the second base portion 61B as indicated by a circle 59, thereby canceling the standby state. Then, the catcher portion 102 starts rotating by directly receiving a rotating force from the connecting portion 55B of the rotation drive portion 55. The rotating shaft 104 moves toward the center side of the vertical groove 52A of the guide groove 52.

[0147] As shown in the figure, the rotating shaft 104 receives a rotational force F3 from the inner surface of the guide groove 52, and the pressing member 103 moves integrally with the catcher portion 102 toward the front surface 11B of the heat-insulating box 11. Meanwhile, the rotating shaft 104 comes into contact with the inner surface of the vertical groove 52A of the guide groove 52, and the movement trajectory is adjusted. The rotating shaft 104 receives a reaction force F2 from the inner surface of the guide groove 52. Furthermore, the roller portion 105 of the pressing member 103 receives a reaction force F1 from the flat surface 54C of the connecting portion 54B.

[0148] With this structure, in conjunction with the rotation of the catcher section 102, the roller section 105 of the pressing member 103 rolls on the flat surface 54C of the connecting section 54B, pressing the connecting section 54B toward the inside of the storage unit. The rotating shaft 104 receives a rotational force F3 and a reaction force F2 from the inner surface of the guide groove 52, and the roller section 105 receives a reaction force F1 from the flat surface 54C. At this time, the rotational force F3 becomes the largest force, so that the pressing member 103 slides relative to the main body section 61 toward the stopper wall section 109.

[0149] As described above, the vertical groove 52A of the guide groove 52 extends linearly in the depth direction (front-to-back direction on the paper) of the heat-insulating box 11. As a result, the rotating shaft 104 draws a linear trajectory in the depth direction of the heat-insulating box 11, so that the roller portion 105 of the pressing member 103 presses the connecting portion 54B as uniformly as possible, and the rotation speed of the catcher portion 102 is made uniform.

[0150] In this embodiment, the rotating shaft 104 is designed to move in the vertical groove 52A of the guide groove 52 until the catcher part 102 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 103 is designed to come into contact with the flat surface 54C (see FIG. 6C) of the connecting part 54B of the rotation restricting part 54 and rotate and move toward the inclined surface 54D (see FIG. 6C). Then, the engagement pin 44A of the striker part 44 moves in the engagement groove 42A toward its base side while being pulled by the first base part 61A of the catcher part 102. With this structure, the rotation speed of the catcher part 102 is made uniform, and the rotation speed of the first heat-insulating door 14 is also made uniform.

[0151] In Fig. 19A, the first insulating door 14 is in a closing operation, and the striker part 44 and the catcher part 102 are still connected to each other as shown in Fig. 18B. The catcher part 102 is rotated, for example, up to 3 degrees with respect to the front surface 11B of the insulating box 11. The protrusion part 62 is located above the top surface 11A.

[0152] As shown in the figure, the rotating shaft 104 receives a rotational force F3 from the inner surface of the guide groove 52, and the pressing member 103 moves integrally with the catcher portion 102 toward the front surface 11B of the heat-insulating box 11. Meanwhile, the rotating shaft 104 comes into contact with the inner surface of the inclined groove 52B of the guide groove 52, and the movement trajectory is adjusted. The rotating shaft 104 receives a reaction force F2 from the inner surface of the guide groove 52. Furthermore, the roller portion 105 receives a reaction force F1 from the inclined surface 54D of the connecting portion 54B.

[0153] As shown in the figure, the pressing area of ​​the roller part 105 shifts from the flat surface 54C of the connecting part 54B to the inclined surface 54D in conjunction with the rotation of the first insulating door 14. Then, the rotating shaft 104 moves from the vertical groove 52A of the guide groove 52 to the oblique groove 52B. As described above, the oblique groove 52B of the guide groove 52 is inclined obliquely toward the depth direction of the insulating box 11 and extends linearly.

[0154] With this structure, the inclined surface 54D of the connecting portion 54B slopes downward with respect to the traveling direction of the roller portion 105, so that the reaction force F1 that the roller portion 105 receives from the rotation restricting portion 54 is dispersed and reduced. In the catcher portion 102, the rotational force received from the rotation drive portion 55 is less likely to be canceled by the reaction force F1, so that the catcher portion 102 rotates more vigorously than in the rotating state of Figures 18A and 18B. In addition, the direction of the rotational force F3 applied to the rotating shaft 104 and the direction of the reaction force F1 applied to the roller portion 105 change in conjunction with the rotational movement of the catcher portion 102, so that the pressing member 103 slides relative to the main body portion 61 toward the rotating shaft 51 side.

[0155] In Fig. 19B, the first insulating door 14 is in a fully closed state. The striker part 44 and the catcher part 102 are still connected to each other as in Fig. 19A, and the catcher part 102 is stopped at a position of 0 degrees relative to the front surface 11B of the insulating box body 11. The protrusion part 62 is located above the top surface 11A.

[0156] As shown in the figure, when the connecting portion 55B of the rotation drive unit 55 presses the rear end side of the catcher part 102, the rotating shaft 104 is positioned on the rear end side of the guide groove 52. When the rotating shaft 104 is positioned at the rear end of the guide groove 52, the catcher part 102 is restricted from rotating further toward the inside of the container. Note that in this embodiment, when the protruding part 62 of the catcher part 102 abuts against the side surface of the housing part 46, the catcher part 102 is also restricted from rotating further toward the inside of the container.

[0157] 19B, in the fully closed state of the first insulated door 14, the magnet contained in the gasket 36 of the first insulated door 14 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 insulated box body 11. As a result, as shown in the figure, a reaction force F2 and a rotation force F3 are applied to the rotating shaft 104, and a reaction force F1 is applied to the roller portion 105, but the magnetic attraction force of the first insulated door 14 is stronger, and the catcher portion 102 maintains the stopped state.

[0158] As described above, in this embodiment, an example of the angle of the catcher portion 42, 102 is shown as a point where the rotation speed of the first heat-insulating door 14, 81 is changed, but the present invention is not limited to this case. The angle of the catcher portion 42, 102 can be arbitrarily changed in design. In addition, the angle of the oblique groove 52B of the first guide groove 52 can also be arbitrarily changed in design according to changes in the characteristics of the damper portion 54A of the rotation restriction portion 54 and the characteristics of the compression coil spring 55A of the rotation drive portion 55. In addition, various modifications are possible within the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0159] 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 33,68 Cover part 34 Storage Rack 35 Inner plate material 35A bulge 36 Gasket 38 Detection Devices 39 Tip opening 40 Notification Department 41 Self-closing mechanism 42 Catcher Section 42A Engagement groove 44 Striker Section 44A Engagement pin 45 Soft close section 46 Housing 46A Lid 47 Screw hole 51 Rotation axis 52 First guide groove 52A Vertical groove 52B Diagonal groove 53 Rotation axis 54 Rotation restriction part 54A Damper part 54B Connection part 54C flat surface 54D sloped surface 55 Rotation drive unit 55A compression coil spring 55B Connection part 57 Tip 61 Main body 61A First Base 61B Second base 62 Protrusion 63 Second guide groove 64 Roller section 65 Support plate 71 Restoration Department 71A Slope 80 Refrigerator 81 First Insulated Door 82 Second Insulated Door 83 Refrigerator 84 Freezer 85 Insulated box 101 Self-closing mechanism 102 Catcher Club 103 Pressing member 104 Rotational Axis 105 Roller part 106 Main body 107 Insertion hole 109 Stopper wall 110 Rail recess 111A, 111B, 111C, 111D Inner surface 112 Insertion hole

Claims

1. A heat-insulating box in which a storage chamber is formed; A heat insulating door that can be opened and closed to cover a front opening of the storage chamber; A self-closing mechanism for self-closing the heat-insulating door relative to the heat-insulating box body, 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 first guide groove formed in the housing portion; a roller portion having a rotation shaft inserted through the first guide groove and rotatably supported by the catcher portion; A rotation regulating portion that reduces the rotation speed of the catcher portion, This refrigerator is characterized in that, when the insulated door is closed, the catcher portion rotates toward the front opening while being guided by the first guide groove, and the roller portion presses the rotation regulating portion toward the depth direction of the insulated box body.

2. A surface of the rotation restricting portion facing the roller portion is formed with 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 is inclined in the depth direction more than the flat surface, The refrigerator according to claim 1, characterized in that, in conjunction with the rotational movement of the catcher section, the roller section presses the flat surface in the depth direction and rolls the flat surface toward the inclined surface.

3. The automatic closing mechanism has a rotation drive unit that serves as a drive source for the rotational movement of the catcher unit, the first guide groove has a vertical groove extending in the depth direction and an oblique groove continuous with the vertical groove and inclined more in the width direction than the vertical groove, The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein the roller portion rolls on the flat surface while the rotating shaft moves along the vertical groove, and the roller portion rolls on the inclined surface while the rotating shaft moves along the oblique groove.

4. The self-closing mechanism is disposed on the heat-insulating door and has a striker portion that is connected to the catcher portion or detached from the catcher portion in conjunction with an opening / closing operation of the heat-insulating door, The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the catcher portion has an engagement groove into which the engagement pin of the striker portion can enter, and when the insulated door is closed, the engagement pin enters into the engagement groove in conjunction with the rotational movement of the catcher portion.

5. the automatic closing mechanism has a second guide groove formed in the catcher portion and through which the rotation shaft of the roller portion is inserted; During a closing operation of the heat-insulating door, the rotating shaft receives a first force from an inner surface of the first guide groove and a second force from an inner surface of the second guide groove, 5. The refrigerator according to claim 4, wherein the first force and the second force are applied to the rotation shaft from different directions.

6. the catcher portion has a first base portion and a second base portion that form the engagement groove, The refrigerator according to claim 4, wherein the second base is located further back in the depth direction than the first base, and the second base is longer than the first base.

7. The refrigerator according to claim 6, wherein the first base portion of the catcher portion is formed with a recovery portion for guiding the engagement pin into the engagement groove.

8. 4. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the heat-insulating door is a double-door.

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