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 / opening 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. A press member 64 is mounted in a catcher part 42 slidably with respect to the body part 61 of the catcher part 42. In this construction, in a closing operation of the first heat insulation door 14 or the like, the press member 64 moves while pressing a connection part 54B of a rotation regulation part 54, while a contact area between the press part 66 of the press member 64 and the connection part 54B varies. This results in reduction of a grinding amount due to sliding between components in the press member 64 and the connection part 54B.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6B

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 comprises an insulated box body in which a storage compartment is formed, an insulated door that can be opened and closed freely to cover a front opening of the storage compartment, and a self-closing mechanism that causes the insulated door to self-close against the insulated box body, wherein the self-closing mechanism comprises a housing part that is fixed to the insulated box body, a catcher part that is rotatably arranged against the housing part, a guide groove formed in the housing part, a pressing member that is slidably arranged against the catcher part and has a guide shaft that is inserted into the guide groove, a rotation regulating part that reduces the rotation speed of the catcher part, and a rotation driving part that serves as a driving source for the rotational movement of the catcher part, and when the insulated door is closed, the catcher part rotates toward the front opening while being guided by the guide groove, and the pressing member presses the rotation regulating part in the depth direction of the insulated box body. With this structure, when the insulated door is closed, the pressing member slides against the catcher while moving on the flat surface of the rotation restriction part, reducing deterioration of parts caused by sliding between parts. As a result, the rotation speed of the insulated door is less likely to change from the initial setting, reducing the burden on users due to early part replacement.

[0013] In a second aspect of the refrigerator of the present invention, the surface of the rotation restricting part that comes into contact with the pressing member is formed with a flat surface extending in the width direction of the insulated box body and an inclined surface that is continuous with the flat surface and inclined in the depth direction, and the pressing member presses the flat surface in the depth direction and moves 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 reaction force received from the rotation restricting part when the pressing member moves on the inclined surface is smaller than the reaction force received from the rotation restricting part when the pressing member moves 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 addition, in a third aspect of the refrigerator of the present invention, the 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 guide shaft moves in the vertical groove, the pressing member moves on the flat surface, and while the guide shaft moves in the oblique groove, the pressing member moves on the inclined surface. With this structure, when the insulated door is closed, the reaction force that the catcher part receives from the rotation restriction part 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 addition, in a fifth aspect of the refrigerator of the present invention, the pressing member has an insertion hole inserted into the catcher part, and the pressing member is attached to the catcher part through the insertion hole, and slides relative to the catcher part when the insulated door is closed. With this structure, when the insulated door is closed, the pressing member slides while being stably supported by the catcher part. As a result, the catcher part is less likely to rotate with a rattle, and the insulated door also rotates stably. Furthermore, items stored in the insulated door are less likely to collide with each other, improving convenience for users.

[0017] In a sixth aspect of the refrigerator of the present invention, a slit is formed in the inner surface of the pressing member that forms the insertion hole in the direction in which the pressing member slides. With this structure, the contact area between the inner surface of the pressing member and the catcher part is reduced, and the sliding resistance between the pressing member and the catcher part is reduced.

[0018] In a seventh 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 ajar, and the convenience of the user is improved.

[0019] In an eighth 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.

[0020] In addition, a ninth 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, one on the left and one on the 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. However, when the insulated doors are fully closed, a collision sound is generated between the insulated doors and the insulated box, allowing the user to determine whether the insulated doors are fully closed by the collision sound.

[0021] A tenth aspect of the refrigerator of the present invention includes an insulated box body in which a storage compartment is formed, an insulated door that can be opened and closed freely to close a front opening of the storage compartment, a self-closing mechanism that causes the insulated door to self-close relative to the insulated box body, and a rotation drive unit that serves as a drive source for the rotational operation of the catcher unit, wherein the self-closing mechanism has a housing unit that is fixed to the insulated box body, a catcher unit that is rotatably arranged relative to the housing unit, a guide groove formed in the housing unit, a pressing member that is slidably arranged relative to the catcher unit, a roller unit whose rotation axis is inserted into the guide groove and is rotatably supported by the pressing member, and a rotation regulating unit that decelerates the rotational speed of the catcher unit, and when the insulated door is closed, the catcher unit rotates toward the front opening while being guided by the guide groove, and the roller unit presses the rotation regulating unit in the depth direction of the insulated box body. With this structure, when the insulated door is closed, the roller part rolls on the flat surface of the rotation restriction part to prevent deterioration of parts caused by sliding between parts. As a result, the rotation speed of the insulated door is less likely to change from the initial setting, reducing the burden on users due to early part replacement.

[0022] In an eleventh aspect of the refrigerator of the present invention, the surface of the rotation restricting part that comes into contact with the roller part is formed with a flat surface extending in the width direction of the insulated box body and an inclined surface that is continuous with the flat surface and inclined in the depth direction, 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 rotation of the catcher part. With this structure, during the closing operation of the insulated door, the reaction force received from the rotation restricting part when the roller part rolls on the inclined surface is smaller than the reaction force received from the rotation restricting part when the roller part rolls 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-open, and improves user convenience.

[0023] In addition, in a twelfth aspect of the refrigerator of the present invention, the 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 part rolls on the flat surface, and while the rotating shaft moves along the oblique groove, the roller part rolls on the inclined surface. With this structure, when the insulated door is closed, the reaction force that the catcher part receives from the rotation regulating part 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.

[0024] In a thirteenth aspect of the refrigerator of the present invention, the automatic closing mechanism has a striker part that is disposed on 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.

[0025] In addition, in a fourteenth aspect of the refrigerator of the present invention, the pressing member has an insertion hole inserted into the catcher part, and the pressing member is attached to the catcher part through the insertion hole, and slides relative to the catcher part when the insulated door is closed. With this structure, when the insulated door is closed, the rotation shaft of the roller part is supported by the guide groove, so that the roller part can move while stably rotating relative to the flat surface of the rotation restriction part. As a result, the catcher part is less likely to rotate with rattle, and the insulated door also rotates stably. Furthermore, items stored in the insulated door are less likely to collide with each other, improving convenience for users.

[0026] In addition, in a fifteenth aspect of the refrigerator of the present invention, a slit is formed in the inner surface of the pressing member forming the insertion hole in the direction in which the pressing member slides. With this structure, the contact area between the inner surface of the pressing member and the catcher part is reduced, and the sliding resistance value between the pressing member and the catcher part is reduced.

[0027] In a sixteenth 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 ajar, and the convenience of the user is improved.

[0028] In addition, a seventeenth aspect of the refrigerator of the present invention is characterized in that the first base of the catcher part is formed with a recovery part that guides the engagement pin into 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 in an open state, 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.

[0029] In addition, an 18th 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

[0030] 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]

[0031] [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 7C] A cross-sectional view illustrating a catcher portion of the automatic closing mechanism of the 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 14A] 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 14B] 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 14C] A cross-sectional view illustrating a catcher portion of the automatic closing mechanism of the refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 15] 1 is a perspective view illustrating a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 16A] 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 16B]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. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0032] 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.

[0033] 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.

[0034] 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.

[0035] 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.

[0036] 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).

[0037] 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.

[0038] 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).

[0039] 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.

[0040] 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.

[0041] 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).

[0042] 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.

[0043] 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.

[0044] 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.

[0045] 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.

[0046] 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.

[0047] 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. FIG. 7C 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 in the AA line direction shown in FIG. 7A. 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 catcher portion 42 of automatic closing mechanism 41 of refrigerator 10 of this embodiment, and shows a cross section along line BB shown in Fig. 8A. Figs. 10A to 11B are top views illustrating the operation of automatic closing mechanism 41 when first insulated door 14 of refrigerator 10 of this embodiment is closed. Figs. 10A to 11B mainly explain the operation of catcher portion 42 and soft close portion 45 of automatic closing mechanism 41 when first insulated door 14 is closed.

[0048] 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.

[0049] 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.

[0050] 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.

[0051] 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.

[0052] 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 is in a state of protruding from the front surface 11B to the outside of the storage unit. Although the details will be described later, the catcher part 42 is formed with a protruding part 62 extending to the side thereof, and at least a part of the protruding part 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.

[0053] 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.

[0054] 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.

[0055] 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.

[0056] 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.

[0057] 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. Then, the catcher part 42 is pushed by the striker part 44 (see Fig. 5A) and starts to rotate. Thereafter, the catcher part 42 directly receives a rotating force from the rotation drive part 55 (see Fig. 6B) of the soft-close part 45, and rotates with respect to the housing part 46 around the rotation shaft 51 as a rotation fulcrum.

[0058] 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.

[0059] As shown in the figure, a guide shaft 53 of a pressing member 64 (see FIG. 6B) supported by the catcher portion 42 is inserted into the guide groove 52. The guide shaft 53 is formed integrally with the pressing member 64 by, for example, resin molding, and is formed on the upper surface side of the pressing member 64. 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 guide shaft 53. Although details will be described later, when the pressing member 64 rotates together with the catcher portion 42 with respect to the housing portion 46, the guide shaft 53 is forcibly guided by the guide groove 52, and the movement trajectory of the pressing member 64 is adjusted.

[0060] 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 pressing member 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 pressing the pressing member 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 pressing member 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 pressing member 64 becomes a resistance force that restricts the rotational movement of the catcher portion 42, and the reaction force F1 is also transmitted efficiently.

[0061] 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 rotating force of the connecting portion 55B directly pressing the catcher portion 42 is efficiently transmitted to the catcher portion 42.

[0062] 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 pressing member 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 directly 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.

[0063] As shown in FIG. 6C, the surface of the tip 57 of the connecting portion 54B facing the pressing member 64 has a flat surface 54C that contacts the pressing member 64 and an inclined surface 54D that is inclined 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 pressing member 64 supported by the catcher portion 42 slides and moves on the flat surface 54C and the inclined surface 54D to press the connecting portion 54B toward the damper portion 54A, thereby adjusting the rotation speed of the first insulating door 14.

[0064] As shown in FIG. 7A, the catcher section 42 has a main body section 61, an engagement groove 42A formed in the main body section 61, a protruding 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. 6A), and a through hole 65 for rotatably supporting the rotating shaft 51. Although details will be described later, a pressing member 64 is inserted and disposed in the main body section 61. The pressing member 64 slides relative to the main body section 61 of the catcher section 42. The pair of guide rail sections 63 are in the shape of convex sections, and are fitted in a slidable state into a pair of rail recesses 70 (see FIG. 7C) formed on inner sides 69B, 69D (see FIG. 7C) facing each other in the width direction of the pressing member 64 (see FIG. 7C).

[0065] 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.

[0066] 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.

[0067] 7B, the pressing member 64 has a hollow main body 58, a guide shaft 53 integrally formed on the upper surface side of the main body 58, and a pressing portion 66 that presses the connecting portion 54B of the rotation restricting portion 54. The main body 58 and the guide shaft 53 are formed by integral molding using a resin material, for example. The pressing portion 66 is formed as a part of the main body 58. The pressing portion 66 has a shape of, for example, half of a cylinder, and the contact area of ​​the pressing portion 66 with the connecting portion 54B is curved.

[0068] The guide shaft 53 is formed on the upper surface of the pressing portion 66 and has a cylindrical shape having a diameter approximately equal to the width W1 of the guide groove 52 in the short side direction. Although details will be described later, when the first insulated door 14 is closed, the guide shaft 53 receives a reaction force F2 (see FIG. 10B) from the inner surface of the guide groove 52. Then, the pressing member 64 slides in the longitudinal direction of the main body 61 of the catcher part 42 as shown by an arrow 67. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6B, the pressing member 64 slides between the stopper wall 72 of the main body 61 and the rotating shaft 51. That is, the pressing member 64 comes into contact with the stopper wall 72 or the rotating shaft 51 to stop the sliding movement.

[0069] With this structure, the pressing member 64 rotates integrally with the catcher portion 42 toward the front surface 11B of the insulating box 11, while sliding in the direction of the arrow 67 relative to the main body portion 61. The pressing portion 66 slides while pressing the connecting portion 54B of the rotation restricting portion 54, but the area of ​​contact between the pressing portion 66 and the connecting portion 54B is slightly misaligned due to the rotation and sliding, thereby reducing the amount of wear caused by the sliding.

[0070] As a result, the contact position between the pressing part 66 and the 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 the 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 the contact between the pressing part 66 and the connecting part 54B. Then, the user of the refrigerator 10 can use the refrigerator for many years without feeling any discomfort from the automatic closing operation of the first insulated door 14, improving convenience. Also, the frequency of repairs of the automatic closing mechanism 41 is reduced, which prevents an increase in the maintenance cost for the user.

[0071] As shown in Fig. 7C, the main body 58 of the pressing member 64 is formed as a hollow structure. An insertion hole 73 (see Fig. 7B) having substantially the same shape as the outer shape of the main body 61 of the catcher part 42 is formed in the main body 58. The pressing member 64 is slidably fitted into the main body 61 from the rear end side of the catcher part 42.

[0072] As shown in the figure, the main body 58 has four inner sides 69A, 69B, 69C, and 69D formed to surround the insertion hole 73. A pair of rail recesses 70 into which the guide rail portion 63 of the main body 61 of the catcher portion 42 is fitted are formed on the inner sides 69B and 69D facing each other in the width direction. The rail recesses 70 are formed, for example, offset in position in the vertical direction of the main body 58, thereby preventing operational errors such as the guide shaft 53 being upside down during the assembly work of the catcher portion 42. The guide rail portion 63 is also formed in the main body 61 offset in position in the vertical direction.

[0073] Moreover, the inner side surfaces 69A, 69C facing each other in the height direction of the main body portion 58 are formed as substantially flat surfaces. Then, when the pressing member 64 is attached to the main body portion 61 of the catcher part 42, the inner side surfaces 69A, 69C abut against the upper surface 61C and the lower surface 61D of the main body portion 61. Meanwhile, as described above, the rail recess 70 is fitted into and supported by the guide rail portion 63, so that the inner side surfaces 69B, 69D 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.

[0074] With this structure, the pressing member 64 is supported by the guide rail portion 63 of the main body portion 61, and the inner surfaces 69A, 69C abut against the upper surface 61C and the lower surface 61D of the main body portion 61. As a result, the pressing member 64 is less likely to rattle against the catcher portion 42 when sliding relative to the catcher portion 42. The pressing portion 66 slides stably on the flat surface 54C (see FIG. 6C), so that the catcher portion 42 is also less likely to rattle. The first insulating door 14 is also less likely to rattle during the closing operation, and quietness is achieved. The sound generated when the stored items inside the first insulating door 14 hit the surroundings is reduced, and the comfort of the user is improved.

[0075] As shown in FIG. 7C, a plurality of slits 74 extending in the direction of the arrow 67 may be formed on the inner surfaces 69A, 69C of the pressing member 64. In this case, the slits 74 extend in the sliding direction of the pressing member 64, thereby reducing the contact area between the inner surfaces 69A, 69C and the main body 61. Furthermore, by filling the area where the slits 74 are formed with a lubricant such as grease, the sliding resistance value between the pressing member 64 and the main body 61 of the catcher part 42 is reduced. As a result, although the sliding action between the pressing member 64 and the main body 61 is repeatedly performed, the amount of wear of both members is significantly reduced. Furthermore, by extending the slits 74 in the sliding direction of the pressing member 64 and filling the slits 74, the lubricant can be maintained for a long period of time and supplied to the sliding surfaces of both members almost entirely.

[0076] 8A and 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 drawings, the protruding piece portion 62B is formed, for example, in a substantially semicircular shape in cross section, and a formation region R1 of the protruding piece portion 62B is a region that protrudes further than a non-formation region R2 of the protruding piece portion 62B.

[0077] With this structure, even if the protruding piece 62B comes into contact with the top surface 11A of the heat-insulating box 11 during the rotation of the catcher part 42, the tip of the protruding piece 62B comes into contact with the top surface 11A, and the contact area with the top surface 11A is reduced, making it difficult for the resistance value during sliding to increase. As a result, the rotation speed of the catcher part 42 is prevented from becoming slower than the design value. In addition, the protruding piece 62B is in point contact with the top surface 11A due to the curved surface, so the amount of wear caused by the above-mentioned sliding is also reduced, and the frequency of parts replacement due to deterioration of the catcher part 42 is reduced. In addition, an increase in maintenance costs for users is also prevented.

[0078] 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.

[0079] 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.

[0080] 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 62B of the protrusion 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.

[0081] 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.

[0082] 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.

[0083] 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, 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 guide groove 52 and its vertical groove 52A and oblique groove 52B formed in the lid portion 46A will be illustrated and described.

[0084] In this embodiment, the reaction forces F1, F2 and the rotational force F3 are used for the convenience of explaining the sliding movement of the pressing member 64, but in reality, the force that rotates the catcher section 42 is not limited to the rotational force F3. For example, the force that rotates the catcher section 42 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 42, the reaction forces F1, F2 also contribute to the force that rotates the catcher section 42. The reaction forces F1, F2 and the rotational force F3 change depending on the rotation angle of the catcher section 42, and the lengths of the reaction forces F1, F2 and the rotational force F3 shown in the figures are shown only as a schematic representation and do not indicate the magnitude of the actual force.

[0085] First, the guide groove 52 is a groove for adjusting the movement trajectory of the pressing member 64, and the guide shaft 53 of the pressing member 64 receives a reaction force F2 from the inner surface of the guide groove 52 as the catcher section 42 rotates. The guide groove 52 is also a groove for applying a rotational force F3 to the pressing member 64, and the guide shaft 53 of the pressing member 64 receives a rotational force F3 from the inner surface of the guide groove 52 as the catcher section 42 rotates. In Figs. 10A to 11B, the reaction force that the pressing section 66 of the pressing member 64 receives from the connecting section 54B of the rotation restricting section 54 is illustrated as F1, the reaction force that the guide shaft 53 receives from the inner surface of the guide groove 52 is illustrated as F2, and the rotational force that the guide shaft 53 receives from the inner surface of the guide groove 52 is illustrated as F3.

[0086] 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.

[0087] As described above, the guide shaft 53 of the pressing member 64 is inserted into the guide groove 52 on the front surface side of the housing part 46. As described above, the pressing member 64 is slidably fitted into the main body part 61 of the catcher part 42, so that the pressing member 64 is less likely to rattle with respect to the catcher part 42. With this structure, the pressing member 64, like the catcher part 42, is supported in a substantially horizontal state with respect to the top surface 11A of the insulating box 11, and the guide shaft 53 is in a stable upright state in a direction perpendicular to the top surface 11A.

[0088] As shown in the figure, when the connecting portion 54B of the rotation restricting portion 54 presses the pressing portion 66 of the pressing member 64 toward the outside of the storage unit with a reaction force F1, the guide shaft 53 is located at the tip side of the guide groove 52 and comes into contact with the inner surface of the guide groove 52. Then, the guide shaft 53 receives a reaction force F2 from the inner surface of the guide groove 52.

[0089] 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 directly receives a force that rotates the catcher part 42, but maintains a balanced state due to the stopped state. As a result, the guide shaft 53 does not receive the rotational force F3 from the inner surface of the guide groove 52.

[0090] 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.

[0091] 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.

[0092] First, in the standby state of catcher portion 42 shown in Fig. 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. Then, catcher portion 42 starts rotating by directly receiving a rotating force from connecting portion 55B of rotation drive portion 55. Guide shaft 53 moves to the center side of vertical groove 52A of guide groove 52.

[0093] As shown in the figure, the guide shaft 53 receives a rotational force F3 from the inner surface of the guide groove 52, and moves together with the catcher portion 42 toward the front surface 11B of the heat-insulating box 11. Meanwhile, the guide shaft 53 comes into contact with the inner surface of the vertical groove 52A of the guide groove 52, and the movement trajectory is adjusted. The guide shaft 53 receives a reaction force F2 from the inner surface of the guide groove 52. Furthermore, the pressing portion 66 of the pressing member 64 receives a reaction force F1 from the flat surface 54C of the connecting portion 54B.

[0094] With this structure, in conjunction with the rotational movement of the catcher section 42, the pressing section 66 of the pressing member 64 slides on the flat surface 54C of the connecting section 54B, pressing the connecting section 54B toward the inside of the storage unit. The guide shaft 53 receives a rotational force F3 and a reaction force F2 from the inner surface of the guide groove 52, and the pressing section 66 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 64 slides relative to the main body section 61 toward the stopper wall section 72.

[0095] As described above, the vertical groove 52A of the guide groove 52 extends linearly in the depth direction (front-rear direction on the page) of the heat-insulating box 11. As a result, the guide shaft 53 draws a linear trajectory in the depth direction of the heat-insulating box 11, so that the pressing portion 66 of the pressing member 64 presses the connecting portion 54B as uniformly as possible, and the rotation speed of the catcher portion 42 is made uniform.

[0096] In this embodiment, the guide shaft 53 is designed to move in the vertical groove 52A of the 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 pressing member 64 is designed to come into contact with the flat surface 54C (see FIG. 6C) of the connecting portion 54B of the rotation restricting portion 54 and slide 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.

[0097] 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.

[0098] As shown in the figure, the guide shaft 53 receives a rotational force F3 from the inner surface of the guide groove 52, and the pressing member 64 moves toward the front surface 11B of the heat-insulating box 11 together with the catcher portion 42. Meanwhile, the guide shaft 53 comes into contact with the inner surface of the inclined groove 52B of the guide groove 52, and the moving trajectory is adjusted. The guide shaft 53 receives a reaction force F2 from the inner surface of the guide groove 52. Furthermore, the pressing portion 66 of the pressing member 64 receives a reaction force F1 from the inclined surface 54D of the connecting portion 54B.

[0099] As shown in the figure, the sliding area of ​​the pressing part 66 shifts from the flat surface 54C of the connecting part 54B to the inclined surface 54D in conjunction with the rotational movement of the first insulating door 14, so that the guide shaft 53 moves from the vertical groove 52A to the oblique groove 52B of the guide groove 52. 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.

[0100] With this structure, the inclined surface 54D of the connecting portion 54B slopes downward with respect to the moving direction of the pressing portion 66, so that the reaction force F1 that the pressing portion 66 receives from the rotation restricting portion 54 is dispersed and reduced. In the catcher portion 42, 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 42 rotates more vigorously than in the rotating state of Figures 10A and 10B. In addition, the direction of the rotational force F3 applied to the guide shaft 53 and the direction of the reaction force F1 applied to the pressing portion 66 change in conjunction with the rotational movement of the catcher portion 42, so that the pressing member 64 slides relative to the main body portion 61 toward the rotation shaft 51 side.

[0101] 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.

[0102] As shown in the figure, when connecting portion 55B of rotation drive portion 55 is in a state of pressing the rear end side of catcher portion 42, guide shaft 53 is positioned on the rear end side of guide groove 52. When guide shaft 53 is positioned at the rear end portion of guide groove 52, catcher portion 42 is restricted from rotating further toward the inside of the storage compartment. Note that in this embodiment, when protruding portion 62 of catcher portion 42 abuts against the side surface of housing portion 46, catcher portion 42 is also restricted from rotating further toward the inside of the storage compartment.

[0103] 11B, 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 rotational force F3 are applied to the guide shaft 53, and a reaction force F1 is applied to the pressing portion 66, but the magnetic attraction force of the first insulated door 14 is stronger, and the catcher portion 42 maintains the stopped state.

[0104] As described above, in this embodiment, when the first insulated door 14 is closed, the connecting portion 54B on which the pressing portion 66 of the pressing member 64 slides is changed from the flat surface 54C to the inclined surface 54D. As a result, the reaction force F1 that the pressing member 64 receives from the rotation restricting portion 54 changes, and the rotation speed of the catcher portion 42 changes in at least two stages. In addition, when the first insulated door 14 is a double-leaf door, the rotation speed immediately before the full closing is 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.

[0105] 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.

[0106] 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 guide shaft 53 moves in the vertical groove 52A of the 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.

[0107] 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.

[0108] 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.

[0109] 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.

[0110] 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.

[0111] 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.

[0112] 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.

[0113] 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.

[0114] 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.

[0115] 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.

[0116] With this structure, for example, when a user approaches freezer compartment 13 to search for food ingredients therein or to store food ingredients therein, 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.

[0117] 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.

[0118] 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.

[0119] 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.

[0120] 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.

[0121] 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 part 33.

[0122] 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 housed in the cover part 33 just before the first insulated door 14 is fully closed, and moves along the inclined surface 71A of the recovery part 71.

[0123] 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.

[0124] 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.

[0125] In the refrigerator 10 of the present embodiment, the pressing member 64 is slidably attached to the catcher portion 42 of the self-closing mechanism 41. In the above description, the pressing member 64 rotates together with the catcher portion 42 during the closing operation of the first insulated door 14, and the pressing portion 66 of the pressing member 64 presses the connecting portion 54B of the rotation restricting portion 54 while the guide shaft 53 is guided by the guide groove 52. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in the structure of the pressing member 75 of the self-closing mechanism 41, the pressing portion 66 of the pressing member 64 may be replaced with a roller portion 76, and the roller portion 76 may press the connecting portion 54B of the rotation restricting portion 54 in conjunction with the rotation of the pressing member 75. In the pressing member 75, the operation described with reference to FIGS. 10A to 11B is performed in the same manner as the pressing member 64.

[0126] 14A to 14C, the structure in which the pressing member 75 having the roller portion 76 is attached to the catcher portion 42 of the automatic closing mechanism 41 will be described below. The other structures of the automatic closing mechanism 41 are the same as the structures of the respective members used in the automatic closing mechanism 41 described above, and the same members are generally designated by the same reference numerals, and repeated explanations will be omitted. Also, the explanations of the above-mentioned Figs. 1 to 13B will be referred to as appropriate.

[0127] 14A and 14B are perspective views illustrating catcher portion 42 of automatic closing mechanism 41 of refrigerator 10 of the present embodiment. Fig. 14C is a cross-sectional view illustrating catcher portion 42 of automatic closing mechanism 41 of refrigerator 10 of the present embodiment, showing a cross section along line CC shown in Fig. 14A.

[0128] As shown in FIG. 14A, the catcher section 42 has a main body section 61, an engagement groove 42A formed in the main body section 61, a protruding 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. 6A), and a through hole 65 for rotatably supporting the rotating shaft 51. Although details will be described later, a pressing member 75 is inserted and disposed in the main body section 61. The pressing member 75 slides relative to the main body section 61 of the catcher section 42. The pair of guide rail sections 63 are in the shape of convex sections, and are fitted in a slidable state relative to a pair of rail recesses 93 (see FIG. 14C) formed on inner sides 92B, 92D (see FIG. 14C) facing each other in the width direction of the pressing member 75 (see FIG. 14C).

[0129] As shown in Fig. 14B, the pressing member 75 has a hollow main body 77, a roller 76 rotatably supported by the main body 77, and a pair of insertion holes 79 that support the roller 76. A pair of rotation shafts 78 extending in the vertical direction are formed in the roller 76. The roller 76 and the rotation shafts 78 are formed by integral molding using a resin material, for example. The rotation shafts 78 of the roller 76 are inserted into the insertion holes 79 of the main body 77, so that the roller 76 is rotatably supported by the main body 77. The inner diameter of the insertion holes 79 is approximately equal to the outer diameter of the rotation shafts 78.

[0130] The rotating shaft 78 has a cylindrical shape with a diameter approximately equal to the width W1 in the short side direction of the guide groove 52. Although details will be described later, the rotating shaft 78 of the roller part 76 passes through the insertion hole 79 and is inserted into the guide groove 52 of the housing part 46. Then, when the first insulated door 14 is closed, the rotating shaft 78 receives a reaction force F2 (see FIG. 10B) 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 76 is adjusted.

[0131] On the other hand, as the rotating shaft 78 receives the reaction force F2, the pressing member 75 slides in the longitudinal direction of the main body 61 of the catcher section 42 as shown by arrow 90 (see FIG. 14A). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6B, the pressing member 75 slides between the stopper wall 72 of the main body 61 and the rotating shaft 51. That is, the pressing member 75 comes into contact with the stopper wall 72 or the rotating shaft 51, thereby stopping its sliding movement.

[0132] With this structure, pressing member 75 rotates integrally with catcher portion 42 toward front surface 11B of thermal insulation box 11, while sliding relative to main body portion 61 in the direction of arrow 90. Then, roller portion 76 is extended outward beyond main body portion 77, and rolls on flat surface 54C of connecting portion 54B while pressing connecting portion 54B of rotation restricting portion 54.

[0133] As a result, the roller portion 76 makes line contact with the flat surface 54C of the connecting portion 54B and presses the connecting portion 54B, but the location of the line contact changes with respect to the flat surface 54C as the roller portion 76 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 portion 76 and the flat surface 54C is greatly reduced because the location of the line contact of the roller portion 76 with the flat surface 54C changes.

[0134] Furthermore, the contact position between the roller part 76 and the 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 the 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 the roller part 76 and the connecting part 54B. Then, the user of the refrigerator 10 can use the refrigerator for many years without feeling any discomfort from the automatic closing operation of the first insulated door 14, improving convenience. Also, the frequency of repairs of the automatic closing mechanism 41 is reduced, which prevents an increase in the maintenance cost for the user.

[0135] As shown in Fig. 14C, the main body 77 of the pressing member 75 is formed as a hollow structure. An insertion hole 91 (see Fig. 14B) having substantially the same shape as the outer shape of the main body 61 of the catcher part 42 is formed in the main body 77. The pressing member 75 is slidably fitted into the main body 61 from the rear end side of the catcher part 42.

[0136] As shown in the figure, the main body 77 has four inner sides 92A, 92B, 92C, and 92D formed to surround the insertion hole 91. A pair of rail recesses 93 into which the guide rail portion 63 of the main body 61 of the catcher portion 42 is fitted are formed on the inner sides 92B and 92D facing each other in the width direction. The rail recesses 93 are formed, for example, offset in position in the up-down direction of the main body 77, thereby preventing operational errors such as the insertion hole 79 being upside down in the left-right direction during the assembly work of the catcher portion 42. The guide rail portion 63 is also formed in the main body 61 offset in position in the up-down direction.

[0137] Moreover, the inner side surfaces 92A, 92C facing each other in the height direction of the main body portion 77 are formed as substantially flat surfaces. Then, when the pressing member 75 is attached to the main body portion 61 of the catcher part 42, the inner side surfaces 92A, 92C abut against the upper surface 61C and the lower surface 61D of the main body portion 61. Meanwhile, as described above, the rail recess 93 is fitted into and supported by the guide rail portion 63, so that the inner side surfaces 92B, 92D 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.

[0138] With this structure, the pressing member 75 is supported by the guide rail portion 63 of the main body portion 61, and the inner surfaces 92A, 92C abut against the upper surface 61C and the lower surface 61D of the main body portion 61. As a result, when the pressing member 75 slides relative to the catcher portion 42, it is less likely to rattle, and the roller portion 76 journaled by the pressing member 75 is also less likely to rattle relative to the catcher portion 42. The roller portion 76 slides stably on the flat surface 54C (see FIG. 6C), so that the catcher portion 42 is also less likely to rattle. The first insulating door 14 is also less likely to rattle during the closing operation, and quietness is achieved. The sound generated when the stored items in the first insulating door 14 hit the surroundings is reduced, and the comfort of the user is improved.

[0139] As shown in FIG. 14C, the inner surfaces 92A, 92C of the pressing member 75 may be formed with a plurality of slits 74 extending in the direction of the arrow 90. In this case, the slits 74 extend in the sliding direction of the pressing member 75, thereby reducing the contact area between the inner surfaces 92A, 92C and the main body 61 of the catcher part 42. Furthermore, the sliding resistance between the pressing member 75 and the main body 61 is reduced by filling the area where the slits 74 are formed with a lubricant such as grease. As a result, the sliding action between the pressing member 75 and the main body 61 is repeated, but the amount of wear of both members is significantly reduced. Furthermore, the slits 74 extend in the sliding direction of the pressing member 75, and the lubricant is filled in the slits 74, so that the lubricant can be maintained for a long period of time and supplied to the sliding surfaces of both members almost entirely.

[0140] In addition, 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. 15 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.

[0141] 15, 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.

[0142] 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.

[0143] 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.

[0144] 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. 16A 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.

[0145] In this case, after the pressing portion 66 of the pressing member 64 moves from the flat surface 54C of the connecting portion 54B to the inclined surface 54D, the pressing portion 66 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, the rotational force received from the rotation drive portion 55 in the catcher portion 42 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 vigorously, 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.

[0146] 16B 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 guide groove 52 is formed only from the vertical groove 52A.

[0147] In this case, the pressing part 66 continues to press the flat surface 54C of the connecting part 54B as uniformly as possible, thereby making the rotation speed of the catcher part 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.

[0148] In addition, in this embodiment, an example of the angle of the catcher portion 42 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 can be changed in any design. In addition, the angle of the oblique groove 52B of the guide groove 52 can also be changed in any 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 changes are possible within the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0149] 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 Guide groove 52A Vertical groove 52B Diagonal groove 53 Guide shaft 54 Rotation restriction part 54A Damper section 54B Connection part 54C flat surface 54D sloped surface 55 Rotation drive unit 55A compression coil spring 55B Connection part 57 Tip 58 Main body 61 Main body 61A First Base 61B Second base 62 Protrusion 63 Guide rail part 64 Pressing member 65 Through hole 66 Pressing part 69A, 69B, 69C, 69D Inner surface 70 Rail recess 71 Restoration Department 71A Slope 72 Stopper wall 73 Insertion hole 75 Pressing member 76 Roller part 77 Main body 78 Rotational Axis 79 Insertion hole 80 Refrigerator 81 First Insulated Door 82 Second Insulated Door 83 Refrigerator 84 Freezer 85 Insulated box 91 Insertion hole 92A,92B,92C,92D Inner surface 93 Rail recess

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 guide groove formed in the housing portion; a pressing member that is slidably disposed with respect to the catcher portion and has a guide shaft that is inserted into the guide groove; A rotation regulating unit that reduces the rotation speed of the catcher unit; a rotation drive unit that drives the rotational movement of the catcher unit; When the insulated door is closed, the catcher portion rotates toward the front opening while being guided by the guide groove, and the pressing member presses the rotation regulating portion toward the depth direction of the insulated box body.

2. A surface of the rotation restricting portion that comes into contact with the pressing member is provided 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 inclined in the depth direction, The refrigerator according to claim 1, characterized in that, in conjunction with the rotational movement of the catcher portion, the pressing member presses the flat surface in the depth direction and moves the flat surface toward the inclined surface.

3. The 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, The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein while the guide shaft moves in the vertical groove, the pressing member moves on the flat surface, and while the guide shaft moves in the oblique groove, the pressing member moves on the inclined surface.

4. The automatic closing mechanism is provided on the heat-insulating door and has a striker portion that is connected to the catcher portion or detached from the catcher portion in response to an opening or 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 pressing member has an insertion hole into which the pressing member is inserted in the catcher portion, The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the pressing member is attached to the catcher portion through the insertion hole, and slides relative to the catcher portion when the insulation door is closed.

6. The refrigerator according to claim 5, wherein a slit is formed in an inner surface of the pressing member forming the insertion hole in a direction in which the pressing member slides.

7. 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.

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

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

10. 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 guide groove formed in the housing portion; A pressing member slidably disposed relative to the catcher portion; a roller portion having a rotation shaft inserted through the guide groove and rotatably supported by the pressing member; A rotation regulating unit that reduces the rotation speed of the catcher unit; a rotation drive unit that drives the rotational movement of the catcher unit; 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 guide groove, and the roller portion presses the rotation regulating portion toward the depth direction of the insulated box body.

11. A surface of the rotation restricting portion that comes into contact with 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 inclined in the depth direction, The refrigerator according to claim 10, 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.

12. The 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, The refrigerator according to claim 11, 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.

13. The automatic closing mechanism is provided on the heat-insulating door and has a striker portion that is connected to the catcher portion or detached from the catcher portion in response to an opening or closing operation of the heat-insulating door, The refrigerator according to any one of claims 10 to 12, 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.

14. The pressing member has an insertion hole into which the pressing member is inserted in the catcher portion, The refrigerator according to any one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that the pressing member is attached to the catcher portion through the insertion hole, and slides relative to the catcher portion when the insulating door is closed.

15. The refrigerator according to claim 14, wherein a slit is formed in an inner surface of the pressing member forming the insertion hole in a direction in which the pressing member slides.

16. the catcher portion has a first base portion and a second base portion that form the engagement groove, The refrigerator according to claim 13, 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.

17. The refrigerator according to claim 16, wherein the first base of the catcher portion is formed with a recovery portion for guiding the engagement pin into the engagement groove.

18. 13. The refrigerator according to claim 10, wherein the heat-insulating door is a double-door.

Images