refrigerator

Abstract

We provide a refrigerator with an extended range of rotation that allows the door to close automatically. [Solution] The lower hinge includes a lower member 32 fixed near the opening of the storage compartment and an upper member fixed to the lower surface of the door. The lower member has an annular seating surface 322 coaxial with the hinge pin. The upper member has a downward projection. When the door is opened and closed, the downward projection slides on the seating surface 322. The seating surface has an upward projection 323 in part that protrudes upward. The upward projection has a horizontal surface 323a located at the uppermost position, a first inclined surface 323b, and a second inclined surface 323c provided between the horizontal surface and the first inclined surface. The first inclined surface guides the door to rotate in the direction of closing by its own weight when the rotation angle of the door is less than or equal to the first rotation angle. The second slope guides the door to rotate in the direction of closing due to its own weight when the door's rotation angle is greater than the first rotation angle and less than or equal to the second rotation angle which is greater than the first rotation angle.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a refrigerator.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a refrigerator having a door-type door provided with an auto-close mechanism.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] A conventional cam mechanism having an auto-close function is mainly for closing the door tightly, and the gradient of the slope of the cam mechanism is relatively large in order to close the door with a relatively strong force. On the other hand, from the viewpoint of preventing forgetting to close the door, a function that automatically closes the door within a wider rotation range is required.

[0005] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a refrigerator in which the rotation range in which the door is automatically closed is extended.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] A refrigerator according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes a storage chamber having an opening in the front surface, a door-type door that opens and closes the opening, an upper hinge portion and a lower hinge portion that rotatably support the door. The lower hinge portion includes a lower member fixed to a lower portion near the opening of the storage chamber and an upper member fixed to a proximal end side of the lower surface of the door. The lower member has a hinge pin that serves as a rotation axis of the door and an annular seating surface coaxial with the hinge pin. The upper member has a fitting portion into which the hinge pin is fitted, and a downward projection that protrudes downward in a part of the periphery of the fitting portion. When the door is opened or closed, the downward projection slides on the seat surface. The seat surface has an upwardly projecting portion in part. The upward projection has a horizontal surface located at the uppermost position, a first inclined surface, and a second inclined surface provided between the horizontal surface and the first inclined surface. The gradient of the second slope is smaller than the gradient of the first slope. The first inclined plane guides the door to rotate in the direction of closing by its own weight when the rotation angle of the door is less than or equal to the first rotation angle. The second slope guides the door to rotate in a direction that closes it by its own weight when the rotation angle of the door is greater than the first rotation angle and less than or equal to the second rotation angle which is greater than the first rotation angle. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to one aspect of this disclosure, it is possible to provide a refrigerator with an extended range of rotation over which the door automatically closes. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This is a front view showing the external appearance of the refrigerator according to this embodiment. [Figure 2] This is a front view showing the refrigerator compartment door of this embodiment in the open position. [Figure 3] This is a perspective view of the refrigerator compartment door of this embodiment, showing only the door in a slightly open position, as seen from the direction of the open end of the open door. [Figure 4] Figure 3 is a downward perspective view of the door. [Figure 5] This is a magnified view of a portion of Figure 4. [Figure 6] Figure 3 is a view of the bottom of the door. [Figure 7]It is an upper perspective view of the lower hinge part used in the refrigerator of this embodiment. (a) shows the lower hinge part in a state where the upper member and the lower member are combined, and (b) shows a state where the lower hinge part is disassembled into the upper member and the lower member. [Figure 8] It is a lower perspective view of FIG. 7(b). [Figure 9] It is a top view showing only the lower member of the lower hinge part used in the refrigerator of this embodiment. [Figure 10] It is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 9. [Figure 11] It is a lower perspective view showing only the upper member of the lower hinge part used in the refrigerator of this embodiment. [Figure 12] It is a top view showing a state where only the door of the refrigerator compartment of the refrigerator of this embodiment is slightly opened and the upper and middle door pockets are removed. [Figure 13] It is a top view showing a state in the middle of closing the door from the state of FIG. 12. [Figure 14] It is a top view showing a state where the door is further closed from the state of FIG. 13.

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] Hereinafter, each embodiment of the present disclosure will be described while referring to the drawings. In the following description, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals. Their names and functions are basically the same.

[0010] <Overall Configuration of the Refrigerator> First, referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the overall configuration of the refrigerator 1 according to the embodiment will be described.

[0011] The outer shape of the refrigerator 1 is mainly composed of a heat-insulating box body 10. A storage space of the refrigerator 1 is formed by this heat-insulating box body 10. The heat-insulating box body 10 may have a plurality of internal spaces such as a refrigerator compartment 101. The storage space formed by the heat-insulating box body 10 may be divided into a plurality of storage chambers by a partition wall 10a extending in the horizontal direction. Each storage compartment has an opening at the front, and a door is provided in the opening. For example, the front opening of the refrigerator compartment 101 is provided with double doors 11 and 12 (French doors) that are divided into left and right sections.

[0012] French doors consist of two doors 11 and 12 located on either side of the opening in the left-right direction, with each door 11 and 12 rotating around one of the two ends of the opening in the left-right direction. In other words, French doors consist of a door 11 that is rotatably mounted on the left side of the refrigerator compartment 101 and a door 12 that is rotatably mounted on the right side of the refrigerator compartment 101, with the open ends of doors 11 and 12 abutting against each other in the width direction when both doors 11 and 12 are closed. However, the door may be a single door that covers the entire width of the opening of the box. The door may be rotatable, for example, about a pivot axis located at one end of the door in the width direction and another pivot axis located at the other end.

[0013] Refrigerator 1 is equipped with, in addition to the refrigerator compartment 101, a vegetable compartment, a first freezer compartment, a second freezer compartment, and an ice maker compartment. The middle vegetable compartment is provided with a pull-out door 13. The lower first freezer compartment is provided with a pull-out door 14. The middle ice maker compartment and the second freezer compartment are also provided with pull-out doors 15 and 16, respectively. As described above, the refrigerator 1 of this embodiment includes at least one storage compartment (for example, a refrigerator compartment 101). However, the arrangement of each storage compartment is not limited to this, nor is the configuration of the doors provided in each storage compartment limited to those described above.

[0014] In this embodiment, the side on which the door is provided is called the "front" or "front" of the refrigerator 1, and the side opposite the front is called the "back". Also, in the normal arrangement of the refrigerator 1 installed on a surface, the upper side is called the "upper side" of the refrigerator 1, and the lower side is called the "lower side" of the refrigerator 1. The upper surface of the refrigerator 1 is called the "top surface", and the lower surface is called the "bottom surface". The two surfaces other than the front, back, top surface, and bottom surface are called the "sides". In the normal arrangement, the left side of the refrigerator 1, as viewed from the front side, is called the "left side" of the refrigerator 1, and the right side is called the "right side" of the refrigerator 1. The side located on the left is called the "left side", and the side located on the right is called the "right side". The direction of the front of refrigerator 1 is called "front," the direction of the back is called "rear," the direction of the top is called "up," the direction of the bottom is called "down," the direction of the left side is called "left," the direction of the right side is called "left," the direction of the front and back is called "front-back direction," the direction of the top and bottom is called "up-down direction," and the direction of the two sides is called "left-right direction." Furthermore, expressions relating to these directions may be used not only in the description of Refrigerator 1, but also in the descriptions of each storage space and component that make up Refrigerator 1.

[0015] <Refrigerator> Referring to Figures 1 to 6, the refrigerator 1 of this embodiment is, A storage compartment having an opening at the front (for example, a refrigerator compartment 101), Door-type doors 11 and 12 that open and close the opening, It comprises an upper hinge portion 2 and a lower hinge portion 3 that rotatably support the doors 11 and 12.

[0016] In the following description of this embodiment, the case where the storage compartment is a refrigerator compartment 101 will be explained, but the storage compartment is not limited to a refrigerator compartment 101. Also, the case where the doors 11 and 12 of the storage compartment (refrigerator compartment 101) are French doors will be explained, but the doors 11 and 12 are not limited to French doors.

[0017] The doors 11 and 12 provided on the front opening of the refrigerator compartment 101 are door-type doors, that is, doors that can be opened and closed by rotating in a substantially horizontal direction.

[0018] The upper hinge section is located at the top near the opening of the refrigerator compartment 101, and the lower hinge section 3 is located at the bottom near the opening of the refrigerator compartment 101.

[0019] (Lower hinge section) Referring to Figures 7 to 11, the lower hinge section 3 includes a lower member 32 fixed to the lower part near the opening of the refrigerator compartment 101, and an upper member 31 fixed to the base end side of the lower surface of the doors 11 and 12. The lower hinge section is also called a cam mechanism.

[0020] The lower member 32 has a hinge pin 321 that serves as the pivot axis for the doors 11 and 12, and an annular seating surface 322 that is coaxial with the hinge pin 321. The doors 11 and 12 rotate around a pivot axis that extends in the vertical direction, and the hinge pin 321 is coaxial with this pivot axis. The upper member 31 has a fitting portion 311 into which the hinge pin 321 is fitted, and a downward projection 312 that protrudes downward in a part of the periphery of the fitting portion 311. The fitting portion 311 includes, for example, a fitting hole 311a into which a hinge pin 321 is inserted and fitted, and a cylindrical body 311b that forms the fitting hole 311a. The cylindrical body 311b protrudes toward the doors 11 and 12, and a hole into which the cylindrical body 311b is fitted is provided at the position where the upper member 31 on the base end side of the lower surface of the doors 11 and 12 is fixed.

[0021] When doors 11 and 12 are opened and closed, the downward projection 312 of the upper member 31 slides on the seat surface 322 of the lower member 32. In other words, the upper member 31 is rotatable around the hinge pin 321 as an axis while sliding on the lower member 32.

[0022] Referring mainly to Figure 10, the seating surface 322 of the lower member 32 has an upward projection 323 that protrudes upward in part. The seating surface 322 includes, for example, the upward projection 323 and the bottom surface 324.

[0023] In this embodiment, the upward projection 323 has a horizontal surface 323a, a first slope 323b (steep slope), and a second slope 323c (gentle slope). The horizontal plane 323a is located at the very top. The second slope 323c is located between the horizontal plane 323a and the first slope 323b, and the gradient of the second slope 323c is smaller than the gradient of the first slope 323b.

[0024] The horizontal surface 323a, the second inclined surface 323c, and the first inclined surface 323b form a series of continuous surfaces in this order and are provided within a predetermined angular range centered on the hinge pin 321. This series of surfaces of the upward projection 323 is connected to the bottom surface 324 on the side of the first inclined surface 323b. When the doors 11 and 12 are opened and closed, the upper member 31 slides on the horizontal surface 323a, the second inclined surface 323c, and the first inclined surface 323b.

[0025] The gradient of the first slope 323b is preferably 10° or more, and more preferably 30° or more. The gradient of the second slope 323c is preferably less than 10°, and more preferably less than 3°.

[0026] The first inclined plane 323b guides the doors 11 and 12 to rotate in the direction of closing due to their own weight when their rotation angle is less than or equal to the first rotation angle. The second slope 323c guides the doors 11 and 12 to rotate in the direction of closing due to their own weight when the rotation angle of the doors 11 and 12 is greater than the first rotation angle and less than or equal to the second rotation angle which is greater than the first rotation angle.

[0027] By giving the upper protrusion 323 of the seat surface 322 of the lower member 32 of the lower hinge 3 such a shape, that is, by providing a second slope 323c with a gentler slope than the first slope 323b in between, the range of rotation in which the auto-close function operates can be expanded, allowing the door to be opened slightly to put in or take out items stored in the door pocket, etc., and then the door to be closed automatically. In this case, when the lower protrusion 312 is sliding on the second slope 323c, the closing force of the doors 11,12 is weak, so the door can be held open to a degree that allows for the putting in or taking out of stored items with little force. In addition, the increase in the height of the upper protrusion 323 due to the addition of the second slope 323c is slight, so the vertical movement of the doors 11,12 when opening and closing is not very large. Moreover, by maintaining the same slope as the conventional steep slope on the first slope 323b, the airtightness of the door can be maintained.

[0028] (Door pocket) Doors 11 and 12 may have door pockets 51 and 52 provided on the inside. Referring to Figures 3 and 12-14, the door pocket 52 may have a first pocket 521 on the front side and a second pocket 522 on the back side. Note that when the doors 11 and 12 are closed, the front side refers to the back side of the refrigerator 1, and the back side refers to the front side of the refrigerator 1.

[0029] Furthermore, the doors 11 and 12 may have support frames 5 for supporting the sides of the door pockets 51 and 52. In this case, it is preferable that the support frames 5 have notches 5a on the open end side of the doors 11 and 12 for inserting and removing items stored in the door pockets 51 and 52. By providing the notch 5a, items stored in the door pockets 51 and 52 can be easily taken in and out when the doors 11 and 12 are slightly open, that is, when the rotation angle of the doors 11 and 12 is relatively small. However, depending on the setting of the second rotation angle, it is also possible to take items in and out of the door pockets 51 and 52 without providing the notch 5a.

[0030] (Second rotation angle) The second rotation angle is preferably greater than the lower threshold, which is the minimum rotation angle that allows items stored in the door pockets 51 and 52 to be inserted into or removed from the open end of the doors 11 and 12. This improves user convenience because, by slightly opening doors 11 and 12, items stored in door pockets 51 and 52 can be taken in and out from the open end of doors 11 and 12, and the doors then close automatically. However, if the second rotation angle is made too large compared to the lower threshold, the vertical movement of doors 11 and 12 when opening and closing will become excessive. Also, if doors 11 and 12 are opened to the point where the front first pocket 521 faces the user directly, the user may want to organize the door pockets, and the automatic closing of the doors may actually be less convenient. Therefore, the second rotation angle may be set to be less than or equal to the angle of door 11 when the front side of the front first pocket 521 of door 11 is positioned in front of the front of door 12 (upper threshold). It is preferable that the second rotation angle be set to be slightly larger than the lower threshold. The specific second rotation angle varies depending on the configuration of the doors 11, 12 and the door pockets 51, 52, but is, for example, about 25 to 40 degrees, preferably about 30 to 35 degrees.

[0031] If the door pocket 52 has a first pocket 521 on the front side and a second pocket 522 on the back side, the lower limit threshold may be the minimum rotation angle at which items stored in the second pocket 522 on the back side can be inserted into or removed (see Figures 3 and 12). For example, if a tall item is stored in the first pocket 521, the item in the second pocket 522 at the back can be retrieved more easily by slightly opening the doors 11 and 12 and retrieving it from the side, i.e., the open end of the doors 11 and 12, rather than retrieving it from the front, i.e., when the doors 11 and 12 are fully open. In such cases, the user is simply expected to put the item in and take it out of the second pocket 522, so if the auto-close function activates after the user has taken the item in or taken it out, the user's convenience can be greatly enhanced. Therefore, by setting the second rotation angle greater than the lower limit threshold, which is the minimum rotation angle required to put the item in and take it out of the second pocket 522, such an improvement in convenience can be achieved.

[0032] Specifically, such a lower threshold is, for example, the minimum rotation angle at which the boundary (partition member 523) between the first pocket 521 and the second pocket 522 is visible from outside the storage unit (see Figure 3). For example, if the doors 11 and 12 are French doors, this lower threshold is the minimum rotation angle at which the extension of the partition member 523 of the door pocket 52 of one door 11 (12) is on the front side (remaining surface side) of the opposite door front of the other door 12 (11) (see Figure 12). When the doors 11 and 12 are opened to the point where the partition member 523 is visible from outside the storage area, it is usually possible to put in and take out the items stored in the second pocket 522.

[0033] (First rotation angle) The first rotation angle is preferably greater than the angle required to maintain the airtight seal of doors 11 and 12. For example, it is preferable to make the first rotation angle greater than the angle at which the doors 11 and 12 open due to the recoil when they are closed. If the first rotation angle is smaller than such an angle, the doors 11 and 12 will not be able to close completely if they open slightly due to the recoil. In particular, if doors 11 and 12 are French doors and gaskets or the like are provided on the open end sides of both doors, closing one door forcefully may cause the other door to open slightly due to internal pressure. In such cases, setting the first rotation angle to be larger than the rotation angle at which the other door opens can prevent the other door from remaining open. However, if the first rotation angle is made too large, the vertical movement of the doors 11 and 12 when opening and closing will become large. Therefore, it is preferable to set the first rotation angle to be slightly larger than the angle necessary to maintain the airtight seal of the doors 11 and 12. The specific first rotation angle varies depending on the configuration of the doors 11, 12 and the door pockets 51, 52, but is, for example, about 2 to 20°, preferably about 3 to 10°.

[0034] When doors 11 and 12 are French doors, it is preferable that the first rotation angle of one door 11(12) is set to an angle within the range in which the leading edge surface on the open end of one door 11(12) overlaps in the front-rear direction with at least a portion of the leading edge surface on the open end of the other door 12(11) when it is closed (see Figure 14). When closing French doors, if the doors are biased in the closing direction by a strong force from the steeply sloped first inclined surface 323b before the front end surfaces of the two doors begin to overlap in the front-to-back direction (see Figure 13), there is a risk of fingers being caught between the two doors. Therefore, by setting the first rotation angle as described above, and ensuring that the doors are closed by a strong biasing force from the first inclined surface 323b from the state where the front end surfaces of the two doors overlap in the front-to-back direction, user safety can be improved.

[0035] Furthermore, when doors 11 and 12 are French doors, it is preferable that the first rotation angle of one door 11 (12) is set to an angle within which the packing of one door does not overlap with the packing of the other door 12 (11) when it is closed. If doors 11 and 12 are French doors and gaskets are provided on the open end sides of both doors, when closing doors 11 and 12, if the gaskets begin to overlap, a stronger force will be required to close the doors 11 and 12 due to sliding resistance. Therefore, by setting the first rotation angle to an angle that does not overlap with the gasket of the other door, i.e., an angle greater than the angle that does overlap with the gasket of the other door, doors 11 and 12 can be reliably closed, so that the strong force from the first slope with a steep gradient biases the doors 11 and 12 in the closing direction even before the gaskets begin to overlap.

[0036] The embodiments disclosed herein should be considered in all respects to be illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of this disclosure is indicated by the claims rather than the foregoing description, and all modifications within the meaning and scope of the claims are intended to be included. Configurations obtained by combining the configurations of the different embodiments described herein are also included in the scope of this disclosure. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0037] 1: Refrigerator 10: Insulated box 10a: Partition wall 101: Refrigerator (storage room) 11-16: Door 11a, 12a: Packing 2: Upper hinge section 3: Lower hinge section 31: Upper member 311: Fitting part 311a: Fitting hole 311b: Cylindrical body 312: Downward protrusion 32: Lower member 321: Hinge pin 322: Seat 323: Upward convex part 323a: horizontal plane 323b: 1st slope 323c:Second slope 324: Bottom 5: Support frame 5a: Notch 51, 52: Door pocket 521: First Pocket 522: Second pocket 523: Partition member

Claims

1. A storage compartment with an opening at the front, A door-type door that opens and closes the aforementioned opening, The door comprises an upper hinge portion and a lower hinge portion that rotatably support the aforementioned door, The lower hinge portion includes a lower member fixed to the lower part near the opening of the storage compartment and an upper member fixed to the base end side of the lower surface of the door. The lower member has a hinge pin that serves as the pivot axis of the door, and an annular seating surface coaxial with the hinge pin. The upper member has a fitting portion into which the hinge pin is fitted, and a downward projection that protrudes downward in a part of the periphery of the fitting portion. When the door is opened and closed, the downward projection slides on the seat surface. The seat surface has an upwardly projecting portion in part, The aforementioned upward protrusion has a horizontal surface located at the uppermost position, a first inclined surface, and a second inclined surface provided between the horizontal surface and the first inclined surface. The gradient of the second slope is smaller than the gradient of the first slope. The first inclined plane guides the door to rotate in the direction of closing due to its own weight when the rotation angle of the door is less than or equal to the first rotation angle. A refrigerator wherein the second inclined plane guides the door to rotate in a direction that closes due to its own weight when the rotation angle of the door is greater than the first rotation angle and less than or equal to the second rotation angle which is greater than the first rotation angle.

2. The aforementioned door has a door pocket provided on the inside, The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the second rotation angle is greater than a lower threshold angle which is the rotation angle at which items stored in the door pocket can be taken in and out from the open end of the door.

3. The aforementioned door pocket has a first pocket on the front side and a second pocket on the back side. The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein the lower limit threshold is the rotation angle at which items stored in the second pocket can be inserted into or removed.

4. The refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein the lower limit threshold is the rotation angle at which the boundary between the first pocket and the second pocket is visible from outside the refrigerator.

5. The refrigerator according to claim 1, comprising two doors provided on both sides of the opening in the left-right direction, wherein each door rotates about one of the left-right ends of the opening as an axis.

6. The refrigerator according to claim 5, wherein the first rotation angle of one door is set to an angle within a range in which the leading edge surface on the open end of one door overlaps in the front-rear direction with at least a portion of the leading edge surface on the open end of the other door when it is closed.

7. The refrigerator according to claim 5, wherein the first rotation angle of one door is set to an angle within which the gasket of one door does not overlap with the gasket of the other door when it is closed.

8. The door has a door pocket provided on the inside and a support frame for supporting the side of the door pocket. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the support frame has a notch on the open end side of the door for inserting and removing items stored in the door pocket.

Images