Refrigerator

Abstract

A refrigerator according to the present disclosure includes: an outer box having an upper surface plate forming an upper surface of a refrigerator body and a side surface plate forming a side surface of the refrigerator body; an inner box forming the refrigerator body together with the outer box, and forming a storage space inside the refrigerator body; and a reinforcement member provided along the upper surface plate and the side surface plate between the outer box and the inner box, and fixed to the upper surface plate and the side surface plate. With this structure, it is possible to obtain a refrigerator in which distortion occurring in the refrigerator body is suppressed even if a downward force is applied to the upper surface of the refrigerator body due to the weight of a door of the refrigerator or a stored object stored in the door.

Description

refrigerator

[0001] This disclosure relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly to a technology for improving the strength of a refrigerator.

[0002] Conventional refrigerators consist of a box-shaped body and a door that can be opened and closed. The box-shaped body is made of an outer box formed by processing steel plates, an inner box formed by molding resin, and insulation made of foamed urethane that fills the space formed by the outer and inner boxes. The box-shaped body has one or more storage compartments inside, and the storage compartments are divided into refrigerator compartments, ice-making compartments, freezer compartments, and vegetable compartments with different temperature ranges to suit the items to be stored. The door that opens and closes the uppermost storage compartment is generally supported at the top by a hinge device installed on the top surface of the box-shaped body so that it can rotate, and opens and closes the opening of the storage compartment. Prior art has been disclosed, which includes a retractable door whose upper part is pivotally supported by a hinge device provided on the top surface of the refrigerator body, and the hinge device comprises a hinge plate whose rear part is fixed to a recess formed in the top surface of the refrigerator body and whose front part extends to the top surface of the retractable door and has a hinge shaft that pivotally supports the retractable door, and a hinge cover whose rear part is housed in the recess and covers the hinge plate from above, and the hinge cover is formed at a height such that it does not protrude from the top surface of the refrigerator body or the top surface of the retractable door when the hinge cover is covering the hinge plate (Patent Document 1).

[0003] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2004-293913

[0004] Generally, a box body that is the main body of a refrigerator is formed by an outer box that faces the outside and forms a side surface facing the external space of the refrigerator, and an inner box that forms a storage space inside the outer box. The front face of the box body is formed by joining the outer box and the inner box. The outer box has a portion extending downward from the top surface of the box body, and a portion extending inward from the left side surface or the right side surface of the box body. The inner box has a portion extending outward from the opening of the storage space, and these portions are joined to form a part of the front face of the box body. Since the corner portion on the front face of the box body is located at a position visible to a user when the door is opened, the outer box and the inner box are fixed with an adhesive instead of welding in order to improve the appearance. Therefore, this portion is easily deformed when an external force is applied thereto. In particular, hinge devices for supporting the door in the left-right direction are provided on the top surface of the box body, and a downward force due to the weight of the door and items stored in the door is applied to the corner portion via the hinge devices. Therefore, over the passage of time, a displacement occurs in the bonded portion between the outer box and the inner box at the corner portion, which causes a problem that the box body is distorted. In the refrigerator disclosed in Patent Document 1, although a recess is disclosed in which the top surface of the outer box is cut away, and a mounting substrate having a left side wall, a right side wall, and a rear wall raised from the peripheral edge of a bottom wall is fixed along the back side of the top surface in the cut portion, reinforcement cannot be achieved up to the corner portion of the box body. Therefore, in the refrigerator disclosed in Patent Document 1, distortion of the box body caused by a downward force applied to the top surface of the box body via the hinge device cannot be suppressed.

[0005] The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and provides a refrigerator in which distortion occurring in the refrigerator main body is suppressed even when a downward force is applied to the top surface of the refrigerator main body due to the weight of the refrigerator door or items stored in the door.

[0006] The refrigerator according to the present disclosure comprises: an outer box having a top plate forming a top surface of a refrigerator main body and a side plate forming a side surface of the refrigerator main body; an inner box that forms the refrigerator main body together with the outer box and forms a storage space inside the refrigerator main body; and a reinforcing member provided between the outer box and the inner box along the top plate and the side plate and fixed to the top plate and the side plate.

[0007] The refrigerator according to this disclosure has a reinforcing member provided between the outer box and the inner box that form the refrigerator body, along the top and side panels of the outer box and fixed to the top and side panels. This provides the effect of providing a refrigerator in which distortion occurring in the refrigerator body is suppressed when a downward force is applied to the top surface of the refrigerator body.

[0008] This is a front view of a refrigerator according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. This is a perspective view of a refrigerator according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. This is a cross-sectional view of a refrigerator according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure taken along line X-X. This is an enlarged view showing corner A and its surroundings of a refrigerator according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. This is a perspective view showing the hinge touch provided by a refrigerator according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. This is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a refrigerator in the front-to-back direction according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. This is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a refrigerator in the left-to-right direction according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. This is a perspective view showing the hinge touch provided by a refrigerator according to Embodiment 2 of the present disclosure. This is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a refrigerator in the front-to-back direction according to Embodiment 2 of the present disclosure. This is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a refrigerator in the left-to-right direction according to Embodiment 2 of the present disclosure. This is a perspective view showing the hinge touch provided by a refrigerator according to Embodiment 3 of the present disclosure. This is an enlarged view showing corner A and its surroundings of a refrigerator according to Embodiment 3 of the present disclosure. This is a perspective view showing the hinge touch provided by a refrigerator according to Embodiment 4 of the present disclosure.

[0009] The embodiments for implementing this disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. Components with the same reference numeral are identical, and this is true throughout the entire specification. The forms of components shown throughout the specification are merely examples and are not limited to the forms described in the specification. In particular, the shape of the components is not limited to the shapes in the embodiments. Furthermore, the drawings may simplify the representation of the actual structure. In addition, the size of each component and the positional relationship between components in the drawings may differ from the actual ones. Moreover, each embodiment can be combined with one another. In the following description, terms indicating direction (e.g., "top," "upper side," "bottom," "lower side," "left," "left side," "right," "right side," "front," "front side," "front," "rear," "rear side," "width," "inside," "outside," etc.) will be used as appropriate to facilitate understanding, but these terms are for illustrative purposes only and do not limit this disclosure. Furthermore, the above-mentioned terms indicating direction generally indicate the position of each component when the refrigerator body is viewed from the front, with the surface where the opening of the storage compartment is formed being the front (front) when the refrigerator is installed in a usable state. Furthermore, in the following explanation, when two planes are described as being parallel, the orientation of the two planes is 0° relative to each other. However, a slight inclination, that is, an inclination of approximately ±5° from the parallel orientation of one plane to another, is also included as a manufacturing tolerance within the definition of parallel. Similarly, when two planes are described as being orthogonal, orthogonality means that they intersect at a 90° angle. However, a slight inclination, that is, an inclination of approximately ±5° from 90°, is also included as a manufacturing tolerance within the definition of orthogonality.

[0010] Embodiment 1. Figure 1 is a front view of a refrigerator 100, which is a refrigerator according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. Figure 2 is a perspective view of the refrigerator 100. Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the refrigerator 100 taken along line X-X. The structure of the refrigerator 100 of Embodiment 1 will be described using Figures 1 to 3.

[0011] The refrigerator 100 includes a box body 1, which is a rectangular parallelepiped refrigerator body. The box body 1 is an insulated box body formed by filling an insulating material 4 between an outer box 2 made of steel plate and an inner box 3 made of resin. The insulating material 4 is made of a material with a lower thermal conductivity than the outer box 2 and inner box 3, such as foamed insulating material 5 and vacuum insulating material (not shown). The outer box 2 has an outer shell plate 7 that forms the top surface 1a, the left side (not shown), and the right side 1b of the box body 1, a back plate 8 that forms the back surface 1c of the box body 1, and a bottom plate 9 that forms the bottom surface 1d of the box body 1. The outer shell plate 7 has a top plate 7a that forms the top surface 1a of the box body 1, a left side plate (not shown) that forms the left side of the box body 1, and a right side plate 7b that forms the right side 1b of the box body 1. The inner box 3 is molded by resin molding and attached to the outer box 2. The inner box 3 forms a storage space 10.

[0012] The storage space 10 is located inside the box body 1, opens to the front 11 of the box body 1, and is divided into multiple storage compartments by multiple partitions. The box body 1 has an opening 12 for the storage space 10 on its front 11. The refrigerator 100 has multiple storage compartments, including a refrigerator compartment 13 located at the top, an ice-making compartment (not shown) located below the refrigerator compartment 13, a switching compartment 14 located adjacent to the right side of the ice-making compartment, a freezer compartment 15 located below the ice-making compartment and the switching compartment 14, and a vegetable compartment 16 located at the bottom, below the freezer compartment 15. The arrangement of each storage compartment is not limited to the above, and for example, the freezer compartment may be located at the bottom and the vegetable compartment above the freezer compartment, or the vegetable compartment may be placed at a height that is convenient for the user.

[0013] The refrigerator compartment 13 is separated from the ice-making compartment and the switching compartment 14 by a first partition 17. The ice-making compartment and the switching compartment 14 are separated from each other by a second partition 18. The ice-making compartment and the switching compartment 14 are separated from the freezer compartment 15 by a third partition 19. The freezer compartment 15 is separated from the vegetable compartment 16 by a fourth partition 20. The box body 1 and the first partition 17 form a refrigerator compartment opening 21, which is the opening to the refrigerator compartment 13, on the front surface 11 of the box body 1.

[0014] The refrigerator door 22 is attached to the box body 1 by a hinge device 23. The hinge device 23 has one end (rear) on the front and right sides of the top surface 1a, and the other end (front) is on the top surface 22a side of the refrigerator door 22. The refrigerator door 22 is rotatably supported by the hinge device 23. The refrigerator 100 also has a lower hinge device (not shown) that rotatably supports the refrigerator door 22 from below. The inner panel 24 that makes up the inside of the refrigerator door 22 is provided with a number of door pockets 25, which are an example of storage cases for storing items, and are provided in order from top to bottom as follows: upper door pocket 25a, middle door pocket 25b, and lower door pocket 25c. Note that the refrigerator door 22 is not limited to a single rotating door, but may also be a double door type.

[0015] The ice-making compartment opening (not shown) formed on the front of the ice-making compartment is provided with a pull-out type ice-making compartment door 26 that can be freely opened and closed, and the switching compartment opening 27 formed on the front of the switching compartment 14 is provided with a pull-out type switching compartment door 28 that can be freely opened and closed. In addition, the freezer compartment opening 29 formed on the front of the freezer compartment 15 is provided with a pull-out type freezer compartment door 30 that can be freely opened and closed, and the vegetable compartment opening 31 formed on the front of the vegetable compartment 16 is provided with a pull-out type vegetable compartment door 32 that can be freely opened and closed.

[0016] In this embodiment, the refrigerator 100 has five doors, but it is not limited to this, and the number of doors of the refrigerator 100 may be six or more, or four or fewer, depending on the number of storage compartments. Furthermore, in this embodiment, one end of the hinge device 23 of the refrigerator 100 is provided on the front and right sides of the upper surface 1a of the box body 1, but it is not limited to this, and the hinge device may be provided on the front and left sides of the upper surface of the box body, and the refrigerator compartment door may be pivotally supported by the hinge so as to be rotatable.

[0017] Figure 4 is an enlarged view of a corner A of the box body 1 of the refrigerator 100. Corner A is located on the upper and right sides of the box body 1 when viewed from the front of the front surface 11 of the box body 1, and includes a vertex P at the front end of the rightmost edge of the top surface 1a of the box body 1 and a curved corner C located in the upper right of the opening 12 of the storage space 10 (refrigerator opening 21). It is a region that includes the front surface 11, the top surface 1a and part of the right side surface 1b, and is the part where the hinge attachment 50 and hinge device 23 are provided. In Figure 4, for simplification, the hinge device 23 and the refrigerator door 22 are omitted. The outer box 2 has a first front portion 33 that extends downward from the front of the top surface 1a and a second front portion 34 that extends to the left from the front of the right side surface 1b. Although not shown in the figures, the outer box 1 similarly has a third front portion extending upward from the front of the bottom surface 1d, and a fourth front portion extending to the right from the front of the left side. The inner box 3 has a wall portion 35 (shown in Figures 3 and 6) that forms the storage space 10, and an inner box support portion 36 provided along the opening 12 of the storage space 10 and extending outward from the opening 12. The inner box support portion 36 is assembled to the first front portion 33, the second front portion 34, the third front portion, and the fourth front portion, respectively, to fix the inner box 3 to the outer box 2, and the front surface 11 is formed by the first front portion 33, the second front portion 34, the third front portion, the fourth front portion, and the inner box support portion 36. Furthermore, the outer box 2 has a first outer box support portion 37 (shown by a dashed line in Figure 4) which is connected to the lower end 33a of the first front portion 33 and extends along the back surface of the first front portion 33, and a second outer box support portion 38 (shown by a dashed line in Figure 4) which is connected to the left end 34a of the second front portion 34 and extends along the back surface of the second front portion 34. The first outer box support portion 37 has a U-shaped structure that opens toward the opening 12 in the vertical cross-section in the front-rear direction of the box body 1. The second outer box support portion 38 has a U-shaped structure that opens toward the opening 12 in the horizontal cross-section in the left-right direction of the box body 1. The first outer box support portion 37 and the second outer box support portion 38 each clamp the end portion 36a of the inner box support portion 36 which is inserted from the opening 12 side, thereby supporting the inner box 3 on the outer box 2.

[0018] The front surface 11 of the box body 1 is visible to the user when the refrigerator door 22 is opened. To improve the appearance, in the area at corner A where the first outer box support portion 37 and the second outer box support portion 38 are not provided, the first front portion 33 and the second front portion 34 and the front support portion 36 are fixed to each other with adhesive rather than welding. Although not shown in the figures, the four corners of the front surface 11 other than corner A have a similar configuration. Furthermore, the first front portion 33 is provided in a rectangular shape along the top panel 7a, and the second front portion 34 is provided in a rectangular shape along the right side panel 7b, with a portion overlapping at corner A. To prevent a step from being created on the front surface 11 due to the overlap of the first front surface 33 and the second front surface 34, a part of the first front surface 33 is folded backward from the vertex P to the corner C to form a triangular portion 33A, and a step 80 is provided on the second front surface 34 that slopes backward from the vertex P to the corner C, with a part 34A of the second front surface 34 overlapping behind 33A. At the corner A, a groove 39 formed by the first front surface 33 and the second front surface 34 is formed from the vertex P to the corner C of the opening 12. The groove 39 is formed by the folded portion 81 of the first front surface 33 that is folded backward from the vertex P to the corner C, and the step 80.

[0019] The box body 1 is equipped with a hinge attachment 50, which is a reinforcing member, inside. In Figure 4, the hinge attachment 50 is shown by a dashed line. The hinge attachment 50 is attached to the inside of the box body 1 at corner A, along the top plate 7a, the right side plate 7b, the first front part 33, the second front part 34, and the front support part 36 of the inner box 2. The top plate 7a and the hinge attachment 50 (shown in Figure 6) are fixed together by screws (first screw 60a, second screw 60b, and third screw 60c). The top plate 7a has a first hinge opening 63a and a second hinge opening 63b formed therein, and first engaging parts 62a and 62b for engaging the hinge device 23 with the hinge attachment 50 protrude upward from the hinge opening 63.

[0020] Figure 5 is an overall view of the hinge attachment 50. As shown in Figure 5, for the sake of explanation, a Cartesian coordinate system XYZ consisting of the X, Y, and Z axes is set for the hinge attachment 50. When the hinge attachment 50 is attached to the box body 1, the positive X-axis side corresponds to the right side of the box body 1, the positive Y-axis side corresponds to the rear side of the box body 1, and the positive Z-axis side corresponds to the top side of the box body 1. The structure of the hinge attachment 50 will be explained with reference to Figure 5. The hinge attachment 50 is composed of a plurality of plate-shaped members that extend parallel to the plane formed by two mutually orthogonal coordinate axes in the Cartesian coordinate system XYZ. The hinge attachment 50 has a flat first support plate 51 that extends parallel to the plane containing the X and Y axes. The first support plate 51 has a first edge 51a on the negative Y-axis side. The hinge attachment 50 has a flat second support plate 52 that is connected to the first support plate 51 at its first edge 51a and extends in the negative Z-axis direction, parallel to a plane containing the X and Z axes. The first support plate 51 has a second edge 51b that is adjacent to the first edge 51a on the positive X-axis side and extends perpendicular to the first edge 51a in the positive Y-axis direction. The hinge attachment 50 has a flat third support plate 53 that is connected to the first support plate 51 at its second edge 51b and extends parallel to a plane containing the Y and Z axes. The third support plate 53 extends toward the side of the first support plate 51 where the second support plate 52 is provided (in the negative Z-axis direction). The second support plate 52 is adjacent to the first side 51a on the positive X-axis side and has a third side 52a that extends perpendicular to the first side 51a in the negative Z-axis direction. The hinge attachment 50 has a flat fourth support plate 54 that extends from the third side 52a parallel to a plane containing the Y-axis and Z-axis. The fourth support plate 54 extends toward the third support plate 53 (positive Y-axis direction) relative to the second support plate 52. The third support plate 53 is on the positive X-axis side of the fourth support plate 54 and partially overlaps with the fourth support plate 54. The portion of the fourth support plate 54 covered by the third support plate 53 (shown by a dashed line in Figure 5) and the third support plate 53 are joined and fixed to each other by spot welding.The hinge attachment 50 includes a flat, rectangular first support plate 51, a second support plate 52 extending perpendicularly to the first support plate 51 from a first side 51a of the first support plate 51, and a third support plate 53 extending perpendicularly to the first support plate 51 and the second support plate 52 from a second side 51b adjacent to the first side of the first support plate 51. The third support plate 53 extends from the first support plate 51 to the same side as the second support plate 52. The hinge attachment 50 has a third side 52a on the side of the second support plate 52 where the third support plate 53 is located, and a fourth support plate 54 extending from the third side 52a in a direction perpendicular to the first support plate 51 and the second support plate 52 and parallel to the third support plate 53. The third support plate 53 and the fourth support plate 54 are fixed to each other by spot welding. The second support plate 52 has a curved portion 52d that is chamfered in an inwardly convex shape, extending from the side 52b opposite the first side 51a to the side 52c opposite the third side 52a. The curved portion 52d of the second support plate 52 is shaped to match the corner C (shown in Figure 3) of the opening 12 formed by the inner box 3.

[0021] The first support plate 51 has a first screw hole 61a, a second screw hole 61b, and a third screw hole 61c. The first support plate 51 is provided with a receiving portion 62a and a receiving portion 62b. The receiving portions 62a and 62b are the parts that engage the hinge device 23 and are provided protruding from the first support plate 51 on the opposite side from the second support plate 52 (in the positive Z-axis direction).

[0022] The hinge attachment 50 is formed by bending a single steel plate perpendicularly. However, it is not limited to this, and the material used to form the hinge attachment 50 is not limited to a steel plate, as long as it can suppress the deformation of the box body 1 due to the force applied to the box body 1 when the hinge attachment 50 is installed inside the box body 1. Furthermore, the hinge attachment 50 is not formed from a single steel plate, and in the configuration described above, at least one set of the first support plate 51, second support plate 52, third support plate 53, and fourth support plate 54 may be connected by welding. Moreover, the hinge attachment 50 may have only the third support plate 53 instead of the third support plate 53 and the fourth support plate 54. In this case, the third support plate 53 is connected to the second support plate 52 at its third edge 52a.

[0023] Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of the refrigerator 100, showing a vertical cross-section in the front-to-back direction, where the hinge attachment 50 passes through the groove 39 and the second front portion 34. In Figure 6, the foam insulation material 5 is omitted to show the structure of the box body 1.

[0024] As shown in Figure 6, a hinge device 23 and a hinge attachment 50 are attached to the box body 1. The hinge attachment 50 has an L-shaped cross-section due to the first support plate 51 and the second support plate 52. The hinge device 23 has a plate-shaped hinge body 65 and a rotating shaft 66 that extend in the front and rear directions. The refrigerator door 22 has a horizontal, planar hinge device mounting portion 64 provided on the upper surface 22a, recessed downwards. The front side of the hinge body 65 overlaps the hinge device mounting portion 64 in the vertical direction. A rotating shaft 66 that protrudes downwards is provided on the front side of the hinge body 65, and is inserted from the hinge device mounting portion 64 into a rotating shaft groove 69 formed downwards inside the refrigerator door 22, thereby attaching the hinge body 65 to the refrigerator door 22. Furthermore, the hinge body 65 is fixed to the top plate 7a, whose rear side forms the top surface 1a of the box body 1. The top plate 7a is sandwiched from above and below by the hinge body 65 and the first support plate 51 of the hinge attachment 50. The hinge body 65 has a first screw hole 67a, a second screw hole (not shown), and a third screw hole 67b, and the top plate 7a has a first opening 68a, a second opening (not shown), and a third opening 68b. The first screw 60a is inserted into the first screw hole 61a, the first screw hole 67a, and the first opening 68a. The second screw 60b is inserted into the second screw hole 61b, the second screw hole, and the second opening. The third screw 60c is inserted into the third screw hole 61c, the third screw hole 67b, and the third opening 68b. The hinge device 23, the first support plate 51, and the top plate 7a are fixed to each other by the first screw 60a, the second screw 60b, and the third screw 60c. In this way, the hinge device 23 and the hinge attachment 50 are attached to the top plate 7a of the box body 1, and the refrigerator door 22 becomes rotatable on the box body 1 via the hinge device 23. The first support plate 51 is fixed to the top plate 7a and is in contact with it. The second support plate 52 of the hinge attachment 50 is positioned along the front surface 11 of the box body 1, and as shown in Figure 4, the first front surface 33, the second front surface 34, the groove 39, and the second support plate 52 overlap in the front-rear direction. Behind the first front surface 33, there is a first outer box support 37 which connects to the first front surface 33 and sandwiches and supports the inner box support 36. The second support plate 52 is fixed in contact with the first outer box support portion 37 at the rear.Similarly, although not shown in Figure 6, the second front portion 34 also has a second outer box support portion 38 at its rear, and the second support plate 52 is fixed in contact with the second outer box support portion 38 at its rear. A first gasket 71 is provided on the inner plate 24 of the door 22, and a second gasket 72 is provided on the front surface 11 of the outer box 2. When the door 22 is closed, the gap between the door 22 and the box body 1 is sealed by the first gasket 71 and the second gasket 72.

[0025] Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view of the box body 1, showing a vertical cross-section in the left-right direction behind the hinge attachment 50. Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view of the box body 1 from the rear looking towards the front. In Figure 7, the vacuum insulation material and the foamed insulation material 5 are omitted. As shown in Figure 7, the third support plate 53 and the fourth support plate 54 of the hinge attachment 50 are parallel to the right side panel 7b of the box body 1, and the fourth support plate 54 is fixed in contact with the right side panel 7b from the inside.

[0026] A method for attaching the hinge attachment 50 to the box body 1 is described below. The hinge device 23 is placed on the upper side of the top plate 7a, and the first support plate 51 of the hinge attachment 50 is placed on the lower side of the top plate 7a. The hinge device 23 and the first support plate 51 are fixed to the top plate 7a with the first screw 60a, the second screw 60b, and the third screw 60c. Next, the front support portion 36 of the inner box 3 is inserted into the first outer box support portion 37 and the second outer box support portion 38, and the inner box 3 is assembled to the outer shell plate 7. Next, the bottom plate 9 is assembled to the inner box 3 and the outer shell plate 7, vacuum insulation material is placed between the inner box 3, the outer shell plate 7, and the bottom plate 9, and the back plate 8 is assembled to the outer shell plate 7 and the bottom plate 9 to form the outer shell of the box body 1. Liquid urethane is injected into the outer shell of the box body 1 through an injection port formed in the back panel 8, and the liquid urethane is foamed inside the outer shell of the box body 1 to form a foamed insulation material 5. Due to the foaming pressure of the urethane, the second support plate 52 is pressed against the first outer box support part 37 and the second outer box support part 38, and the third support plate 53 is pressed against the right side panel 7b. Through the above process, the box body 1 is formed, and the hinge attachment 50 is fixed inside the box body 1 in contact with the outer box 2 and the inner box 3.

[0027] In the refrigerator 100 configured in this way, when a downward external force is applied to the box body 1 via the hinge device 23, the hinge attachment 50 can suitably receive the external force for the following reasons. The hinge attachment 50 is supported by a second support plate 52 which supports the first support plate 51 and the fourth support plate 54 at right angles. Furthermore, the third support plate 53, which extends parallel to the fourth support plate 54, is fixed to the fourth support plate 54 by spot welding via the first support plate 51. Therefore, the orientation of the first support plate 51 and the third support plate 53 is supported at right angles by the second support plate 52, and deformation is suppressed. In addition, the orientation of the first support plate 51 and the second support plate 52 is supported orthogonally by the third support plate 53 and the fourth support plate 54, and deformation is suppressed. The first support plate 51 is fixed to the top plate 7a by the first screw 60a, the second screw 60b, and the third screw 60c, and the third support plate 53 is fixed to the right side panel 7b by the foaming pressure of the foam insulation material 5. In a refrigerator 100 having such a configuration, when a downward force is applied to the top plate 7a by the hinge device 23 that supports the refrigerator door 22, a downward force is also applied to the first support plate 51 of the hinge attachment 50 which is attached to the inside of the top plate 7a. As described above, the hinge attachment 50 has a configuration that suppresses deformation of the orientation of the third support plate 53 and the fourth support plate 43 relative to the first support plate 51. Therefore, deformation of the orientation of the right side panel 7b, which is fixed to the third support plate 53, relative to the top plate 7a, which is fixed to the first support plate 51, is suppressed. Therefore, when a downward force is applied to the top panel 7a, deformation in the direction of opening or closing of the angle between the top surface 1a and the right side surface 1b when the box body 1 is viewed from the front is suppressed. With the above configuration, even when a downward force is applied to the top panel 7a of the box body 1 via the hinge device 23 due to the weight of the refrigerator door 22 or the contents stored in the door pocket 25, the hinge attachment 50 suppresses deformation of the box body 1, making it possible to obtain a refrigerator 100 with excellent durability.

[0028] Embodiment 2. The hinge attachment 201 of the refrigerator 200 according to Embodiment 2 of this disclosure will be described with reference to Figures 8 to 10. Figure 8 is a perspective view showing the hinge attachment 201. Figure 9 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the refrigerator 200 in the front-rear direction, showing a cross-section of the refrigerator 200 at the same position as in Figure 6. Figure 10 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the refrigerator 200 in the left-right direction, showing a cross-section of the refrigerator 200 at the same position as in Figure 7. In Figures 8 to 10, the same reference numerals as in Figures 5 to 7 refer to the same parts. Embodiment 2 will mainly be described in terms of the differences from Embodiment 1, and elements that are common to or correspond to the elements described above will be simplified or omitted. In this second embodiment, the hinge attachment 201 is configured such that, in place of the second support plate 52 and third support plate 53 of the first embodiment, the second support plate 202 has a first hole 203a, a second hole 203b, and a third hole 203c, and the third support plate 204 has a fourth hole 205a, a fifth hole 205b, and a sixth hole 205c. The other configurations of the second embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment.

[0029] The hinge attachment 201 of the refrigerator 200 allows adhesive 206, such as hot melt adhesive, to be injected between the hinge attachment 201 and the outer box 2 through the first hole 203a, second hole 203b, third hole 203c, fourth hole 205a, fifth hole 205b, and sixth hole 205c when attaching the hinge attachment 201 to the box body 1. As a result, as shown in Figure 9, the second support plate 202 can be fixed to the inner box support part 36, the first front part 33, and the second front part 34 with adhesive 206. Also, as shown in Figure 10, the third support plate 204 can be fixed to the right side panel 7b with adhesive 206. In Figure 10, the adhesive 206 is shown with diagonal lines for convenience, but this is not a cross-section. With this configuration, the refrigerator 200 according to Embodiment 2 can fix the hinge attachment more strongly to the box body compared to the refrigerator 100 of Embodiment 1, thereby suppressing deformation of the box body 1 and providing a refrigerator with superior durability. In Figure 8, three holes are formed in the second support plate 202 and the third support plate 203, but this is not limited to this, and it is sufficient to have one or more holes in the second support plate 202 and the third support plate 203. Also, the holes may be provided on only one of the second support plate 202 and the third support plate 203.

[0030] Embodiment 3. The hinge attachment 301 of the refrigerator 300 according to Embodiment 3 of this disclosure will be described with reference to Figures 11 and 12. Figure 11 is a perspective view showing the hinge attachment 301. Figure 12 is an enlarged view of the refrigerator 300 showing corner A and its surrounding area, showing the refrigerator 300 at the same position as in Figure 4. In Figures 11 and 12, the same reference numerals as in Figures 4 and 5 refer to the same parts. In Embodiment 3, as with Embodiment 2, the explanation will focus on the differences from Embodiment 1, and elements common to or corresponding to the elements described above will be simplified or omitted. In this Embodiment 3, the hinge attachment 301 is configured such that the second support plate 302 has a fourth screw hole 303 instead of the second support plate 52 of Embodiment 1. Also, in the box body 304, the second front part 305 has a fifth screw hole 306 instead of the second front part 34 of Embodiment 1. Screws 307 are inserted into the fourth screw hole 303 and the fifth screw hole 306, and the second support plate 302 and the second front portion 305 are fixed together with the screws 307. The other configurations of Embodiment 3 are the same as those of Embodiment 1.

[0031] The hinge attachment 301 of the refrigerator 300 has a first support plate 51 fixed to the top plate 7a by screws 60, and a second support plate 302 fixed to the second front portion 305 by screws 307. Therefore, compared to the refrigerator 100 of Embodiment 1, deformation of the orientation of the second front portion 304 relative to the top plate 7a is suppressed more effectively. Thus, the refrigerator 300 according to Embodiment 3 can suppress deformation of the box body 1 more effectively than the refrigerator 100 of Embodiment 1 when a downward force is applied to the top plate 7a of the box body 1, and has superior durability. In Figures 11 and 12, the second support plate 302 has one fourth screw hole 303 and the second front portion 304 has one fifth screw hole 305, but this embodiment is not limited to this, and the third support plate 53 may have screw holes, and the box body 1 may have screw holes in the right side panel 7b at positions corresponding to the screw holes of the third support plate 53. In this case, in addition to the second support plate 302 being fixed to the second front portion 305 with screws 307, the third support plate 53 is also fixed to the right side panel 7b with screws, so that the hinge attachment 301 and the box body 1 are more firmly fixed together.

[0032] Embodiment 4. The hinge attachment 401 of the refrigerator 400 according to Embodiment 4 of this disclosure will be described with reference to Figure 13. Figure 13 is a perspective view showing the hinge attachment 401 of the refrigerator 400. In Figure 13, the same reference numerals as in Figure 5 refer to the same parts. In Embodiment 4, as with Embodiment 2, the explanation will focus on the differences from Embodiment 1, and elements that are common to or correspond to the elements described above will be simplified or omitted. In addition, the configuration of the refrigerator 400 other than the hinge attachment 401 is common to the refrigerator 100 and is shown in Figures 1 to 3. The hinge attachment 401 of this Embodiment 4 has a first support plate 402, a second support plate 403, a third support plate 404, and a fourth support plate 405 instead of the first support plate 51, second support plate 52, third support plate 53, and fourth support plate 54 of Embodiment 1. Furthermore, instead of the first side 51a, the second side 51b, and the third side 52a, it has a first side 402a, a second side 402b, and a third side 403a. The positional relationships of the first support plate 402, the second support plate 403, the third support plate 404, the fourth support plate 405, the first side 402a, the second side 402b, and the third side 403a are the same as those of the first support plate 51, the second support plate 52, the third support plate 53, the fourth support plate 54, the first side 51a, the second side 51b, and the third side 52a, respectively. The hinge attachment 401 is provided extending from the first support plate 402 to the second support plate 403 and has a string-like first recess 406 that intersects with the first side 402a. Furthermore, the hinge attachment 401 is provided extending from the first support plate 402 to the third support plate 404 and has a string-like second recess 407 that intersects with the second edge 402b. In addition, the hinge attachment 401 is provided extending from the second support plate 403 to the fourth support plate 405 and has a string-like third recess 408 that intersects with the third edge 403a. The other configurations of Embodiment 4 are the same as those of Embodiment 1.

[0033] The hinge attachment 401 of the refrigerator 400 has a string-like first recess 406 extending from the first support plate 402 to the second support plate 403. The hinge attachment 401 also has a string-like second recess 407 extending from the first support plate 402 to the third support plate 404. Furthermore, the hinge attachment 401 has a string-like third recess 408 extending from the second support plate 403 to the fourth support plate 405. With this configuration, the hinge attachment 401 is less prone to deformation and has improved strength compared to the hinge attachment 50 of Embodiment 1. Therefore, the refrigerator 400 according to Embodiment 4 suppresses deformation of the orientation of the right side panel 7b fixed to the third support plate relative to the top panel 7a fixed to the first support plate 402 more effectively than the refrigerator 100 of Embodiment 1. Thus, the refrigerator 400 according to Embodiment 4 suppresses deformation of the box body 1 more effectively than the refrigerator 100 of Embodiment 1 and has superior durability.

[0034] In the embodiments described above, a structure in which a hinge attachment is mounted on the inside of corner A has been described, but the embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto. Corner A is located on the upper and right sides of the box body 1 when viewed from the front of the front surface 11 of the box body 1, and includes the vertex P at the front end of the rightmost edge of the top surface 1a of the box body 1 and the curved corner C located in the upper right of the opening 12 of the storage space 10 (refrigerated compartment opening 21), and is an area that includes the front surface 11, the top surface 1a and a part of the right side surface 1b. When the hinge device 23 is mounted on the box body 1 at a corner opposite to corner A in the left-right direction, the hinge attachment can be provided on the inside of the corner. In this case, the configuration of the hinge attachment and the configuration of the box body around the hinge attachment are left-right symmetrical to the configuration of the box body and hinge attachment in the embodiments described above.

[0035] 1...Main unit, 2...Outer box, 3...Inner box, 4...Insulation material, 5...Foam insulation material, 7...Outer panel, 8...Back panel, 9...Bottom panel, 10...Storage space, 11...Front, 12...Opening, 13...Refrigerator compartment, 14...Convertible compartment, 15...Freezer compartment, 16...Vegetable compartment, 17...First partition, 18...Second partition, 19...Third partition, 20...Fourth partition, 21...Refrigerator compartment opening, 22...Refrigerator compartment door, 23...Hinge device, 24...Inner panel, 25...Door pocket, 26...Ice maker door, 27...Convertible compartment opening, 28...Convertible compartment door, 29...Freezer compartment opening, 30...Freezer compartment door, 31...Vegetable compartment opening 32...Vegetable compartment door, 33...First front section, 34...Second front section, 33A...Part of the first front section, 34A...Part of the second front section, 35...Wall section, 36...Inner box support section, 37...First outer box support section, 38...Second outer box support section, 39...Groove section, 50...Hinge attachment, 51...First support plate, 52...Second support plate, 53...Third support plate, 54...Fourth support plate, 55...Part, 60a...First screw, 60b...Second screw, 60c...Third screw, 61a...First screw hole, 61b...Second screw hole, 61c...Third screw hole, 62a... First engagement part, 62b... Second engagement part, 63a... First hinge opening, 63b... Second hinge opening, 64... Hinge device mounting part, 65... Hinge body, 66... ​​Rotating shaft, 67a... First screw hole, 67b... Third screw hole, 68... Third screw hole, 69... Rotating shaft groove, 71... First gasket, 72... Second gasket, 100... Refrigerator, 200... Refrigerator, 201... Hinge attach, 202... Second support plate, 203a... First hole, 203b... Second hole, 203c... Third hole, 204... Third support plate, 205a... Fourth hole, 205b...Fifth hole, 205c...Sixth hole, 206...Adhesive, 300...Refrigerator, 301...Hinge attachment, 302...Second support plate, 303...Fourth screw hole, 304...Box body, 305...Second front part, 306...Fifth screw hole, 307...Screw, 400...Refrigerator, 401...Hinge attachment, 402...First support plate, 402a...First edge, 402b...Second edge, 403...Second support plate, 403a...Third edge, 404...Third support plate, 405...Fourth support plate, 406...First recess, 407...Second recess, 408...Third recess

Claims

1. A refrigerator comprising: an outer box having a top plate that forms the top surface of the refrigerator body and side plates that form the sides of the refrigerator body; an inner box that together with the outer box forms the refrigerator body and forms a storage space inside the refrigerator body; and reinforcing members provided between the outer box and the inner box, along the top plate and the side plates, and fixed to the top plate and the side plates.

2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the outer panel has a first front portion extending downward from the top panel, and a second front portion extending toward the first front portion from the side panel and together with the first front portion forming a part of the front of the refrigerator body, and the reinforcing member has a first support plate provided along the top panel, a second support plate extending perpendicularly from the first side of the first support plate and provided along the first front portion and the second front portion, and a third support plate extending perpendicularly from the second side of the first support plate and provided along the side panel.

3. The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein the reinforcing member has a fourth support plate that is perpendicular to the first support plate and the second support plate and extends in a direction parallel to the third support plate, and the third support plate and the fourth support plate are fixed to each other.

4. The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein the reinforcing member has a hole in at least one of the second support plate and the third support plate, and at least one of the second support plate and the third support plate is fixed to the refrigerator body by adhesive injected through the hole.

5. The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein at least one of the second support plate and the third support plate is fixed to the refrigerator body by screws.

6. The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein the reinforcing member has a recess that intersects with the first side and extends from the first support plate to the second support plate.

7. The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein the reinforcing member has a recess that intersects with the second edge and extends from the first support plate to the third support plate.

Images