Refrigerator

Abstract

This refrigerator includes an outer box that forms an outer hull and a front surface of a refrigerator body, an inner box that forms the refrigerator body with the outer box and also forms a ceiling surface of a storage chamber, a pair of double doors that are rotatably supported by the refrigerator body and open / close an opening of the storage chamber, a partition body that is rotatably attached to one of the pair of doors and closes a gap in the pair of doors between the refrigerator body and the pair of doors when the pair of doors have been closed, a rotation guide that is provided to the ceiling surface and moves the partition body to a position in which the partition body closes the gap when the one of the pair of doors is closed, and a gasket that is provided to the one of the pair of doors, contacts the partition body and the rotation guide when the one of the pair of doors has been closed, and closes a gap between the partition body and the rotation guide. The rotation guide has a contact surface that contacts the gasket when the one of the pair of doors has been closed and a protrusion that contacts the outer box from the inside behind the contact surface. The protrusion is separated from the inner box.

Description

Refrigerator

[0001] The present invention relates to a refrigerator provided with double doors.

[0002] In recent years, among large-sized household refrigerators, a side-by-side double-door type that opens left and right has become the mainstream for the door that opens and closes the uppermost storage compartment. When the left and right doors are closed, in order to seal the gap between the two doors, a rotatable partition body is often arranged on the inner surface of either the left or right door. In addition, flexible gaskets are arranged between the refrigerator main body and the door, and between the partition body and the door, and are attracted by magnets to improve the airtightness of the storage compartment.

[0003] In such a refrigerator, when the temperature inside the storage compartment drops, the refrigerator main body, the partition body, and the gasket are cooled from the inside. Condensation occurs when the temperature of the surfaces of the refrigerator main body, the partition body, and the gasket that come into contact with outside air falls below the dew point of the environment surrounding the refrigerator. Furthermore, condensation is more likely to occur at locations where gaps are formed with the refrigerator main body, such as the upper and lower parts of the partition body. As a countermeasure against condensation, a method of providing a heater inside the partition body for heating to raise the temperature of the partition body and the gasket has been adopted. However, increasing the heater power for heating increases the power consumption of the refrigerator. As a countermeasure for suppressing power consumption, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a refrigerator in which a receiving seat for rotating a rotary partition body is provided on the ceiling surface of the inner box of the refrigerator main body, and a shielding plate that protrudes from the rotary partition body toward the receiving seat side to shield the gap is installed to close the upper and lower gaps of the rotary partition body, thereby preventing cold air leakage and intrusion of outside air.

[0004] In addition, Patent Document 2 discloses a refrigerator in which a surface sheet metal attached to the surface of a partition plate and having a heater installed therein is bent and formed to extend to the upper end surface and the lower end surface of the partition plate, and the gap between the upper and lower ends of the partition plate and the box body is heated to prevent cold air from entering and exiting.

[0005] Furthermore, Patent Document 3 discloses a refrigerator in which a guide projection with a constricted portion is provided on the upper inner surface of the insulated box body, a guide portion with a concave groove is provided on the upper end of a rotating partition body attached to the back surface of the door, the edge of the concave groove of the guide portion is fitted into the constricted portion of the guide projection, and the gap between the opening edge of the insulated box body and the rotating partition body is reduced, thereby reducing cold air leakage and improving condensation.

[0006] JP 2013-100941 JP 4-335982 JP 07-305943

[0007] In the technology described in Patent Document 1, a support seat is provided that hangs down from the ceiling of the storage compartment, and a shielding plate is installed on the rotating partition plate that protrudes toward the support seat side to block the gap, thereby sealing the gap above and below the rotating partition body and controlling the flow of cold air near the top of the rotating partition body. However, a gap still exists between the rotating partition plate and the refrigerator body, and it is not possible to completely prevent cold air leakage from the gap. As a result, the gasket comes into direct contact with the cold air in the storage compartment, causing the gasket temperature to drop easily, and there is a problem that power consumption tends to increase when heater power is supplied for heating. Patent Document 3 also has the same problem as Patent Document 1, as it is not possible to completely seal the gap between the opening edge of the insulated box body and the rotating partition body. Furthermore, in Patent Document 2, a heater is provided inside the surface sheet metal to raise the temperature of the partition body and gasket and suppress condensation. However, this method requires electricity to be supplied to the heater for heating, which has the problem of increasing the power consumption of the refrigerator.

[0008] This disclosure is made to solve the above-mentioned problems and aims to provide a refrigerator that suppresses condensation and has excellent energy-saving performance.

[0009] The refrigerator according to this disclosure comprises: an outer box forming the outer casing and the front of the refrigerator body having the storage compartment opening to the front; an inner box forming the refrigerator body together with the outer box and forming the ceiling surface of the storage compartment; a pair of double-hinged doors rotatably supported by the refrigerator body and opening and closing the opening to the storage compartment; a partition body rotatably attached to one of the pair of doors and closing the gap between the pair of doors between the refrigerator body and the pair of doors when the pair of doors are closed; a pivot guide provided on the ceiling surface and moving the partition body to a position that closes the gap when one of the pair of doors is closed; and a gasket provided on one of the pair of doors and contacting the partition body and the pivot guide when one of the pair of doors is closed, closing the gap between the partition body and the pivot guide. The rotating guide has a contact surface that contacts the gasket when one of the pair of doors is closed, and a projection that protrudes behind the contact surface and contacts the outer box from the inside, with the projection being spaced apart from the inner box.

[0010] According to this disclosure, the rotating guide for rotating the partition has a projection that contacts the outer box, and the projection is spaced apart from the inner box that forms the ceiling surface of the storage compartment. Therefore, the heat from the outer box warmed by the outside air is transferred to the gasket through the guide, thereby suppressing condensation and providing a refrigerator with excellent energy-saving performance.

[0011] This is a front view of the refrigerator according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. This is a cross-sectional view taken along line C-C of the refrigerator according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. This is a refrigerant circuit diagram of the refrigerator according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. This is an enlarged view of area B in Figure 1. This is a perspective view of area B in Figure 1. This is a diagram showing a disassembled partition body of the refrigerator according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. This is a diagram showing the upper part of the partition body according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure, viewed from the front. This is a top view showing the upper part of the partition body according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. This is a diagram showing the ceiling surface of the refrigerator compartment of the refrigerator according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. This is a diagram showing a rotating guide provided in the refrigerator according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. This is a top view showing the configuration around the left and right storage compartment doors of the refrigerator according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. This is a cross-sectional view taken along line D-D in Figure 4 of the refrigerator according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. This is a cross-sectional view of the refrigerator according to Embodiment 2 of the present disclosure at the same position as in Figure 12. This is a cross-sectional view of the refrigerator according to Embodiment 3 of the present disclosure at the same position as in Figure 12. This is a cross-sectional view of the refrigerator according to Embodiment 4 of the present disclosure at the same position as in Figure 12.

[0012] Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out this invention will be described with reference to the drawings. This disclosure is not limited to the following embodiments and can be modified or omitted without departing from the spirit of this specification. The drawings may simplify the actual structure. Furthermore, the size of each component and the positional relationship between components in the drawings may differ from the actual ones. Also, with respect to reference numerals, components with the same numeral are the same, and this is common throughout the entire specification. In addition, in the following description, terms indicating direction (e.g., "up," "upper side," "down," "lower side," "left," "left side," "right," "right side," "front," "front," "rear," "back," etc.) will be used as appropriate to facilitate understanding, but these are for illustrative purposes only and do not limit this disclosure. In this specification, the direction in which a user standing in front of the refrigerator 100 is positioned will be referred to as the front of the refrigerator 100, and the opposite direction will be referred to as the rear of the refrigerator 100. The up, down, left, and right directions when viewing the refrigerator 100 from the front will be referred to as the up, down, left, and right directions of the refrigerator 100. In Figures 4 and 5, the right door 21 of the storage compartment is shown open in order to illustrate the interior of the refrigerator compartment 8 and the partition 26.

[0013] Embodiment 1. Figure 1 is an overall view of the refrigerator in Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure, and is a front view of the refrigerator. Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the refrigerator shown in Figure 1 along the line X-X. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the refrigerator 100 in Embodiment 1 comprises a refrigerator body 1, which is a box-shaped structure. The refrigerator body 1 is a rectangular parallelepiped structure and has a storage space 7 inside. The refrigerator body 1 has an opening 7a for the storage space 7 formed in the front part 1a. The refrigerator body 1 is composed of an outer box 2 made of steel plate, an inner box 3 made of resin, and an insulating material 4 filled between the outer box 2 and the inner box 3. The insulating material 4 uses foamed insulating material 5 and vacuum insulating material 6 (shown in Figure 12), which have lower thermal conductivity compared to the outer box 2 and the inner box 3. The outer box 2 forms the outer shell facing the external space in which the refrigerator 100 is placed, and the inner box 3 forms the wall surface of the storage space 7, including the ceiling surface 3a of the refrigerator compartment 8.

[0014] The storage space 7 is a space for storing items to be cooled, such as food. The storage space 7 is divided into multiple storage compartments by one or more partition members. The refrigerator 100 of this embodiment has a refrigerator compartment 8 (shown by a dashed line on the inside of the corresponding door in Figure 1; the same applies to the ice-making compartment 9, the switching compartment 10, the freezer compartment 11, and the vegetable compartment 12) as storage compartments. As shown in Figure 1, the refrigerator compartment 8 is provided at the top of the refrigerator body 1, and the ice-making compartment 9 and the switching compartment 10 are provided in parallel below the refrigerator compartment 8. The freezer compartment 11 is located below the ice-making compartment 9 and the switching compartment 10, and the vegetable compartment 12 is located below the freezer compartment 11. The refrigerator compartment 8 is separated from the ice-making compartment 9 and the switching compartment 10 by a first partition 13. The ice-making compartment 9 and the switching compartment 10 are separated from each other by a second partition (not shown). The freezer compartment 11 is separated from the ice-making compartment 9 and the switching compartment 10 by a third partition 14. The freezer compartment 4 is separated from the vegetable compartment 12 by a fourth partition 15.

[0015] The refrigerator 100 has a refrigerator compartment opening 8a on the front part 1a of the refrigerator body 1, which is the opening to the refrigerator compartment 8. In front of the refrigerator compartment opening 8a, the refrigerator 100 has a pair of double doors, a right refrigerator compartment door 20 and a right storage compartment door 21, which open and close the refrigerator compartment opening 8a.

[0016] A first hinge device 18 and a second hinge device 19 are attached to the front left and front right sides of the top surface 1b of the refrigerator body 1, respectively. The first hinge device 18 and the second hinge device 19 allow the left refrigerator door 20 and the right storage door 21 to be rotatably attached to the left and right sides of the refrigerator body 1, respectively. The first hinge device 18 and the second hinge device 19 allow the left storage door 20 and the right refrigerator door 21 to be opened and closed like double doors. The refrigerator compartment 8 is opened or closed by opening and closing the refrigerator compartment opening 8a by the left storage door 20 and the right refrigerator door 21. In order to enable smooth opening and closing of the doors like double doors, a gap A is provided in the left-right direction between the left storage door 20 and the right refrigerator door 21 when both doors are closed. To seal the gap A, a rotating partition 26 is provided on the back of either the left storage compartment door 20 or the right refrigerator compartment door 21. The left storage compartment door 20 and the right refrigerator compartment door 21, together with the partition 26, prevent heat from the outside air from entering the refrigerator compartment 8. In this embodiment, a configuration in which the partition 26 is provided on the left storage compartment door 20 is described, but it may also be provided on the right storage compartment door 21.

[0017] Similar to the refrigerator compartment 8, the refrigerator 100 has an ice-making compartment opening 9a on the front part 1a of the refrigerator body 1, which is the opening of the ice-making compartment 9, and the refrigerator 100 is equipped with a pull-out type ice-making compartment door 22 that can freely open and close the ice-making compartment opening 9a. The refrigerator 100 also has a switching compartment opening 10a on the front part 1a of the refrigerator body 1, which is the opening of the switching compartment 10, and the refrigerator 100 is equipped with a pull-out type switching compartment door 23 that can freely open and close the switching compartment opening 10a. The refrigerator 100 also has a freezer compartment opening 11a on the front part 1a of the refrigerator body 1, which is the opening of the freezer compartment 11, and the refrigerator 100 is equipped with a pull-out type freezer compartment door 24 that can freely open and close the freezer compartment opening 11a. Furthermore, the refrigerator 100 has a vegetable compartment opening 12a on the front part 1a of the refrigerator body 1, which is the opening of the vegetable compartment 12, and the refrigerator 100 is equipped with a pull-out type vegetable compartment door 25 that can freely open and close the vegetable compartment opening 12a. Furthermore, the refrigerator of this embodiment is not limited to this configuration, as long as the uppermost storage compartment has double doors. The number, arrangement, and function of each storage compartment are not limited to this configuration.

[0018] The refrigerator 100 has a machine room 30 and a cooling room 31 at the rear of the refrigerator body 1. A compressor 32 is located in the machine room 30. In the cooling room 31, a blower 33, a cooler 34, and a heater 35 are arranged from top to bottom. The refrigerator 100 includes a control unit 36 ​​housed in the upper rear of the refrigerator body 1. The control unit 36 ​​is, for example, a microcomputer.

[0019] Figure 3 is a refrigerant circuit diagram of the refrigerator 100 shown in Figure 1. As shown in Figure 3, the refrigerator 100 includes a heater 35, a compressor 32, a condenser 37, a depressurizing device 38 which is an expansion section, a cooler 34 which is an evaporator, a blower 33, a damper device 39, and a control unit 36. The compressor 32, the condenser 37 including the heat dissipation pipe 68 (shown in Figure 12), the depressurizing device 38, and the cooler 34 are connected in a ring by piping 41, and the refrigerant circulates within the piping 41, thereby forming a refrigeration cycle 40. The control unit 36 ​​is, for example, a microcomputer. As shown in Figure 3, the control unit 36 ​​has a memory 36a for storing programs and a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 36b that executes processing according to the programs.

[0020] During the rapid cooling operation of the refrigerator 100, the control unit 36 ​​operates the compressor 32 to circulate refrigerant gas through the heat dissipation pipe 68, thereby raising the temperature of the heat dissipation pipe 68. The heat dissipation from the heat dissipation pipe 68 keeps the surface temperature of the refrigerator body 1 above the dew point temperature of the space in which the refrigerator 100 is installed during the rapid cooling operation. By performing this operation, condensation caused by the surface temperature of the refrigerator body 1 falling below the dew point temperature of the space in which the refrigerator 100 is installed is suppressed during the rapid cooling operation of the refrigerator 100.

[0021] Figure 4 is an enlarged view of area B in Figure 1, with the left storage room door 20 closed and the right storage room door 21 open. Figure 5 is a view of area B from diagonally above, with the left storage room door 20 closed and the right storage room door 21 open.

[0022] To close the aforementioned gap A in the left-right direction, a partition body 26 is provided on the back surface 2a of the left storage compartment door 20. The partition body 26 extends vertically in the area that overlaps with the refrigerator compartment 8 when the refrigerator 100 is viewed from the front with the left storage compartment door 20 and the right storage compartment door 21 closed. The partition body 26 is attached to the free end 27 of the left storage compartment door 20 (i.e., the end opposite to the side where the first hinge device 18 is provided when viewing the left storage compartment door 20 from above) by the upper end hinge member 28 and the lower end hinge member 29 shown in Figure 6.

[0023] The ceiling surface 3a of the refrigerator compartment 8 of the refrigerator body 1 is formed by an inner box 3, and a rotating guide 42 is provided on the ceiling surface 3a as a guide component. The rotating guide 42 is combined with the upper cover member 49 (shown in Figures 6 to 8) of the partition body 26 to rotate the partition body 26. When the left storage compartment door 20 to which the partition body 26 is attached is opened and closed, the partition body 26 comes into contact with the rotating guide 42, and the partition body 26 moves while rotating, guided by the rotating guide 42. When the left storage compartment door 20 is closed, the rotating guide 42 moves the partition body 26 to a position that closes the gap A when the left storage compartment door 20 and the right storage compartment door 21 are closed. A gasket 43 is provided on the back surface 20a of the left storage compartment door 20, and when the door is closed, the gasket 43 comes into contact with the partition body 26, the rotating guide 42, and the front surface 1a of the refrigerator body 1. Similarly, although not shown in the diagram, a gasket is also provided on the back surface of the right storage compartment door 21, and when the door is closed, the gasket contacts the partition 26, the pivot guide 42, and the front part 1a of the refrigerator body 1. When the left storage compartment door 20 and the right storage compartment door 21 are closed, the gasket 43 and gasket close the gap D between the partition 26 and the pivot guide 42.

[0024] Figure 6 is a disassembled view of the partition body 26 attached to the left door 20 of the storage compartment. Figure 7 is a view of the upper part of the partition body 26. Figure 8 is a top view of the partition body 26. Note that in Figure 8 illustrating the partition body 26, the front, back, left, and right directions indicate the direction when the left door 20 of the storage compartment is closed to the refrigerator compartment 8. The partition body 26 has a rectangular prism shape that is long in one direction (the vertical direction of the refrigerator 100 when attached to the left door 20 of the storage compartment). The partition body 26 has a front panel 45, hinge insulation material 46, support frame 47, back member 48, upper cover member 49, lower cover member 50, heater unit 51, upper end hinge member 28, lower end hinge member 29, and screws 52. The hinge insulation material 46 of the partition body 26 is positioned sandwiched between the support frame 47 and the back member 48. A front panel 45 is attached to the support frame 47. The upper cover member 49 and the lower cover member 50 are fixed to the support frame 47 with screws 52. The upper cover member 49 and the lower cover member 50 hold the vertically extending members, such as the front panel 45, the support frame 47, and the rear member 48, by sandwiching them from above and below. A heater unit 51, which serves as a heating element, is attached to the inner surface of the front panel 45 with adhesive tape or glue. The heater unit 51 functions as a heating element that heats the partition body 26. The upper cover member 49 has an upper surface 49a, a bottomed groove 49b formed downward from the upper surface 49a, and a screw insertion hole 49c for passing the screw 52 through, also opened downward from the upper surface 49a. As shown in Figure 8, the groove 49b is formed inward from the right side of the upper cover member 49. The rotating guide projection 62 shown in Figure 8 is inserted into the groove 49b from the right side.

[0025] Figure 9 shows the ceiling surface 3a near the refrigerator compartment opening 8a of the refrigerator body 1, and is a view of the front side of the ceiling surface 3a from diagonally below. In Figure 9, the rotating guide 42 is omitted, and the area where the rotating guide 42 is installed is indicated by a dashed line F. Figure 9 shows the ceiling surface 3a and the surrounding structure of the area where the rotating guide 42 is installed.

[0026] The refrigerator body 1 has a recess 53 formed on the front side of the ceiling surface 3a, recessed upward from the ceiling surface 3a. The outer box 2 has a front panel 54 that forms the front part 1a of the refrigerator body 1, and the recess 53 is provided behind the front panel 54 along the front panel 54. The recess 53 is composed of a part of the outer box 2 and a part of the inner box 3. The front side of the recess 53 is formed by the outer box 2 and is formed by a first side portion 55 (shown in Figure 12) that extends vertically on the back surface 54a of the front panel 54. The inner box 3 has a first wall portion 56 that extends parallel to the front panel 54 behind the first side portion 55 and forms one side of the recess 53, and a second wall portion 57 that extends forward from the upper end 56a of the first wall portion 56 to the first side portion 55 and forms the bottom surface of the recess 53. The inner box 3 has a third wall portion 58 that extends forward from the left end of the first wall portion 56, connects with the first wall portion 56 and the second wall portion 57, and forms one side surface of the recess 53. The inner box 3 also has a fourth wall portion 59 that extends forward from the right end of the first wall portion 56, connects with the first wall portion 56 and the second wall portion 57, and forms one side surface of the recess 53. The third wall portion 58 and the fourth wall portion 59 are in contact with the first side portion 55, respectively, and divide the space between the outer box 2 and the inner box 3 where foamed urethane is filled (shown in Figure 12) from the storage space 7. The recess 53 is formed by the first side portion 55, the first wall portion 56, the second wall portion 57, the third wall portion 58, and the fourth wall portion. The refrigerator body 1 also has an opening 60 in the ceiling surface 3a for fixing the rotation guide 42 with screws.

[0027] Figure 10 is a view of the rotating guide 42 attached to the ceiling surface 3a of the refrigerator compartment 8, taken from a diagonal downward angle, at the same position as in Figure 9. The rotating guide 42 is provided on the ceiling surface 3a along the opening 8a of the refrigerator compartment. The rotating guide 42, as a guide component, has a rotating guide projection 62 as a projection and a rotating guide support 61 as a support part that supports the projection. The rotating guide support 61 is a flat plate-shaped member on which the rotating guide projection 62 is formed. The rotating guide support 61 is fixed to the ceiling surface 3a of the inner box 3 by fastening it to the inner box 3 with screws 63. On the front side of the rotating guide support 61, there is a contact surface 75 provided below the front surface 1a along the front surface 1a, and recesses are formed one step lower to the rear from the left and right edges of the contact surface 75. The contact surface 75 is in substantially the same plane as the front surface 1a. A gasket 43 provided on the back surface 20a of the left storage room door 20, and a gasket (not shown) provided on the back surface of the right storage room door 21, contact the front surface 1a, the contact surface 75, and the partition body 26, closing the gap E (shown in Figure 5) between the pivot guide 42 and the partition body 26.

[0028] Figure 11 is a top view showing the configuration of the left storage door 20 and the right storage door 21 of the refrigerator 100 and their surroundings. A partition body 26 is attached to the inside of the free end 27 of the left storage door 20 (the inner plate 65 that forms the back surface 20a of the left storage door 20) via an upper hinge member 28 and a lower hinge member 29 to close the gap A between the left storage door 20 and the right storage door 21. When opening the left storage door 20, the partition body 26 rotates due to the sliding of the rotation guide projection 62 and the groove 49b, and the front plate 45 moves from a horizontal orientation to a vertical orientation relative to the inner plate 65 of the left storage door 20. As a result, the left storage door 20 can be opened without the partition body 26 coming into contact with the right storage door 21. When the left storage compartment door 20 is open, the rear member 48 of the partition body 26 (shown in Figures 6 and 7) is in contact with a rib that protrudes rearward from the inner plate 65 of the left storage compartment door 20. Therefore, when closing the left storage compartment door 20, the partition body 26 does not come into contact with the right storage compartment door 21. The rotating guide projection 62 is inserted into the groove 49b and slides within the groove 49b, causing the partition body 26 to rotate to the state shown by the dashed line in Figure 11. This maintains the airtight state of the refrigerator compartment 8.

[0029] When the left storage room door 20 is closed, the partition body 26 rotates in a predetermined direction guided by the rotation guide 42, and around the rotation axis L, it wraps around to the back of the right storage room door 21 and contacts the gasket 43 of the left storage room door 20 and the gasket of the right storage room door 21. As a result, when the left storage room door 20 and the right storage room door 21 are fully closed, the partition body 26 closes the gap A between the left storage room door 20 and the right storage room door 21. When the left storage room door 20 is opened, the partition body 26 rotates in the opposite direction guided by the rotation guide 42, and folds to avoid the rotation trajectory of the right storage room door 21. In Figure 11, the rotation trajectory of the right storage room door 21 is shown by the dashed line H, and the rotation trajectory of the partition body 26 is shown by the dashed line G.

[0030] The refrigerator 100 is generally placed indoors, such as in a kitchen, and the air inside each storage compartment is kept at a low temperature regardless of the ambient temperature. When the storage compartment functions as a refrigerator compartment 8, the temperature is around 0°C to 5°C. Here, we will explain using 2°C as a representative temperature for the air inside. The inside of the refrigerator body 1, the left storage compartment door 20, and the right storage compartment door 21, which come into contact with the cold air of the refrigerator compartment 8, lose heat through convection, causing their temperatures to drop. As a result, the outer surfaces of the refrigerator body 1, the left storage compartment door 20, and the right storage compartment door 21 are also cooled by heat conduction. The temperature difference between the ambient temperature and the temperature inside the storage compartment is largest in the summer when the ambient temperature is highest; for example, in an environment with an ambient temperature of 30°C, the temperature difference is 28°C.

[0031] Condensation occurs on the surface of a refrigerator if its exterior temperature falls below the dew point. For example, in an environment with a temperature of 30°C and a relative humidity of 70%, the dew point at atmospheric pressure is 23.9°C. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure that the exterior temperature of the refrigerator does not fall below 23.9°C, relative to the internal temperature of the storage compartment which is 2°C.

[0032] However, the partition body 26 shown in Figures 6 to 8 rotates due to a rotation mechanism, which limits its size and makes it difficult to create a large space for the hinge insulation material 46. Therefore, it is difficult to provide the partition body 26 with the same insulation performance as the refrigerator body 1 and each storage compartment door, and the temperature of the front panel portion 45, which is the outer surface of the partition body 26, tends to drop. Also, the gasket 43 tends to drop in temperature because it is in contact with the front panel portion 45.

[0033] The heater unit 51, mounted on the back surface of the front panel 45, is intended to suppress condensation and heats the front panel 45 and gasket 43 by energizing the heater unit 51. Reducing the power supplied to the heater unit 51 is important for reducing the power consumption of the refrigerator 100. The power supplied to the heater unit 51 is controlled by an outside air temperature sensor and a humidity sensor provided in the refrigerator 100 to suppress condensation sufficiently in the installation environment.

[0034] Figure 12 is a cross-sectional view of the refrigerator 100 along line D-D, showing the partition 26, gasket 43, and pivot guide 42 attached to the ceiling surface (ceiling surface 3a) of the refrigerator compartment 8, with the left storage compartment door 20 closed.

[0035] As shown in Figure 12, in order to prevent the temperature of the refrigerator 100's exterior from dropping, a vacuum insulation material 66 for the door is placed inside the left storage compartment door 20, and foam insulation material (not shown) is also filled inside. Although not shown, the right storage compartment door 21 is the same as the left storage compartment door 20. The refrigerator body 1 has an outer box 2 made of steel plate, an inner box 3 made of resin, a vacuum insulation material 6 placed between the outer box 2 and the inner box 3, and foam insulation material 5 filled between the outer box 2, the inner box 3 and the vacuum insulation material 6. The outer box 2 is formed by bending a steel plate and constitutes the exterior of the refrigerator body 1. The exterior is the part of the refrigerator body 1 that faces the space (outside space) in which the refrigerator 100 is installed when the door is closed, and corresponds to the part that is exposed to the outside air. The exterior is composed of the top surface 1b, left side surface 1c, right side surface 1d, back surface 1e and bottom surface 1f of the refrigerator body 1, and is formed by the outer box 2. The inner box 3 is formed by resin molding, and the inner box 3 forms the side walls of each storage compartment, including the ceiling surface 3a of the refrigerator compartment 8. The vacuum insulation material 6 is provided along the top plate 67 of the outer box 2, which forms the top surface 1b of the refrigerator body 1, and the heat dissipation pipe 68 is provided on the vacuum insulation material 6 side relative to the top plate 67. As shown in Figure 12, the vacuum insulation material 6 is provided with a pipe recess 69 that is recessed downward (towards the inner box 3) relative to the top plate 67, and the heat dissipation pipe 68 is arranged in the pipe recess 69. In other words, the pipe recess 69 is provided to house the heat dissipation pipe 68.

[0036] The refrigerator body 1 has a recess 53 formed on the front side of the ceiling surface 3a, recessed above the ceiling surface 3a. The recess 53 is composed of a part of the outer box 2 and a part of the inner box 3. The outer box 2 has a front panel 54 that extends downward from the front side of the top panel 67 and constitutes the front part 1a of the refrigerator body 1. The outer box 2 has a first side part 55 that bends rearward from the lower end 54a of the front panel 54 and extends along the front panel 54 behind the front panel 54. The first side part 55 forms the front side of the recess 53. The outer box 2 has a bottom part 70 that extends rearward from above the first side part 55 and a second side part 71 that extends downward from the rear side of the bottom part 70. The lower end 71a of the second side part 71 is higher than the ceiling surface 3a. The inner box 3 has a top part 72 that forms the ceiling surface 3a. The inner box 3 has an insertion portion 73 extending upward on the front side of the top surface portion 72. The insertion portion 73 is formed by the first wall portion 56, second wall portion 57, third wall portion 58, and fourth wall portion 59 shown in Figure 9, and protrudes upward. Figure 12 shows the first wall portion 56 and the second wall portion 57. The insertion portion 73 is inserted between the first side portion 55 and the second side portion 71 of the outer box 2. The insertion portion 73 has a first wall portion 56 that extends from the top surface portion 72 along the second side portion 71, and a second wall portion 57 that extends from the upper end of the first wall portion 56 to the front side along the bottom surface portion 70. The distance between the first side portion 55 and the second side portion 71 in the front-rear direction is narrowed downwards (towards the ceiling surface 3a), and the width of the second wall portion 57 in the front-rear direction is smaller than the distance between the first side portion 55 and the second side portion 71 in the front-rear direction around the bottom surface portion 70, but larger than the distance between the first side portion 55 and the second side portion 71 in the front-rear direction around the ceiling surface 3a. Therefore, when assembled, the second wall portion 57 is plastically deformed and inserted between the first side portion 55 and the second side portion 71, but when pulled out, it comes into contact with the first side portion 55 and the second side portion 71 and has the function of locking the inner box 3 to the outer box 2.

[0037] The rotating guide 42 is attached to the recess 53 and the ceiling surface 3a. The rotating guide 42 is provided along the front portion 1a of the refrigerator body 1. The rotating guide 42 has a contact surface portion 74 that extends downward along the front portion 1a and has a contact surface 75 that the gasket 43 contacts. When one of the pair of doors is closed, the contact surface portion 74 contacts the gasket 43 at the contact surface 75, separating the space of the refrigerator compartment 8 from the outside space. The rotating guide 42 also has a projection portion 76 that protrudes upward from the contact surface portion 74 at a position behind the contact surface 75. The projection portion 76 is inserted into the recess 53 and contacts the first side portion 55 from the rear. The projection portion 76 contacts the first side portion 55 but is spaced apart from the first wall portion 56 and the second wall portion 57 and does not contact the inner box 3. Furthermore, the rotating guide 42 has a support portion 77 located behind the contact surface portion 74 and the projection portion 76, and in contact with the top surface portion 72 behind the recess portion 53. The support portion 77 extends downward (vertically) from the ceiling surface 3a and connects to the rotating guide support portion 61, supporting the rotating guide support portion 61 so as to be spaced apart from the ceiling surface 3a. The rotating guide support portion 61 extends forward and backward, spaced apart from the ceiling surface 3a, and connects the contact surface portion 74 and the support portion 77. The rotating guide support portion 61 corresponds to the lower part of the dashed line L1 in the rotating guide 42 shown in Figure 12. The support portion 77 and the contact surface portion 74 correspond to the upper part of the dashed line L1 in the rotating guide 42 shown in Figure 12. The rotating guide 42 has a rotating guide projection 62 that extends downward from the rotating guide support portion 61 and contacts the partition body 26 when the left door 20 of the storage chamber is closed, causing the partition body 26 to rotate.

[0038] In the refrigerator 100 configured in this way, when the left storage door 20 is closed, the groove 49b of the partition 26 comes into contact with the rotation guide projection 62, and as shown in Figure 11, the long axis of the partition 26 rotates from a direction perpendicular to the door to a direction horizontal when viewed from above. With the left storage door 20 closed, the gasket 43 comes into contact with the partition 26, the front part 1a of the refrigerator body 1, and the contact surface 75 of the contact surface 74 of the rotation guide 42, thereby separating the space of the refrigerator compartment 8 from the external space in which the refrigerator 100 is placed. The rotation guide 42 has a projection 76 that protrudes upward from the contact surface 74 at a position behind the contact surface 75 that contacts the gasket 43, and is inserted into a recess 53 of the refrigerator body 1, and is in contact with the first side surface 55 formed by the outer box 2. Therefore, from the first side portion 55, some of the heat from the outer box 2, which is heated by the surrounding air of the refrigerator 100 (the air surrounding the refrigerator 100, separated from the storage compartment by the door) and the heat dissipation pipe 68, can be transferred to the projection 76 of the rotating guide 42, and the heat can be transferred to the gasket 43 via the contact surface portion 74. Furthermore, although the insertion portion 73 of the inner box 3 is inserted into the recess 53 and fixed in contact with the second side portion 71 of the recess 53, the insertion portion 73 is separated from the projection 76 and does not come into contact with it, so heat transfer from the projection 76 to the top surface 72 of the inner box 3 is suppressed. In addition, when assembling the rotating guide 42 to the ceiling surface 3a during the manufacturing process of the refrigerator 100, inserting the insertion portion 73 into the recess 53 makes it easy to position the rotating guide 42 and simplifies assembly.

[0039] As described above, in the refrigerator 100 of this embodiment, a portion of the heat from the surrounding air and the outer casing 2 heated by the heat dissipation pipe 68 is transmitted to the contact surface 74 via the projection 76 of the rotating guide 42 that is in contact with the outer casing 2, and heat can be transferred from the contact surface 75 to the gasket 43. Therefore, the refrigerator 100 can suppress the temperature drop on the surface of the gasket 43 and suppress condensation that occurs on the surface. As a result, the refrigerator 100 can suppress heating by electric heating wires or the like on the partition plate as a measure against condensation, and thus can provide a refrigerator with excellent energy efficiency.

[0040] Embodiment 2. A refrigerator 200 according to Embodiment 2 of the present disclosure will be described with reference to Figure 13. In Figure 13, the same reference numerals as in Figure 12 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. The refrigerator 200 of Embodiment 2 is equipped with a rotating guide 201 instead of the rotating guide 42 of Embodiment 1. The rotating guide 201 has a contact surface portion 202 and a projection portion 203. The shapes of the contact surface portion 202 and the projection portion 203 are common to the shapes of the contact surface portion 74 and the projection portion 76, respectively. Furthermore, a heat conductive portion 206 made of metal, such as aluminum, which has a higher thermal conductivity than the other parts of the rotating guide 201 (molded from resin), is provided from the contact surface 204 of the contact surface portion 202 that contacts the gasket 43 to the surface 205 of the projection portion 203 that contacts the first side surface portion 55 of the outer casing 2. Furthermore, in order to suppress heat intrusion into the refrigerator compartment 8, the heat conduction portion 206 is provided only in the portion of the rotating guide 42 that comes into contact with the gasket 43 and the outer box 2, and is not used on the surface facing the space inside the refrigerator compartment 8 or on the surface of the rotating guide 42 that comes into contact with the inner box 3. The other configurations of Embodiment 2 are the same as those of Embodiment 1.

[0041] The rotating guide 201 of the refrigerator 200 is provided with a heat conduction section 206 containing a material with high thermal conductivity on the contact surface 204 that contacts the gasket 43 and the surface 205 where the projection 203 contacts the first side surface 55. Furthermore, the heat conduction section 206 is not used on the surface of the rotating guide 201 that faces the space of the refrigerator compartment 8, nor on the part of the rotating guide 42 that contacts the inner box 3 or the surface that faces the inner box 3. Therefore, compared to the refrigerator 100 of Embodiment 1, heat from the outer box 2 is more easily transferred to the rotating guide 42 via the heat conduction section 206. Thus, the refrigerator 200 according to Embodiment 2 can suppress the temperature drop on the surface of the gasket 43 more effectively and suppress condensation on the surface of the gasket 43, compared to the refrigerator 100 of Embodiment 1, and can provide a refrigerator with superior energy efficiency.

[0042] Embodiment 3. A refrigerator 300 according to Embodiment 3 of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIG. 14. In FIG. 14, the same reference numerals as in FIG. 12 denote the same parts. In Embodiment 3, similar to Embodiment 2, the description will focus on the differences from Embodiment 1, and the description of elements that are common or corresponding to the aforementioned elements will be simplified or omitted. The refrigerator 300 of Embodiment 3 includes a rotation guide 301 instead of the rotation guide 42 of Embodiment 1. The rotation guide 301 has a protrusion 302, and has a rear protruding portion 303 that is connected to the protrusion 302 and the rotation guide support 61, extends rearward, and forms a step on the front side of the rotation guide support 61. When the rotation guide 301 is attached to the recess 53 and the ceiling surface 3a, the rear protruding portion 303 closes the opening of the recess 54 and partitions the space inside the recess 54 from the space inside the refrigerating compartment 8. Other configurations of Embodiment 3 are the same as those of Embodiment 1.

[0043] In the refrigerator 300 of Embodiment 3, as shown in FIG. 14, the rotation guide 301 has a rear protruding portion 304 for closing the recess 53. In a state where the rotation guide 301 is attached to the recess 53 and the ceiling surface 3a, the recess 53 is closed by the rear protruding portion 303, and the space facing the outer box 2 is partitioned from the internal space of the refrigerating compartment 8. In order to prevent heat transfer to the refrigerating compartment 8, contact between the inner box 3 and the rear protruding portion 303 is limited to the edge of the recess 53.

[0044] In the refrigerator 300 configured as described above, the recess 53 is closed by the rear protruding portion 303, and the space facing the outer box 2 is partitioned from the internal space of the refrigerating compartment 8. Therefore, cold air in the refrigerating compartment 8 is prevented from being transmitted to the gasket 43 and the outer box 2 through the recess 53, and conversely, heat from the outer box 2 is prevented from being transmitted to the storage compartment 5.

[0045] In the refrigerator 300 according to the third embodiment, the recess 53 is closed by the rear protruding portion 303 provided on the rotation guide 301, and the space facing the recess 53 is partitioned from the space inside the refrigerating compartment 8. Therefore, the air in contact with the space facing the protruding portion 76 that is in contact with the outer box 2 and the gasket 43 and the air in contact with the inner box 3 facing the internal space of the refrigerating compartment 8 is blocked. Thus, compared with the refrigerator 100 according to the first embodiment, the refrigerator 300 according to the third embodiment can provide a refrigerator with better energy saving performance since there is no heat transfer through air.

[0046] Embodiment 4. A refrigerator 400 according to a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIG. 15. In FIG. 15, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 12 denote the same components. In the fourth embodiment, similar to the second embodiment, the description will focus on the differences from the first embodiment, and the description of components that are common or corresponding to the aforementioned components will be simplified or omitted. The refrigerator 400 of the fourth embodiment includes a rotation guide 401 instead of the rotation guide 42 of the first embodiment. Instead of the protruding portion 76, the rotation guide 401 has a protruding portion 402 that is in contact with the first side surface portion 55 and the first wall portion 56 inside the recess 54. The protruding portion 402 has a shape (rib 403) protruding toward the first wall portion 56 inside the recess 54, and has a shape whose vertical width narrows toward the first wall portion 56 (toward the rear). Other configurations of the fourth embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment.

[0047] In the rotation guide 401 of the fourth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 15, the protruding portion 402 is provided with a rib 403 protruding rearward, and the first wall portion 56 of the recess 53 is in contact with the rib 403. Since the rib 403 protrudes convexly rearward, the contact area between the first wall portion 56, which is a part of the inner box 3, and the protruding portion 402 is limited.

[0048] In the refrigerator 400 configured as described above, inside the recess 53, the protruding portion 402 is in contact with the first side surface portion 55 and the first wall portion 56, so the protruding portion 402 is pressed against the first side surface portion 55 more than the protruding portion 76 of the first embodiment, and the contact area and contact performance with the first side surface portion 55 formed by the outer box 2 are improved.

[0049] In the refrigerator 400 of Embodiment 4, the contact area and contact properties between the outer casing 2 and the rotating guide 401 are improved, allowing for stable heat transfer from the first side surface 55 of the outer casing 2 to the gasket 43 via the rotating guide 401. Furthermore, since the rib 403 separates the space facing the outer casing 2 within the recess 53 from the internal space of the refrigerator compartment 8, heat transfer between the spaces is suppressed, providing a refrigerator with superior energy efficiency. Therefore, the refrigerator 400 according to Embodiment 4 suppresses the temperature drop on the surface of the gasket 43 more effectively than the refrigerator 100 of Embodiment 1, thereby suppressing condensation on the surface of the gasket 43 and providing a refrigerator with superior energy efficiency.

[0050] 1...Refrigerator body, 2...Outer box, 3...Inner box, 3a...Ceiling, 4...Insulation material, 5...Foam insulation material, 6...Vacuum insulation material, 7...Storage space, 8...Refrigerator compartment, 9...Ice maker compartment, 10...Converter compartment, 11...Freezer compartment, 12...Vegetable compartment, 13...First partition, 18...First hinge device, 19...Second hinge device, 20...Left door of storage compartment, 20a...Back view, 21...Right door of storage compartment 26...Partition body, 27...Free end, 28...Upper hinge member, 29...Lower hinge member, 30...Machine room, 31...Cooler room, 32...Compressor, 33...Blower, 34...Cooler, 35...Heater, 36...Control unit, 37...Condenser, 38...Depressurizing device, 39...Damper device, 40...Refrigeration cycle, 41...Piping, 42...Rotating guide, 43...Gasket T, 45...Front panel section, 46...Hinge insulation material, 47...Support frame, 48...Rear member, 49...Upper cover member, 49a...Top surface, 49b...Groove section, 49c...Screw insertion hole, 50...Lower cover member, 51...Heater unit, 52...Screw, 53...Recess, 54...Front panel, 55...First side section, 56...First wall section, 57...Second wall section, 58...Third wall section, 5 9...Fourth wall section, 60...Opening, 61...Rotating guide support section, 62...Rotating guide projection, 63...Screw, 65...Inner plate, 66...Vacuum insulation material for door, 67...Top plate, 68...Heat dissipation pipe, 69...Pipe recess, 70...Bottom section, 71...Second side section, 72...Top section, 73...Insertion section, 74...Contact surface section, 75...Contact surface, 76...Projection, 77...Support section

Claims

1. A refrigerator having a storage compartment opening to the front, comprising: an outer box forming the outer casing and the front; an inner box forming the refrigerator body together with the outer box and forming the ceiling surface of the storage compartment; a pair of double-hinged doors rotatably supported by the refrigerator body and opening and closing the opening of the storage compartment; a partition body rotatably attached to one of the pair of doors and closing the gap between the pair of doors between the refrigerator body and the pair of doors when the pair of doors are closed; a pivot guide provided on the ceiling surface and moving the partition body to a position that closes the gap when one of the pair of doors is closed; and a gasket provided on one of the pair of doors and contacting the partition body and the pivot guide when one of the pair of doors is closed, closing the gap between the partition body and the pivot guide, wherein the pivot guide has a contact surface that contacts the gasket when one of the pair of doors is closed, and a projection that contacts the outer box from the inside behind the contact surface, and the projection is spaced apart from the inner box. refrigerator.

2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the refrigerator body has a recess formed in an upward recess on the front side of the ceiling surface, the outer box has a front portion that constitutes the front surface between the top surface of the refrigerator body and the opening, a first side portion that bends rearward from the front portion and forms the front side of the recess, a bottom portion that extends rearward from the upper end of the first side portion, and a second side portion that extends downward from the rear end of the bottom portion, the inner box has a top portion that forms the ceiling surface and an insertion portion that protrudes upward on the front side of the top portion, the insertion portion is inserted into the recess and the inner box is fixed to the outer box, and the insertion portion is in contact with the second side portion and separated from the first side portion.

3. The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein the projection is in contact with the first side surface, and the contact surface of the rotating guide and the surface in contact with the first side surface are formed of a heat-conducting portion containing a material with higher heat transfer properties than the other parts.

4. The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein the rotating guide has a rearward projection behind the projection that contacts the top surface to close the recess.

5. The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein the rotating guide has a rib that protrudes rearward from the projection, and the rib contacts the insertion portion and presses the projection against the first side surface.

Images