Threaded Refrigerator Door Hinge for Height Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional refrigerators face issues with door height variability due to assembly tolerance and sagging over time, making it difficult to maintain doors at the same level and requiring inconvenient adjustments.
Innovation Solution
A door supporting device with a hinge bracket, hinge shaft, nut, and hinge cap that allows for adjustable door height and prevents rotation due to external forces, ensuring the door remains at a consistent height.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a conventional hinge bracket with fixed supporting portion is used, then the door can be supported stably, but the door height cannot be adjusted after assembly and may sag over time due to fatigue loads
Solution Approach 1:
The supporting portion is designed with a threaded hole that allows the hinge shaft to be rotated and adjusted to different positions. This dynamic adjustment mechanism enables the door height to be changed after assembly while maintaining stable support through the threaded engagement that prevents loosening over time.
Solution Approach 2:
The position of the supporting portion is made variable through the threaded hole design, allowing the hinge shaft to be positioned at different heights by rotating it. This parameter change capability enables door height adjustment while the threaded structure maintains the selected position stably.
2Ease of manufacture
If assembly tolerance is present between main body and doors, then manufacturing is easier, but the doors cannot be maintained at the same level
Solution Approach 1:
The adjustable supporting portion with threaded hole allows the hinge shaft position to be modified after assembly. This enables compensation for assembly tolerances and ensures that doors can be positioned at the same level even when initial assembly variations occur.
Solution Approach 2:
The door supporting device provides self-adjustment capability that allows users to correct door level inconsistencies caused by assembly tolerance. The threaded mechanism enables easy repositioning without requiring disassembly or specialized tools.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables easy adjustment of door height and prevents sagging, maintaining doors at the same level and reducing noise and unscrewing issues, enhancing the reliability and usability of the refrigerator.
Implementation Method 1
a threaded hole with threads formed on an inner periphery; a hinge shaft that has threads on an outer periphery thereof, is threadly engaged with the threaded hole
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a door supporting device for a refrigerator. The door supporting device of the present invention can adjust the height of the door. A hinge bracket of the door supporting device of the present invention includes a fixing portion fixed to a front face of the refrigerator, and a supporting portion extending forward from an upper end of the fixing portion and having a threaded hole with threads formed on an inner periphery thereof. A hinge shaft of the door supporting device has threads on an outer periphery thereof and is threadly engaged with the threaded hole so that the hinge shaft can be supported by the hinge bracket. An upper end of the hinge shaft rotatably supports the door. The height of the door can be adjusted by rotating the hinge shaft. A nut is threadly engaged with the hinge shaft below the hinge bracket. The nut prevents the hinge shaft from being rotated so that the door can be constantly maintained at a predetermined height. The door supporting device further comprises a hinge cap fitted around the upper end of the hinge shaft and inserted into a hinge hole formed in a bottom surface of the door so as to rotatably support the door. The hinge cap comprises a rearward extension and a rotation preventing projection extending downward from the extension, and the rotation preventing projection is inserted into a fixing hole of the hinge bracket so as to restrict rotation of the hinge cap.