The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and particularly relates to a structure of a door which freely opens and closes at a storage compartment.
Conventionally, there is a refrigerator having a door (hereafter referred to as “main door”) which freely opens and closes at a storage compartment with an opening for easily taking items such s food in and out of the storage compartment.
Such a refrigerator includes a door which freely opens and closes at the opening (hereafter referred to as “sub door”) at the main door. A user of the refrigerator can open the sub door to take out items such as food stored behind of the main door. Items such as food can be stored behind the main door.
With such a refrigerator, the user can take food in and out of the storage compartment by opening the sub door, without opening the main door.
The sub door includes an axis extending laterally at a lower end portion, and is opened by turning toward the user, with the axis rotating as the center, for example.
When the sub door is opened as described above, it is preferable that the sub door is held to have an inner face (a face toward the storage compartment when closed) substantially horizontal.
This is because the inner face of the sub door is used as a table for temporally placing food taken out of the storage compartment, for example.
Thus, there is a refrigerator with arms at the lateral sides of the sub door for regulating a rotational angle of the sub door.
There is another refrigerator which regulates the rotational angle of the sub door when opened by modifying the structure of the sub door and the opening, without providing the arms (for example, see Patent Literature 1).
As illustrated in
Furthermore, a first stopper 345 is provided at the lower end of the sub door 330, and a second stopper 355 is provided a the lower part of the opening of the main door 312.
When the sub door 330 is opened, the first stopper 345 comes into contact with the second stopper 355. With this, the rotational angle of the sub door 330 is regulated at approximately 90 degrees.
As such, the first stopper 345 is provided in a direction vertical to the rotational axis of the sub door 330, and the second stopper 355 is provided at the lower part of the opening of the main door 312 to come into contact with the first stopper 345. With this, it is possible to regulate the rotational angle when the sub door 330 is open, without using the lateral regions of the sub door 330.
However, in the case of the conventional refrigerator, the rotational trajectory of the sub door 330 including the first stopper 345 is larger than the rotational trajectory when there is no the first stopper 345. Thus, a space 360 is always necessary behind the rotational axis of the sub door 330 for the first stopper 345 to rotate.
When the sub door 330 is closed, air barely flows in the space 360. As a result, the air tends to stagnate, easily causing condensation.
In this case, for example, a heating element such as a radiation pipe may be arranged near the space 360 to prevent the condensation. However, the space 360 is close to the storage compartment, and thus arranging the heating element is impractical in terms of the efficiency for cooling the storage compartment.
In view of the conventional problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator having a main door with a sub door, and regulates the rotational angle of the sub door without affecting the cooling efficiency.
In order to solve the abovementioned problem, the refrigerator according to the present invention is a refrigerator including: a heat-insulating main body composing a storage compartment having an opening at a front face; and a main door which freely opens and closes at the opening of the storage compartment, in which the main door includes: an opening provided at a front face of the main door; a sub door which freely opens and closes at the opening through rotation; an axis member for rotatably holding the sub door; a fixing member provided across a sub door side face and an opening inner side face, the sub door side face being a side face of the sub door in an axial direction of the axis member, and the opening inner side face being an inner side face of the opening opposite to the sub door side face; and a regulating member for regulating a rotational angle of the sub door at a predetermined angle by contacting the fixing member when the sub door is open.
With this structure, the fixing member regulating the rotational angle of the sub door is provided across the side face of the sub door and the inner side face of the opening which are next to each other. More specifically, the fixing member is provided in parallel with the axial direction of the axis member, for example. Accordingly, the rotational trajectory of the sub door does not increase due to the fixing member, as in the conventional refrigerator.
As a result, a space for rotating the fixing member is not necessary behind the rotational axis. In other words, in the refrigerator according to the present invention, a space susceptible to condensation is not necessary around the sub door, and the rotational angle of the sub door can be regulated reliably.
Furthermore, the fixing member may protrudes from the sub door side face, and rotates along with the rotation of the sub door, and the regulating member may be provided at the opening inner side face.
Furthermore, the fixing member may protrude from the opening inner side face, and the regulating member may be provided at the sub door side face, and may rotate along with the rotation of the sub door.
As such, one of the fixing member and the regulating member may be arranged on the sub door, and the other may be arranged on the opening inner side face. More specifically, the arrangement positions of the fixing member and the regulating member may be a position allowing a regulation on the rotational angle of the sub door by the contact of the fixing member and the regulating member.
Furthermore, the main door may further include a reinforcing member for suppressing a change in an attitude of the fixing member with respect to the axis member by holding the fixing member and the axis member.
With this structure, the change in a relative positional relationship between the fixing member and the axis member can be prevented, securing stability when opening and closing the sub door.
Furthermore, the main door may further include a damper apparatus for suppressing a rotation speed of the sub door.
With this structure, it is possible to prevent the sub door from rapidly opening, and to prevent an excessive force on the fixing member and the axis member when the sub door is open, and thereby enhancing safety for opening and closing the sub door, and increasing the product life of the open-close structure.
Furthermore, the main door may further include an elastic member for biasing the axis member and the fixing member that are movable in the axial direction toward the opening inner side face or toward the sub door, and the axis member and the fixing member are removed from the sub door or the opening inner side face by being moved against a biasing force of the elastic member.
This structure allows a user to remove the sub door from the refrigerator easily, and to attach the sub door to the refrigerator easily. In other words, for the user of the refrigerator, it is easy to clean the sub door and the part around the opening of the main door.
The present invention provides a refrigerator having a main door with a sub-door, and which regulates the rotational angle of the sub-door without affecting the cooling efficiency.
The following shall describe Embodiment of the refrigerator according to the present invention with reference to the drawings.
First, with reference to
The refrigerator 100 according to this embodiment is an apparatus for preserving storage items stored inside by refrigeration or freezing. The refrigerator 100 has a wall partitioning the body at an intermediate portion in the width direction, and has storage compartments of different types on the right and left. Such a refrigerator is referred to as a side-by-side (SBS) refrigerator, for example.
The refrigerator 100 includes a heat-insulating main body 150, a first main door 111, and a second main door 121, as illustrated in the drawings.
The first main door 111 also has an opening 113 at the front face, and the first sub door 112 which freely opens and closes at the opening 113. The second main door 121 includes an opening 123 provided at the front and the second sub door 122 which freely opens and closes at the opening 123.
The first main door 111 freely opens and closes at the opening of the refrigerator compartment arranged on the user's right side when facing the heat-insulating main body 150. In the case of Embodiment, the first main door 111 is attached to the heat-insulating main body 150 by a hinge (not illustrated) such that the first main door 111 rotates with the axis extending in the vertical direction in front of the right side wall of the heat-insulating main body 150 as the center. The first main door 111 is a vertically long rectangle arranged from the top to the bottom of the refrigerator 100, and has the axis passing through the right end portion of the first main door 111.
The second main door 121 freely opens and closes at the opening of the freezer compartment arranged on the left of the user when facing the heat-insulating main body 150. In the case of Embodiment, the second main door 121 is attached to the heat-insulating main body 150 by a hinge (not illustrated) such that the second main door 121 rotates around the axis extending in the vertical direction in front of the left side wall of the heat-insulating main body 150 as the center. The second main door 121 is a vertically long rectangle arranged from the top to the bottom of the refrigerator 100, and has the axis passing through the left end portion of the second main door 121.
The opening 113 forms a through hole in the thickness direction of the first main door 111. The user of the refrigerator 100 can take out storage items stored behind the first main door 111 through the opening 113, and can store items behind the first main door 111.
The first sub door 112 freely opens and closes at the opening 113. In the case of Embodiment, the first sub door 112 is attached to the first main door 111 by the axis member such that the first sub door 112 rotates around the axis laterally extending at the lower end portion of the opening 113. The axis passes through the lower end portion of the first sub door 112. The axis member shall be described in detail later with reference to
The second sub door 122 freely opens and closes at the opening 123 for receiving receives ice supplied from the inside of the refrigerator 100.
A control board for controlling operations of the refrigerator 100 is stored at the top portion of the heat-insulating body 150, and a board cover 158 covering the storage space is attached.
The space inside of the heat-insulating main body 150 is partitioned into the left part and the right part by a partition 153, forming a refrigerator compartment on the right and the freezer compartment on the left.
Containers 162 for storing items such as food and shelves 163 for placing the items are attached to the refrigerator compartment and the freezer compartment.
With reference to
Note that, the open-close structure of the first sub door 112 and the open-close structure of the second sub door 122 are basically identical. Thus, the description shall be made focusing on the first sub door 112, and the description of the second sub door 122 shall be omitted.
As illustrated in
A push latch 130 is provided at the top portion of the opening 113. A closed state of the first sub door 112 is maintained by the protrusion provided at the top portion of the inner face of the first sub door 112 and the push latch 130 latched together. The protrusion and the push latch 130 are released from the latched state by pressing the top portion of the first sub door 112, opening the first sub door 112
Furthermore, a sub door switch 131 is provided next to the push latch 130. Whether or not the first sub door 112 is closed is determined by detecting whether or not the sub door switch 131 is pressed. A sub door detecting unit for the detection shall be described later with reference to
Note that, in
As illustrated in
Note that, in Embodiment, the rotation frame 170 and the fixing frame 180 are both made of metal. The axis member 140 is fixed such that the axis member 140 does not rotate with respect to the fixing frame 180.
The axis member 140 is connected to a damper apparatus 135 for suppressing a rotation speed of the first sub door 112 through a joint member 136. The main body of the damper apparatus 135 is fixed with the first sub door 112.
To put it differently, when opening the first sub door 112, the damper apparatus 135 and the axis member 140 rotate with respect to each other, and the damper apparatus 135 provides the first sub door 112 with a force in a direction suppressing the rotation speed of the first sub door 112.
The first main door 111 also includes a fixing member 141. The fixing member 141 is provided across a sub door side face which is a side face of the first sub door 112 in the axis direction of the axis member 140 and an opening inner side face which is an inner side face of the opening 113 facing the sub door side face.
In the Embodiment, the fixing member 141 protrudes from the side face of the first sub door 112 as illustrated in
The end portion of the fixing member 141 opposite to the first sub door 112 is inserted into a regulating groove 181 of the fixing frame 180.
When the first sub door 112 is opened, the fixing member 141 attached to the first sub door 112 rotates up to the front end of the regulating groove 181 when facing the user, and the movement is regulated by the contact to the front end.
In other words, the rotation angle of the first sub door 112 is regulated to a predetermined angle (approximately 90 degrees in this Embodiment) by the fixing frame 180. Note that, the fixing frame 180 is an example of a regulating member in the refrigerator according to the present invention.
The axis member 140 and the fixing member 141 are held by a reinforcing member 190 which is a block made of metal.
Note that, in
In this Embodiment, the reinforcing member 190 includes a hole for holding the axis member 140, and a hole for holding the fixing member 141. The axis member 140 and the fixing member 141 are held by the reinforcing member 190 through the insertion to the holes. With this, the change in the attitude of the fixing member 141 with respect to the axis member 140 is suppressed.
More specifically, the fixing member 141 is a metal rod, and the fixing member 141 is held substantially in parallel with the axis member 140 by the reinforcing member 190, as illustrated in
When the first sub door 112 is opened in this state and the fixing member 141 comes into contact with the end of the regulating groove 181, force tilting the fixing member 141 with respect to the axis member 140 is given to the fixing member 141 and the axis member 140. More specifically, the force twisting the fixing member 141 and the axis member 140 is given to the fixing member 141 and the axis member 140.
However, both the axis member 140 and the fixing member 141 are held by the reinforcing member 190. Thus, the twist is prevented; allowing opening and closing the first sub door 112 stably.
Note that, both or one of the axis member 140 and the fixing member 141 may be formed integrally with the reinforcing member 190. In other words, the reinforcing member 190 may non-detachably hold one of, or both of the axis member 140 and the fixing member 141.
When the reinforcing member 190 and the axis member 140 are integrally formed, the axis member 140 is incapable of rotating with respect to the first sub door 112. In this case, the fixing frame 180 may hold the axis member 140 such that the axis member 140 rotates with respect to the first main door 111.
More specifically, the fixing frame 180 may be provided with a hole supporting the axis member 140 to allow free rotation, and the damper apparatus 135 may be provided at the outer side of the hole (opposite side from the first sub door 112 interposing the fixing frame 180), connecting the top of the axis member 140 and the damper apparatus 135.
In
Note that, in these diagrams, in order to clearly indicate the open-close structure of the first sub door 112, only the components related to opening and closing of the first sub door 112 are illustrated, and boards forming the surface of the first sub door 112 and the first main door 111 are omitted from the illustration.
The rotation frame 172 illustrated in
Furthermore, the fixing member 143 is attached to the rotation frame 172, and the left end portion of the rotation frame 172 is inserted into the regulating groove 183 in the fixing frame 182.
Both the fixing member 143 and the axis member 142 are held by the reinforcing member 191 which is a metal block.
As described above, the left end portion of the first sub door 112 has the structure identical to the structure of the right end portion.
With this, as illustrated in
Note that, as illustrated in
In other words, the axis member 142 and the fixing member 143 are movable toward the axial direction of the axis member 142, and are biased toward the opening inner side face.
With this, the left end portion of the fixing member 143 is inserted into the regulating groove 183 at the opening inner side face, and the left end portion of the axis member 142 is inserted into the hole in the fixing frame 182.
With this state, for example, when the user presses the moving member 144 to right, the left end portions of the fixing member 143 and the axis member 142 are removed from the opening inner side face. With this, the first sub door 112 is removable from the first main door 111, and is attachable to the first main door 111.
Note that, the elastic member 137 may be arranged farther on the left of the opening inner side face such that the elastic member 137 biases the axis member 142 and the fixing member 143 toward the first sub door 112. In this case, the right end portions of the fixing member 143 and the axis member 142 can be removed from the first sub door 112 by moving the fixing member 143 and the axis member 142 to the left against the biased force. In other words, the first sub door 112 can be freely attached to and detached from the first main door 111.
As described above, the first sub door 112 is detachably attached to the first main door 111 to be freely opened and closed. In addition, the rotation angle when opening the first sub door 112 is regulated.
In this Embodiment, as illustrated in
Here, as illustrated in
In other words, in the refrigerator 100 in this Embodiment, the fixing member 141 (143) extending in a direction identical to the axial direction of the first sub door 112, and the regulating groove 181 (183) provided in the fixing frame 180 (182) regulate the rotation angle of the first sub door 112.
In other words, the member for regulating the rotation angle of the first sub door 112 (the fixing member 141 in this Embodiment) does not affect a rotational trajectory of the first sub door 112 on a plane vertical to the axis.
With this, it is possible to eliminate or significantly reduce the space behind the axis of the sub door provided for the rotation of the sub door with usually almost no air flow (for example, the space 360 in
As illustrated in
As such, the condensation at the lower part of the opening 113 is prevented, and it is not necessary to provide a heating element for preventing the condensation. Furthermore, it is possible to reliably regulate the rotational angle of the first sub door 112 when opened.
More specifically, the refrigerator 100 according to Embodiment can regulate the rotational angle of the first sub door 112 when opened to an angle with the inner face of the first sub door 112 substantially horizontal, without affecting the cooling efficiency.
Note that, in this Embodiment, the reinforcing member 190 is provided in the first sub door 112, holding the axis member 140 and the fixing member 141.
In other words, the fixing member 141 rotates as the first sub door 112 rotates. However, the fixing member may be fixed at the inner side face of the opening 113, and a regulating groove that comes in contact with the fixing member may be provided in the first sub door 112.
As illustrated in
In addition, on a side opposite to the first sub door 112 interposing the fixing frame 180, a reinforcing member 194 having an axial hole 194a for holding the axis member 140 so as to prevent the rotation of the axis member 140, and the fixing member 194b.
In this case, the regulating groove 193a rotates as the first sub door 112 rotates. The back end of the regulating groove 193a comes into contact with the fixing member 194b fixed with the first main door 111. With this, the rotational angle of the first sub door 112 is regulated.
Alternatively, the fixing member may be fixed with the first main door 111, the regulating groove may be provided in the first sub door 112, and the axis member 140 may be positioned not to rotate with respect to the first sub door 112.
As illustrated in
Furthermore, on a side opposite to the first sub door 112 interposing the fixing frame 180, a reinforcing member 196 having a fixing member 196b and a hole for rotatably holding the axis member 196a are arranged.
Furthermore, the damper apparatus 135 is arranged behind the reinforcing member 194 and is connected to the back end of the axis member 196a.
In this case, the regulating groove 195b rotates as the first sub door 112 rotates, and the back end of the regulating groove 195b comes into contact with the fixing member 196b fixed to the first main door 111. With this, the rotational angle of the first sub door 112 is regulated.
As the first sub door 112 rotates, the axis member 196a rotatably held by the reinforcing member 196 rotates. The damper apparatus 135 gives a force in a direction suppressing the rotation speed of the axis member 196a as the axis member 196a rotates. Consequently, the rotation speed of the first sub door 112 is suppressed.
Note that, the reinforcing member 195 includes the regulating groove 195b and the axial hole 195a for holding the axis member 140 while preventing its rotation. Accordingly, as illustrated in
Furthermore, although the axis member 140 and the fixing member 141 are formed separately in this Embodiment, the functions of these components may be implemented by one component.
As illustrated in
Furthermore, on a side opposite to the first sub door 112 interposing the fixing frame 180, the reinforcing member 198 having an axial hole 198a which rotatably holds the axis member 197a, and regulates the rotation exceeding the predetermined rotation angle is arranged.
In this case, the axis member 197a rotates as the first sub door 112 rotates. Furthermore, the fixing face 197b comes into contact with a contact face 198b which is a part of the inner surface of the axial hole 198a. With this, the rotational angle of the first sub door 112 is regulated.
Note that, although not illustrated in
As described above with reference to
Furthermore, although all of the fixing members 141, 143, 194b, and 196b are rod-shaped, the fixing member may not be shaped like a rod. The fixing member may be provided across the gap between at least one of the side faces of the first sub door 112 in the direction of the rotational axis (lateral side faces in this Embodiment) of the first sub door 112 and an opening inner side face opposite to the side face, and its shape is not particularly limited.
Furthermore, the fixing frame 180 which is an example of the regulating member in the refrigerator according to the present invention specifically regulates the movement of the fixing member 141 by the contact of the end of the regulating groove 181 with the fixing member 141. With this, the rotational angle of the first sub door 112 is regulated.
The shape may not be limited to a groove as long as the movement of the fixing member 141 is regulated. For example, the hole may be circular or rectangular. Alternatively, a wall blocking the movement of the fixing member 141 may be simply provided to the fixing frame 180 to regulate the movement of the fixing member 141.
In short, the first main door 111 have to include only the fixing member provided across the gap between the side face of the first sub door 112 and the opening inner side face which is an inner side face of the opening 113 opposite to the side face, and the regulating member regulating the rotational angle of the first sub door 112 at a predetermined angle by the contact with the fixing member.
With this, it is possible to regulate the rotational angle of the first sub door 112 without the space behind the rotational axis of the first sub door 112 for rotating the fixing member.
Note that, as described above, the first main door 111 is provided with a sub door switch 131, and a sub door detecting unit can detect whether or not the first sub door 112 is closed, based on the state of the sub door switch 131.
ON and OFF of the lighting unit in the refrigerator is controlled based on whether or not the first sub door 112 is closed, and whether or not the first main door 111 is closed.
As illustrated in
For example, when the first sub door 112 is open, the pressed sub door switch 131 (see
When the detection result is obtained, the control unit 200 turns ON the lighting unit 240 from OFF-state. With this, when the first sub door 112 is open, the lighting unit 240 lights up inside of the refrigerator compartment, helping the user to take food out of or into the refrigerator compartment.
Note that, when the first main door 111 is open, the main door detecting unit 210 detects that the first main door 111 is not closed, or that the first main door 111 is open. The control unit 200 which received the detection result turns ON the lighting unit 240 from OFF-state.
Here, it is assumed that the first main door 111 is opened and closed with both the first main door 111 and the first sub door 112 open. In this case, the rotational trajectory of the first sub door 112 is large. Thus, for example, it is possible for the first sub door 112 to contact objects around the refrigerator 100. Accordingly, there is a problem in terms of safety.
Thus, in the refrigerator 100 according to this Embodiment, an alarm is sent when a state in which both the first main door 111 and the first sub door 112 are open, that is, a state in which neither the first main door or the first sub door 112 is not closed.
When the control unit 200 determines, based on the detection results by the main door detecting unit 210 and the sub door detecting unit 220, that the first main door 111 is open, that is, not closed, and that the first sub door 112 is open, that is, not closed (Yes in S100), the control unit 200 instructs the alarm unit 230 to send an alarm.
Upon receiving instruction from the control unit 200 for sending the alarm, the alarm unit 230 outputs audio indicating that both the first main door 111 and the first sub door 112 are open, and an instruction for closing the first main door 111 (S110).
Furthermore, using a display panel provided between the first main door 111 and the second main door 121, the alarm unit 230 displays content which is equivalent to the audio output, by using characters, flickering lights, and others, together with or instead of the audio output.
Thus, it is possible to prevent the first main door 111 from opening wide with the first sub door 112 open, improving the safety of the refrigerator 100.
With reference to
Although the description above describes Embodiments of the present invention, the technical features of the present invention is effective to a refrigerator including a main door with a sub door.
Accordingly, the present invention is applicable not only to a SBS-type refrigerator such as the refrigerator 100 in Embodiment, but also to various types of refrigerators with a main door having a sub door.
The present invention provides a refrigerator having a main door with a sub door, and which regulates the rotational angle of the sub door without affecting the cooling efficiency. Accordingly, the present invention is useful as a refrigerator and others with a various types and size for household use and professional use.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2009-050304 | Mar 2009 | JP | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
PCT/JP2010/001447 | 3/3/2010 | WO | 00 | 9/2/2011 |