This disclosure is a national phase entry under 35 USC 371 of International Patent Application No. PCT/CN2022/071408, filed on Jan. 11, 2022, which claims priorities to Chinese Patent Application No. 202110974363.5, filed on Aug. 24, 2021, Chinese Patent Application No. 202122263810.4, filed on Sep. 17, 2021, and PCT International Patent Application No. PCT/CN2021/118611, filed on Sep. 15, 2021, which claims the priority to the Chinese Patent Application No. 202110974363.5, filed on Aug. 24, 2021, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entities.
The present disclosure relates to the technical field of household appliances, and in particular, to a refrigerator.
In a side-by-side refrigerator, in order to improve a sealing effect of the refrigerator, a turnover beam is generally disposed on a sidewall of either of a pair of door bodies of the refrigerator. The turnover beam may be construed as a vertical beam capable of pivoting around a vertical axis by 90 degrees (i.e., 90°), and the turnover beam is sealingly engaged with the pair of door bodies of the refrigerator, so that a relatively confined space is formed between a refrigerator body and the door bodies to achieve preservation of cold air.
A refrigerator is provided, which includes a refrigerator body, a pair of door bodies, a turnover beam, a guide seat, and a limiting block. The refrigerator body includes a storage compartment. The pair of door bodies are pivotally connected with the refrigerator body to open or close the storage compartment. The turnover beam is pivotally connected with one of the pair of door bodies to seal a gap between the pair of door bodies when closing the storage compartment, and the turnover beam includes a turnover beam body and a guide block located on a top of the turnover beam body. The guide seat is located on a top of the storage compartment, the guide seat includes a guide seat body and a guide groove disposed in the guide seat body, and the guide groove is open at a bottom thereof and includes a front side opening, so that the guide groove is engaged with the guide block. The limiting block is rotatably connected with the guide seat body. When at least a portion of the guide block presses the limiting block through the front side opening of the guide groove, the limiting block is configured to pivot and exit the guide groove, and after the guide block enters the guide groove, the limiting block is configured to be reset by pivoting to limit the guide block.
In order to describe technical solutions in the present disclosure more clearly, accompanying drawings to be used in some embodiments of the present disclosure will be introduced briefly below. However, the accompanying drawings to be described below are merely accompanying drawings of some embodiments of the present disclosure, and a person of ordinary skill in the art may obtain other drawings according to these drawings. In addition, the accompanying drawings to be described below may be regarded as schematic diagrams, and are not limitations on actual sizes of products, actual processes of methods and actual timings of signals to which the embodiments of the present disclosure relate.
Technical solutions in some embodiments of the present disclosure will be described clearly and completely below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the described embodiments are merely some but not all embodiments of the present disclosure. All other embodiments obtained by a person of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present disclosure shall be included in the protection scope of the present disclosure.
Unless the context requires otherwise, throughout the description and the claims, the term “comprise” and other forms thereof such as the third-person singular form “comprises” and the present participle form “comprising” are construed as an open and inclusive meaning, i.e., “including, but not limited to”. In the description of the specification, the terms such as “one embodiment”. “some embodiments”, “exemplary embodiments”, “example”, “specific example” or “some examples” are intended to indicate that specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics related to the embodiment(s) or example(s) are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present disclosure. Schematic representations of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment(s) or example(s). In addition, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics may be included in any one or more embodiments or examples in any suitable manner.
Hereinafter, the terms “first” and “second” are used for descriptive purposes only, and are not to be construed as indicating or implying the relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of indicated technical features. Thus, features defined with “first” and “second” may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of the embodiments of the present disclosure, “a/the plurality of” means two or more unless otherwise specified.
In the description of some embodiments, the terms “coupled” and “connected” and their derivatives may be used. For example, the term “connected” may be used in the description of some embodiments to indicate that two or more components are in direct physical or electrical contact with each other. For another example, the term “coupled” may be used in the description of some embodiments to indicate that two or more components are in direct physical or electrical contact. However, the term “coupled” or “communicatively coupled” may also mean that two or more components are not in direct contact with each other, but still cooperate or interact with each other. The embodiments disclosed herein are not necessarily limited to the contents herein.
The phrase “at least one of A, B and C” has a same meaning as the phrase “at least one of A, B or C”, and they both include the following combinations of A, B and C: only A, only B, only C, a combination of A and B, a combination of A and C, a combination of B and C, and a combination of A, B and C.
The phrase “A and/or B” includes the following three combinations: only A, only B. and a combination of A and B.
As used herein, the term “if”, depending on the context, is optionally construed as “when” or “in a case where” or “in response to determining” or “in response to detecting”. Similarly, the phrase “if it is determined” or “if [a stated condition or event] is detected”, depending on the context, is optionally construed as “in a case where it is determined” or “in response to determining” or “in a case where [the stated condition or event] is detected” or “in response to detecting [the stated condition or event]”.
The use of the phrase “applicable to” or “configured to” herein means an open and inclusive expression, which does not exclude devices that are applicable to or configured to perform additional tasks or steps.
In addition, the use of the phrase “based on” is meant to be open and inclusive, since a process, step, calculation or other action that is “based on” one or more of the stated conditions or values may, in practice, be based on additional conditions or values exceeding those stated.
The term “about”, “substantially” or “approximately” as used herein includes a stated value and an average value within an acceptable range of deviation of a particular value. The acceptable range of deviation is determined by a person of ordinary skill in the art, considering measurement in question and errors associated with measurement of a particular quantity (i.e., limitations of a measurement system).
The term such as “parallel”, “perpendicular” or “equal” as used herein includes a stated condition and a condition similar to the stated condition. A range of the similar condition is within an acceptable range of deviation. The acceptable range of deviation is determined by a person of ordinary skill in the art, considering measurement in question and errors associated with measurement of a particular quantity (i.e., limitations of a measurement system). For example, the term “parallel” includes absolute parallelism and approximate parallelism, and an acceptable range of deviation of the approximate parallelism may be, for example, a deviation within 5°; the term “perpendicular” includes absolute perpendicularity and approximate perpendicularity, and an acceptable range of deviation of the approximate perpendicularity may also be, for example, a deviation within 5°. The term “equal” includes absolute equality and approximate equality, and an acceptable range of deviation of the approximate equality may be, for example, a difference between two equals of less than or equal to 5% of either of the two equals.
A side of a refrigerator 10 facing a user during use is defined as a front side, and a side opposite to the front side is defined as a rear side.
In some embodiments, referring to
The cold air supply device 20 cools the storage compartment by performing heat exchange with an outside of the refrigerator body 1. As shown in
For example, the evaporator 204 may be arranged to be in contact with an outer wall of the storage compartment to directly cool the storage compartment. In some embodiments, the cold air supply device 20 may further include a circulation fan to circulate air in the storage compartment through the evaporator 204 and the circulation fan.
In some embodiments, the refrigerator body 1 may adopt a hollow rectangular parallelepiped structure. The refrigerator body 1 may include a plurality of storage compartments, such as a refrigerating compartment, a freezing compartment, and a variable temperature compartment, so as to meet different refrigeration requirements such as refrigerating, freezing, and temperature changing according to different types of food. As shown in
The plurality of storage compartments 11 may be spaced apart in a height direction of the refrigerator body 1, or the plurality of storage compartments 11 may be spaced apart in a width direction of the refrigerator body 1.
In some embodiments, the refrigerator body 1 includes a first partition 101 disposed at a middle position of the refrigerator body 1 in the height direction, and the height direction of the refrigerator body 1 refers to an up-and-down direction in
The door body 2 is pivotally connected with the refrigerator body 1, so as to open or close the storage compartment. For example, the door body 2 may be hinged to a front end of the refrigerator body 1. Four door bodies 2 are shown in
With a continuous upgrading of consumption, a capacity of the refrigerator 10 continues to increase, and at least one of the refrigerating compartment, the freezing compartment, or the variable temperature compartment is provided with two door bodies 2. For ease of description, some embodiments of the present disclosure are mainly described by taking an example in which the refrigerating compartment is provided with two door bodies 2. However, this should not be construed as a limitation on the present disclosure.
In some embodiments, the refrigerator 10 generally includes two refrigerating compartment doors. In order to ensure airtightness between the two side-by-side refrigerating compartment doors when they are closed, and further to prevent convection of air inside and outside the storage compartment 11 (e.g., the refrigerating compartment) and enhance a heat preservation effect, the refrigerator 10 further includes a turnover beam 3. The turnover beam 3 is located on either of the two refrigerating compartment doors; for example, the turnover beam 3 is located in a middle of the two refrigerating compartment doors.
In some embodiments, in a process of closing the refrigerating compartment doors, the user is required to correctly operate the turnover beam 3 to close the door body 2. When the door body 2 is closed, if an angle of the turnover beam 3 is incorrect due to a rotation of the turnover beam 3 with the door body 2, the turnover beam 3 and the door body 2 will easily collide, resulting in damages to the turnover beam 3 and the door body 2.
As shown in
The turnover beam 3 is generally disposed on a sidewall of either of the two side-by-side door bodies 2 of the refrigerator 10. As shown in
In a case where the turnover beam 3 is fixed on the door body 2, a general requirement is that when the door body 2 is closed, the turnover beam 3 is substantially parallel to the door body 2, and when the door body 2 is opened, the turnover beam 3 is substantially perpendicular to the door body 2.
In some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, the door seal 22 includes a magnetic strip. The magnetic strip is disposed on an inner side of the door seal 22, that is, the magnetic strip is located between the door seal 22 and the door liner 21. As shown in
As shown in
In some embodiments, the mounting seat 62 and the fixing seat 61 are detachably connected (e.g., in a plugged-in manner). It will be noted that, a pivoting angle of the turnover beam 3 relative to the door body 2 is substantially 90 degrees (i.e., 90°).
As shown in
As shown in
In some embodiments, the guide block 32 may be an integral structural member, and an extending direction of the guide block 32 is substantially as shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
It will be noted that in a case where the turnover beam 3 completely enters the guide groove 41, the door body 2 and the turnover beam 3 are in a closed state, and the turnover beam 3 and the door body 2 are substantially parallel (as shown in
In some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, the guide block 32 includes a first portion 321 and a second portion 322. The first inlet 412 is configured to allow the guide block 32 to enter and exit the guide groove 41 when the turnover beam 3 is normally closed or opened, and to allow the second portion 322 of the guide block 32 to enter the guide groove 41 when the turnover beam 3 is abnormally closed. For example, in a case where the door body 2 and the turnover beam 3 are normally closed, both the second portion 322 and the first portion 321 of the guide block 32 enter the guide groove 41 from the first inlet 412, and the guide block 32 can move along the guide wall 411, thereby driving the turnover beam 3 to turn over to achieve a normal closing of the turnover beam 3. In a case where both the first portion 321 and the second portion 322 of the guide block 32 exit the guide groove 41 from the first inlet 412, the turnover beam 3 is normally opened.
The second inlet 413 is configured to allow the second portion 322 of the guide block 32 to enter the guide groove 41 when the turnover beam 3 is abnormally closed. As shown in
In some embodiments, as shown in
It will be noted that as shown in
In some embodiments, as shown in
In a case where the guide block 32 is located in the guide groove 41 and the door body 2 drives the turnover beam 3 to close in a normal state (as shown in
In a case where the guide block 32 is located outside the guide groove 41 and the door body 2 drives the turnover beam 3 to open in the normal state, the turnover beam 3 is substantially perpendicular to the door body 2 (as shown in
As shown in
It will be understood that a way to limit the guide block 32 by the cooperation of the partition block 42 and the limiting block 5 can greatly reduce a length of the limiting block 5 extending into the guide groove 41 (e.g., the length is substantially equal to the width W2 of the second inlet 413), which is beneficial to reduce a size and rotational stroke of the limiting block 5 and improve a stability and reliability of the movement of the guide block 32.
Of course, in some embodiments, the guide seat 4 may not be provided with the partition block 42 partitioning the front side opening. In this case, the limiting block 5 may directly pivot and extend into the front side opening of the guide groove 41 to limit the guide block 32, which may simplify a structure of the guide seat 4.
For ease of description, some embodiments of the present disclosure are mainly described by taking an example in which the guide seat 4 is provided with the partition block 42. However, this should not be construed as a limitation on the present disclosure.
As shown in
In some embodiments, as shown in
In a case where the limiting block 5 extends into the guide groove 41 and the partition block 42 is disposed on the guide seat 4, a free end of the limiting block 5 is proximate to the partition block 42. Moreover, as shown in
It will be understood that the opening 43 is not limited to be disposed on the guide wall 411.
In some embodiments, the guide seat 4 includes the guide seat body 40 (as shown in
In some embodiments, in a case where the guide seat 4 is provided with the partition block 42, the opening 43 may also be disposed on a sidewall of the partition block 42 proximate to the second inlet 413. The limiting block 5 rotatably passes through the opening 43 and is located inside the partition block 42. The limiting block 5 can pivot and extend into the second inlet 413 through the opening 43, so that the limiting block 5 is cooperated with the partition block 42 to jointly limit the guide block 32.
As shown in
In some embodiments, the limiting member 51 is rotatably connected with the guide seat 4, so that the limiting member 51 is pressed by the guide block 32 to pivot (e.g., the limiting member 51 is made to pivot toward a rear side of the guide groove 41) and exit the guide groove 41. For example, as shown in
In some embodiments, as shown in
For example, the rotating shaft 514 is detachably disposed in the shaft hole 441, which facilitates assembly and disassembly between the limiting block 5 and the guide seat 4.
As shown in
In some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, the reset member 52 adopts a torsion spring. An end of the torsion spring is hinged on the guide seat 4, and the other end of the torsion spring is hinged on the limiting member 51. For example, the other end of the torsion spring may be hinged at a position on the limiting member 51 away from the rotating shaft 514. A tension of the torsion spring can force the limiting member 51 to pass through the opening 43 to extend into the guide groove 41 (as shown in
As shown in
As shown in
Of course, in some embodiments, it may also be that the limiting portion 512 protrudes downwards from a bottom surface of the tongue portion 511, so that the first step 513A is formed between the limiting portion 512 and the tongue portion 511. In some embodiments, it may also be that the limiting portion 512 protrudes backwards from a side surface of the tongue portion 511 away from the door body 2, so that the first step 513A is formed between the limiting portion 512 and the tongue portion 511.
It will be understood that in a case where the turnover beam 3 is opened, the second portion 322 of the guide block 32 also has a tendency to exit the guide groove 41 from the second inlet 413, so that the second portion 322 presses the limiting member 51 from a side surface (e.g., a rear side surface) of the tongue portion 511 away from the door body 2. In this case, the limiting portion 512 can also prevent the tongue portion 511 from moving (e.g., pivoting) toward the front side of the guide groove 41, so that the limiting member 51 can stably stop at the second inlet 413, thereby preventing the guide block 32 from directly exiting the guide groove 41 from the second inlet 413.
In some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, as shown in
In the refrigerator 10 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the storage compartment 11 is sealed by using a cooperation between the door bodies 2 and the turnover beam 3, and the movement of the turnover beam 3 is guided by using a cooperation between the guide groove 41 of the guide seat 4 and the guide block 32 of the turnover beam 3. The limiting block 5 is rotatably connected with the guide seat 4, and pivots and extends into the guide groove 41 to limit the guide block 32, so that the normal opening or closing of the turnover beam 3 is stable. Moreover, in a case where the turnover beam 3 is abnormally closed, the first portion 321 of the guide block 32 enters the guide groove 41 from the first inlet 412, and the second portion 322 of the guide block 32 can press the limiting block 5 and force the limiting block 5 to pivot and exit the guide groove 41, so that the guide block 32 smoothly enters the guide groove 41, and finally, the limiting block 5 can be reset by pivoting, and re-extend into the guide groove 41 to limit the guide block 32, thereby achieving a purpose of closing the door body 2 normally when the turnover beam 3 is at a wrong position due to a misoperation of the user, and improving convenience of closing the door body 2.
In some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, the tongue portion 511 is disposed on a back side of the baffle portion 515 at an interval, so as to prevent the guide block 32 from exiting the guide groove 41 from the second inlet 413.
In some embodiments, the rear side surface of the tongue portion 511 is formed as a smooth curved surface 5112. In a case where the baffle portion 515 extends into the guide groove 41 and closes the second inlet 413, the rear side surface of the tongue portion 511 smoothly meets the rear side surface of the partition block 42.
In some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, the limiting member 51 is formed as an integral structural member. For example, as shown in
In some embodiments, as shown in
For example, the connecting portion 5113 has an arc-shaped structure and is located on a peripheral side of the shaft column 44. A side (e.g., a front side) of the connecting portion 5113 proximate to the door body 2 is connected with the baffle portion 515, and a side (e.g., a rear side) of the connecting portion 5113 away from the door body 2 is connected with the tongue portion 511. Thus, the baffle portion 515, the tongue portion 511, and the connecting portion 5113 may all pivot by resting on the periphery of the shaft column 44.
In some embodiments, the baffle portion 515, the tongue portion 511, and the connecting portion 5113 may be formed as an integral structural member.
As shown in
In some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, as shown in
Of course, in some embodiments, it may also be that the baffle portion 515 protrudes upwards from the top surface of the tongue portion 511, so that the second step 513B is formed between the top surface of the baffle portion 515 and the top surface of the tongue portion 511.
In the refrigerator 10 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the storage compartment 11 is sealed by using the cooperation between the door bodies 2 and the turnover beam 3, and the movement of the turnover beam 3 is guided by using the cooperation between the guide groove 41 of the guide seat 4 and the guide block 32 of the turnover beam 3. The front side opening of the guide groove 41 is partitioned into the first inlet 412 and the second inlet 413 spaced in the left-and-right direction by the partition block 42, and the limiting block 5 is rotatably connected with the guide seat 4.
In a case where the turnover beam 3 is abnormally closed, the avoidance groove 33 can be opposite to the partition block 42 to avoid the partition block 42, and the guide block 32 can enter the guide groove 41 from the first inlet 412 and the second inlet 413 simultaneously. For example, the first portion 321 of the guide block 32 enters the guide groove 41 through the first inlet 412, and the second portion 322 of the guide block 32 presses the limiting block 5 at the second inlet 413 to force the limiting block 5 to pivot and exit the second inlet 413 and finally enter the guide groove 41, thereby achieving the purpose of a normal closing of the door bodies 2 when the turnover beam 3 is at the wrong position due to the user's misoperation.
In addition, after the guide block 32 completely enters the guide groove 41, the limiting block 5 can be reset by pivoting, and re-extends into the guide groove 41 to close the second inlet 413, which improves the sealing at the second inlet 413, prevents cold air from leaking from the second inlet 413, and improves the aesthetics of the appearance of the refrigerator 10 (e.g., the refrigerator body 1).
The foregoing descriptions are merely specific implementations of the present disclosure, but the protection scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Any changes or replacements that a person skilled in the art could conceive of within the technical scope of the present disclosure shall be included in the protection scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the protection scope of the present disclosure shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the scope of disclosure involved in the present disclosure is not limited to technical solutions formed by particular combinations of the above technical features, but shall also encompass other technical solutions formed by any combination of the above technical features or equivalents thereof without departing from the concept of present disclosure, for example, the technical solutions formed by replacing the above features with technical features having similar functions disclosed in some embodiments (but not limited thereto).
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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202110974363.5 | Aug 2021 | CN | national |
PCT/CN2021/118611 | Sep 2021 | WO | international |
202122263810.4 | Sep 2021 | CN | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/CN2022/071408 | 1/11/2022 | WO |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO2023/024409 | 3/2/2023 | WO | A |
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9163870 | Jeon | Oct 2015 | B2 |
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9874391 | Jung | Jan 2018 | B2 |
10429121 | Yoon | Oct 2019 | B2 |
10775095 | Gwon | Sep 2020 | B2 |
20090113927 | Laible | May 2009 | A1 |
20120137722 | Kim | Jun 2012 | A1 |
20230235945 | Kang | Jul 2023 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
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101416011 | Apr 2009 | CN |
102506547 | Jun 2012 | CN |
103292540 | Sep 2013 | CN |
103307840 | Sep 2013 | CN |
103307840 | Sep 2013 | CN |
104344652 | Feb 2015 | CN |
104457120 | Mar 2015 | CN |
106595201 | Apr 2017 | CN |
206113490 | Apr 2017 | CN |
206235072 | Jun 2017 | CN |
206593371 | Oct 2017 | CN |
107461992 | Dec 2017 | CN |
109442856 | Mar 2019 | CN |
215337279 | Dec 2021 | CN |
2002-62031 | Feb 2002 | JP |
2004-353943 | Dec 2004 | JP |
2007-064600 | Mar 2007 | JP |
10-2011-0032898 | Mar 2011 | KR |
Entry |
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Office Action issued in corresponding Chinese Patent Application No. 202110974363.5 dated Oct. 28, 2022 with English Translation. |
International Search Report and Written Opinion issued in corresponding International Application No. PCT/CN2021/118611 dated Apr. 26, 2022, with English translation. |
International Search Report and Written Opinion issued in corresponding International Application No. PCT/CN2022/071408 dated May 20, 2022, with English translation. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20240053086 A1 | Feb 2024 | US |