JP2024136984A - refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a refrigerator in which a storage chamber door closes even in a state where a lock of a lid constituting a closed space provided in a storage chamber is released.SOLUTION: A refrigerator includes: a container installed in a storage chamber, and including an opening on the front side; a lid moving in the frontward/backward direction, and for opening/closing with respect to the opening of the container; and a holding part for holding a contact state of the lid and the container. The container includes a part to be engaged having a shape being slender in the vertical direction on the outside side surface in the left-to-right direction. The holding part includes: a gripping part extended in the left-to-right direction in front of the lid; a support part which is connected to the side surface in the left-to-right direction of the lid so as to rotate around a shaft in the left-to-right direction, and in which one end is connected to the gripping part; and an engagement part provided on the other end of the support part, and engaged with the rear side of the part to be engaged. In the case where the lid is moved backward in a state where the gripping part is lowered, in the holding part, the engagement part comes into contact with the front side of the part to be engaged. In the case where the engagement part is in contact with the front side of the part to be engaged, a storage chamber door closes without coming into contact with the gripping part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 12

Description

The present invention relates to a refrigerator.

In the storage compartment of a refrigerator, a closed space is sometimes provided to be used as a chilled compartment or a reduced pressure compartment. Patent Document 1 is known as a technology related to refrigerators having this configuration. Paragraph 0014 and Figure 4 of the document state that "the reduced pressure chamber 13 has an outer periphery formed of a generally rectangular parallelepiped outer casing 14 that is flat and has openings on the top and front, a glass plate G made of transparent reinforced glass that closes the top, and a reduced pressure chamber lid 16 that is rotatably supported around a horizontal support shaft 24S below the front opening and that opens and closes to take in and out the stored items. When the reduced pressure chamber lid 16 is opened, it is pulled forward by a link mechanism described below, moves upright a predetermined distance, for example 10 mm, and then the upper part moves forward while rotating. On the other hand, when the reduced pressure chamber lid 16 is closed, it is pushed back backward, moves backward while rotating the upper part, and then moves upright a predetermined distance to close."

Furthermore, paragraph 0034 of the same document states, "As shown in FIG. 8, the opening/closing handle 26 is supported so as to be freely rotatable around the support shafts 16s, 16s on the left and right sides of the decompression chamber lid 16. When the rod body 27 is positioned at the bottom of the rotation locus around the left and right support shafts 16s, 16s, the decompression chamber lid 16 is closed and locked by the opening/closing handle 26. On the other hand, when the rod body 27 is positioned above the rotation locus around the left and right support shafts 16s, 16s, as shown in FIG. 9, the decompression chamber lid 16 is unlocked by the opening/closing handle 26. The guide rollers 28r, 29r of the left and right support parts 28, 29 of the opening/closing handle 26 fit into corresponding lid lock guide groove members 30, 30 provided on the side walls 14a, 14b on both sides of the decompression chamber 13, respectively, and the decompression chamber lid 16 is locked by the opening/closing handle 26." Furthermore, paragraph 0035 of the document states, "Figure 19 is a diagram showing the decompression chamber lid 16 in an unlocked state using the opening/closing handle 26, Figure 21 is a diagram showing the decompression chamber lid 16 in a locked state using the opening/closing handle 26, and Figure 20 is a diagram showing the state just before locking as shown in Figure 21."

Furthermore, paragraph 0046 of the same document states that "As shown in FIG. 28, when the opening/closing handle 26 rotates upward from the neutral spring force position shown in FIG. 27, the length of the arm from the support shaft 16s of the rotation fulcrum of the opening/closing handle 26 to the biasing force represented by the white arrow of the torsion coil spring 32 becomes u2, and the upward biasing force of the torsion coil spring 32 acts on the opening/closing handle 26, and an upward moment is applied by the biasing force. Here, the biasing force of the coil spring 32 to rotate the opening/closing handle 26 upward exceeds the weight of the opening/closing handle 26, and even if the user releases the opening/closing handle 26, the opening/closing handle 26 is configured to rotate upward by the biasing force of the coil spring 32."

JP 2009-36430 A

In other words, as shown in FIG. 9 of the document, when the decompression chamber 13 is in an unlocked state, the decompression chamber lid 16 protrudes forward, and the opening/closing handle 26 rotates upward by the biasing force of the coil spring 32 and stops at the upper position. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 of the document, the right-side refrigerator compartment door 6b has a pocket-shaped translucent resin-molded door storage 6b1 for holding drinks and the like protruding inward, so when the decompression chamber 13 is in an unlocked state, the decompression chamber lid 16 and the door storage 6b1 collide, causing the refrigerator compartment door 6b to not close.

The present invention aims to provide a refrigerator in which the storage compartment door can be closed even when the lid that defines the closed space within the storage compartment is unlocked.

In order to solve the above problem, the refrigerator of the present invention is, for example, a refrigerator with a storage compartment door that opens and closes with respect to an opening provided on the front side of a storage compartment, and includes a container that is installed in the storage compartment and has an opening on the front side, a lid that moves in the front-rear direction and opens and closes with respect to the opening of the container, and a holding part that maintains the contact state between the lid and the container, the container has an engaged part that is elongated in the up-down direction on the outer left-right side, the holding part includes a grip part that extends in the left-right direction in front of the lid, a support part that is connected to the left-right side of the lid so as to be rotatable around an axis in the left-right direction and has one end connected to the grip part, and an engaging part that is provided at the other end of the support part and engages with the rear side of the engaged part, and when the lid is moved backward with the grip part lowered, the engaging part of the holding part comes into contact with the front side of the engaged part, and when the engaging part comes into contact with the front side of the engaged part, the storage compartment door closes without coming into contact with the grip part.

The present invention provides a refrigerator in which the storage compartment door can be closed even when the lid that defines the closed space within the storage compartment is unlocked.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of components forming a closed space in a storage compartment of a refrigerator. FIG. FIG. FIG. FIG. 13 is a right side view of the lid and holder. FIG. FIG. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a state in which the engaging portion is engaged with the rear side of the engaged portion. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a state in which the handle is lifted while the lid and the container are in contact with each other. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a state in which the contact state between the lid and the container is maintained by a holding portion. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a state in which an engaging portion is in contact with a front side of an engaged portion. FIG. FIG. This is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 14 including a cover. 13 is a diagram showing the positional relationship between the grip portion and the storage chamber door when the engaging portion is engaged with the rear side of the engaged portion. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the positional relationship between the grip portion and the storage chamber door when the engaging portion is in contact with the front side of the engaged portion. FIG.

The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below. These embodiments are merely illustrative, and the present invention can be embodied in various modified and improved forms based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art. In addition, in the drawings used in the following description, the same reference numerals are used for common devices and equipment, and descriptions of devices, equipment, and operations that have already been described may be omitted.

Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating the components that form a closed space in the storage compartment of a refrigerator. The closed space in the storage compartment of a refrigerator is used, for example, as a chilled compartment. Note that the front-rear direction, left-right direction, and up-down direction shown in Figure 1 correspond to the front-rear direction, left-right direction, and up-down direction when the refrigerator is viewed from the front.

The refrigerator according to this embodiment has a storage compartment door that opens and closes with respect to an opening provided at the front of the storage compartment. The refrigerator according to this embodiment is installed in a storage compartment having an opening at the front, and has a container 1 having an opening at the front, a lid 2 that moves in the front-rear direction and opens and closes with respect to the opening of the container 1, and a holding part 3 that keeps the lid 2 and the container 1 in contact with each other.

Figure 2 is an enlarged view of the right side of container 1. Container 1 has an I-shaped engaged portion 1a that is elongated in the vertical direction on the outer left-right side. Container 1 may also have a reinforcing portion 1b on the left-right side that is integral with engaged portion 1a to form a T-shape. By providing reinforcing portion 1b, the strength of engaged portion 1a can be increased when force is applied to engaged portion 1a in the front-to-rear direction. Note that container 1 is symmetrical, so in this embodiment, only the outer right side of container 1 will be described.

Figure 3 is a front perspective view of the lid. The lid 2 has a flat front edge portion 2a. The front portion 2b of the lid 2, which is inward from the edge portion 2a, is recessed toward the rear and has a curved U-shape when viewed from the left or right side. The lid 2 has side surfaces 2c on both the left and right sides to which the support portion 31 is connected. The lid 2 has protrusions 2d on each of the left and right side surfaces 2c. Figure 4 is a rear view of the lid. As shown in Figure 4, the protrusions 2d protrude outward in the left-right direction from the side surfaces 2c.

Figure 5 is a right side view of the lid 2 and the holding part 3. As shown in Figure 1, the holding part 3 has a gripping part 30 that extends in the left-right direction in front of the lid 2. As shown in Figures 1 and 5, the holding part 3 is connected to the left-right side of the lid 2 so as to be rotatable around an axis in the left-right direction, and has a support part 31 whose one end is connected to the gripping part 30. As shown in Figure 5, the support part 31 in this embodiment is connected to the left-right side 2c of the lid 2 with a screw B, and can rotate around the screw B as an axis. In addition, the support part 31 has an S-shaped leaf spring 31b below the screw B. The leaf spring 31b has a sliding part whose rotation radius increases from the front side to the rear side, and the bottom surface of the sliding part contacts the protrusion 2d of the lid 2. Note that the right-side holding part 3 and the left-side holding part 3 are symmetrical, so in this embodiment, only the right-side holding part 3 will be described.

Figure 6 is a front perspective view of the support part 31. Figure 7 is a left side view of the support part 31. Figure 8 is a top view of the support part 31. As shown in Figures 6 to 8, the refrigerator according to this embodiment has an engagement part 31a that engages with the rear side of the engaged part 1a of the container 1 at the other end of the support part 31, that is, at the rear end of the support part 31 that is opposite to the one end of the support part 31 that connects to the grip part 30. Also, as shown in Figure 8, the engagement part 31a protrudes to the side facing the container 1 (left side in Figure 8) in order to engage with the engaged part 1a of the container 1. Figure 9 shows the state in which the engagement part engages with the rear side of the engaged part. Note that Figure 9 is a view of the right support part as seen from the left side. Also, in Figure 9, only the front part of the container 1 that contacts the lid 2 is shown in order to make the explanation easier to understand. As shown in Figure 9, the engagement part 31a engages with the rear side of the engaged part 1a. This locks the lid 2. The positional relationship between the grip 30 and the storage compartment door when the engaging portion 31a is engaged with the rear side of the engaged portion 1a is shown in FIG. 16. As shown in FIG. 16, when the engaging portion 31a is engaged with the rear side of the engaged portion 1a, the grip 30 does not come into contact with the door bucket B provided on the inside of the storage compartment door. Therefore, when the engaging portion 31a is engaged with the rear side of the engaged portion 1a, the storage compartment door closes without coming into contact with the grip 30.

Figure 10 is a diagram showing the state in which the gripping portion 30 is lifted when the lid 2 and the container 1 are in contact with each other. Figure 11 is a diagram showing the state in which the contact state between the lid 2 and the container 1 is maintained by the holding portion 3. As shown in Figures 10 and 11, when the gripping portion 30 is lifted, the rear end of the support portion 31 is lowered, and when the gripping portion 30 is lowered, the rear end of the support portion is raised. Therefore, the engagement portion 31a formed at the rear end of the support portion 31 is formed so as to be located below the engaged portion 1a when the gripping portion 30 is lifted, and to be located at the same height as the engaged portion 1a when the gripping portion 30 is lowered. With this configuration, when the lid 2 is closed with the gripping portion 30 lifted, the engagement portion 31a can pass under the engaged portion 1a and move to the rear of the engaged portion 1a. Then, the lid 2 is closed with the gripping portion 30 raised, and after the lid 2 and the container 1 come into contact, the gripping portion 30 is lowered, so that the engaging portion 31a engages with the rear side of the engaged portion 1a, as shown in Figure 9. Note that the front portion of the engaging portion 31a is semicircular, for example, as shown in Figure 7, in order to smoothly engage with the engaged portion 1a of the container 1. This reduces the contact area of the engaging portion 31a when it engages with the rear side of the engaged portion 1a, reducing frictional force and allowing for smooth engagement.

As shown in FIG. 10, when the gripping portion 30 is lifted, the sliding portion of the leaf spring 31b contacts the protrusion 2d at the rear portion with a large radius of rotation. At this time, the leaf spring 31b is in a contracted state, and a restoring force is generated to return it to its original state. This restoring force causes the sliding portion of the leaf spring 31b to slide rearward against the protrusion 2d. As a result, the gripping portion 30 returns to its lowered state. That is, the holding portion 3 allows the lifted gripping portion 30 to naturally return to its lowered state by the leaf spring 31b. With this configuration, when the gripping portion 30 is not gripped in a state in which the lock of the lid 2 is released, the gripping portion 30 is in a lowered state. In this embodiment, an example in which the leaf spring 31b is provided has been described, but the gripping portion 30 may be returned to its lowered state by its own weight, or by both the weight of the gripping portion 30 and the leaf spring 31b.

Figure 12 is a diagram showing the state in which the engaging portion is in contact with the front side of the engaged portion. When the lid 2 is moved backward with the grip portion 30 lowered, the engaging portion 31a moves backward at the same height as the engaged portion 1a, so that the engaging portion 31a comes into contact with the front side of the engaged portion 1a. When the engaging portion 31a comes into contact with the front side of the engaged portion 1a, the lid 2 cannot move further backward, so that the lid 2 cannot come into contact with the container 1. In other words, in this case, the lid 2 cannot be closed. However, in this embodiment, since the engaged portion 1a is made to have an I-shape, which is an elongated shape, the amount of the lid 2 protruding forward when the engaging portion 31a comes into contact with the front side of the engaged portion 1a can be suppressed. The positional relationship between the grip portion 30 and the storage compartment door when the engaging portion 31a is in contact with the front side of the engaged portion 1a is shown in Figure 17. In addition, in Figure 17, there is a small gap between the door bucket B and the grip portion 30, and they are not in contact. As shown in FIG. 17, when the engaging portion 31a is in contact with the front side of the engaged portion 1a, the door bucket B provided on the inside of the closed storage compartment door does not come into contact with the gripping portion 30. Therefore, even when the engaging portion 31a is in contact with the front side of the engaged portion 1a, the storage compartment door is closed. By reducing the gap between the door bucket B provided on the inside of the closed storage compartment door and the gripping portion 30, the depth dimension of the container 1 and the door basket B can be extended as much as possible, and the storage space can be increased. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 17, even when the engaging portion 31a is in contact with the front side of the engaged portion 1a, the door bucket B provided on the inside of the closed storage compartment door does not come into contact with the gripping portion 30, so damage to the door bucket B, container 1, lid 2, and holding portion 3 caused by opening and closing the storage compartment door can be prevented.

Figure 13 is a rear perspective view of the gripping portion 30. Figure 14 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A of Figure 13. As shown in Figure 1, the gripping portion 30 extends in the left-right direction, and when the gripping portion 30 is lowered, the engaging portions 31a of the support portion 31 connected to both ends of the gripping portion 30 in the left-right direction are engaged with the engaged portions 1a provided on both left-right sides of the container 1. Therefore, when the gripping portion 30 is lowered, it is desirable that the force applied by the user to the gripping portion 30 is applied equally to the left and right. Therefore, the gripping portion 30 of this embodiment has a reinforcing member 30a extending in the left-right direction inside as shown in Figure 14. In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 14, the reinforcing member 30a is exemplified as a metal fitting having a rectangular tube shape when viewed from the side in the left-right direction, but is not limited to this. By having the reinforcing member 30a inside the gripping portion 30, the rigidity of the gripping portion 30 is improved, and the force applied by the user to the gripping portion 30 is easily transmitted to both left and right ends.

As shown in FIG. 14, the rear surface of the central portion 30m in the left-right direction of the gripping portion 30 has a curved or planar shape that is positioned closer to the front as it approaches the bottom. On the other hand, the rear surfaces of both side portions 30n in the left-right direction of the central portion 30m have a planar shape that is more vertical than the central portion 30m. With this configuration, a recess can be formed on the rear side of the central portion 30m of the gripping portion 30, as shown in FIG. 13.

Figure 15 is a cross-sectional view of Figure 14, showing the lid 2 as well. As shown in Figure 15, by forming a recess on the rear side of the central portion 30m, the rear surface of the central portion 30m of the gripping portion 30 and the front surface of the lid 2 can form a pocket when the gripping portion 30 is lowered. The pocket is a space into which a user can insert his or her hand when gripping the gripping portion 30. By making the rear surface of the central portion 30m a curved or planar shape that is positioned closer to the front as it goes downward, a space is formed between the lower side of the rear surface of the central portion 30m and the front surface of the lid 2, so that a pocket can be formed. In addition, since the side portions 30n of the gripping portion 30 have a planar shape that is more vertical than the central portion 30m, no pocket is formed between the rear surfaces of the side portions 30n and the front surface of the lid 2. With this configuration, when a user tries to lift or lower the gripping portion 30, the user can be guided to grip the central portion 30m of the gripping portion 30. Since there is no significant difference in the distance from the center portion 30m to the left and right support portions 31, when the center portion 30m of the gripping portion 30 is gripped and a force is applied with the above configuration, the force is transmitted evenly to the left and right support portions 31.

As described above in detail, this embodiment can provide a refrigerator in which the storage compartment door can be closed even when the lid that defines the closed space within the storage compartment is unlocked.

1: Container 1a: Engaged portion 1b: Reinforcement portion 2: Lid 2a: Front edge portion 2b: Front inner portion 2c: Side surface 2d: Protrusion 3: Holding portion 30: Gripping portion 30a: Reinforcement member 30m: Center portion 30n: Both sides of the central portion 31: Supporting portion 31a: Engaging portion 31b: Leaf spring B: Screw

Claims (5)

A refrigerator having a storage compartment door that opens and closes with respect to an opening provided at the front side of the storage compartment,
a container disposed in the storage chamber and having an opening on a front side;
A lid that moves in a front-back direction and opens and closes with respect to the opening of the container;
a holding portion for holding the lid and the container in contact with each other,
The container has an engagement portion on an outer side surface in a left-right direction, the engagement portion being elongated in a vertical direction,
The holding portion is
A grip portion extending in the left-right direction in front of the lid;
a support portion connected to the left and right side surfaces of the lid so as to be rotatable around a left and right axis, the support portion having one end connected to the grip portion;
an engaging portion provided at the other end of the support portion and engaging with a rear side of the engaged portion,
When the lid is moved rearward with the gripping portion lowered, the engaging portion comes into contact with a front side of the engaged portion,
The storage compartment door is closed without contacting the grip portion when the engaging portion is in contact with a front side of the engaged portion. 2. The refrigerator according to claim 1,
the lid is closed with the gripping portion raised, and after the lid and the container are in contact with each other, the gripping portion is lowered, thereby causing the engaging portion to engage with the rear side of the engaged portion. 2. The refrigerator according to claim 1,
The refrigerator according to claim 1, further comprising a reinforcing portion on each of the left and right side surfaces of the container, the reinforcing portion being integral with the engaged portion to form a T-shape. 2. The refrigerator according to claim 1,
A refrigerator characterized in that the grip portion has a reinforcing member extending in the left-right direction therein. 2. The refrigerator according to claim 1,
the grip portion has a curved or flat shape such that a rear surface of a central portion in the left-right direction is positioned toward the front as it goes downward,
A refrigerator, characterized in that a rear surface of the central portion and a front surface of the lid form a pocket when the handle is lowered.

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