JP2025045999A - Home appliances, refrigerators, vacuum cleaners - Google Patents

Abstract

To increase an usage rate of recycled resin in a resin part of a home appliance produced by vacuum molding or the like by making it invisible to a user that recycled resin is used.SOLUTION: A home appliance is provided with a resin part that is a laminated resin member including a recycled resin layer and a virgin resin layer, and has a flat portion and a curved portion, the curved portion has a configuration in which a resin structure is stretched toward the flat portion, and a color difference between the curved portion and the flat portion in the virgin resin layer arranged on a surface of the resin part is 2.0 or less.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

This disclosure relates to home appliances, refrigerators, and vacuum cleaners.

From the perspective of effective resource utilization, there is a demand to recycle waste plastic into recycled plastic (recycled resin).

Patent Document 1 discloses an inner box material for an insulating box such as a refrigerator, which contains recycled polyethylene terephthalate resin (PET resin) that has excellent chemical resistance. Patent Document 1 also discloses that the material on the inside of the inner box is virgin polyethylene terephthalate resin, and the material on the side that comes into contact with the foam insulation is polyethylene terephthalate resin that contains recycled polyethylene terephthalate resin.

JP 2002-22352 A

It is unavoidable that foreign matter may get mixed in with recycled resin. For this reason, recycled resin is usually treated to have a black, gray, or other color so that the foreign matter exposed on the surface of the recycled resin cannot be seen.

In addition, recycled resins can raise hygiene concerns, so in products that store food, such as refrigerators, it is currently difficult to accept using recycled resin for the surfaces of parts that may come into direct contact with food.

The inner box of a refrigerator is formed by vacuum forming. A plate material is prepared by forming two layers of recycled resin (e.g. black or gray) and virgin material (any color can be selected). When the plate material is then vacuum formed, the plate material is stretched at areas with large curvatures such as vertices (corners) and ridges. In the stretched areas, the virgin material is thinner than other areas, and the color of the recycled resin behind it may show through.

The purpose of this disclosure is to increase the proportion of recycled resin used in plastic parts for home appliances that are manufactured by vacuum forming or the like, by preventing users from seeing that recycled resin is used.

The home appliance disclosed herein is a laminated resin member including a recycled resin layer and a virgin resin layer, and is equipped with a resin part having a flat portion and a curved portion, the curved portion has a configuration in which the resin structure is stretched toward the flat portion, and the color difference between the curved portion and the flat portion in the virgin resin layer arranged on the surface of the resin part is 2.0 or less.

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a refrigerator according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a partial front view showing the inside of the refrigerator of the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view showing the inside of the refrigerator of the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a partial front view showing the refrigerator of FIG. 2 with the food shelf removed. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the inside of the refrigerator of FIG. 4 . 5 is a partial front view showing the refrigerator of FIG. 4 with a cold air passage panel removed. FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a two-layer resin member formed by vacuum forming. FIG. 11 is a partial front view showing a modified example of the cold air passage panel. A partial front view showing the inside of the refrigerator of the modified example 2. FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view showing a modified example of the food shelf. FIG. 11 is an overall perspective view showing a vacuum cleaner according to a second embodiment.

The following describes the examples using the drawings.

Figure 1 is a front view showing the refrigerator of the first embodiment.

As shown in the figure, the refrigerator body 10 of the refrigerator 1 is open at the front and has storage compartments, in this order from the top: a refrigerator compartment 2, an ice-making compartment 3 arranged side by side on the left and right, an upper freezer compartment 4, a lower freezer compartment 5, and a vegetable compartment 6. Hereinafter, the ice-making compartment 3, the upper freezer compartment 4, and the lower freezer compartment 5 will be collectively referred to as the freezer compartment 7.

The front opening of the refrigerator compartment 2 is opened and closed by rotating refrigerator compartment doors 50a and 50b, which are divided into left and right halves. The front openings of the ice making compartment 3, upper freezer compartment 4, lower freezer compartment 5, and vegetable compartment 6 are opened and closed by pull-out ice making compartment door 60, upper freezer compartment door 70, lower freezer compartment door 80, and vegetable compartment door 90, respectively. Each of these pull-out doors has a pull-out container. The pull-out container can be made of an opaque resin material. Door hinges (not shown) are provided at the top and bottom of the refrigerator compartment 2. The upper door hinge is covered by a door hinge cover 16.

The refrigerator compartment 2 is separated from the ice-making compartment 3 and the upper freezer compartment 4 by an insulating partition wall 28. The lower freezer compartment 5 and the vegetable compartment 6 are separated by an insulating partition wall 29. An insulating partition wall 30 is arranged on the front side between the ice-making compartment 3 and the upper freezer compartment 4 and the lower freezer compartment 5. The insulating partition wall 30 is intended to close the gap between the bottom surface of the ice-making compartment door 60 and the upper freezer compartment door 70 and the top surface of the lower freezer compartment door 80, thereby preventing air from circulating inside and outside the compartment. An insulating partition wall 31 is arranged between the ice-making compartment door 60 and the upper freezer compartment door 70. The insulating partition wall 31 is intended to close the gap between the ice-making compartment door 60 and the upper freezer compartment door 70, thereby preventing air from circulating inside and outside the compartment. In addition, a heat insulating partition wall 36 is rotatably attached to the inside of the refrigerator compartment door 50a on the refrigerator compartment door 50b side (the right end inside of the refrigerator compartment in FIG. 1). The heat insulating partition wall 36 is intended to close the gap that occurs between the refrigerator compartment doors 50a and 50b when the refrigerator compartment doors 50a and 50b are closed, thereby preventing air from circulating between the inside and outside of the refrigerator.

Figure 2 is a partial front view showing the interior of the refrigerator of this embodiment.

As shown in this figure, inside the refrigerator body 10, there is a space surrounded by the inner box 210 and the refrigerator compartment doors 50a and 50b in FIG. 1, and the cold air duct panel 220, the food shelf 230, the ice making water container 240, and the chilled compartment 250 are arranged. The outer surface of the refrigerator 1 is composed of an outer box 300 made of metal such as steel plate. Between the inner box 210 and the outer box 300, an insulating material such as a foam insulating material or a vacuum insulating material is provided. The inner box curved surface portion 210a and the inner box convex portion 210c are part of the inner box 210. The inner box curved surface portion 210a is exposed above the cold air duct panel 220. The inner box convex portion 210c supports both ends of the food shelf 230.

The inner box curved surface portion 210b shown in FIG. 5 described below is covered with the cold air duct panel 220. Therefore, it can be said that at least the inner box curved surface portion 210b is covered with the cold air duct panel 220. Since the inner box curved surface portion 210b is at a height that is easily visible to the user, the cold air duct panel 220 in FIG. 2 can effectively prevent a loss of design due to the provision of a recycled resin layer on the inner box 210.

Note that the items placed on the food shelf 230 are not limited to food, and the food shelf 230 may simply be called a "shelf."

Figure 3 is a partial perspective view showing the interior of the refrigerator in this embodiment.

This figure shows the same configuration as in Figure 2 from a different angle.

Figure 4 is a partial front view of the refrigerator 1 in Figure 2 with the food shelf removed.

As shown in FIG. 4, the cold air duct panel 220 is a one-piece body that covers the inner wall of the inner box 210. The cold air duct panel 220 has four cold air openings. The inner box 210 has an inner box protrusion 210c.

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the inside of the refrigerator 1 in Figure 4.

Figure 5 shows the chilled shelf 510 that covers the top of the ice-making water container 240 and the chilled compartment 250 in Figure 4, and the heat-insulating partition wall 28 that forms the bottom of the refrigerator compartment 2. Also shown are the legs 520 located at the bottom of the refrigerator body 10 (outside the refrigerator). The inner box 210 has an inner box curved surface portion 210b.

Figure 6 is a partial front view showing the refrigerator in Figure 4 with the cold air duct panel 220 removed.

As shown in FIG. 6, inner box 210 has inner box curved portions 210a, 210b, inner box convex portion 210c, and inner box vertex portion 210d. Inner box curved portion 210a is a curved portion that connects the rear surface and top surface of the inner box. Inner box curved portion 210b is a curved portion that connects the rear surface and side surface of the inner box. Inner box vertex portion 210d is a curved portion that connects inner box curved portion 210a and inner box curved portion 210b.

Figure 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a resin member formed in two layers using a vacuum molding method.

In this figure, the resin member 710 is composed of a recycled resin layer 712 and a virgin resin layer 714. The curved surface portion 710b corresponds to the inner box curved surface portions 210a, 210b and the inner box vertex portion 210d of the inner box 210 in FIG. 6, and is a curved portion. The flat surface portion 710a is the other portion, and is a flat surface portion.

When manufacturing the inner box 210 of the refrigerator 1 of this embodiment, a flat laminated resin member is first formed by two-layer molding using recycled resin material and virgin resin material. The obtained flat laminated resin member is then deformed into the shape of the inner box by vacuum molding.

In this specification, recycled resin material refers to a resin material that contains recycled resin, for example, a ratio of recycled resin of 20% by mass or more, preferably 50% by mass or more, and most preferably 100% by mass. Furthermore, virgin resin material refers to a resin material that has a lower ratio of recycled resin in comparison with recycled resin material, for example, less than 20% by mass, preferably 10% by mass or less, and most preferably 0% by mass (unused material that has never been used in a product). When producing a resin member 710 that may come into contact with food, such as the inner box 210, 0% is preferable from the viewpoint of ensuring hygiene.

Recycled resin materials may be black, gray, etc. due to the presence of impurities. On the other hand, virgin resin materials can be freely colored and toned.

When the resin member 710 is used as the inner box 210 of the refrigerator 1, by disposing the virgin resin layer 714 on the inside of the refrigerator, it is possible to prevent the color of the recycled resin layer 712 from being recognized when the user looks inside the refrigerator, and it is also possible to prevent the recycled resin from coming into direct contact with food ingredients.

In the curved surface portion 710b, which is the portion bent by vacuum molding, the resin is stretched, and the thickness of the virgin resin layer 714 may become smaller than that of the flat surface portion 710a. In this case, the color of the recycled resin layer 712 may be visible. In the inner box curved surface portions 210a, 210b, the inner box convex portion 210c, and the inner box apex portion 210d of the inner box 210 shown in FIG. 6, the resin is easily stretched during vacuum molding, and the thickness of the virgin resin layer 714 is often reduced. Of these, the inner box apex portion 210d is particularly likely to be stretched and become thinner.

In this embodiment, the color of the virgin resin layer 714 arranged on the surface of the resin member 710 is selected so that the color difference between the flat surface portion 710a and the curved surface portion 710b is 2.0 or less, preferably 1.5 or less. In addition, the virgin resin layer 714 has a higher brightness than the recycled resin layer 712.

In addition, it is preferable that the virgin resin layer 714 or the recycled resin layer 712 contains a pigment, for example, in an amount of 2 parts by weight to 10 parts by weight to 100 parts by weight of the virgin resin material. A more preferable amount is 3 parts by weight to 7 parts by weight. Titanium dioxide is preferable as the pigment. For example, polypropylene can be used as the virgin resin layer 714.

Here, color difference is calculated in accordance with JIS K 5600-4-6:1999 "General test methods for paints - Part 4: Visual properties of coatings - Section 6: Colorimetry (calculation of color difference)". Also, lightness is calculated in accordance with JIS Z 8721-1993 "Method of displaying color - Display by three attributes".

When the color difference is 2.0 or less, preferably 1.5 or less, it is difficult for the user to distinguish the difference in color, and the user is unlikely to perceive an unnatural color difference. In addition, it is desirable to increase the brightness of the virgin resin layer 714, since this makes it difficult to see the color of the recycled resin layer 712 at the back. Adjustments to the color difference and brightness can be achieved, for example, by adjusting the light transmittance and thickness of the recycled resin layer 712 that forms the curved portion 710b, or by adjusting the color of the recycled resin layer 712.

It is also desirable to provide a mosaic pattern, marble pattern, or other pattern in which multiple colors are irregularly arranged on the surface of the virgin resin layer 714, since this makes the color of the recycled resin layer 712 less noticeable even if the color of the recycled resin layer 712 shows through. In this case, it is preferable that the color of the irregularly arranged pattern is the same as or similar to the color of the recycled resin layer 712, or includes black and/or gray.

In this embodiment, the inner box 210 formed by vacuum molding is shown as an example, but the present invention is applicable to resin parts formed by a molding method in which the thickness of the curved part (curved surface part) of the resin is smaller than the other parts as a result of deforming the resin that is one or both outermost layers of the plate-shaped virgin resin layer 714, and also to products including this resin part, particularly home appliances. As described above, it is considered that the thickness of the inner box apex part 210d connecting the two inner box curved surface parts is more likely to be thinner than the inner box curved surface parts 210a, 210b connecting the two flat surfaces. For this reason, from the viewpoint of design, it is preferable to design the thickness so that the inner box apex part 210d is not see-through (for example, the color difference with the flat surface part is 2.0 or less, preferably 1.5 or less). In this case, it is easy to prevent the recycled resin layer 712 from being seen through the entire inner box 210.

In addition, it is preferable to make only a part of the inner box curved surface parts 210a, 210b and the inner box apex part 210d opaque and cover the remaining parts with other parts in terms of both design and thin-walled inner box. For example, the inner box curved surface parts 210a, 210b are designed to be opaque, while the inner box apex part 210d is made transparent (for example, the color difference with the flat part is more than 2.0 or more than 1.5). At the same time, the inner box apex part 210d can be covered by arranging an opaque structure such as a cold air duct panel 220 on the side where the user observes the inner box apex part 210d (the front side in the case of the refrigerator 1). In this case, the increase in the thickness of the inner box 210 can be suppressed to suppress the decrease in the content volume of the refrigerator 1, while suppressing the transparency of the recycled resin layer 712. Other opaque structures include the above-mentioned pull-out container arranged in the vegetable compartment 6 in this embodiment. This pull-out container can cover the inner box curved surfaces 210a, 210b and the inner box apex 210d below the inner box 210.

We are considering a method of preventing see-through by making the thickness of the flat laminated resin member prepared by two-layer molding uneven, i.e., by preparing the thickness of the parts that are expected to become thinner by vacuum molding, etc. thicker in advance. In this case, since the parts have been made thicker in advance, they will be less likely to deform during vacuum molding, and the area near the parts that have been made thicker in advance will be stretched, making it difficult to reduce the possibility of see-through. For this reason, it is preferable that the thickness of the laminated resin member prepared in advance is uniform.

(Variation 1)
FIG. 8 is a partial front view showing a modified example of the cold air passage panel.

As in Figure 4, this figure shows the food shelf removed.

In FIG. 8, unlike FIG. 4, the upper part of the cold air passage panel 820 covers the inner box curved surface portion 210a of FIG. 4. This prevents the user from noticing the color of the recycled resin used in the inner box curved surface portion 210a even if it is visible through the panel.

(Variation 2)
FIG. 9 is a partial front view showing the inside of the refrigerator of the second modification.

This diagram shows the food shelf 930 installed.

In FIG. 9, support covers 930a are attached to the undersides of both ends of the food shelf 930. This makes the inner box protrusions 210c in FIG. 2 less visible to the user. The inner box protrusions 210c also include curved portions, which reduces their thickness during vacuum molding and may cause them to be see-through. The support covers 930a prevent the user from noticing the color of the recycled resin used in the inner box protrusions 210c.

In FIG. 9, a support cover 930a is provided on the underside of the food shelf 930, but the refrigerator 1 of this modified example is not limited to this configuration. Support covers may be provided on the upper surfaces of both ends of the food shelf 930, and the food shelf 930 may be installed by hooking the support covers onto the upper surfaces of the inner box protrusions 210c, so that the side surfaces of the inner box protrusions 210c are also covered by the support covers.

(Variation 3)
FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view showing a modified example of the food shelf.

In this figure, a cantilever-type food shelf 1011 is used. The food shelf 1011 has a top surface 1013, side surfaces 1014, and hooks 1015. The food shelf 1011 is configured to be fixed by inserting the hooks 1015 into holes 1016 provided in the support pillars 1012. The support pillars 1012 consist of a pair on the left and right, and are attached in the vertical direction to both the left and right sides of the surface of the cold air passage panel 220 (see FIG. 4) or to both the left and right sides of the back wall of the inner box 210 (see FIG. 6). Refrigerated items such as food can be placed on the top surface 1013.

By using the food shelf 1011 and support column 1012 in this figure, it is not necessary to provide the inner box protrusion 210c in Figure 2. This allows the side surface of the inner box 210 to be flat, reducing the area where the virgin resin is thin, and preventing the color of the recycled resin from being noticeable to the user.

Figure 11 is an overall perspective view of the vacuum cleaner of Example 2. To prevent the recycled resin from showing through in this example, the configuration of Example 1 can be adopted as long as it does not cause any problems.

As shown in this figure, the vacuum cleaner 1100 has a vacuum cleaner body 1101, a hose joint 1102, a hose 1103, a hand switch 1104 that controls the operation of the vacuum cleaner 1100, an extension tube 1105 connected to the hose 1103, a suction port 1106 that is connected to the extension tube 1105 and sucks in dust from the cleaning surface, and a hand operation unit 1107. The hose 1103 is connected to the vacuum cleaner body 1101 via the hose joint 1102. The extension tube 1105 has an extendable tube 1105a (zoom pipe). The hand switch 1104 and the hand operation unit 1107 are disposed between the hose 1103 and the extension tube 1105.

The telescopic tube 1105a has a roughly rectangular cross section with chamfered edges, and is produced by blow molding. With such a blow molded body, it is conceivable to produce a multi-layer preform using, for example, two-layer extrusion, and then blow molding it to produce an extension tube. When the telescopic tube 1105a is produced by blow molding in this way so that the recycled resin on the inner diameter side and the virgin resin on the outer diameter side are layered, the resin may be stretched at the corners (curved surfaces) of the roughly rectangular cross section of the telescopic tube 1105a, reducing the thickness of the virgin resin located on the outside. In this case, the color of the recycled resin may be visible through the tube.

In this embodiment, the color of the virgin resin is selected so that the color difference between the straight edge portions (flat portions) and the corner portions (curved portions) in the roughly rectangular cross section of the expandable tube 1105a is 2.0 or less, preferably 1.5 or less. When the color difference is 2.0 or less, preferably 1.5 or less, the user cannot normally recognize the difference in color, so the color of the recycled resin placed on the inside can be prevented from showing through. Also, it is desirable to increase the brightness of the virgin resin, as this makes it difficult to see the color of the recycled resin at the back.

It is also desirable to provide a mosaic pattern or other such pattern on the surface of the virgin resin, as this makes the color of the recycled resin less visible even if it shows through.

In addition, it is desirable that the outer circumference of the cross section including the curved and flat portions of the telescopic tube 1105a, i.e., the approximately rectangular cross section of the telescopic tube 1105a, is longer in the curved portion than in the flat portion. This results in a larger radius of curvature of the curved portion. The larger the radius of curvature of the curved portion, the more it is possible to suppress the curved portion from being stretched during blow molding, thereby maintaining the thickness of the virgin resin layer and preventing the color of the recycled resin placed inside from showing through. Furthermore, it is most desirable that the cross-sectional shape of the telescopic tube 1105a is circular. This is because, when the cross-sectional shape is circular, there are no flat portions, and the force applied in the circumferential direction of the cross section during blow molding is uniform, resulting in a uniform wall thickness of the telescopic tube 1105a.

In addition, examples of home appliances to which the resin parts disclosed herein can be applied include refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, washing machines, microwave ovens, etc.

Recycled and virgin resin materials include polyethylene (PE), polypropylene resin (PP), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene resin (ABS resin), polyethylene terephthalate resin (PET resin), etc.

As described above, resin parts made by vacuum molding, blow molding, etc. have a structure in which the resin structure at the curved surface is stretched toward the flat surface of the resin part. Here, the resin structure refers to a fine structure such as the molecular structure of the resin. The resin structure formed by stretching in vacuum molding, blow molding, etc. has a fine structure that can be distinguished from the higher-order structure formed by injection molding.

The reasons why the microstructure of the resin tissue differs between vacuum molding, blow molding, etc. and injection molding are as follows:

In vacuum molding, blow molding, etc., the resin in a solid state is heated and softened before deformation processing is performed, so a tensile force acts in a certain direction, especially on curved surfaces, stretching the resin structure and leaving its microstructure. In contrast, in injection molding, the resin in a fluid state is injected into a mold and solidified, so the orientation of the molecules that make up the resin is influenced by the direction of the resin flow within the mold. Therefore, as mentioned above, the resin structure can be distinguished between vacuum molding, blow molding, etc. and injection molding.

1: refrigerator, 2: refrigerator compartment, 3: ice maker compartment, 4: upper freezer compartment, 5: lower freezer compartment, 6: vegetable compartment, 7: freezer compartment, 10: refrigerator body, 28, 29, 30, 31, 36: heat insulating partition wall, 210: inner box, 210a, 210b: inner box curved surface, 210c: inner box convex part, 220, 820: cold air duct panel, 230, 930, 1011: food shelf, 240: ice making water container, 250: chilled compartment, 510: chilled shelf, 520: legs, 7 10: Resin member, 710a: Flat surface portion, 710b: Curved surface portion, 712: Recycled resin layer, 714: Virgin resin layer, 930a: Support portion cover, 1012: Support column portion, 1016: Hole, 1015: Hook, 1100: Vacuum cleaner, 1101: Vacuum cleaner body, 1102: Hose joint, 1103: Hose, 1104: Hand switch, 1105: Extension tube, 1105a: Telescopic tube, 1106: Suction nozzle, 1107: Hand operation unit.

Claims (6)

A laminated resin member including a recycled resin layer and a virgin resin layer, the laminated resin member having a flat surface portion and a curved surface portion,
The curved surface portion has a configuration in which a resin structure is stretched toward the flat surface portion,
A home appliance, wherein the color difference between the curved portion and the flat portion in the virgin resin layer disposed on the surface of the resin part is 2.0 or less. The home appliance of claim 1, wherein the virgin resin layer contains a pigment. The laminated resin member includes a recycled resin layer and a virgin resin layer, and the laminated resin member has two or more flat surfaces and a curved surface,
The curved surface portion has a configuration in which a resin structure is stretched toward the flat surface portion,
The curved surface portion is a portion that connects the two planar portions,
A color difference between the curved surface portion and the flat surface portion in the virgin resin layer disposed on the surface of the resin part is 2.0 or less in a part thereof and exceeds 2.0 in a remainder thereof,
The refrigerator further comprises a structure for covering the remaining portion. A laminated resin member including a recycled resin layer and a virgin resin layer, the laminated resin member having a flat surface portion and a curved surface portion,
The curved surface portion has a configuration in which a resin structure is stretched toward the flat surface portion,
the resin part is an inner box forming a storage chamber having an opening at the front side,
A cold air passage panel or a drawer container is disposed in the storage chamber,
At least a part of the curved surface of the inner box is covered by the cold air passage panel or the drawer container. A vacuum cleaner including a resin part having a flat surface portion and a curved surface portion, the resin part being a laminated resin member including a recycled resin layer and a virgin resin layer,
The curved surface portion has a configuration in which a resin structure is stretched toward the flat surface portion,
The resin part is an expandable tube,
an outer periphery of the curved surface portion in a cross section including the curved surface portion and the flat surface portion is longer than an outer periphery of the flat surface portion; A laminated resin member including a recycled resin layer and a virgin resin layer, the laminated resin member having a flat surface portion and a curved surface portion,
The curved surface portion has a configuration in which a resin structure is stretched toward the flat surface portion,
The resin part is an inner box,
A shelf is disposed in the inner box,
The inner box has an inner box convex portion which is the curved surface portion,
The shelf is supported by the inner box protrusion,
The shelf has a support cover;
At least a front side of the inner box protrusion is covered with the support portion cover.

Images