JP2001055863A - Door opening device for storage - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten an extension stroke of a push bar, relatively reduce also an extension force by the push bar, and also facilitate an electric wiring in an electric door opening unit capable of opening a door automatically. SOLUTION: This door opening unit 11 using a motor as a drive source is installed in a refrigerator main body 2 at the lateral center part of a ceiling part 2a. When a touch switch 32 is turned on with a door 4 closed, a push bar is extended forward, pressing a pressed part 29 of the door 4 to push open the door 4. Because the push bar presses the door 4 at the lateral center part thereof, the extended stroke can be reduced more than that provided when the door on the side opposite to the pivot side is pressed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a storage door opening apparatus provided with an electric door opening unit.

[0002]

Generally, a door of a refrigerator such as a refrigerator in a refrigerator, such as a refrigerator, is rotatable, one end of which is rotatably supported via a hinge on the front surface of the refrigerator body. This type of door is relatively large, and a gasket having a magnet that is attracted to the front surface of the refrigerator body in a closed state is provided on the inner peripheral edge. For this reason, pulling the door open by hand requires a considerably large operating force, and is a difficult task for a person with weak power or a person with a physical disability.

[0003] In order to open the door automatically, various types of electric door opening devices have heretofore been considered, but they have not been put to practical use. Conventionally-considered electric door-opening devices include, for example, a solenoid that is used as a drive source, and a unit that includes a door-opening unit that projects an extruding rod with the solenoid. In general, the door is provided on the opposite side of the hinge from the hinge, or is provided in the refrigerator body at a portion facing the opposite side of the door.

[0004] However, when the door opening unit is provided on the opposite pivot side of the door or in the refrigerator main body at a portion opposed to the opposite pivot side of the door, the door is moved far by the push rod. It is necessary to push through.
Generally, the door is automatically positioned between the door and the refrigerator body to prevent the door from being stopped in a slightly opened state by being positioned at a hinge portion (so-called half door prevention). Since the self-closing mechanism for closing is provided, when the door is pushed open by the push rod, it is necessary to push the door with the push rod until the door exceeds the self-closing distance at which the door closes. For this reason, it is necessary to increase the protruding stroke of the push rod and to increase the pushing force of the push rod. Further, when the door opening device is provided on the door side, there is a problem that the electric wiring is troublesome.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic door opening unit capable of automatically opening a door.
An object of the present invention is to provide a storage door opening device in which the pushing stroke of the push rod can be reduced, the pushing force by the push rod can be relatively small, and the electric wiring can be easily performed.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, according to the present invention, one end is rotatably supported via a hinge on a front surface of a storage main body, and is attached to a peripheral edge on an inner surface side. A storage door opening device for adsorbing a front surface of the storage body in a closed state, but for opening a rotary door provided with a gasket, wherein the push rod is moved in a projecting direction by an electric drive source. Having an electric door opening unit for pushing and opening the door with the push rod,
The door opening unit is characterized in that it is installed in the storage body so that the push rod pushes a substantially central portion in the width direction of the door.

According to this, the door can be automatically opened by the electric door opening unit. The door opening unit is installed in the storage main body such that the push rod pushes a substantially central portion in the width direction of the door. Compared to a case where the hinge is installed at a position where the opposite pivot side opposite to the hinge is pushed, the distance for pushing the door can be shortened, and the protrusion stroke of the push rod can be reduced. Further, since the distance for pushing the door can be shortened, the pushing force of the push rod can be relatively small. Furthermore, since the door opening unit is provided on the storage main body side, there is an advantage that electrical wiring can be facilitated compared to the case where the door opening unit is provided on the door side.

In this case, the drive source of the door opening unit is preferably a motor (the invention of claim 2). When a motor is used as the drive source, it is generally possible to exhibit a large operating force with a lower input than when a solenoid is used as the drive source. There is an advantage that is advantageous in the case of

Preferably, the door opening unit includes a return spring for returning the push rod from the projecting position to the retracted position (the third aspect of the present invention). It is preferable that the push rod be configured to push the outside of the gasket at the door, and that an impact buffer be provided between the tip of the push rod and the pressed part on the door side (the invention of claim 4).
Further, it is preferable that the tip of the push rod is brought into contact with the pressed portion on the door side when the door is closed (the invention of claim 5).

Further, it is preferable that the projecting stroke of the push rod is set so as to be substantially equal to or larger than the self-closing distance of the door by the self-closing mechanism (the invention of claim 6). In the case of a storage in which a table board is installed on the ceiling portion of the storage main body, it is preferable that the door opening unit be installed in a state where the door opening unit is covered with the table board.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. First, FIG. 1 shows an external appearance of an upper portion of a refrigerator 1 as a storage. In the refrigerator 1, a refrigerator room 3 as a storage room is formed above a refrigerator body (storage body) 2, and a rotary door 4 for opening and closing a front opening of the refrigerator room 3 is provided on the front surface thereof. Is rotatably provided via a hinge 5 at one end. A gasket 6 is provided at a peripheral portion on the inner surface side of the door 4. Although not shown, the gasket 6 is provided with a magnet, and the gasket 6 is attached to the front surface of the refrigerator body 2 when the door 4 is closed.

A self-closing mechanism 8 as shown in FIG. 3 is provided between the door 4 and the refrigerator body 2 at a lower hinge portion. The self-closing mechanism 8 has a well-known configuration including a locking portion 9 provided on the refrigerator main body 2 side and a locking portion 10 provided on the door 4 side, and the door 4 is slightly opened. This is for automatically turning the door 4 in the closing direction when it stops at, and for preventing the half door.

On the upper surface side of the ceiling portion 2a of the refrigerator main body 2, an electric door opening unit 11 is installed at a central portion in the width direction of the refrigerator main body 2 (see a center line T). In this case, a table board 12 is provided on the ceiling portion 2a of the refrigerator body 2, and the door opening unit 11 is covered by the table board 12 from above. This door opening unit 11
Will be described mainly with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

The case 13 of the door opening unit 11 includes
A motor 16 serving as an electric drive source, a rack 16 integrally having a push rod 15 and a gear mechanism 17 are provided. The gear mechanism 17 has a worm gear 18 rotated by the motor 14, a gear portion 19a meshing with the worm gear 18, and a first gear portion 19b having a smaller diameter than the worm gear.
Gear 20 having a gear 19, a gear 20a meshing with the gear 19b, and a gear 20b having a smaller diameter than the gear 19a.
And a third gear 21 having a pinion 21b meshing with the gear 16a of the rack 16 and a gear 21a meshing with the gear 20b. In this case, the gear portion of the pinion 21b is formed only in a range of about 180. The third gear 21 is also provided with a cam 22.

A rack 16 integrally having an extruding rod 15
Is provided in the case 13 so as to be linearly movable in the longitudinal direction, and the push rod 15 moves between the retracted position shown in FIG. 4 and the projected position shown in FIG. Push rod 15
The tip of the push rod 15 protrudes from the case 13, and the tip of the push rod 15 is provided with a rubber cap 23 serving as an impact buffer. A spring receiving portion 24 is provided on a side portion of the rack 16, and the spring receiving portion 24 and the case 1 are provided.
3, a return spring 25 made of a compression coil spring is provided. The return spring 25 urges the rack 16 and the push bar 15 in the direction of arrow A.

An L-shaped lever 26 which is rotatably operated by the cam 22 is rotatably provided in the case 13 and an origin switch 27 which is turned on / off by one end 26a of the lever 26. Is provided. The door opening unit 11 configured as described above is installed on the ceiling 2a of the refrigerator body 2 with the push rod 15 facing forward, and is covered with the table board 12.

At the upper part of the door cap 28 mounted on the upper edge of the door 4, a pressed part 29 pressed by the tip of the push rod 15 is provided at the center in the width direction of the door 4. I have. A rubber receiving plate 30 (see FIG. 4) serving as an impact buffer is also provided inside the pressed portion 29. In this case, the pressed portion 29 is located outside the gasket 6 on the door 4, and the push rod 15 is
At the outside of the gasket 6.

An operation panel 31 is provided at a left portion (opposite pivot side) of the front surface of the door 4, and a touch switch 32 is provided below the operation panel 31. The touch switch 32 is turned on by pressing or pulling the operation plate 33 also serving as a handle. When the touch switch 32 is turned on, the door opening unit is turned on. 11 motors 1
4 is energized. This motor 14
It is controlled by a control device that controls the entire refrigerator.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described with reference to the timing chart of FIG. When the door 4 is closed, the gasket 6 of the door 4 is attracted to the front surface of the refrigerator body 2 and the closed state of the door 4 is maintained. At this time,
A door switch (not shown) provided on the refrigerator main body 2 is pushed by the door 4 to be in an off state, and a light inside the refrigerator compartment 3 (not shown) is in an off state. Further, the motor 14 in the door opening unit 11 is in a cut-off state, and as shown in FIG. 4, the push rod 15 is located at the retracted position, and the cap 23 at the tip of the push rod 15 is
Is in contact with the receiving plate 30 of the pressed portion 29. Further, the origin switch 27 is on.

When the operation plate 33 of the touch switch 32 is operated to turn on the touch switch 32 in the closed state of the door 4 to open the door 4, the motor 14 of the door opening unit 11 is energized. . Then, the worm gear 18 is rotated by the motor 14, and this rotation is transmitted to the third gear 21 via the first and second gears 19 and 20, and the third gear 21 is moved in the direction of arrow B in FIG. Rotate. The pinion 21b rotates in the same direction as the third gear 21 and the rack 16 meshed with the pinion 21b.
Is moved in the direction of arrow C opposite to arrow A. Along with this, the push rod 15 protrudes and moves in the direction of the arrow C to push the pressed portion 29 of the door 4 to push the door 4 open.

At this time, in order to open the door 4, it is necessary to peel off the gasket 6 and to push the door 4 away from the self-closing mechanism 8 beyond the self-closing distance against the engaging force of the self-closing mechanism 8. In this case, at the position where the door opening unit 11 is installed, the self-closing mechanism 8 closes the door 4 by the self-closing distance L1.
(See FIG. 2) is about 40 mm and the push rod 15
Is also about 40 mm, and the door 4 can be pushed out by 40 mm or more due to the inertial force due to the momentary pushing of the door 4 by the pushing rod 15. Can be pushed open. As the door 4 is opened and the pressing on the door switch is released, the door switch is turned on and the interior light is turned on.

After the push rod 15 has moved to the protruding position shown in FIG. 5, when the teeth 16a of the rack 16 are disengaged from the pinion 21b, the rack 16 is retracted as shown in FIG. Move to the position instantly. Also,
The lever 22 is rotated by the cam 22 and the origin switch 2
7 is turned off. Thereafter, the motor 14 is still energized, and the third gear 21 further rotates in the direction of arrow B. When the third gear 21 makes one rotation and the origin switch 27 is released from being pressed again by the lever 26 and is turned on, the motor 14 is turned off.

Thereafter, when the door 4 is closed, the door switch is turned off and the interior light is turned off. In this case, once the touch switch 32 is turned on, the door 4
Until is closed, reception of the touch switch 32 is prohibited.

According to the first embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. First, the door 4 can be automatically opened by the motor-type door opening unit 11. The door opening unit 11 is installed in the refrigerator main body 2 so that the push rod 15 pushes a substantially central portion of the door 4 in the width direction. As compared with the case where the push rod 15 is installed at a position where the push rod 15 pushes the opposite pivot side opposite to the hinge 5 of the door 4, the distance for pushing the door 4 can be shortened, and the protrusion stroke L2 of the push rod 15 can be reduced. Can be smaller. Further, since the distance by which the door 4 is protruded can be shortened, the pushing force of the push rod 15 can be relatively small. In addition, there is an advantage that the position of the door opening unit 11 can be made the same when switching between the case where the door 4 is opened leftward and the case where the door 4 is opened rightward. Further, since the door opening unit 11 is provided on the refrigerator main body 2 side, there is an advantage that electric wiring can be facilitated as compared with the case where the door opening unit 11 is provided on the door 4 side.

The motor 1 is used as a drive source of the door opening unit 11.
4 is used, it is generally possible to exhibit a large input force and a large operating force as compared with a case where a solenoid is used as a drive source, and it is possible to reduce the thickness dimension, and the ceiling part of the refrigerator body 2 There is an advantage that the amount of protrusion can be reduced when the device is installed at 2a or the like.

Since the return spring 25 is provided to return the push rod 15 from the projecting position to the retracted position, the push rod 15
Can be instantaneously returned from the projecting position to the retracted position. Since the push rod 15 pushes the outside of the gasket 6 at the door 4, the effective volume in the refrigerator does not have to be reduced, and the effective volume in the refrigerator is not affected. In addition, a rubber cap 23 serving as an impact buffer is provided at the tip of the push rod 15 and a rubber receiving plate 30 serving as an impact buffer is also provided at the pressed portion 29. The impact when the pressed portion 29 is pressed can be reduced by the cap 23 and the receiving plate 30, and the hitting sound at that time can be reduced, and the pressed portion 2 can be pressed.
9 can be prevented from being damaged.

In the closed state of the door 4, the tip of the push rod 15 is in contact with the receiving plate 30 of the pressed part 29, so that the hitting sound when the push rod 15 presses the pressed part 29 is also provided. Can be reduced, and damage to the pressed portion 29 and the like can be prevented. Projection stroke L2 of push rod 15
Is set to be substantially the same as the self-closing distance L1 of the door 4 by the self-closing mechanism 8, so that the door 4 can be reliably opened. In this case, if the projecting stroke L2 of the push rod 15 is made larger than the self-closing distance L1 of the door 4 by the self-closing mechanism 8, the door 4 can be more reliably opened. Since the door opening unit 11 is covered with the table board 12, the upper surface of the refrigerator body 2 (the upper surface of the table board 12) can be kept flat.

FIGS. 7 to 9 show a second embodiment of the present invention. The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in the following points. That is, a solenoid-type door opening unit 35 is installed at the center in the width direction of the ceiling 2a of the refrigerator body 2. The lower case 36 of the door opening unit 35 is attached so as to be partially embedded in the ceiling 2a. A solenoid 37 is provided in the lower case 36. Solenoid 3
As shown in FIG. 9, the coil 38 of FIG. 7 is wound around the outer periphery of a bobbin 39 having a cylindrical shape.
Molded. A yoke 41 is provided outside the mold resin 40, and an auxiliary yoke 42 is provided on the inner periphery of the bobbin 39. As shown in FIG. 8, the coil 38 of the solenoid 37 configured as described above is
It is mounted inside the lower case 36 via a rubber bush 43.

A cylindrical plunger 44 made of a magnetic material is inserted in the bobbin 39 so as to be movable in the axial direction, and an extruding rod 45 made of a non-magnetic material is inserted into one end of the plunger 44. Is fixed so as to be linear. The plunger 44 and the push rod 45 penetrate the bobbin 39, and the rear end of the plunger 44 projects rearward from the bobbin 39, and the tip end of the push rod 45 projects forward from the bobbin 39. I have.

A return spring 46 composed of a coil spring for urging the plunger 44 in the direction of arrow A is mounted on the outer peripheral portion of the rear side of the plunger 44 protruding from the bobbin 39. Between the case 36 and the case 36, the movement of the plunger 44 is restricted.
A pressing spring 47 made of a torsion coil spring is provided. A rubber cap 48 serving as an impact buffer is provided at the tip of the push rod 45. The lower case 36 and the solenoid 3 are provided on the ceiling 2a of the refrigerator body 2.
A cover 49 is attached so as to cover 7. The distal end of the push rod 45 projects forward from the cover 49 and contacts the receiving plate 30 of the pressed portion 29 when the door 4 is closed. The solenoid 3 of the door opening unit 35
7 is also controlled by the control device.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described. In the state where the door 4 is closed, as shown in FIG. 8, the gasket 6 of the door 4 is adsorbed on the front surface of the refrigerator body 2, and the closed state of the door 4 is maintained. At this time, the door opening unit 35
The solenoid 37 is in a state of disconnection and the push rod 4
5 is in contact with the receiving plate 30 of the pressed portion 29 of the door 4.

When the operation plate 33 of the touch switch 32 is turned on by operating the touch switch 32 to open the door 4 in the closed state of the door 4, the solenoid 37 of the door opening unit 35 is energized. Then, the plunger 44 is instantaneously sucked and moved in the direction of arrow C against the spring force of the return spring 46, and accordingly, the push rod 45 projects in the direction of arrow C, and is covered by the tip of the push rod 45. The door 4 is pushed open by pushing the door 4 through the pressing portion 29.

In this case, since the moving speed of the plunger 44 is high and the operating speed of the push rod 45 can be increased as compared with the case of the motor type, even if the push stroke of the push rod 45 is small, the door 4 is far away. Can be pushed through.

When the solenoid 37 is turned off after the door 4 is pushed open, the push rod 45 and the plunger 44 are retracted in the direction of arrow A by the spring force of the return spring 46. And door 4
Is closed, the distal end of the push rod 45 comes into contact with the receiving plate 30 of the pressed portion 29 as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but may be applied to a door opening device for opening a door of a refrigerator, for example. Can be implemented.

[0036]

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained. Claim 1
According to the invention, the electric door-opening unit is installed in the storage body so that the push rod pushes a substantially central portion in the width direction of the door, so that the door-opening unit is connected to the storage body. As compared with the case where the push rod is placed at a position where the push rod pushes the opposite pivot side opposite to the hinge of the door, the distance for pushing the door can be shortened, and the protrusion stroke of the push rod can be reduced. Further, since the distance for pushing the door can be shortened, the pushing force of the push rod can be relatively small. Moreover, when switching between the case of opening the door to the left and the case of opening to the right, there is also an advantage that the position of the door opening unit can be made the same, so that the door can be easily handled. Furthermore, since the door opening unit is provided on the storage main body side, there is an advantage that electrical wiring can be facilitated compared to the case where the door opening unit is provided on the door side.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the motor is used as the driving source of the door opening unit, a large operating force is generally exerted with a lower input than when a solenoid is used as the driving source. In addition, there is an advantage that the thickness can be reduced, and the projection amount can be reduced when the device is installed on the ceiling of the storage cabinet main body. According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the return spring is provided to return the push rod from the protruding position to the retracted position, the push rod can be instantaneously returned from the projected position to the retracted position by the return spring. According to the invention of claim 4, since the push rod pushes the outside of the gasket at the door, it is not necessary to reduce the effective volume in the refrigerator and does not affect the effective volume in the refrigerator. Can be. In addition, since the shock absorbing material is provided between the tip of the push rod and the pressed part on the door side, it is possible to reduce the shock when the pressed part is pressed by the push rod, and the impact sound at that time is reduced. Can be reduced, and the pressed portion and the like can be prevented from being damaged.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, when the door is closed, the tip of the push rod is in contact with the pressed part on the door side. Can be reduced, and damage to the pressed portion and the like can be prevented as much as possible. According to the invention of claim 6, the door can be reliably opened by setting the protrusion stroke of the push rod to be substantially the same as or longer than the self-closing distance of the door by the self-closing mechanism. . According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, since the door opening unit is covered with the table board, the upper surface of the refrigerator body (the upper surface of the table board) can be kept flat.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an upper part of a refrigerator showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view without a table board.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a self-closing mechanism.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional plan view of the door opening unit in a state where the push rod is at a retracted position.

FIG. 5 is a view corresponding to FIG. 4 in a state where the push rod has moved to a protruding position.

FIG. 6 is a timing chart for opening and closing a door.

FIG. 7 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1, showing a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional side view of a main part.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional plan view of a main part.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 is a refrigerator (storage), 2 is a refrigerator (storage), 4 is a door, 5 is a hinge, 6 is a gasket, 8 is a self-closing mechanism, 11 is a door opening unit, 12 is a table board, and 14 is a motor ( Electric drive source), 15 is an extrusion rod,
16 is a rack, 17 is a gear mechanism, 21b is a pinion, 2
3 is a cap (impact cushioning material), 25 is a return spring, 29 is a pressed part, 30 is a receiving plate (impact cushioning material), 32 is a touch switch, 35 is a door opening unit, and 37 is a solenoid (electric drive source). ), 38 are coils, 41 is a yoke, 44
Is a plunger, 45 is a push rod, 46 is a return spring, 48
Denotes a cap, L1 denotes a self-closing distance, and L2 denotes a protruding stroke.

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A rotating type in which one end is rotatably supported on a front surface of a storage body via a hinge, and a gasket is provided on a peripheral edge portion on an inner surface side of the storage body in a closed state. A push rod that is moved in a projecting direction by an electric drive source, and includes an electric door opening unit that pushes and opens the door with the push rod. A door opening device for a storage, wherein the opening unit is installed in the storage main body such that the push rod pushes a substantially central portion in a width direction of the door. 2. The storage door opening apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the drive source of the door opening unit is a motor. 3. The storage door opening device according to claim 1, wherein the door opening unit includes a return spring for returning the push rod from the projecting position to the retracted position. 4. The push rod is configured to push the outside of the gasket at the door, and an impact buffer is provided between the tip of the push rod and a pressed part on the door side. Item 2. The storage door opening device according to Item 1. 5. The front end of the push rod is in contact with a pressed portion on the door side when the door is closed.
A storage door opening device as described in the above. 6. The door opening device for a storage according to claim 1, wherein a projecting stroke of the push rod is set to be substantially equal to or longer than a self-closing distance of the door by the self-closing mechanism. . 7. The storage door opening apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the door opening unit is installed so as to be covered by a table board installed on a ceiling portion of the storage main body.