KR102425367B1 - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a refrigerator.
The refrigerator of the present invention includes: a cabinet having a storage compartment; a refrigerator door that opens and closes the storage compartment; a hinge assembly connected to each of the cabinet and the refrigerator door to enable rotation of the refrigerator door; a door opening device installed in the cabinet and having a door opening part that operates to open the refrigerator door; and a damper that provides a damping force to the refrigerator door in a process in which the refrigerator door is opened and then closed, wherein the damper applies a damping force to the refrigerator door when the opening angle of the refrigerator door is within a damping section. and when the opening angle of the refrigerator door is out of the damping section, the damping force is reduced.

Description

Refrigerator {Refrigerator}

The present invention relates to a refrigerator.

A refrigerator is a home appliance that can store an object such as food at a low temperature in a storage room provided in a cabinet. Since the storage chamber is surrounded by an insulating wall, the interior of the storage chamber may be maintained at a temperature lower than the external temperature.

The storage compartment may be divided into a refrigerating compartment or a freezing compartment according to a temperature range of the storage compartment.

The user opens and closes the storage room using the door. In order to put an object into or take out the storage room, the user opens the door. In general, the door is rotatably provided in a cabinet, and a gasket is provided between the door and the cabinet.

Accordingly, when the door is closed, the gasket is in close contact with the door and the cabinet to prevent leakage of cold air from the storage compartment. As the adhesion of the gasket increases, the effect of preventing leakage of cold air may be increased.

In order to increase the adhesion of the gasket, the gasket may be formed of a rubber magnet, and a magnet may be provided inside the gasket. However, when the adhesive force of the gasket is increased, a large force is required to open the door.

Recently, refrigerators with an auto-closing function have been provided. The auto-closing function refers to a function of automatically closing the door of the refrigerator when the door of the refrigerator is slightly opened by using the adhesive force of the gasket, magnetic force, and elastic force by a spring.

Also, the auto-closing function refers to a function of preventing the door of the refrigerator from automatically opening even when the refrigerator is slightly tilted forward.

Therefore, the recently provided refrigerator requires a lot of force to open the door compared to the previous refrigerator. This is because, in order to open the door of the refrigerator, the user has to pull the door with a force greater than the adhesive force of the gasket, the magnetic force, and the elastic force of the spring.

Accordingly, in recent years, a door opening device for automatically opening a door has been proposed.

PCT Patent Publication No. WO2016/175562, which is a prior document, discloses a refrigerator capable of automatically opening a refrigerator door.

The refrigerator disclosed in the prior literature includes a door and a door opening device mounted in the door.

The door opening device may be built in the cap decoration portion of the refrigerator compartment door, and therefore, it is difficult for the front and rear lengths of the door opening device to be longer than the front and rear lengths (thickness of the door) of the door.

In addition, the door opening device includes a rack, and the rack is drawn out from the door and introduced into the door by driving a motor.

The driving force of the motor is transmitted to the rack through the power transmission device. Therefore, one-way driving of the motor causes the rack to be pulled out, and the other direction driving causes the rack to be drawn in.

The power transmission device may include a plurality of gears, and rotational force of the motor may be transmitted to the rack by rotation of the plurality of gears. Accordingly, the rack includes a rack and a rack gear formed on the rack. The driving force of the motor is transmitted to the rack through the meshing of the plurality of gears and the rack gear.

In the process of withdrawing the rack, the rack pushes the cabinet, and thus the door is opened.

Accordingly, the door can be opened automatically without the user applying force to open the door.

The opening angle of the door varies according to the withdrawal distance of the rack. For example, when using the curved rack disclosed in the prior literature, the door may be automatically opened up to an angle of about 25 degrees.

The automatic opening of the door is for a user to access the storage compartment without manually opening the door to take out food or to put food into the storage compartment. Accordingly, the door must be opened to provide sufficient space for the user to access the storage compartment.

In addition, in a state in which the door is opened at a predetermined angle, the user additionally opens the door by hand or foot. After the rack is withdrawn from the door to take out the door, the rack is drawn back into the door.

However, according to the prior literature, when the door is abruptly closed after the user additionally opens the door in a state in which the rack is not drawn into the door after the door is automatically opened, the door is connected to the rack Collision causes a problem in that the rack or the door is damaged.

In addition, when the door is closed while the rack is inserted into the door, there is a problem in that noise due to the collision between the door and the cabinet and rattling of the door due to the collision occur in the process of closing the door.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator in which the refrigerator door can be smoothly closed while the refrigerator door is opened and then closed.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator in which a rack or a refrigerator door is prevented from being damaged by closing the refrigerator door before the rack returns to its initial position in a state in which the rack is moved to open the refrigerator door. .

A refrigerator of the present invention for solving the above problems includes: a cabinet having a storage compartment; a refrigerator door that opens and closes the storage compartment; a hinge assembly connected to each of the cabinet and the refrigerator door to enable rotation of the refrigerator door; and a damper that provides a damping force to the refrigerator door in a process in which the refrigerator door is opened and then closed, wherein the damper provides a damping force to the refrigerator door when the opening angle of the refrigerator door is within a damping section. to reduce the closing speed of the refrigerator door.

When the opening angle of the refrigerator door deviates from the damping section while the refrigerator door is closed, the damping force by the damper is reduced.

For example, when the opening angle of the refrigerator door deviates from the damping section while the refrigerator door is closed, the damping force acting as the refrigerator door is lost.

In the present invention, the hinge assembly is provided with an auto-closing means for rotating the refrigerator door in a closing direction when the refrigerator door is at an auto-closing angle or less.

The damping section includes a damping start angle and a damping end angle, and the damping start angle is set to be smaller than the auto closing angle.

The damper may provide a damping force to the hinge assembly.

The refrigerator of the present invention may further include a door opening device installed in the cabinet and having a door opening part that operates to open the refrigerator door.

The door opening part may press the hinge assembly to open the refrigerator door, for example.

In the present invention, the door opening part and the damper may be located at the rear of the hinge assembly.

In a state in which opening of the refrigerator door is completed by the door opening part, the end of the door opening part and the end of the damper may be positioned to be spaced apart from the front of the cabinet and rearward.

In the present invention, the damper includes a housing and a cylinder movably connected to the housing, and the movement direction of the cylinder is parallel to the movement direction of the door opening part.

The hinge assembly may include a link unit to enable rotation of the refrigerator door. The cylinder may be located closer to the first hinge for rotation of the link unit than the door opening.

The door opening part may reciprocate between the initial position and the door opening position, and the cylinder moves in the housing than the distance between the door opening part and the front surface of the cabinet when the door opening part moves to the door opening position. A distance between the cylinder and the front surface of the cabinet when it is protruded to the maximum may be set to be large.

According to the proposed invention, since the damper provides a damping force to the refrigerator door while the refrigerator door is automatically opened and then further opened by the user and the refrigerator door is closed, the closing speed of the refrigerator door may be reduced. Accordingly, the refrigerator door can be smoothly closed.

In addition, since the closing speed is reduced before the refrigerator door is completely closed, a rattling phenomenon occurring when the refrigerator door comes into contact with the front of the cabinet may be reduced, and noise caused by a collision between the refrigerator door and the cabinet may be reduced.

In addition, since the damper contacts the refrigerator door even when the refrigerator door is closed in a stopped state after the door opening portion is drawn out to open the door, damage to the door opening portion is prevented.

1 is a view showing a state in which a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention is built-in.
2 is a plan view of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a side view of a door opening device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a bottom view of a door opening device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a plan view of the door opening device in a state in which the upper frame of the present invention is removed.
6 is an exploded perspective view of a door opening device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a perspective view of a lower frame according to an embodiment of the present invention.
8 is a perspective view of an upper frame according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 9 is a bottom view of the upper frame of Fig. 9;
10 is a perspective view of a door opening according to an embodiment of the present invention.
11 is a plan view of the door opening of FIG. 10 ;
Fig. 12 is a front view of the door opening of Fig. 10;
13 is a perspective view of a damper according to an embodiment of the present invention;
14 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of a damper according to an embodiment of the present invention.
15 is an exploded perspective view of a hinge assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention;
16 to 18 are views showing the state of the hinge assembly when the refrigerator door is opened by the door opening device;
19 is a view showing a movement trajectory of a line sequentially connecting a first hinge, a fourth hinge, a seventh hinge, and a sixth hinge in the hinge assembly of FIGS. 16 to 18 .
20 is a view showing a state in which opening of the refrigerator door is completed;
21 is a view showing a state in which the user manually additionally opens the refrigerator door in the position where the refrigerator door of FIG. 20 is automatically opened;
22 is a view showing an external force acting on a cylinder of a damper according to an embodiment of the present invention.
23 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an action of a damper according to an opening angle of a refrigerator door;

Hereinafter, some embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to exemplary drawings. In adding reference numerals to the components of each drawing, it should be noted that the same components are given the same reference numerals as much as possible even though they are indicated on different drawings. In addition, in describing the embodiment of the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of a related known configuration or function interferes with the understanding of the embodiment of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In addition, in describing the components of the embodiment of the present invention, terms such as first, second, A, B, (a), (b), etc. may be used. These terms are only for distinguishing the elements from other elements, and the essence, order, or order of the elements are not limited by the terms. When it is described that a component is “connected”, “coupled” or “connected” to another component, the component may be directly connected or connected to the other component, but between each component another component It will be understood that may also be "connected", "coupled" or "connected".

1 is a view showing a built-in refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view of the refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1 and 2 , a refrigerator 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be built-in to furniture in a kitchen.

For example, the furniture cabinet 1 may be installed in a kitchen or a specific space, and the refrigerator 10 may be accommodated in the furniture cabinet 1 . The furniture cabinet 1 may include a furniture cabinet door 2 .

The refrigerator 10 may include a cabinet 11 having a storage compartment and a refrigerator door 13 for opening and closing the storage compartment.

The cabinet 11 may be accommodated in the furniture cabinet 1 , and the refrigerator door 13 may be connected to the furniture cabinet door 2 .

When the furniture cabinet door 2 is rotated, the refrigerator door 13 connected to the furniture cabinet door 2 may be rotated together to open the storage room.

Also, in a state in which the refrigerator door 13 closes the storage compartment, the furniture cabinet door 2 covers the refrigerator door 13 from the outside of the refrigerator door 13 so that the refrigerator door 13 is removed from the outside. exposure can be prevented.

The refrigerator 10 is a hinge assembly 30 connected to the furniture cabinet door 2 or the refrigerator door 13 so that the furniture cabinet door 2 and the refrigerator door 13 can rotate together. may further include.

The hinge assembly 30 may be a multi-joint hinge assembly including a plurality of links. The hinge assembly will be described later with reference to the drawings.

The refrigerator 10 includes a door opening device for rotating the furniture cabinet door 2 and the refrigerator door 13 together by pushing the hinge assembly 30 to operate the hinge assembly 30 ( 20) may be further included.

The door opening device 20 may be installed on the upper surface of the cabinet 11 . The door opening device 20 may be located at the rear of the hinge assembly 30 in a state in which the refrigerator door 13 closes the storage compartment.

The door opening device 20 is driven under a preset condition or state, and the refrigerator door 13 is automatically opened by driving the door opening device 20 . Accordingly, the force required for the user to open the refrigerator door 13 is significantly reduced or no force is required.

For example, when the sensor recognizes the user's approach, the user presses a specific button, or inputs an opening command through a touch input unit, the door opening device 20 may operate.

One side of the hinge assembly 30 may be connected to the furniture cabinet door 2 or the refrigerator door 13 , and the other side may be installed on the upper surface of the cabinet 11 .

The refrigerator 10 may further include a damper 40 configured to decrease a closing speed of the refrigerator door 13 while the refrigerator door 13 is opened and then closed.

The damper 40 may be installed on the upper surface of the cabinet 11 or installed on the door opening device 20, for example.

The damper 40 may come into contact with the hinge assembly 30 , and provide a damping force to the hinge assembly 30 to smoothly close the refrigerator door 13 .

Although it is disclosed in FIG. 1 that the refrigerator 10 is used in a built-in state, even when the refrigerator 10 is used in a non-built-in state, the description of the door opening device 20 and the hinge assembly 30 of the present invention Note that this can be applied as is.

Hereinafter, the door opening device 20 of the present invention will be described.

<Door opening device>

3 is a side view of a door opening device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the door opening device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a state in which the upper frame of the present invention is removed. It is a plan view of a door opening device, and FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the door opening device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 to 6 , the door opening device 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a driving unit 250 and a door opening unit 240 operated by receiving power from the driving unit 250 . may include

The door opening part 240 pushes the hinge assembly 30 while moving by receiving the driving force of the driving part 250 .

The door opening device 20 may further include a frame 200 in which the driving unit 250 and the door opening unit 240 are installed.

The frame 200 may include a lower frame 220 installed on the upper surface of the cabinet 11 and an upper frame 210 coupled to the lower frame 220 .

The driving part 250 and the door opening part 240 may be seated on the lower frame 220 , and the upper frame 210 covers upper sides of the driving part 250 and the door opening part 240 . can do.

The driving unit 250 may include a driving motor 251 and a power transmitting unit 252 for transmitting the power of the driving motor 251 to the door opening part 240 .

The driving motor 251 may be, for example, a bidirectional rotatable motor. The driving motor 251 may be mounted on the lower frame 220 from a lower side to an upper side of the lower frame 220 . The power transmission unit 252 may be mounted on the lower frame 220 from the upper side to the lower side of the lower frame 220 .

The power transmission unit 252 may include a plurality of gears 253 . The plurality of gears 253 are reduction gears that reduce the rotational speed of the driving motor 251 and transmit a force for driving the door opening part 240 to the door opening part 240 .

The plurality of gears 253 may include a connection gear 255 directly connected to the door opening 240 .

The door opening device 20 may include a PCB 290 for controlling the driving motor 251 . Although not limited, the PCB 290 may be installed on the lower frame 220 .

Since the drive motor 251 is mounted on the lower frame 220 from the lower side to the upper side of the lower frame 220 , the PCB 290 may be easily connected to the drive motor 251 . ) may be installed on the lower surface of the lower frame 220 . A hall sensor 292 used to detect the position of the door opening part 240 may be installed in the PCB 290 .

The hall sensor 292 may detect the position of the door opening part 240 located in the frame 200 . To this end, the Hall sensor 292 may pass through the lower side of the lower frame 220 and be positioned in the frame 200 .

Hereinafter, the structure of the frame 200 will be described in detail.

<Lower frame>

7 is a perspective view of a lower frame according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 to 7 , the lower frame 220 according to the present embodiment may include a gear accommodating space 222 for accommodating the plurality of gears 253 .

A gear support part 223 for rotatably supporting the plurality of gears 253 may be provided in the gear accommodation space 222 .

A plurality of shaft connecting portions 223a for rotatably supporting shafts 257 for enabling rotation of the plurality of gears 253 may be provided in the gear support portion 223 .

The lower frame 220 may include a slot 221 through which a portion of the door opening 240 passes.

A part of the door opening part 240 is located in the frame 200 , and another part passes through the slot 221 and protrudes to the outside of the frame 200 .

The lower frame 220 may include seating parts 224 and 225 for seating the door opening part 240 .

The seating parts 224 and 225 may include a first seating part 224 and a second seating part 225 disposed at different heights.

The first seating part 224 is positioned at the rear of the slot 221 to support a part of the door opening part 240 that moves while passing through the slot 221 .

The upper surface of the first seating part 224 may be positioned at the same level as or higher than the bottom of the slot 221 .

The second seating part 225 is positioned higher than the first seating part 224 . The second seating part 225 supports a portion of the door opening part 240 that moves only inside the frame 200 . A portion of the door opening 240 that moves only inside the frame 200 is, for example, a portion connected to the connecting gear 255 .

When the lower surface of the door opening part 240 is seated on the seating parts 224 and 225 , the door opening part 240 may linearly reciprocate.

In the present invention, it is assumed that the direction in which the door opening part 240 moves to open the refrigerator door 13 is the front-rear direction, and the direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction is the left-right direction.

The first seating part 224 and the second seating part 225 are disposed to be spaced apart from each other in the left and right directions.

The lower frame 220 may further include lower frame guides 226 and 227 for guiding the linear movement of the door opening 240 seated on the seating parts 224 and 225 .

The lower frame guides 226 and 227 include a first lower frame guide 226 provided in the first seating part 224 and a second lower frame guide 227 provided in the second seating part 225 . ) may be included.

Since the heights of the first seating part 224 and the second seating part 225 are different, the heights of the first lower frame guide 226 and the second lower frame guide 227 are also different.

In addition, the first lower frame guide 226 and the second lower frame guide 227 are disposed to be spaced apart from each other in the left and right direction.

In the present invention, since the plurality of lower frame guides 226 and 227 are spaced apart from each other in a direction intersecting the moving direction of the door opening part 240 , the door opening part 240 is moved in the process of moving the door opening part. A phenomenon in which the 240 is shaken in the left and right directions can be prevented.

When the shaking of the door opening part 240 is reduced, noise can be reduced in the process of moving the door opening part 240 , and the rotational force of the driving motor 251 transmitted to the door opening part 240 is reduced without loss. There is an advantage that can be transferred to the hinge assembly 30 .

The lower frame guides 226 and 227 may be, for example, protrusions protruding upward from the seating portions 224 and 225 . In this case, the lower frame guides 226 and 227 may be inserted into the door opening 240 .

As another example, the lower frame guides 226 and 227 may be accommodating portions formed by being depressed downwardly from the seating portions 224 and 225 . In this case, a portion of the door opening 240 may be inserted into the lower frame guides 226 and 227 .

In order to stably guide the door opening part 240 , each of the lower frame guides 226 and 227 may be elongated in a direction parallel to the moving direction of the door opening part 240 .

The lower frame 220 may further include a motor installation unit 228 in which the driving motor 251 is installed.

The motor installation part 228 may be located at the rear of the gear support part 223 . For example, the gear support 223 may be positioned between the motor installation part 228 and the first seating part 224 . The motor installation unit 228 may support some gears among the plurality of gears 253 .

In the present invention, in a state in which the plurality of gears 253 are supported by the gear support 223 , the plurality of gears 253 may be arranged in a line forward and backward. Accordingly, the left and right widths of the door opening device 20 may be reduced.

In general, the size of the refrigerator 10 may vary according to the capacity of the storage compartment of the refrigerator 10 . In this case, the change amount of the left and right width is greater than the change amount of the depth of the refrigerator 10 .

Accordingly, as the capacity of the storage compartment of the refrigerator 10 decreases, the decrease in the left and right width is greater than the decrease in the depth of the refrigerator 10 . Therefore, the larger the width of the door opening device 20, the greater the restriction of the installation position of the door opening device 20. However, when the left and right widths of the door opening device 20 are minimized as in the present invention, there is an advantage in that the positional restriction for installing the door opening device 20 is reduced.

The lower frame 220 may further include a second opening 229 through which a portion of the damper 40 passes. That is, a part of the damper 40 is seated on the lower frame 220 , and the other part protrudes to the outside of the lower frame 220 through the second opening 229 .

Accordingly, the damper 40 and the door opening part 240 are arranged to be spaced apart from each other in the horizontal direction.

<Upper frame>

8 is a perspective view of an upper frame according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a bottom view of the upper frame of FIG. 9 .

3 to 9 , the upper frame 210 according to this embodiment is coupled to the lower frame 220 and the power transmission unit 252 seated on the lower frame 220 and the door opening The portion 240 may be covered.

A slot 211 for movement of the door opening part 240 may be formed in the upper frame 210 . In this case, it is also possible that the slot 221 is formed only in the lower frame 220 and the slot 211 is not formed in the upper frame 210 .

The upper frame 210 may be provided with a plurality of shaft connection parts 217 that rotatably support the shafts 257 for enabling the rotation of the plurality of gears 253 .

In addition, the upper frame 210 may include upper frame guides 212 and 213 for guiding the linear movement of the door opening part 240 .

The upper frame guides 212 and 213 include a first upper frame guide 212 positioned above the first seating part 224 and a second upper part positioned above the second seating part 225 . A frame guide 213 may be included.

The first upper frame guide 212 is, for example, located above the first lower frame guide 226 , and the second upper frame guide 213 is, for example, above the second lower frame guide 227 . can be located.

Also, the first upper frame guide 212 and the second upper frame guide 213 may be disposed to be spaced apart from each other in the left and right directions.

The upper frame guides 212 and 213 may be, for example, accommodating portions accommodating a portion of the door opening portion 240 . In this case, the upper frame guides 212 and 213 include a wall forming an accommodation space, and a reinforcing rib 214 may be connected to the wall.

As another example, the upper frame guides 212 and 213 may be protrusions inserted into the door opening part 240 .

If the upper frame guides 212 and 213 and the lower frame guides 226 and 227 are protrusions, respectively, in order to accommodate the upper frame guides 212 and 213 and the lower frame guides 226 and 227 Receptacles should be formed on each of the upper and lower surfaces of the door opening 240 .

However, the height of the door opening 240 itself needs to be increased in order to secure the strength of the door opening 240 while receiving portions are formed on each of the upper and lower surfaces of the door opening 240 .

In this case, there is a problem in that the overall height of the door opening device 20 is increased due to an increase in the height of the door opening part 240 .

In the present invention, the upper frame guides 212 and 213 and the lower frame guides 226 and 227 each have a part of the door opening part 240 to prevent an increase in the height of the door opening device 20 from increasing. It may be a receiving unit that accepts.

Alternatively, one of the upper frame guides 212 and 213 and the lower frame guides 226 and 227 may be a protrusion, and the other may be a receiving part to prevent the door opening device 20 from increasing in height. have.

However, when the upper frame guides 212 and 213 and the lower frame guides 226 and 227 are receiving portions, respectively, the upper frame guides 212 and 213 are provided on the upper and lower surfaces of the door opening 240 , respectively. and the lower frame guides 226 and 227 should form protrusions accommodated in each, so that the height of the door opening portion 240 itself can be increased. However, since the protrusion of the door opening part 240 is accommodated in each of the guides 212, 213, 226, 227, the protrusion of the door opening part 240 does not cause a spatial limitation, and the door opening device ( 20) does not result in an increase in height.

However, since the weight of the door opening part 240 itself is increased, a greater force is required to move the door opening part 240 .

Therefore, when any one of the upper frame guides 212 and 213 and the lower frame guides 226 and 227 is a protrusion and the other is a receiving part, the force for moving the door opening part 240 is increased and It is preferable in terms of preventing an increase in the height of the door opening part 240 itself.

The upper frame 210 may further include a first opening 218 through which a portion of the damper 40 passes. As a result, the damper 40 may pass through the frame 200 through the first opening 218 and the second opening 229 .

<Door opening part>

10 is a perspective view of the door opening part according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 11 is a plan view of the door opening part of FIG. 10 , and FIG. 12 is a front view of the door opening part of FIG. 10 .

3 to 12 , the door opening part 240 may include a rack that receives power from the driving part 250 and moves in the front-rear direction.

The rack includes a first body 241 provided with a rack gear 242 connected to the connection gear 255, a second body 243 for pushing the hinge assembly 30, and the first body ( 241 ) and a connection body 244 connecting the second body 243 .

The connection body 244 may extend obliquely from the first body 241 at a predetermined angle. The second body 243 may extend from the connection body 244 in a direction parallel to the extending direction of the first body 241 .

Therefore, when viewed as a whole, the rack may have a shape bent a plurality of times.

For example, a portion of the first body 241 overlaps with the second body 243 in the moving direction (front-rear direction) of the door opening part 240 , and another portion of the first body 241 is It is disposed so as not to overlap the second body 243 .

Due to the shape of the door opening part 240 , the second body 242 moves the frame 200 based on the left and right widths of the frame 200 without increasing the left and right widths of the door opening device 20 . ) may be located in the center of

Specifically, referring to FIG. 6 , the first body 241 may be positioned on the side of the plurality of gears 252 so that the first body 241 is connected to the connection gear 255 . If the rack is formed in a straight line shape instead of a bent shape, the rack is not located at the center in the left and right direction of the door opening device 20, and is present in a form skewed to one side.

Meanwhile, the opening direction of the refrigerator door 13 may be different depending on the installation position of the refrigerator 10 . That is, referring to FIG. 2 , the hinge assembly 30 may be located at the upper right portion of the refrigerator door 13 or may be located at the upper left portion.

The position of the hinge assembly 30 may vary according to the opening direction of the refrigerator door 13 . In order to automatically open the refrigerator door 13 , the position of the door opening device 20 needs to be changed in response to the change in the position of the hinge assembly 30 .

However, when the rack is not located in the center based on the left and right widths of the door opening device 20 and is located at a position that is skewed to one side, when the position of the door opening device 20 is changed, the door There may be a problem that the opening device 20 interferes with structures around the refrigerator.

For example, in the state in which the second body 243 of the door opening part 240 in the door opening device 20 is shifted to the right from the central part of the frame 200 in FIG. 2 , the cabinet ( A distance between the right end of 11) and the door opening device 20 may be referred to as a first distance.

If the position of the hinge assembly 30 is changed to the left side of the refrigerator door 13 in the drawing, the position of the door opening device 20 should also be changed to the left side in the drawing.

At this time, the point at which the rack should press the hinge assembly 30 is the same.

Then, when the door opening device 20 is moved to the left to install, the door opening device 20 may be installed at a position where the pressing point of the hinge assembly 30 and the rack are aligned.

In this case, a second distance that is a distance between the left end of the cabinet 11 and the door opening device 20 is shorter than the first distance. That is, there is a problem that the free space between the door opening device 20 and the left end of the cabinet 10 is reduced and interferes with the surrounding structures.

However, as in the present invention, when the second body 243 of the door opening part 240 is located at the center based on the left and right widths of the door opening device 20, Even if the position of the door opening device 20 is changed, the distance between the door opening device 20 and the side end of the cabinet 11 may be maintained constant.

Meanwhile, the force required when the rack pushes the hinge assembly 30 is greater than when the rack directly pushes the refrigerator door 13 .

The force for opening the door may be increased by utilizing the torque of the driving motor and a reduction ratio of the plurality of gears. However, as the force increases, the force acting on the rack from the hinge assembly 30 also increases.

Therefore, in order to secure the strength of the rack and prevent damage, the rack may be formed of a metal material.

Since the connecting gear 255 is directly connected to the first body 241, the connecting gear 255 or the rack of the connecting gear 255 or the rack in the process of transmitting the rotational force from the connecting gear 255 to the first body 241. In order to prevent damage, at least the connecting gear 255 among the plurality of gears 252 may be formed of the same material as the rack.

In addition, since the second body 243 directly pushes the hinge assembly 243 , the vertical length (or height) of the second body 243 is ensured to ensure the strength of the second body 243 . may be formed to be longer than the vertical length (or height) of the first body 241 .

The door opening 240 may further include upper rack guides 247 and 248 interacting with the upper frame guides 212 and 213 .

The upper rack guides 248 and 249 include a first upper rack guide 248 interacting with the first upper guide 212 and a second upper rack guide interacting with the second upper guide 213 . (249).

For example, each of the upper rack guides 248 and 249 may be a protrusion protruding from the upper surface of the door opening part 240 .

The first upper rack guide 248 and the second upper rack guide 249 may be disposed to be spaced apart from each other in the left and right directions.

When the first upper rack guide 248 is a protrusion, the protrusion does not interfere with the frame 200 during the movement of the door opening part 240 so that the first upper rack guide 248 is connected to the connection body ( 244) or at a position adjacent to the connection body 244 in the second body 243.

The second upper rack guide 249 may be formed to be elongated in the front-rear direction on the upper surface of the first body 241 so that the guide length is increased.

In addition, a length of the second upper rack guide 249 may be longer than a length of the first upper rack guide 248 .

The door opening 240 may further include lower rack guides 246 and 247 that interact with the lower frame guides 226 and 227 .

The lower rack guides 246 and 247 include a first lower rack guide 246 interacting with the first lower guide 226 and a second lower rack guide interacting with the first lower guide 227 . (247).

For example, each of the lower rack guides 246 and 247 may be a receiving part formed as the lower surface of the door opening part 240 is depressed upward.

The first lower rack guide 246 and the second upper rack guide 247 may be disposed to be spaced apart from each other in the left and right directions.

The first lower rack guide 246 may be provided on the second body 243 , and the second lower rack guide 247 may be provided on the first body 241 .

In addition, the second body 243 may be seated on the first seating part 224 , and the first body 241 may be seated on the second seating part 225 .

Referring to FIG. 12 , a portion of the first body 241 in the front-rear direction is disposed so as not to overlap a portion of the second body 243 , and thus the second body 243 in the first body 241 is The second lower rack guide 247 may be formed in a portion that does not overlap with the . Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the second body 243 from interfering with the second lower frame guide 227 when the door opening 240 moves.

The door opening 240 may further include a roller 245 rotatably connected to the second body 243 . A roller receiving part 243a in which the roller 245 is accommodated may be formed at the front end of the second body 243 .

In addition, in a state in which the roller 245 is accommodated in the roller accommodating part 243a , the rotating shaft 245a may connect the roller 245 and the second body 243 .

In this case, a portion of the roller 245 may be positioned to protrude forward from the front end of the second body 243 so as to prevent the second body 243 from coming into direct contact with the hinge assembly 30 . .

Accordingly, when the door opening part 240 moves, the roller 245 may directly contact the hinge assembly 30 .

Therefore, according to the present invention, since the roller 245 comes into contact with the hinge assembly 30 while the door opening part 240 moves to open the door, the rack is in direct contact with the hinge assembly 30 . There is an advantage that friction noise can be reduced, and damage to the door opening part 240 can be prevented compared to the case where the door opening part 240 is damaged.

The front end of the second body 243 prevents the end of the second body 243 from coming into direct contact with the hinge assembly 30 while the door opening part 240 pushes the hinge assembly 30 . Wealth can be round.

Meanwhile, the first body 241 may be provided with a magnet installation part 241a for installing the magnet 294 . As described above, the Hall sensor 292 may detect the magnetic strength of the magnet 294 to determine the position of the door opening part 240 .

The magnet installation part 241a may be positioned opposite to the rack gear 242 in the first body 241 to prevent interference with the plurality of gears 252 .

13 is a perspective view of a damper according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 14 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of the damper according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2, 5, 13 and 14 , the damper 40 of the present invention may include a housing 410 and a cylinder 430 movably disposed in the housing 410 . .

The cylinder 430 may move in a direction parallel to the moving direction of the door opening part 240 .

The housing 410 may be installed on the frame 200 , for example, and the cylinder 430 may protrude to the outside of the frame 200 .

As described above, the damper 40 is not installed in the door opening device 20 , but it is also possible that the damper 40 is installed in the cabinet 11 as a separate module from the door opening device 20 . do.

The housing 410 may include a first housing 412 and a second housing 414 . Each of the first housing 412 and the second housing 414 includes a space portion. At this time,

The width or diameter of the space of the first housing 412 is smaller than the width or diameter of the second housing 414 . Accordingly, a step portion 413 is formed on inner peripheral surfaces of the first housing 412 and the second housing 414 .

A housing cover 420 may be coupled to one side of the second housing 414 . The housing cover 420 may be fastened to the housing 410 by, for example, a screw.

A rod 420 may be provided in the housing 410 . One end of the rod 420 may be fixed to the housing cover 420 .

In addition, a movable member 470 may be coupled to the rod 420 . The rod 420 passes through the movable member 470 , and the movable member 470 may move along the rod 420 from the outer peripheral surface of the rod 420 in the longitudinal direction of the rod 420 . .

An oil passage part 450 may be coupled to the other end of the rod 420 . The oil passage part 450 may provide a passage through which the oil filled in the cylinder 430 flows during the movement of the cylinder 430 .

A portion of the cylinder 430 may be accommodated in the housing 410 . The cylinder 430 may be formed in a cylindrical shape having a hollow.

A portion of the rod 420 , the movable member 470 , and the oil passage part 450 may be accommodated in the cylinder 430 in a state where the cylinder 430 is accommodated in the housing 410 . .

A cylinder cover 460 is coupled to the first end of the cylinder 430 . At this time, the rod 420 passes through the cylinder cover 460 , and the cylinder cover 460 comes into contact with the step portion 413 between the first housing 412 and the second housing 414 . can

Oil may be filled in the cylinder 430 . In addition, a sealing part 440 for preventing the oil from leaking may be provided in the cylinder 430 .

In addition, a contact portion 436 capable of contacting the hinge assembly 30 may be provided at an end of the cylinder 430 .

The contact portion 436 is formed of a rubber material or various materials capable of absorbing shock in order to prevent damage due to a direct collision between the hinge assembly 30 and the cylinder 430 during the closing process of the refrigerator door 13 . can be

The damper 40 may further include a first elastic member 480 elastically supporting the movable member 470 .

The first elastic member 480 may be disposed, for example, between the cylinder cover 420 and the movable member 470 in the cylinder 430 .

The damper 40 may further include a second elastic member 490 that provides an elastic force for the cylinder 430 to protrude to the outside of the housing 200 .

The second elastic member 490 may be disposed between the oil passage part 450 and the sealing part 440 in the cylinder 430 .

The cylinder 430 may include a first cylinder portion 432 having a first inner diameter and a second cylinder portion 434 having a second inner diameter greater than the first inner diameter.

In addition, the outer diameter of the oil passage part 450 may be substantially the same as the first inner diameter of the first cylinder part 432 . In addition, although not shown, the oil passage part 450 may include a slot through which oil passes.

As shown in FIG. 14 , in a state in which an external force is not applied to the cylinder 430 , the cylinder 430 protrudes to the outside of the housing 410 by the elastic force of the second elastic member 490 .

In addition, the movable member 470 maintains a state in contact with the oil passage part 450 by the first elastic member 480 .

In this state, the oil passage part 450 is located inside the first cylinder part 432 , and the first surface 452 of the oil passage part 450 has a length equal to that of the second cylinder part 434 . spaced at regular intervals in the direction.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 14 , in a state in which an external force is not applied to the cylinder 430 , the first surface 452 of the oil passage part 450 in the first cylinder part 432 and the first cylinder A section between the section 432 and the boundary of the second cylinder section 434 may be referred to as section A.

A section between the boundary between the first cylinder part 432 and the second cylinder part 434 and the sealing part 440 among the second cylinder parts 434 may be referred to as a B section.

In the state shown in FIG. 14 , a first chamber 437 is defined between the oil passage part 450 and the sealing part 440 in the cylinder 430 . Then, the first chamber 437 is filled with oil. The volume of the first chamber 437 may be changed according to the movement of the cylinder 430 .

When an external force is applied to the cylinder 430 , the external force acts as a compressive force of the first chamber 437 . Then, the oil in the first chamber 437 flows toward the movable member 470 through the slot of the oil passage part 450 by the compressive force acting on the first chamber 437 .

At this time, since the outer diameter of the oil passage part 450 is substantially the same as the first inner diameter of the first cylinder part 432 , the oil in the first chamber 437 passes through the slot of the oil passage part 450 . flow only through

Then, when the oil in the first chamber 437 passes through the oil passage part 450 , the cylinder 430 moves in a direction (left direction in FIG. 14 ) introduced into the housing 410 . do.

In this process, a damping force for reducing the closing speed of the refrigerator door 13 is generated. That is, a reaction force generated as a reaction to the compressive force of the first chamber 437 is provided to the cylinder 430 , and the reaction force provided to the cylinder 430 acts as a damping force. In FIG. 14 , a damping force is generated when the oil passage part 450 is positioned in section A.

On the other hand, when the oil passage part 450 moves to section B, since the outer diameter of the oil passage part 450 is smaller than the second inner diameter of the second cylinder part 434, the first chamber 437 of the oil flows into the space between the outer side of the oil passage part 450 and the inner peripheral surface of the second cylinder part 434 .

Accordingly, when the oil passage part 450 is located in the section B, the damping force is reduced. For example, when the oil passage part 450 is located in the section B, the damping force is substantially small or the damping force is not generated.

As another example, the inner diameters of the first cylinder part 432 and the second cylinder part 434 are formed to be the same, however, a groove for oil flow is formed in the second cylinder part 434 in the cylinder 430 . ) in the longitudinal direction. Accordingly, when the oil passage part 450 moves to the section B, oil may quickly flow through the groove of the second cylinder part 434 .

15 is an exploded perspective view of a hinge assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 and 15 , the hinge assembly 30 is fixed to the first hinge frame 310 installed in the cabinet 11 and the furniture cabinet door 2 or the refrigerator door 13 . It may include a second hinge frame 320 , and a link unit 330 connected to the first hinge frame 310 and the second hinge frame 320 .

The second hinge frame 320 includes, for example, a door fixing part 322 fixed to the refrigerator door 13 , and a link positioned above the door fixing part 322 and connected to the link unit 330 . A connection part 324 may be included.

The door opening part 240 pushes the link unit 330 to open the refrigerator door 13 .

The link unit 330 receives the pushing force from the door opening part 240 to open the storage compartment while the refrigerator door 13 rotates based on the rotation center, and the rotation center moves in the horizontal direction. It may include a plurality of links 332 , 340 , 350 , 360 that operate to

The link unit 330 may include a first link 332 connected to the first hinge frame 310 by a first hinge 314 .

The link unit 330 may further include a second link 340 connected to the first link 332 at a position spaced apart from the first hinge 314 . The second link 340 may be rotatably connected to the first link 332 by a second hinge 342 .

In this case, the plurality of members of the second link 340 may be a multi-joint link rotatably connected. In this case, the second hinge 342 may be formed on one member of the plurality of members, and the sixth hinge 344 may be formed on the other member of the plurality of members.

The link unit 330 may further include a third link 350 rotatably connected to the first link 332 in a region between the first hinge 314 and the second hinge 342 . have.

The third link 350 may be rotatably connected to the first link 332 by a third hinge 352 .

The link unit 330 may further include a fourth link 360 rotatably connected to the third link 350 and the first hinge frame 310 .

The fourth link 360 may be rotatably connected to the third link 350 by a fourth hinge 362 , and may be rotatably connected to the first hinge frame 310 by a fifth hinge 364 . can be connected

In this case, the fourth hinge 362 is located closer to the refrigerator door than the first hinge 314 .

In addition, the second link 340 may be rotatably connected to the second hinge frame 320 by a sixth hinge 344 , and the third link 350 may include a seventh hinge 354 . may be rotatably connected to the second hinge frame 320 by

The distance between the sixth hinge 344 and the seventh hinge 354 is shorter than the distance between the third hinge 362 and the second hinge 342 .

Also, the length of the fourth link 360 is shorter than the length of the first link 332 .

16 to 18 are views illustrating a state of the hinge assembly when the refrigerator door is opened by the door opening device. 16 shows a state in which the refrigerator door is closed.

19 is a view showing a movement trajectory of a line sequentially connecting a first hinge, a fourth hinge, a seventh hinge, and a sixth hinge in the hinge assembly of FIGS. 16 to 18 , and FIG. 20 is a view showing the opening of the refrigerator door. A drawing showing the status.

2, 5, 6, and 14 to 20 , a portion of the door opening part 240 protrudes to the outside of the frame 200 when the refrigerator door 13 is closed.

The roller 245 of the door opening part 240 may maintain a contact state with the hinge assembly 30 . For example, the roller 245 may be in contact with the first link 332 .

The position of the door opening part 240 when the refrigerator door 13 is closed may be referred to as an initial position.

And, since the door opening part 240 is in contact with the hinge assembly 30 , the door opening part 240 is positioned to be spaced apart from the rear of the refrigerator door 13 by a predetermined distance. In addition, the rollers 245 of the door opening part 240 may be positioned to be spaced apart from the front end 11a of the cabinet 10 by a predetermined distance backward.

Also, when the refrigerator door 13 is closed, the cylinder 430 of the damper 40 comes into contact with the hinge assembly 30 . At this time, the oil passage part 425 is located in section B, and the second elastic member 490 is in a contracted state.

In the present invention, the damper 40 has the second door opening part 240 than the door opening part 240 so that the force required to open the refrigerator door 13 is reduced and the angle at which the damping force by the damper 40 acts is increased. 1 It may be located closer to the hinge 314 .

In order to open the refrigerator door 13 , the driving motor 251 may be rotated in a first direction. When the driving motor 251 rotates in the first direction, the connection gear 252 may rotate clockwise with reference to FIG. 5 .

Then, the door opening part 240 receiving the rotational force from the connecting gear 252 pushes the first link 332 . That is, the door opening part 240 pushes the first link 332 while moving forward from the initial position.

Specifically, the door opening part 240 pushes the area between the fourth hinge 362 and the second hinge 342 in the first link 332 .

Then, with reference to FIG. 17 , the first link 332 is rotated clockwise with the first hinge 314 as a rotation center. In addition, the fourth link 332 is rotated clockwise with the fifth hinge 364 as a rotation center.

The refrigerator door 13 rotates while moving away from the cabinet 11 by the clockwise rotation of the first link 332 and the fourth link 332 .

At this time, since the length of the fourth link 360 is shorter than the length of the first link 332 , when the first link 332 is rotated, the angle of rotation of the first link 332 is greater than that of the fourth link. The angle of rotation of 360 is large. Accordingly, the fourth link 360 serves to amplify a rotation angle when the refrigerator door 13 is rotated by the first link 332 .

Accordingly, the refrigerator door 13 may actually be rotated at an angle greater than the rotation angle of the first link 332 .

Referring to FIG. 19 , a virtual connection line L connecting the sixth hinge 344 and the seventh hinge 354 is located on the refrigerator door 13 and moves together with the refrigerator door 13 . do.

As shown in FIG. 19 , as the moving distance of the door opening part 240 increases, the connecting line L rotates as it moves away from the cabinet 11 until it reaches a predetermined angle. The predetermined angle is the same as the opening angle of the refrigerator door 13 .

At this time, the connecting line L rotates and horizontally moves in a direction away from the cabinet 11 at the same time.

When the refrigerator door 13 is closed, the sixth hinge 344 and the seventh hinge 354 are parallel to the front surface of the cabinet 11 and are on the same line as a horizontal line passing through the center of the fourth hinge. Or it is located closer to the cabinet than the horizontal line.

On the other hand, when the refrigerator door 13 is opened, the sixth hinge 344 and the seventh hinge 354 are located farther from the cabinet 11 than a horizontal line passing through the center of the fourth hinge 362 . do. That is, the sixth hinge 344 and the seventh hinge 354 are positioned in front of a horizontal line passing through the center of the fourth hinge 362 .

In the present invention, the opening angle of the refrigerator door 13 may be set differently depending on the size of the refrigerator 10 . However, regardless of the size of the refrigerator 10, the maximum distance D1 between the rear surface of the refrigerator door 13 and the front surface of the cabinet 11 is 120 mm or more in the state in which the refrigerator door 13 is opened. The opening angle can be set.

As shown in FIG. 20 , a position of the door opening part 240 in a state in which the refrigerator door 13 is opened may be referred to as a door opening position.

When the door opening part 240 is moved to the door opening position, all of the door opening part 240 overlaps the cabinet 11 in the vertical direction.

That is, in a state in which the door opening part 240 is moved to the door opening position, the door opening part 240 is located at a rear side of the cabinet 11 .

Accordingly, even when the door opening part 240 moves to the door opening position, the door opening part 240 does not protrude toward the front of the cabinet 11 , and the first door opening part 240 does not protrude from the rear of the first link 332 . It maintains a state in contact with the link 332 .

When the door opening part 240 is moved to the door opening position, the cylinder 430 also maintains contact with the first link 332 .

When the door opening part 240 is moved to the door opening position, the driving motor 251 is stopped. And, when a set time elapses after the driving motor 251 is stopped, the driving motor 251 is rotated in a second direction opposite to the first direction, and thus the door opening part 240 is opened. will return to the initial position.

As described above, as the door opening part 240 pushes the hinge assembly 30 to open the refrigerator door 13 , the moving distance of the door opening part 240 for opening the refrigerator door 13 . can be reduced

As such, when the moving distance of the door opening part 240 is reduced, there is an advantage in that the length of the door opening part 240 can be reduced. Also, even if the length and movement distance of the door opening part 240 are reduced, the opening angle of the refrigerator door 13 may be increased by the hinge assembly 30 .

In addition, since the door opening 240 is located at the rear of the hinge assembly 30 in a state in which the refrigerator door 13 is opened, the door opening 240 may be prevented from being exposed to the outside. have.

21 is a view showing a state in which the user manually additionally opens the refrigerator door in the position where the refrigerator door of FIG. 20 is automatically opened, and FIG. 22 is an external force applied to the cylinder of the damper according to an embodiment of the present invention. 23 is a conceptual diagram showing the action of the damper according to the opening angle of the refrigerator door.

21 to 23 , as shown in FIG. 20 , in a state in which the refrigerator door 13 is automatically opened by the door opening part 240 , the door opening angle is θopen. In this state, the user may additionally open the refrigerator door 13 manually.

On the other hand, in the state in which the refrigerator door 13 is opened, the door opening part 240 returns to its initial position, and the cylinder 430 is additionally moved to the housing ( 410) may protrude to the outside.

That is, in a state in which the refrigerator door 13 is automatically opened by the door opening part 240 , the protrusion length of the cylinder 430 from the housing 410 is smaller than the maximum protrusion length.

When the cylinder 430 protrudes to the maximum than the distance between the door opening part 240 and the front surface 11a of the cabinet 11 when the door opening part 240 is moved to the door opening position The distance between the cylinder 430 and the front surface 11a of the cabinet 11 is set to be large.

In this case, when the refrigerator door 13 is manually closed by a user while the refrigerator door 13 is additionally rotated as shown in FIG. 21 , when the door opening part 240 is in a stopped state, the hinge This is so that the assembly 30 first comes into contact with the cylinder 430 .

However, in a state in which the cylinder 430 protrudes to the maximum, the end of the cylinder 430 (the end of the contact portion) may be spaced apart from the front side 11a of the cabinet 11 to the rear.

15 and 22 , a closing force of the refrigerator door 13 is provided to the cylinder 430 while the refrigerator door 13 is closed. That is, the first link 332 of the hinge assembly 30 presses the cylinder 430 .

Then, the oil in the first chamber 437 passes through the oil passage part 450 . Due to the oil passing through the oil passage part 450 , the movable member 470 moves in a direction away from the oil passage part 450 (a left direction in FIG. 22 ). Accordingly, a second chamber 438 is formed between the movable member 470 and the oil passage part 450 .

In addition, while the cylinder 430 is introduced into the housing 410 , the volume of the first chamber 437 decreases and the volume of the second chamber 438 increases.

As described above, when the oil passage part 450 is positioned in the A section of the cylinder 430 , a damping force is generated in the damper 40 . The closing speed of the refrigerator door 13 is reduced by the damping force, so that the refrigerator door 13 is smoothly closed.

In addition, when the oil passage part 450 enters the section B, the oil in the first chamber 437 rapidly moves to the first chamber 438 , so that the damping force in the damper 40 is reduced or substantially reduced. will not occur with Then, the closing speed of the refrigerator door 13 is increased so that the refrigerator door 13 is completely closed.

Meanwhile, although not shown, the hinge assembly of the present invention may include an auto closing means. When the opening angle of the refrigerator door 13 is equal to or less than the auto closing angle, the auto closing means provides a rotational force to rotate the refrigerator door 13 in a closing direction.

Since the auto-closing means in the present invention may be implemented by a known technique except that the hinge assembly is provided, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 23 , in the present invention, the auto closing angle may be referred to as θ1. Also, the damping start angle may be set equal to the door opening angle θopen.

In this case, the auto closing angle θ1 may be set to be larger than the damping start angle. If the auto closing angle θ1 is set to be smaller than the damping start angle, the refrigerator door 13 may not close due to the damping force of the damper 40. However, according to the present invention, such phenomenon can be prevented.

Also, in the present invention, the damping end angle may be referred to as θ2, and the damping end angle is set to the angle of the refrigerator door 13 when the oil flow path part 450 enters the section A from the section B. .

In the present invention, a range between the damping start angle and the damping end angle may be referred to as a damping section, and other angles may be referred to as a non-damping section.

In summary, when the refrigerator door 13 is closed while the refrigerator door 13 is opened by a user, if the opening angle of the refrigerator door 13 is greater than the damping start angle, the damper 40 ), no damping force occurs.

When the opening angle of the refrigerator door 13 is reduced below the damping start angle, the damping force of the damper 40 is provided to the refrigerator door 13 to reduce the closing speed of the refrigerator door 13 .

Accordingly, the refrigerator door 13 is slowly closed. When the opening angle of the refrigerator door 13 is reduced to less than the damping end angle during the closing of the refrigerator door 13, the damping force of the damper 40 is reduced, so that the closing speed of the refrigerator door 13 is increased. increased so that the refrigerator door 13 can be completely closed.

On the other hand, when the refrigerator door 13 is opened again while the oil passage part 450 is located in section B, the cylinder 430 is moved from the housing 410 by the second elastic member 490 . It will move in the protruding direction. In addition, the movable member 470 comes into contact with the oil passage part 450 by the first elastic member 480 . In this state, the volume of the second chamber 438 is substantially zero.

In the above embodiment, it has been described that the damper 40 is in contact with the hinge assembly 30 , but otherwise, the damper 40 may directly contact the refrigerator door 13 .

10: Refrigerator 11: Cabinet
13: refrigerator door 20: door opening device
200: frame 240: door opening
40: damper 410: housing
420: rod 430: cylinder
450: oil passage part 470: movable member

Claims (9)

a cabinet having a storage compartment;
a refrigerator door that opens and closes the storage compartment;
a hinge assembly connected to each of the cabinet and the refrigerator door to enable rotation of the refrigerator door;
a door opening device installed in the cabinet and having a door opening part that operates to open the refrigerator door; and
and a damper that provides a damping force to the refrigerator door in a process in which the refrigerator door is opened and then closed;
The damper includes: a housing;
a cylinder movable with respect to the housing;
a rod fixed to the housing;
and an oil flow passage coupled to the rod;
The cylinder includes a first cylinder portion having a first inner diameter, and a second cylinder portion having a second inner diameter greater than the first inner diameter,
In the process of closing the refrigerator door, when the opening angle of the refrigerator door decreases from the first reference angle, which is the angle of the refrigerator door when damping is started by the damper, to a second reference angle, the oil flow path part is inserted into the first cylinder. A state in which the oil passage part is positioned in the second cylinder part until the refrigerator door is closed when the cylinder is moved while the refrigerator door is positioned within the second reference angle and the opening angle of the refrigerator door is less than the second reference angle In the refrigerator the cylinder moves. The method of claim 1,
a movable member through which the rod passes in the housing and movable along the rod;
a first elastic member for elastically supporting the movable member toward the oil passage part;
and a second elastic member positioned opposite the movable member in the cylinder with respect to the oil passage part and providing an elastic force to the cylinder. The method of claim 1,
The hinge assembly includes an auto-closing means for rotating the refrigerator door in a closing direction when the refrigerator door is at an auto-closing angle or less,
the damper provides a damping force to the refrigerator door when the opening angle of the refrigerator door decreases from the first reference angle to the second reference angle;
The second reference angle is an angle of the refrigerator door when damping is finished by the damper,
The first reference angle is set to be smaller than the auto closing angle. The method of claim 1,
wherein the damper provides a damping force to the hinge assembly while the refrigerator door is closed. The method of claim 1,
The door opening part presses the hinge assembly to open the refrigerator door. 6. The method according to claim 4 or 5,
The door opening and the damper are located at the rear of the hinge assembly,
In a state in which opening of the refrigerator door is completed by the door opening part, an end of the door opening part and an end of the damper are positioned to be spaced apart from the front of the cabinet and rearward. a cabinet having a storage compartment;
a refrigerator door that opens and closes the storage compartment;
a hinge assembly connected to each of the cabinet and the refrigerator door to enable rotation of the refrigerator door and including a link unit;
a door opening device installed in the cabinet and having a door opening part that operates to open the refrigerator door; and
and a damper having a cylinder that moves to provide a damping force to the refrigerator door during a closing process after the refrigerator door is opened;
The door opening part presses the link unit to open the refrigerator door,
In the process of closing the refrigerator door, the cylinder is pressed by the link unit, and the damper provides a damping force to the refrigerator door,
The link unit is spaced apart from the door opening part and the cylinder when the refrigerator door is opened more than a first reference angle, which is an angle of the refrigerator door when damping is started by the damper. 8. The method of claim 7,
The cylinder is located closer to the first hinge for rotation of the link unit than the door opening part. 8. The method of claim 7,
The damper further comprises a housing to which the cylinder is movably connected,
The door opening part may reciprocate in an initial position and a door opening position,
The distance between the cylinder and the front surface of the cabinet when the cylinder is maximally protruded from the housing is greater than the distance between the door opening part and the front surface of the cabinet when the door opening part moves to the door opening position Refrigerator set large.

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