KR20070077599A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

A refrigerator is provided to reduce costs for exchanging a door damper by enhancing an installation structure of the door damper to easily separate the door damper. A refrigerator comprises a door(20), a door damper(100), a main body(10), a hinge bracket(40), a shaft(110), a damper receiving part(23), and a damper receiving member. The door is rotatably supported by the door damper and the hinge bracket. The hinge bracket connects a lower end of the main body and the door damper. One side of the hinge bracket is fixed on the lower end of the main body by being coupled with a fixing screw(1). Another side of the hinge bracket is elongated forward and is coupled to the shaft of the door damper. The damper receiving member forms the damper receiving part on a lower part of the door for coupling the door damper to the door.

Description

Refrigerator {REFRIGERATOR}

      1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a refrigerator according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

      Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the structure of the refrigerator compartment door in the refrigerator of Figure 1;

      Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a door damper is installed in the refrigerator according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

      Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of the door damper in FIG.

      5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line I-I when the door damper is installed in FIG.

      6 is a perspective view showing a part of the configuration of the refrigerator according to the second embodiment of the present invention;

      7 is a perspective view showing a part of the configuration of the refrigerator according to the third embodiment of the present invention;

      * Description of symbols on the main parts of the drawings *

      10: body 14, 20, 50: door

      23: damper accommodating part 23a, 23b: free space

      30: decorative panel 40: hinge bracket

      60: fixing member 61: fixing flange

      62: reinforcement bracket 70: trim chassis

      100: door damper

      The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly to a refrigerator having a door damper to automatically close the door for opening and closing the storage compartment.

      In general, a refrigerator has a storage compartment for storing food and a door for opening and closing the storage compartment. The user opens and closes the door from time to time to put the food in or out of the storage room. In the process, if the door is left open by mistake, the loss of cold can cause the problem of preservation of the stored matter, and the energy loss is also great. .

Therefore, in recent years, the above-mentioned problem has been solved by mounting a door damper on a refrigerator to allow the door to be automatically closed even if the user does not completely close the door.

      Such a door damper is usually inserted into the door from the upper or lower side of the door. In particular, when the door damper is installed from the lower side of the door, replacement of the door damper is not easy. In other words, since the bottom of the door is adjacent to the floor of the room, it is not possible to pull out the broken door damper directly below, and it is inconvenient to replace the door damper after tilting the entire refrigerator or removing the door from the refrigerator. Will be.

      Then, it takes a lot of time to replace the door damper, which not only puts a lot of time and money on the consumer, but also the consumer has to bear the inconvenience of rearranging the inside of the refrigerator before and after the repair of the door damper.

      The present invention is to solve such a problem, it is an object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator to facilitate the replacement operation of the door damper by improving the installation structure of the door damper.

A refrigerator according to the present invention for achieving the above object is a main body having a storage compartment, a door mounted on the main body to open and close the storage compartment, and accommodated in the door to provide the force required to close the door. A refrigerator having a door damper, wherein the door is provided with a damper accommodating part in which the front side of the door is opened to separate the door damper to the outside through the front of the door.

The damper accommodating part is provided under the door, the refrigerator further includes a hinge bracket on one side of which is hinged to the door damper, and the other side is fixed to the main body, and the damper accommodating part is to separate the door damper. The door damper has a free space provided above the door damper to lift up the door damper to be removed from the hinge bracket.

The refrigerator may further include a cover member covering an open front surface of the damper accommodating part, and the cover member may be configured as a decorative panel disposed at the front of the door to decorate the door.

      In addition, the refrigerator according to the present invention includes a main body having a storage compartment, a door for opening and closing the storage compartment, a door damper installed under the front surface of the door to impart a closing force to the door, and fixing the door damper to the door. And a cover member coupled to the door to cover the outer surface of the door damper.

      The refrigerator further includes a hinge bracket on one side of which is hinged to the door damper, the other side of which is fixed to the main body, and the fixing member comprises a fixing flange extending in a horizontal direction from the door damper. A flange receiving portion for receiving the fixed flange when the door damper is coupled, wherein the flange receiving portion is formed to lift the door damper up and out of the hinge bracket when the door damper is separated from the door; Has

      The fixing member may include a fixing bracket coupled to the front of the door with the door damper interposed therebetween.

      The cover member may be configured as a trim chassis covering the side of the door and the outer surface of the door damper.

      Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a refrigerator according to a first embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the structure of the refrigerator compartment door in the refrigerator of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, the refrigerator according to the present invention has a freezing compartment 12 and a refrigerating compartment 13 which are mutually partitioned by an intermediate partition 11 inside the main body 10, and the freezing compartment 12 and the refrigerating compartment ( 13 is opened and closed by the freezing chamber door 14 and the refrigerating chamber door 20 which are rotatably coupled to the main body 10.

The upper ends of the freezer door 14 and the refrigerating chamber door 20 are rotatably supported by hinge devices 15 mounted on the upper front side of the main body 10, respectively. Since the installation structures of the freezer door 14 and the refrigerating chamber door 20 are substantially the same, the following description will focus on the installation example of the refrigerating chamber door 20.

As shown in FIG. 2, the door 20 has a door case 21 forming an outer shape and a foamable heat insulating material 22 inside the door case 21. In addition, the front of the door 20 is decorated with a decorative panel 30 that provides a beautiful appearance by decorating the door. The decorative panel 30 is supported by side chassis 31, 32, upper chassis 33 (see FIG. 1) and lower chassis 34 which are respectively coupled to both sides, the top and the bottom of the refrigerating chamber door 20. These chassis 31, 32, 33, 34 are provided with support ribs 31a, 32a, and 34a, respectively, to support the front surface of the decorative panel 30. The support ribs formed on the upper chassis 33 are not shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The hole 34a formed in the lower chassis 34 is to allow the screw fixed to the lower surface of the door 20 to be released under the lower chassis 34 when the door damper 100 to be described later is removed.

Under the door 20, the door damper 100, which rotatably supports the door 20 and imparts rotational force in the closing direction when the door 20 is opened, allows the door 20 to be automatically closed. Is installed. To this end, the door 20 has a damper accommodating portion 23 formed to accommodate the door damper 100. More detailed description of the configuration and installation structure of the door damper 100 will be described later.

3 is an exploded perspective view showing a door damper installed in the refrigerator according to the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of the door damper in FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a door damper in FIG. 3. Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view along the line I-I when is installed. In FIG. 3, the decorative panel and the lower chassis of FIG. 2 are omitted for convenience of illustration.

3 to 5, the door 20 is rotatably supported by the door damper 100 and a hinge bracket 40 connecting the lower end of the main body 10 and the door damper 100. . The hinge bracket 40 has one side fixed to the lower end of the main body 10 through the fastening of the fixing screw 1, and the other side extending forward is coupled to the shaft 110 under the door damper 100. Therefore, the door 20 may be rotatably supported.

A damper accommodating member 24 forming a damper accommodating part 23 may be formed at a lower portion of the door 20 to which the door damper 100 is coupled so that the door damper 100 may be inserted into the door 20. Is installed. In particular, in the present invention, the damper accommodating part 23 is formed to open the front side of the door 20 so that the door damper 100 can be separated to the outside through the front of the door 20. When the damper accommodating part 23 separates the door damper 100, the damper accommodating part 23 lifts the door damper 100 upward so that the shaft 110 can be pulled out of the hinge bracket 40 so that the damper accommodating part 23 has a free space 23a. )

Thus, as the damper accommodating part 23 is configured to open in the front direction of the door 20, the refrigerator according to the present invention has a cover member covering the open front of the damper accommodating part 23 for appearance. In the embodiment, the decorative panel 30 installed on the front of the door 20 also has a function as a cover member.

Meanwhile, the reinforcing member 25 is installed in the lower side of the door case 21 to which the door damper 100 is fastened.

The door damper 100 is installed to rotate relative to the cylindrical casing 120 and the casing 120 inserted into the damper accommodating part 23, and a lower portion extending out of the casing 120 is fixed to the hinge bracket 40. A shock absorbing unit is provided in the casing 120 to impart a closing force to the shaft 110 and the door 20 and to delay the closing operation. In addition, the door damper 100 has a fastening portion 130 in the form of a flange on the lower portion of the casing 120 to be fixed to the lower door 20.

When the door damper 100 is installed in the door 20, the fastening screw 2 is fastened to the fastening part 130 by inserting the door damper 100 through the open front surface of the damper accommodating part 23. Can be fixed The fixing screw 2 fixing the fastening part 130 may be fastened to the reinforcing member 25 embedded in the door 20 so that the door damper 100 may be firmly supported by the door 20. As described above, a free space 23b having a predetermined height is provided at the upper portion of the fastening part 130 in a state in which the fastening part 130 is fixed. This is the door damper 100 upwards for separation of the door damper 100. When lifting the fastening portion 130 is to prevent the interference with the damper receiving member 24.

The casing 120 of the door damper 100 includes a cylindrical member 121 having an upper end closed, and a cap 122 fastened to a lower end of the cylindrical member 121 by a screwing method. The fastening part 130 of the door damper 100 is integrally provided with the cap 122. The shaft 110 extends below the cap 122 through the through hole 123 of the cap 122 so as to be fixed to the hinge bracket 40, and is coupled to the casing 120 so as to be relatively rotatable. Therefore, in the state in which the door damper 100 is mounted to the door 20, the shaft 110 is not rotated because it is fixed to the hinge bracket 40, but the casing 120 rotates together with the door 20.

The shock absorbing unit inside the casing 120 is a cylindrical cam member 140 having a spiral groove 141, and is installed to be retractable in the casing 120 while the lower portion enters the cam member 140. Piston 150 to which the protrusions 151 entering the 141 is coupled, guide means for guiding the piston 150 retractably while limiting the rotation of the piston 150 with respect to the casing 120, the piston 150 It includes a spring 160 installed in the casing 120 to press the cam toward the cam 140.

The piston 150 is provided with a stepped partition 152 protruding from the outer surface to partition the inside of the casing 120 into upper and lower portions, and buffers when the door 20 is opened and closed in the inner space of the casing 120. Oil is filled. In addition, the partition 152 is provided with a distribution hole 153 through which oil flows when the piston 150 moves forward and backward.

The guide means is elongated in the longitudinal direction in the piston 150, the guide groove 171 having a first flat portion 171a for limiting the rotation, and the retractable coupling to the guide groove 171, the first plane on the outer surface And a guide rod 172 having a second planar portion 172a corresponding to the portion 171a. The guide rod 172 is fixed to the casing 120 in a limited rotation. To this end, a fixing plate 173 having a third planar portion 173a is coupled to an outer circumference at an upper end of the guide rod 172, and the fixing plate 173 is fixed to the inner upper portion of the casing 120 with limited rotation.

The operation in the state in which the door damper 100 is mounted to the door 20 is as follows.

As shown in FIG. 5, in the state in which the door 20 is closed, the piston 150 maintains the lowered state by the extension force of the spring 160. Therefore, the protrusions 151 coupled to the lower portion of the piston 150 are located under the spiral groove 141.

When the door 20 is opened in this state, the casing 120 of the door damper 100 rotates together with the door 20. In addition, as the casing 120 rotates, the guide rod 172 rotates, and the piston 150 rotates by the rotation of the guide rod 172. At this time, the cam member 140 inside the casing 120 is connected to the shaft 110 fixed to the hinge bracket 40 and thus does not rotate. Therefore, since the protrusions 151 under the piston 150 move along the spiral groove 141, the piston 150 rises, and the spring 160 is compressed as the piston 150 rises.

When the user releases the hand while the door 20 is opened, the protrusions 151 of the lower part of the piston 36 are spiraled because the piston 150 is being pushed downward by the extension force of the spring 160. It moves downward along the groove 141. At this time, the protrusions 151 are rotated along the spiral groove 141, causing the rotation of the piston 150, the rotational force of the piston 150 through the guide rod 172 and the casing 120 through the door ( 20). Thus, the door 20 is closed automatically. In the opening and closing process of the door 20, the oil inside the casing 120 delays the movement of the piston 150 in the up and down direction so that the door 20 operates smoothly.

When the door damper 100 needs repair or replacement due to a failure of the door damper 100, the door damper 100 is separated to the outside without the door 20 being separated from the main body 10 through the following process. I can do it.

(1) First, remove the side chassis 31 installed in the door 20. Then, the decorative panel 30 can be pushed by a predetermined distance in the direction of the separated side chassis 31, and then the door damper 100 is exposed to the outside through the open front surface of the damper accommodating part 23 ( See FIG. 2).

(2) Then loosen the set screw (2) for fixing the fastening portion of the door 20 and the door damper (100). The door damper 100 is then placed in a state that can be separated from the door 20.

(3) Then, when the worker puts his hand in the damper accommodating part 23 and lifts the door damper 100 upward, the shaft 110 of the door damper 100 is removed from the hinge bracket 40 and the door damper 100 is removed. Separated to the outside.

6 is a perspective view showing a part of the configuration of the refrigerator according to the second embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment relates to the installation structure of the door damper 100 suitable for application to the door of the built-in refrigerator. Hereinafter, only characteristic matters will be described in comparison with the case of the first embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 6, the refrigerator according to the present exemplary embodiment includes a door damper 100 installed in a form leading to a lower portion of the front surface of the door 50, and a door damper 100 for fixing the door damper 100 to the door 50. It has a fixing member 60, and a cover member coupled to the door 50 to cover the outer surface of the door damper 100 drawn to the front of the door 50 to make the appearance beautiful. At this time, the fixing member 60 may be composed of a fixing flange 61 extending in the horizontal direction from the bottom to the door damper 100, the door 50 is a fixed plan when the door damper 100 is fixed It has a flange accommodating part 51 so that the edge 61 can be accommodated. In particular, the flange accommodating part 51 has a free space 51a formed so as to lift the door damper 100 upward when removing the door damper 100 from the door 50 so that the shaft 110 can be pulled out of the hinge bracket 40. Has Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 6, the cover member may include a trim chassis 70 covering the side surface of the door 50 and the outer surface of the door damper 100.

When the door damper 100 is installed as described above, the door damper 100 can be separated in the following manner without the door 50 being separated from the main body 10 at the time of the failure of the door damper 100. That is, the trim chassis 70 is detached from the door 50 to expose the door damper 100 to the outside, and then the fixing screw 2 is loosened and the door damper 100 is lifted up to open the door damper 100 to the door 50. Can be removed from the front or side of the panel.

7 is a perspective view showing a part of a configuration of a refrigerator according to a third embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is a modification of the embodiment of FIG. 6, and differs from the embodiment of FIG. 6 in a structure in which the door damper 100 is fixed to the door 50. In FIG. 7, components having the same function as the embodiment of FIG. 6 are denoted by the same reference numerals as in the case of FIG. 6, and redundant descriptions thereof are omitted.

As shown in FIG. 7, the door damper 100 is fixed to the door 50 by a fixing bracket 62 coupled to the front of the door 50 with the door damper 100 interposed therebetween. . At this time, the fixing bracket 62 allows the door 50 and the casing 120 of the door damper 100 to be in close contact with each other so that a relative movement between the door 50 and the casing 120 of the door damper 100 is achieved. It should be designed so that it does not occur. When the door damper 100 is installed in such a structure, there is an advantage in that a separate groove is not formed in the door 50 and the separation of the door damper 100 is easier.

      As described above, the present invention improves the installation structure of the door damper has the effect that the door damper can be easily separated even if the door is not completely separated from the main body. Therefore, when the door damper breaks down, repair and replacement work can be efficiently performed, thereby reducing the burden on the consumer's time and cost.

Claims (8)

A refrigerator having a main body having a storage compartment, a door mounted to the main body to open and close the storage compartment, and a door damper accommodated in the door to provide a force necessary to close the door, And the door includes a damper accommodating part in which a front side of the door is opened to separate the door damper to the outside through the front of the door. The method of claim 1, The damper accommodating part is provided under the door, the refrigerator further includes a hinge bracket on one side of which is hinged to the door damper, and the other side is fixed to the main body, and the damper accommodating part is to separate the door damper. And a free space provided above the door damper to lift the door damper up and out of the hinge bracket. The method of claim 1, The refrigerator further comprises a cover member covering an open front surface of the damper accommodating portion. The method of claim 3, The cover member is a refrigerator, characterized in that the decorative panel disposed in front of the door to decorate the door.       A main body having a storage compartment, a door for opening and closing the storage compartment, a door damper provided under the front surface of the door to impart a closing force to the door, a fixing member for fixing the door damper to the door, and And a cover member coupled to the door to cover the outer surface of the door damper.       The method of claim 5,       The refrigerator further includes a hinge bracket, one side of which is hinged to the door damper, the other side of which is fixed to the main body,       The fixing member is composed of a fixing flange extending in the horizontal direction from the door damper, the door has a flange receiving portion for receiving the fixing flange when the door damper is coupled,       And the flange accommodating part has a free space formed so as to lift the door damper up and out of the hinge bracket when the door damper is separated from the door.       The method of claim 5,       The fixing member is a refrigerator, characterized in that consisting of a fixing bracket coupled to the front of the door with the door damper therebetween.       The method of claim 5,       The cover member is a refrigerator, characterized in that consisting of a trim chassis covering the side of the door and the outer surface of the door damper.

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