JP7499014B2 - Insulated refrigerator door and refrigerator - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a heat-insulating refrigerator door and a refrigerator .

Home refrigerators are required to be energy-efficient and low-cost, thanks to their reduced power consumption. Conventionally, the inside of a refrigerator door is filled with urethane foam to insulate the interior from the outside. The highly insulating urethane foam prevents cold air from leaking from inside the refrigerator to the outside.

In addition, the rigidity of the door is ensured by integrating the front and back panels that make up the door with urethane foam. However, to fill the inside of the door with urethane foam, special tools and processes are required to prevent the urethane from leaking out of the door and to prevent the components of the door from deforming due to the foaming pressure of the urethane. Therefore, these special tools and processes can be one of the factors that lead to increased costs of refrigerators.

As a publicly known example of a refrigerator that does not use urethane foam, Patent Document 1 describes how "vacuum insulation material is sandwiched between the inner box and the outer box over almost the entire surface, and insulation material such as polystyrene foam is installed on the inner hollow side of the throat member."
Furthermore, as a publicly known example of a structure for ensuring the rigidity of a refrigerator door, Patent Document 2 describes that "a metal reinforcing plate having a thickness of approximately 1.0 to 2.0 mm is provided along the inner panel of the door."

JP 2013-195009 A (paragraphs 0014, 0015, FIG. 3, etc.) JP 2011-237118 A (paragraphs 0043 to 0047, Figs. 6 and 7, etc.)

Incidentally, in order to contribute to cost reduction of refrigerators, it is required to ensure the rigidity and thermal insulation of the door without using urethane foam inside the door.
In the case of Patent Document 1, urethane foam is not used inside the box, and vacuum insulation material and polystyrene foam are installed to ensure thermal insulation, which may increase costs due to material costs and processing costs.
In the method disclosed in Patent Document 2, a reinforcing plate is provided along the inner panel of the door to improve the rigidity of the door. The inside of the door is filled with urethane foam, which may increase costs due to the process cost.

The present invention has been devised in view of the above-mentioned circumstances with respect to refrigerator doors, and has an object to provide an insulated refrigerator door and a refrigerator that can ensure the rigidity and thermal insulation of the door without using urethane foam.

In order to solve the above problems, the insulated door of a refrigerator of the present invention has a front panel, a back panel facing the front panel, and a drawer rail attached to the outer surface of the back panel, has a plurality of vertical ribs extending from the upper end to the lower end on the inner surface of the back panel and horizontal ribs extending from the left end to the right end on the inner surface of the back panel, and has a fixing boss extending forward from the inner surface of the back panel at a point where the vertical ribs and the horizontal ribs intersect on the inner surface of the back panel, and the back panel and the drawer rail are joined at the fixing boss, the area surrounded by the front panel and the back panel is formed by a space, and the area surrounded by the front panel and the back panel is filled with argon gas or carbon dioxide gas, or is in a vacuum state, or is filled with air.

The refrigerator of the present invention is equipped with the insulating door of the present invention.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a low-cost insulated refrigerator door and a refrigerator while maintaining thermal insulation properties.

1 is a front view of a refrigerator according to a first embodiment of the present invention; 2 is a cross-sectional view of the ice-making compartment door of FIG. 1 taken along line AA. FIG. 13 is a front view of an example back panel. FIG. 13 is a front view of the back panel of another example. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a refrigerator door according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of a refrigerator door according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

The present invention relates to a heat-insulating door and a refrigerator equipped with the same, and is a technology that contributes to improving heat insulation and reducing costs.
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate.

<<Embodiment 1>>

Fig. 1 is a front view of a refrigerator 100 according to a first embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from the front. In Fig. 1 and subsequent figures, the horizontal direction is indicated as the X-axis, the vertical direction is indicated as the Y-axis, and the front-rear direction is indicated as the Z-axis.
Refrigerator 100 is provided with a left refrigerator compartment door 101, a right refrigerator compartment door 102, an ice-making compartment door 103, a quick-freezing compartment door 104, a freezing compartment door 105, and a vegetable compartment door 106 on the front side of box body 100H.
The left refrigerator compartment door 101 is rotatable about the Y axis by hinges provided at the top and bottom of the front left end. The right refrigerator compartment door 102 is rotatable about the Y axis by hinges provided at the top and bottom of the front right end.

The ice-making compartment door 103, the quick-freezing compartment door 104, the freezing compartment door 105, and the vegetable compartment door 106 are each provided with a pull-out rail extending in the front-to-rear direction (the direction toward the front of the paper in FIG. 1). Each door (103, 104, 105, 106) can be pulled out in the Z direction (forward) via the pull-out rail.
In addition, shelves that vertically divide the interior of the refrigerator 100 are provided in the space covered by the box body 100H of the refrigerator 100. Pipes through which a cooling refrigerant flows, cooling devices, etc. are installed in the box body 100H itself.

FIG. 2 is a left cross-sectional view of an example of door 200 of refrigerator 100 according to embodiment 1, showing a cross-sectional view of ice-making compartment door 103 of FIG. 1 cut along line AA.
The door 200 is provided with a front panel 201, an upper panel 202, a lower panel 203, a back panel 204, and a drawer rail 205. The drawer rail 205 is a rail for allowing the door 200 to move in the front-rear direction (the left-right direction in FIG. 2).

Although not shown in Fig. 2, door 200 has a left panel (the rear side of the paper in Fig. 2) and a right panel (the front side of the paper in Fig. 2) that are parallel to the YZ plane. Front panel 201, upper panel 202, lower panel 203, rear panel 204, and the left and right panels are joined together to form space 206 therein. Space 206 is a space for insulating the inside and outside of refrigerator 100. Front panel 201, upper panel 202, lower panel 203, rear panel 204, left panel, and right panel may be integral with each other.
The back plate 204 is formed with a back plate protrusion 204a that protrudes rearward.

The back plate 204 and the drawer rail 205 are joined by fastening a screw 207 onto the back plate protrusion 204a. A fixing boss 204d is formed at the joint of the back plate 204, extending forward in a convex shape. A female thread is threaded into the fixing boss 204d for the screw 207 to be screwed into.

<Ribs (301-306, 401-404)>
On the inside of the plate protrusion 204a, there are provided a plate-shaped vertical rib 204b extending approximately in the Y direction (vertical direction) and a similarly plate-shaped horizontal rib 204c extending approximately in the X direction (horizontal direction).

3 is a front view of a back plate 300 as an example of the back plate 204 (see FIG. 2) seen from the front. FIG. 3 shows an example of the arrangement of vertical ribs 301, 302, 303, 304 and horizontal ribs 305, 306 provided on the inside of the back plate protruding portion 204a shown in FIG.
The back panel 300 is provided with vertical ribs 301, 302, 303, and 304 extending in the Y direction, and horizontal ribs 305 and 306 extending in the X direction. The vertical ribs (301 to 304) and the horizontal ribs 305 and 306 intersect on the front surface of the back panel 300.

The vertical ribs 301, 304 and the horizontal rib 305 are arranged to intersect at each of the screw joints 307, 310 between the drawer rail 205 and the back panel 300. The vertical ribs 302, 303 and the horizontal rib 306 are arranged to intersect at each of the screw joints 308, 309 between the drawer rail 205 and the back panel 300.
The vertical ribs (301-304) and the horizontal ribs 305, 306 intersect with each other, thereby improving the strength of the screw joints 307, 308, 309, 310. Furthermore, if the vertical ribs (301-304) and the horizontal ribs 305, 306 are arranged so as to be substantially perpendicular to each other as shown in Fig. 3, the load applied to the back panel 300 is evenly distributed, improving the rigidity. Furthermore, the vertical ribs (301-304) and the horizontal ribs 305, 306 are easy to design and manufacture.

Fig. 4 is a front view of a back plate 400, which is another example of the back plate 204 (see Fig. 2), seen from the front. Fig. 4 shows an example of the arrangement of vertical ribs 401, 402 and horizontal ribs 403, 404 provided on the inside of the back plate protruding portion 204a (see Fig. 2).
The back panel 400 is provided with vertical ribs 401 and 402 extending obliquely in the Y direction and horizontal ribs 403 and 404 extending in the X direction. The vertical ribs 401 and 402 and the horizontal ribs 403 and 404 intersect on the front surface of the back panel 400.

The vertical rib 401 and the horizontal rib 403 intersect at the screw joint 405, and the vertical rib 401 and the horizontal rib 404 intersect at the screw joint 406. The vertical rib 402 and the horizontal rib 403 intersect at the screw joint 408, and the vertical rib 402 and the horizontal rib 404 intersect at the screw joint 407. That is, each of the ribs 401, 402, 403, and 404 is arranged so that it passes through any two of the two screw joints 405 to 408. Note that each of the ribs 401, 402, 403, and 404 may be arranged so that at least one of them passes through any three or more of the screw joints 401, 402, 403, and 404.

The vertical ribs 401, 402 and the horizontal ribs 403, 404 intersect, improving the strength of the screw joints 405, 406, 407, 408. Also, in the back panel 400, each rib 401, 402, 403, 404 passes through one of the screw joints 405, 406, 407, 408 at two points, improving strength and allowing the number of ribs to be reduced. This reduces material costs, improves productivity, and reduces costs.

The drawer rail 205 (see FIG. 2), the screw joints 307-310 of the back panel 300 shown in FIG. 3, and the screw joints 405-408 of the back panel 400 shown in FIG. 4 are locally deformed due to the weight of food and other items in the cabinet and the pull-out load on the front panel 201 (see FIG. 2).

By disposing ribs (301-306) on the front surface of the back plate 300 and ribs (401-404) on the front surface of the back plate 400 so as to intersect at the screw joints 307-310 shown in Fig. 3 and the screw joints 405-408 shown in Fig. 4, the vicinity of the screw joints 307-310 and 405-408 are strengthened. Therefore, deformation and damage of the screw joints 307-310 and 405-408 can be suppressed.
In addition, as shown in FIG. 4, by taking into consideration the deformation distribution of the back plate 400 and arranging the ribs (401-404) so that they pass through the screw joints 405-408 at multiple points, deformation of the back plate 400 and the screw joints 405-408 can be effectively suppressed, leading to a reduction in the cost of rib materials.

The vertical ribs 301 to 304, 401, 402 and the horizontal ribs 305, 306, 403, 404 may be disposed in positions and directions other than those shown in the examples of rib arrangement in FIG. 3 and FIG.
In addition, the thickness and height (Z direction) of the above-mentioned ribs (301-306, 401-404) are also arbitrary, and the ribs (301-306, 401-404) may be formed to be integrated with the back plate 204 (300, 400) by injection molding or the like, or the ribs (301-306, 401-404) may be joined to the surface of the back plate 204 (300, 400) by adhesive or the like. In addition, the back plate 204 (300, 400) is not limited to a flat plate shape, and may have an uneven shape or a truss structure to increase rigidity. In addition, the method of joining the drawer rail 205 and the back plate 204, 300, 400 is not limited to a screw, and may be joined by fitting, adhesive, or the like.

<Flat plates 208, 209, 210, 211, 212 (see FIG. 2)>
2, flat plates 208, 209, 210, 211, and 212 may be disposed approximately parallel to the XY plane. By dividing the interior of the space 206 with the flat plates 208 to 212, gas convection within the space 206 is suppressed, heat transferability is reduced, and heat insulation is improved. In addition, by using a material with low emissivity, such as aluminum, for the flat plates 208 to 212, radiant heat is suppressed, heat transferability is reduced, and heat insulation is improved. For example, radiant heat may be suppressed by attaching a film with low emissivity, such as aluminum tape, to the surfaces of the resin flat plates 208 to 212.

Furthermore, the thickness, height (Y direction) and number of the flat plates 208 to 212 arranged inside the space 206 are arbitrary, and the distance between the flat plates 208 to 212 may be equal or unequal.
Furthermore, it is not necessary for all of the flat plates 208 to 212 to be made of a material with low emissivity, and each plate may be made of a different material.
The gas inside the space 206 may be air, or may be filled with argon gas, carbon dioxide gas, or other gas with low thermal conductivity. The presence of argon gas, carbon dioxide gas, or other gas with low thermal conductivity improves the heat insulation of the door 200.

The inside of space 206 may also be placed in a vacuum state, which further improves the insulation properties.

According to the above-mentioned embodiment 1, urethane foam is not used inside the door (103, 200). Therefore, there is no need for special tools or processes to prevent the urethane from leaking outside the door (103, 200) or to prevent the components of the door (103, 200) from deforming due to the foaming pressure of the urethane. This contributes to reducing the cost of the refrigerator 100.

At screw joints 307-310, 405-408 between the back panel 204 (300, 400) and the drawer rail 205, which receive local loads in the door (103, 200) of the refrigerator 100, ribs (204b, 204c), (301-306), (401-404) that intersect on the surface of the back panel 204 (300, 400) are provided, ensuring the rigidity and strength of the door (103, 200). The space between the back panel 204 (300, 400) and the front panel 201 of the door (103, 200) is generally left empty, and for example, the inside of the space 206 is filled with air to ensure thermal insulation.

The insulation performance can be further improved by filling the space 206 with a gas having a lower thermal conductivity than urethane, or by creating a vacuum state in the space with a low thermal conductivity. Also, the inner surface of the door (103, 200) may be subjected to a surface treatment or the like to reduce heat transfer by radiation.
In addition, since the structure does not use urethane foam, there is no need to consider the adhesion between the urethane and the components of the door (103, 200), which improves the design flexibility of the material and shape of the door (103, 200).

Furthermore, since the inside of the door (103, 200) is entirely empty, the weight of the door (103, 200) is reduced by the weight of the urethane foam. This structure can be generally applied to various structures having a heat insulating function other than the refrigerator 100.
From the above, a technology can be provided that contributes to reducing the cost of the refrigerator 100 while ensuring the rigidity and thermal insulation of the door (103, 200) by using no urethane foam inside the door (103, 200).

<<Embodiment 2>>

FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of a door 500 of a refrigerator 100 according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
The door 500 of the second embodiment has a vacuum insulation material 502 installed in an internal space 501 .
The space 501 is formed and covered by joining together a front panel 505, an upper panel 503, a lower panel 504, a back panel 508, a left panel (not shown) (the rear panel of the page in FIG. 5), and a right panel (the front panel of the page in FIG. 5).
It should be noted that the description of the parts of the door 500 that have the same configurations and functions as those in the first embodiment already described with reference to FIGS. 2, 3, and 4 will be omitted.

The vacuum insulation material 502 is formed, for example, by laying glass wool inside an outer film and drawing a vacuum inside the film. If it is difficult to evacuate the entire space 501 inside the door 500, installing vacuum insulation material 502 partially, as shown in FIG. 5, improves insulation compared to when the space is filled only with air. By providing vacuum insulation material 502 in space 501, heat convection and radiation in space 501 are suppressed. Also, by replacing part of space 501 with vacuum insulation material 502, which has higher insulation properties, heat conduction is suppressed.

In FIG. 5, the vacuum insulation material 502 is shown to be in contact with the upper plate 503 and the lower plate 504, but it does not have to be in contact with either of them, and it may be in contact with the plate-shaped vertical ribs 506 and plate-shaped horizontal ribs 507 provided on the front plate 505 and the back plate 508, and the plate-shaped back plate 508.

2 may be used in combination with the vacuum insulation material 502 to suppress convection and radiation. The inner surface of the door 500 may be subjected to a surface treatment or the like to suppress heat transfer due to radiation.
<<Embodiment 3>>

FIG. 6 shows a cross-sectional view of a door 600 of a refrigerator 100 according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
In the door 600 of the third embodiment, a heat insulating block 602 is installed in an internal space 601 .
The space 601 is formed by joining and covering a front panel 605, an upper panel 603, a lower panel 604, a back panel 606, and a left panel (not shown) (the rear panel of the page in FIG. 6) and a right panel (the front panel of the page in FIG. 6).
Regarding the door 600, the description of the parts having the same configurations and functions as those in the first embodiment already described with reference to FIGS. 2, 3, and 4 will be omitted.

The heat insulating block 602 is formed, for example, by molding urethane into a block shape, and the material is preferably one that has a lower thermal conductivity than air. For example, polystyrene foam is used instead of urethane. It is needless to say that materials other than urethane and polystyrene foam can be used for the heat insulating block 602.
By installing the insulating block 602 in a part of the space 601, the insulating properties are improved compared to when the inside of the space 601 is filled only with air. In addition, by arranging the insulating block 602 so as to be in contact with any of the plates forming the space 601, the rigidity of the door 600 is improved.

In FIG. 6, the insulating block 602 is shown to be in contact with parts of the upper plate 603, the lower plate 604, the front plate 605, and the back plate 606, but it does not have to be in contact with any of them, and it may be in contact with the plate-shaped vertical rib 607 and the plate-shaped horizontal rib 608.

Furthermore, together with the insulating block 602, flat plates 208 to 212 for suppressing convection and radiation as described in FIG. 2 may be used. Furthermore, multiple insulating blocks 602 may be arranged within the space 601.

By using each of the above-described embodiments, the door (103, 200, 500, 600) does not use urethane foam inside, and the rigidity and thermal insulation of the door (103, 200, 500, 600) are ensured, while contributing to cost reduction of the refrigerator 100. This structure can be generally applied to various structures having thermal insulation functions other than the refrigerator 100.

<<Other embodiments>>
1. In the above-mentioned first to third embodiments, the configuration of the present invention is applied to the ice-making compartment door 103, but the configuration of the present invention may be applied to any of the following doors other than the ice-making compartment door 103: the left refrigerator compartment door 101, the right refrigerator compartment door 102, the quick freezing compartment door 104, the freezing compartment door 105, and the vegetable compartment door 106.
2. In the first embodiment, the vertical ribs 204b (301-304, 506, 607) extend in the vertical direction, but may extend in other directions. By extending the vertical ribs 204b (301-304, 506, 607) in one direction, the rigidity of the door (103, 200, 500, 600) in that direction is improved.

3. If the door (103, 200, 500, 600) described in the first to third embodiments is applied to the refrigerator 100, the refrigerator 100 can have the same effects as those of the door (103, 200, 500, 600).
4. The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments 1 to 3, and various modified examples are included. For example, the above-mentioned examples have been described in detail to clearly explain the present invention, and are not necessarily limited to those having all of the configurations described. In addition, it is possible to replace a part of the configuration of one example with the configuration of another example, and it is also possible to add the configuration of another example to the configuration of one example. In addition, it is possible to add, delete, or replace a part of the configuration of each example with another configuration.

100 Refrigerator 103 Ice compartment door (insulated door)
200, 500, 600 Door (Insulated Door)
201, 505, 605 Front plate 202, 503, 603 Upper plate 203, 504, 604 Lower plate 204, 300, 400, 508, 606 Back plate 204a Back plate protrusion (back plate)
204b, 301, 302, 303, 304, 401, 402, 506, 607 Vertical rib (rib, rib extending on the plate surface of the back plate)
204c, 305, 306, 403, 404, 507, 608 Horizontal rib (rib)
205 Drawer rail 206, 501, 601 Space 208, 209, 210, 211, 212 Flat plate 307, 308, 309, 310, 405, 406, 407, 408 Screw joint (intersection point)
502 Vacuum insulation material 602 Insulation block (insulation body)

Claims (9)

A drawer includes a front panel, a back panel facing the front panel, and a drawer rail attached to an outer surface of the back panel,
A vertical rib extending from the upper end to the lower end on the inner surface of the back plate and a horizontal rib extending from the left end to the right end on the inner surface of the back plate are provided.
A fixing boss is provided at a location where the vertical rib and the horizontal rib intersect on the inner surface of the back plate, the fixing boss extending forward from the inner surface of the back plate,
The back plate and the drawer rail are joined at the fixing boss,
The area surrounded by the front panel and the back panel is formed as a space,
An insulating door for a refrigerator, wherein an area surrounded by the front panel and the back panel is filled with argon gas or carbon dioxide gas, is in a vacuum state, or is filled with air. A drawer includes a front panel, a back panel facing the front panel, and a drawer rail attached to an outer surface of the back panel,
A vertical rib extending from the upper end to the lower end on the inner surface of the back plate and a horizontal rib extending from the left end to the right end on the inner surface of the back plate are provided.
A fixing boss is provided at a location where the vertical rib and the horizontal rib intersect on the inner surface of the back plate, the fixing boss extending forward from the inner surface of the back plate, and the back plate and the drawer rail are joined at the fixing boss,
A vacuum insulation material is provided between the front panel and the back panel,
A heat-insulating door for a refrigerator , wherein an area surrounded by the front panel and the back panel is formed as a space. A drawer includes a front panel, a back panel facing the front panel, and a drawer rail attached to an outer surface of the back panel,
A vertical rib extending from the upper end to the lower end on the inner surface of the back plate and a horizontal rib extending from the left end to the right end on the inner surface of the back plate are provided.
A fixing boss is provided at a location where the vertical rib and the horizontal rib intersect on the inner surface of the back plate, the fixing boss extending forward from the inner surface of the back plate, and the back plate and the drawer rail are joined at the fixing boss,
A heat insulator formed in a block shape is provided between the front panel and the back panel,
A heat-insulating door for a refrigerator , wherein an area surrounded by the front panel and the back panel is formed as a space. A drawer includes a front panel, a back panel facing the front panel, and a drawer rail attached to an outer surface of the back panel,
A vertical rib extending from the upper end to the lower end on the inner surface of the back plate and a horizontal rib extending from the left end to the right end on the inner surface of the back plate are provided.
A fixing boss is provided at a location where the vertical rib and the horizontal rib intersect on the inner surface of the back plate, the fixing boss extending forward from the inner surface of the back plate, and the back plate and the drawer rail are joined at the fixing boss,
At least one flat plate is disposed between the front plate and the back plate and is substantially parallel to the front plate,
The area surrounded by the front panel and the back panel is formed as a space,
An insulating door for a refrigerator, wherein an area surrounded by the front panel and the back panel is filled with argon gas or carbon dioxide gas, is in a vacuum state, or is filled with air. In the heat-insulating door of the refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
the vertical ribs and the horizontal ribs are arranged on a plate surface of the back plate so as to be substantially perpendicular to each other. In the heat-insulating door of the refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
the vertical rib and the horizontal rib are arranged so as to pass through two or more points where the back panel and the drawer rail are joined. In the heat-insulating door of the refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The thermal insulation door of a refrigerator , wherein the vertical rib extends in a vertical direction. In the heat-insulating door of the refrigerator according to claim 2 or 3,
An insulating door for a refrigerator , wherein an area surrounded by the front panel and the back panel is filled with argon gas or carbon dioxide gas, or is in a vacuum state. A refrigerator comprising the heat-insulating door according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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