Refrigerator door with replaceable door panel

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12339055-B2
Application number	US-202118012972-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 18, 2021
Priority date	Jun 30, 2020
Publication date	Jun 24, 2025
Grant date	Jun 24, 2025

Abstract

A refrigerator door has a replaceable door panel. The refrigerator door includes a door body, a door panel, and a handle portion; wherein the door body is detachably connected to the door panel via the handle portion; the handle portion comprises: a handle groove formed by inwardly recessing from a sidewall surface of the door body, the handle groove having a side opening portion, a wall surface of the door body being further provided with a front opening portion running through the handle groove; the handle portion further comprises a cover plate disposed on a rear wall surface of the door panel and at least sealing part of the front opening portion; the cover plate comprises: a first baffle closing the front opening portion and a second baffle extending from the first baffle towards the handle groove; the second baffle is snap-fitted with a bottom wall of the handle groove.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A refrigerator door, comprising a door body, a door panel, and a handle portion formed at an interface of the door body and the door panel and disposed close to edges of the door body and the door panel;
wherein the door body is detachably connected to the door panel via the handle portion;
the handle portion comprises a handle, a handle groove provided on the handle, the handle groove having a side opening portion formed on a sidewall surface of the handle, a wall surface of the handle being further provided with a front opening portion;
the handle portion further comprises a cover plate disposed on a rear wall surface of the door panel and at least sealing part of the front opening portion; the cover plate comprises: a first baffle connected to the door panel and a second baffle extending from the first baffle towards the handle groove;
the second baffle is inserted into a bottom wall of the handle groove to achieve the detachable connection of the door body and the door panel;
wherein the door body further comprises a hook-catching portion embedded into an interior of the door body from a wall surface of the door body, the hook-catching portion being located in a different part of the door relative to the handle portion;
the door panel further comprises a hook disposed on the rear wall surface of the door panel and engaging the hook-catching portion;
the hook-catching portion comprises a first groove formed by recessing from the wall surface of the door body towards the interior of the door body, and the first groove has a first surface disposed close to an upper end of the door body, a second surface connected to the first surface and disposed close to a lower end of the door body, and a third surface and a fourth surface connected to the first surface and second surface, respectively;
the first surface is an inclined surface disposed inclined from down to up and towards outside the first groove;
the hook-catching portion further comprises: a first inclined surface spaced apart from at least one of the third surface and the fourth surface and protruding from the second surface towards the first surface, where the first surface and the first inclined surface are parallel to each other, a first sliding groove is formed between the first surface and the first inclined surface, and an entrance to the first sliding groove is formed between ends of first surface and the first inclined surface facing towards the wall surface of the door body; a second sliding groove is formed between one sidewall of the first inclined surface and the third surface, a third sliding groove is formed between another sidewall of the first inclined surface and the fourth surface;
the hook comprises: a first sliding rod spaced from the door panel, and two second sliding rods connecting the first sliding rod with the door panel respectively, the two second sliding rods perpendicular to the first sliding rod respectively, and the first sliding rod and two second sliding rods are all arranged horizontally;
the first sliding rod is matchingly disposed in the first sliding groove, and spaced apart from the entrance to the first sliding groove; the two second sliding rods are matchingly disposed in the second sliding groove and third sliding groove respectively.

2. The refrigerator door according to claim 1 , wherein the side opening portion is aligned with a top end of the door body or a bottom end of the door body;
the second baffle is disposed exactly above the bottom wall of the handle groove.

3. The refrigerator door according to claim 1 , wherein a first receiving groove is disposed on the bottom wall of the handle groove, and a second boss is disposed on the second baffle, the second boss is configured to be connected in the first receiving groove.

4. The refrigerator door according to claim 3 , wherein a third threaded hole and a fourth threaded hole are respectively disposed at the second boss and the first receiving groove;
the handle groove further comprises: a bolt which is mated with the third threaded hole and the fourth threaded hole.

5. The refrigerator door according to claim 4 , wherein the side opening portion is aligned with a top end of the door body, the bottom wall of the handle groove is recessed downward to form a third receiving groove which is adjacent to the front opening portion, and a bottom wall of the third receiving groove is recessed downward to form the first receiving groove;
the second boss is disposed on a lower end face of the second baffle;
upon the completion of the assembling of the refrigerator door, the second boss is embedded in the first receiving groove; the second baffle is embedded in the third receiving groove.

6. The refrigerator door according to claim 1 , wherein a stopper is disposed extending from the second surface toward the first surface, and the first inclined surface is formed on the stopper; the stopper further comprises: a second connecting surface disposed close to and perpendicular to the second surface, a third connecting surface disposed close to and parallel to the third surface, and a fourth connecting surface simultaneously connected to the first inclined surface and the second surface;
the fourth connecting surface comprises a first sub-connecting surface perpendicular to the second surface, and a second sub-connecting surface connecting the first sub-connecting surface with the first inclined surface, the second sub-connecting surface being an inclined surface disposed from down to up and inclined inward the first groove.

7. The refrigerator door according to claim 6 , wherein the hook-catching portion further comprises a hook-catching sheet disposed on the wall surface of the door body, a middle portion of the hook-catching sheet being recessed towards the interior of the door body to form the first groove;
a U-shaped boss is disposed on a wall surface of the hook-catching sheet facing towards the door panel and below the first groove, a U-shaped opening of the boss faces towards a top of the door body, and a U-shaped first positioning groove is formed on the wall surface of the hook-catching sheet facing towards the door panel;
the hook further comprises a fixing plate disposed on the rear wall surface of the door panel, a raised sheet protrudes in a middle of the fixing plate towards the door body, and the second sliding rods are disposed on the raised sheet;
a second positioning groove is formed by inwardly recessing from a surface of the raised sheet facing towards the door body, below each first sliding rod;
the refrigerator door further comprises a magnetic attraction sheet and an iron sheet which cooperate with each other in a magnetically-attractive manner;
the magnetic attraction sheet is disposed at a position on the wall surface of the hook-catching sheet in the interior of the door body, at a position corresponding to the first positioning groove, and the iron sheet is disposed protrudingly from a bottom surface of the second positioning groove towards outward the second positioning groove;
upon completion of the mounting of the refrigerator door, the iron sheet disposed in the second positioning groove is at least partially embedded in the first positioning groove.

8. The refrigerator door according to claim 1 , wherein a first boss is disposed on the bottom wall of the handle groove, and a second receiving groove is disposed on the second baffle, the first boss is configured to be connected in the second receiving groove.

9. The refrigerator door according to claim 8 , wherein a first threaded hole is disposed at the first boss, and a second threaded hole is disposed at the second receiving groove;
the handle groove further comprises: a bolt wh

Assignees

• Chongqing Haier Refrigeration Electric Appliance Co Ltd
• Qingdao haier refrigerator co ltd
• Haier Smart Home Co Ltd

Inventors

• Li Xiaofeng
• Wang Wenchun
• Zhang Hao
• Xia Enpin
• Li Kang

Classifications

• A47B2096/209

  Magnetic decorative panels · CPC title

• A47B2096/208

  Decorative panels for household appliances · CPC title

• A47B96/20

  Furniture panels or like furniture elements · CPC title

• F25D23/028 Primary

  Details · CPC title

• F25D2400/18

  Aesthetic features · CPC title