Refrigerator

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016252291-A1
Application number	US-201415030295-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Oct 17, 2014
Priority date	Oct 17, 2013
Publication date	Sep 1, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

A hinge device for a door of a refrigerator, etc. moves the center of rotation of the door by interlocking with the opening/closing operations of the door, while stabilizing the opening/closing operations without any hindrance such as rattling.
The hinge device comprises: a shaft member ( 105 ) which is mounted on a refrigerator main body ( 102 ) and comprises a hinge pin ( 153 ); a bearing member ( 107 ) which is mounted on a door ( 103 ) and comprises a long hole ( 107 b ) which is in contact with the hinge pin ( 153 ) to be relatively movable or relatively rotatable with respect to the hinge pin ( 153 ); and a cam ( 109 ) which is installed on the hinge pin ( 153 ) and constitutes a cam unit (C) by contacting a cam follower ( 107 d ) of the bearing member ( 107 ). The contact between the hinge pin ( 153 ) and the long hole ( 107 b ) and the contact between the cam ( 109 ) and the cam follower ( 107 d ) are constantly maintained without being interrupted by the opening/closing angle conditions of the door ( 103 ) respectively, and the contact between the hinge pin ( 153 ) and the long hole ( 107 b ) cooperates with the cam unit (C) by interlocking with the opening/closing operations of the door ( 103 ), thereby guiding the opening/closing operations of the door ( 103 ).

First claim

1 . A refrigerator comprising:
a refrigerator main body provided with a storage compartment including an opening; a door which opens or closes the storage compartment; and a hinge device provided between the opening and the door, wherein the hinge device includes: a main body side member mounted on the refrigerator main body and provided with a sliding portion; a door side member mounted on the door and provided with a slid portion come into contact with the sliding portion to be respectively movable with respect to the sliding portion; and an intermediate member installed at one direction of the main body side member or the door side member and come into contact with the other direction of the main body side member or the door side member, and wherein, when an opening or closing operation of the door, contact between the sliding portion and the slid portion and contact between the main body side member and the door side member through the intermediate member are in conjunction with each other, and a rotational center of the door with respect to the refrigerator main body moves along a predetermined track with respect to the refrigerator main body.

2 . The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the contact between the sliding portion and the slid portion and the contact between the door side member and the main body side member through the intermediate member are normally maintained at least any case when the door is positioned at a closed position at which the opening is closed, at a position between the closed and a open positions, and at the open position at which the opening is opened.

3 . The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the main body side member, the intermediate member and the door side member include an overlapping region in a widthwise direction of a rotational shaft of the door at least any case when the door is positioned at the closed position, the position between the closed and open positions, and the open position.

4 . The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein:
the hinge device further includes a cam follower which is installed at one direction of the door side member or the main body side member, and is normally in contact with the cam when the door is positioned at the closed position, the position between the closed and open positions, and the open position, the intermediate member is provided with the cam, the sliding portion is provided with a slide pin, the slid portion is provided with a long hole and the slide pin is inserted into the long hole, and the cam and the cam follower moves the slide pin from one end portion of the long hole to the other end portion in conjunction with the opening or closing operation of the door.

5 . The refrigerator of claim 4 , wherein:
the cam is provided with first and second cam portions installed at a circumferential side of the slide pin, the cam follower is provided with first and second follower portions respectively in contact with the first and second cam portions, and the hinge device is provided to normally maintain a contact portion where the first follower portion is in contact with the first cam portion, a contact portion where an inner circumferential surface of the long hole is in contact with an outer circumferential surface of the slide pin, and a contact portion where the second follower portion is in contact with the second cam portion when the door is positioned at the closed position, the open position, and the position between the closed and the open positions.

6 . The refrigerator of claim 5 , wherein:
the first cam portion includes:
a first positioning surface which comes in contact with the first follower portion to maintain the door to be positioned at the closed position;
a first cam surface which comes into contact with the first follower portion to move the slide pin from the one end portion of the long hole to the other end portion; and
a first guide surface having an arc shape centralized by the slide pin positioned at the other end portion of the long hole,
the first follower portion is provided to sequentially move in a state in which the first follower portion comes into contact with the first positioning surface, the first cam surface, and the first guide surface when the door is opened from the closed position, the second cam portion includes:
a second positioning surface which comes into contact with the second follower portion to maintain the door to be positioned at the closed position;
a second cam surface which comes into contact with the second follower portion to move the slide pin from the one end portion of the long hole to the other end portion; and
a second guide surface having an arc shape centralized by the slide pin positioned at the other end portion of the long hole, and
the second follower portion is provided to sequentially move in a state in which the second follower portion comes into contact with the first positioning surface, the second cam surface, and the second guide surface when the door is opened from the closed position.

7 . The refrigerator of claim 4 , wherein:
the door side member includes a stopper portion which comes into contact with the main body side member to maintain the door to be positioned at the open position, and the cam is provided to move the slide pin from the one end portion of the long hole to the other end portion and a distance between a contact portion where the stopper portion comes into contact with the main body side member and the slide pin when the door is opened from the closed position is greater than a distance between a contact portion where the stopper portion comes into contact with the main body side member and the slide pin when the door is positioned at the closed position.

8 . The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein:
the intermediate member is provided as a link member which is supported by the main body side member to be pivotable about a fixed pin provided on the main body side member and is supported by the door side member to be pivotable about a swing pin provided on the door side member, and the sliding portion and the slid portion are provided as a slide unit which guides a track of the door side member with respect to the main body side member.

9 . The refrigerator of claim 8 , wherein the swing pin is provided between the fixed pin and a side surface portion of the refrigerator main body.

10 . The refrigerator of claim 8 , wherein, when the door is opened from the closed position at which the opening is closed, the slide unit guides both of the door side member and the link member to rotate about the fixing pin as a main rotational shaft with respect to the main body side member in a range between the closed position and a middle position where the door rotates a predetermined angle from the closed position, and guides the door side member to rotate about the swing pin as a main rotational shaft with respect to the link member in a range between the middle position and an open position where the door opens the opening.

11 . The refrigerator of claim 10 , wherein the slide unit includes:
a slide pin mounted on the main body side member; and a slide hole installed in the door side member, into which the slide pin is inserted and movably provided, wherein the slide hole is provided to have a curvature at a range in which the door moves from the closed position to the middle position is less than a curvature at a range in which the door moves from the middle position to the open position.

12 . The refrigerator of claim 8 , wherein the main body side member includes a swing pin guide hole provided with a long hole which guides rotation of the link member about the fixed pin,

Assignees

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Kikuchi Manabu
• Suzuki Toshiaki

Classifications

• E05Y2800/422

  against vibration or noise · CPC title

• E05Y2800/122

  Telescopic action · CPC title

• E05Y2201/638

  Cams; Ramps · CPC title

• E05D11/06

  Devices for limiting the opening movement of hinges · CPC title

• E05Y2900/31

  for refrigerators · CPC title