US20160097580A1

US20160097580A1 - Refrigerator door having multiple stop positions

Info

Publication number: US20160097580A1
Application number: US14/567,967
Authority: US
Inventors: Jae Uk LEE
Original assignee: Dongbu Daewoo Electronics Corp
Current assignee: WiniaDaewoo Co Ltd
Priority date: 2014-10-06
Filing date: 2014-12-11
Publication date: 2016-04-07
Also published as: KR20160040802A; CN105783394A

Abstract

A refrigerator and a method of removing a stored item from the refrigerator. A hinge device couples the refrigerator door to the refrigerator main frame and can control the door to be opened in a multiple stepwise manner. The hinge device includes a compressive member and a hinge bracket having a protruding portion. When the door is pulled by a user to rotate to a first rotation angle, the compressible member comes into contact with the protruding portion of the hinge bracket and thereby blocks further motion thereof. At the first rotation angle, if the user applies additional rotational force on the door, the compressible member can be compressed such that it releases the protruding portion for further motion, thereby allowing the door to be opened to a wider angle.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims benefit and priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2014-0134161, filed on Oct. 6, 2014, with the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a refrigerator and a method of using the same, and more particularly, to doors of a refrigerator.

BACKGROUND

In general, a refrigerator is an apparatus that keeps food items cold or frozen using refrigerant circulating in a cooling cycle. In a refrigerator, a cooling system is installed at the back of a freezing chamber, and cold air is circulated within the refrigerator by a fan.
A refrigerator has a storage chamber for storing food items or other types of items. The temperature in the storage chamber is maintained at a certain range as required to keep the food fresh. The storage chamber usually includes a freezing chamber and a refrigerating chamber which are maintained at different temperature ranges.
Refrigerators can be classified into different types, including high-grade type and general type based on the number of freezing chambers or refrigerating chambers, their size, and their price, etc.
Typically, general type refrigerators are much more inexpensive and thus economic for home use, but usually lack many convenient features and functions that are available in the high-grade type refrigerators. In particular, high-grade type refrigerators are usually equipped with a home bar dedicated for storing beverages and having its own door so that users can conveniently access beverages without exposing other stored items to ambient room temperature. Unfortunately, this feature is not typically provided in general type refrigerators due to the associated high manufacturing cost. To access a beverage stored in a general type refrigerator, a user has to open the refrigerator door, which inevitably exposes the entire storage room to ambient room temperature and causes unwanted cold air escape from the storage chamber.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure is directed to a refrigerator enabling a user to conveniently access intended items stored therein while preventing unnecessary loss of cold air from the refrigerator.
An exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure provides a refrigerator including: a refrigerator main body having a storage chamber; a door covering the storage chamber of the refrigerator main body; and an open angle adjusting hinge device installed on the refrigerator main body. The hinge device is coupled to one side of the door and operable to automatically control an open angle at which the door is stopped at.
The door may include a beverage container compartment installed on the interior side of the door and adjacent to the unhinged edge of the door. The beverage container can accommodate one or more beverage containers. A plurality of door baskets for supporting the beverage containers may be installed in the beverage container compartment.
The beverage container compartment may be installed to be elongated vertically along the unhinged side of the door. The plurality of the door baskets may be arranged vertically in a longitudinal direction of the beverage container compartment.
The open angle adjusting hinge device may include: a hinge shaft which is a rotation center of the door; a hinge bracket having a protruding portion protruding away from the hinge shaft; and a compressible member (or an elastic catching portion) coupled to the door so that the protruding portion of the hinge bracket is blocked (or caught) by the compressible member as the door is rotated to a first rotation angle. The hinge bracket is coupled to the refrigerator main body and supports the hinge shaft.
By using the open angle adjusting hinge device, the door may be opened in a multiple stepwise manner. For example, when the door is first pulled open by a user from a closed state, it can automatically stop at an acute first rotation angle. Then, if the user applies additional rotational force to the door, the door can be opened wider until a much greater second rotation angle is reached.
When the door is opened to the first rotation angle, the protruding portion of the hinge bracket may be blocked by the compressible member. When the door is opened to a wider angle until the second rotation angle (a second stop angle) is reached, the protruding portion of the hinge bracket may pass over the compressible member while the compressible member is in a compressed state. The first rotation angle may be within a range of 15 degrees to 25 degrees.
According to embodiments of the present disclosure, a user may advantageously place frequently accessed items adjacent to the free edge of the door. Thus these items can be later accessed while the door automatically stops at the acute first stop position, e.g., a half open position. A user can advantageously and conveniently access intended items therein without causing unnecessary loss of cold air from the refrigerator.
The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of an exemplary refrigerator design according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of the exemplary refrigerator of FIG. 1 with the door in the fully open position.

FIG. 3 illustrates a top view of the configuration of an exemplary hinge configuration of the refrigerator door according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of the refrigerator door in FIG. 1 in an operational state.

FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrates the hinge configuration of the exemplary refrigerator door of FIG. 1 in different operational states.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawing, which form a part hereof. The illustrative embodiments described in the detailed description, drawings, and claims are not meant to be limiting. Other embodiments may be utilized, and other changes may be made, without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matter presented here.
Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the technical field to which the present disclosure pertains may easily carry out the exemplary embodiments. The present disclosure may be implemented in various different forms, and is not limited to the exemplary embodiments described herein.
It should be noted that the drawings are schematically illustrated, and the scales of the drawings may be different from the actual scales. Relative dimensions and ratios of the parts illustrated in the drawings may be exaggerated or reduced in terms of sizes thereof for clarification of the drawings and convenience, and any dimension is only illustrative, and is not limited thereto. The same structures, elements or components illustrated in two or more drawings are designated by the same reference numerals so as to illustrate similar features.
The exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is specifically disclosed as an ideal exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. As a result, various modifications of the drawings are expected. Therefore, the exemplary embodiment is not limited to specific forms in regions illustrated in the drawings, and for example, further includes modified forms by the manufacture.
Hereinafter, a refrigerator according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the exemplary refrigerator 101 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a refrigerator main body 100, doors 200, and an open angle adjusting hinge device 300 (illustrated in FIG. 3).
The refrigerator main body 100 has one or more storage chambers 110. The refrigerator main body 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 has a pair of storage chambers 110 disposed vertically with respect to each other, each with its own door. It is apprecaited that the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. That is, the refrigerator main body 100 may have a pair of storage chambers 110 disposed horizontally with respect to each other, or may have three or more storage chambers 110 etc.
The storage chambers 110 of the refrigerator main body 100 may include a refrigerating chamber and a freezing chamber based on the temperature range at which each chamber is matianined. The two storage chambers 110 can maintain stored items cold and frozen, respectively.
In FIG. 2, the doors of both storage chambers 110 are open. The door 200 is installed on the front side of the lower storage chamber 110 and serves to isolate the interior of the lower storage chamber 110 from the ambient temperature, thereby keeping the lower storage chamber 110 at a low temperature.
More specifically, the door 200 is rotatably installed at one side of the refrigerator main body 100. In the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the door 200 may include a beverage container compartment 250 proximate to the free edge (or unhinged edge) of the door 200. In this example, a plurality of door baskets 255 for supporting beverage containers are arranged vertically with respect to each other in the beverage container compartment 250.
Since the beverage container compartment 250 is formed adjacent to the free side of the door 200, the beverage containers accommodated in the beverage container compartment 250 can be easily retrieved by a user even when the door 200 is not fully open. Further, the side wall of the door basket 255 that is adjacent to the free edge of the door 200 may be shorter than the opposite side wall, making it further convenient for users to access the items stored in the door basket even when the door is not fully open.
In the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the door 200 may further include a first door liner 261 and a second door liner 262 respectively disposed along the two longitudinal sides of the beverage container compartment 250. In this example, the first door liner 261 is shorter than the second door liner 262. Both door liners 261 and 262 protrude toward the refrigerator main body 100.
The first door liner 261 and the second door liner 262 serve to effectively assist in maintaining a substantially airtight seal in the storage chamber 110 when the door 200 is closed. The first door liner 261 and the second door liner 262 also serve to support both side surfaces of the door basket 255, respectively.
For example, the area of the door basket 255 that is supported by the second door liner 262 may be larger than the area of the door basket 255 that is supported by the first door liner 261.
With the aforementioned structural configuration, the beverage container accommodated in the beverage container compartment 250 can be easily taken out even by a user when the door 200 is not fully open.
As illustrated in FIG. 3, the open angle adjusting hinge device 300 couples the door 200 to the main body 100 such that the door 200 is rotatable. The hinge device 300 can control the angle at which the door 200 is stopped. The open angle adjusting hinge device 300 includes a hinge shaft 360, a hinge bracket 310, and a compressible member 320.
The hinge shaft 360 forms the rotation center of the door 200. The hinge bracket 310 is coupled to the refrigerator main body 100 and surrounds and supports the hinge shaft 360.
In the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the hinge bracket 310 has a protruding portion 311 protruding away from the hinge shaft 360. The compressible member 320 is coupled to the door 200. When the door pivots or rotates around the hinged side, it tends to stop at the position (the caught position) where the protruding portion 311 comes into contact and is stopped (or caught) by the compressible member 320. The contact between protruding portion 311 and the compressible member 320 forms a large resistance to the pivoting motion of the door such that the door is stopped from rotating further.
However, at the caught position, if the compressible member 320 is subject to additional rotational force (e.g., the user pulls the door harder) that can overcome the native elastic force thereof, the compressible member 320 becomes compressed and thereby releases the protruding portion 311. Consequently, the protruding portion 311 passes over the compressible member 320 such that the door 200 is opened at a larger open angle.
With the aforementioned structure, the open angle adjusting hinge device 300 can advantageoulsy and automatically control the open angle of the door 200 by the interplay of the protruding portion 311 of the hinge bracket 310 and the compressible member 320. More specifically, when a user pulls the door 200 open, the open angle of the door is first restricted by the open angle adjusting hinge device 320. To open the door wider, yet, the user has to pull the door with an additional rotational force.
Thus, according to embodiments of the present disclosure, the door can be opened in a multiple stepwise manner through vairous open positions. When a user pulls the door to open, the door rotates around the hinge and automatically stops at at an acute angle (the first rotation angle) because of the resistance caused by the interplay beween the compressible member and the protruding portion of the hinge bracket. If the user applies an additional rotational force to overcome the resistance, the door can then be opened to a wider angle.
As illustrated in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the first rotation angle θ1 is an acute angle between the refrigerator main body 100 and the door 200. At this angle, the user likely can only conveniently access a limited amount of interior space near the free side of the door 200, e.g., items located in the beverage container compartment. As shown in FIG. 6. The second rotation angle θ2 is greater than the first rotation angle θ1 and allows a user to conveniently access items within the entire interior space of the storage chamber 110.
In some embodiments, the first rotation angle θ1 may be within a range of 15 degrees to 25 degrees. In the illustrated example, this angle θ1 allows a user to access items stored in the beverage container compartment 250 while preventing unnecessary escape of the cool air from the storage chamber.
Hereinafter, an exemplary method of accessing an item stored in the refrigerator 101 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.
The beverage container compartment 250 is provided on the interior side of the door 200 and can be used to accommodate beverage containers. First, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the door 200 is pulled to open by a user and stops automatically at the first rotation angle θ1 which is an acute angle. Thereafter, the beverage containers accommodated in the beverage container compartment 250 are accessed and taken out from the refrigerator by the user.
More specifically, when the user opens the door 200 to the first rotation angle θ1, the compressible member 320 comes into contact with the protruding portion 311 such that the protruding portion 311 is blocked by the compressible member 320. That is, the compressible member 320 comes into contact with the protruding portion 311, such that the open angle of the door 200 is limited to the first rotation angle θ1 until the elastic force of the compressible member 320 is overcome.
As illustrated in FIG. 6, when the door is opened to the first rotation angle θ1 and the user continues to pull it, e.g., by using an additional or greater rotational force, the protruding portion 311 presses the compressible member 320 to a compressed state such that the compressible member 320 passes over the protruding portion 311. Thus, the door can be opened further until the second rotation angle θ2 is reached which is greater than θ1 (e.g., 25 degrees).
In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the compressible member 320 may be made of silicone, rubber, or any other suitable elastic material.
With the aforementioned configuration and method, the refrigerator 101 can selectively restrict or adjust the open angle of the door, which allows a user to conveniently access the particular part of the storage chamber designed for frequently intended items while reduces unnecessary loss of cold air from the storage chamber. In some embodiments, the particular part can be used to accommodate beverages and thus functions as a home bar. Hence, according to embodiments of the present disclosure, various functions of a home bar can be advantageously integrated into a relatively low-cost refrigerator and thereby provides better user experience thereof.
From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that various embodiments of the present disclosure have been described herein for purposes of illustration, and that various modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the various embodiments disclosed herein are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A refrigerator comprising:

a refrigerator main body comprising one or more storage chambers therein;

a door hingedly coupled to the refrigerator main body; and

a hinge device coupling the door to the refrigerator main body and configured to cause the door to open through multiple open positions.

2. The refrigerator of claim 1 further comprising a beverage container compartment disposed on the door and adjacent to a free edge of the door and configured to accommodate one or more beverage containers.

3. The refrigerator of claim 2 further comprising a plurality of door baskets disposed within the beverage container compartment and configured to support the one or more beverage containers.

4. The refrigerator of claim 3, wherein the beverage container compartment extends vertically along the free edge of the door, and wherein further the plurality of the door baskets are arranged vertically in a longitudinal direction of the beverage container compartment.

5. The refrigerator of claim 3, wherein a door basket of the plurality of door baskets comprises a first side wall and a second side wall that is lower than the first side wall, wherein the first side wall is disposed closer to the free edge of the door than the second side wall.

6. The refrigerator of claim 5, wherein the door further comprises:

a first door liner configured to be disposed along an edge of the beverage container compartment proximate to the free edge of the door and protrude toward the refrigerator main body; and

a second door liner configured to be disposed on another edge of the beverage container compartment,

wherein the first door liner is shorter than the second door liner.

7. The refrigerator of claim 6, wherein the first door liner and the second door liner are operable to support two surfaces of the door basket, respectively.

8. The refrigerator of claim 7, wherein an area of the door basket that is supported by the second door liner is larger than an area of the door basket that is supported by the first door liner.

9. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the hinge device comprises:

a hinge shaft operable to be disposed at a rotation center of the door;

a hinge bracket coupled to the refrigerator main body and the hinge shaft, wherein the hinge basket comprises a protruding portion protruding away from the hinge shaft; and

a compressible member coupled to the hinge bracket and operable to stop the door at a first open position at a first rotation angle with reference to the refrigerator main body where the protruding portion comes in contact with the compressible member.

10. The refrigerator of claim 9, wherein, when the door is at the first rotation angle, the protruding portion of the hinge bracket is operable to compress said compressible member wherein the door rotates to a second open position at a second rotation angle that is greater than the first rotation angle.

11. The refrigerator of claim 10, wherein the protruding portion of the hinge bracket detaches from the compressible member when the door is at the second rotation angle.

12. The refrigerator of claim 10, wherein the first rotation angle is within a range of 15 degrees to 25 degrees.

13. The refrigerator of claim 10, wherein the door is subject to a rotational force applied by a user when the compressible member is compressed to the compressed state.

14. A refrigerator comprising:

a refrigerator main body comprising one or more storage chambers therein;

a door hingedly coupled to the refrigerator main body;

a hinge device coupling the door to the refrigerator main body and configured to cause the door to open through an intermediate open position that requires additional opening force to pass through to a fully open position; and

a liner that restrict flow of cold air from the storage chambers when the door is in the intermediate open position.

15. The refrigerator of claim 14 further comprising a beverage container compartment disposed on the door and adjacent to a free edge of the door and configured to accommodate one or more beverage containers, wherein a plurality of door baskets are disposed within the beverage container compartment and configured to support the one or more beverage containers.

16. The refrigerator of claim 15, wherein the liner further comprises:

wherein the first door liner is shorter than the second door liner.

17. A method of using a refrigerator, the method comprising:

applying a rotational force on a free edge of a refrigerator door that is in a closed state with respect to a main frame of the refrigerator, wherein the refrigerator door is coupled to the main frame via a hinge device operable to cause the refrigerator door to automatically stop at a stop position under the rotational force;

with the refrigerator door at the first stop position, removing an item stored in a compartment adjacent to the free edge from the refrigerator; and

applying an additional rotational force on the free edge to further open the refrigerator door.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the hinge device comprises a compressible member and a hinge bracket having a protrusion portion, wherein the protrusion portion is operable to block the compressible member from further motion when the refrigerator door is at the stop position.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the additional rotational force causes said protrusion portion to compress said compressible member into a compressed state such that the refrigerator door is released from the stop position.