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JP-2026074782-A - Door hinge structure

JP2026074782AJP 2026074782 AJP2026074782 AJP 2026074782AJP-2026074782-A

Abstract

[Problem] In a door hinge structure that provides assistance to the door, the problem is to prevent noise caused by the clearance between the hinge pin and the insertion hole of the lower spacer over a long period of time. [Solution] The first cam portion 23 is composed of three lower protrusions 42, downward-sloping portions 43 on both sides of each lower protrusion 42, and a lower recess 44 formed between adjacent lower inclined portions 43. An insertion hole 41 through which a hinge pin 21 is inserted with clearance is provided, surrounded by these lower protrusions 42, downward-sloping portions 43, and lower recesses 44. A slit 60 opening toward the insertion hole 41 is formed in each lower recess 44, and a cantilevered elastic arm 61 that can be elastically deformed in the radial direction of the hinge pin 21 is formed between the slit 60 and the insertion hole 41. A restricting body 62 is provided projecting from each elastic arm 61 toward the center of the insertion hole 41, and the restricting body 62 is brought into contact with the circumferential surface of the hinge pin 21. [Selection Diagram] Figure 1

Inventors

  • 菊野 真二

Assignees

  • フクシマガリレイ株式会社

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20241021

Claims (6)

  1. A hinge plate (22) having a hinge pin (21) that protrudes upward and attached to the lower end of the side edge of the opening (12) of the storage compartment (1), A lower spacer (24) having a first cam portion (23) that is attached to the hinge plate (22) and fixed in a state where it is inserted through the hinge pin (21), An upper spacer (26) is fixed to the lower end of the side edge of the door (13) that opens and closes the opening (12) of the storage room (1), and has a second cam portion (25) that engages with the first cam portion (23) when inserted through the hinge pin (21), A door hinge structure comprising: The first cam portion (23) is formed at equiangled positions from the center of rotation and consists of three lower protrusions (42) having flat surfaces, lower inclined portions (43) having downward-sloping surfaces on both sides of each lower protrusion (42), and a lower recess (44) having a flat surface formed between adjacent lower inclined portions (43). An insertion hole (41) through which a hinge pin (21) is inserted with clearance is provided, surrounded by these lower protrusions (42), lower inclined portions (43), and lower recess (44). A slit (60) opening to the insertion hole (41) is formed in each lower recess (44), and a cantilevered elastic arm (61) that is elastically deformable in the radial direction of the hinge pin (21) is formed between the slit (60) and the insertion hole (41). A door hinge structure characterized in that each elastic arm (61) has a regulating body (62) protruding toward the center of the insertion hole (41), and the regulating body (62) is in contact with the circumferential surface of the hinge pin (21).
  2. The door hinge structure according to claim 1, wherein the regulating body (62) is pressed toward the circumferential surface of the hinge pin (21) by the elastic restoring force of the elastic arm (61).
  3. When the diameter of the hinge pin (21) is defined as (D1), the diameter of the insertion hole (41) as (D2), and the diameter of the circle inscribed in the restricting body (62) when the lower spacer (24) is separated from the hinge plate (22) is defined as (D3), The door hinge structure according to claim 2, wherein the diameter dimension (D2) is set to be larger than the diameter dimension (D1), and the diameter dimension (D3) is set to be smaller than the diameter dimension (D1).
  4. The door hinge structure according to claim 1, wherein the regulating body (62) is provided on the tip of the elastic arm (61) on the side of the insertion hole (41).
  5. The lower spacer (24) comprises a spacer body (38) formed in the shape of a flat plate extending outward from the first cam portion (23), and a pair of locking arms (39, 39) extending downward from the tip of the spacer body (38) in the direction of extension, for preventing detachment and rotation. The hinge plate (22) includes a support plate (31) that is attached to the lower end of the side edge of the opening (12) of the storage compartment (1), and the support plate (31) has a locking hole (35) that penetrates vertically through the support plate (31) into which the locking arm (39) engages. The pair of locking arms (39, 39) are arranged side by side with a virtual axis (L) defined by the extension direction of the spacer body (38) passing through the center of the hinge pin (21) in between. Each lock arm (39) comprises an arm portion (46) formed to be elastically deformable in directions toward and toward each other, and a claw portion (47) that protrudes from the lower end of the arm portion (46) in opposite directions and engages with the lower edge of the lock hole (35). A door hinge device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a pair of arm portions (46, 46) are engaged with a lock hole (35) in a state in which they are elastically deformed in a direction toward each other.
  6. The lower spacer (24) is equipped with a positioning lock block (40) that protrudes downward from the lower surface of the spacer body (38). The support plate (31) has a recessed lock recess (34) which is a polygonal recess having two sides parallel to the virtual axis (L) in a plan view, allowing the insertion of the lock block (40). The lock block (40) is received by the vertical recess walls (34a, 34a) continuous with the two parallel sides, thereby restricting the rotation of the lower spacer (24) around the hinge pin (21). The door hinge structure according to claim 5, wherein the lock block (40) is formed in the shape of a trapezoidal block, with its upper and lower bases arranged in a direction perpendicular to the virtual axis (L) in a plan view.

Description

This invention relates to a door hinge structure that pivotably supports a door for opening and closing the opening of a storage compartment such as a refrigerator or freezer. The door hinge structure according to the present invention has an assisting function that allows the door to open and close automatically, a closing function that supports the door in a fully closed position, and an opening function that supports the door in a fully open position. However, a door hinge structure having similar functions is known in Patent Document 1. In the door hinge structure of Patent Document 1, the lower hinge mechanism (lower hinge mechanism) is composed of a hinge plate on the main body side having a hinge pin that protrudes upward, a lower spacer (pin-side collar) fixed to the hinge plate with the hinge pin inserted through the insertion hole, and an upper spacer (hole-side collar) fixed to the door with the hinge pin inserted through the insertion hole (bearing hole). Three downward-facing protrusions (protrusions) of the first cam portion are provided around the insertion hole of the lower spacer, and three downward-facing protrusions (protrusions) of the second cam portion are provided around the insertion hole of the upper spacer. The upper and lower spacers are positioned vertically so that their cam portions interlock. Inclined surfaces are provided on both sides of the flat surface of each protrusion. These inclined surfaces of the cam portions come into contact with each other, causing the upper inclined surface (inclined surface) of the second cam portion to slide down the lower inclined surface (inclined surface) of the first cam portion, thereby achieving the aforementioned functions. Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-257836 This is a plan view showing the lower hinge mechanism in a door hinge structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.This is a front view showing a refrigerator to which the same door hinge structure is applied.This is a front view showing the door hinge structure.This is an exploded perspective view of the lower hinge mechanism.This is a plan view of the first cam section.This is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in Figure 1.This is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B in Figure 6.This is a cross-sectional view taken along the line C-C in Figure 6.This is a cross-sectional view taken along line D-D in Figure 6.This is a vertical cross-sectional view with both cam sections unfolded. (a) shows the engagement state when the door is fully closed, (b) shows the engagement state when the door is in the process of opening or closing, and (c) shows the engagement state when the door is fully open. (Embodiment) Figures 1 to 10 show an embodiment in which the door hinge structure according to the present invention is applied to a refrigerator. In this embodiment, front/back, left/right, and up/down refer to the intersecting arrows shown in Figures 1 to 4 and the front/back, left/right, and up/down indications written near each arrow. As shown in Figure 2, the refrigerator (storage unit) 1 has a main body case 4 made of an insulated box body that has two storage compartments 2 and 3, one above the other, for storing ingredients and cooked food. The upper and lower storage compartments 2 and 3 are separated by a horizontal intermediate frame 5 that spans the upper and lower center of the front of the main body case 4. The cooling system responsible for cooling storage chambers 2 and 3 consists of a condensing unit 6, which includes a compressor, condenser, and condenser fan, and an evaporator 7. The condensing unit 6 is installed in the machine room 8 defined on the upper side of the main case 4, and the evaporator 7 is installed on the top surface of the upper storage chamber 2. The upper and lower storage chambers 2 and 3 are connected at the rear of the intermediate frame 5, and by driving the evaporator fan 9 located below the evaporator 7, the air cooled by the evaporator 7 circulates, cooling both the upper and lower storage chambers 2 and 3. Each storage room 2 and 3 has an entrance/exit (opening) 12 formed on its front, and a door 13 is provided at each entrance/exit 12 of the storage rooms 2 and 3. These doors 13 allow the entrances/exits 12 of the storage rooms 2 and 3 to be opened and closed. As shown in Figure 3, each door 13 is supported by a door hinge structure consisting of an upper hinge mechanism 14 provided at the upper end of the right edge and a lower hinge mechanism 15 provided at the lower end of the right edge, allowing it to swing in the front-rear direction between a fully closed position (lower door 13 in Figure 2) and a fully open position (upper door 13 in Figure 2). In the fully open position, the swinging of the door 13 in the opening direction is restricted by a stopper (not shown), and the door 13 is configured to be fully open when it swings 100° from the fully closed position. The upper hinge mechanism 14 of t