REFRIGERATOR

Abstract

A door for a refrigerator includes an accommodating portion; a user-interface electrical module, at least partially located in the accommodating portion; a front panel, covering the front of the user-interface electrical module; a handle groove, the handle groove and the accommodating portion being adjacent in a depth direction of the handle groove; and a gripping portion, located in front of the handle groove. The gripping portion includes a decoration portion and a base portion located behind the front panel, and the decoration portion and the front panel are adjacent in the depth direction of the handle groove and are exposed on a front side of the door.

Claims

1. A door for a refrigerator, the door comprising: an accommodating portion; a user-interface electrical module at least partially located in said accommodating portion; a front panel covering a front of said user-interface electrical module; a handle groove, said handle groove and said accommodating portion being adjacent in a depth direction of said handle groove; and a gripping portion located in front of said handle groove in a width direction of said handle groove; said gripping portion having a decoration portion and a base portion located behind said front panel; said decoration portion and said front panel being adjacent in said depth direction of said handle groove and being exposed on a front side of the door; said front panel having a first region covering said accommodating portion and a second region covering said base portion; and said decoration portion, said second region, and said first region being arranged side by side in said depth direction of the handle groove.

2. The door according to claim 1, further comprising: a door liner; a front wall; and a side wall located between the door liner and the front wall, said door liner, said front wall, and said side wall defining a thermal insulation space, and said thermal insulation space being filled with a thermal insulation layer; a user-interface housing being combined with said thermal insulation layer, said accommodating portion being located in said user-interface housing; said front wall having a first opening, said side wall having a second opening in communication with said first opening; said user-interface housing closing said first opening and said second opening relative to said thermal insulation layer; said user-interface housing having a recess open toward said first opening and said second opening; said recess being used for accessing the handle groove located in said user-interface housing, and said decoration portion extends along a whole length of said first opening.

3. The door according to claim 2, wherein said recess, said decoration portion, and said front panel are arranged side by side in the depth direction of the handle groove.

4. The door according to claim 1, wherein said first region of said front panel is provided with at least one display region, said display region being more transparent than a remaining part of said front panel, and a length extension direction of the display region or an arrangement direction of a plurality of display regions being consistent with a length direction in which said decoration portion is exposed on said front side of the door.

5. The door according to claim 1, wherein said decoration portion comprises an external plane exposed on said front side of the door, and said external plane being flush with a front surface of said second region and a front surface of the first region.

6. The door according to claim 1, wherein the size of said decoration portion in said depth direction of said handle groove is not less than 20 mm.

7. The door according to claim 1, further comprising a front door panel facing a user, said front door panel having a notch extending toward an outer edge of said front door panel, said notch extending along a partial length or width of said front door panel, and said decoration portion being located in the notch, extending along a whole length of the notch, fills at least a part of the notch.

8. The door according to claim 7, wherein a part of said front door panel is constructed as said front panel, said front door panel having a first edge and a second edge that are disposed in parallel and spaced apart, and a third edge connecting said first edge and said second edge, said first edge and said second edge respectively constitute two boundaries of said notch in a length direction of said notch, the third edge constitutes a boundary of said notch in a width direction of said notch, and said decoration portion extends along said third edge, and is respectively spliced with said first edge, said second edge, and said third edge.

9. The door according to claim 8, wherein said user-interface housing is combined with said thermal insulation layer, said user-interface housing has an accommodation space in communication with said accommodating portion located in said user-interface housing, and said user-interface electrical module is mountable or removable through said accommodation space; and said door has a cover portion configured to close said accommodating portion, said cover portion is connected to said base portion, and said cover portion and said gripping portion are constructed as a one-piece member detachably mounted in the accommodation space.

10. The door according to claim 9, wherein said gripping portion and said cover portion are constructed as a one-piece metal member.

11. The door according to claim 9, wherein said base portion comprises a protrusion protruding toward said front panel, and said protrusion engages said third edge and abuts against said front panel.

12. The door according to claim 11, wherein said protrusion extends along a partial length of said handle groove, and said base portion is provided with an avoidance region on each of two ends of said protrusion.

13. The door according to claim 9, wherein the decoration portion comprises said external plane exposed on said front side of the door, and a baffle wall substantially perpendicular to said external plane, and said baffle wall abuts against said third edge.

14. The door according to claim 10, wherein said decoration portion is a hollow decoration portion.

15. The door according to claim 9, wherein said cover portion comprises a mounting portion, said mounting portion being formed with a cavity and has a first mounting wall and a second mounting wall that are disposed opposite to each other and spaced apart, and a connection member passing through said first mounting wall, said cavity, and said second mounting wall to mount said cover portion to said user-interface housing.

16. The door according to claim 15, further comprising an intermediate element disposed between said cover portion and said user-interface housing, a sealing member being disposed on a portion of said intermediate element facing said front panel, and said connection member passing through said mounting portion and said intermediate element connected to said user-interface housing.

17. The door according to claim 7, wherein said front door panel is a one-piece front door panel, said front panel is spliced with said front door panel to enclose most of said notch, and said decoration portion extends along an edge of said front panel.

18. The door according to claim 17, wherein said user-interface housing is combined with said thermal insulation layer, and said user-interface housing is integrally formed with said base portion and said decoration portion.

19. The door according to claim 18, further comprising a decoration strip on the decoration portion exposed on said front side of the door.

20. The door according to claim 19, wherein said decoration strip is a one-piece metal decoration strip.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

[0041] FIG. 1 is a schematic three-dimensional diagram of a door of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0042] FIG. 2 is a front view of a door of a refrigerator according to an embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

[0043] FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a region III in FIG. 2;

[0044] FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view along a line IV-IV in FIG. 2;

[0045] FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view along a line V-V in FIG. 2;

[0046] FIG. 6 is a three-dimensional diagram of a handle member according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0047] FIG. 7 is a three-dimensional diagram of a handle member from another perspective according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0048] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a cross section of a handle member according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0049] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a front wall, a side wall, and a user-interface housing according to another embodiment of the present invention; and

[0050] FIG. 10 is a partial cross-sectional view of a door of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0051] For a further understanding of the objectives, structures, features, and functions of the present invention, a detailed description is made below with embodiments.

[0052] First, refer to FIG. 1 to FIG. 5. FIG. 1 is a schematic three-dimensional diagram of a door of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a front view of a door of a refrigerator according to an embodiment shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a region III in FIG. 2; FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view along a line IV-IV in FIG. 2; and FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view along a line V-V in FIG. 2.

[0053] In this embodiment, a refrigerator includes a door 1. The door is configured to close or open a storage compartment of the refrigerator. The door 1 includes a door liner 4, a front wall 6, and a side wall 5 located between the door liner 4 and the front wall 6. The door liner 4, the front wall 6, and the side wall 5 define a thermal insulation space. The thermal insulation space is filled with a thermal insulation layer 7. The front wall is not shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 5, referring to FIG. 9. The door 1 further includes a front door panel 2 disposed on the front of the front wall 6. In this embodiment, the front door panel 2 is formed by a whole piece of glass extending along the entire height of the door 1 and can be touched by a user in a use state.

[0054] Referring to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the door 1 of the refrigerator includes an accommodating portion 10, a user-interface electrical module 11, a front panel 20, a handle groove 300, and a gripping portion 31. The user-interface electrical module 11 is at least partially located in the accommodating portion 10. The front panel 20 covers the front of the user-interface electrical module 11. In this embodiment, the front panel 20 is formed by a part of the front door panel 2. The handle groove 300 and the accommodating portion 10 are adjacent in a depth direction (the X direction shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5) of the handle groove 300.

[0055] The gripping portion 31 is located in front of the handle groove 300 (in a width direction of the handle groove). The gripping portion 31 includes a decoration portion 310 and a base portion 320 located behind the front panel 20. The decoration portion 310 and the front panel 20 are adjacent in the depth direction of the handle groove 300 and are exposed on a front side of the door 1. The front panel 20 includes a first region 20a covering the accommodating portion 10 and a second region 20b covering the base portion 320. The decoration portion 310, the second region 20b, and the first region 20a are arranged side by side in the depth direction (the X direction shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5) of the handle groove 300.

[0056] In this embodiment, the size of the decoration portion 310 in the depth direction of the handle groove 300 is not less than 20 mm. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the decoration portion 310 is exposed on the front side of the door and can indicate a position of the handle groove 300, thereby improving the recognition of the handle.

[0057] When a user opens or closes the door, in most cases, the thumb touches the decoration portion 310, and the fingers located in the handle groove 300 touch the decoration portion 310 or the decoration portion 310 and the base portion 320. That is, in most cases, the user touches the gripping portion 31, so that the fingers located inside and outside the handle groove 300 obtain a consistent touch and feel. This can help eliminate a sense of shaking or a gap that is caused by manufacturing or assembly tolerances and that may be felt when an assembly of different components is gripped with force.

[0058] Specifically, in this embodiment, the door 1 further includes a user-interface housing 9 combined with the thermal insulation layer 7, and the accommodating portion 10 is located in the user-interface housing 9. The user-interface housing 9 is, for example, manufactured from plastics through injection molding. The user-interface housing 9 includes a first rear wall 91 combined with the thermal insulation layer 7, and the first rear wall 91 faces the handle groove 300 and forms a rear boundary of the handle groove 300. An inner surface of the gripping portion 31 forms a front boundary of the handle groove 300.

[0059] Specifically, the front wall (referring to the front wall 6 in FIG. 9) includes a first opening 600, the side wall 5 includes a second opening 500 in communication with the first opening 600, and the user-interface housing 9 closes the first opening 600 and the second opening 500 relative to the thermal insulation layer 7. The user-interface housing 9 includes a recess 900 open toward the first opening 600 and the second opening 500, and the recess 900 is configured to access the handle groove 300 located in the user-interface housing 9. The decoration portion 310 extends along the whole length of the first opening 600. The recess 900, the decoration portion 310, and the front panel 20 are arranged side by side in the depth direction of the handle groove 300. In this embodiment, the front door panel 2 is attached to the front of the front wall, so that the front panel 20 formed by a part of the front door panel 2 covers the accommodating portion 10 and the base portion 320 of the gripping portion 31.

[0060] The user-interface housing 9 includes an accommodation space 90 in communication with the accommodating portion 10 located in the user-interface housing 9. In this embodiment, the user-interface electrical module 11 can be mounted or taken out through the accommodation space 90. The door 1 further includes a cover portion 33 configured to close the accommodating portion 10. The cover portion 33 is connected to the base portion 320, and the cover portion 33 and the gripping portion 31 are constructed as a one-piece member detachably mounted in the accommodation space 90, that is, the handle member 30.

[0061] In this embodiment, the process of manufacturing the door 1 is as follows: the door liner 4, the front wall 6, and the side wall 5 define a thermal insulation space, and a thermal insulation material is injected into the thermal insulation space to form the thermal insulation layer 7. The door liner 4, the front wall 6, the side wall 5, and the thermal insulation layer 7 are combined and fixed together. The user-interface housing 9 is connected to the front wall 6 and the side wall 5 in advance, and the user-interface housing 9 is combined with the thermal insulation layer 7 to be fixed to the door 1 during foaming of the door. The front door panel 2 is disposed on the front of the front wall 6 in a pasting manner. The user-interface electrical module 11 is then mounted through the accommodation space 90 into the accommodating portion 10 located in the user-interface housing 9, and then the handle member 30 is mounted, to close the accommodating portion 10. Therefore, after the refrigerator is manufactured, the user-interface electrical module 11 can be replaced or repaired by disassembling the handle member 30 without damaging the door 1.

[0062] In this embodiment, refer to FIG. 6 to FIG. 8 for the structure of the handle member 30. FIG. 6 is a three-dimensional diagram of a handle member according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 7 is a three-dimensional diagram of a handle member from another perspective according to an embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a cross section of a handle member according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the gripping portion 31 and the cover portion 33 are constructed as a one-piece metal member, that is, the handle member 30 is a one-piece metal member. In this embodiment, the handle member 30 is formed by extruding aluminum through molds. In other embodiments, the handle member 30 may be a one-piece stainless steel member or a one-piece member made of another metal.

[0063] As shown in FIG. 2, the front door panel 2 includes a notch 21 extending to an outer edge 2a of the front door panel 2, and the notch 21 extends along a partial length of the front door panel 2. The decoration portion 310 is located in the notch 21, extends along a whole length of the notch 21, and fills at least a part of the notch 21. In this embodiment, the decoration portion 310 fills at least a part of the notch 21.

[0064] As described above, in this embodiment, a part of the front door panel 2 is constructed as the front panel 20. As shown in FIG. 3, the front door panel 2 includes a first edge 211, a second edge 212, and a third edge 213 connecting the first edge 211 and the second edge 212. The first edge 211 and the second edge 212 are disposed in parallel and spaced apart. The first edge 211 and the second edge 212 respectively constitute two boundaries of the notch 21 in a length direction of the notch 21, the third edge 213 constitutes a boundary of the notch 21 in a width direction of the notch 21, and the decoration portion 310 extends along the third edge 213, and is respectively spliced with the first edge 211, the second edge 212, and the third edge 213. In a use state, a hand of a user extends from an open part of the notch 21 into the handle groove 300 to grip the gripping portion 31 and applies a force to the handle member 30 to open the door 1 of the refrigerator.

[0065] In addition, in this embodiment, the first region 20a of the front panel 20 is provided with a display region 200. The display region 200 is set to be more transparent than the remaining part of the front panel 20. The display region 200 is configured to display, for example, temperature information or humidity information of different storage compartments of the refrigerator. A length extension direction of the display region 200 is consistent with a length direction in which the decoration portion 310 is exposed on the front side of the door 1. This is beneficial to compactly arranging the user-interface electrical module 11 and the handle member 30 together, which reduces the occupation of the thermal insulation space, and is beneficial to improving the thermal insulation performance of the door 1.

[0066] Referring to FIG. 8 with reference to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the decoration portion 310 includes an external plane 311 exposed on the front side of the door 1, and the external plane 311 is flush with a front surface of the second region 20b and a front surface of the first region 20a. The decoration portion 310 further includes a baffle wall 312 substantially perpendicular to the external plane 311, and the baffle wall 312 abuts against the third edge 213 of the front door panel 2, to achieve seamless splicing of the decoration portion 310 and the front panel 20.

[0067] To make it easier to control the external plane 311 to be flush with the front surface of the second region 20b and the front surface of the first region 20a, the base portion 320 of the gripping portion 31 includes a protrusion 321 protruding toward the front panel 20, and the protrusion 321 engages the third edge 213 and abuts against the front panel 20, as shown in FIG. 4.

[0068] During foaming, the temperature of the door 1 may reach 70° C. or more. In this embodiment, the door 1 is used as a door of a freezing compartment of the refrigerator. In a use state of the refrigerator, the temperature inside the door 1 can reach—18° C. or even lower. Due to the temperature difference effect, the front panel 20 covering the front of the user-interface electrical module 11 is deformed to some extent, and regions of two ends of the front panel 20 in the length direction (the Y direction shown in FIG. 2) of the handle groove 300 are deformed toward the direction of the handle groove 300. To reduce interference with the deformed portion of the front panel 20, in this embodiment, the protrusion 321 extends along a partial length of the handle groove 300, and the base portion 320 is provided with an avoidance region 320a on each of two ends of the protrusion 321. The size of the avoidance region 320a in the length direction (the Y direction shown in FIG. 2) of the handle groove 300 is 30 mm. In the avoidance region 320a, a gap P is kept between the front panel 20 and the base portion 320 in an extending direction of the protrusion 321, as shown in FIG. 5.

[0069] To save materials of the handle member, in this embodiment, the decoration portion 310 is constructed as a hollow decoration portion 310.

[0070] To firmly mount the handle member 30 on the door, in this embodiment, the cover portion 33 includes a mounting portion 330. The door 1 further includes an intermediate element 80 disposed between the cover portion 33 and the user-interface housing 9. A connection member 60 passes through the mounting portion 330 and the intermediate element 80 to be connected to the user-interface housing 9. In this embodiment, the connection member 60 includes a screw.

[0071] The mounting portion 330 is formed with a cavity 333 and includes a first mounting wall 331 and a second mounting wall 332 that are disposed opposite to each other and spaced apart. The first mounting wall 331 is formed with two mounting holes 335 in regions at two ends in the length direction of the handle groove 300, and two mounting holes 336 are correspondingly formed in the second mounting wall 332. As shown in FIG. 5, the connection member 60 passes through the first mounting wall 331, the cavity 333, and the second mounting wall 332 to mount the cover portion 33 to the user-interface housing 9. Compared with a single mounting wall, this embodiment increases a total stroke for the connection member 60 to cooperate with the cover portion 33, which is beneficial to improving the stability and firmness of the connection between the two.

[0072] The first mounting wall 331 and the second mounting wall 332 extend perpendicular to the depth direction of the handle groove 300. Moreover, the first mounting wall 331 and the second mounting wall 332 are wall bodies that enclose the cavity 333. In the process of mounting the handle member 30, a force of pressing the cover portion 33 in the depth direction (the X direction shown in FIG. 5) of the handle groove 300 is dispersed through the cavity 333. The second mounting wall 332 abuts against the intermediate element 80, and the intermediate element 80 abuts against the user-interface housing 9. The second mounting wall 332 transfers the force of pressing the cover portion 33 to the user-interface housing 9, instead of concentrating the force on one or more mounting ribs, which is more beneficial to reducing the risk of causing damage to related components in the process of mounting the handle member.

[0073] To prevent water vapor or dust from entering the accommodating portion 10, a sealing member 800 is disposed on a portion of the intermediate element 80 facing the front panel 20. The sealing member 800 is disposed between the intermediate element 80 and the front panel 20 in a compressed state.

[0074] The foregoing describes only one embodiment of the present invention. After modification and combination, the present invention may include more embodiments. For example, in another embodiment of the present invention, the front door panel 2 includes a notch extending to another outer edge 2b of the front door panel 2, and the notch extends along a partial width of the front door panel 2. In another example, the decoration portion 310 fills the entire notch 21 of the front door panel 2, that is, a complete front door panel 2 is formed after the notch 21 is filled up by the decoration portion 310. The handle groove 300 is accessed from the second opening 500 on the side wall 5.

[0075] In still another example, in another embodiment of the present invention, the front panel 20 includes a plurality of display regions 200. For example, the plurality of display regions 200 respectively display temperature information of a refrigerating compartment, a freezing compartment, and a variable-temperature compartment. An arrangement direction of the plurality of display regions 200 is consistent with a length direction in which the decoration portion 310 is exposed on the front side of the door 1.

[0076] Refer to FIG. 9 and FIG. 10. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a front wall, a side wall, and a user-interface housing according to another embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 10 is a partial cross-sectional view of a door of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention. Same or similar structures in this embodiment and the foregoing embodiments are represented by same or similar reference numerals, and have same or similar functions or effects, which is not described herein again. Different from the foregoing embodiments, in this embodiment, the front wall 6 forms the front door panel 2 of the door of the refrigerator and can be touched by a user in a use state. The front wall 6 and the side wall 5 are a one-piece member and formed by extruding a thin metal plate. That is, in this embodiment, the front door panel of the door of the refrigerator is a metal plate.

[0077] The front wall 6 includes the first opening 600, and the first opening 600 forms the notch of the front door panel 2. The side wall 5 includes the second opening 500 in communication with the first opening 600. The user-interface housing 9 closes the first opening 600 and the second opening 500 relative to the thermal insulation layer 7. The user-interface housing 9 includes a recess 900 open toward the first opening 600 and the second opening 500, and the recess 900 is configured to access the handle groove 300 located in the user-interface housing 9.

[0078] In this embodiment, the front panel 20 is a one-piece front panel, for example, is manufactured from a plastic material. The front panel 20 is spliced with the front door panel 2 to close most of the notch, and the decoration portion 310 extends along an edge of the front panel 20. The front panel 20 includes the first region 20a covering the accommodating portion 10 and the second region 20b covering the base portion 320. The decoration portion 310, the second region 20b, and the first region 20a are arranged side by side in the depth direction (the X direction shown in FIG. 10) of the handle groove 300.

[0079] Different from the foregoing embodiments, in this embodiment, the user-interface housing 9 integrally forms the base portion 320 and the decoration portion 310. A decoration strip 315 exposed on the front side of the door 1 is disposed on the decoration portion 310. In this embodiment, the decoration strip 315 is a one-piece metal decoration strip and is attached to the decoration portion 310.

[0080] In another embodiment of the present invention, the decoration strip 315 is a plating formed on the surface of the decoration portion 310 exposed on the front side, to form a plating having a color and gloss similar to those of metal.

[0081] Various embodiments of individual parts described with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 10 may be combined with each other in any given manner to achieve the advantage of the present invention.

[0082] The present invention has been described by the foregoing related embodiments, but the foregoing embodiments are only examples for implementing the present invention. It should be noted that the disclosed embodiments do not limit the scope of the present invention. On the contrary, changes and modifications made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0083] The following is a summary list of reference numerals and the corresponding structure used in the above description of the invention: [0084] 1 Door; [0085] 2 Front door panel; [0086] 2a, 2b Outer edges of front door panel; [0087] 4 Door liner; [0088] 5 Side wall; [0089] 6 Front wall; [0090] 7 Thermal insulation layer; [0091] 9 User-interface housing; [0092] 10 Accommodating portion; [0093] 11 User-interface electrical module; [0094] 20 Front panel; [0095] 20a First region; [0096] 20b Second region; [0097] 21 Notch; [0098] 30 Handle member; [0099] 31 Gripping portion; [0100] 33 Cover portion; [0101] 60 Connection member; [0102] 80 Intermediate element; [0103] 90 Accommodation space; [0104] 91 First rear wall; [0105] 200 Display region; [0106] 211 First edge; [0107] 212 Second edge; [0108] 213 Third edge; [0109] 300 Handle groove; [0110] 310 Decoration portion; [0111] 311 External plane; [0112] 312 Baffle wall; [0113] 315 Decoration strip; [0114] 320 Base portion; [0115] 321 Protrusion; [0116] 320a Avoidance region; [0117] 330 Mounting portion; [0118] 331 First mounting wall; [0119] 332 Second mounting wall; [0120] 333 Cavity; [0121] 335, 336 Mounting holes; [0122] 600 First opening; [0123] 500 Second opening; [0124] 800 Sealing member; [0125] 900 Recess; [0126] X Depth direction of handle groove; [0127] Y Length direction of handle groove; [0128] Z Width direction of handle groove; and [0129] P Gap.