Door for refrigerator and refrigerator

Abstract

A refrigerator door includes an inner door liner, a front wall and a user interface housing connected to the front wall. The user interface housing, the inner door liner, the front wall and a heat insulation layer are combined together. The user interface housing has an accommodating space for accommodating a user interface electrical module. The user interface electrical module can be placed into the accommodating space or removed from the accommodating space from a side of the door. The door has a handle groove and a handle piece detachably connected to the door. The handle groove and the handle piece are located within the user interface housing and the handle piece divides the handle groove from the accommodating space. The user interface housing includes a concave portion being opened forward and the handle groove is accessible though the concave portion. A refrigerator having the door is also provided.

Claims

1. A refrigerator door, comprising: a side of the door; a forward direction of the door; a user interface electrical module; an accommodating space for accommodating said user interface electrical module, said accommodating space being accessible from said side of the door; a concave portion being open in said forward direction of the door; a front panel disposed in front of said user interface electrical module, said front panel having an edge opening disposed in front of said concave portion to expose said concave portion; and a handle groove disposed in a vicinity of said accommodating space, said handle groove being disposed behind said front panel, and said handle groove being accessible through said concave portion.

2. The door according to claim 1, which further comprises a handle piece being detachably connected within the door for closing said accommodating space, said handle piece including a handle portion being covered by said front panel.

3. The door according to claim 1, which further comprises: a heat insulation layer; and a user interface housing being fixedly attached to said heat insulation layer; said accommodating space said handle groove and said concave portion being disposed together within said user interface housing.

4. The door according to claim 3, which further comprises a door body connected to said front panel, said door body including a front wall fixedly attached to said heat insulation layer, said front wall having a first opening, said user interface housing being connected to said front wall, and said accommodating space and said concave portion being open towards said first opening.

5. The door according to claim 4, which further comprises an adhesive disposed on said front wall along said first opening, said adhesive adhering to said front panel and said front wall.

6. The door according to claim 4, which further comprises a side wall of the door, said user interface housing being connected to said side wall, said side wall having a second opening in communication with said first opening, and said concave portion being accessible through said first opening and said second opening.

7. The door according to claim 1, wherein said edge opening has a rectangular shape.

8. The door according to claim 1, which further comprises a front surface of the door, at least a majority part of said front surface being formed by said front panel.

9. The door according to claim 1, wherein said handle groove defines a depth direction, and said accommodating space, said handle groove and said concave portion are disposed side by side sequentially along said depth direction of said handle groove.

10. The door according to claim 3, wherein said user interface housing includes a rear wall fixedly attached to said heat insulation layer, and said rear wall defines rear boundaries of said handle groove and said concave portion.

11. A refrigerator, comprising the door according to claim 1.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) As a part of this specification and for further understanding of the present invention, the following accompanying drawings describe specific implementation manners of the present invention, and are used to describe the principle of the present invention together with the specification.

(2) FIG. 1 is a schematic partial perspective view of a refrigerator according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

(3) FIG. 2 is a schematic partial perspective view of a door according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

(4) FIG. 3 is a partial exploded view of a door according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

(5) FIG. 4 is a partial exploded view of a door body according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and

(6) FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view along an A-A line in FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(7) FIG. 1 shows a schematic perspective view of a refrigerator 100 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the refrigerator 100 includes a body 5 having a first storage compartment (not shown in the figure) and a second storage compartment (not shown in the figure) that are disposed side by side. The refrigerator 100 further includes a pair of doors 2 and 2 that are opened towards each other and are connected to the body 5 to close corresponding storage compartments.

(8) Referring to FIG. 2, FIG. 3, and FIG. 7-5 together with FIG. 1, the door 2 has an integrated operation center 6. The operation center 6 includes a user interface 61 and a handle groove 232 integrated inside the operation center 6. When the door 2 is opened or closed, a user may put a hand into the handle groove 232. The operation center 6 further includes a concave portion 233, and the user puts the hand into the handle groove 232 through the concave portion 233.

(9) The handle groove 232 and the concave portion 233 extend along only a partial length of door 2, and remain spaces between a top surface 203 and a bottom surface of the door 2, along a length direction of the concave portion 233.

(10) The operation center 6 is disposed on a side of the door 2 opposite to the other door 2. In this embodiment, the door 2 also has a concave portion and a handle groove (not shown in the figure) that is approached from the concave portion. Concave portions on the pair of doors 2 and 2 are oppositely disposed, and have a same length.

(11) The user interface 61 is set for accepting input and output information of the user, and these pieces of information include, for example, setting information about the refrigerator 100, and/or information about food stored in the refrigerator 100, or the like.

(12) The user interface 61 includes multiple touch areas 24a and display areas 24b (shown in only FIG. 1). As shown in FIG. 2, the touch area 24a may be divided from the display area 24b, or may also be located within the display area 24b.

(13) The user interface 61 includes a user interface electrical module 25 located behind the touch areas 24a and the display areas 24b. The user interface electrical module 25 includes a light source, and when the light source is turned on, light may pass through the display areas 24b.

(14) The display areas 24b may also be transparent when the light source is turned off. Then, in another embodiment, when the light source is turned off, light cannot pass through the display areas 24b. In this case, when the light source is turned off, the front panel 24 may be set in a manner that there is no visual limitation on the display area 24b and another area of the front panel 24.

(15) In addition to electrical components, the user interface electrical module 25 may also include a carrying member for carrying these electrical components.

(16) As shown in FIG. 5, the concave portion 233 is opened towards a front surface 201 and a side surface 202 of the door 2. The concave portion 233, the handle groove 232, and the user interface electrical module 25 are arranged side by side along a depth direction (which is also a transverse direction of the door 2 in this embodiment) of the handle groove 232.

(17) In a front view of the door 2, visual elements such as the touch areas 24a and the transparent display areas 24b, the handle groove 232, and the concave portion 233 of the use interface 61 are disposed side by side sequentially in the transverse direction of the door 2.

(18) The door 2 includes a door body 20 having a heat insulation layer 27, and a one-piece front panel 24 covers the front of the door body 20. The front panel 24 forms a majority part of the front surface 201 of the door 2.

(19) The front panel 24 may be made of glass or resin similar to glass in the appearance. The front panel 24 may be adhered to the door body 20 by using an adhesion means 242 disposed around at least a front edge of the door body 20. The adhesion means 242 may be, for example, adhesive tape or glue.

(20) On a rear side of the front panel 24, the door body 20 has an accommodating space 231 for accommodating the user interface electrical module 25. The user interface electrical module 25 and the handle groove 232 are both located behind the front panel 24 and are covered by the front panel 24. The touch areas 24a and the display areas 24b are formed by the front panel 24. The user interface electrical module 25 is connected to the rear side of the front panel 24, for receiving an instruction input by the user by using the front panel 24.

(21) The accommodating space 231 has an entrance opened towards the handle groove 231. The entrance may be enclosed by a handle piece 29 detachably connected to the door body 20. After the front panel 24 is fixed to the door body 20, before the handle piece 29 is fixed to the door body 20, or after the handle piece 29 is disassembled from the door body 20, the user interface electrical module 25 may be inserted into the accommodating space 231 or removed from the accommodating space 231 through the concave portion 233 and the handle groove 232. The handle groove 232 is located between the concave portion 233 and the accommodating space 231.

(22) The front panel 24 has an edge opening 241 on a side corresponding to the user interface 61. The edge opening 241 is located right in front of the concave portion 233 to expose the concave portion 233.

(23) The edge opening 241 may have a shape adapted to the concave portion 233, so that the concave portion 233 is exposed to a front side of the door 2, and may be approached from the front of the door 2. In this embodiment, the concave portion 233 is also exposed to a right side of the door 2 and may be approached from the right side of the door 2.

(24) The handle piece 29 is connected to the door body 20 through the concave portion 233. The handle piece 29 includes a handle portion 291, and after the user puts a hand into the handle groove 232, fingers of the user may grab the handle portion 291.

(25) In a direction from the font to the back, the handle piece 29 may be completely covered by the front panel 24, and the handle portion 291 is located between the handle groove 232 and the front panel 24. When the door is opened, some fingers of the user press a rear surface of the handle portion 291, and another finger (for example, a thumb) may press on the front panel 24 located in front of the handle portion 291, thereby forcing the door 2 to be opened.

(26) Referring to FIG. 3, FIG. 4, and FIG. 5, a door body 20 includes a sheet metal 21, a pair of doorjambs 22 connected to corresponding longitudinal sides of the sheet metal 21, upper and lower end caps 28 connected respectively to an upper end and a lower end of the sheet metal 21, and a user interface housing 23 connected to the sheet metal 21 and a corresponding doorjamb 22. The heat insulation layer 27 is filled inside a heat insulation space 271 surrounded by the sheet metal 21, the doorjambs 22, the end caps 28, the user interface housing 23, and a door inner liner 26. The sheet metal 21, the doorjambs 22, the end caps 28, the user interface housing 23, and the door inner liner 26 are undetachably fixed together by the heat insulation layer 27.

(27) In this embodiment, each doorjamb 22 has a side wall 221 that forms a main part of doorjamb 22, and a front strip 222 that is connected to a front end of the side wall 221 and extends inward.

(28) The sheet metal 21 is connected to the doorjamb 22, so that the front strip 222 together with the sheet metal 21 forms a front wall 321, which is located in front of an inner container 26, of the door body 20. Each front strip 222 is located at one corresponding side of the sheet metal 21.

(29) The front wall 321 has a first opening 331 (shown in FIG. 5), where the first opening 331 is formed by a first opening portion 213 located on the sheet metal 21 together with a second opening portion 224 located on a right doorjamb 22.

(30) The side wall 221 has a second opening 223, the first opening 331 and the second opening 223 are in communication at a connection corner of the front wall 321 and the side wall 221.

(31) The user interface housing 23 is connected to the front wall 321 and the side wall 221, so as to enclose the first opening 331 and the second opening 223 for the heat insulation space 271, that is, the heat insulation space 271 may be enclosed at the first opening 331 and the second opening 223 because of the user interface housing 23.

(32) In this embodiment, the user interface housing 23 has a first connection flange 2351 for being connected to a rear surface of the front wall 321 and a second connection flange 2352 for being connected to an inner surface of the side wall 221. The sheet metal 21 may have a connection flange 215 disposed along the first opening portion 211 and the connection flange 215 is inserted into the user interface housing 23.

(33) The user interface housing 23 is approximately box-shaped, for accommodating a user interface electrical module 25 and a handle groove 232 and a concave portion 233 are located within the user interface housing 23.

(34) The user interface housing 23 includes at least a part of an accommodating space 231 for receiving the user interface electrical module 25. The accommodating space 231 is opened towards the first opening 331, so that the user interface electrical module 25 may be in contact with the front panel 24.

(35) The concave portion 233 is formed by a part, which approaches the side wall 221, of the user interface housing 23. The concave portion 233 is opened towards the first opening 331 and the second opening 223, to be exposed to a front surface 201 and a right surface 202 of the door, so that the user may approach, through the concave portion 233, the handle groove 232 located within the user interface housing 23.

(36) The handle groove 232, the concave portion 233, and the accommodating space 231 may have different depths in a thickness direction of the door 2.

(37) As shown in FIG. 5, the handle groove 232 and the rear boundary of the concave portion 233 may be defined by a continuous and smooth rear wall 2331, so that the handle groove 232 and the concave portion 233 have the continuous rear boundary. The rear wall 2331 may be integrally formed on the user interface housing 23, and is combined together with the heat insulation layer 27.

(38) A length of the concave portion 233 may be equal to or less than a length of the first opening 331. In an embodiment, a relationship of the front wall 321 and the user interface housing 23 may be properly arranged, for example, the front wall 321 has an end edge extending into the user interface housing 23 and forming the concave portion, so that the length of the concave portion 233 may be accurately equal to the length of the first opening 331, or in an alternative embodiment, the length of the concave portion is slightly less than the length of the first opening, for example, the user interface housing 23 has a wall of an end edge for forming the concave portion, where the end boundary is located within the first opening 331 and is close to the edge of the first opening 331.

(39) After a foaming process of the door body 20 is completed, the front panel 24 is adhered to the door body 20. In addition that the adhesion means 242 is disposed along an edge area of the door body 20, the adhesion means 242 further includes an adhesion part 243 distributed on the front wall 321 by surrounding the first opening 331, to adhere to the front panel 24 and the front wall 321 by surrounding the first opening 331.

(40) In summary, the accommodating space 231, the handle groove 232, and the concave portion 233 are all located within the user interface housing 23. The concave portion 233, the handle groove 232, and the accommodating space 231 are disposed side by side sequentially along the depth direction of the handle groove 232. In the depth direction of the handle groove 232, the handle groove 232 is located between the accommodating space 231 and the concave portion 233.

(41) Various embodiments for describing each single part with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 5 may be combined in any given manner to achieve the advantages of the present invention. In addition, the present invention is not limited to the shown embodiments, and generally means other than the shown means may be used, as long as they can achieve the same effect.