Door for refrigerator and refrigerator

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.

BACKGROUND

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a door for a refrigerator and a refrigerator, and in particular, to a door for a household refrigerator, and a household refrigerator having such a door.

Related Art

CN 2699206 Y discloses a refrigerator door. The refrigerator door includes a front wall, an inner door panel, and a door cover. The front wall, the inner door panel, and the door cover are combined together by using a foaming heat insulation layer filled between the front wall and the inner door panel. The front wall has an edge opening and the edge opening is enclosed by the door cover. The door cover has a concave portion recessing towards the heat insulation layer. A detachable decorative panel is installed on the door, a rear side of the decorative panel has an accommodating space, the decorative panel and control and display assemblies are preassembled to form a preassembled unit, and the preassembled unit is fixed on the door after a foaming process of the door.

JP 2013-178054 A discloses a refrigerator door, including a door body having a heat insulation layer. A user interface apparatus is disposed at an intermediate area along a longitudinal direction of the door body, and is located behind a glass plate of the door body. A step piece recessing a front surface is formed on a side cover of a right end portion of the door body portion. The step piece encloses an accommodating room accommodating the user interface apparatus. A handle piece protruding towards the right side is installed on an installation surface of a side surface facing the step piece, by using a screw. A handle groove extending along the entire height of the door is formed between the handle piece and the step piece. A front surface of the handle portion is covered by a protective cover clamped between a front end of the handle portion and the step piece. The protective cover is formed by using a transparent resin molding piece.

SUMMARY

An objective of the present invention is to overcome at least one of technical problems in the prior art, to provide an improved door for a refrigerator and a refrigerator having such a door.

The foregoing objective can be achieved by characteristics in independent claims. Preferable embodiments of the present invention are the subject of the accompanying drawings, the specification, and dependant claims.

An aspect of the present invention relates to a door. The door includes a door inner liner, a front wall, and a user interface housing connected to the front wall, where the user interface housing, the door inner 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, and the user interface electrical module can be placed into the accommodating space or removed from the accommodating space from a side of the door; and the door further includes a handle groove, and a handle piece detachably connected to the door, characterized in that the handle groove and the handle piece are located within the user interface housing, the handle piece divides the handle groove from the accommodating space, the user interface housing includes a concave portion opened forward, and the handle groove is accessible via the concave portion.

Thus, both the user interface electrical module and a handle function may be disposed inside the common user interface housing, so that a user electrical interface and the handle function may form one visible integral unit. Further, when the common user interface housing is used for carrying the handle function and a user electrical interface function, a quantity of components of a preassembled unit for a subsequent foaming process may be reduced, and it is accordingly easier to prevent foaming agent from leaking between the user interface housing and the front wall and/or a side wall.

In a possible embodiment, the concave portion may be disposed close to a longitudinal side of the door. In an alternative embodiment, the concave portion is disposed close to a horizontal side portion of the door, for example, the concave portion is disposed on the top or at the bottom.

The user interface electrical module may include an input unit for receiving a user input instruction and/or an output unit displaying information to a user. The user interface electrical module may be located entirely inside the accommodating space, or may also be located partially inside the accommodating space, and partially outside the accommodating space. These two conditions both fall within a protection scope of claims of the present invention.

The so called “handle piece being detachable” refers to that the handle piece can be disassembled from the door, with/without a tool, without damaging the door, and the handle piece may be installed on the door for a next time. When the handle piece is disassembled, the user interface module may be removed from the accommodating space or placed into the accommodating space.

At least a part of a boundary of the handle groove may be defined by the handle piece. For example, a complete handle groove is formed inside the handle piece, or a part (for example, a front boundary) of the boundary of the handle groove is defined by the handle piece.

The front wall is located in front of the door inner liner. In a possible embodiment, the front wall forms at least a majority part of a front surface of the door, that is, the front wall is exposed outside. In another possible embodiment, the door may further include a decorative panel located in front of the front wall. Such a decorative panel may be made of, for example, glass or a material similar to the glass.

In a possible embodiment, the front wall is formed by using a single component, for example, the front wall may be formed by using a piece of sheet metal. In another possible embodiment, the front wall may also be formed by multiple components, and these components may form a corresponding part of the front wall in its entirety or in a part. In the latter case, a first opening is constituted together by openings formed on different components.

In a possible embodiment, the side wall is a longitudinal side wall, for example a left wall or a right wall, of the door. In another possible embodiment, the side wall may also be a transverse side wall, for example a top wall or a bottom wall, of the door.

Other independent characteristics or those characteristics that are considered as features of the present invention through combination with other characteristics will be described in the following appended claims.

In a possible embodiment, the door may include a front panel covering the user interface electrical module and the handle piece. Because the user interface electrical module and the handle piece are covered by the common front panel, a front area covering the handle piece and the user interface electrical module is continuous and seamless between each other, so that a font surface of the door is concise, and it is particularly advantageous that the concave portion and the user interface that can indicate a position of the handle groove may form together an integral visible unit.

In a possible embodiment, the front panel may have an edge opening that is located in front of the concave portion to expose the concave portion. In a manner of disposing the edge opening on the front panel, the front panel may cover an area other than the concave portion, including an edge area of the door on the same side of the concave portion. This is advantageous to simplify a structure of the door and have a concise appearance.

Another aspect of the present invention relates to a door for a refrigerator. The door includes a user interface electrical module; an accommodating space for accommodating the user interface electrical module, where the accommodating space is accessible via a side of the door; a handle groove close to the accommodating space; a concave portion opened forward, where the handle groove is accessible via the handle groove; and a front panel located in front of the user interface electrical module, characterized in that the handle groove is located behind the front panel, and the front panel has an edge opening located in front of the concave portion to expose the concave portion.

Because the user interface electrical module and the handle piece are both located behind the common front panel, a front area covering the handle piece and the user interface electrical module may be continuous and seamless, so that a font surface of the door is concise, and it is particularly advantageous to make the concave portion and the user interface that can indicate a position of the handle groove form a visible unit as a whole. In addition, by disposing the edge opening on the front panel, the front panel may cover an area other than the concave portion, including an edge area of the door on the same side of the concave portion. This is advantageous to simplify a structure of the door and have a concise appearance.

In a possible embodiment, the door may include a handle piece that is detachably connected to the door to enclose the accommodating space, where the handle piece includes a handle portion covered by the front panel. Thus, the handle piece not only forms the handle portion to prevent a user from directly exerting force on a rear side of the front panel, but also may close the accommodating space to prevent the user from putting a finger into the accommodating space.

In a possible embodiment, the accommodating space, the handle groove, and the concave portion may be located within a common user interface housing, and the user interface housing is fixedly attached to a heat insulation layer of the door.

Although the front panel may be directly fixedly attached to the heat insulation layer, in a preferred embodiment, the door may include a door body, the front panel is connected to the door body, the door body includes a front wall fixedly attached to the heat insulation layer, the front wall is provided with a first opening, the user interface housing is connected to the front wall, and the accommodating space and the concave portion are opened towards the first opening.

In a possible embodiment, an adhesion means arranged on the front wall along the first opening is included, where the adhesion means is adhered to the front panel and the front wall.

In a possible embodiment, the user interface housing is connected to a side wall, the side wall is provided with a second opening in communication with the first opening, and the concave portion is accessible via the first opening and the second opening.

The side wall may be a longitudinal side wall, for example, a left wall or a right wall, of the door. In an alternative embodiment, the side wall is a transverse side wall, for example, a top wall or a bottom wall, of the door. The front wall and the side wall may be made independently and then is assembled together. In an alternative embodiment, the front wall and the side wall may also be formed by different parts of a single component.

In a possible embodiment, the edge opening has a shape of a rectangle.

In a possible embodiment, at least a majority part of a front surface of the door is formed by the front panel. In a possible embodiment, the entire front surface of the door is formed by the front panel, for example, an edge area of the front panel is completely exposed outside. In an alternative embodiment, the front panel forms the majority part of the front surface of the door, for example, an edge area of the front panel is covered and hidden by another component or an edge area of the front surface of the door is formed by another component.

In a possible embodiment, the accommodating space, the handle groove, and the concave portion are disposed side by side sequentially along a depth direction of the handle groove. Because the concave portion, the handle groove, and the user interface electrical module are distributed side by side sequentially along the depth direction of the handle groove, and do not overlap in a length direction of the handle groove, each of them may have a greater length in a bounding box as needed. Thus, while the door can have a compact operation center, the concave portion and the handle groove may have enough lengths, so that a user may conveniently put a hand into the handle groove and grab the handle portion to open the door. Similarly, a user electrical interface of a user operation center may occupy a larger size of the door. When the concave portion and the handle groove are disposed close to a longitudinal side of the door, for example, close to a left side or a right side of the door, the depth direction of the handle groove is a transverse direction of the door, or when the concave portion and the handle groove are disposed close to a transverse side of the door, for example, located on the top or at the bottom of the door, a depth direction of the handle groove is a length direction of the door (which may also be referred to as a height direction).

In a possible embodiment, the user interface housing includes a rear wall fixedly attached to the heat insulation layer, and the rear wall defines rear boundaries of the handle groove and the concave portion, so that the concave portion and the handle groove may have a continuous rear boundary. In addition, because the rear boundaries of the concave portion and the handle groove are directly formed by the user interface housing, this helps to increase the size of the concave portion and the handle groove, along a thickness direction of the door.

Another aspect of the present invention relates to a refrigerator, where the refrigerator includes the door according to any one of the items.

It should be understood that the door according to the present invention is applicable to refrigerators having various different structures, and should not be limited to the preferred embodiments disclosed in the present invention. For example, the present invention is applicable to a double door refrigerator having a first storage compartment and a second storage compartment that are distributed side by side, is applicable to a refrigerator having a first storage compartment and second storage compartment that are distributed along a height direction, and is also applicable to a refrigerator having a pair of doors that closes a same storage compartment.

A storage compartment of the refrigerator may be used for storing food and/or wine, for example, the refrigerator may have at least one storage compartment merely for storing wine.

The door may be a rotatable door pivotally connected to a refrigerator body, or may also be a drawer-like door that can be connected to a body in a pushing or pulling manner.

The door may close one or more storage compartments of the refrigerator, or may also close a part of one or more storage compartments.

The structure of the present invention and other inventive objectives and beneficial effects of the present invention become more comprehensible through the description of preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1shows a schematic perspective view of a refrigerator100according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown inFIG. 1, the refrigerator100includes a body5having 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 refrigerator100further includes a pair of doors2and2′ that are opened towards each other and are connected to the body5to close corresponding storage compartments.

Referring toFIG. 2,FIG. 3, andFIG. 7-5together withFIG. 1, the door2has an integrated operation center6. The operation center6includes a user interface61and a handle groove232integrated inside the operation center6. When the door2is opened or closed, a user may put a hand into the handle groove232. The operation center6further includes a concave portion233, and the user puts the hand into the handle groove232through the concave portion233.

The handle groove232and the concave portion233extend along only a partial length of door2, and remain spaces between a top surface203and a bottom surface of the door2, along a length direction of the concave portion233.

The operation center6is disposed on a side of the door2opposite to the other door2′. In this embodiment, the door2′ 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 doors2and2′ are oppositely disposed, and have a same length.

The user interface61is set for accepting input and output information of the user, and these pieces of information include, for example, setting information about the refrigerator100, and/or information about food stored in the refrigerator100, or the like.

The user interface61includes multiple touch areas24aand display areas24b(shown in onlyFIG. 1). As shown inFIG. 2, the touch area24amay be divided from the display area24b, or may also be located within the display area24b.

The user interface61includes a user interface electrical module25located behind the touch areas24aand the display areas24b. The user interface electrical module25includes a light source, and when the light source is turned on, light may pass through the display areas24b.

The display areas24bmay 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 areas24b. In this case, when the light source is turned off, the front panel24may be set in a manner that there is no visual limitation on the display area24band another area of the front panel24.

In addition to electrical components, the user interface electrical module25may also include a carrying member for carrying these electrical components.

As shown inFIG. 5, the concave portion233is opened towards a front surface201and a side surface202of the door2. The concave portion233, the handle groove232, and the user interface electrical module25are arranged side by side along a depth direction (which is also a transverse direction of the door2in this embodiment) of the handle groove232.

In a front view of the door2, visual elements such as the touch areas24aand the transparent display areas24b, the handle groove232, and the concave portion233of the use interface61are disposed side by side sequentially in the transverse direction of the door2.

The door2includes a door body20having a heat insulation layer27, and a one-piece front panel24covers the front of the door body20. The front panel24forms a majority part of the front surface201of the door2.

The front panel24may be made of glass or resin similar to glass in the appearance. The front panel24may be adhered to the door body20by using an adhesion means242disposed around at least a front edge of the door body20. The adhesion means242may be, for example, adhesive tape or glue.

On a rear side of the front panel24, the door body20has an accommodating space231for accommodating the user interface electrical module25. The user interface electrical module25and the handle groove232are both located behind the front panel24and are covered by the front panel24. The touch areas24aand the display areas24bare formed by the front panel24. The user interface electrical module25is connected to the rear side of the front panel24, for receiving an instruction input by the user by using the front panel24.

The accommodating space231has an entrance opened towards the handle groove231. The entrance may be enclosed by a handle piece29detachably connected to the door body20. After the front panel24is fixed to the door body20, before the handle piece29is fixed to the door body20, or after the handle piece29is disassembled from the door body20, the user interface electrical module25may be inserted into the accommodating space231or removed from the accommodating space231through the concave portion233and the handle groove232. The handle groove232is located between the concave portion233and the accommodating space231.

The front panel24has an edge opening241on a side corresponding to the user interface61. The edge opening241is located right in front of the concave portion233to expose the concave portion233.

The edge opening241may have a shape adapted to the concave portion233, so that the concave portion233is exposed to a front side of the door2, and may be approached from the front of the door2. In this embodiment, the concave portion233is also exposed to a right side of the door2and may be approached from the right side of the door2.

The handle piece29is connected to the door body20through the concave portion233. The handle piece29includes a handle portion291, and after the user puts a hand into the handle groove232, fingers of the user may grab the handle portion291.

In a direction from the font to the back, the handle piece29may be completely covered by the front panel24, and the handle portion291is located between the handle groove232and the front panel24. When the door is opened, some fingers of the user press a rear surface of the handle portion291, and another finger (for example, a thumb) may press on the front panel24located in front of the handle portion291, thereby forcing the door2to be opened.

Referring toFIG. 3,FIG. 4, andFIG. 5, a door body20includes a sheet metal21, a pair of doorjambs22connected to corresponding longitudinal sides of the sheet metal21, upper and lower end caps28connected respectively to an upper end and a lower end of the sheet metal21, and a user interface housing23connected to the sheet metal21and a corresponding doorjamb22. The heat insulation layer27is filled inside a heat insulation space271surrounded by the sheet metal21, the doorjambs22, the end caps28, the user interface housing23, and a door inner liner26. The sheet metal21, the doorjambs22, the end caps28, the user interface housing23, and the door inner liner26are undetachably fixed together by the heat insulation layer27.

In this embodiment, each doorjamb22has a side wall221that forms a main part of doorjamb22, and a front strip222that is connected to a front end of the side wall221and extends inward.

The sheet metal21is connected to the doorjamb22, so that the front strip222together with the sheet metal21forms a front wall321, which is located in front of an inner container26, of the door body20. Each front strip222is located at one corresponding side of the sheet metal21.

The front wall321has a first opening331(shown inFIG. 5), where the first opening331is formed by a first opening portion213located on the sheet metal21together with a second opening portion224located on a right doorjamb22.

The side wall221has a second opening223, the first opening331and the second opening223are in communication at a connection corner of the front wall321and the side wall221.

The user interface housing23is connected to the front wall321and the side wall221, so as to enclose the first opening331and the second opening223for the heat insulation space271, that is, the heat insulation space271may be enclosed at the first opening331and the second opening223because of the user interface housing23.

In this embodiment, the user interface housing23has a first connection flange2351for being connected to a rear surface of the front wall321and a second connection flange2352for being connected to an inner surface of the side wall221. The sheet metal21may have a connection flange215disposed along the first opening portion211and the connection flange215is inserted into the user interface housing23.

The user interface housing23is approximately box-shaped, for accommodating a user interface electrical module25and a handle groove232and a concave portion233are located within the user interface housing23.

The user interface housing23includes at least a part of an accommodating space231for receiving the user interface electrical module25. The accommodating space231is opened towards the first opening331, so that the user interface electrical module25may be in contact with the front panel24.

The concave portion233is formed by a part, which approaches the side wall221, of the user interface housing23. The concave portion233is opened towards the first opening331and the second opening223, to be exposed to a front surface201and a right surface202of the door, so that the user may approach, through the concave portion233, the handle groove232located within the user interface housing23.

The handle groove232, the concave portion233, and the accommodating space231may have different depths in a thickness direction of the door2.

As shown inFIG. 5, the handle groove232and the rear boundary of the concave portion233may be defined by a continuous and smooth rear wall2331, so that the handle groove232and the concave portion233have the continuous rear boundary. The rear wall2331may be integrally formed on the user interface housing23, and is combined together with the heat insulation layer27.

A length of the concave portion233may be equal to or less than a length of the first opening331. In an embodiment, a relationship of the front wall321and the user interface housing23may be properly arranged, for example, the front wall321has an end edge extending into the user interface housing23and forming the concave portion, so that the length of the concave portion233may be accurately equal to the length of the first opening331, 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 housing23has a wall of an end edge for forming the concave portion, where the end boundary is located within the first opening331and is close to the edge of the first opening331.

After a foaming process of the door body20is completed, the front panel24is adhered to the door body20. In addition that the adhesion means242is disposed along an edge area of the door body20, the adhesion means242further includes an adhesion part243distributed on the front wall321by surrounding the first opening331, to adhere to the front panel24and the front wall321by surrounding the first opening331.

In summary, the accommodating space231, the handle groove232, and the concave portion233are all located within the user interface housing23. The concave portion233, the handle groove232, and the accommodating space231are disposed side by side sequentially along the depth direction of the handle groove232. In the depth direction of the handle groove232, the handle groove232is located between the accommodating space231and the concave portion233.

Various embodiments for describing each single part with reference toFIG. 1toFIG. 5may 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.