Patent Publication Number: US-7913355-B2

Title: Bidirectional opening/closing door unit and refrigerator having the same

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 2007-0007145, filed on Jan. 23, 2007 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Field 
     The present invention relates to a door unit, and more particularly, to a door unit which is applicable to a refrigerator and has a bidirectional opening/closing structure, and a refrigerator having the same. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     A refrigerator is an apparatus to supply cold air, produced by a refrigeration cycle, into a storage compartment to maintain freshness of a variety of foods for a long time. Generally, the refrigerator includes a body having the storage compartment to store foods therein, and a door pivotally rotatably installed to the body by a hinge device to open or close the storage compartment. 
     The door included in the refrigerator has been fabricated to open or close the storage compartment only in a predetermined direction, for example, only in a rightward opening/closing manner or leftward opening/closing manner. Here, the term “rightward opening/closing manner” means that the hinge device is coupled to a right end of the door such that the door is pivotally rotated about the right end thereof, and the term “leftward opening/closing manner” means that the hinge device is coupled to a left end of the door such that the door is pivotally rotated about the left end thereof. 
     Accordingly, since the door is allowed to be opened or closed only in a predetermined direction once the refrigerator is installed at a certain place, the door may have a difficulty in opening and closing operations if any restrictive items, such as home electronics, etc., exist in the opening/closing direction of the door. Therefore, it is necessary to change the installation position of the refrigerator. Further, the one-directional opening/closing door is unsuitable to be conveniently used by a right-handed person and a left-handed person together, and consequently, causes dissatisfaction of customers. 
     To solve the above described problems, recently, a reversible door capable of allowing a user to selectively change an opening/closing direction of the door in consideration of his/her use convenience has been developed. 
     One example of the reversible door is disclosed in Korean Patent Laid-open Publication No. 10-2004-0067205. 
     The reversible door, disclosed in the above Publication, is a detachable bidirectional opening/closing door wherein, to allow the door to be opened or closed in a desired direction, first and second bracket assemblies coupled to opposite sides of the door are first disassembled, and after the door is located in a desired direction, respective constituent elements of the first and second bracket assemblies are assembled again. 
     However, when changing the opening/closing direction of the door according to the user&#39;s intention, it requires a complicated procedure to disassemble the bracket assemblies and again assemble them in an opposite direction. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present embodiment has been made in order to solve the above problems. It is an aspect of the embodiment to provide a door unit capable of being opened or closed in dual directions without any door disassembling and reassembling operations. 
     It is a further aspect of the embodiment to provide a bidirectional opening/closing door unit configured to achieve a high durability thereof. 
     Additional aspects and/or advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. 
     In accordance with the invention, the above and/or other aspects can be achieved by the provision of an apparatus, including: a body including hinges protruding from opposing sides of the body; a door unit including a door and an opening/closing device provided at a side of the door, the door unit being provided at a side of the body to open or close the body, wherein the hinges are able to be coupled with the door unit, and wherein the opening/closing device includes a pair of opening/closing structures detachable from the respective hinges and having an eccentric portion, and an operative connector to be pressured by the eccentric portion of one of the opening/closing structures to limit operation of the other of the opening/closing structures. 
     The operative connector may be spaced apart from the pair of opening/closing structures by a predetermined distance and may be disposed between the pair of opening/closing structures. 
     Each of the opening/closing structures may include a rotatable latch having a receiving recess to engage the respective hinge and a pressure member to pressure the latch to keep the latch at a rotated position. 
     The latch may include an over-rotation preventing portion defined therein to prevent over-rotation thereof. 
     The operative connector may include elastic elements, and the operative connector may be elastically returned when a pressure force applied to the operative connector by one of the opening/closing structures is removed. 
     The opening/closing device may further include a fixing plate fixing the opening/closing structures and the operative connector. 
     The fixing plate may include at least one guide protrusion to guide movement of the operative connector, and the operative connector includes at least one guide slot corresponding to the at least one guide protrusion. 
     The latch may be provided between the pressure member and the operative connector. 
     The fixing plate may include hinge holes defined therein and providing for detachable insertion of the respective hinges. 
     The opening/closing device may be provided at an upper end of the door. 
     The opening/closing device may be provided at a lower end of the door. 
     The foregoing and/or other aspects are achieved by providing a refrigerator including a body in which items are cooled and a door unit provided to open or close the body thereof, the refrigerator including: hinges protruding from left and right sides of the body; a fixing plate having hinge holes defined therein and providing for insertion of the respective hinges; a pair of opening/closing structures provided at opposite sides of the fixing plate to detachably couple the hinges; and an operative connector spaced apart from the pair of opening/closing structures by a predetermined distance, the operative connector being movable by a pressure force applied by one of the pair of opening/closing structures such that movement of the other of the opening/closing structures is limited by movement of the operative connector. 
     The operative connector may include elastic elements, and the operative connector is returned when a pressure force applied to the operative connector by one of the opening/closing structures is removed. 
     The foregoing and/or other aspects are achieved by providing a refrigerator, including: a body storing items to be cooled; a door attached to the body to open or close the body; and at least one opening/closing device disposed at a top or a bottom of the door, the opening/closing device allowing the door to be selectively opened in a leftward or rightward direction, the at least one opening/closing device including a pair of latches and an operative connector disposed between the pair of latches, one of the pair of latches contacting the operative connector to pressure the operative connector when the door is selectively opened in a leftward or rightward direction. 
     The door may include a pair of hinges and the opening/closing device may include a pair of hinge holes at opposing ends thereof, each one of the hinges being receivable into one of the hinge holes. 
     Each of the latches may include a recess, each of the hinges may be held within one of the hinge holes and the recess when the door is closed and one of the hinges may be released from one of the hinge holes and the recess when the door is selectively opened in a leftward or rightward direction. 
     The at least one opening/closing device may include a pressure member to pressure each of the latches to keep each of the latches at a rotated position. 
     Each of the latches may include an eccentric portion pressurizing the operative connector when the door is selectively opened in the leftward or the rightward direction. 
     The operative connector may include at least one elastic element causing the operative connector to elastically return when a pressure force applied to the operative connector by the eccentric portion is removed. 
     Each of the latches may include an over-rotation preventing portion defined therein to prevent an over-rotation of each of the latches. 
     The foregoing and/or other aspects are achieved by providing an apparatus, including: a body storing items; a door attached to the body to open or close the body; and at least one opening/closing device disposed at a top or a bottom of the door, the opening/closing device allowing the door to be selectively opened in a leftward or rightward direction, the at least one opening/closing device including a pair of latches and an operative connector disposed between the pair of latches, one of the pair of latches contacting the operative connector to pressure the operative connector when the door is selectively opened in a leftward or rightward direction. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       These and/or other aspects and advantages will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiment, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, of which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating an outer appearance of a refrigerator in accordance with the present embodiment; 
         FIG. 2  is a sectional view illustrating an opening/closing device for a door unit included in the refrigerator in accordance with the present embodiment; 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view of the opening/closing device of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIGS. 4A and 4B  are sectional views illustrating a rightward opening/closing operation of the door unit included in the refrigerator in accordance with the present embodiment; and 
         FIGS. 5A and 5B  are sectional views illustrating a leftward opening/closing operation of the door unit included in the refrigerator in accordance with the present embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT 
     Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. The embodiments are described below to explain the present invention by referring to the figures. 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating an outer appearance of a refrigerator in accordance with the present embodiment.  FIG. 2  is a sectional view illustrating an opening/closing device for a door unit included in the refrigerator in accordance with the present embodiment, and  FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view of the opening/closing device of  FIG. 2 .  FIGS. 4A and 4B  are sectional views illustrating a rightward opening/closing operation of the door unit included in the refrigerator in accordance with the present embodiment, and  FIGS. 5A and 5B  are sectional views illustrating a leftward opening/closing operation of the door unit included in the refrigerator in accordance with the present embodiment. 
     The refrigerator in accordance with the present embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 1 , includes a body  10  having a storage compartment  11  to store foods therein, and a bidirectional opening/closing door unit  30  provided at a front surface of the body  10  to open or close the storage compartment  11  in dual directions. 
     Although not shown in the drawings, it can be understood by those skilled in the art that the refrigerator employs a refrigeration cycle including a compressor, evaporator, condenser, etc. 
     The body  10  includes an outer shell  12  forming an outer surface of the body  10  and an inner shell  13  disposed inside the outer shell  12  with a predetermined gap and defining the storage compartment  11  therein. A heat-insulating material is foamed in a space between the outer shell  12  and the inner shell  13 , to prevent leakage of cold air. 
     A pair of hinge members  20  symmetrically protrudes forward from upper left and right sides of a front surface of the body  10 . Each of the hinge members  20  includes a supporting plate  21  extending orthogonally to the front surface of the body  10  and a hinge  22  vertically protruding downward from the supporting plate  21 . 
     Additional hinge members  20  are also symmetrically provided at a lower end of the body  10 . In conclusion, the hinge members  20  are provided at upper and lower left and right sides of the front surface of the body  10 . 
     A supporting board  14  protrudes forward from the lower end of the body  10 , to support the weight of a door. The supporting plates  21  of the hinge members  20 , provided at a lower end of the body  10 , are disposed on the supporting board  14 . Also, the hinges  22  of the hinge members  20  are separably inserted into hinge holes  51  of a fixing plate  50  that will be described hereinafter. 
     The door unit  30  includes a door  31  and a pair of opening/closing devices  40  provided at upper and lower ends of the door  31  and adapted to open or close the door  31  via engagement and disengagement with the hinges  22 . 
     The door  31  has an approximately rectangular shape, for example, and is located at the front surface of the body  10 . A gasket  32  is provided to surround an inner rim of the door  31 , to prevent leakage of cold air from the storage compartment  11 . A pair of grips (not shown) is provided at left and right sides of a front surface of the door  31 , to facilitate bidirectional opening/closing operations of the door  31 . 
     The opening/closing device  40  provided at the upper end of the door  31 , as shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , includes the fixing plate  50  fixed to upper ends of side surfaces of the door  31 , a pair of opening/closing structures  100  provided at left and right sides of the fixing plate  50  to enable the engagement and disengagement of the hinges  22 , and an operative connector  60  provided between the pair of opening/closing structures  100  and adapted to move transversely in association with the operation of the opening/closing structures  100 . 
     The fixing plate  50  has the hinge holes  51  formed in opposite side positions thereof corresponding to the hinges  22 , to allow the hinges  22  to be detachably inserted thereinto. The fixing plate  50  further has guide protrusions  52  and  55 , to guide smooth movements of the operative connector  60 . 
     The pair of opening/closing structures  100  is provided in the fixing plate  50  at positions adjacent to the respective hinge holes  51 . The pair of opening/closing structures  100  has the same configuration as each other and is symmetrically arranged at left and right positions. Therefore, the following description deals with only one left opening/closing structure  100  located at the left side of the drawing, and a description related to the right opening/closing structure  100  will be omitted and replaced by the following description of the left opening/closing structure  100 . 
     The opening/closing structure  100  includes a latch  70  rotatably mounted on the fixing plate  50 , and a pressure member  80  provided between an outer end of the latch  70  and the end of the fixing plate  50 . 
     The latch  70  is rotatably mounted on the fixing plate  50  by a rotating shaft  71 . An arched over-rotation preventing portion  72  is formed at a side of the rotating shaft  71  to limit a rotation angle of the latch  70 . To correspond to the over-rotation preventing portion  72 , a protrusion  53  is provided on the fixing plate  50  at a fixed position. 
     The latch  70  is formed, at an opposite position of the over-rotation preventing portion  72  about the rotating shaft  71 , with a receiving recess  73  to be engaged with or disengaged from the hinge  22  according to rotations of the latch  70 . The latch  70  is further formed, at an outer side of the over-rotation preventing portion  72 , with an eccentric portion  74  to pressure the operative connector  60  or to be spaced apart from the operative connector  60  according to rotations of the latch  70 . When the door  31  is opened, the latch  70  located in the opening side of the door  31  is rotated such that the eccentric portion  74  pressures the operative connector  60 . The pressurized operative connector  60  is moved transversely to come into contact with a surface of the other latch  70 . Accordingly, the operative connector  60  limits rotations of the other latch  70  such that the hinge  22  is surrounded by the receiving recess  73  of the latch  70 . Thereby, the latch  70  can prevent the hinge  22  from being separated from the hinge hole  51  and allow the door  31  to pivotally rotate about the hinge  22 , resulting in opening and closing operations of the door body  31 . 
     The pressure member  80  has one end fixed to a pressure member mount  75  of the latch  70 , and the other end fixed to a pressure member mount  54  of the fixing plate  50 . With this configuration, the pressure member  80  can produce an elastic force required to maintain restriction and release positions of the hinge  22  by the latch  70 , that is to say, positions of the latch  70  upon opening and closing of the door  31 . 
     The operative connector  60  is provided between the pair of opening/closing structures  100 . The operative connector  60  has a plurality of guide slots  61  and  62  arranged to correspond to the guide protrusions  52  and  55  to guide smooth transversal movements of the guide protrusions  52  and  55 . The plurality of guide slots  61  and  62  include a center first guide slot  61  and a pair of second guide slots  62  provided at opposite sides of the first guide slot  61  to correspond to each other. 
     With the above described configuration, the center guide protrusion  55  penetrates through the first guide slot  61 , and both the side guide protrusions  52  penetrate through the respective second guide slots  62 . In this way, the operative connector  60  can be guided by the guide protrusions  52  and  55  for smooth movements thereof. 
     In this case, a head portion  52   a  of each guide protrusions  52  has a diameter larger than a width of the guide slot  62 , and can prevent the operative connector  60  from coming off vertically from the fixing plate  50  during movements of the operative connector  60 . 
     The operative connector  60  includes a pair of elastic elements  63 , which are arranged at left and right sides of the center guide protrusion  55 . 
     Any one of the elastic elements  63  has one end secured to a first fixture  64  of the operative connector  60  and the other end secured to the center guide protrusion  55 . The other elastic element  63  has one end secured to the second fixture  65  of the operative connector  60  and the other end secured to the center guide protrusion  55 . 
     In operation of the operative connector  60  having the above-described elastic elements  63 , when the door is opened in a rightward opening/closing manner, the left latch  70  is rotated, and the operative connector  60  is moved rightward by the pressure force applied by the eccentric portion  74 , to come into contact with the right latch  70 . In this case, the elastic element  63  between the first fixture  64  and the center guide protrusion  55  is contracted, and the elastic element  63  between the second fixture  65  and the center guide protrusion  55  is extended. Thereafter, when the door is closed, if the left latch  70  is rotated in an opposite direction and the pressure force applied by the eccentric portion  74  is removed, the operative connector  60  is returned to its original position by the elastic restoration force of the elastic element  63 , to be spaced apart from both the latches  70 . 
     The operative connector  60  is disposed in the fixing plate  50  and has approximately the same width as that of the fixing plate  50 . Accordingly, the operative connector  60  has only a minimized movement in a longitudinal direction of the fixing plate  50  and can be moved only in a transversal direction of the fixing plate  50 . 
     To achieve an improved superior outer appearance, a cover  90  is provided at an upper end of the fixing plate  50 , in which the opening/closing structures  100  and the operative connector  60  are received therein, to prevent the internal elements from being exposed to the outside. 
     As stated above, the operative connector  60  has a large width equal to that of the fixing plate  50  and can achieve smooth movements thereof by virtue of the elastic elements  63  received therein. Also, since the head portion  52   a  of each guide protrusion  52  has a diameter larger than the width of the guide slot  62 , the operative connector  60  has no risk of coming off vertically from the fixing plate  50  during movements thereof. Accordingly, the operative connector  60  can achieve a high durability in spite of frequent opening and closing operations and long time use of the door  31 . 
     Also, by arranging the operative connector  60  and the pressure member  80  at opposite sides of the latch  70 , the height of the opening/closing device  40  can be reduced. 
     Hereinafter, the operation of the door unit included in the refrigerator in accordance with the present embodiment will be described. 
     In a closed state of the door, the hinge  22  is inserted in the hinge hole  51  of the fixing plate  50  while being restricted by the receiving recess  73  of the latch  70  to maintain the door in the closed state. 
     In this case, when the door is opened in a rightward opening/closing direction, as shown in  FIGS. 4A and 4B , the latch  70  of the left opening/closing structure  100  is rotated clockwise by the door opening force. With the rotation of the latch  70 , the opening side of the receiving recess  73  of the latch  70  is aligned with the opening side of the hinge hole  51 , thereby causing the hinge  22  to be separated from the opening/closing device  40 . 
     In this case, the eccentric portion  74  pressures the left surface of the operative connector  60  with the rotation of the latch  70 . Thereby, the operative connector  60  is moved rightward, to come into contact with the right opening/closing structure  100 . After the rotation of the latch  70  is performed to some extent, one end of the over-rotation preventing portion  72  is caught by the protrusion  53  of the fixing plate  50 , to prevent over-rotation of the left latch  70 . Furthermore, the moved operative connector  60  limits rotation of the right latch  70 . As a result, the door is pivotally rotated about the right hinge  22  as a rotating shaft, to thereby be opened. 
     Also, when the door is closed, the hinge  22  pushes one side of the receiving recess  73  of the latch  70 , thus causing the latch  70  to rotate counterclockwise. Accordingly, the hinge  22  is inserted into the receiving recess  73  of the latch  70  and the hinge hole  51  of the fixing plate  50  without the risk of separation. Simultaneously, the pressure force applied to the operative connector  60  by the eccentric portion  74  is removed. Thereby, the operative connector  60  can be returned to its original position spaced apart from both the opening/closing structures  100  by a predetermined distance, under the influence of the elastic restoration force of the elastic elements  63  provided at the operative connector  60 . 
     Similarly, when the door is opened in a leftward opening/closing direction, as shown in  FIGS. 5A and 5B , the left opening/closing structure  100  performs the same operation as the rightward opening/closing operation of the right opening/closing structure  100 , and the right opening/closing structure  100  performs the same operation as the leftward opening/closing operation of the left opening/closing structure  100 , resulting in opening and closing operations of the door. 
     Although the above embodiment describes the opening/closing device  40  of the door provided at an upper end of the door, it will be appreciated that the same opening/closing device  40  can be provided at a lower end of the door, to perform the same operation as the above description. 
     Also, it will be appreciated that, although the refrigerator is exemplified as a product having the door unit in accordance with the present embodiment, the bidirectional opening/closing door unit of the present embodiment is also applicable to other articles except for the refrigerator. 
     As apparent from the above description, in the present embodiment, a pair of door opening/closing devices is provided at upper and lower ends of a door to open or close the door in dual directions. Accordingly, the present embodiment has the effect of opening or closing the door in dual directions without disassembling and re-assembling of the door. 
     Further, according to the present embodiment, an operative connector, which has a width corresponding to that of a fixing plate, is movably disposed on the fixing plate while being spaced apart from latches. With this configuration, the operative connector can achieve smooth movements and maintain a high durability in spite of frequent opening/closing operations and long time use of the door. 
     Furthermore, by arranging the operative connector and a pressure member at opposite sides of each latch, the height of the opening/closing device can be reduced, resulting in a compact configuration of the opening/closing device. 
     Although an embodiment has been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in this embodiment without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.