Patent Publication Number: US-10309714-B2

Title: Side-by-side refrigerator

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a national phase entry under 35 USC § 371 of International Application PCT/CN2016/079978, filed Apr. 22, 2016, which claims priority to and benefits of Chinese Patent Application Serial No. 201510981560.4 and 201521088333.0, filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of P. R. China on Dec. 22, 2015, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to a technical field of electric appliance manufacture, and specifically to a side-by-side refrigerator. 
     BACKGROUND 
     In a side-by-side refrigerator in the related art, in order to seal a gap between two door bodies, it is required to mount a turnover beam to one door body, but the turnover beam has a complicated structure and larger number of components and parts, which not only increases the part cost of the refrigerator, but also influences the assembly efficiency of the refrigerator. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present disclosure seeks to solve one of the technical problems existing in the related art to at least some extent. Thus, the present disclosure provides a side-by-side refrigerator which has advantages of a simple structure, low cost, high production efficiency and etc. 
     In order to achieve the above objective, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a side-by-side refrigerator, the side-by-side refrigerator includes: a refrigerator body having a refrigerating compartment therein; a first door body and a second door body pivotably arranged on the refrigerator body respectively so as to jointly open and close the refrigerating compartment, the first door body being provided with a first door seal and the second door body being provided with a second door seal; and a door body locking assembly, in which when the first door body and the second door body close the refrigerating compartment, the first door body and the second door body are locked by the door body locking assembly and the first door seal and the second door seal jointly seal a gap between the first door body and the second door body. 
     The side-by-side refrigerator according to embodiments of the present disclosure has the advantages of a simple structure, low cost, high production efficiency and etc. 
     In addition, the side-by-side refrigerator according to embodiments of the present disclosure further has the following additional technical features: 
     According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first door body is provided with a first hanger and the second door body is provided with a second hanger, and the first hanger and the second hanger are locked by the door body locking assembly when the first door body and the second door body close the refrigerating compartment. 
     According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the door body locking assembly includes: a casing provided to the refrigerator body; a first claw and a second claw, the first claw and the second claw being rotatably disposed to the casing separately; a first elastic piece and a second elastic piece, the first elastic piece being compressed between the casing and the first claw and the second elastic piece being compressed between the casing and the second claw, in which when the first door body and the second door body close the refrigerating compartment, the first hanger is hooked by the first claw under an action of the first elastic piece and the second hanger is hooked by the second claw under an action of the second elastic piece. 
     According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first hanger is provided with a first locking lug having a circular cross section, the first claw is provided with a first guiding slope and a first locking arc surface located behind the first guiding slope, the second hanger is provided with a second locking lug having a circular cross section, the second claw is provided with a second guiding slope and a second locking arc surface located behind the second guiding slope, when the first door body and the second door body close the refrigerating compartment, the first claw is hooked to the first locking arc surface under a guidance of the first guiding slope and the second claw is hooked to the second locking arc surface under a guidance of the second guiding slope. 
     According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first claw and the second claw are arranged opposite to each other in first and second directions, and a rotation axis of the first claw and a rotation axis of the second claw are parallel and oriented in up and down directions. 
     According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the casing is located at a center of the refrigerator body in first and second directions, the first hanger is disposed to a rear surface of the first door body and adjacent to a second side face of the first door body, and the second hanger is disposed to a rear surface of the second door body and adjacent to a first side surface of the second door body. 
     According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the casing includes a body having an accommodating cavity, the accommodating cavity having an open rear surface, a front surface of the body being provided with a locking opening communicated with the accommodating cavity, the first claw, the second claw, the first elastic piece and the second elastic piece being all arranged in the accommodating cavity, and the first claw extending into the locking opening under an action of the first elastic piece and the second claw extending into the locking opening under an action of the second elastic piece; and a cover detachably mounted to the body and covering the rear surface of the accommodating cavity. 
     According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first claw is provided with a first rotation shaft, the second claw is provided with a second rotation shaft, the cover and the body jointly define a first rotation shaft groove and a second rotation shaft groove, the first rotation shaft is rotatably fitted in the first rotation shaft groove, and the second rotation shaft is rotatably fitted in the second rotation shaft groove. 
     According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first elastic piece and the second elastic piece are both springs, a first side surface of the first claw is provided with a first positioning column and a second side surface of the second claw is provided with a second positioning column, the first elastic piece has a first first end abutted against a first side wall of the accommodating cavity and a first second end fitted over the first positioning column, the second elastic piece has a second first end fitted over the second positioning column and a second second end abutted against a second side wall of the accommodating cavity. 
     According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, two door body locking assemblies are provided and disposed to an upper face and a lower face of the refrigerating compartment respectively. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a partial schematic view of a side-by-side refrigerator according to embodiments of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is an enlarged view of portion A circled in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded view of a door body locking assembly of a side-by-side refrigerator according to embodiments of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 4  is a sectional view of a door body locking assembly of a side-by-side refrigerator according to embodiments of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     Reference numerals: side-by-side refrigerator  1 , first door body  110 , first door seal  111 , first hanger  112 , first locking lug  1120 , second door body  120 , second door seal  121 , second hanger  122 , second locking lug  1220 , door body locking assembly  200 , casing  210 , body  211 , locking opening  2110 , first rotation shaft groove  2111 , second rotation shaft groove  2112 , cover  212 , first limiting rib  2121 , second limiting rib  2122 , first limiting plate  2123 , second limiting plate  2124 , first claw  220 , first guiding slope  221 , first locking arc surface  222 , first rotation shaft  223 , first positioning column  224 , second claw  230 , second guiding slope  231 , second locking arc surface  232 , second rotation shaft  233 , second positioning column  234 , first elastic piece  241 , second elastic piece  242 . 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail and examples of the embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings, where same or similar reference numerals are used to indicate same or similar members or members with same or similar functions. The embodiments described herein with reference to drawings are explanatory, which are used to illustrate the present disclosure, but shall not be construed to limit the present disclosure. 
     A side-by-side refrigerator  1  according to embodiments of the present disclosure is described in the following with reference to the accompany drawings. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 1  to  FIG. 4 , the side-by-side refrigerator  1  according to embodiments of the present disclosure includes a refrigerator body (not illustrated in the figures), a first door body  110 , a second door body  120  and a door body locking assembly  200  (first and second directions are shown by an arrow C in  FIG. 1  to  FIG. 4 ). 
     The refrigerator body is provided with a refrigerating compartment therein. The first door body  110  and the second door body  120  are pivotably arranged on the refrigerator body respectively so as to jointly open and close the refrigerating compartment, and the first door body  110  and the second door body  120  are arranged to be opened oppositely. The first door body  110  is provided with a first door seal  111  and the second door body  120  is provided with a second door seal  121 . When the first door body  110  and the second door body  120  close the refrigerating compartment, the first door body  110  and the second door body  120  are locked by the door body locking assembly  200  and the first door seal  111  and the second door seal  121  jointly seal a gap between the first door body  110  and the second door body  120 . 
     In the side-by-side refrigerator  1  according to embodiments of the present disclosure, by providing the door body locking assembly  200 , the first door body  110  and the second door body  120  can be locked by mean of the door body locking assembly  200 , so as to lock the first door body  110  and the second door body  120  when the first door body  110  and the second door body  120  jointly close the refrigerating compartment, thus preventing the first door body  110  and the second door body  120  from being opened in cases except that the users open the first door body  110  and the second door body  120  on their own initiative, and guaranteeing reliability of the first door body  110  and the second door body  120  for closing the refrigerating compartment. 
     In addition, by arranging the first door seal  111  to the first door body  110  and arranging the second door seal  121  to the second door body  120 , it is possible to jointly seal the gap between the first door body  110  and the second door body  120  by means of the first door seal  111  and the second door seal  121  when the first door body  110  and the second door body  120  close the refrigerating compartment. Furthermore, as the first door body  110  and the second door body  120  are locked by the door body locking assembly  200  when the first door body  110  and the second door body  120  close the refrigerating compartment, it is possible to further guarantee sealing effect on the gap between the first door body  110  and the second door body  120  by means of the first door seal  111  and the second door seal  121 , thus guaranteeing the leakproofness of the refrigerating compartment. 
     In addition, as the gap between the first door body  110  and the second door body  120  of the side-by-side refrigerator  1  is sealed by the first door seal  111  and the second door seal  121  and the first door body  110  and the second door body  120  are locked by means of the door body locking assembly  200 , compared with the manner in related art that the gap between door bodies is sealed by means of a turnover beam, it is possible to not only omit the part cost of the turnover beam, further simplify the structure of the side-by-side refrigerator  1 , reduce the number of the parts of the side-by-side refrigerator  1  and hence the manufacture cost of the side-by-side refrigerator  1 , but also omit assembly procedure for mounting the turnover beam, simplify the assembly process of the side-by-side refrigerator  1 , improve the production efficiency of the side-by-side refrigerator  1 , reduce the operation intensity of installation personnel so as to reduce labor cost, thus further reduce the production cost of the side-by-side refrigerator  1 . 
     Thus, the side-by-side refrigerator  1  according to embodiments of the present disclosure has advantages of a simple structure, low cost, high production efficiency and etc. 
     The side-by-side refrigerator  1  according to embodiments of the present disclosure is described in the following with reference to accompany drawings. 
     In some embodiments of the present disclosure, as illustrated in  FIG. 1  to  FIG. 4 , the side-by-side refrigerator  1  according to embodiments of the present disclosure includes the refrigerator body, the first door body  110 , the second door body  120  and the door body locking assembly  200 . The first door seal  111  is located at a second side wall of the first door body  110  and disposed adjacent to a rear surface of the first door body  110 , and the second door seal  121  is located at a first side wall of the second door body  120  and disposed adjacent to a rear surface of the second door body  120 . 
     The first door body  110  is provided with a first hanger  112  and the second door body  120  is provided with a second hanger  122 , and the first hanger  112  and the second hanger  122  are locked by the door body locking assembly  200  when the first door body  110  and the second door body  120  close the refrigerating compartment. Thus, the first hanger  112  and the second hanger  122  can be conveniently used to position the first door body  110  and the second door body  120 , such that the door body locking assembly  200  can conveniently lock the first door body  110  and the second door body  120 . 
     Specifically, as illustrated in  FIG. 2  to  FIG. 4 , the door body locking assembly  200  includes a casing  210 , a first claw  220 , a second claw  230 , a first elastic piece  241  and a second elastic piece  242 . The casing  210  is provided to the refrigerator body. The first claw  220  and the second claw  230  are rotatably disposed to the casing  210  separately. The first elastic piece  241  is compressed between the casing  210  and the first claw  220  and the second elastic piece  242  is compressed between the casing  210  and the second claw  230 . When the first door body  110  and the second door body  120  close the refrigerating compartment, the first hanger  112  is hooked by the first claw  220  under the action of the first elastic piece  241  and the second hanger  122  is hooked by the second claw  230  under the action of the second elastic piece  242 . Thus, in the processes of opening and closing the door body, the first claw  220  and the second claw  230  can be squeezed by the first hanger  112  and the second hanger  122 , enabling the first claw  220  and the second claw  230  to overcome an elastic force of the elastic piece to rotate, thereby facilitating the opening and locking of the door body. Therefore, it is possible to lock the first door body  110  by means of the first hanger  112  and the first claw  220  and lock the second door body  120  by means of the second hanger  122  and the second claw  230 , which not only releases the user from considering the sequence of door opening, thus improving the convenience of the side-by-side refrigerator  1 , but also facilitates the assembly of the door body locking assembly  200  by providing the casing  210 . For example, the first claw  220 , the second claw  230 , the first elastic piece  241  and the second elastic piece  242  can be firstly mounted to the casing  210  to form the door body locking assembly  200 , and the door body locking assembly  200  can be then mounted to the refrigerator body. 
     More specifically, as illustrated in  FIG. 2  to  FIG. 4 , the first hanger  112  is provided with a first locking lug  1120  having a circular cross section, the first claw  220  is provided with a first guiding slope  221  and a first locking arc surface  222  located behind the first guiding slope  221 , the second hanger  122  is provided with a second locking lug  1220  having a circular cross section, the second claw  230  is provided with a second guiding slope  231  and a second locking arc surface  232  located behind the second guiding slope  231 . When the first door body  110  and the second door body  120  close the refrigerating compartment, the first claw  220  is hooked to the first locking arc surface  222  under a guidance of the first guiding slope  221  and the second claw  230  is hooked to the second locking arc surface  232  under a guidance of the second guiding slope  231 . Specifically, the first locking lug  1120  can be located at a first side wall of the first hanger  112  and disposed adjacent to a rear end of the first hanger  112 , and the second locking lug  1220  can be located at a second side wall of the second hanger  122  and disposed adjacent to a rear end of the second hanger  122  (front and rear directions are shown by an arrow B in  FIG. 1  to  FIG. 4 ). In this way, the processes of opening and closing the door body can be more smooth, so as to facilitate the opening and closing of the door body, and the opening of the door body by itself in conditions where the user doesn&#39;t apply a force to the door body can be prevented, so as to guarantee the reliability of the side-by-side refrigerator  1 . 
     Optionally, as illustrated in  FIG. 2  to  FIG. 4 , the first claw  220  and the second claw  230  are arranged opposite to each other in the first and second directions, and a rotation axis of the first claw  220  and a rotation axis of the second claw  230  are parallel and oriented along up and down directions. Thus, the first claw  220  and the second claw  230  can be enabled to rotate in a horizontal direction, so as to facilitate the opening and closing of the door body in the horizontal direction. 
     Advantageously, as illustrated in  FIG. 2  to  FIG. 4 , the casing  210  is located at a center of the refrigerator body in the first and second directions, the first hanger  112  is disposed to the rear surface of the first door body  110  and adjacent to a second side surface of the first door body  110 , the second hanger  122  is disposed to the rear surface of the second door body  120  and adjacent to a first side surface of the second door body  120 . Thus, the door body locking assembly  200  can be applied to refrigerators having the first door body  110  and the second door body  120  of same size, and locking effect on the first door body  110  and the second door body  120  by means of the door body locking assembly  200  as well as sealing effect on the gap between the first door body  110  and the second door body  120  can be improved. 
     In one embodiment, the casing  210  can also be not disposed at the center of the refrigerator body in the horizontal direction, so as to enable the door body locking assembly  200  to be applied to refrigerators having door bodies of different sizes. 
     Specifically, the casing  210  can be mounted to the refrigerator body by means of threaded fasteners. 
       FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4  illustrate the side-by-side refrigerator  1  according to a specific example of the present disclosure. As illustrated in  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4 , the casing  210  includes a body  211  and a cover  212 . The body  211  has an accommodating cavity, the accommodating cavity has an open rear surface, a front surface of the body  211  is provided with a locking opening  2110  communicated with the accommodating cavity. The first claw  220 , the second claw  230 , the first elastic piece  241  and the second elastic piece  242  are all arranged in the accommodating cavity. The first claw  220  extends into the locking opening  2110  under the action of the first elastic piece  241  and the second claw  230  extends into the locking opening  2110  under the action of the second elastic piece  242 . The cover  212  is detachably mounted to the body  211  and covers the rear surface of the accommodating cavity. Thus, it is convenient for the assembly and disassembly of the door body locking assembly  200 , so as to facilitate the detachment and repair of the door body locking assembly  200 . 
     Specifically, as illustrated in  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4 , the first claw  220  is provided with a first rotation shaft  223 , the second claw  230  is provided with a second rotation shaft  233 , the cover  212  and the body  211  jointly define a first rotation shaft groove  2111  and a second rotation shaft groove  2112 , the first rotation shaft  223  is rotatably fitted in the first rotation shaft groove, and the second rotation shaft  233  is rotatably fitted in the second rotation shaft groove. Thus, it is possible to achieve that the first claw  220  and the second claw  230  can be rotatably disposed to the casing  210 . 
     Specifically, as illustrated in  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4 , the cover  212  is provided with a first limiting rib  2121  and a second limiting rib  2122 , the body  211  can be provided with a first notch and a second notch, the first notch and the first limiting rib  2121  jointly define the first rotation shaft groove  2111  and the second notch and the second limiting rib  2122  jointly define the second rotation shaft groove  2112 . In this way, during the assembly, the rotation shaft can be firstly fitted in the notch, and then be positioned by using the limiting rib, to prevent the rotation shaft from breaking away from the notch. 
     Optionally, as illustrated in  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4 , the first elastic piece  241  and the second elastic piece  242  are both springs, a first side surface of the first claw  220  is provided with a first positioning column  224  and a second side surface of the second claw  230  is provided with a second positioning column  234 . The first elastic piece  241  has a first first end abutted against a first side wall of the accommodating cavity and a first second end fitted over the first positioning column  224 , the second elastic piece  242  has a second first end fitted over the second positioning column  234  and a second second end abutted against a second side wall of the accommodating cavity. Thus, the ends of the springs adjacent to the claws can be positioned by means of the first positioning column  224  and the second positioning column  234 , so as to improve the stability of the springs. 
     Specifically, as illustrated in  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4 , the casing  210  can be provided with a first limiting plate  2123  and a second limiting plate  2124 . The first end of the first elastic piece  241  can be abutted between a front end of the first limiting plate  2123  and an inner wall of the body  211 , the second end of the second elastic piece  242  can be abutted between a front end of the second limiting plate  2124  and an inner wall of the body  211 , thus the first end of the first elastic piece  241  and the second end of the second elastic piece  242  can be further positioned so as to improve the stability of the springs further. 
     Advantageously, two door body locking assemblies are provided and disposed to an upper surface and a lower surface of the refrigerating compartment respectively. Thus, it is possible to not only lock an upper portion and a lower portion of the door body by means of the two door body locking assemblies  200  respectively, but also avoid a middle space of the refrigerating compartment, prevent the door body locking assembly  200  from influencing the user to take out or put in articles, thus further improving the using convenience for the user. 
     Other configurations and operations of the side-by-side refrigerator  1  according to embodiments of the present disclosure, which will not be described in detail here. 
     In the specification, it is to be understood that terms such as “central,” “longitudinal,” “lateral,” “length,” “width,” “thickness,” “upper,” “lower,” “front,” “rear,” “first,” “second,” “vertical,” “horizontal,” “top,” “bottom,” “inner,” “outer,” “axial,” “radial,” “circumferential direction,” “clockwise,” and “counterclockwise” should be construed to refer to the orientation as then described or as shown in the drawings under discussion. These relative terms are for convenience of description and do not require that the present specification be constructed or operated in a particular orientation, thus cannot be construed to limit the present disclosure. 
     In addition, terms such as “first” and “second” are used herein for purposes of description and are not intended to indicate or imply relative importance or significance or to imply the number of indicated technical features. Thus, the feature defined with “first” and “second” may comprise one or more of this feature. In the description in the present specification, “a plurality of” means two or more than two, unless specified otherwise. 
     In the present specification, unless specified or limited otherwise, the terms “mounted,” “connected,” “coupled,” “fixed” and the like are used broadly, and may be, for example, fixed connections, detachable connections, or integral connections; may also be mechanical connection, electrical connections, or be communicable to each other; may also be direct connections or indirect connections via intervening structures; may also be inner communications or interaction relationship of two elements. 
     In the present specification, unless specified or limited otherwise, a structure in which a first feature is “on” or “below” a second feature may include an embodiment in which the first feature is in direct contact with the second feature, and may also include an embodiment in which the first feature and the second feature are not in direct contact with each other, but are contacted via an additional feature formed therebetween. Furthermore, a first feature “on,” “above,” or “on top of” a second feature may include an embodiment in which the first feature is second or obliquely “on,” “above,” or “on top of” the second feature, or just means that the first feature is at a height higher than that of the second feature; while a first feature “below,” “under,” or “on bottom of” a second feature may include an embodiment in which the first feature is second or obliquely “below,” “under,” or “on bottom of” the second feature, or just means that the first feature is at a height lower than that of the second feature. 
     Reference throughout this specification to “an embodiment,” “some embodiments,” “an example,” “specific examples” or “some examples” means that a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the present disclosure. Thus, the appearances of the above phrases throughout this specification are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment or example of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples.