Abstract:
A door is mounted on a refrigerator body by a mechanism enabling the door to be opened selectively at either side thereof while the other side forms a hinge. The mechanism includes a pair of hinge pins disposed on opposite sides of either the body or the door, and a pair of pin slots carried by the other of the body and door for receiving respective ones of the hinge pins when the door is closed. Pin grippers are mounted adjacent respective slots, and each pin gripper is movable between a release state permitting a respective pin to enter and leave its respective slot, and a retaining state preventing the respective pin from leaving its respective slot. A latch bar is manually slidable between first and second positions for holding one of the pin grippers in its retaining state while releasing the other pin gripper.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a device for enabling a door to be selectively hinged at either side, and a refrigerator equipped with such a device. 
     2. Prior Art 
     A door is an essential component in buildings such as a house, in furniture or in household appliances such as microwave ovens and refrigerators. A conventional door has a hinge at either the left or the right side and a knob provided at the other side, and is normally designed to be opened or closed at one side of the door only. As a consequence, such a door may be inconvenient to a user--who can be right-handed or left-handed--depending on the side on which the knob is provided. 
     Furthermore, the opening direction of the door, when selecting a place for installing an appliance with a door, could limit the choices and thus reduce the effective utilization of available space. 
     To eliminate the above described shortcomings, several patents including European Patent Publication No. 0 501 021, U.S. Pat. No. 3,889,419, U.S. Pat. No. 4,503,582, U.S. Pat. No. 4,503,583 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,064,255 present several kinds of devices for selectively opening/closing a door at either side thereof. 
     The above conventional devices for opening/closing a door utilize a relatively complicated mechanism in order to freely open/close a door from either side. In these devices, when a user pulls one side of the door, the door is opened in the pulling direction while the other side of the door functions as a hinge. 
     Furthermore, in conventional devices for opening/closing a door at either side, a large number of precise parts are combined in order to secure the exact switching of either side to the hinged state and to prevent the separation of the door from the appliance body when the door is opened. As a result, the manufacturing cost of the device is relatively expensive, and the device has a high possibility of a breakdown, failing to guarantee safe operation when the size of the parts lose their original precision or when the parts wear out with time. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention has been conceived to overcome the above problems in the prior art, and accordingly it is an object of the invention to provide a device for opening/closing a door at either side and which only one desired side of the two sides of a door can be opened according to the user&#39;s choice of direction (activated by a latch), and which can be manufactured at a low cost and with relative ease. 
     It is the second object of this invention to provide a refrigerator equipped with the above described device for opening/closing a door at either side. 
     The above objects are realized by a device for opening/closing a door installed at a door opening of the appliance&#39;s main body comprising at least one pair of hinge pins opposing each other at opposite ends of either the door or the main body, the hinge pins serving as pivot shafts for the door; a casing fixed to either the door or the main body, whichever is not used above, the casing having pin slots to allow access to the hinge pins; a pair of pin gripper means placed in the region of each of the pin slots, the pair of pin gripper means being movable between a retaining position and a release position, the pin gripper means blocking the pin slots from the release direction so as to restrain the hinge pins in the pin slots at the retaining position, and the pin gripper means permitting the hinge pins to be released from the pin slots at the release position; a latch means for retaining one of the two pin gripper means at the release position and the other pin gripper means at the retaining position; and a switching knob for operating the latch means from the exterior. 
     The latch means may be a bar-like latch member; it is positioned so that it can slide between the two gripper means and has opposite distal ends to selectively come into contact with the gripper means. The device could further comprise a retaining means for fixing the latch member. The retaining means may comprise a holding protuberance bulging out of the latch member and a retaining member fixed to the casing, the retaining member being elastically deformable and having retaining grooves with which the holding protuberance engage. 
     According to a preferred embodiment, the pin gripper means comprises a pin gripper having a pin receiving groove for partially accommodating the hinge pin and pivoting between the retaining position and the release position and a spring for urging the pin gripper toward the release position, and the latch means selectively prevents one of the pin grippers from pivoting from the retaining position toward the release position. In this case, the latch means may be a bar-like latch member designed to slide between the two pin grippers, and the pin grippers may respectively have an engaging face for engaging with the corresponding ends of the latch member to be prevented from pivoting. 
     According to another preferred embodiment, the pin gripper means comprises a pair of pin grippers arranged in the region of each of the pin slots and springs for urging the pin grippers toward the retaining position, the pair of pin grippers having inclined surfaces in both directions so as to slide between the retaining position and the release position in cooperation with the movement of the hinge pins into and out of the pin slots, and the latch means urges to maintain one of the pin grippers at the retaining position. In this case, the latch means may be a bar-like latch member designed to slide between the two pin grippers, and the distal ends of the latch member urge pin grippers to be maintained. 
     Meanwhile, in another scope, the present invention further provides a refrigerator with the above mentioned device for opening/closing a door. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The present invention will be better understood and its various objects and advantages will be more fully appreciated with the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator with a device for opening/closing a door according to the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a partly exploded perspective view of a device for opening/closing a door according to a first embodiment of the invention; 
     FIG. 3 is a plan view of the device for opening/closing a door illustrated in FIG. 2 in the closed state in which the right side of the door is latched; 
     FIG. 4 is a plan view similar to FIG. 3 when the door in is opened; 
     FIG. 5 is a plan similar to FIG. 3 illustrated in at the closed state in which the left side of the door is latched; 
     FIG. 6 is a plan view similar to FIG. 5 when the door in FIG. 5 is opened; 
     FIG. 7 is a partly exploded perspective view of a device for opening/closing a door according to a second embodiment of the invention; 
     FIG. 8 is a plan view of the device for opening/closing a door of FIG. 7 in the closed state in which the right side of the door is latched; 
     FIG. 9 is a plan view similar to FIG. 8 when the door in FIG. 8 is opened; 
     FIG. 10 is a plan view similar to FIG. 8 in the closed state in which the left side of the door is latched; 
     FIG. 11 is a plan view similar to FIG. 10 when the door in FIG. 10 is opened. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator equipped with a device for opening/closing a door according to this invention. The refrigerator includes a main body 1 having a fresh food compartment and a door 2 for opening/closing an opening at the front surface of the main body 1. A separate upper door 3 is accommodated for the freezer compartment located above the fresh food compartment. The door 2 is slightly opened in FIG. 1, and two door knobs of handles 5a and 5b are arranged at the left side and the right side of the door 2 for opening the door 2 from either side. 
     A vertically extending hinge pin is located at each and every corner of the fresh food compartment. FIG. 1 shows the left upper and lower hinge pins 7b among others. Each of the hinge pins 7b is fixed to a bracket 8b and protrudes from the main body 1. A switching knob 9 for selecting the opening direction of the door 2 is provided at the upper edge of the door 2. The switching knob 9 is located on the upper edge of the door 2. 
     FIG. 2 is a partly exploded perspective view of a device for opening/closing a door installed at an upper end of the door 2 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, an identical device being installed at the lower end of the door. 
     As shown in the figures, the device for opening/closing a door at either side includes a casing 10 fixed to the upper edge (or the lower edge) of the door 2 and covered by a cover 11. The casing 10 has pin slots 13a and 13b positioned near the opposite ends of the casing 10, so that corresponding hinge pins 7a and 7b of the main body 1 may come in and out of the pin slots 13a and 13b. The cover 11 has a knob slot 15 formed in the middle and elongated longitudinally. The switching knob 9 moves along the knob slot 15. 
     Pin grippers 20a and 20b are arranged in the region of respective pin slots 13a and 13b. The pin grippers 20a and 20b have pin receiving grooves 23a and 23b for accommodating and restraining hinge pins 7a and 7b in the pin slots 13a and 13b. The pin grippers 20a and 20b can pivot about respective pivot pins 21a and 21b. 
     Therefore, a retaining state in which the hinge pins 7a and 7b are restrained in the pin slots 13a and 13b, as shown in FIG. 3, can be switched to a release state where the hinge pin 7b is separated and released from the pin slot 13b, as shown in the left side of FIG. 4, when the pin gripper 20b pivots. The retaining state is maintained when the hinge pins 7a and 7b come into the pin slots 13a and 13b again, as shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 6 shows the case where the right-hand pin 7a is separated from the pin slot 13a. 
     The pin grippers 20a and 20b are urged elastically and pivotally by pivot springs 27a and 27b so that the pin receiving grooves 23a and 23b face the pin slots 13a and 13b and wait to receive the hinge pins as shown in the left part of FIG. 4. Thus, in FIGS. 3-4 the hinge pin 7b can easily come into the pin receiving grooves 23b of the pin grippers 20a and 20b when the door 2 is switched from the opened state to the closed state. Then, the pin gripper 20b pivots toward a retaining position at which it restrains the hinge pin 7b by the force of the hinge pin 7b coming into the pin slot 13b when the door is closed. The pin gripper 20b is pivotal toward a release position at which it waits to receive the hinge pin 7b, by the force of the hinge pin 7b coming out of the pin slot 13b when the door is opened. 
     A latch member 30 having a long bar shape is positioned between the pin slots 13a and 13b and can slide in its longitudinal direction. The latch member 30 is connected through the knob slot 15 to the switching knob 9 which is exposed to the user, so that it can be slid by operating the switching knob 9. 
     The latch member 30 further includes a holding protuberance 31 protruding transversely therefrom. A retaining member 16 is fixed to the casing 10, and the retaining member 16 has two retaining grooves 17a and 17b in order to receive the holding protuberance 31. The retaining member 16 is made of an elastic material having a plate shape. 
     When the latch member 30 is moved longitudinally by switching the direction knob 9, the retaining member 16 is elastically deformed, so that the holding protuberance 31 of the latch member 30 can be selected to be accommodated in one of the two retaining grooves 17a and 17b. The retaining member 16 yieldably prevents the latch member 30 from moving. 
     When the latch member 30 is moved to the left or to the right by shifting the switching knob 9 while the door 2 is closed, the holding protuberance 31 is accommodated in one of the retaining grooves 17a and 17b, and accordingly the opposite distal ends of the latch member 30 are engaged with the engaging face 24a or 24b of the left or the right pin gripper 20a or 20b. 
     FIG. 3 shows the state in which the latch member 30 is moved to the right to contact with the engaging face 24a of the right pin gripper 20a receiving the pin 7a. In this case, the right pin gripper 20a can not pivot to the release position from the state in which it restrains the hinge pin 7a in the pin slot 13a. In the mean time, the left pin gripper 20b can pivot freely, and thereby the hinge pin 7b can move into and out of the pin slot without hindrance. That is, the right side of the door 2 continues to maintain the hinge state, while the left side of the door 2 can be freely opened and closed. Therefore, the left side of the door 2 can be switched between the closed state as shown in FIG. 3 and the opened state as shown in FIG. 4, while the right side functions as only a hinge. 
     FIGS. 5 and 6 show the open state and the closed state in which the latch member 30 is moved to the left and then the left pin gripper 20b is latched by it. In this case, inversely to the case of FIGS. 3 and 4, the right side can be freely opened or closed, while the left side safely functions as a hinge. 
     As can be seen from the above described construction, a user can choose a desired opening direction by moving the latch member 30 by means of the switching knob 9 toward the desired hinge side of the door. When the door is opened, the pin gripper is held at the pivoted position at which it waits to receive the pin, and thereby the latch member can not then be moved toward the opened side and can not be engaged with the engaging face of the pin gripper. Thus, the latch at the side serving as a hinge can not be released, and accordingly the hinge can be securely prevented from being released when the door is opened. 
     FIG. 7 is a partly exploded perspective view of a device for opening/closing a door according to another embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 8 is a plan view of the device for opening/closing a door in which the right side of the door is latched when the door is closed, and FIG. 9 is a plan view of the device for opening/closing a door when the left side of the door is opened. 
     As shown in the figures and as just as in the previous embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 through 6, the device for opening/closing a door according to this embodiment includes a casing 110 fixed to the upper edge or the lower edge of the door 102 and covered by a cover 111. The casing 110 has pin slots 113a and 113b positioned near the opposite ends of the casing 110, so that the hinge pins 107a and 107b of the main body 101 may move into and out of respective pin slots 113a and 113b. 
     Pin grippers 120a and 120b are located in the nearby region respective of pin slots 113a and 113b. The pin grippers 120a and 120b restrain perspective hinge pins 107a and 107b in pin slots 113a and 113b. The pin grippers 120a and 120b can slide in the longitudinal direction of the casing 110. The pin grippers 120a and 120b are elastically urged toward the pin slots 113a and 113b by springs 127a and 127b supported by a spring holders 119a, 199b protruding from the bottom of the casing 110. 
     The pin grippers 120a and 120b have respective inclined surfaces 121a and 121b slanted with respect to the introducing direction of the hinge pins 107a and 107b in the region of the pin slots 113a and 113b, and thereby they move backward against the elastic force of the springs 127a and 127b when the hinge pins 107a and 107b enter respective pin slots 113a and 113b. Then, the respective one of the pin grippers 120a and 120b having moved backward during the introduction of the hinge pins is returned to its initial position by the elastic force of the respective one of the springs 127a and 127b after the hinge pin has been completely introduced. 
     The pin grippers 120a and 120b also have respective inclined surfaces 122a and 122b in the exiting direction of the introduced hinge pins 107a and 107b. Therefore, the pin grippers 120a and 120b perform a corresponding cooperative movement of retraction and returning when the hinge pins 107a and 107b leave respective pin slots 113a and 113b. 
     A latch member 130 having a long bar shape is placed between the pin slots 113a and 113b and the latch member 130 can slide in its longitudinal direction. The latch member 130 has guide portions 132a and 132b arranged at the opposite distal ends, and these guide portions 132a and 132b receive respective pin grippers 120a and 120b and guide the sliding of the pin grippers 120a and 120b. The pin grippers 120a and 120b can slide into respective guide portions 132a and 132b in the longitudinal direction of the casing 110. 
     Compression springs 135a and 135b for urging respective pin grippers 120a and 120b toward the pin slots 113a and 113b are interposed between the pin grippers 120a and 120b and the bottom of the guide portions 132a and 132b. The compression springs 135a and 135b urge respective pin grippers 120a and 120b with a force much smaller than that of the springs 127a and 127b urging respective pin grippers 120a and 120b toward the pin slots 113a and 113b with respect to the casing 110. 
     The pin grippers 120a and 120b have respective stopper pins 133a and 133b protruding transversely with respect to their moving direction. Corresponding to the stopper pins 133a and 133b, stopper pin slots 134a and 134b are formed at the guide portions 132a and 132b of the latch member 130. The stopper pin slots 134a and 134b extend along the moving direction of respective pin grippers 120a and 120b. Therefore, the range of movement of the pin grippers 120a and 120b is limited in respective guide portions 132a and 132b of the latch member 130. 
     The latch member 130 is connected through the knob slot 115 to the switching knob 109 which is exposed to the exterior for the user, so that it can be slid by shifting the switching knob 109. The latch member 130 further includes a holding protuberance 131 protruding transversely therefrom. A retaining member 116 is fixed to the casing 110, and the retaining member 116 has two retaining grooves 117a and 117b for engaging with the holding protuberance 131. The retaining member 116 is made of an elastic material having a shape of a plate. 
     When the latch member 130 is moved longitudinally by operating the switching knob 109, the retaining member 116 is elastically deformed, so that the holding protuberance 131 of the latch member 130 can be selected to be received in either one of the two retaining grooves 117a and 117b. The retaining member 116 yieldably prevents the latch member 130 from moving. 
     In FIG. 8, when the latch member 130 is moved to the right by shifting the switching knob 109 when the door 102 is closed, the holding protuberance 131 is received in the right retaining groove 117a of the retaining member 116, and accordingly, the stopper pin 133a fixed to the pin gripper 120a contacts the inner end of the stopper pin slot 134a of the latch member 130. Therefore, the pin gripper 120a can not move inward in the longitudinal direction of the casing 110, thereby being maintained to restrain the hinge pin 107a. In this case, the compression spring 135a urges the pin gripper 120a toward the pin slot 113a, thereby assuring contact between the stopper pin 133a and the inner end of the stopper pin slot 134a even when the parts become worn. 
     FIG. 8 shows a state in which the latch member 130 is moved to the right and then it latches the right pin gripper 120a accommodating the pin lest it should move. In this case, the right pin gripper 120a can not move away from the pin slot 113a. While on the other side, the left pin gripper 120b can freely move, and thereby the corresponding hinge pin 107b has free access thereto. In other words, the right side of the door 102 continues to maintain the hinge state, while the left side of the door 102 can be freely opened and closed. Therefore, the left side of the door 102 can be switched between the closed state as shown in FIG. 8 and the opened state as shown in FIG. 9, while the right side functions as only a hinge and thereby it can not be opened. 
     FIGS. 10 and 11 show an open state and a closed state in which the latch member 130 is moved to the left and then it latches the left pin gripper 120b. In this case, inversely to the case of FIGS. 8 and 9, the right side can be freely opened and closed, while the left side functions as a hinge. 
     As can be seen from the above described construction of the present embodiment, a user can choose a desired opening direction by moving the latch member 130 toward the desired hinge side by means of the switching knob 109 while the door is closed. When the door is opened, the pin gripper is at the position at which it waits to receive the pin, and thereby the latch member can not be moved toward the opened side and can not be engaged with the engaging face of the pin gripper. Thus, the latch at the side serving as a hinge can not be released, and accordingly the hinge can be securely prevented from being released when the door is opened. 
     As described above, the present invention provides a device for opening/closing a door which can be selected to be opened from either side of the door and which has a simple and cost efficient construction.