JP7220515B2 - refrigerator - Google Patents

Description

Article 30, Paragraph 2 of the Patent Law applies Date of sale October 11, 2017 to March 14, 2018 Sales destination Lawson Kamakura Yuigahama 3-chome store and 39 others

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a refrigerator in which a ventilation plate for accessing a filter is arranged on a front panel that defines a machine room. The refrigerator of the present invention also includes showcases and ice machines.

2. Description of the Related Art In the field of refrigerators, it is known to provide a ventilation plate on a front panel that partitions a machine room, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example. The refrigerator described in Patent Document 1 is provided with a machine room 20 in the upper part of a refrigerator main body (main body) 11 having a storage compartment, and inside the machine room 20 are a condenser 12, a cooling fan 14, and a fan motor 16. , and a compressor 18 are arranged. In the refrigerator shown in FIG. 7 of Patent Document 1, the front of the machine room 20 is partitioned by a front panel 22, and a ventilation plate (external filter) 64 can be attached to and detached from an opening 22a opened in the center of the front panel 22. are placed in A filter 38 is arranged behind the ventilation plate 64, and by removing the ventilation plate 64 from the opening 22a of the front panel 22, maintenance work such as cleaning and replacement of the filter 38 can be performed.

In the refrigerator according to the present invention, the ventilation plate is configured to swing and rotate about the hinge mechanism. In the refrigerator described in Patent Document 2, a compressor 5, a condenser 6, a fan motor (electric blower 7), etc. are arranged inside a machine room 2 provided in the lower part of the main body 1. A front panel (decorative cover) 9 having an opening 13 is attached to the housing. A ventilation plate (filter operation door) 14 is pivotally supported on the front panel 9 so that the upper portion thereof can rotate forward about a support shaft 18 provided at the lower end. A filter 22 is detachably attached to the inside of the ventilation plate 14, and the filter 22 can be replaced by rotating the ventilation plate 14 forward to an open posture.

JP-A-2002-250582 Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 58-13261

In a configuration in which a machine room is provided at the top of the refrigerator, as in the refrigerator of Patent Document 1, it is unavoidable that the height position of the ventilation plate mounted on the front panel that defines the machine room is increased. Detachment work such as detachment and mounting is troublesome, and filter maintenance work cannot be performed efficiently. By the way, when the filter maintenance work is performed by only one person, remove the ventilation plate from the front panel, place the ventilation plate on the floor, clean and replace the filter, and then place the ventilation plate on the floor. It is necessary to pick up from the surface and attach it to the front panel, and it takes time and effort to maintain the filter.

As in the refrigerator of Patent Document 2, if the ventilation plate is configured to be swingable and rotatable around the axis, it is not necessary to remove the ventilation plate from the front panel or attach it, so that the filter can be quickly removed. maintenance work can proceed. However, the ventilation plate of the refrigerator of Patent Document 2 is pivotally supported so that the upper portion thereof can be rotated forward about the support shaft provided at the lower end, and even when the ventilation plate is in the open position, the air from below can be seen. Since access to the filter is not possible, the ventilation plate configuration of US Pat. It is conceivable to provide a support shaft at the upper end of the ventilation plate so that the lower part of the ventilation plate can swing and rotate about the support shaft. Since it is not supposed to open the ventilation plate widely, access to the filter is poor and maintenance work cannot be carried out efficiently. In addition, in a configuration in which the ventilation plate is opened and closed around the hinge mechanism, if the swinging trajectory of the ventilation plate toward the machine room becomes large, the swinging trajectory becomes a dead space in the machine room, and the design freedom of the machine room. decline is inevitable. In addition, if the ventilation plate is pivoted around the hinge mechanism provided at the top, there is a risk that the hinge mechanism and ventilation plate will interfere with the ceiling surface and hanging walls of the store. The ventilation plate cannot be opened wide, making it difficult to access the filter, making maintenance work inefficient. In the worst case, the hinge mechanism and ventilating plate may interfere with the ceiling surface or hanging wall of the store, and the ventilating plate may not be opened at all. This problem is caused by convenience stores, etc., where showcases that are barely sized to be installed in the store are selected, and the clearance between the upper surface of the showcase and the ceiling surface of the store is often extremely small. It tends to occur in small stores.

An object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator in which a machine room is provided at the top, and a ventilation plate is configured to be swingable and rotatable on the front panel that partitions the machine room, and ventilation is provided without interfering with the ceiling surface or hanging walls. The plate can be opened wide, and the trajectory of the ventilation plate swinging in the machine room is minimized to prevent dead space in the machine room, contributing to the improvement of the design freedom of the machine room. aim.

The refrigerator of the present invention comprises a refrigerator main body 1 having a refrigerating chamber 2, a machine room 20 provided in the upper part of the refrigerator main body 1, a front panel 17 fixed so as to cover the front opening of the machine room 20, and a front panel. The filter 26 arranged inside the machine room 20 so as to face the square-shaped vent 36 opened at 17, the hinge mechanism 50 arranged at the upper opening edge of the vent 36, and the vent 36 are closed. A ventilation plate 40 is provided that can swing open and close about a hinge mechanism 50 between a closed posture (see FIG. 1) and an open posture (see FIG. 6) in which the vent 36 is opened. The ventilation plate 40 includes a rectangular ventilation wall 42 having an opening 44 for ventilation, and an upper wall 43 a bent backward along the upper edge of the ventilation wall 42 . The front panel 17 includes a front wall 30 having a vent 36 and an upper flange wall 37a extending rearward along the upper opening edge of the vent 36 . The hinge mechanism 50 includes first and second hinge plates 52 and 53 having bushings 51 and hinge pins 54 that are inserted into the bushings 51 of the hinge plates 52 and 53 . A first hinge plate 52 is fixed to the lower surface of the upper flange wall 37a of the front panel 17, a second hinge plate 53 is fixed to the upper surface of the upper wall 43a of the ventilation plate 40, and a hinge pin 54 is fixed to the upper flange wall 37a. and the upper wall 43a.

The front end of the bushing 51 of the hinge mechanism 50, the front end of the front wall 30 of the front panel 17, and the front end of the ventilation wall 42 of the ventilation plate 40 in the closed position are aligned in the front-to-rear position, and the second hinge is formed. The longitudinal dimension (d1) of the plate 53 and the longitudinal dimension (d2) of the upper wall 43a of the ventilation plate 40 are smaller than the longitudinal dimension (d3) of the upper flange wall 37a. is set.

An open posture maintenance mechanism 60 is provided for maintaining the ventilation plate 40 in the open posture.

A closed position maintaining mechanism 70 is provided for maintaining the ventilation plate 40 in the closed position.

The closed attitude maintenance mechanism 70 can be configured by a magnetic catch with a push lock.

In the refrigerator of the present invention, the front panel 17 that defines the front of the machine room 20 is composed of a front wall 30 having a vent 36 and an upper flange wall 37a formed to protrude rearward along the upper opening edge of the vent 36. and shall be provided. In addition, the hinge mechanism 50 of the vent plate 40 for opening and closing the vent 36 is inserted into the first and second hinge plates 52 and 53 having bushings 51 and the bushings 51 of these hinge plates 52 and 53. A first hinge plate 52 is fixed to the lower surface of the upper flange wall 37a of the front panel 17, and a second hinge plate 53 is fixed to the upper surface of the upper wall 43a of the ventilation plate 40. , the hinge pin 54 is arranged between the upper flange wall 37a and the upper side wall 43a. By adopting the above configuration, for example, even when the ventilation plate 40 is rotated 90 degrees around the hinge pin 54 from the closed posture so that the ventilation wall is in a horizontal posture (see FIG. 8A). , the placement of the ventilation wall 42 on the upper side of the upper flange wall 37a can be completely eliminated. Naturally, the position of the ventilation wall 42 above the top of the front panel 17 can be completely eliminated. Therefore, according to the refrigerator of the present invention, when there is a small clearance between the upper surface of the front panel 17 and the ceiling surface where the showcase is installed, or when the upper surface of the front panel 17 and the hanging wall W of the store are separated from each other. Even if the clearance between them is small, the ventilation wall 42 does not interfere with the ceiling surface and hanging wall W, and the ventilation plate 40 can be opened wide. In addition, since the hinge mechanism 50 is provided at the uppermost part of the ventilation plate 40, the upper end of the ventilation plate 40 does not move toward the machine room 20 when the ventilation plate 40 is opened and closed by swinging. By minimizing the rocking trajectory at , it is possible to suppress the occurrence of dead space in the machine room 20 . Therefore, it is possible to contribute to improvement in the degree of freedom in designing the machine room 20 .

When the front end of the bushing 51 of the hinge mechanism 50, the front end of the front wall 30 of the front panel 17, and the front end of the ventilation wall 42 of the ventilation plate 40 in the closed position are aligned, the ventilation plate 40 is displaced from the closed position to the open position, the upper surface of the ventilation wall 42 is prevented from contacting and interfering with the lower surface of the front wall 30, and the ventilation plate 40 can be opened more widely. In addition, the longitudinal length dimension (d1) of the second hinge plate 53 that constitutes the hinge mechanism 50 and the longitudinal dimension (d2) of the upper wall 43a that constitutes the ventilation plate 40 are equal to each other in the front panel. 17 is set smaller than the length dimension (d3) in the front-rear direction of the upper flange wall 37a that constitutes the upper flange wall 37a, when the ventilation plate 40 is in the closed position, it is closer to the front than the rear end of the upper flange wall 37a. , the rear end of the second hinge plate 53 and the rear end of the upper wall 43a can be positioned. Further, since the second hinge plate 53 and the upper wall 43a can be swung and rotated at a position closer to the front than the rear end of the upper flange wall 37a, the trajectory of the swing of the ventilation plate 40 in the machine room 20 can be changed. By minimizing, dead space in the machine room 20 can be suppressed.

If the open position maintaining mechanism 60 for maintaining the open position of the ventilation plate 40 is provided, the ventilation plate 40 can be maintained in the open position during maintenance work such as cleaning or replacement of the filter 26. Therefore, it is possible to proceed with the maintenance work more efficiently.

If the closed position maintaining mechanism 70 for maintaining the closed position of the ventilation plate 40 is provided, it is possible to prevent the ventilation plate 40 from coming out of the closed position and inadvertently swinging around the hinge mechanism 50. can. If the closed position maintaining mechanism 70 is composed of a magnetic catch with a push lock, the ventilation plate 40 can be held by the magnetic adsorption force simply by pushing the ventilation plate 40 toward the closed position, and can be moved from the closed position. By pushing the vent plate 40 further, the vent plate 40 is slightly pushed forward, and a gap S can be formed between the vent plate 40 and the vent 36 . Therefore, it is possible to improve the operability of swinging opening and closing operation of the ventilation plate 40 .

Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional side view of essential parts of the refrigerator according to the present invention, showing a state in which the ventilation plate is in a closed position; It is a perspective view of a refrigerator. It is a longitudinal side view showing a schematic structure of a refrigerator. It is a front view which shows the front panel and ventilation plate of a refrigerator. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional plan view showing a front panel and a ventilation plate; It is a longitudinal side view of the essential part of the refrigerator, showing a state in which the ventilation plate is in the open position. FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional side view showing a push lock mechanism that is a mechanism for maintaining a closed posture; (a) shows a state in which the ventilation plate is rotated 90 degrees from the closed posture in the refrigerator of the present invention, and (b) is a schematic configuration diagram for explaining the problem when the ventilation plate is of a flip-up type. and (c) is a schematic configuration diagram for explaining problems when the hinge mechanism is directed to the middle portion of the ventilation plate.

(Embodiment) FIGS. 1 to 7 show an embodiment in which a refrigerator according to the present invention is applied to a showcase. Front and back, left and right, and up and down in this embodiment follow the crossed arrows shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the showcase is composed of a refrigerator main body 1, a door 3 for opening and closing the opening of the refrigerator compartment 2 partitioned by the refrigerator main body 1, a cooling unit 4 for supplying cold air to the refrigerator compartment 2, and the like. . A refrigerator main body 1 is formed of a vertically long rectangular parallelepiped box body with an open front surface, and is composed of an outer box 5, an inner box 6, and a heat insulating material 7 filled between the two boxes 5 and 6 as a heat insulating box. A plurality of display shelves 8 are provided inside the refrigerator compartment 2 . A cold air circulation path 10 is formed between the outside of the inner peripheral wall 9 of the refrigerating chamber 2 and the inner box 6 so as to surround the lower surface and the rear surface of the inner peripheral wall 9 . The cool air circulation path 10 is connected to a downward outlet 11 facing the refrigerating chamber 2 and an upward inlet 12, and an evaporator 13 and a blower fan 14 for circulating cool air are installed therein. It is

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the upper part of the refrigerator body 1 is provided with a machine room 20 which is partitioned by a front panel 17 and left and right side panels 18, 18 and has openings on the upper surface side and the rear surface side. . The side panels 18, 18 are arranged so as to cover the outer surface of the outer case 5 of the refrigerator body 1. - 特許庁A unit base 22 is arranged on the ceiling surface 21 of the refrigerator main body 1, and a condenser 23, a blower fan 24 for the condenser 23, and a compressor 25 are arranged on the upper surface of the unit base 22 in this order from the front side. ing. As shown in FIG. 4, four blower fans 24 are arranged side by side in the horizontal direction. The cooling unit 4 includes a condenser 23 , a fan 24 and a compressor 25 arranged in the machine room 20 , and an evaporator 13 and a fan 14 arranged in the cold air circulation path 10 . The cool air discharged into the refrigerator compartment 2 from the outlet 11 of the cool air circulation path 10 absorbs heat in the refrigerator compartment 2 and rises in temperature, then is sucked into the intake port 12 and cooled by the evaporator 13. It is discharged into the refrigerating compartment 2 from the outlet 11 again.

A filter 26 is arranged in front of the condenser 23 to collect dust and the like contained in the outside air for cooling. Reference numeral 27 in FIGS. 1 and 5 denotes support walls formed on the upper surface and left and right surfaces of the condenser 23 to support fins and the like that constitute the condenser 23 . A locking piece 28 is bent downward at the front end of a support wall 27 formed on the upper surface of the condenser 23, and a filter 26 can be attached and detached between the locking piece 28 and the condenser 23. A filter mounting portion 29 is formed to support the . A lower end portion of the filter 26 is locked by a retainer projection 22 a provided on the unit base 22 . The filter 26 can be removed from the filter mounting portion 29 by grasping the knob 26a provided on the front surface of the filter 26 with fingers and pulling out the lower end portion of the filter 26 to release the engagement by the retaining projection 22a. can be done.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 4 and 5, the front panel 17 is made of a steel plate or a stainless steel plate and is formed into a rectangular shape by press molding. and a peripheral wall consisting of an upper wall 31, a lower wall 32 and left and right side walls 33, 33 bent rearward along the four peripheries of the front wall 30. The front wall 30 of the front panel 17 is provided with a laterally elongated quadrangular vent 36 for supplying outside air to the condenser 23 through the filter 26. The vent 36 is provided with a ventilation plate 40. is installed. A panel mounting piece 34 is fixed to the inner surface of the left and right side panels 18, 18, and a pair of upper and lower magnet catches 35, 35 are fixed to each panel mounting piece 34. As shown in FIG. By aligning the front panel 17 with the front opening of the machine room 20 and pushing in the front panel 17, the left and right ends of the front wall 30 of the front panel 17 are magnetically attracted to the magnet catches 35, 35, thereby opening the front panel. A panel 17 can be secured over the front opening of the machine room 20 .

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, a rectangular frame-shaped flange wall 37 is bent rearward around the perimeter of the vent 36 , and the front panel 17 is surrounded by these flange walls 37 . A ventilating passage 38 is formed. The flange wall 37 includes an upper flange wall 37a formed to protrude rearward along the upper opening edge of the vent 36, and left and right flange walls 37c, 37c formed to protrude rearward along the left and right opening edges of the vent 36. and reinforcing walls 37d, 37d bent inward in the left-right direction from the rear ends of the left and right flange walls 37c, 37c.

The ventilation plate 40 is made of a panel-shaped press-formed product made of steel or stainless steel plate, and has rectangular ventilation walls 42 formed by squeezing out louver walls 41 in a multi-tiered manner. It is integrally provided with a surrounding peripheral wall 43 . The peripheral wall 43 includes an upper wall 43 a bent rearward along the upper edge of the ventilation wall 42 , a lower wall 43 b bent rearward along the lower edge of the ventilation plate 40 , and left and right sides of the ventilation plate 40 . It is composed of left and right side walls 43c, 43c bent rearward along the edge. The louver wall 41 is inclined obliquely downward, and the outside air can be taken into the inside of the machine room 20 from the opening 44 adjacent below. As shown in FIG. 4, the ventilation wall 42 has three rows of louver groups each including seven louver walls 41 arranged in the left-right direction.

The ventilation plate 40 is positioned between a closed posture (FIG. 1) for closing the ventilation port 36 and an open posture (FIG. 6) for opening the ventilation port 36. It is configured to be swingable openable. As shown in FIG. 4, each hinge mechanism 50 is composed of first and second hinge plates 52 and 53 having bushings 51 and hinge pins 54 inserted through the bushings 51 of both hinge plates 52 and 53. be done. The first hinge plate 52 is fixed to the lower surface of the upper flange wall 37a of the front panel 17 with screws 55, and the second hinge plate 53 is fixed to the upper surface of the upper side wall 43a of the ventilation plate 40 with screws 56. , the hinge pin 54 is located between the upper flange wall 37a and the upper wall 43a. Reference numeral 57 in FIG. 1 denotes a cushioning material provided between the lower surface of the upper flange wall 37a and the upper surface of the first hinge plate 52. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, the front end of the bushing 51 that constitutes the hinge mechanism 50, the front end of the front wall 30 of the front panel 17, and the front end of the ventilation wall of the ventilation plate 40 in the closed posture are positioned at the same position. I am doing it. The longitudinal dimension (d1) of the second hinge plate 53 is set smaller than the longitudinal dimension (d3) of the upper flange wall 37a. Similarly, the longitudinal dimension (d2) of the upper wall 43a is set smaller than the longitudinal dimension (d3) of the upper flange wall 37a. In this embodiment, the longitudinal dimension (d1) of the second hinge plate 53 and the longitudinal dimension (d2) of the upper wall 43a are set to be the same. As described above, when the ventilation plate 40 is in the closed position, the rear end portion of the upper wall 43a and the rear end portion of the upper flange wall 37a do not protrude from the rear end portion of the upper flange wall 37a. The flange wall 37a is accommodated within the ventilation passage 38. As shown in FIG.

In FIG. 6, reference numeral 60 denotes an open position maintenance mechanism for maintaining the ventilation plate 40 in the open position. The open posture maintenance mechanism 60 includes a stand rod 61 that supports the ventilation plate 40 in the open posture, a bracket piece 62 that is formed at the end of the left side wall 43c of the ventilation plate 40 and into which the stand rod 61 is inserted, and a machine. and a locking piece 63 that is fixed to the ceiling surface 21 of the chamber 20 and supports the base end of the stand rod 61 so as to swing freely. The stand rod 61 is a rod-shaped metal molding, and includes a straight portion 61a occupying the majority thereof, and a connecting shaft 61b formed at the tip end of the straight portion 61a and inserted into a connecting hole 64 opened in the bracket piece 62. , a bent portion 61c that is continuously bent in an L shape from the base end side of the straight portion 61a, and a connecting portion 61d that is formed continuously from the bent portion 61c and is connected to the locking piece 63 so as to be swingable. have. After displacing the ventilation plate 40 from the closed position to the open position, the stand rod 61 is displaced from the lying position (see FIG. 4) to the standing position (see FIG. 6), the connecting shaft 61b is inserted into the connecting hole 64, The upper end of the stand rod 61 is connected to the ventilation plate 40 . At this time, by locking the connecting shaft 61b in the connecting hole 64, the stand rod 61 exerts a thrusting action, and the ventilation plate 40 can be held in the open posture. By releasing the locking state between the connecting shaft 61b and the connecting hole 64 and releasing the tensioning action of the stand rod 61, the stand rod 61 is placed in the lying position and the ventilation plate 40 is displaced from the open position to the closed position. can be made

In FIGS. 1 and 7, reference numeral 70 denotes a closed position maintaining mechanism for maintaining the ventilation plate in the closed position. The closed attitude maintenance mechanism 70 is a magnet catch unit with a push lock, and includes a unit body 71, a movable rod 72 configured to move forward and backward relative to the unit body 71, and a magnet provided inside the movable rod 72. 73, a ferromagnetic plate 74 provided at the tip of the movable rod 72, and the like. Inside the unit main body 71 , there is a biasing element that biases the movable rod 72 toward the advanced posture in which the movable rod 72 protrudes greatly from the unit main body 71 , and a retracted posture in which most of the movable rod 72 is accommodated inside the unit main body 71 . A catch element is placed to hold the When the ventilation plate 40 is rotated about the hinge mechanism 50 and pushed backward toward the closed position, the magnetic force of the magnet 73 moves the ventilation plate 40 to the ferromagnetic plate at the tip of the movable rod 72 . 74, the movable rod 72 is displaced from the advanced posture to the retracted posture. At this time, since the movable rod 72 is locked and held in the retracted position by the catch element, the ventilation plate 40 is held in the closed position. When the ventilation plate 40 is pushed further rearward from the closed posture, the lock holding state of the movable rod 72 by the catch element is released, and the movable rod 72 is displaced by the biasing force of the biasing element. be. As a result, the ventilation plate 40 is pushed forward as shown in FIG. By pulling up the ventilation plate 40 with a finger, the adsorption state of the ventilation plate 40 by the magnet 73 is released, and the ventilation plate 40 can be displaced to the open posture.

As described above, in the showcase according to the present embodiment, the front panel 17 that defines the front surface of the machine room 20 is composed of the front wall 30 having the vent 36 and the upper opening edge of the vent 36 facing backward. and an upper flange wall 37a formed to protrude. In addition, the hinge mechanism 50 of the vent plate 40 for opening and closing the vent 36 is inserted into the first and second hinge plates 52 and 53 having bushings 51 and the bushings 51 of these hinge plates 52 and 53. A first hinge plate 52 is fixed to the lower surface of the upper flange wall 37a of the front panel 17, and a second hinge plate 53 is fixed to the upper surface of the upper wall 43a of the ventilation plate 40. , the hinge pin 54 is arranged between the upper flange wall 37a and the upper side wall 43a. By adopting the above configuration, for example, even when the ventilation plate 40 is rotated 90 degrees around the hinge pin 54 from the closed posture so that the ventilation wall is in a horizontal posture (see FIG. 8A). , the placement of the ventilation wall 42 on the upper side of the upper flange wall 37a can be completely eliminated. Naturally, the position of the ventilation wall 42 above the top of the front panel 17 can be completely eliminated. Therefore, according to the showcase of this embodiment, when the clearance between the upper surface of the front panel 17 and the ceiling surface of the installation location of the showcase is small, or when the upper surface of the front panel 17 and the hanging wall W of the store Even if the clearance between the two is small, the ventilation wall 42 does not interfere with the ceiling surface and the hanging wall W, and the ventilation plate 40 can be opened wide. In addition, since the hinge mechanism 50 is provided at the uppermost part of the ventilation plate 40, the upper end of the ventilation plate 40 does not move toward the machine room 20 when the ventilation plate 40 is opened and closed by swinging. By minimizing the rocking trajectory at , it is possible to suppress the occurrence of dead space in the machine room 20 .

As described above, according to the showcase according to the present embodiment, it is possible to completely eliminate the position of the ventilation wall 42 above the uppermost part of the front panel 17. Even when obstacles such as the hanging wall W and the ceiling surface are present and the marginal gap between the front panel 17 and the hanging wall W is small, the ventilation plate 40 does not move between the hanging wall W and the like when the ventilation plate 40 swings and opens and closes. The ventilation plate 40 can be opened wide without interference. Therefore, it becomes possible to more freely install the showcase in the store by eliminating the installation restriction such as the clearance between the hanging wall W and the like. Since the ventilation plate 40 can be opened wide, maintenance work such as cleaning and replacement of the filter 26 can be easily performed. By minimizing the trajectory of the ventilation plate 40 swinging in the machine room 20 , it is possible to suppress the occurrence of dead space in the machine room 20 , thereby contributing to an improvement in the degree of freedom in designing the machine room 20 .

Incidentally, as shown in FIG. 8(b), when the hinge mechanism 50 is arranged at the upper end of the front panel 17 and the ventilation plate 40 is of a flip-up type, dead space is generated in the machine room 20. Although it can be prevented, since the ventilation wall 42 is positioned above the uppermost part of the front panel 17 when the front panel 17 is in the open position, the ventilation plate 40 interferes with the hanging wall W and the like when the ventilation plate 40 swings and opens and closes. is unavoidable, and it becomes impossible to open the ventilation plate 40 .

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 8(c), when the hinge pin 54 is arranged in the middle of the ventilation plate 40, the swing locus of the portion of the ventilation wall 42 located above the hinge pin 54 in the machine room 20 becomes larger. For this reason, dead space is unavoidably created in the machine room 20, and the degree of freedom in designing the machine room 20 is reduced.

When the front end of the bushing 51 of the hinge mechanism 50, the front end of the front wall 30 of the front panel 17, and the front end of the ventilation wall 42 of the ventilation plate 40 in the closed position are aligned, the ventilation plate 40 is displaced from the closed position to the open position, the upper surface of the ventilation wall 42 is prevented from contacting and interfering with the lower surface of the front wall 30, and the ventilation plate 40 can be opened more widely. In addition, the longitudinal length dimension (d1) of the second hinge plate 53 that constitutes the hinge mechanism 50 and the longitudinal dimension (d2) of the upper wall 43a that constitutes the ventilation plate 40 are equal to each other in the front panel. 17 is set smaller than the length dimension (d3) in the front-rear direction of the upper flange wall 37a that constitutes the upper flange wall 37a, when the ventilation plate 40 is in the closed position, it is closer to the front than the rear end of the upper flange wall 37a. , the rear end of the second hinge plate 53 and the rear end of the upper wall 43a can be positioned. Further, the second hinge plate 53 and the upper wall 43a can be swung and rotated at a position closer to the front than the rear end of the upper flange wall 37a. 38 can be swung and rotated. Therefore, it is possible to minimize the trajectory of the swing of the ventilation wall 42 in the machine room 20 and suppress the occurrence of dead space in the machine room 20 .

If the open position maintaining mechanism 60 for maintaining the open position of the ventilation plate 40 is provided, the ventilation plate 40 can be maintained in the open position during maintenance work such as cleaning or replacement of the filter 26. Therefore, it is possible to proceed with the maintenance work more efficiently.

If the closed position maintaining mechanism 70 for maintaining the closed position of the ventilation plate 40 is provided, it is possible to prevent the ventilation plate 40 from coming out of the closed position and inadvertently swinging around the hinge mechanism 50. can. If the closed position maintaining mechanism 70 is composed of a magnetic catch with a push lock, the ventilation plate 40 can be held by the magnetic adsorption force simply by pushing the ventilation plate 40 toward the closed position, and can be moved from the closed position. By pushing the vent plate 40 further, the vent plate 40 is slightly pushed forward, and a gap S can be formed between the vent plate 40 and the vent 36 . Therefore, it is possible to improve the operability of swinging opening and closing operation of the ventilation plate 40 .

In the above embodiment, the showcase was described as an example, but the refrigerator of the present invention is not limited to the showcase, and may be a refrigerator for commercial use, an ice machine, or the like. In the above-described embodiment, the ventilation plate 40 is configured to swing open and close on the front panel 17 by means of the three hinge mechanisms 50, but the number of the hinge mechanisms 50 is not limited to this. If the width dimension is large, a configuration in which three or more hinge mechanisms are provided can be adopted. The ventilation plate 40 is not limited to a louver as shown in the embodiment, and may have a configuration in which a plurality of openings are formed in the ventilation wall 42 .

1 Refrigerator body 2 Refrigerator compartment 17 Front panel 20 Machine room 26 Filter 30 Front wall 36 Vent 37a Upper flange wall 40 Ventilation plate 42 Ventilation wall 43a Upper wall 50 Hinge mechanism 51 Bearing tube 52 First hinge plate 53 Second hinge Plate 54 Hinge pin 60 Open attitude holding mechanism 70 Closed attitude holding mechanism d1 Longitudinal length dimension of the second hinge plate d2 Longitudinal dimension of the upper wall d3 Longitudinal dimension of the upper flange wall

Claims (5)

A refrigerator body (1) having a refrigerator compartment (2), a machine room (20) provided in the upper part of the refrigerator body (1), and a front panel ( 17), a filter (26) arranged inside the machine room (20) so as to face the square vent (36) opened in the front panel (17), and an upper opening of the vent (36) A hinge mechanism (50) provided on the edge and a swing mechanism (50) centered on the hinge mechanism (50) between a closed posture in which the vent (36) is closed and an open posture in which the vent (36) is opened. a vent plate (40),
The ventilation plate (40) comprises a rectangular ventilation wall (42) having a ventilation opening (44) and an upper wall (43a) bent backward along the upper edge of the ventilation wall (42). ) and
The front panel (17) comprises a front wall (30) having a vent (36) and an upper flange wall (37a) extending rearwardly along the upper opening edge of the vent (36). ,
The hinge mechanism (50) comprises first and second hinge plates (52, 53) having bushings (51) and hinge pins (52, 53) inserted into the bushings (51) of these hinge plates (52, 53) 54) and
A first hinge plate (52) is fixed to the lower surface of the upper flange wall (37a) of the front panel (17) and a second hinge plate (53) is attached to the upper surface of the upper wall (43a) of the vent plate (40). A refrigerator, characterized in that it is fixed and the hinge pin (54) is arranged between the upper flange wall (37a) and the upper wall (43a). the front end of the bushing (51) of the hinge mechanism (50), the front end of the front wall (30) of the front panel (17) and the front end of the ventilation wall (42) of the ventilation plate (40) in the closed position. The front and rear positions match,
The longitudinal dimension (d1) of the second hinge plate (53) and the longitudinal dimension (d2) of the upper wall (43a) of the ventilation plate (40) are the same as those of the upper flange wall (37a). 2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, which is set smaller than the length dimension (d3) in the front-rear direction. 3. The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising an open position maintaining mechanism (60) for maintaining the open position of the ventilation plate (40). 4. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, comprising a closed position maintaining mechanism (70) for maintaining the ventilation plate (40) in the closed position. 5. The refrigerator according to claim 4, wherein the closed position maintaining mechanism (70) is composed of a magnetic catch with a push lock.

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