JPS6042863B2 - Manufacturing method for refrigerator inner box - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the manufacture of an inner box for a refrigerator, and particularly to the manufacture of an inner box having a partition wall that divides the inside of the refrigerator body into a plurality of storage chambers.

Conventionally, this type of refrigerator has been provided with a partition wall 4 at a predetermined position for dividing the inside of the refrigerator body 1 into a freezing compartment 20 and a refrigerating compartment 30 as shown in FIG. The inner box 3 that forms the inner wall of the storage chamber 6 is formed from a plastic sheet by vacuum forming, and this is fitted into the outer box 2, and the gap 12 between the inner box 3 and the outer box 2 is filled with polyurethane foam. A method is used in which the partition wall member 5 is inserted after the cabinet is formed by injecting and solidifying the liquid.

In the case of a structure in which the partition wall member 5 is inserted into the inner box 3 later, as in this method, due to the relative dimension difference between the partition wall member and the inner box, there is a gap between the joint surfaces of the two after insertion. This may occur.

This gap not only makes it impossible to maintain airtightness between each storage room separated by a partition wall, but also makes it easy for dirt and water from stored food to flow in, making the storage room unclean. In some cases, the liquid flowing into this gap may freeze and cause volumetric expansion, which may damage the partition wall member 5 and the inner box 3. In order to solve this problem,
For example, as shown in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 53-10777, a method has been proposed in which an inner box is formed by disposing a separately formed partition wall in a female mold for vacuum forming as part of the mold.
Since the partition wall is molded to be wrapped around the back side of the inner box, there are no gaps and therefore there is no risk of water or the like flowing in. However, since the partition wall is covered with inner box material,
The shape of the partition wall was significantly inferior, and the product value, such as color and gloss, was lower than that of the above-mentioned partition wall member insertion method.

This invention was made in order to eliminate such drawbacks, and when forming the inner box that forms the inner wall of the storage chamber of a refrigerator using a vacuum forming method using a single plastic sheet, the storage chamber is formed into a plurality of plastic sheets. By setting the partition wall member for separating the storage compartments into the notch part formed in the male mold for vacuum forming in advance, and then molding the inner box using the partition wall member as part of the vacuum forming mold. An object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing an inner box in which the inner wall of the inner box and the partition wall member are tightly fixed together by heat shrinkage of the inner box during molding, and the partition wall can be simultaneously formed within the inner box. It is something. The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the illustrated embodiments.

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 8 denotes a vacuum forming male mold for molding the inner box 3, and a notch 9 for setting the partition wall member 5.
has been established. Before vacuum forming the plastic sheet 10, the partition wall member 5 is set in the notch 9 in advance. Note that this partition wall member is made of plastic material by injection molding, and a heat insulating material is inserted into the hollow part. Next, as shown in FIG. 4, with the partition wall member 5 set in the notch 9 of the male mold 8 for vacuum forming, the plastic sheet 10 is positioned above it. The sheet is then heated and softened to begin molding. At this time, the three side surfaces of the partition wall member are exposed on the outer surface side of the male mold 8 for vacuum forming, and are formed as a part of the vacuum mold.

As shown in FIG. 5, the plastic sheet 10 has been completely molded in the same manner as in the usual vacuum forming method, and is in close contact with the male mold 8 for vacuum forming and the partition wall member 5.

In this state, the plastic sheet 10 hardens while shrinking during the cooling process, and after hardening, the inner box is released from the male mold 8 for vacuum forming. At this time, the three side surfaces of the partition wall member are in contact with the inner wall surface of the inner box 3 formed from a plastic sheet, and remain in close contact with the inner wall surface of the inner box 3 formed by the plastic sheet due to heat contraction during cooling. The inner box assembly 11 is constructed as shown in FIG. This inner box assembly 11 is fitted into the outer box 2, and a foaming solution of polyurethane foam is injected and foamed into the gap 12 formed at this time to form a heat insulating wall, thereby completing the refrigerator cabinet that constitutes the refrigerator body 1. do. As described above, in this invention, a partition wall member for dividing a storage chamber into a plurality of storage chambers is set in advance in a male mold for vacuum forming, and then a single plastic sheet is vacuum formed. The inner box is molded using the method, and heat shrinkage occurs when the molded inner box is cooled, so that the inner wall of the inner box and the partition wall members are brought into closer contact, forming a partition wall inside the inner box. There cannot be any gaps due to the dimensional difference between the storage compartment and the partition wall member, and the space between each of the storage compartments is kept airtight, and there is no risk of water or juice from the stored food flowing in and making it unclean. It has favorable effects in terms of food hygiene.

In addition, since a male mold is used as the vacuum molding mold, the partition wall member, which has a shape, color, and luster that has been previously molded by injection molding, etc., can be assembled as an inner box without spoiling the aesthetic appearance. Product value can be increased.

The above embodiment was explained in 1. Vacuum forming method, which is a method of forming a plastic sheet by drawing a vacuum from the vacuum forming mold side. It goes without saying that the same effect as described above can also be obtained by molding by a single-pressure air molding method in which pressure is applied.

Moreover, FIG. 7 shows another embodiment according to the present invention,
This is an example in which the protruding stripes 13 are formed on the inner wall of the inner box 3 so as to support the lower surface of the partition wall member 5 that is in close contact with the inner wall of the inner box 3, and it is clear that the same effect as described above is obtained in this case as well.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a side sectional view of a general refrigerator, Fig. 2 is a sectional view of main parts explaining the structure of a conventional refrigerator, Figs. 3 to 6 are related to embodiments of the present invention, and Fig. 3 is Attach the male mold for vacuum forming and the partition wall members. Figures 4 and 5 are explanatory diagrams showing the state before and after the vacuum forming process with the partition wall member attached to the vacuum forming male mold, and Figure 6 is the side of the inner box assembly. 7 is a side sectional view corresponding to FIG. 1 showing another embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In manufacturing an inner box in which the inner box is integrally molded from a single plastic sheet using a vacuum forming method and the inner box is divided into a plurality of storage chambers by partition walls, the partition wall member is attached to the male mold for vacuum forming. By setting the partition wall member in this cutout and molding the inner box using the partition wall member as part of the vacuum forming mold, the partition wall member is inserted into the inner box. A method for manufacturing an inner box for a refrigerator, characterized in that the outer peripheral surface of the partition wall is held and tightly fixed by heat shrinking of the inner box during molding at the position as the partition wall.