JPS6042867B2 - 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, in this type of refrigerator, the inner walls of the storage chambers 4 are formed in advance in order to provide partition walls at predetermined positions to divide the inside of the refrigerator body 1 into a plurality of storage chambers 4, as shown in FIG. The inner box 3 is formed from a plastic sheet using a vacuum forming method, this is fitted into the outer box 2, and polyurethane foam is injected and solidified into the space between the inner box 3 and the outer box 2 to form a cabinet. A method of inserting wall members has been used.

In the case of a structure in which the partition wall member is inserted into the inner box later as in this method, a gap is created between the joint surfaces of the partition wall member and the inner box after insertion due to the relative dimensional difference between the partition wall member and the inner box.

This gap not only makes it impossible to maintain airtightness between each storage room separated by a partition wall, but also allows leakage from stored food and water to flow in, making the room unclean. Depending on the settings, the liquid flowing into this gap may freeze and expand in volume, resulting in an accident in which the partition wall member 5 and the inner box 3 are deformed or damaged.

In order to solve this problem, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 53-10
As shown in Publication No. 777, a method has been proposed in which an inner box is formed by disposing a partition wall separately formed in advance in a female mold for vacuum forming as a part of the mold, and the partition wall is a part of the inner box. Because it is wrapped and molded on the back side of the holder, there are no gaps and there is no risk of water or the like flowing in. However, since the partition wall is covered with the inner box material, the shape of the partition wall is significantly inferior, and the product value, such as color and gloss, is 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 refrigerator using a vacuum forming method using a single plastic sheet, the inside of the refrigerator is divided into a plurality of storage chambers. Since the partition wall member having unevenness on the side wall periphery in contact with the inner wall of the inner box was set in advance in the notch formed in the male mold for vacuum forming, the side wall periphery of the partition wall member was vacuum-formed. By molding the inner box as part of the mold, the inner box inner wall and the partition wall member can be more tightly fixed together due to heat shrinkage of the inner box during molding, and the partition wall can be simultaneously formed within the inner box. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for manufacturing such an inner box.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the illustrated embodiments. Fig. 2 is a side sectional view of a refrigerator cabinet according to the present invention, in which 1 is a refrigerator main body, and 2 and 3 are an outer box and an inner box forming this main body. , 4 is a storage chamber formed within the main body;
5 is a partition wall that divides this storage room into a plurality of chambers, and 6 is constructed by assembling the outer box 2 and inner box 3 and injecting and solidifying a foaming solution of polyurethane foam into the space formed between these two boxes. This is an insulated wall.

Fig. 3 shows a side sectional view of the vacuum forming mold, and 7 is a vacuum forming male mold for molding the inner box by vacuum forming, etc., and a partition wall member is removably disposed in the middle thereof. A notch 8 is provided. Reference numeral 9 denotes a side wall of the partition wall 5, and the peripheral edge that comes into contact with the inner box has an uneven strip 1 as shown in FIG.
0 is molded into a saw body by injection molding or the like.

11 is a heat insulating material filled in the hollow part of this partition wall.

Next, the manufacturing procedure of the refrigerator cabinet according to the present invention will be explained. First, the inner box 3 is formed by vacuum forming. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the partition wall 5 member is inserted into the notch 8 of the male mold for vacuum forming. Next, a plastic sheet 12 is temporarily placed above the male die 7 for vacuum forming with a gap left therebetween.

Then, the plastic sheet is heated to 100° C. to 160° C. and softened by the well-known molding process of vacuum forming method, and molding is started in a flexible state. That is, the plastic sheet is sucked by vacuum pressure from a large number of vacuum holes (not shown) previously provided on the surface of the male mold 7 for vacuum molding, and is molded along the surface shape of the vacuum mold. At this time, the partition wall 5 member is set in a vacuum mold and forms a part of the mold. Accordingly, the plastic sheet is heated and softened along the uneven strips 10 formed on the peripheral edge of the side wall 9 of the partition wall with which the plastic sheet comes into contact, making it possible to closely adhere the plastic sheet in accordance with its cross-sectional shape.

Then, as shown in FIG. 7, the plastic sheet 12 is sucked and molded into the shape of the male die 7 for vacuum forming, and in the same way as shown in FIG. Since the plastic sheet 13 is adsorbed along the side wall 9, the more uneven stripes there are on the surface of the side wall 9, the more the plastic sheet will bite, and the partition wall member can be more tightly and more tightly fixed to the inner wall of the inner box. . In this state, the plastic sheet, i.e. the inner box, is cooled,
It hardens while thermally shrinking during the cooling process, and is released from the male mold 7 for vacuum forming after hardening. At this time, the peripheral edge of the side wall 9 of the partition wall member is in contact with the inner wall surface of the inner box 3 formed of a plastic sheet, and remains in close contact with the inner wall surface of the inner box 3 formed by the inner box 3 due to thermal contraction during cooling. The inner box assembly 13 is constructed as follows.

This inner box assembly 13 is fitted into the outer box 2, and polyurethane foam is injected and solidified into the space between the walls formed in both boxes to form a heat insulating wall 6. The cabinet is completed. Since the present invention is constructed as described above, the inner wall of the inner box and the partition wall member are more closely and firmly attached to each other.

Furthermore, since no gap can be created between the partition wall member and the inner box due to the mutual dimensional difference, there is no need to provide a separate member or means for supporting the partition wall. Furthermore, even if food soup or water is spilled, there is no fear that it will seep into it because there are no gaps. Furthermore, since a male mold is used as the vacuum molding mold, the partition wall member having the shape, color, luster, etc. that has been previously molded by injection molding etc. can be assembled as an inner box without changing the fabric. Product value can be increased without compromising aesthetics.

In the above embodiment, uneven stripes are provided on the peripheral edge of the side wall of the partition wall 5 member, but the same effect as described above can be obtained even if a large number of uneven projections are provided instead.

Also, the 1-pressure air forming method in the explanation is a method in which vacuum is drawn from the male mold side for vacuum forming, but conversely, the 1-pressure air forming method applies pressure from the outside of the plastic sheet toward the vacuum mold. A similar effect can also be obtained.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 is a side sectional view of a conventional refrigerator cabinet;
8 to 8 relate to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of a refrigerator cabinet, FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of a vacuum forming mold, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a partition wall member, Fifth
The figures are an enlarged sectional view taken along line ■1■ in Figure 4, Figures 6 and 7.
The figure is an explanatory diagram showing the state before and after the vacuum forming process with the partition wall member mounted in the vacuum molding die, and FIG. 8 is a partial cross-sectional view showing part A in FIG. 7 on an enlarged scale. In the figures, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts. 1 is a refrigerator main body, 3 is an inner box, 4 is a storage chamber, 5 is a partition wall, 7 is a male mold for vacuum forming, 9 is a side wall, and 10 is an uneven portion.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In the manufacture of an inner box in which the inner box is integrally molded from a plastic sheet using a vacuum forming method and the inside of this inner box is divided into a plurality of storage chambers by partition walls, a partition wall member is set in a male mold for vacuum forming. A partition wall member having a notch and an uneven part on the peripheral edge of the side wall in contact with the inner wall of the inner box is set in advance in the notch of the male mold for vacuum forming, and then the inner box is removed. By molding, the partition wall member hugs the peripheral edge of the side wall of the partition wall at the position as the partition wall in the inner box due to heat contraction of the inner box during molding,
A method for producing a refrigerator inner box, characterized in that the inner wall of the inner box and a partition wall member are closely fixed.