# US 11,078,700 B2 · Refrigerator

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- Number: US 11,078,700 B2
- Document ID: US11078700B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/627,093
- Filed: 2018-06-29
- Published: 2020-05-28
- Granted: 2021-08-03
- Earliest claimed: 2017-07-01
- Assignees: Qingdao Haier Joint Stock Co., Ltd.
- Applicants: Qingdao Haier Joint Stock Co., Ltd.
- Inventors: Enpin Xia; Hao Zhang; Xiaobing Zhu
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11078700B2

## CPC

- E05D 7/0407: {the hinges having two or more pins and being specially adapted for cabinets or furniture}
- E05D 3/18: with sliding pins or guides
- E05D 5/04: Flat flaps
- E05D 5/046: {specially adapted for cabinets or furniture}
- E05D 5/14: Construction of sockets or sleeves
- E05D 7/081: the pivot axis of the wing being situated near one edge of the wing, especially at the top and bottom, e.g. trunnions
- E05D 11/06: Devices for limiting the opening movement of hinges
- E05D 11/1007: {with positive locking}
- E05D 11/1028: {for maintaining the hinge in two or more positions, e.g. intermediate or fully open}
- E05D 15/56: with successive different movements {(raising wings before being turned E05F7/02)}
- E05F 1/00: Closers or openers for wings, not otherwise provided for in this subclass
- F25D 11/00: Self-contained movable devices, e.g. domestic refrigerators
- F25D 11/02: with cooling compartments at different temperatures
- F25D 23/028: {Details}
- F25D 23/10: Arrangements for mounting in particular locations, e.g. for built-in type, for corner type
- E05Y 2600/20: with specific transmission movement
- E05Y 2600/324: around a vertical axis
- E05Y 2800/102: Additional wing movements
- E05Y 2800/75: intermediate
- E05Y 2900/31: for refrigerators
- F25D 2323/024: Door hinges
- F25D 2500/02: Geometry problems
- E05D: HINGES OR SUSPENSION DEVICES FOR DOORS, WINDOWS OR WINGS (pivotal connections in general F16C11/00)
- E05F: DEVICES FOR MOVING WINGS INTO OPEN OR CLOSED POSITION; CHECKS FOR WINGS; WING FITTINGS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR, CONCERNED WITH THE FUNCTIONING OF THE WING
- F25D: REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR (refrigerated showcases A47F3/04; thermally-insulated vessels for domestic use A47J41/00; refrigerated vehicles, see the appropriate subclasses of classes B60 - B64; containers with thermal insulation in general B65D81/38; heat-transfer, heat-exchange or heat-storage materials, e.g. refrigerants, or materials for the production of heat or cold by chemical reactions other than by combustion C09K5/00; thermally-insulated vessels for liquefied or solidified gases F17C; air-conditioning or air-humidification F24F; refrigeration machines, plants, or systems F25B; cooling of instruments or comparable apparatus without refrigeration G12B)
- E05Y: INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES E05D AND E05F, RELATING TO CONSTRUCTION ELEMENTS, ELECTRIC CONTROL, POWER SUPPLY, POWER SIGNAL OR TRANSMISSION, USER INTERFACES, MOUNTING OR COUPLING, DETAILS, ACCESSORIES, AUXILIARY OPERATIONS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR, APPLICATION THEREOF

## Abstract

The present invention provides a refrigerator, comprising a cabinet, a door and a hinge body. A guide block is provided on the door, a rotation shaft is provided on the hinge body, and rotation shaft grooves are provided on the guide block. With the structure of the hinge body, the gravity of the door and the friction force may be shared onto the first and second plate bodies of the hinge body, thereby reducing abrasion and prolonging the service life of the door of the refrigerator.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A refrigerator, comprising a cabinet and a door for opening and closing the cabinet, wherein the refrigerator further comprises a hinge body fixedly provided on the cabinet, a guide block fixedly provided on the door, wherein a positioning shaft and a guiding shaft are provided on the hinge body, and a positioning groove fitting with the positioning shaft and a guiding groove fitting with the guiding shaft are provided on the guiding block;
one of left and right sides of the refrigerator which is provided with the hinge body is a pivoting side, the door is in a first state when being closed, the door has a side wall close to the pivoting side in the first state and a front wall away from the cabinet in the first state, the positioning groove has a first position close to the side wall and the front wall and a second position away from the side wall and the front wall compared with the first position, the guiding groove has a third position and a fourth position, and when the door is in the first state, the positioning shaft is located at the second position, and the guiding shaft is located at the fourth position;
the guiding shaft and the guiding groove are provided such that when the door is opened from the first state, the door is rotated with the positioning shaft as a center of rotation, the positioning shaft is moved from the second position to the first position and the guiding shaft is moved from the fourth position to the third position with the limitation of the guiding shaft and the guiding groove, at this point, the door is opened at a certain angle to be in a second state, and the door is moved by a distance towards a side away from the pivoting side;
the refrigerator further comprises a stopping plate provided on a side of the guide block away from the hinge body and used for shielding the guiding groove and the positioning groove, heights of the guiding shaft and the positioning shaft are the same and both greater than depths of the guiding groove and the positioning groove.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein a lateral ridge is formed by the side wall intersecting with the front wall, and a distance between a center axis of the positioning shaft when located at a first position and the lateral ridge is less than or equal to a distance between the center axis of the positioning shaft when located at the second position and the side wall.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein the distance between the center axis of the positioning shaft when located at the first position and the lateral ridge is equal to the distance between the center axis of the positioning shaft when located at the second position and the side wall.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the guiding shaft is provided at a side away from the side wall compared with the positioning shaft, and the third position is provided away from the front wall and close to the front wall compared with the fourth position.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The refrigerator according to claim 4, wherein the positioning groove further has a fifth position away from the side wall and the front wall compared with the second position, the guiding groove further has a sixth position, and the sixth position is provided away from the front wall and close to the side wall compared with the third position; when the door is further opened from the second state, the positioning shaft is moved to the fifth position from the first position, and the guiding shaft is moved to the sixth position from the third position, so that the door is opened through 90 degrees to be in a third state, and the door is moved by a distance towards the pivoting side.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The refrigerator according to claim 5, wherein a distance between the center axis of the positioning shaft when located at the fifth position and the front wall is equal to the distance between the center axis of the positioning shaft when located at the second position and the side wall.

### Claim 7 (depends on 5)

The refrigerator according to claim 5, wherein the guiding groove further has a seventh position close to the side wall compared with the sixth position, and has an arc shape between the seventh position and the sixth position, a center line of the arc is the center axis of the positioning shaft when located at the fifth position, and when the door is further opened from the third state, the door is rotated with the positioning shaft located at the fifth position as a rotating axis.

### Claim 8 (depends on 5)

The refrigerator according to claim 5, wherein center axes of the positioning shaft when located at the first position, the second position and the fifth position are located on a same straight line.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The refrigerator according to claim 8, wherein the guiding groove further has an eighth position close to the side wall compared with the sixth position and a ninth position located between the eighth and sixth positions, the positioning groove further has a tenth position, an extension line of a connecting line between a center of the tenth position and the center of the fifth position intersects with a connecting line between centers of the eighth and ninth positions, the guiding groove between the ninth and sixth positions and the positioning groove between the tenth and fifth positions are provided in parallel, the guiding groove is of an arc shape between the eighth and ninth positions, and a center line of the arc is a center axis of the positioning shaft when located at the tenth position; when the door is further opened from the third state, the positioning shaft is moved from the fifth position to the tenth position, the guiding shaft is moved from the sixth position to the ninth position, the door is rotated with the positioning shaft located at the tenth position as a rotating axis, and the guiding shaft is moved towards the eighth position from the ninth position.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein a diameter of the positioning shaft is different from a diameter of the guiding shaft.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the stopping plate and the guide block are integrally formed.

### Claim 12

A refrigerator, comprising a cabinet and a door for opening and closing the cabinet, wherein the refrigerator further comprises a hinge assembly connecting the cabinet and the door, and the cabinet comprises an inner space for accommodation and a pivoting side connected with the hinge assembly; during a process of opening the door, the hinge assembly drives the door to move from the pivoting side toward the inner space;
the hinge assembly comprises a positioning shaft and a positioning groove engaged with each other as well as a guiding shaft and a guiding groove engaged with each other, wherein the positioning shaft is located at one of the cabinet and the door, the positioning groove is located at the other of the cabinet and the door, the guiding shaft is located at one of the cabinet and the door, and the guiding groove is located at the other of the cabinet and the door; when the door is opened to the second state from the closed state, the guiding shaft is moved in the guiding groove to drive the positioning shaft to move in the positioning groove, thereby driving the door to move from the pivoting side toward the inner space;
the door comprises a front wall apart from the inner space and a side wall always sandwiched between the front wall and the inner space, the positioning groove comprises a first position, a second position, and a fifth position from a portion close to the side wall to a portion apart from the side wall, the guiding groove comprises a fourth position, a third position, a sixth position and a rotation termination position from a portion close to the side wall to a portion apart from the side wall; when the door is in the closed state, the guiding shaft is located at the fourth position, and the positioning shaft is located at the second position; when the door is opened to the second state from the closed state, the guiding shaft is moved from the fourth position to the third position to drive the positioning shaft to move from the second position to the first position; when the door is opened to the third state from the second state, the guiding shaft is moved from the third position to the sixth position to drive the positioning shaft to move from the first position to the fifth position; when the door is opened continuously from the third state, the guiding shaft is moved from the sixth position to the rotation termination position, the positioning shaft is kept at the fifth position, and an arch shape is present between the sixth position and the rotation termination position.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The refrigerator according to claim 12, wherein the hinge assembly comprises a first hinge member located at the door and a second hinge member located at the cabinet, and when the door is opened to a second state from a closed state, the first hinge member is moved relative to the second hinge member to drive the door to move by a first distance from the pivoting side toward the inner space; when the door is opened to a third state from the second state, the first hinge member is moved relative to the second hinge member to drive the door to move by a second distance from the inner space toward the pivoting side; when the door is opened continuously from the second or third state, the first hinge member is moved relative to the second hinge member to at least drive the door to rotate relative to the cabinet on the spot.

### Claim 14 (depends on 12)

The refrigerator according to claim 12, wherein the refrigerator further comprises a pivoting groove communicated with the positioning groove, the pivoting groove is located on one side of the fifth position apart from the second position, and one end of the pivoting groove apart from the fifth position is configured as a pivoting position, and the guiding groove further comprises a transition groove which is connected with one side of the sixth position apart from the third position and is parallel with the pivoting groove and a rotation terminal position close to the side wall relative to the transition groove, one end of the transition groove apart from the sixth position is configured as a rotation starting position; when the door is opened continuously from the third state, the guiding shaft is moved from the sixth position to the rotation starting position to drive the positioning shaft to move from the fifth position to the pivoting position, afterwards, the guiding shaft is moved from the rotation starting position to the rotation termination position, the positioning shaft is kept at the pivoting position, and an arch shape is present between the rotation starting position and the rotation termination position.

### Claim 15 (depends on 12)

The refrigerator according to claim 12, wherein a lateral ridge is formed between the front wall and the side wall, a first connecting line between a center when the positioning shaft is located at the first position and a center when the positioning shaft is located at the second position goes through the lateral ridge, a first included angle apart from the side wall is formed between the first connecting line and the front wall, the first included angle is equal to a second opening angle when the door is in the second state, a second connecting line between a center when the guiding shaft is located at the fourth position and a center when the positioning shaft is located at the second position is perpendicular to the side wall, a distance between the first position and the lateral ridge is less than or equal to a distance between the second position and the side wall, a distance between the first position and the lateral ridge is less than a distance between the second position and the lateral ridge, the first position is close to the front wall relative to the second position, the second position is close to the front wall relative to the fifth position, the fourth position is close to the front wall relative to the third position, and the third position is close to the front wall relative to the sixth position.

### Claim 16 (depends on 12)

The refrigerator according to claim 12, wherein the cabinet comprises an outer side surface which is adjacent to the hinge assembly and is located at an extended section of a door rotation path, the door comprises a front wall apart from the inner space and a side wall always sandwiched between the front wall and the inner space, a lateral ridge is formed between the front wall and the side wall; when the door is opened from the closed state to the second state, the hinge assembly drives the door to move, such that the lateral ridge is always located on one side of the outer side surface close to the inner space.

### Claim 17 (depends on 12)

The refrigerator according to claim 12, wherein the hinge assembly comprises a positioning shaft and a positioning groove engaged with each other as well as a guiding shaft and a guiding groove engaged with each other, wherein the positioning shaft is located at one of the cabinet and the door, the positioning groove is located at the other of the cabinet and the door, the guiding shaft is located at one of the cabinet and the door, and the guiding groove is located at the other of the cabinet and the door; the door comprises a front wall apart from the inner space and a side wall always sandwiched between the front wall and the inner space, a lateral ridge is formed between the front wall and the side wall; when the door is opened from the closed state to a second state, the guiding shaft is moved in the guiding groove to drive the positioning shaft to move in the positioning groove, such that a spacing between the positioning shaft and the lateral ridge is reduced.