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US 12,760,960 B2Granted
Multi-joint link hinge and refrigerator including the same
AssigneesEP Tech Co., Ltd., LG Electronics Inc.
InventorsChangseok Oh, Chunho Byun
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A multi-joint link hinge includes a hinge bracket, a plurality of side portions, a link module, and a door bracket coupled to the link module. The hinge bracket includes a base portion that defines a plurality of screw coupling holes at a vertical surface of the base portion, and a plurality of side portions that extend from the base portion in a horizontal direction and are spaced apart from each other in a vertical direction. The link module includes a plurality of links that are coupled to the plurality of side portions along an axis that extends in the vertical direction, where the plurality of links is disposed between the plurality of side portions.
Claims11
A multi-joint link hinge comprising:
- a hinge bracket comprising:
- a base portion that defines a plurality of screw coupling holes at a vertical surface of the base portion, and
- a plurality of side portions that extend from the base portion in a horizontal direction and are spaced apart from each other in a vertical direction;
- a link module comprising a plurality of links that are coupled to the plurality of side portions along an axis that extends in the vertical direction, the plurality of links being disposed between the plurality of side portions;
- a door bracket coupled to the link module;
- and
- a spacer disposed inside the hinge bracket;
- wherein the link module comprises:
- a rotation shaft that extends through the spacer,
- an upper link module coupled to the hinge bracket and configured to rotate about the rotation shaft,
- a lower link module disposed vertically below the upper link module and configured to rotate about the rotation shaft independent of the upper link module, and
- a supporter disposed on a top surface of the lower link module and spaced apart from the rotation shaft, the supporter being configured to be in contact with the upper link module based on operation of the upper link module or the lower link module, and
- wherein the spacer is configured to maintain a fixed interval between the upper link module and the lower link module.
10 more elements
A refrigerator comprising:
- a cabinet that defines a storage space;
- a door configured to rotate relative to the cabinet and to open and close at least a portion of the storage space;
- a hinge bracket fixed to a front surface of the cabinet;
- a link module coupled to the hinge bracket along a rotation axis of the door and configured to rotate the door relative to the cabinet, the link module being fixed to a top surface of the door or a bottom surface of the door;
- and
- a spacer disposed inside the hinge bracket,
- wherein the link module comprises:
- a rotation shaft that extends through the spacer,
- an upper link module coupled to the hinge bracket and configured to rotate about the rotation shaft,
- a lower link module disposed vertically below the upper link module and configured to rotate about the rotation shaft independent of the upper link module, and
- a supporter disposed on a top surface of the lower link module and spaced apart from the rotation shaft, the supporter being configured to be in contact with the upper link module based on operation of the upper link module or the lower link module, and
- wherein the spacer is configured to maintain a fixed interval between the upper link module and the lower link module.
9 more elements
A refrigerator comprising:
- a cabinet that defines an upper storage space and a lower storage space disposed vertically below the upper storage space;
- a barrier that partitions the upper storage space and the lower storage space from each other;
- an upper door configured to rotate relative to the cabinet and to open and close the upper storage space;
- a lower door configured to rotate relative to the cabinet and to open and close the lower storage space;
- a hinge bracket fixed to a front surface of the barrier;
- a spacer disposed inside the hinge bracket;
- a rotation shaft that extends through the spacer;
- an upper link module coupled to the hinge bracket along a rotation axis of the upper door and configured to rotate about the rotation shaft, the upper link module being fixed to a bottom surface of the upper door;
- a lower link module coupled to the hinge bracket along a rotation axis of the lower door and configured to rotate about the rotation shaft independently of the upper link module, the lower link module being fixed to a top surface of the lower door;
- and
- a supporter disposed on a top surface of the lower link module and spaced apart from the rotation axis, the supporter being configured to be in contact with the upper link module based on operation of the upper link module or the lower link module,
- wherein the spacer is configured to maintain a fixed interval between the upper link module and the lower link module.
9 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.