Storage device and door holder for same

• US 20050127683A1
• Filed: 11/04/2004
• Published: 06/16/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/11/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Nam, Jeong-man
• Granted Patent: US 7,387,351 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 292/96
• CPC Class Codes: E05B 65/0042 For refrigerators or cold rooms E05B17/0075 takes precedence; magnetic E05C19/16
• CPC Class Codes: E05B 65/46 for drawers
• CPC Class Codes: E05C 19/024 with a bifurcated latch
• CPC Class Codes: E05C 2005/005 Pivoting bolts or catches being able to move in an additional direction, e.g. by sliding or by pivoting about an additional axis, in order to allow closing of the wing even if the bolt or catch is in its locked position
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 25/025 Drawers
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 292/0824 Roller
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 292/0926 Spring projected
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 292/0945 Operating means

Abstract

A storage device including: a body having a storage compartment with an opening; and a door assembly accommodated in the storage compartment to slidably open/close the opening; and a door holding device. The door holding device includes a hooking part on one of the door assembly and the body to prevent a sliding of the door assembly when the door assembly opens/closes the opening, and a hook on the other one of the door assembly and the main body and which rotates between a first position at which the hook is hooked with the hooking part when the door assembly closes the opening and a second position at which the hook is released from the hooking part when the door assembly opens the opening.

Claims

1. A storage device comprising:

a main body having a storage compartment with an opening; and

a door assembly accommodated in the storage compartment to slidably open/close the opening; and

a door holding device including

a hooking part on one of the door assembly and the main body to prevent a sliding of the door assembly when the door assembly opens/closes the opening, and

a hook on the other one of the door assembly and the main body and which rotates between a first position at which the hook is hooked with the hooking part when the door assembly closes the opening and a second position at which the hook is released from the hooking part when the door assembly opens the opening.

2. The storage device according to claim 1, wherein the door holding device includes a hinge shaft which rotatably supports the hook, and wherein the hook is on a side of the main body forming the storage compartment which rotates with respect to the hinge shaft.

3. The storage device according to claim 2, wherein the door holding device includes an elastic member to elastically rotate the hook with respect to the hinge shaft.

4. The storage device according to claim 3, wherein the door holding device includes a roller between the hook and the elastic member to rollingly contact a part of the hook when the hook rotates with respect to the hooking part.

5. The storage device according to claim 4, wherein the hook includes:

an accommodating part having an accommodating groove to accommodate the hooking part;

a rotation supporting part that extends from the accommodating part and is formed with a hinge shaft accommodating hole to accommodate the hinge shaft;

a first roller contacting part formed on a circumferential surface to contact the roller when the hook is in the first position; and

a second roller contacting part proximate to the first roller contacting part and contacts to the roller to support the hook in the second position.

6. The storage device according to claim 5, wherein, when the door assembly closes the opening but the roller still contacts to the first roller contacting part, the hook rotates and the hooking part pushes the accommodating part so that the accommodating part is accommodated in the accommodating groove.

7. The storage device according to claim 6, wherein the hook includes a third roller contacting part proximate to the first roller contacting part and by which the hook contacts to the roller when the hook rotates with respect to the hooking part.

8. The storage device according to claim 4, wherein the door holding device includes a supporting bracket provided on a side of the main body to rotatably support the hook.

9. The storage device according to claim 8, wherein a side of the roller has a roller shaft to rotatably support the roller and a surface of the supporting bracket has a roller shaft accommodating slit in which the roller shaft moves according to a rotation of the hook.

10. The storage device according to claim 9, wherein the roller is made of polyacetal having a low coefficient of elasticity.

11. The storage device according to claim 10, the elastic member is a coil spring having a first end connected to the roller and a second end connected to the supporting bracket.

12. The storage device according to claim 5, wherein the door holding device includes a supporting bracket on a side of the main body to rotatably support the hook.

13. The storage device according to claim 12, wherein a side of the roller has a roller shaft to rotatably support the roller and a surface of the supporting bracket has a roller shaft accommodating slit in which the roller shaft moves according to a rotation of the hook.

14. The storage device according to claim 13, wherein the roller is made of polyacetal having a low coefficient of elasticity.

15. The storage device according to claim 14, the elastic member is a coil spring having a first end connected to the roller and a second end connected to the supporting bracket.

16. The storage device according to claim 6, wherein the door holding device includes a supporting bracket at a side of the main body to rotatably support the hook.

17. The storage device according to claim 16, wherein a side of the roller has a roller shaft to rotatably support the roller and a surface of the supporting bracket has a roller shaft accommodating slit in which the roller shaft moves according to a rotation of the hook.

18. The storage device according to claim 17, wherein the roller is made of polyacetal having a low coefficient of elasticity.

19. The storage device according to claim 18, the elastic member is a coil spring having a first end connected to the roller and a second end connected to the supporting bracket.

20. The storage device according to claim 7, wherein the door holding device includes a supporting bracket at a side of the main body to rotatably support the hook.

21. The storage device according to claim 20, wherein a side of the roller has a roller shaft to rotatably support the roller and a surface of the supporting bracket has a roller shaft accommodating slit in which the roller shaft moves according to a rotation of the hook.

22. The storage device according to claim 21, wherein the roller is polyacetal having a low coefficient of elasticity.

23. The storage device according to claim 22, the elastic member is a coil spring having a first end connected to the roller and a second end connected to the supporting bracket.

24. The storage device according to claim 3, wherein the door holing device includes a supporting bracket provided on a side of the main body to rotatably support the hook.

25. The storage device according to claim 24, wherein the supporting bracket has a first stopper to prevent a rotation of the hook when the hook is in the first position and a second stopper to prevent a rotation of the hook when the hook is in the second position.

26. The storage device according to claim 25, wherein the hook includes:

an accommodating part having an accommodating groove to accommodate the hooking part;

a rotation supporting part extending from the accommodating part and having a hinge shaft accommodating hole to accommodate the hinge shaft;

a first protruding part extending from the rotation supporting part to contact the first stopper when the hook is in the first position; and

a second protruding part extending from the rotation supporting part to contact to the second stopper when the hook is in the second position.

27. The storage device according to claim 26, wherein a surface of the supporting bracket has a hinge shaft accommodating slit to accommodate the hinge shaft and the hinge shaft moves in the hinge shaft accommodating slit according to a rotation of the hook.

28. The storage device according to claim 24, wherein the elastic member is a coil spring having a first end connected to the roller and a second end connected to the supporting bracket.

29. The storage device according to claim 25, wherein the elastic member is a coil spring having a first end connected to the roller and a second end connected to the supporting bracket.

30. The storage device according to claim 26, wherein the elastic member is a coil spring having a first end connected to the roller and a second end connected to the supporting bracket.

31. The storage device according to claim 27, wherein the elastic member is a coil spring having a first end connected to the roller and a second end connected to the supporting bracket.

32. A door holding device for a door assembly which opens/closes an opening in the main body of an enclosure, comprising:

a hooking part disposed on one of the door assembly and the main body to prevent the door assembly from sliding when the door assembly opens/closes the opening; and

a hook on the other one of the door assembly and the main body, the hook being rotatable between a first position at which the hook is hooked with the hooking part when the door assembly closes the opening and a second position at which the hook is released from the hooking part when the door assembly opens the opening.

33. The door holding device of claim 32, wherein the main body includes an outer casing forming an external appearance and an inner casing inside the outer casing forming the storage compartment which accommodates the door assembly.

34. The door holding device of claim 33, wherein the enclosure includes guide rails at opposite sides of the inner casing, an wherein the door assembly includes a door at a front of the door assembly, a pair of sliders at opposite sides of the door to cooperate with the guide rails to permit the door assembly to slide into/out of the storage compartment.