| 摘要 |
A hinge unit for a refrigerator is provided to close an opened door of the refrigerator by an automatically returning hinge unit if an opening angle thereof is in a predetermined range, thereby improving the convenience of use and reducing power consumption. A hinge unit for a refrigerator includes a base plate(30) attached to an upper or lower end of a main body of the refrigerator, a fixed shaft(32) penetrating the base plate and fixed in the refrigerator, a spring gear(40) rotating with respect to the fixed shaft, and a spring(42) connected to the spring gear at an outer end and the fixed shaft at an inner end to be wound or released elastically by the rotation of the spring gear. A cam gear(50) is mounted to the base plate rotatively to be engaged with the spring gear. A hinge shaft(60) penetrates the base plate and fixed to a door of the refrigerator for supporting the door rotatively. A torque cam(62) is fixed to the hinge shaft to rotate together with the hinge shaft and contacts the cam gear at a rotation angle within a reference value range for rotating the cam gear. A cam gear fixing unit fixes the rotation position of the cam gear temporarily for easily contacting between the cam gear and the torque cam in the process of closing the door, if an opening angle of the door exceeds the reference value range. |
