Abstract: In order to improve the experience of opening and closing refrigerator doors, an automatic door opening and closing actuator for refrigerators was designed. The actuator is driven by just one motor. The push rod and the rotating system were highly realized through a linkage wheel, and the cost is greatly reduced. The innovative design of clutch system, hover system, drive motor reducer, and rotating system makes the actuator widely applicable to cross door refrigerator, French refrigerator, and side by side refrigerator. And the actuator is compatible with traditional single-axis hinges, biaxial hinges, and Multi-link hinges. Through simulation analysis and calculation, material of the lower shell and size of shaft was determined, material and thickness of the connecting rod was determined, and other key structures and sizes were also determined. The designed automatic refrigerator door opening and closing actuator passed 100,000 cycle reliability tests. It has high reliability. Most of the parts in the actuator are injection molded, which greatly reduces the cost while ensuring reliability. This is conducive to the promotion and popularization of automatic refrigerator door opening and closing technology.

Key words: Refrigerator, Automatic door opening and closing, Simulation analysis, Reliability