US20230036194A1 - Refrigerator - Google Patents
Refrigerator Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20230036194A1 US20230036194A1 US17/790,811 US202117790811A US2023036194A1 US 20230036194 A1 US20230036194 A1 US 20230036194A1 US 202117790811 A US202117790811 A US 202117790811A US 2023036194 A1 US2023036194 A1 US 2023036194A1
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- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- ice
- compartment
- refrigerator
- gasket
- making compartment
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
Links
- 238000009413 insulation Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 7
- 230000008878 coupling Effects 0.000 claims description 28
- 238000010168 coupling process Methods 0.000 claims description 28
- 238000005859 coupling reaction Methods 0.000 claims description 28
- 230000007423 decrease Effects 0.000 claims description 10
- 238000000926 separation method Methods 0.000 claims description 5
- 238000005187 foaming Methods 0.000 claims description 4
- 238000007789 sealing Methods 0.000 abstract description 9
- 230000002093 peripheral effect Effects 0.000 description 9
- 230000003247 decreasing effect Effects 0.000 description 6
- 230000037303 wrinkles Effects 0.000 description 5
- 238000005192 partition Methods 0.000 description 4
- XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N water Substances O XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 4
- 230000000694 effects Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000002347 injection Methods 0.000 description 2
- 239000007924 injection Substances 0.000 description 2
- 238000012986 modification Methods 0.000 description 2
- 230000004048 modification Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000001816 cooling Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000005516 engineering process Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000007710 freezing Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000008014 freezing Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000003780 insertion Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000037431 insertion Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000009434 installation Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000012774 insulation material Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000001050 lubricating effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000000243 solution Substances 0.000 description 1
Images
Classifications
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25D—REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- F25D11/00—Self-contained movable devices, e.g. domestic refrigerators
- F25D11/02—Self-contained movable devices, e.g. domestic refrigerators with cooling compartments at different temperatures
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25D—REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- F25D23/00—General constructional features
- F25D23/02—Doors; Covers
- F25D23/04—Doors; Covers with special compartments, e.g. butter conditioners
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25C—PRODUCING, WORKING OR HANDLING ICE
- F25C5/00—Working or handling ice
- F25C5/20—Distributing ice
- F25C5/22—Distributing ice particularly adapted for household refrigerators
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25D—REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- F25D23/00—General constructional features
- F25D23/02—Doors; Covers
- F25D23/028—Details
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25D—REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- F25D23/00—General constructional features
- F25D23/12—Arrangements of compartments additional to cooling compartments; Combinations of refrigerators with other equipment, e.g. stove
- F25D23/126—Water cooler
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25C—PRODUCING, WORKING OR HANDLING ICE
- F25C2400/00—Auxiliary features or devices for producing, working or handling ice
- F25C2400/04—Ice guide, e.g. for guiding ice blocks to storage tank
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25C—PRODUCING, WORKING OR HANDLING ICE
- F25C2500/00—Problems to be solved
- F25C2500/02—Geometry problems
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25D—REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- F25D2331/00—Details or arrangements of other cooling or freezing apparatus not provided for in other groups of this subclass
- F25D2331/80—Type of cooled receptacles
- F25D2331/806—Dispensers
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25D—REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- F25D2500/00—Problems to be solved
- F25D2500/02—Geometry problems
Definitions
- the present disclosure relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly to a refrigerator for improving a sealing force between a dispenser of a door and an ice storage bucket of an ice making compartment and smoothly opening and closing the door.
- a refrigerator is a home appliance for storing food in a refrigerated or frozen state in a storage compartment opened and closed by a door.
- the refrigerator generally includes a refrigerator compartment for storing food in a refrigerated state at a low temperature and a freezer compartment for freezing and storing food in a frozen state.
- the refrigerator may additionally include an ice making compartment that makes and stores ice for the convenience of a user.
- An ice making compartment that makes and stores ice for the convenience of a user.
- a technology of the refrigerator provided with the ice making compartment is disclosed in patent document 1 (Korean Patent No. 10-0674573).
- Refrigerators that have been recently released have a tendency to provide a refrigerator compartment, that is used relatively more frequently than a freezer compartment, at an upper part of a main body and to provide the freezer compartment, that is used relatively less than the refrigerator compartment, at a lower part of the main body.
- French door refrigerators in which a refrigerator compartment is opened and closed by two pivot doors that are respectively hinged and coupled to the left and right sides of a main body and are arranged side by side from left to right, and a freezer compartment is opened and closed by a drawer door slidably installed, have been recently in the spotlight.
- the ice making compartment may include an ice maker and an ice storage bucket to which ice made by the ice maker is transferred.
- the ice storage bucket can be taken into and out of the ice making compartment.
- the pivot door may be provided with a dispenser including an ice transfer duct and a gasket for sealing.
- An object of the present disclosure is to address the above-described and other problems. Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a refrigerator capable of smoothly opening and closing a door provided with a dispenser connected to an ice making compartment and improving a sealing force between the door and an ice storage bucket of the ice making compartment.
- Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a refrigerator.
- a refrigerator comprising a main body provided with a refrigerator compartment and a freezer compartment; an ice making compartment formed in the main body as a separate thermal insulation space from the refrigerator compartment, the ice making compartment including an ice maker; and a door configured to open and close the ice making compartment and the refrigerator compartment, the door including a dispenser communicating with the ice making compartment, wherein the ice making compartment is provided with an ice discharge port from which an ice made by the ice maker is discharged, wherein the dispenser is provided with an ice transfer duct communicating with the ice discharge port, wherein a gasket is installed at a perimeter of the ice transfer duct, and an upper surface of the gasket contacts a lower surface of the ice discharge port, and wherein the lower surface of the ice discharge port and the upper surface of the gasket are formed to be inclined downward as they go from a front side to a rear side.
- a separation distance in an up-down direction between the perimeter of the ice transfer duct and a perimeter of the ice discharge port decreases as it goes from the front side to the rear side.
- a thickness of the gasket positioned at the perimeter of the ice transfer duct decreases as it goes from the front side to the rear side.
- the gasket includes a case contact portion having an upper end in close contact with a gasket contact portion and extending to an outside, a reduction portion connected to a lower end of the case contact portion and extending downwardly, and a coupling portion connected to a lower end of the reduction portion and coupled to the ice transfer duct.
- a thickness of the reduction portion decreases as it goes from the front side to the rear side.
- a refrigerator according to the present disclosure has the following effects.
- the present disclosure can smoothly open and close a pivot door since a thickness of a gasket decreases as it goes to the rear side, and a gasket contact portion contacting the gasket is inclined as it goes to the rear side when the pivot door is closed.
- the present disclosure can also improve a sealing force between a gasket and a gasket contact portion when a pivot door is closed since an upper surface of the gasket and a lower surface of the gasket contact portion are disposed to be inclined downwardly and to be opposite to each other as they go to the rear side
- FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator applied to the present disclosure.
- FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an ice transfer duct and a compartment in a state where a pivot door of a refrigerator illustrated in FIG. 1 is opened.
- FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating an ice transfer duct and a case contact portion of a first pivot door illustrated in FIG. 2 .
- FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating an ice discharge port and a gasket contact portion when viewed from a lower side of a compartment illustrated in FIG. 2 .
- FIG. 5 illustrates a compartment
- FIG. 6 illustrates a part of a compartment illustrated in FIG. 5 .
- FIG. 7 illustrates a part of a compartment when viewed in a different direction from a direction illustrated in FIG. 6 .
- FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an ice storage bucket installed in a compartment.
- FIG. 9 a is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state where a first pivot door is closed as illustrated in FIG. 1 .
- FIG. 9 b is an enlarged view of a portion indicated in FIG. 9 a.
- FIG. 9 c is a cross-sectional view while a first pivot door is being closed.
- FIG. 10 illustrates a partition of storage spaces of a main body of a refrigerator.
- FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator applied to the present disclosure.
- FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an ice transfer duct and a compartment 600 in a state where a pivot door of a refrigerator 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 is opened.
- FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating an ice transfer duct 331 and a case contact portion 383 of a first pivot door illustrated in FIG. 2 .
- FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating an ice discharge port 6113 and a gasket contact portion 6119 when viewed from a lower side of the compartment 600 illustrated in FIG. 2 .
- FIG. 5 illustrates the compartment 600 .
- FIG. 6 illustrates a part of the compartment 600 illustrated in FIG. 5 .
- FIG. 7 illustrates a part of the compartment 600 when viewed in a different direction from a direction illustrated in FIG. 6 .
- FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an ice storage bucket 800 installed in the compartment 600 .
- FIG. 9 a is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state where a first pivot door 310 is closed as illustrated in FIG. 1 .
- FIG. 9 b is an enlarged view of a portion indicated in FIG. 9 a .
- FIG. 9 c is a cross-sectional view while the first pivot door 310 is being closed.
- FIG. 10 illustrates a partition of storage spaces 11 and 12 and an ice making compartment 60 of a main body of a refrigerator.
- a cooling unit for supplying a cool air to the ice making compartment 60 is separately present outside the ice making compartment 60 .
- FIG. 9 a illustrates a circulation of cool air in the ice making compartment 60 by arrows.
- a main body 10 is configured to form an appearance of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
- the main body 10 is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped box shape.
- the main body 10 includes an outer case 100 , an inner case 200 , a refrigerator compartment 11 provided at an upper part, a freezer compartment 12 provided at a lower side of the refrigerator compartment 11 , and an ice making compartment 60 formed as an independent space.
- the outer case 100 is configured to form an appearance of the main body 10 , i.e., substantially form the appearance of the refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
- the outer case 100 is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape with an opened front and a space formed therein.
- the inner case 200 is coupled to the outer case 100 by being accommodated and assembled in an inner space of the outer case 100 .
- the inner case 200 is coupled to the outer case 100 while providing a space portion 102 between the outer case 100 and the inner case 200 so that various wires can be accommodated and a thermal insulation material 110 to be described later can be injected and foamed.
- the inner case 200 has an opened front, and the refrigerator compartment 11 and the refrigerator compartment 11 can be selectively shielded by doors 300 and 400 , respectively.
- the refrigerator includes a main body 10 including a refrigerator compartment 11 , a freezer compartment 12 , and a special compartment 13 ; an ice making compartment 60 formed in the main body 10 as a separate thermal insulation space from the refrigerator compartment 11 , the freezer compartment 12 , and the special compartment 13 , the ice making compartment 60 including an ice maker 700 ; and a door 310 that opens and closes the refrigerator compartment 11 and is provided with a dispenser 330 communicating with the ice making compartment 60 .
- the ice making compartment 60 is provided with an ice discharge port 6113 from which ice made by the ice maker 700 is discharged, and the dispenser 330 is provided with an ice transfer duct 331 communicating with the ice discharge port 6113 .
- a gasket 332 is formed along a perimeter of the ice transfer duct 331 , and an upper surface of the gasket 332 contacts a lower surface of the ice discharge port 6113 .
- the lower surface of the ice discharge port 6113 and the upper surface of the gasket 332 are formed to be inclined downward as they go from a front side to a rear side.
- the refrigerator compartment 11 and the ice making compartment 60 are simultaneously formed as independent spaces by foaming.
- the freezer compartment 12 may be formed as an independent space at the same time as the refrigerator compartment 11 and the ice making compartment 60 by foaming.
- the refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is configured such that the refrigerator compartment 11 , the freezer compartment 12 , and the special compartment 13 are partitioned from each other in an up-down direction by a partition wall.
- the partition wall is provided through integral injection and foamed integrally, but may be composed of a separate thermal insulation wall and assembled.
- a pivot door 300 is formed at a front surface of the refrigerator compartment 11 .
- the pivot door 300 includes a first pivot door 310 and a second pivot door 320 .
- first pivot door 310 As a left upper end and a left lower end of the first pivot door 310 are respectively hinge-coupled to a left upper end and a left central part of the main body 10 , and the first pivot door 310 pivots clockwise or counterclockwise, the first pivot door 310 opens and closes an opened front left part of the refrigerator compartment 11 .
- a right upper end and a right lower end of the second pivot door 320 are respectively hinge-coupled to a right upper end and a right central part of the main body 10 , and the second pivot door 320 pivots counterclockwise or clockwise, the second pivot door 320 opens and closes an opened front right part of the refrigerator compartment 11 . That is, the first pivot door 310 and the second pivot door 320 are respectively installed on the left and right sides of the main body 10 and are disposed side by side in the left-right direction.
- the first pivot door 310 includes a first door outer case 310 a forming an appearance of the first pivot door 310 and a first door inner case 310 b coupled to a rear end of the first door outer case 310 a.
- the pivot door 300 is provided with the dispenser 330 .
- the dispenser 330 is configured such that water stored in a water supply tank (not shown) or ice stored in the ice making compartment 60 can be taken out of the refrigerator through an outlet port without opening the pivot door 300 in a state in which the pivot door 300 is closed.
- the dispenser 330 is provided in the first pivot door 310 installed on the left side of the main body 10 .
- the dispenser 330 may be provided with an operation unit 333 such as a button, a lever, and the like.
- the user may take out the water stored in the water supply tank (not shown) or the ice stored in the ice making compartment 60 through the dispenser 330 by manipulating the operation unit 333 , if necessary or desired.
- the dispenser 330 includes an ice transfer duct 331 that is formed at the first pivot door 310 in the up-down direction, and a lower end of the ice transfer duct 331 communicates with the outlet port.
- an upper end of the ice transfer duct 331 communicates with the ice making compartment 60 , and thus the outlet port of the dispenser 330 and the ice making compartment 60 communicate with each other.
- the ice stored in the ice making compartment 60 can be taken out of the refrigerator through the outlet port of the dispenser 330 .
- the ice transfer duct 331 includes an ice inlet pipe 330 a supporting the gasket 332
- the ice inlet pipe 330 a is partially spaced apart from and coupled to the ice transfer duct 331 so that the ice inlet pipe 330 a can support a coupling portion 389 to be described later.
- the ice inlet pipe 330 a includes an upper end flange 3301 inserted into the coupling portion 389 to be described later, and a tube-shaped body 3303 extending to a lower side of the upper end flange 3301 .
- the upper end flange 3301 is an upper end perimeter of the ice transfer duct 331 .
- the gasket 332 is formed along the upper end perimeter of the ice transfer duct 331 , i.e., at the upper flange 3301 and can maintain airtightness between the ice making compartment 60 and the refrigerator compartment 11 when the ice transfer duct 331 and the ice making compartment 60 communicate with each other.
- the gasket 332 is formed to have a decreasing inclination as an upper end of the gasket 332 goes from a front side 332 a to a rear side 332 b . Detailed configuration of the gasket 332 is described later.
- the gasket 332 is entirely formed in an obliquely inclined shape so that a front end of the upper end is positioned higher than a rear end of the upper end.
- the gasket 332 is formed to have a gradually decreasing inclination as it goes from the entire perimeter of the upper end to the outside of the center of the gasket 332 .
- a compartment 600 provided separately may be assembled at an upper corner of one side of the inner case 200 .
- the inner case 200 includes the compartment 600 .
- the inner case 200 may be integrally formed with the compartment 600 through injection.
- the compartment 600 may be a wall that serves as a right thermal insulation wall and a lower thermal insulation wall for forming the ice making compartment 60 .
- Configuration such as the ice maker 700 making ice and an ice storage bucket 800 storing the ice made by the ice maker 700 is accommodated inside the compartment 600 .
- FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate partial configuration of the compartment 600 .
- the compartment 600 includes a first lower plate 611 , a first side plate 612 extending upward over an entire right end of the first lower plate 611 , a first coupling plate 613 extending to the left over a part of an upper end of the first side plate 612 , a first front plate 614 that has a rectangular shape and is formed such that a lower end and a right end of the first front plate 614 are respectively formed integrally at an entire front end of the first lower plate 611 and an entire front end of the first side plate 612 , and a first rear plate 615 formed integrally over rear ends of the first lower plate 611 , the first side plate 612 , and the first coupling plate 613 .
- the first front plate 614 includes a first opening 6141 penetrated in the front-rear direction so that the ice storage bucket 800 to be described later can be taken into and out of the ice making compartment 60 .
- the first lower plate 611 is configured to form the bottom of the compartment 600 .
- the first lower plate 611 is formed to extend in the front-rear direction.
- the first lower plate 611 includes an inclination plate 6111 having an inclination ⁇ 1 that is inclined downward as a front side goes from the front to the rear.
- a rear side of the inclination plate 6111 is formed as a horizontal plate 6112 .
- An ice discharge port 6113 penetrated in the up-down direction is formed on the front side of the first lower plate 611 , i.e., the inclination plate 6111 to be spaced apart from a front surface of the first front plate 614 to be described later.
- the ice discharge port 6113 is a hole from which ice made by the ice maker 700 and stored in the ice storage bucket 800 is discharged.
- the ice discharge port 6113 is provided at the lower part of the compartment 600 to be spaced apart from the rear side of an ice making compartment door 810 to be described later.
- a joint portion between the ice making compartment door 810 and the compartment 600 i.e., a detachable portion for opening and closing between the ice making compartment door 810 and the compartment 600 is positioned to be spaced apart from the ice discharge port 6113 at the front side of the ice discharge port 6113 .
- a loss of cool air on a movement path of ice stored in the ice storage bucket 800 can be minimized.
- a gasket contact portion 6119 convexly protruding downward is formed at a perimeter of a lower end of the ice discharge port 6113 .
- the gasket contact portion 6119 is formed on a lower surface of the compartment 600 , i.e., on a lower surface of the inclination plate 6111 of the first lower plate 611 .
- the gasket contact portion 6119 is formed in a ring shape along the perimeter of the lower end of the ice discharge port 6113 .
- the gasket contact portion 6119 is inclined to have a decreasing inclination as it goes from the front to the rear.
- the gasket contact portion 6119 is a portion that is in close contact with the gasket 332 provided at the upper end of the ice transfer duct 331 formed in the dispenser 330 .
- the gasket contact portion 6119 intensively applies a pressure to the gasket 332 to increase a sealing force and prevent a loss of cool air.
- a separation distance in the up-down direction between the perimeter of the ice transfer duct 331 and the perimeter of the ice discharge port 6113 decreases as it goes from the front side to the rear side.
- a thickness of the gasket 332 positioned at the perimeter of the ice transfer duct 331 decreases as it goes from the front side 332 a to the rear side 332 b.
- a separation distance in the up-down direction between the front side of the ice transfer duct 331 and the gasket contact portion 6119 is greater than a separation distance in the up-down direction between the rear side of the ice transfer duct 331 and the gasket contact portion 6119 .
- the thickness of the gasket 332 needs to decrease as it goes from the front side to the rear side, in order to perform the sealing between the ice discharge port 6113 and the ice transfer duct 331 . That is, the gasket 332 needs to be inclined so that it has a decreasing inclination as the upper end of the gasket 332 goes from the front side 332 a to the rear side.
- the gasket contact portion 6119 smoothly pressurizes the entire perimeter of the upper end of the gasket 332 along the inclination formed in the gasket 332 when the first pivot door 310 closes the main body 10 , and at the same time, is in close contact with the entire perimeter of the upper end of the gasket 332 , thereby maintaining airtightness between the ice making compartment 60 and the refrigerator compartment 11 .
- an entrance wall 630 and an installation wall 640 may be further included in addition to the compartment 600 .
- the entrance wall 630 is coupled to a front part of the compartment 600 .
- the entrance wall 630 is configured to form an entrance portion of the ice making compartment 60 .
- the entrance wall 630 is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape as a whole and includes a second opening 6301 that is penetrated in the front-rear direction in a central portion.
- An ice guide portion 6319 protruding downward is formed on a front lower plate of the entrance wall 630 .
- a lower end of the ice guide portion 6319 is formed to have the same inclination as the inclination plate 6111 of the first lower plate 611 .
- an upper end of the ice guide portion 6319 communicates with the second opening 6301 , and the lower end of the ice guide portion 6319 communicates with the ice discharge port 6113 .
- the entrance wall 630 When the entrance wall 630 is coupled to the compartment 600 , the lower end of the ice guide portion 6319 is inserted into the ice discharge port 6113 of the compartment 600 .
- a shape of the gasket 332 is described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 9 b and 9 c.
- the gasket 332 includes an inner peripheral portion 381 forming a passage through which ice passing through the ice discharge port 6113 first passes among the gaskets 332 , a case contact portion 383 that is connected to the outside of the inner peripheral portion 381 , has an upper end in close contact with the gasket contact portion 6119 , and extends to the outside, a first part 385 that is connected to a lower end of the case contact portion 383 and extends to the inside, a reduction portion 387 that is connected to a lower end of the first part 385 and extends downwardly, and a coupling portion 389 that is connected to a lower end of the reduction portion 387 and is coupled to the ice inlet pipe 330 a.
- the inner peripheral portion 381 is formed to have a long length in the up-down direction and has a shape with a lower end rolled outward. Thus, ice can easily fall to the lower side without being caught in the inside of the case contact portion 383 of the gasket 382 .
- the inside of the case contact portion 383 is connected to an upper end of the inner peripheral portion 381 , and the case contact portion 383 is formed to be inclined downward as it goes to the outside.
- the outside of the first part 385 is connected to the lower end of the case contact portion 383 , and the first part 385 extends to the inside.
- the first part 385 is formed to have a substantially long length in the front-rear direction.
- the front side of the first part 385 is inclined downward as it goes from the front to the rear, and the rear side of the first part 385 has a shape close to being parallel to the front-rear direction as it goes from the front to the rear.
- a thickness t 1 of the front side 332 a of the gasket 332 is greater than a thickness of the rear side 332 b of the gasket 332 by the reduction portion 387 .
- the gasket 332 has a gradually decreasing thickness as it goes from the front side 332 a to the rear side 332 b.
- the upper surface of the gasket 332 has a shape corresponding to the inclination plate 6111 that is inclined downwardly.
- a lower surface of the gasket contact portion 6119 formed on the inclination plate 6111 is disposed to correspond to the upper end of the gasket 332 , i.e., an upper end of the case contact portion 383 .
- changes in the thickness of the gasket 332 enable the smooth opening and closing of the first pivot door 310 .
- the gasket 332 contacts the gasket contact portion 6119 and is pressed downward, the sealing force between the gasket 332 and the gasket contact portion 6119 is improved.
- the reduction portion 387 includes a first reduction portion 3871 that has an upper end connected to the lower end of the first part 385 and is disposed to elongate in the up-down direction, a wrinkle portion that has an upper end connected to a lower end of the first reduction portion 3871 and forms a wrinkle in at least a part of the reduction portion 387 , and a fourth reduction portion 3874 that has an upper end connected to a lower end of the wrinkle portion and is disposed to elongate in the up-down direction.
- the wrinkle portion includes a second reduction portion 3872 that has an upper end connected to the lower end of the first reduction portion 3871 and is inclined inwardly downwardly as it goes from the upper side to the lower side, and a third reduction portion 3873 that has an upper end connected to a lower end of the lower second reduction portion 3872 and a lower end connected to the fourth reduction portion 3874 and is inclined outwardly downwardly as it goes from the upper side to the lower side.
- first reduction portion 3871 and the fourth reduction portion 3874 are vertically arranged substantially parallel to each other.
- the second reduction portion 3872 and the third reduction portion 3873 are formed to be inclined in different directions.
- the second reduction portion 3872 and the third reduction portion 3873 form wrinkles in the gasket and can reduce a load applied by the gasket contact portion 6119 when the first pivot door 310 is closed.
- a front thickness and a rear thickness of the gasket 332 are different from each other. Specifically, since the front thickness of the gasket 332 is greater than the rear thickness of the gasket 332 , the reduction portion 387 has a decreasing thickness as it goes from the front to the rear. Thus, as illustrated in the right side of FIG. 9 b , it can be seen that a shape of the rear side of the reduction portion 387 is almost absent. In this instance, it can be seen that the rear side of the gasket 332 has the shape in which there is no reduction portion 387 and the first part 385 and the coupling portion 389 are connected.
- An insertion space into which the upper flange 3301 of the ice inlet pipe 330 a is inserted is formed in an inner peripheral surface of the coupling portion 389 .
- the coupling portion 389 includes, based on the position, a coupling upper piece 3891 connected to the fourth reduction portion 3874 or the first part 385 , a coupling peripheral piece 3893 that is connected to the outside of the coupling upper piece 3891 and extends downward, and a coupling lower piece 3895 that is connected to a lower side of the coupling peripheral piece 3893 and is supported on the first door inner case 310 b.
- the coupling upper piece 3891 and the coupling lower piece 3895 are formed to extend back and forth.
- the coupling peripheral piece 3893 is formed to extend up and down.
- the coupling upper piece 3891 contacts an upper surface of the upper end flange 3301
- the coupling peripheral piece 3893 contacts an outer perimeter of the upper end flange 3301
- the coupling lower piece 3895 contacts a lower surface of the upper end flange 3301 .
- the first part 385 is connected to the outside rather than the center of the coupling upper piece 3891 .
- a portion of the coupling upper piece 3891 connected to the first part 385 is approximately 1 ⁇ 3 of a front-rear length of the coupling upper piece 3891 from the outside.
- a front-rear length of the coupling lower piece 3895 is less than the front-rear length of the coupling upper piece 3891 .
- a front-rear length of the coupling portion 389 is less than a front-rear length of the case contact portion 383 .
- An outer end of the coupling portion 389 is disposed more inward than an outer end of the case contact portion 383 .
- gasket 332 is merely an example, and the gasket 332 can have various shapes other than the shapes described in the present disclosure.
- the ice storage bucket 800 may be installed below the ice making compartment 60 .
- the ice storage bucket 800 is disposed below the ice maker 700 and is provided to be taken into and out of the ice making compartment 60 .
- the ice storage bucket 800 may include the ice making compartment door 810 , an ice crushing portion 820 , a bucket portion 830 , and an auger 840 .
- the ice making compartment door 810 is configured to selectively open and close the opened front surface of the ice making compartment 60 by being detaching from a front surface of the compartment 600 .
- the ice making compartment door 810 When the ice storage bucket 800 is taken out of the ice making compartment 60 , the ice making compartment door 810 is spaced apart from the front surface of the compartment 600 to open the front surface of the ice making compartment 60 . When the ice storage bucket 800 is completely taken into the ice making compartment 60 , the ice making compartment door 810 is in close contact with the front surface of the compartment 600 to close the front surface of the ice making compartment 60 .
- a handle 811 that the user can grip is provided in the ice storage bucket 800 .
- the ice crushing portion 820 may be coupled to the rear surface of the ice making compartment door 810 .
- the ice crushing portion 820 is configured to crush ice to be discharged according to a user's selection.
- the ice crushing portion 820 is provided at the rear surface of the ice making compartment door 810 to protrude rearward. A front lower part of the ice crushing portion 820 is opened, and the ice crushing portion 820 communicates with the ice discharge port 6113 .
- the ice crushing portion 820 is disposed between the ice making compartment door 810 and the bucket portion 830 to connect the ice making compartment door 810 and the bucket unit 830 .
- a plurality of crushers 821 is provided in the ice crushing portion 820 and is configured to crush ice by rotating together with a rotation of the auger 840 to be described later.
- the plurality of crushers 821 is provided in the ice crushing portion 820 and is configured to crush ice while rotating.
- a support member 822 is formed at a lower part of the crusher 821 .
- the support member 822 is disposed at the lower part of the crusher 821 and is configured to support ice to be crushed so that the crusher 821 can crush the ice.
- An operating shaft 823 is connected to the support member 822 .
- the support member 822 When the support member 822 supports ice, the ice is crushed by the crusher 821 and then may be taken out to the dispenser 330 through the ice discharge port 6113 . When the support member 822 does not support ice, the ice as it is may be taken out to the dispenser 330 through the ice discharge port 6113 .
- the bucket portion 830 is coupled to the rear of the ice crushing portion 820 .
- the bucket portion 830 is a container in which ice made by the ice maker 700 is stored.
- the bucket portion 830 is formed to elongate in the front-rear direction, and an ice storage space 831 with an opened upper part is provided in the bucket portion 830 .
- the auger 840 is provided in the bucket portion 830 .
- the auger 840 is configured to transfer ice stored in the ice storage space 831 of the bucket portion 830 to the ice discharge port 6113 and is rotatably provided in the ice storage space 831 .
- the ice making compartment door 810 , the ice crushing portion 820 , and the bucket portion 830 are coupled to each other as described above, and move together according to the opening and closing of the ice making compartment door 810 . Therefore, it is possible to take the ice storage bucket 800 into and out of the ice making compartment 60 as a whole.
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Abstract
The present invention relates to a refrigerator and, more specifically, to a refrigerator comprising: a main body having a refrigerator compartment and a freezer compartment formed therein; an ice making compartment delimited as a separate thermal insulation space inside the refrigerator compartment, the ice making compartment having an ice maker and an ice storage bucket; and a door for opening/closing at least a part of the refrigerator compartment, the door having a dispenser installed thereon such that same communicates with the ice making compartment. The ice making compartment has an ice discharge port formed therein. The dispenser comprises: an ice transfer duct configured to communicate with the ice discharge port when the door is closed; and a gasket positioned on the periphery of the entrance of the ice transfer duct such that, when the door is closed, the upper end thereof contacts the periphery of the ice discharge port. The periphery of the ice outlet of the ice making compartment is formed to slope downwards as same extends from the front side toward the rear side. The upper end of the gasket is also formed to slope downwards as same extends from the front side toward the rear side. The above configuration improves the degree of sealing between the dispenser of the door and the ice storage bucket of the ice making compartment, and ensures that the door is opened/closed smoothly.
Description
- The present disclosure relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly to a refrigerator for improving a sealing force between a dispenser of a door and an ice storage bucket of an ice making compartment and smoothly opening and closing the door.
- In general, a refrigerator is a home appliance for storing food in a refrigerated or frozen state in a storage compartment opened and closed by a door. The refrigerator generally includes a refrigerator compartment for storing food in a refrigerated state at a low temperature and a freezer compartment for freezing and storing food in a frozen state.
- The refrigerator may additionally include an ice making compartment that makes and stores ice for the convenience of a user. A technology of the refrigerator provided with the ice making compartment is disclosed in patent document 1 (Korean Patent No. 10-0674573).
- Refrigerators that have been recently released have a tendency to provide a refrigerator compartment, that is used relatively more frequently than a freezer compartment, at an upper part of a main body and to provide the freezer compartment, that is used relatively less than the refrigerator compartment, at a lower part of the main body. In particular, French door refrigerators, in which a refrigerator compartment is opened and closed by two pivot doors that are respectively hinged and coupled to the left and right sides of a main body and are arranged side by side from left to right, and a freezer compartment is opened and closed by a drawer door slidably installed, have been recently in the spotlight.
- If the refrigerator includes an ice making compartment inside the refrigerator compartment for convenience, the ice making compartment may include an ice maker and an ice storage bucket to which ice made by the ice maker is transferred. The ice storage bucket can be taken into and out of the ice making compartment. The pivot door may be provided with a dispenser including an ice transfer duct and a gasket for sealing. Thus, when the pivot door is closed, ice stored in the ice storage bucket may be directly transferred to the ice transfer duct. Therefore, ice stored in the ice making compartment can be taken out of the refrigerator through an outlet port without opening the pivot door.
- In the related art refrigerator, when the pivot door is closed, the gasket and an ice discharge port of the ice maker contacting each other are formed side by side in front and back, that is, so as not to incline to one side, and the gasket has a constant thickness. Hence, when the pivot door is closed, there were problems that the gasket and the ice discharge port are caught in each other, or the pivot door does not close well due to the catching, or a sealing force is reduced due to poor adhesion between the gasket and the ice storage bucket.
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- (Patent Document 1) Korean Patent No. 10-0674573
- An object of the present disclosure is to address the above-described and other problems. Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a refrigerator capable of smoothly opening and closing a door provided with a dispenser connected to an ice making compartment and improving a sealing force between the door and an ice storage bucket of the ice making compartment.
- Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a refrigerator.
- In order to achieve the above-described and other objects, in one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a refrigerator comprising a main body provided with a refrigerator compartment and a freezer compartment; an ice making compartment formed in the main body as a separate thermal insulation space from the refrigerator compartment, the ice making compartment including an ice maker; and a door configured to open and close the ice making compartment and the refrigerator compartment, the door including a dispenser communicating with the ice making compartment, wherein the ice making compartment is provided with an ice discharge port from which an ice made by the ice maker is discharged, wherein the dispenser is provided with an ice transfer duct communicating with the ice discharge port, wherein a gasket is installed at a perimeter of the ice transfer duct, and an upper surface of the gasket contacts a lower surface of the ice discharge port, and wherein the lower surface of the ice discharge port and the upper surface of the gasket are formed to be inclined downward as they go from a front side to a rear side.
- A separation distance in an up-down direction between the perimeter of the ice transfer duct and a perimeter of the ice discharge port decreases as it goes from the front side to the rear side. A thickness of the gasket positioned at the perimeter of the ice transfer duct decreases as it goes from the front side to the rear side.
- The gasket includes a case contact portion having an upper end in close contact with a gasket contact portion and extending to an outside, a reduction portion connected to a lower end of the case contact portion and extending downwardly, and a coupling portion connected to a lower end of the reduction portion and coupled to the ice transfer duct. A thickness of the reduction portion decreases as it goes from the front side to the rear side.
- A refrigerator according to the present disclosure has the following effects.
- The present disclosure can smoothly open and close a pivot door since a thickness of a gasket decreases as it goes to the rear side, and a gasket contact portion contacting the gasket is inclined as it goes to the rear side when the pivot door is closed.
- The present disclosure can also improve a sealing force between a gasket and a gasket contact portion when a pivot door is closed since an upper surface of the gasket and a lower surface of the gasket contact portion are disposed to be inclined downwardly and to be opposite to each other as they go to the rear side
-
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator applied to the present disclosure. -
FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an ice transfer duct and a compartment in a state where a pivot door of a refrigerator illustrated inFIG. 1 is opened. -
FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating an ice transfer duct and a case contact portion of a first pivot door illustrated inFIG. 2 . -
FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating an ice discharge port and a gasket contact portion when viewed from a lower side of a compartment illustrated inFIG. 2 . -
FIG. 5 illustrates a compartment. -
FIG. 6 illustrates a part of a compartment illustrated inFIG. 5 . -
FIG. 7 illustrates a part of a compartment when viewed in a different direction from a direction illustrated inFIG. 6 . -
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an ice storage bucket installed in a compartment. -
FIG. 9 a is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state where a first pivot door is closed as illustrated inFIG. 1 . -
FIG. 9 b is an enlarged view of a portion indicated inFIG. 9 a. -
FIG. 9 c is a cross-sectional view while a first pivot door is being closed. -
FIG. 10 illustrates a partition of storage spaces of a main body of a refrigerator. - In embodiments of the present disclosure to be described below, reference for the same structure and components as those of a related art is made to the related art, and a detailed description thereof is omitted.
- The technical terms disclosed herein are used to merely refer to a specific embodiment and does not intend to limit the present disclosure. A singular expression used in embodiments can include a plural expression as long as it does not have an apparently different meaning in context. In the present disclosure, terms “include” and “comprise” should be understood to be intended to designate that illustrated features, areas, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts and/or combinations thereof are present and not to preclude the existence of one or more different features, areas, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts and/or combinations thereof, or the possibility of the addition thereof.
- When any component is described as “being connected” or “being coupled” to other component, this should be understood to mean that another component may exist between them, although any component may be directly connected or coupled to the other component.
-
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator applied to the present disclosure.FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an ice transfer duct and acompartment 600 in a state where a pivot door of arefrigerator 10 illustrated inFIG. 1 is opened.FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating anice transfer duct 331 and acase contact portion 383 of a first pivot door illustrated inFIG. 2 .FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating anice discharge port 6113 and agasket contact portion 6119 when viewed from a lower side of thecompartment 600 illustrated inFIG. 2 .FIG. 5 illustrates thecompartment 600.FIG. 6 illustrates a part of thecompartment 600 illustrated inFIG. 5 .FIG. 7 illustrates a part of thecompartment 600 when viewed in a different direction from a direction illustrated inFIG. 6 .FIG. 8 is a perspective view of anice storage bucket 800 installed in thecompartment 600.FIG. 9 a is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state where afirst pivot door 310 is closed as illustrated inFIG. 1 .FIG. 9 b is an enlarged view of a portion indicated inFIG. 9 a .FIG. 9 c is a cross-sectional view while thefirst pivot door 310 is being closed.FIG. 10 illustrates a partition ofstorage spaces ice making compartment 60 of a main body of a refrigerator. - For reference, as illustrated in
FIG. 9 a , a cooling unit for supplying a cool air to theice making compartment 60 is separately present outside theice making compartment 60. -
FIG. 9 a illustrates a circulation of cool air in the ice makingcompartment 60 by arrows. - Referring to
FIGS. 1, 2 and 4 , amain body 10 is configured to form an appearance of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Themain body 10 is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped box shape. Themain body 10 includes anouter case 100, aninner case 200, arefrigerator compartment 11 provided at an upper part, afreezer compartment 12 provided at a lower side of therefrigerator compartment 11, and anice making compartment 60 formed as an independent space. - The
outer case 100 is configured to form an appearance of themain body 10, i.e., substantially form the appearance of the refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Theouter case 100 is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape with an opened front and a space formed therein. - The
inner case 200 is coupled to theouter case 100 by being accommodated and assembled in an inner space of theouter case 100. Theinner case 200 is coupled to theouter case 100 while providing a space portion 102 between theouter case 100 and theinner case 200 so that various wires can be accommodated and a thermal insulation material 110 to be described later can be injected and foamed. - The
inner case 200 has an opened front, and therefrigerator compartment 11 and therefrigerator compartment 11 can be selectively shielded bydoors - The refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a
main body 10 including arefrigerator compartment 11, afreezer compartment 12, and aspecial compartment 13; anice making compartment 60 formed in themain body 10 as a separate thermal insulation space from therefrigerator compartment 11, thefreezer compartment 12, and thespecial compartment 13, theice making compartment 60 including anice maker 700; and adoor 310 that opens and closes therefrigerator compartment 11 and is provided with adispenser 330 communicating with theice making compartment 60. Theice making compartment 60 is provided with anice discharge port 6113 from which ice made by theice maker 700 is discharged, and thedispenser 330 is provided with anice transfer duct 331 communicating with theice discharge port 6113. Agasket 332 is formed along a perimeter of theice transfer duct 331, and an upper surface of thegasket 332 contacts a lower surface of theice discharge port 6113. The lower surface of theice discharge port 6113 and the upper surface of thegasket 332 are formed to be inclined downward as they go from a front side to a rear side. - The
refrigerator compartment 11 and theice making compartment 60 are simultaneously formed as independent spaces by foaming. - The
freezer compartment 12 may be formed as an independent space at the same time as therefrigerator compartment 11 and theice making compartment 60 by foaming. - The refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is configured such that the
refrigerator compartment 11, thefreezer compartment 12, and thespecial compartment 13 are partitioned from each other in an up-down direction by a partition wall. - The partition wall is provided through integral injection and foamed integrally, but may be composed of a separate thermal insulation wall and assembled.
- In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a
pivot door 300 is formed at a front surface of therefrigerator compartment 11. - The
pivot door 300 includes afirst pivot door 310 and asecond pivot door 320. As a left upper end and a left lower end of thefirst pivot door 310 are respectively hinge-coupled to a left upper end and a left central part of themain body 10, and thefirst pivot door 310 pivots clockwise or counterclockwise, thefirst pivot door 310 opens and closes an opened front left part of therefrigerator compartment 11. As a right upper end and a right lower end of thesecond pivot door 320 are respectively hinge-coupled to a right upper end and a right central part of themain body 10, and thesecond pivot door 320 pivots counterclockwise or clockwise, thesecond pivot door 320 opens and closes an opened front right part of therefrigerator compartment 11. That is, thefirst pivot door 310 and thesecond pivot door 320 are respectively installed on the left and right sides of themain body 10 and are disposed side by side in the left-right direction. - The
first pivot door 310 includes a first doorouter case 310 a forming an appearance of thefirst pivot door 310 and a first doorinner case 310 b coupled to a rear end of the first doorouter case 310 a. - The
pivot door 300 is provided with thedispenser 330. - The
dispenser 330 is configured such that water stored in a water supply tank (not shown) or ice stored in theice making compartment 60 can be taken out of the refrigerator through an outlet port without opening thepivot door 300 in a state in which thepivot door 300 is closed. In the present embodiment, thedispenser 330 is provided in thefirst pivot door 310 installed on the left side of themain body 10. - Specifically, the
dispenser 330 may be provided with anoperation unit 333 such as a button, a lever, and the like. The user may take out the water stored in the water supply tank (not shown) or the ice stored in theice making compartment 60 through thedispenser 330 by manipulating theoperation unit 333, if necessary or desired. - The
dispenser 330 includes anice transfer duct 331 that is formed at thefirst pivot door 310 in the up-down direction, and a lower end of theice transfer duct 331 communicates with the outlet port. When thefirst pivot door 310 is closed as illustrated inFIG. 9 a , an upper end of theice transfer duct 331 communicates with theice making compartment 60, and thus the outlet port of thedispenser 330 and theice making compartment 60 communicate with each other. Hence, even when thefirst pivot door 310 is closed, the ice stored in theice making compartment 60 can be taken out of the refrigerator through the outlet port of thedispenser 330. - The
ice transfer duct 331 includes anice inlet pipe 330 a supporting thegasket 332 - The
ice inlet pipe 330 a is partially spaced apart from and coupled to theice transfer duct 331 so that theice inlet pipe 330 a can support acoupling portion 389 to be described later. - The
ice inlet pipe 330 a includes anupper end flange 3301 inserted into thecoupling portion 389 to be described later, and a tube-shapedbody 3303 extending to a lower side of theupper end flange 3301. - The
upper end flange 3301 is an upper end perimeter of theice transfer duct 331. - The
gasket 332 is formed along the upper end perimeter of theice transfer duct 331, i.e., at theupper flange 3301 and can maintain airtightness between theice making compartment 60 and therefrigerator compartment 11 when theice transfer duct 331 and theice making compartment 60 communicate with each other. - The
gasket 332 is formed to have a decreasing inclination as an upper end of thegasket 332 goes from afront side 332 a to arear side 332 b. Detailed configuration of thegasket 332 is described later. - More specifically, the
gasket 332 is entirely formed in an obliquely inclined shape so that a front end of the upper end is positioned higher than a rear end of the upper end. - The
gasket 332 is formed to have a gradually decreasing inclination as it goes from the entire perimeter of the upper end to the outside of the center of thegasket 332. - A
compartment 600 provided separately may be assembled at an upper corner of one side of theinner case 200. - The
inner case 200 includes thecompartment 600. - Unlike the present embodiment, the
inner case 200 may be integrally formed with thecompartment 600 through injection. - The
compartment 600 may be a wall that serves as a right thermal insulation wall and a lower thermal insulation wall for forming theice making compartment 60. - Configuration such as the
ice maker 700 making ice and anice storage bucket 800 storing the ice made by theice maker 700 is accommodated inside thecompartment 600. -
FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate partial configuration of thecompartment 600. Thecompartment 600 includes a firstlower plate 611, afirst side plate 612 extending upward over an entire right end of the firstlower plate 611, afirst coupling plate 613 extending to the left over a part of an upper end of thefirst side plate 612, a firstfront plate 614 that has a rectangular shape and is formed such that a lower end and a right end of the firstfront plate 614 are respectively formed integrally at an entire front end of the firstlower plate 611 and an entire front end of thefirst side plate 612, and a firstrear plate 615 formed integrally over rear ends of the firstlower plate 611, thefirst side plate 612, and thefirst coupling plate 613. - The first
front plate 614 includes afirst opening 6141 penetrated in the front-rear direction so that theice storage bucket 800 to be described later can be taken into and out of theice making compartment 60. - The first
lower plate 611 is configured to form the bottom of thecompartment 600. The firstlower plate 611 is formed to extend in the front-rear direction. - As illustrated in
FIG. 6 , the firstlower plate 611 includes aninclination plate 6111 having an inclination θ1 that is inclined downward as a front side goes from the front to the rear. A rear side of theinclination plate 6111 is formed as ahorizontal plate 6112. - An
ice discharge port 6113 penetrated in the up-down direction is formed on the front side of the firstlower plate 611, i.e., theinclination plate 6111 to be spaced apart from a front surface of the firstfront plate 614 to be described later. - The
ice discharge port 6113 is a hole from which ice made by theice maker 700 and stored in theice storage bucket 800 is discharged. Theice discharge port 6113 is provided at the lower part of thecompartment 600 to be spaced apart from the rear side of an icemaking compartment door 810 to be described later. - As the
ice discharge port 6113 is provided at the lower part of thecompartment 600, a joint portion between the ice makingcompartment door 810 and thecompartment 600, i.e., a detachable portion for opening and closing between the ice makingcompartment door 810 and thecompartment 600 is positioned to be spaced apart from theice discharge port 6113 at the front side of theice discharge port 6113. Hence, a loss of cool air on a movement path of ice stored in theice storage bucket 800 can be minimized. - A
gasket contact portion 6119 convexly protruding downward is formed at a perimeter of a lower end of theice discharge port 6113. - The
gasket contact portion 6119 is formed on a lower surface of thecompartment 600, i.e., on a lower surface of theinclination plate 6111 of the firstlower plate 611. Thegasket contact portion 6119 is formed in a ring shape along the perimeter of the lower end of theice discharge port 6113. - The
gasket contact portion 6119 is inclined to have a decreasing inclination as it goes from the front to the rear. - The
gasket contact portion 6119 is a portion that is in close contact with thegasket 332 provided at the upper end of theice transfer duct 331 formed in thedispenser 330. Thegasket contact portion 6119 intensively applies a pressure to thegasket 332 to increase a sealing force and prevent a loss of cool air. - A separation distance in the up-down direction between the perimeter of the
ice transfer duct 331 and the perimeter of theice discharge port 6113 decreases as it goes from the front side to the rear side. A thickness of thegasket 332 positioned at the perimeter of theice transfer duct 331 decreases as it goes from thefront side 332 a to therear side 332 b. - Specifically, based on the
ice discharge port 6113, a separation distance in the up-down direction between the front side of theice transfer duct 331 and thegasket contact portion 6119 is greater than a separation distance in the up-down direction between the rear side of theice transfer duct 331 and thegasket contact portion 6119. Thus, the thickness of thegasket 332 needs to decrease as it goes from the front side to the rear side, in order to perform the sealing between theice discharge port 6113 and theice transfer duct 331. That is, thegasket 332 needs to be inclined so that it has a decreasing inclination as the upper end of thegasket 332 goes from thefront side 332 a to the rear side. - Hence, the
gasket contact portion 6119 smoothly pressurizes the entire perimeter of the upper end of thegasket 332 along the inclination formed in thegasket 332 when thefirst pivot door 310 closes themain body 10, and at the same time, is in close contact with the entire perimeter of the upper end of thegasket 332, thereby maintaining airtightness between theice making compartment 60 and therefrigerator compartment 11. - Since the
gasket 332 and thegasket contact portion 6119 smoothly contact each other along the inclination formed in thegasket 332 when thefirst pivot door 310 closes themain body 10, twisting or pushing of thegasket 332 can be prevented without adding a separate lubricating material to thegasket 332. - When the
ice making compartment 60 is formed by thecompartment 600, anentrance wall 630 and aninstallation wall 640 may be further included in addition to thecompartment 600. - As illustrated in
FIG. 5 , theentrance wall 630 is coupled to a front part of thecompartment 600. - The
entrance wall 630 is configured to form an entrance portion of theice making compartment 60. Theentrance wall 630 is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape as a whole and includes asecond opening 6301 that is penetrated in the front-rear direction in a central portion. - An
ice guide portion 6319 protruding downward is formed on a front lower plate of theentrance wall 630. - A lower end of the
ice guide portion 6319 is formed to have the same inclination as theinclination plate 6111 of the firstlower plate 611. - As an inside of the
ice guide portion 6319 is formed to be penetrated in the up-down direction, an upper end of theice guide portion 6319 communicates with thesecond opening 6301, and the lower end of theice guide portion 6319 communicates with theice discharge port 6113. - When the
entrance wall 630 is coupled to thecompartment 600, the lower end of theice guide portion 6319 is inserted into theice discharge port 6113 of thecompartment 600. - A shape of the
gasket 332 is described in detail below with reference toFIGS. 9 b and 9 c. - The
gasket 332 includes an innerperipheral portion 381 forming a passage through which ice passing through theice discharge port 6113 first passes among thegaskets 332, acase contact portion 383 that is connected to the outside of the innerperipheral portion 381, has an upper end in close contact with thegasket contact portion 6119, and extends to the outside, afirst part 385 that is connected to a lower end of thecase contact portion 383 and extends to the inside, areduction portion 387 that is connected to a lower end of thefirst part 385 and extends downwardly, and acoupling portion 389 that is connected to a lower end of thereduction portion 387 and is coupled to theice inlet pipe 330 a. - The inner
peripheral portion 381 is formed to have a long length in the up-down direction and has a shape with a lower end rolled outward. Thus, ice can easily fall to the lower side without being caught in the inside of thecase contact portion 383 of the gasket 382. - The inside of the
case contact portion 383 is connected to an upper end of the innerperipheral portion 381, and thecase contact portion 383 is formed to be inclined downward as it goes to the outside. - The outside of the
first part 385 is connected to the lower end of thecase contact portion 383, and thefirst part 385 extends to the inside. - The
first part 385 is formed to have a substantially long length in the front-rear direction. - Since a thickness of the front side of the
gasket 332 is greater than a thickness of the rear side of thegasket 332, the front side of thefirst part 385 is inclined downward as it goes from the front to the rear, and the rear side of thefirst part 385 has a shape close to being parallel to the front-rear direction as it goes from the front to the rear. - A thickness t1 of the
front side 332 a of thegasket 332 is greater than a thickness of therear side 332 b of thegasket 332 by thereduction portion 387. Specifically, thegasket 332 has a gradually decreasing thickness as it goes from thefront side 332 a to therear side 332 b. - Hence, the upper surface of the
gasket 332 has a shape corresponding to theinclination plate 6111 that is inclined downwardly. - Accordingly, when the
first pivot door 310 is opened and closed by moving in a direction of the arrow, a lower surface of thegasket contact portion 6119 formed on theinclination plate 6111 is disposed to correspond to the upper end of thegasket 332, i.e., an upper end of thecase contact portion 383. Hence, changes in the thickness of thegasket 332 enable the smooth opening and closing of thefirst pivot door 310. Further, since thegasket 332 contacts thegasket contact portion 6119 and is pressed downward, the sealing force between thegasket 332 and thegasket contact portion 6119 is improved. - Based on the left side, i.e., the front side of
FIG. 9 b , thereduction portion 387 includes afirst reduction portion 3871 that has an upper end connected to the lower end of thefirst part 385 and is disposed to elongate in the up-down direction, a wrinkle portion that has an upper end connected to a lower end of thefirst reduction portion 3871 and forms a wrinkle in at least a part of thereduction portion 387, and afourth reduction portion 3874 that has an upper end connected to a lower end of the wrinkle portion and is disposed to elongate in the up-down direction. - The wrinkle portion includes a
second reduction portion 3872 that has an upper end connected to the lower end of thefirst reduction portion 3871 and is inclined inwardly downwardly as it goes from the upper side to the lower side, and athird reduction portion 3873 that has an upper end connected to a lower end of the lowersecond reduction portion 3872 and a lower end connected to thefourth reduction portion 3874 and is inclined outwardly downwardly as it goes from the upper side to the lower side. - In this instance, the
first reduction portion 3871 and thefourth reduction portion 3874 are vertically arranged substantially parallel to each other. - The
second reduction portion 3872 and thethird reduction portion 3873 are formed to be inclined in different directions. Thesecond reduction portion 3872 and thethird reduction portion 3873 form wrinkles in the gasket and can reduce a load applied by thegasket contact portion 6119 when thefirst pivot door 310 is closed. - A front thickness and a rear thickness of the
gasket 332 are different from each other. Specifically, since the front thickness of thegasket 332 is greater than the rear thickness of thegasket 332, thereduction portion 387 has a decreasing thickness as it goes from the front to the rear. Thus, as illustrated in the right side ofFIG. 9 b , it can be seen that a shape of the rear side of thereduction portion 387 is almost absent. In this instance, it can be seen that the rear side of thegasket 332 has the shape in which there is noreduction portion 387 and thefirst part 385 and thecoupling portion 389 are connected. - An insertion space into which the
upper flange 3301 of theice inlet pipe 330 a is inserted is formed in an inner peripheral surface of thecoupling portion 389. - Specifically, the
coupling portion 389 includes, based on the position, a couplingupper piece 3891 connected to thefourth reduction portion 3874 or thefirst part 385, a coupling peripheral piece 3893 that is connected to the outside of the couplingupper piece 3891 and extends downward, and a coupling lower piece 3895 that is connected to a lower side of the coupling peripheral piece 3893 and is supported on the first doorinner case 310 b. - The coupling
upper piece 3891 and the coupling lower piece 3895 are formed to extend back and forth. - The coupling peripheral piece 3893 is formed to extend up and down.
- The coupling
upper piece 3891 contacts an upper surface of theupper end flange 3301, the coupling peripheral piece 3893 contacts an outer perimeter of theupper end flange 3301, and the coupling lower piece 3895 contacts a lower surface of theupper end flange 3301. - The
first part 385 is connected to the outside rather than the center of the couplingupper piece 3891. - Specifically, a portion of the coupling
upper piece 3891 connected to thefirst part 385 is approximately ⅓ of a front-rear length of the couplingupper piece 3891 from the outside. - A front-rear length of the coupling lower piece 3895 is less than the front-rear length of the coupling
upper piece 3891. - A front-rear length of the
coupling portion 389 is less than a front-rear length of thecase contact portion 383. - An outer end of the
coupling portion 389 is disposed more inward than an outer end of thecase contact portion 383. - The above-described shape of the
gasket 332 is merely an example, and thegasket 332 can have various shapes other than the shapes described in the present disclosure. - The
ice storage bucket 800 may be installed below theice making compartment 60. - Referring to
FIG. 9 a , theice storage bucket 800 is disposed below theice maker 700 and is provided to be taken into and out of theice making compartment 60. - The
ice storage bucket 800 may include the ice makingcompartment door 810, anice crushing portion 820, abucket portion 830, and anauger 840. - The ice
making compartment door 810 is configured to selectively open and close the opened front surface of theice making compartment 60 by being detaching from a front surface of thecompartment 600. - When the
ice storage bucket 800 is taken out of theice making compartment 60, the ice makingcompartment door 810 is spaced apart from the front surface of thecompartment 600 to open the front surface of theice making compartment 60. When theice storage bucket 800 is completely taken into theice making compartment 60, the ice makingcompartment door 810 is in close contact with the front surface of thecompartment 600 to close the front surface of theice making compartment 60. - A
handle 811 that the user can grip is provided in theice storage bucket 800. - The
ice crushing portion 820 may be coupled to the rear surface of the ice makingcompartment door 810. - The
ice crushing portion 820 is configured to crush ice to be discharged according to a user's selection. Theice crushing portion 820 is provided at the rear surface of the ice makingcompartment door 810 to protrude rearward. A front lower part of theice crushing portion 820 is opened, and theice crushing portion 820 communicates with theice discharge port 6113. - The
ice crushing portion 820 is disposed between the ice makingcompartment door 810 and thebucket portion 830 to connect the ice makingcompartment door 810 and thebucket unit 830. - A plurality of
crushers 821 is provided in theice crushing portion 820 and is configured to crush ice by rotating together with a rotation of theauger 840 to be described later. - The plurality of
crushers 821 is provided in theice crushing portion 820 and is configured to crush ice while rotating. - A
support member 822 is formed at a lower part of thecrusher 821. - The
support member 822 is disposed at the lower part of thecrusher 821 and is configured to support ice to be crushed so that thecrusher 821 can crush the ice. - An operating
shaft 823 is connected to thesupport member 822. - When the
support member 822 supports ice, the ice is crushed by thecrusher 821 and then may be taken out to thedispenser 330 through theice discharge port 6113. When thesupport member 822 does not support ice, the ice as it is may be taken out to thedispenser 330 through theice discharge port 6113. - The
bucket portion 830 is coupled to the rear of theice crushing portion 820. - The
bucket portion 830 is a container in which ice made by theice maker 700 is stored. Thebucket portion 830 is formed to elongate in the front-rear direction, and an ice storage space 831 with an opened upper part is provided in thebucket portion 830. - The
auger 840 is provided in thebucket portion 830. - The
auger 840 is configured to transfer ice stored in the ice storage space 831 of thebucket portion 830 to theice discharge port 6113 and is rotatably provided in the ice storage space 831. - The ice
making compartment door 810, theice crushing portion 820, and thebucket portion 830 are coupled to each other as described above, and move together according to the opening and closing of the ice makingcompartment door 810. Therefore, it is possible to take theice storage bucket 800 into and out of theice making compartment 60 as a whole. - Although the embodiments have been described with reference to a number of illustrative embodiments thereof, numerous other modifications and embodiments may be devised by those skilled in the art that will fall within the scope of the principles of the present disclosure. In particular, various variations and modifications are possible in the component parts and/or arrangements of the subject combination arrangement within the scope of the disclosure, the drawings and the appended claims.
-
-
** Description of main reference numerals ** 10: refrigerator 60: ice making compartment 300: pivot door 332: gasket 383: case contact portion 387: reduction portion 600: compartment 6113: ice discharge port 6119: gasket contact portion 700: ice maker 800: ice storage bucket t1: thickness of gasket front side t2: thickness of gasket rear side
Claims (5)
1. A refrigerator comprising:
a main body provided with a refrigerator compartment and a freezer compartment;
an ice making compartment formed in the main body as a separate thermal insulation space from the refrigerator compartment, the ice making compartment including an ice maker; and
a door configured to open and close the ice making compartment and the refrigerator compartment, the door including a dispenser communicating with the ice making compartment,
wherein the ice making compartment is provided with an ice discharge port from which an ice made by the ice maker is discharged,
wherein the dispenser is provided with an ice transfer duct communicating with the ice discharge port,
wherein a gasket is installed at a perimeter of the ice transfer duct, and an upper surface of the gasket contacts a lower surface of the ice discharge port, and
wherein the lower surface of the ice discharge port and the upper surface of the gasket are formed to be inclined downward as they go from a front side to a rear side.
2. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein a separation distance in an up-down direction between the perimeter of the ice transfer duct and a perimeter of the ice discharge port decreases as it goes from the front side to the rear side, and
wherein a thickness of the gasket positioned at the perimeter of the ice transfer duct decreases as it goes from the front side to the rear side.
3. The refrigerator of claim 2 , wherein the gasket includes:
a case contact portion having an upper end in close contact with a gasket contact portion and extending to an outside;
a reduction portion connected to a lower end of the case contact portion and extending downwardly; and
a coupling portion connected to a lower end of the reduction portion and coupled to the ice transfer duct,
wherein a thickness of the reduction portion decreases as it goes from the front side to the rear side.
4. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the refrigerator compartment and the ice making compartment are simultaneously formed as independent spaces by foaming.
5. The refrigerator of claim 4 , wherein the freezer compartment is formed as an independent space by foaming at the same time as the refrigerator compartment and the ice making compartment.
Applications Claiming Priority (3)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
KR1020200002786A KR20210089536A (en) | 2020-01-08 | 2020-01-08 | Refrigerator |
KR10-2020-0002786 | 2020-01-08 | ||
PCT/KR2021/000201 WO2021141412A1 (en) | 2020-01-08 | 2021-01-07 | Refrigerator |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US20230036194A1 true US20230036194A1 (en) | 2023-02-02 |
Family
ID=76788123
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US17/790,811 Abandoned US20230036194A1 (en) | 2020-01-08 | 2021-01-07 | Refrigerator |
Country Status (3)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (1) | US20230036194A1 (en) |
KR (1) | KR20210089536A (en) |
WO (1) | WO2021141412A1 (en) |
Families Citing this family (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US11525621B2 (en) | 2018-03-12 | 2022-12-13 | Whirlpool Corporation | Anti-rolling icebox gasket for refrigerator swing doors |
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US20080307823A1 (en) * | 2005-02-01 | 2008-12-18 | Lg Electronics Inc. | Refrigerator |
US20100251748A1 (en) * | 2009-04-07 | 2010-10-07 | Lg Electronics Inc. | Refrigerator |
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DE112004000513B4 (en) | 2003-03-28 | 2018-11-08 | Lg Electronics Inc. | fridge |
JP2006250421A (en) * | 2005-03-10 | 2006-09-21 | Matsushita Electric Ind Co Ltd | Refrigerator |
KR100845861B1 (en) * | 2006-12-31 | 2008-07-14 | 엘지전자 주식회사 | A Refrigerator |
KR20080112705A (en) * | 2007-06-22 | 2008-12-26 | 주식회사 대우일렉트로닉스 | Refrigerator |
KR101694401B1 (en) * | 2015-02-04 | 2017-01-09 | 류병태 | Refrigerator of cold air inlet gasket |
US11525621B2 (en) * | 2018-03-12 | 2022-12-13 | Whirlpool Corporation | Anti-rolling icebox gasket for refrigerator swing doors |
-
2020
- 2020-01-08 KR KR1020200002786A patent/KR20210089536A/en unknown
-
2021
- 2021-01-07 WO PCT/KR2021/000201 patent/WO2021141412A1/en active Application Filing
- 2021-01-07 US US17/790,811 patent/US20230036194A1/en not_active Abandoned
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US20080307823A1 (en) * | 2005-02-01 | 2008-12-18 | Lg Electronics Inc. | Refrigerator |
US20100251748A1 (en) * | 2009-04-07 | 2010-10-07 | Lg Electronics Inc. | Refrigerator |
US20130305770A1 (en) * | 2012-05-18 | 2013-11-21 | Whirlpool Corporation | Ice delivery method for modular cooling system |
US20160327326A1 (en) * | 2015-05-05 | 2016-11-10 | General Electric Company | Refrigerator appliance |
US20180216867A1 (en) * | 2017-01-31 | 2018-08-02 | Haier Us Appliance Solutions, Inc. | Refrigerator appliance and method with reduced freezer door opening force |
US20180335246A1 (en) * | 2017-05-18 | 2018-11-22 | Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | Refrigerator |
US20200003473A1 (en) * | 2018-06-28 | 2020-01-02 | Lg Electronics Inc. | Refrigerator and method of controlling the same |
US20210172666A1 (en) * | 2019-12-06 | 2021-06-10 | Bsh Hausgeraete Gmbh | Household refrigeration apparatus with an elongated ice chute |
US20220065521A1 (en) * | 2020-08-28 | 2022-03-03 | Whirlpool Corporation | Door vent sealing assembly |
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Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
WO2021141412A1 (en) | 2021-07-15 |
KR20210089536A (en) | 2021-07-16 |
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