Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
CA 02761613 2011-11-09
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Description
Title of Invention: REFRIGERATOR
Technical Field
[1] The present disclosure relates to a refrigerator.
Background Art
[2] In general, a refrigerator uses cold air produced as refrigerant vaporizes
and absorbs
heat from the air.
[3] In detail, the refrigerant is compressed at a compressor, and forwarded to
an
evaporator via an expansion valve, where the refrigerant vaporizes. The
refrigerant
absorbs heat from surroundings in such a vaporizing process, and cools down
sur-
rounding air to produce the cold air.
[4] The cold air is forwarded to the refrigerating chamber or the freezing
chamber for
maintaining the refrigerating chamber or the freezing chamber to be below a
fixed tem-
perature.
[5] Depending on arrangement of the refrigerating chamber or the freezing
chamber, in
the refrigerators, there are a top mount-type refrigerator in which the
freezing chamber
is arranged on the refrigerating chamber, a bottom freezer type refrigerator
in which
the freezing chamber is arranged under the refrigerating chamber, and a side
by side
type refrigerator in which the refrigerating chamber and the freezing chamber
are
arranged side by side. Above categorization is just for convenience's sake,
but not
absolute ones.
[6] The bottom freezer type refrigerator has an inside space partitioned with
a barrier, an
upper side of which is the refrigerating chamber and a lower side of which is
the
freezing chamber.
[7] In general, the refrigerating chamber has at least one refrigerating
chamber door
rotatably mounted thereto to open/close the refrigerating chamber, and the
freezing
chamber has a drawer structure which is slidably moved back and forth to
open/close
the freezing chamber.
[8] In general, in rear of the freezing chamber and the refrigerating chamber,
there are
the evaporators and fans for blowing the cold air respectively, for generating
the cold
air individually to control temperatures of the freezing chamber and the
refrigerating
chamber, respectively.
Disclosure of Invention
Technical Problem
[9] There are many cases in which structures, such as an ice maker, shelves a
home bar
and the like, are mounted in an inside wall of a refrigerating chamber door or
a
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freezing chamber door of a refrigerator. In order to avoid interference with
the
structures, the shelves and drawers in the refrigerating chamber or the
freezing
chamber are mounted to an inner side thereof, deeply.
Solution to Problem
[10] In one aspect, a refrigerator includes a cold air generator configured to
generate cold
air. The refrigerator also includes a storage chamber configured to receive
the cold air
generated by the cold air generator, and store at least one food and ice
stuffs. The re-
frigerator further includes a storage chamber door configured to open and
close an
access point to the storage chamber. In addition, the refrigerator includes an
inner
frame coupled to the storage chamber and configured to move at least a part of
the
storage chamber in forward and backward directions.
[11] Implementations may include one or more of the following features. For
example,
the refrigerator further includes a drawing out device configured to move the
inner
frame in connection with opening and closing of the door. The drawing out
device
includes a link device connected to the door and the inner frame. The link
device
includes a first link connected to the inner frame and a second link connected
to the
door. The inner frame includes an upper surface positioned at upper side from
a center
of the refrigerator and slidably connected to a top wall surface of the
storage chamber
and a lower surface positioned at lower side from the center of the
refrigerator and
slidably connected to a bottom wall surface of the storage chamber.
[12] In some examples, the inner frame includes a top sliding unit slidably
connected to a
ceiling surface of the storage chamber and a bottom sliding unit slidably
connected to a
bottom surface of the storage chamber. The at least a part of the storage
chamber
comprises the plurality of shelves and/or drawers that are mounted in the
inner frame.
The storage chamber includes at least one of a refrigerating chamber and a
freezing
chamber. The refrigerator further includes a protector configured to prevent
the re-
frigerator from falling down when the inner frame moves in the forward and
backward
directions.
[13] In another aspect, a refrigerator includes a cold air generator
configured to generate
cold air. The refrigerator also includes a storage chamber having a moving
member,
configured to receive the cold air generated by the cold air generator, and
store at least
one food and ice stuffs. The refrigerator further includes a door configured
to open and
close the storage chamber, wherein the moving member is configured to be moved
in
forward and backward directions in response to opening and closing of the
door.
[14] Implementations may include one or more of the following features. For
example,
the moving member includes an inner frame configured to be slidably moved in
the
forward and backward directions and a moving structure mounted in the inner
frame,
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and configured to be moved together with the inner frame. The moving structure
incldues at least one a shelf and a drawer. The refrigerator further includes
a drawing
out device configured to move the moving member responsive to opening and
closing
of the door. The drawing out device includes a link device connected to the
door and
the inner frame.
[15] In some examples, the storage chamber includes at least one of a
refrigerating
chamber and a freezing chamber. The refrigerator further includes a protector
configured to prevent the refrigerator from falling down when the moving
member
moves in the forward and backward directions. The refrigerator further
includes a
motor configured to provide a driving force to the moving member to move the
moving member in response to opening and closing of the door.
[16] In yet another aspect, a refrigerator includes a cold air generator
configured to
generate cold air. The refrigerator also includes a storage chamber having a
first
moving member and a second moving member, configured to receive the cold air
generated by the cold air generator, and store at least one food and ice
stuffs. The re-
frigerator further includes a first door configured to open and close at least
a part of the
storage chamber, wherein the first moving member is configured to be moved in
forward and backward directions in response to opening and closing of the
first door.
In addition, the refrigerator includes a second door configured to open and
close at
least a part of the storage chamber, wherein the second moving member is
configured
to be moved in forward and backward directions in response to opening and
closing of
the second door.
[17] Implementations may include one or more of the following features. For
example,
the first moving member includes a first inner frame configured to be slidably
moved
in the forward and backward directions and a first moving structure positioned
in the
first inner frame, and configured to be moved together with the first inner
frame. The
second moving member includes a second inner frame configured to be slidably
moved
in the forward and backward directions and a second moving structure
positioned in
the second inner frame, and configured to be moved together with the second
inner
frame.
[18] The second moving member is a part of the first moving member. The first
door is a
refrigerator chamber door and the second door is at least one of a home bar
door and a
basket door. The first door is a refrigerator chamber door and the second door
is a
freezing chamber door.
[19] In some examples, the first and the second door are independently opened
and
closed. The storage chamber comprises at least one of a refrigerating chamber
and a
freezing chamber. The refrigerator further includes a third door configured to
open and
close at least a part of the storage chamber and a third moving member
configured to
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be moved in forward and backward directions in response to opening and closing
of
the third door.
Advantageous Effects of Invention
[20] In this implementation, an end of protector (e.g., a string) is connected
to the re-
frigerator and the other end of the protector is connected to the wall such
that the re-
frigerator can't be moved away from the wall.
[21] As has been described, since the storage structure mounted in the storage
chamber
can be movable in front/rear directions, drawing out/pushing in of a storage
object
becomes more convenient.
Brief Description of Drawings
[22] FIG. 1 illustrates a view of a refrigerator when a refrigerating chamber
and a freezing
chamber are opened;
[23] FIG. 2 illustrates an exploded perspective view of an inner frame,
shelves and
drawers mounted therein;
[24] FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view showing a state in which a
refrigerating chamber
door and an inner frame are connected with a link device in a door closed
state; and
[25] FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate perspective views of sliding structures of the
inner frames,
respectively.
Best Mode for Carrying out the Invention
[26] Reference will now be made in detail to the specific implementations of
the present
technology, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings
FIGS. 1
to 5. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout
the
drawings to refer to the same or like parts.
[27] A refrigerator shown in FIG. 1 is a side by side door type refrigerator,
wherein a
freezing chamber 10 is on a left side and a refrigerating chamber 20 is on a
right side.
[28] The refrigerating chamber 20 and the freezing chamber 10 are
opened/closed by a re-
frigerating chamber door 21 and a freezing chamber door 11, respectively. In
inside
walls of the refrigerating chamber door 21 and the freezing chamber door 11,
there are
shelves and so on for storage, respectively. And, there are an ice maker
mounted to the
freezing chamber door 11 and a home bar mounted to the refrigerating chamber
door
21.
[29] Mounted in spaces of the refrigerating chamber 20 and the freezing
chamber 10,
there are storage structures 30 and 40, respectively. The storage structures
30 and 40
are mounted to be movable in front/rear directions in the refrigerating
chamber 20 and
the freezing chamber 10.
[30] Since it is required to secure spaces for placing the ice maker or the
home bar therein
at the time the refrigerating chamber door 21 and the freezing chamber door 11
are
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closing, front/rear direction depths of the storage structures 30 and 40 can
be de-
termined, taking the spaces to be secured into account.
[31] Each of the storage spaces 30 and 40 includes an inner frame 43 and a
plurality of
shelves and drawers arranged vertically in the inner frame 43, as shown in
FIG. 2. FIG.
1 illustrates a perspective view showing the storage structures 30 and 40
moved
forward.
[32] The storage structure will be described in detail with reference to the
storage
structure 40 mounted in the refrigerating chamber 20.
[33] Referring to FIG. 2, the inner frame 43 includes one pair of vertical
supporting
frames 44, a top frame 45 extended from a top edge of the supporting frames 44
per-
pendicular thereto, and a bottom frame 46 extended from a bottom edge of the
supporting frames 44 perpendicular thereto.
[34] There are a plurality of shelves 41 arranged in a vertical direction in
the one pair of
the supporting frames 44, and a drawer unit 42 having a plurality of drawers
provided
therein under the shelves 41.
[35] As a variation, a plurality of drawers can be provided and mounted to the
inner frame
43, individually.
[36] The inner frame 43 is housed in the refrigerating chamber 20. Though the
inner
frame 43 has a height as high as the refrigerating chamber 20, as a variation,
the inner
frame 43 can be fabricated to have a height lower than the refrigerating
chamber 20.
That is, the inner frame 43 can be fabricated to have a height to occupy a
portion of the
refrigerating chamber 20 space, such as an upper space thereof or a lower
space
thereof.
[37] Referring to FIG. 4, the inner frame 43 is mounted to be slidable along
wall surfaces
of the refrigerating chamber 20 in front/rear directions.
[38] FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate perspective views each showing the inner frame
43 mounted
such that a top surface and a bottom surface of the inner frame 43 are
slidable with
respect to a ceiling surface and a bottom surface of the refrigerating chamber
20, re-
spectively.
[39] In detail, the refrigerating chamber 20 has a top sliding guide 72
mounted to the
ceiling surface thereof and the inner frame 43 has a top slider 71 mounted to
the top
surface thereof slidably connected to the top sliding guide 72. The top slider
71 and the
top frame 45 of the inner frame 43 together form a top sliding unit.
[40] The refrigerating chamber 20 has a bottom slider 82 mounted on a bottom
surface,
and to match with this, the inner frame 43 has a bottom slider 81 mounted to a
bottom
surface of the inner frame 43. The bottom slider 81 and the bottom frame 46
together
form a bottom sliding unit.
[41] Owing to above sliding structure, the inner frame 43 can slide in the
refrigerating
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chamber 20 in front/rear directions.
[42] In the meantime, there are link devices 60 and 65 mounted to the
refrigerator for
making the inner frame 43 to be movable in front/rear directions interlocked
to the
opening/closing of the refrigerating chamber door 21.
[43] The link device includes a first link 61 or 66 rotatably connected to the
inner frame
43, and a second link 62 or 67 rotatably connected to the refrigerating
chamber door
21.
[44] The link devices 60 and 65 are mounted to a top and a bottom
respectively, wherein
the top first link 61 and the top second link 62 are mounted to the top, and
the bottom
first link 66 and the bottom second link 67 are mounted to the bottom.
[45] There can be another means for interlocking the opening/closing of the
refrigerating
door 21 with the sliding of the inner frame 43. For an example, a rack gear
can be
provided to the inner frame 43, and a motor can be connected to the rack gear
through
a gear. Accordingly, the motor is made to operate as the door 21 opens, to
make the
inner frame 43 to slide forward.
[46] In a state the refrigerating door 21 is closed, the refrigerator has the
inner frame 43
positioned on a rear side of the refrigerating chamber 20, and the home bar
and the
shelves mounted in the inside wall of the refrigerating chamber door 21
positioned in a
front side space of the refrigerating chamber 20. FIG. 3 illustrates a
perspective view
showing arrangement of the inner frame 43 and the refrigerating chamber door
21 in a
state the refrigerating chamber door 21 is closed.
[47] In this state, if the refrigerating chamber door 21 is opened, the inner
frame 43 slides
forward interlocked with the opening of the refrigerating chamber door 21.
FIG. 1 il-
lustrates a perspective view showing a state the inner frame 43 is drawn out
to a front
side in a state the refrigerating chamber door 21 is opened, fully.
[48] In some examples, the inner frame is moved in forward and backward
directions in
connection with opening and closing the refrigerating chamber door 21. In the
opening
operation, after the refrigerating chamber door 21 is opened to open the
refrigerating
chamber 20 or while the refrigerating chamber door 21 is being opened, the
motor
provides a driving force to the rack gear to move the closing motor in the
forward or
front direction. In the closing state, before the refrigerating chamber door
21 is closed
to close the refrigerating chamber 20 or while the refrigerating chamber door
21 is
being closed, the motor provides a driving force to the rack gear to move the
inner
frame in the backward or rear direction.
[49] In some examples, configuration of the inner frame 43 can be modified.
For example,
a plurality of the inner frames could be mounted in the refrigerating chamber
20. If the
refrigerator has two inner frames, as an example, an upper inner frame may
have a
height that corresponds to that of the home bar, and a lower inner frame may
have a
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height that corresponds to that of the baskets location. That is, as shown in
FIG 3, the
refrigerating chamber door 21 may divide two doors, which are a home bar door
22
and a basket door 23. In this implementation, a user may independently open
and close
the home bar door 22 and the basket door 23. When the user opens the home bar
door
22, the upper inner frame and a corresponded structure (e.g., a plurality of
shelves or
draws) that is mounted in the upper inner frame move in the forward direction
of the
refrigerator, and when the user closes the home bar door 22, the upper inner
frame and
the corresponded structure move in the backward direction of the refrigerator.
Likewise, when the user opens the bracket door 23, the lower inner frame and a
cor-
responded structure that is coupled to the bracket door move in the forward
direction of
the refrigerator, and when the user closes the bracket door 23, the lower
inner frame
and the corresponded structure move in the backward direction of the
refrigerator.
[501 Further, in the above implementation, when the user opens the
refrigerating chamber
door 21, the inner frame 43 and the corresponded structure 40 as shown in
FIGS. 4 and
move in the forward direction of the refrigerator, and when the user closes
the re-
frigerating chamber door 21, the inner frame 43 and the corresponded structure
move
40 in the backward direction of the refrigerator. In this case, the home bar
door 22 and
the basket door 23 may be a part of the refrigerating chamber door 21. Also,
moving
structure or structure in connection with the home bar door 22 may be a part
of the
moving structure 40. Further, moving structure in connection with the basket
door 23
may be a part of the moving structure 40.
[511 As a moving structure(i.e., a part of storage chamber) may be moved in
connection
with movement of a door, various modifications are possible. For example, two
moving members are moved in connection with opening and closing the
refrigerating
chamber door 21 and the home bar door 22, respectively. Alternatively, two
moving
members are moved in connection with opening and closing opening and closing
the
refrigerating chamber door 21 and the basket door 23, respectively. The moving
members may include the inner frame and corresponded structure or components.
[521 As an example, the home bar door 22 is a part of the refrigerating
chamber door 21.
So, the moving member moved in connection with the home bar door may be a part
of
the moving member moved in connection with the refrigerating chamber door 21.
[531 It is also available that a plurality of moving members in a
refrigerators that are inde-
pendently moved in connection with opening and closing of three or more than
three
doors.
[541 Since moving member or members are moved in the forward and backward di-
rections, the refrigerator may need a protector to prevent the refrigerator
from falling
down. For example, when the moving structure 40 moves in the forward direction
of
the refrigerator, a lot of stuffs contained in the storage chamber also move
in the
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forward direction. Therefore, it may cause to fall the refrigerator down
because a
relatively heavy weight was shifted to the front or forward side within a
short period.
To avoid falling down, the refrigerator may keep contacting or connecting an
adjacent
thing, such as a wall, when the moving structure 30 or 40 moves in the forward
direction. In this implementation, an end of protector (e.g., a string) is
connected to the
refrigerator and the other end of the protector is connected to the wall such
that the re-
frigerator can't be moved away from the wall.
[551 As has been described, since the storage structure mounted in the storage
chamber
can be movable in front/rear directions, drawing out/pushing in of a storage
object
becomes more convenient.
[561 It will be understood that various modifications may be made without
departing from
the spirit and scope of the claims. For example, advantageous results still
could be
achieved if steps of the disclosed techniques were performed in a different
order and/or
if components in the disclosed systems were combined in a different manner
and/or
replaced or supplemented by other components. Accordingly, other
implementations
are within the scope of the following claims.
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