Abstract:
A refrigerator including a shelf having a step between shelf portions at different heights, light devices to illuminate the interior of a storage chamber, and support ribs to support the shelf and having grooves to receive the light devices. The inner space of the refrigerating chamber is partitioned using the shelves according to the tastes of a user. The interior of the refrigerating chamber is illuminated by light emitted from the support ribs and shelves, thereby providing the interior of the refrigerating chamber with an aesthetically pleasing appearance.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 2010-0080065, filed on Aug. 19, 2010 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    1. Field 
         [0003]    Embodiments of the present invention relate to a shelf of a refrigerator and a lighting device to illuminate the interior of a storage chamber of the refrigerator. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0005]    A French door refrigerator (FDR) includes an upper storage chamber and a lower storage chamber. The upper storage chamber is used as a refrigerating chamber, and the lower storage chamber is used as a freezing chamber. 
         [0006]    The refrigerating chamber is opened and closed by a pair of rotation type doors hinged to opposite sides of a refrigerator body. A drawer type sliding door is mounted in the freezing chamber to move in and out of the freezing chamber. 
         [0007]    Door guards, in which small items of food are stored, are provided at the rear of each of the left and right doors. A dispenser is provided at one of the left and right doors so that a user may take out beverages or ice without opening the doors. 
         [0008]    Also, the refrigerator further includes an ice maker, a filter to purify water supplied from an external water supply source, and a water tank to store water and supply the water to the dispenser according to user manipulation. 
         [0009]    A pantry having a width corresponding to the refrigerating chamber to store wide items of food is provided at the lower part of the refrigerating chamber. A plurality of drawer type vegetable containers is provided above the pantry. 
         [0010]    Meanwhile, a plurality of cantilever shelves is mounted above the drawer type vegetable containers. Rails to guide the cantilever shelves are provided at the refrigerating chamber so that a user may freely locate the cantilever shelves on the rails as needed. 
         [0011]    Generally, each of the cantilever shelves is manufactured by attaching a frame to the edge of tempered glass and coupling a metal cantilever to the frame. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0012]    It is an aspect of the present invention to provide a refrigerator having a shelf to variously partition the storage space of a refrigerating chamber and a light device to provide the interior of the refrigerating chamber with an aesthetically pleasing appearance. 
         [0013]    Additional aspects of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. 
         [0014]    In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a refrigerator, having a storage chamber open at the front thereof, a rotary door to open and close a portion of the open front of the storage chamber and another rotary door to open and close the remaining portion of the open front of the storage chamber, includes at least one shelf, bent so that the shelf has a step, to partition the space of the storage chamber into upper and lower spaces having varying heights and at least one pair of support ribs provided at opposite inner liners of the storage chamber to support the shelf, wherein the shelf on the support ribs is rearranged to change how the storage chamber is partitioned. 
         [0015]    The shelf may include a first shelf part, a second shelf part and an inclined part connected between the first shelf part and the second shelf part. 
         [0016]    The shelf may be turned upside down and detachably mounted at the support ribs to change how the storage chamber is partitioned. 
         [0017]    The shelf may be made of transparent tempered glass or reinforced plastic. 
         [0018]    The shelf may be provided at the edge thereof with a water overflow preventing protrusion extending upward and downward. 
         [0019]    The shelf may be formed by injection molding. 
         [0020]    The refrigerator may further include at least one pair of lighting devices provided at the opposite inner liners of the storage chamber to illuminate the interior of the storage chamber, and each of the support ribs has a lighting device receiving groove to receive a corresponding one of the lighting devices. 
         [0021]    Each of the support ribs may extend in the forward and backward direction of the refrigerator and may include a flat support plane to support the shelf and a coupling plane fixedly coupled to a corresponding one of the inner liners of the refrigerating chamber, and the lighting device receiving groove may be formed by cutting out a corresponding one of the support ribs at the coupling plane. 
         [0022]    Each of the support ribs may be made of a transparent material transmitting light emitted from a corresponding one of the lighting devices. 
         [0023]    Each of the lighting devices may include a plurality of light emitting diodes arranged at predetermined intervals. 
         [0024]    In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a refrigerator includes a storage chamber, at least one shelf, bent so that the shelf has two shelf parts forming a step, to partition the inner space of the storage chamber and at least one pair of support ribs provided at opposite inner liners of the storage chamber to support the shelf, wherein the shelf is turned upside down and detachably mounted at the support ribs to change how the storage chamber is partitioned. 
         [0025]    The refrigerator may further include at least one pair of lighting devices provided at the opposite inner liners of the storage chamber to illuminate the interior of the storage chamber, and the lighting devices may be received in the respective support ribs. 
         [0026]    The shelf may be provided at the edge thereof with a water overflow preventing protrusion extending upward and downward. 
         [0027]    The shelf may be made of transparent tempered glass or reinforced plastic. 
         [0028]    Each of the lighting devices may include a plurality of light emitting diodes, and light emitted from the light emitting diodes may illuminate the interior of the storage chamber via a corresponding one of the support ribs. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0029]    These and/or other aspects of the invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which: 
           [0030]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0031]      FIG. 2  is a front view showing a door open state of the refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0032]      FIG. 3  is a view showing a different disposition of shelves in the refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0033]      FIG. 4  is an enlarged view showing shelves and support ribs of the refrigerator of  FIG. 2 ; 
           [0034]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view showing a support rib of the refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0035]      FIG. 6  is a sectional view showing the support rib of the refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention; and 
           [0036]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view showing shelves each having a water overflow preventing protrusion according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0037]    Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. 
         [0038]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention, and  FIG. 2  is a front view showing a door open state of the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
         [0039]      FIG. 3  is a view showing a different disposition of shelves in the refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention, and  FIG. 4  is an enlarged view showing shelves and support ribs of the refrigerator of  FIG. 2 . 
         [0040]    Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention is, e.g., a French door refrigerator. A refrigerator body  6  includes a top plate  1 , a bottom plate  2 , side plates  3  and  4 , and a rear plate  5 . The interior of the refrigerator body  6  is divided into storage chambers  31  and  32 , i.e. an upper refrigerating chamber  31  and a lower freezing chamber  32 , separated by a horizontal partition  7 . 
         [0041]    The refrigerating chamber  31  is open at the front thereof. The refrigerating chamber  31  is opened and closed by left and right doors  10  and  11  hingedly coupled to opposite sides of the refrigerator body  6  by hinge members so that the doors  10  and  11  can rotate to open and close. 
         [0042]    A dispenser  16  is provided at the left hinged rotation type door  10  so that a user may take out beverages or ice without opening the doors  10  and  11 . 
         [0043]    Door guards  22 , in which small items of food are stored, are provided at the rear of each of the doors  10  and  11 . 
         [0044]    A drawer type sliding door  12  is provided in the freezing chamber  32  so that the sliding door  12  moves forward from the freezing chamber  32  and backward into the freezing chamber  32 . 
         [0045]    An ice maker  15  is mounted at one side of the upper part of the refrigerating chamber  31 . A pantry  17  having a width corresponding to the refrigerating chamber to store wide items of food is provided at the lower part of the refrigerating chamber  31 . 
         [0046]    Drawer type vegetable containers  20  to store vegetables are provided above the pantry  17 . 
         [0047]    The refrigerating chamber  31  includes shelves  40  and  41  on which food is placed. The storage space in the refrigerating chamber  31  is divided by the shelves  40  and  41 . 
         [0048]    The shelves  40  and  41  may be formed by injection molding tempered glass or reinforced plastic. The shelves  40  and  41  may be transparent or variously colored. 
         [0049]    The shelf  40  is formed by bending a flat sheet. The shelf  40  includes a first shelf part  47 , a second shelf part  48  and an inclined part  49 . 
         [0050]    The first shelf part  47  and the second shelf part  48  have flat planes on which food is placed. The sizes of the first shelf part  47  and the second shelf part  48  may be different from each other. 
         [0051]    In this embodiment, the size of the first shelf part  47  is smaller than that of the second shelf part  48 . 
         [0052]    The inclined part  49  is connected between the first shelf part  47  and the second shelf part  48  which is parallel to the first shelf part  47 . The inclined part  49  has a predetermined height h and tilt angle. The tilt angle may be a right angle or an oblique angle, relative to the shelf parts. 
         [0053]    Opposite ends  53  and  54  of the shelf  40  are placed on a pair of support ribs  60  and  61  provided at opposite inner liners  33  and  34  of the refrigerating chamber  31  so that the shelf  40  is supported by the support ribs  60  and  61 . 
         [0054]    The support ribs  60  and  61  are provided at the left and right inner liners  33  and  34  of the refrigerating chamber  31  so that the support ribs  60  and  61  have the same height h as the shelf  40 . 
         [0055]    The length of the shelf  40  is slightly smaller than the distance between the opposite inner liners  33  and  34  so that the opposite ends  53  and  54  of the shelf  40  may be placed on or removed from the support ribs  60  and  61 , and therefore, the shelf  40  is easily detachably mounted in the refrigerating chamber  31 . 
         [0056]    As shown in  FIG. 2 , the shelf  40  may be mounted so that the first shelf part  47  is located higher than the second shelf part  48 . On the other hand, as shown in  FIG. 3 , the shelf  40  may be turned upside down so that the second shelf part  48  is located higher than the first shelf part  47 . 
         [0057]    That is, since the shelf  40  is formed of a single material, the shelf  40  may be turned upside down and placed on the support ribs  60  and  61 . Also, since the height h of the shelf  40  is equal to those of the support ribs  60  and  61 , the shelf  40  may be turned about an axis perpendicular to the rear plate  5  and placed on the support ribs  60  and  61 . In this case, the second shelf part  48  is located higher than the first shelf part  47 . 
         [0058]    At this time, the space partitioned by the shelf  40  may be changed since the sizes of the first shelf part  47  and the second shelf part  48  are different from each other. 
         [0059]    In this embodiment, the refrigerator includes two shelves  40  and  41  supported by two respective pairs of support ribs  60 ,  61 ,  62  and  63 . Alternatively, a greater number of shelves and support ribs may be included. 
         [0060]    Also, in a case in which a plurality of shelves is included, the shelves may be configured so that the shelf parts have different sizes and an inclined part has different heights. As a result, a user may variously partition the space of the refrigerating chamber  31  to taste. 
         [0061]    Meanwhile, in this embodiment, a water overflow preventing protrusion  80  may be formed at each of the shelves (see  FIG. 7 ). 
         [0062]    The water overflow preventing protrusion  80  extends upward and downward from the edge of each of the shelves to approximately the same height. 
         [0063]    The water overflow preventing protrusion  80  prevents water from overflowing each of the shelves while food is placed on each of the shelves regardless of whether the shelves are in a first upside position, or a second, upside down position. 
         [0064]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view showing a support rib of the refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention, and  FIG. 6  is a sectional view showing the support rib of the refrigerator according to this embodiment. 
         [0065]    Referring to  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the support rib  60  can be formed in a triangular shape in section and extends in the forward and backward direction of the refrigerator. 
         [0066]    The support rib  60  includes a flat support plane  66  to support the shelf  40  and a coupling plane  67 , perpendicular to the support plane  66 , attached to the inner liner  33  of the refrigerating chamber  31  in tight contact to couple the support rib  60  to the refrigerating chamber  31 . 
         [0067]    The support rib  60  is fixedly coupled to the refrigerating chamber  31  to support the shelf  40  on which food is placed. The support rib  60  may be coupled to the refrigerating chamber  31  in various ways. 
         [0068]    A predetermined portion of the support rib  60  can be cut out inward at the coupling plane  67  to form a cutout plane  68 . Between the cutout plane  68  and the inner liner  33  of the refrigerating chamber  31  is defined a lighting device receiving groove  65  extending in the forward and backward direction of the refrigerator. 
         [0069]    A lighting device  70  is received in the lighting device receiving groove  65 . Using this structure, i.e., incorporating the lighting in a physical support, helps save space in the storage chamber. 
         [0070]    The lighting device  70  can include a circuit board  72  and a plurality of light emitting diodes  71  arranged at the circuit board  72  in a line at predetermined intervals. 
         [0071]    The circuit board  72  contacts and is fixed to the inner liner  33  of the refrigerating chamber  31 , and is received in the lighting device receiving groove  65  of the support rib  60  together with the light emitting diodes  71 . 
         [0072]    The support rib  60  is made of a transparent material transmitting light emitted from the light emitting diodes  71 . 
         [0073]    Although not shown, the refrigerator further includes a sensor to sense opening and closing of the doors  10  and  11  and a controller to control the supply of electric current to the light emitting diodes  71  upon opening of the doors  10  and  11  so that light is generated from the light emitting diodes  71  and to interrupt the supply of electric current upon closing of the doors  10  and  11 . 
         [0074]    Upon opening of the left door  10 , the controller controls electric current to the support ribs  60  and  62  provided at the left inner liner  33 . Upon opening of the right door  11 , on the other hand, the controller controls electric current to the support ribs  61  and  63  provided at the right inner liner  34 . 
         [0075]    That is, upon opening of one of the doors  10  and  11 , only the open region of the refrigerating chamber  31  may be illuminated, thereby reducing energy consumption. 
         [0076]    In this embodiment, the shelf  40  is made of transparent tempered glass or reinforced plastic. Consequently, the shelf  40  functions as a light guide plate through which the interior of the refrigerating chamber  31  is uniformly illuminated. 
         [0077]    As is apparent from the above description, each of the shelves can be made of a single material. Consequently, the shelves are simply manufactured at low cost, and the interior of the refrigerating chamber is neat, thereby providing the interior of the refrigerating chamber with an aesthetically pleasing appearance. Also, the shelves, which can be bent in a Z shape, may be disposed at different positions in different directions, and therefore, the storage space of the refrigerating chamber may be partitioned in various ways. 
         [0078]    The lighting device receiving space is provided in each of the support ribs to support the shelves so that light emitted from the lighting device projects onto the shelvesvia the support ribs, thereby providing the interior of the refrigerating chamber with an aesthetically pleasing appearance. 
         [0079]    Although various embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.