Abstract:
A locking apparatus of an ice bucket of a refrigerator capable of simplifying the structure of the ice bucket while preventing the cool air of the ice making compartment from leaking and the ice bucket from being shaken, the refrigerator including a locking apparatus accommodating portion formed at a lower portion of the ice making compartment, a lever hingedly coupled to the locking apparatus accommodating portion, and an elastic member configured to elastically bias the lever, wherein the lever is configured to interfere with a locking projection of the ice bucket, and a button portion configured to adjust the position of the locking protrusion by rotating the lever, wherein a gasket mounting portion formed around an opening portion of the ice making compartment is formed to be extended to the inner side of the ice making compartment to make contact with the gasket mounting portion in a two-area contact manner.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the priority benefit of Korean Patent Applications No. 10-2012-0002142, filed on Jan. 6, 2012 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    1. Field 
         [0003]    Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a fixing structure and a sealing structure of an ice bucket of an ice making compartment of a refrigerator. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0005]    In general, a refrigerator refers to a home appliance provided with a storage compartment configured to store foods and a cool air supply apparatus configured to supply the storage compartment with cool air to keep the foods fresh. The refrigerator may be provided with an ice making compartment that is partitioned from the storage compartment, and an ice maker is provided at an inside the ice making compartment. 
         [0006]    The ice making compartment is provided with an ice bucket configured to store the ice being generated from the ice maker, and the ice bucket may be slidably inserted into or withdrawn from the ice making compartment through an open front surface of the ice making compartment. 
         [0007]    In addition, the refrigerator may be provided with a locking apparatus configured to lock the ice bucket such that the ice bucket is prevented from being withdrawn to the outside the ice making compartment. Examples of the locking apparatus of the ice bucket are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,594,413 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,870,754. However, according to the examples of the locking apparatus, the ice bucket locking apparatus is provided at the ice bucket, thereby complicating the structure thereof. 
         [0008]    An ice making compartment cover portion is provided at a front end portion of the ice bucket to cover the open front surface of the ice making compartment. The ice making compartment cover portion is provided with a gasket configured to seal the ice making compartment while making contact with a front side of the ice making compartment. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0009]    Therefore, it is an aspect of the present disclosure to provide a locking structure of an ice bucket capable of simplify the structure of the ice bucket. 
         [0010]    It is another aspect of the present disclosure to provide a gasket structure of an ice bucket capable of preventing cool air from leaking by sealing the ice making compartment while preventing the ice bucket from being shaken. 
         [0011]    Additional aspects of the disclosure will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the disclosure. 
         [0012]    In accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure, a refrigerator includes a body, a storage compartment, an ice making compartment, an ice maker an ice bucket and a locking apparatus. The storage compartment may be provided at an inside the body. The ice making compartment may be configured to be partitioned from the storage compartment at an inside the body. The ice maker may be provided at an inside the ice making compartment to generate ice. The ice bucket may have an ice storage space configured to store the ice being generated from the ice maker, and may be configured to be inserted into an inside the ice making compartment or withdrawn to an outside the ice making compartment. The locking apparatus may be configured to lock the ice bucket such that the ice bucket is prevented from being withdrawn to the outside the ice making compartment. A locking projection may protrude from a lower portion of the ice bucket. The locking apparatus may include a locking apparatus accommodating portion, a cover, a lever and an elastic member. The locking apparatus accommodating portion may be formed at a lower side wall of the ice making compartment while having a lower surface configured to be open. The cover may be configured to cover the open lower surface of the locking apparatus accommodating portion. The lever may be rotatably hinged to the locking apparatus accommodating portion, and may be provided at one end portion thereof with a locking protrusion that is configured to interfere with the locking projection so as to lock the ice bucket. The elastic member may be configured to elastically bias the lever such that the locking protrusion interferes with the locking projection. The lever may be provided at the other end portion thereof with a button portion configured to press the lever such that the lever is rotated. 
         [0013]    The button portion may be exposed to an outside of the cover. 
         [0014]    As the button portion is pressed, the locking protrusion may rotate on a rotating shaft of the lever so as to be released from being interfered with the locking projection. 
         [0015]    The cover may be provided with an opening portion that allows the button portion to pass therethrough. 
         [0016]    The lower side wall of the ice making compartment may be provided with an opening portion that allows the locking protrusion to pass therethrough. 
         [0017]    The elastic member may be a torsion spring mounted on the rotating shaft of the lever. 
         [0018]    The locking projection and the locking protrusion may have inclination surfaces, respectively, that are slid against each other while making contact with each other when the ice bucket is inserted to the inside the ice making compartment. 
         [0019]    In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, a refrigerator includes a body, a storage compartment, an ice making compartment, an ice maker and an ice bucket. The storage compartment may be provided at an inside the body. The ice making compartment may be configured to be partitioned from the storage compartment at an inside the body while being provided at a front surface thereof with an opening portion. The ice maker may be provided at an inside the ice making compartment to generate ice. The ice bucket may include an ice storage space configured to store the ice being generated from the ice maker, and a gasket configured to seal the ice making compartment. A gasket mounting portion on which the gasket is mounted may be formed around the opening portion of the ice making compartment. The gasket may make contact with the gasket mounting portion in a two-area contact manner. 
         [0020]    The gasket mounting portion may be configured to extend from an outer surface of the ice making compartment to an inner side of the ice making compartment. 
         [0021]    The gasket mounting portion may include a first plane that is bent from the outer surface of the ice making compartment to the inner side of the ice making compartment, and a second plane that is bent from the first plane and configured to form a step with respect to the outer surface. The gasket may make contact with the first plane and the second plane. 
         [0022]    The ice bucket may include an ice making compartment cover portion configured to cover the opening portion of the ice making compartment. The ice making compartment cover portion may be provided at a rear surface thereof with a mounting protrusion on which the gasket is mounted. 
         [0023]    The gasket may be mounted on the mounting protrusion in a manner to surround the mounting protrusion. 
         [0024]    In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, a refrigerator having an ice making compartment and an ice bucket configured to be inserted to an inside the ice making compartment or withdrawn to an outside the ice making compartment includes a locking projection, a locking protrusion, an elastic member, and a button portion. The locking projection may be formed at a lower portion of the ice bucket. The locking protrusion may be configured to interfere with the locking projection to prevent the ice bucket from being withdrawn to the outside the ice making compartment. The elastic member may be configured to elastically bias the locking protrusion such that the locking protrusion interferes with the locking projection. The button portion may be provided at a lower portion of the ice making compartment so as to release the locking protrusion from being locked with the locking projection. 
         [0025]    As described above, according to embodiments of the present disclosure, the locking apparatus of the ice bucket is provided at a lower side of the ice making compartment other than at the ice bucket, thereby simplifying the structure of the ice bucket and reducing a change in which the ice bucket is broken. 
         [0026]    In addition, the gasket of the ice bucket makes contact with the gasket mounting portion, which is provided at the front side of the ice making compartment, in a two area contact manner, thereby effectively preventing the cool air from leaking at the ice making compartment and also preventing the ice bucket from being shaken. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0027]    These and/or other aspects of the disclosure will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which: 
           [0028]      FIG. 1  is a front view illustrating a refrigerator in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0029]      FIG. 2  is a cross sectional view illustrating the refrigerator of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0030]      FIG. 3  is a view illustrating the interior of the refrigerator of  FIG. 1  after separating a cover from an ice bucket locking apparatus. 
           [0031]      FIG. 4  is a view illustrating the external appearance of the ice bucket locking apparatus of the refrigerator of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0032]      FIG. 5  is a cross sectional view illustrating the ice bucket locking apparatus of the refrigerator of  FIG. 1  in a state that the ice bucket being is locked. 
           [0033]      FIG. 6  is a cross sectional view illustrating the ice bucket locking apparatus of the refrigerator of  FIG. 1  in a state that the ice bucket being is released. 
           [0034]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view illustrating a contact structure of an ice bucket gasket of the refrigerator of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0035]      FIG. 8  is a cross sectional view illustrating a contact structure of an ice bucket gasket of the refrigerator of  FIG. 1 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0036]    Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the present disclosure, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. 
         [0037]      FIG. 1  is a front view illustrating a refrigerator in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.  FIG. 2  is a cross sectional view illustrating the refrigerator of  FIG. 1 . 
         [0038]    Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a refrigerator  1  in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a body  2 , storage compartments  10  and  11  to keep food frozen or cooled, an ice making compartment  60  to generate ice, and a cool air supply apparatus  50  to supply the ice making compartment  60  with cool air. 
         [0039]    The body  2  includes an outer case  4  forming the external appearance of the body  2 , an inner case  3  forming the storage compartments  10  and  11 , and an insulation material  5  foamed between the outer case  4  and the inner case  3 . 
         [0040]    The storage compartments  10  and  11  have front surfaces being open. The storage compartment  10  and  11  are divided by a horizontal partition wall  6  into a refrigerating compartment  10  and a freezing compartment  11  at the upper portion and the lower portion, respectively. The horizontal partition wall  6  may include insulation material to block the heat exchanged between the refrigerating compartment  10  and the freezing compartment  11 . 
         [0041]    The refrigerating compartment  10  may be provided with at least one shelf  9  on which food is placed and which serves to vertically partition a storage space of the refrigerating compartment  10 . The open front surface of the refrigerating compartment  10  may be open and closed by a pair of doors  12  and  13  that is hingedly coupled to the body  2  so as to enable rotation. Handles  16  and  17  are provided at the doors  12  and  13 , respectively, to open and close the doors  12  and  13 . 
         [0042]    A dispenser  20  is provided at the doors  12  and  13  such that ice being generated from the ice making compartment  60  is taken out from the outside without opening the doors  12  and  13 . The dispenser  20  includes a take-out space  24  to take out ice, a lever  25  to select whether ice is to be taken output, and a chute  22  to guide the ice being discharged through a discharge hole  205  of an ice bucket  200 , which is to be described later, toward the take-out space  24 . 
         [0043]    The open front surface of the freezing compartment  11  may be open and closed by a sliding door  14  available to be inserted into the freezing compartment  11  in a sliding manner. A rear surface of the sliding door  14  is integrally formed with a storage box on which food is contained. The sliding door  14  is provided with a handle  18  to open and close the sliding door  14 . 
         [0044]    Referring to  FIG. 2 , the refrigerator  1  includes the cool air supply apparatus  50  configured to supply the storage compartments  10  and  11  and the ice making compartment  60  with cool air. The cool air supply apparatus  50  includes a compressor  51  to compress refrigerant into a high pressure refrigerant, a condenser  52  to condense the compressed refrigerant, expansion apparatuses  54  and  55  to expand the refrigerant into a low pressure refrigerant for easy evaporation, evaporators  34  and  44  to generate cool air by evaporating the refrigerant, and a refrigerant pipe  56  to guide the refrigerant. 
         [0045]    The compressor  51  and the condenser  52  are disposed at a machine room  70  being provided at a lower portion of a rear side of the body  2 . In addition, the evaporators  34  and  44  are disposed at a refrigerating compartment cool air supply duct  30  provided at the refrigerating compartment  10  and at a freezing compartment cool air supply duct  40  provided at the freezing compartment  11 . Accordingly, the refrigerating compartment  10  and the freezing compartment  11  may be cooled independent of each other. 
         [0046]    The refrigerating compartment cool air supply duct  30  includes a suction port  33 , a cool air discharge port  32 , and a blower fan  31 , to circulate the cool air at the inside the refrigerating compartment  10 . In addition, the freezing compartment cool air supply duct  40  includes a suction port  43 , a cool air discharge port  42  and a blower fan  41 , to circulate the cool air at the inside the freezing compartment  11 . 
         [0047]    A portion of the refrigerant pipe  56  is disposed to be extended to the inside the ice making compartment  60  to cool the ice making compartment  60 . Hereinafter, the portion of the refrigerator pipe  56  disposed at the inside the ice making compartment  60  as such is referred as the ice making compartment refrigerant pipe  57 . 
         [0048]    The refrigerant pipe  56  is diverged at one point thereof such that a refrigerant flows to the ice making compartment  60 , the refrigerating compartment  10  and the freezing compartment  11  in a sequential manner, or flows only to the refrigerating compartment  10  and the freezing compartment  11  except for the ice making compartment  60 . In addition, a switching valve  53  may be installed at the diverged portion of the refrigerant pipe  56  to switch the path of refrigerant. In addition, the refrigerant pipe  57  disposed at the inside the ice making compartment  60  makes a direct contact with an ice making tray  101  of an ice maker  100  to directly supply the cooling energy. 
         [0049]    The ice making compartment  60  is provided to be partitioned from the storage compartments  10  and  11  at the inside the body  2 . In addition, the ice making compartment  60  has a front surface configured to be open. The open front surface of the ice making compartment  60  is closed by an ice making compartment cover portion ( 240  in  FIG. 7 ) of the ice bucket  200 . 
         [0050]    The ice making compartment  60  is provided at an upper portion of one side of the refrigerating compartment  10  while being partitioned from the refrigerating compartment  10  by an ice making compartment wall  61 . The ice making compartment wall  61  may include insulation material to prevent heat exchange between the ice making compartment  60  and the refrigerating compartment  10 . 
         [0051]    An automatic ice making assembly  110  is provided at the ice making compartment  60  to generate ice. The automatic ice making assembly includes a refrigerant pipe fixing duct  111 , which is configured to fix the refrigerant pipe  57  and form a portion of a cool air path at the inside the ice making compartment  60 , the ice maker  100  to generate ice, and the ice bucket  200  to store the ice being generated from the ice maker  100 . 
         [0052]    The ice maker  100  includes the ice making tray  101  to generate ice by receiving water, an ejector configured to separate ice from the ice making tray  101 , and an ice separating motor  102  to driving the ejector. 
         [0053]    The ice bucket  200  may include an ice storage store  208  to store the ice, and an ice crushing space  204  formed at a front of the ice storage space  208  to crush the ice. The ice crushing space  204  may be formed at an inside the cover  203 . 
         [0054]    In addition, the ice bucket  200  may further include an auger  201  to deliver the ice from the ice storage space  208  to the ice crushing space  204 . An auger motor assembly  300  may be provided at a rear of the ice bucket  200  to drive the auger  201 . The auger motor assembly  300  may include an auger motor  301  which drives the auger  201 . In addition, a solenoid driving apparatus  302  is provided at a front of the auger motor  301  to determine whether to crush the ice. 
         [0055]    An ice bucket locking apparatus  400  is provide at a lower side of the ice making compartment  60  to prevent ice from being withdrawn to the outside the ice making compartment  60 . Hereinafter, the ice bucket locking apparatus  400  will be described in detail. 
         [0056]      FIG. 3  is a view illustrating the interior of the refrigerator of  FIG. 1  after separating a cover from an ice bucket locking apparatus.  FIG. 4  is a view illustrating the external appearance of the ice bucket locking apparatus of the refrigerator of  FIG. 1 .  FIG. 5  is a cross sectional view illustrating the ice bucket locking apparatus of the refrigerator of  FIG. 1  in a state that the ice bucket being is locked.  FIG. 6  is a cross sectional view illustrating the ice bucket locking apparatus of the refrigerator of  FIG. 1  in a state that the ice bucket being is released. 
         [0057]    Referring to  FIGS. 1 to 6 , the ice bucket locking apparatus  400  includes a locking apparatus accommodating portion  410  that is provided at a lower side wall  62  of the ice making compartment  60  and has a lower surface configured to be open, a cover  420  coupled to the locking apparatus accommodating portion  410  to close the open lower surface of the locking apparatus accommodating portion  410 , and a lever  430  accommodated in the locking apparatus accommodating portion  410 . 
         [0058]    The lever  430  is rotatably coupled to the locking apparatus accommodating portion  410  so as to rotate on a hinge shaft  431  that is provided at approximately a center portion of the lever  430 . The lever  430  is provided at one end portion thereof with a locking protrusion  432  that is configured to interfere with a locking projection  210  formed on the lower portion of the ice bucket  200 . The locking protrusion  432  may protrude to the outside the locking apparatus accommodating portion  410  by passing through an opening portion  63  formed on the lower side wall  62  of the ice making compartment. 
         [0059]    In addition, the lever  430  is provided at the other end portion thereof with a button portion  433  configured to press the lever  430  such that the lever  430  is rotated on the hinge shaft  431 . As the lever  430  rotates on the hinge shaft  431 , the locking protrusion  432  of the lever  430  may be moved to a position at which the locking protrusion  432  is released from being locked with the locking projection  210  of the ice bucket  200 . 
         [0060]    The button portion  433  may be exposed to an outside of the cover  420  through an opening portion  421  formed on the cover  420  after the cover  420  is coupled to the locking apparatus accommodating potion  410 . 
         [0061]    In addition, a torsion spring  440  may be mounted on the hinge shaft  431  of the lever  430  such that the lever  430  is elastically biased to a position at which the locking protrusion  432  of the lever  430  interferes with the locking projection  210  of the ice bucket  200 . Accordingly, as the pressure is not applied to the button portion  433 , the locking protrusion  432  of the lever  430  is returned to the original position by the elastic force of the torsion spring  440  at which the locking protrusion  432  interferes with the locking projection. 
         [0062]    The locking projection  210  of the ice bucket  200  and the locking protrusion  432  of the lever  430  may have inclination surfaces  210   a  and  432   a , respectively, that slid against on each other such that the locking projection  210  is prevented from interfering with the locking protrusion  432  when the ice bucket  200  is inserted to the inside the ice making compartment  60 . 
         [0063]    As the ice bucket locking apparatus  400  is formed at a lower side of the ice making compartment  60 , the structure of the ice bucket  200  is simplified when compared to a conventional case in which the locking apparatus is provided on the ice bucket. 
         [0064]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view illustrating a contact structure of an ice bucket gasket of the refrigerator of  FIG. 1 .  FIG. 8  is a cross sectional view illustrating a contact structure of an ice bucket gasket of the refrigerator of  FIG. 1 . 
         [0065]    Referring to  FIGS. 7 and 8 , the ice bucket  200  includes the ice making compartment cover portion  240  to cover the open front surface of the ice making compartment  60 . The ice making compartment cover portion  240  may cover the open front surface of the ice making compartment  60  from the outside the ice making compartment  60 . The ice making compartment cover portion  240  may be integrally formed with the ice storage space  208 , which is provided at a front of the ice storage space  208 . 
         [0066]    A gasket  220  is provide at a rear surface of the ice making compartment cover portion  240  to seal the ice making compartment  60 . The gasket  220  is mounted on a mounting protrusion  241 , which protrudes from the rear surface of the ice making cover portion  240 , in a manner to surround the mounting protrusion  241 . 
         [0067]    The ice making compartment  60  is provided at the open front surface thereof with a gasket mounting portion  64  on which the gasket  220  is mounted. The gasket mounting portion  64  is provided while extending from an outer surface  65  of the ice making compartment  60  to the inner side of the ice making compartment  60 . 
         [0068]    In addition, the gasket mounting portion  64  includes a first plane  66  that is bent from the outer surface  65  of the ice making compartment  60  to the inner side of the ice making compartment  60 , and a second plane  67  that is bent from the first plane  66  and configured to a step with respect to the outer surface  65  of the ice making compartment  60 . 
         [0069]    Accordingly, the gasket  200  of the ice bucket  200  makes contact with both of the first plane  66  and the second plane  67  of the gasket mounting portion  64 , thereby sealing the ice making compartment  60 . Accordingly, the cool air of the ice making compartment  60  is prevented from leaking, and the ice bucket  200  is prevented from being shaken when the ice bucket  200  is mounted on the ice making compartment  60 . 
         [0070]    Although a few embodiments of the present disclosure 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 disclosure, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.