Abstract:
A door switch for a refrigerator includes a case having a hole on one side; switch terminal units installed inside the case and making on/off operations of a circuit; a plunger for changing the on/off operations of the circuit mechanically while moving inward/outward of the case through the hole on the case; and a restriction means installed on the case for restricting the movement of the plunger, whereby a chamber light can be turned off even if the door of refrigerator is opened, and therefore power consumption of the refrigerator can be reduced.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The present invention relates to a door switch for a refrigerator, and particularly, to a door switch for a refrigerator which turns on/off a light inside the refrigerator according to opening/closing of the door.  
           [0003]    2. Description of the Background Art  
           [0004]    Generally, a chamber light is installed inside the refrigerator so that a user is able to recognize contents stored in the refrigerator by turning on the light when the door of the refrigerator is opened.  
           [0005]    The light as described above is turned on/off according to the operation of a door switch which is installed on a wall inside the refrigerator or on a front part of the main body and operates the switch on, whereby the light is turned on.  
           [0006]    [0006]FIGS. 1 and 2 are longitudinal sectional view showing a conventional door switch for refrigerator.  
           [0007]    As shown in FIG. 1, the door switch for a refrigerator of conventional art is assembled inside a case  1  wherein a switch body  10  and a switch cover  11  is assembled with each other.  
           [0008]    A plunger  12  penetrating the switch cover  11  from the inside the switch body  10  is disposed protrusive on the case  1 .  
           [0009]    The plunger  12  is a part where the refrigerator door is directly contacted, and it is moved inside the case  1  or is protruded outside the case  1  in accordance with opened/closed states of the door.  
           [0010]    An elastic member  13 , which is compressed by the plunger  12  when the door is closed, and provides an elastic force so that the plunger is able to be protruded out of the case  1  when the door is opened, is installed inside the case  1 .  
           [0011]    In addition, a contact protrusion  12 a protrusive to a radial direction from the part located inside the case  1  is formed on the plunger  12 .  
           [0012]    A contact operation lever  14  rotated by the contact protrusion  12   a  when the plunger  12  is moved is installed inside the case  1 , and the contact operation lever is provided elastic force so as to adhere to the contact protrusion  12   a.    
           [0013]    Also, a movable contactor  15  and a fixed contactor  16  are installed inside the case  1  so that the chamber light switch is turned on/off in accordance with the rotation of the contact operation lever  14 .  
           [0014]    The operation of the door switch for refrigerator according to the conventional art as described above will be described as follows.  
           [0015]    As shown in FIG. 2, when the door of refrigerator is closed, the plunger  12  is moved inward of the case  1  as being pushed by the door, and at that time, the contact protrusion  12   a  pushes the contact operation lever  14  to right direction. Accordingly, the contact operation lever  14  is rotated to counter-clockwise direction, whereby the movable contactor  15  is apart from the fixed contactor  16 .  
           [0016]    At that time, the door switch is turned off, whereby the chamber light is also turned off.  
           [0017]    On the contrary, as shown in FIG. 1, when the door is opened, the plunger  12  is protruded out of the case  1  by the restoring force of the elastic member  13 . In addition, the contact operation lever  14  is rotated to counterclockwise direction, and at the same time, the movable contactor  15  is restored by the elastic force of itself, whereby the movable contactor  15  is adhered to the fixed contactor  16 .  
           [0018]    At that time, the door switch is turned on, and therefore the chamber light is also turned on.  
           [0019]    However, according to the door switch for the refrigerator of conventional art, the plunger  12  is protruded out of the case when the door is opened, and the light is always turned on. Therefore, the light is turned on when the light is not needed, for example, when the door is opened at daytime or it is bright around the refrigerator.  
           [0020]    That is, an additional equipment, which is able to turn off the light in case that a user does not want to turn on the light in the state that the door is opened, is not installed, and therefore the chamber light is always turned on whenever the door is opened, and regardless of the user&#39;s will, whereby the power consumption is increased.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0021]    Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a door switch for a refrigerator which is able to lower the power consumption by constructing such that a chamber light is not turned on according to choice of a user, even if the door is opened.  
           [0022]    To achieve object of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, there is provided a door switch for a refrigerator includes: a case having a hole on one side; a switch terminal unit installed inside the case and making on/off operation of a circuit; a plunger changing the on/off operation of the switch terminal unit mechanically while moving inward/outward of the case through the hole on the case; and a restriction means disposed on the case for restricting the movement of the plunger.  
           [0023]    According to an embodiment of the present invention, the restriction means is moved linearly along with a guide means disposed on the case, whereby the hole is opened/closed.  
           [0024]    In addition, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the restriction means is connected to the case using a hinge, whereby the hole on the case is opened/closed.  
           [0025]    The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0026]    The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention.  
         [0027]    In the drawings:  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing operating state of the door switch when the door is opened;  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing operating state of the door switch when the door is closed;  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing operating state of the door switch when the door is opened according to a first embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0031]    [0031]FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of line A-A in FIG. 3;  
         [0032]    [0032]FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a state that the operation of the door switch is broken according to the first embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0033]    [0033]FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of line B-B in FIG. 5;  
         [0034]    [0034]FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a state that the operation of the door switch is broken according to a second embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0035]    [0035]FIG. 8A is a perspective view showing the door switch according to a third embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0036]    [0036]FIG. 8B is a cross-sectional view of line C-C in FIG. 8A; and  
         [0037]    [0037]FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing the door switch according to fourth embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0038]    Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.  
         [0039]    The door switch for a refrigerator according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 3 through FIG. 6.  
         [0040]    [0040]FIGS. 3 and 4 are drawings showing the operating state of the door switch when the door is opened. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the door switch for the refrigerator according to the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of line A-A in FIG. 3.  
         [0041]    In addition, FIGS. 5 and 6 are drawings showing a state that the operation of the door switch is prevented. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the door switch according to the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a crosssectional view of line B-B in FIG. 5.  
         [0042]    The door switch according to the present invention is constructed such that the plunger  23  protrusive upwardly from the case  20  is moved to inside/outside of the case  20  in accordance with opening/closing of the door, and at the same time, the movable contactor  26  and the fixed contactor  27  connected to the plunger  23  mechanically are contacted or separated according to the operation of the plunger  23 .  
         [0043]    That is, the plunger protrusive out of the case  20  is linearly moved according to opening/closing of the door, and rotates the contact operation lever  25  to right/left directions, whereby the movable contactor  26  is separated/contacted from/to the fixed contactor  27 .  
         [0044]    Herein, as shown in FIG. 4, the plunger is divided into two parts, that is, a part  23   a  exposed out of the case  20  and a part  23   b  always inserted inside the case  20 . In addition, a stopper  23   d  is formed between the two parts so that the plunger  23  is not came out of the case by caught on the case  20 .  
         [0045]    Especially, a contact protrusion  23   c  rotating the contact operation lever  25  is formed on the part  23   b  inserted inside the case  20  of the plunger  23 , expanded from the part  23   b  to radial direction.  
         [0046]    The plunger  23  is provided a force to move outside the case  20  by an elastic member  24  supported inside the case  20 .  
         [0047]    In addition, a contact operation lever  25  rotated by the contact protrusion  23 c when the plunger  23  is moved is installed inside the case  20 , and the contact operation lever  25  is provided elastic force so as to adhere to the contact protrusion  23   c  always.  
         [0048]    On the other hand, the case is made by assembling a switch body  21  and a switch cover  22  with each other.  
         [0049]    A plunger passage hole  22   a  is formed on the switch cover  22  so that the plunger  23  is protrusive out of the case  20 .  
         [0050]    A plunger guide  22   b  is formed on boundary of the switch passage hole  22   a  protrusive out of the case in order to support the plunger  23  so that the protruded part of the plunger  23  is not damaged, and to guide the moving passage of the plunger  23 .  
         [0051]    Especially, a pair of guide rails  22   c  of a certain height are formed on both sides of the plunger guide  22   b  on upper surface of the switch cover  22 .  
         [0052]    The pair of guide rails  22   c  are formed parallelly with each other, and a guide projection  22   d  protrusive as facing each other is formed on upper end part of the guide rail.  
         [0053]    A restriction plate  28  is inserted between the pair of guide rails  22   c  so as to prevent the protrusion of the plunger  23  out of the case  20 .  
         [0054]    The restriction plate  28  is formed to have a length longer than that of the guide rails  22   c . In addition, both sides of the restriction plate  28  are flanged as cranks, and have guide recesses  28   a  coupled to the guide projection  22   d  of the guide rails  22   c  in length direction.  
         [0055]    The guide recesses  28   a  is formed to have length longer than that of the guide rail  22   c , and a moving restriction projections  28   c  and  28   c &#39; are formed on both ends of the recesses  28   a  so that the guide recesses  28   a  are caught on the guide projections  22   d  of the guide rails  22   c.    
         [0056]    Herein, the moving restriction projections  28   c  restrict the moving range of the restriction plate  28  along with the guide rails  22   c , and at the same time, prevents the restriction plate  28  from seceding from the guide rails  22   c.    
         [0057]    Also, the guide recesses  28   a  are formed long on the upper part on side surface of the restriction plate  28 , accordingly, a stopping projection  28   b  is formed long on lower part of the side surface of the restriction plate  28  so as to be caught on bottom surface of the guide projections  22   d  of the guide rails  22   c.    
         [0058]    On the other hand, the bottom surface of the restriction plate  28  is plan and is supported by the upper end part of the plunger guide  22   b.    
         [0059]    Therefore, the bottom surface of the restriction plate  28  is supported by the plunger guide  22   b  in the state that the stopping projections  28   b  on both sides are caught by the guide projections  22   d  of the guide rails  22   d , whereby the moving in vertical direction of the plunger  23  is restrained.  
         [0060]    In addition, the restriction plate  28  is able to move to horizontal direction, that is, crossed direction with the moving direction of the plunger  23  along with the guide rails  22   c.    
         [0061]    Especially, a plunger releasing hole  28   d  having same size with the plunger passage hole  22   a  of the switch cover  22  is formed on the restriction plate  28 .  
         [0062]    As shown in FIG. 3, it is desirable that the plunger releasing hole  28   d  is formed on a position corresponding to that of the plunger passage hole  22   a  when the restriction plate  28  is not able to move because the moving restriction projection  28   c &#39; of the restriction plate  28  and the end part of the guide rails  22   c  are adhered to each other.  
         [0063]    In addition, it is desirable that the plunger releasing hole  28   d  has a diameter through which the plunger  23  is able to pass, but the plunger guide  22   b  is not able to pass.  
         [0064]    Therefore, the restriction plate  28  is able to move along with the guide rails  22   c , and makes the plunger  23  be protruded through the plunger releasing hole  28   d  as shown in FIG. 3 or restricts the plunger  23  so that the plunger is inserted in the case  20  by blocking the plunger passage hole  22   a , as shown in FIG. 5.  
         [0065]    On the other hand, a handle recess  28   e  of concave shape may be formed on upper surface of the restriction plate  28  so that the user is able to operate easily.  
         [0066]    Operation and effect of the door switch for a refrigerator according to the present invention will be described as follows.  
         [0067]    The door switch  20  for the refrigerator is installed on the wall inside a chilling chamber or on front surface of the main body so that the door is contacted to the switch.  
         [0068]    As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, in order to turn on/off the chamber light in accordance with opening/closing of the door, the restriction plate  28  is moved to correspond the plunger releasing hole  28   d  to the plunger passage hole  22   a , so that the plunger  23  of the door switch is able to turn on/off the switch while moving according to the opening/closing state of the door.  
         [0069]    At that time, when the door is closed, the plunger  23  rotates the contact operation lever  25  while being pushed into the case  20 , and then the movable contactor  26  is separated from the fixed contactor  27 , whereby the switch of the chamber light is turned off and the light is also turned off.  
         [0070]    On the contrary, when the door is opened, the plunger  23  is protruded outside of the case  20  by the restoring force of the elastic member  24  through the plunger passage hole  22   a  of the case and through the plunger releasing hole  28   d  of the restriction plate  28 , and at that time, the movable contactor  26  is also contacted to the fixed contactor  27  by the elastic force of itself, whereby the chamber light is turned on.  
         [0071]    In addition, in order to turn off the chamber light even if the door is opened, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the user blocks the plunger passage hole  22   a  by moving the restriction plate  28  along with the guide rails  22   c  in the state that the user pushes the plunger  23  into the case  20 .  
         [0072]    At that time, the protrusion of the plunger out of the case is restricted by the bottom surface of the restriction plate  28 , and the movable contactor  26  is separated from the fixed contactor  27  as shown in FIG. 6, whereby the chamber light is turned off even if the door is opened.  
         [0073]    The operation described above may be needed when the user uses the refrigerator at daytime or when it is bright around the refrigerator.  
         [0074]    If the user wants to turn on the chamber light when the door is opened from the state described above, as shown in FIG. 4, the user makes the plunger releasing hole  28   d  of the restriction plate  28  be located on upper part of the plunger passage hole  22   a  by moving the restriction plate  28 , whereby the plunger  23  is protruded out of the case when the door is opened and the chamber light is turned on.  
         [0075]    A second embodiment of the door switch for a refrigerator according to the present invention will now be described.  
         [0076]    [0076]FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a state that the operation of the door switch is prevented according to the second embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0077]    The door switch according to the second embodiment of the present invention does not include the plunger guide  22   b  included in the first embodiment, and an restriction plate  38  is installed adhering directly on upper surface of a switch cover  32 .  
         [0078]    Therefore, the restriction plate  38  is moved as sliding in the state that both sides of the plate  38  are inserted into a guide rails  32   c , and restricts or releases the moving of the plunger  33 .  
         [0079]    Of course, a plunger releasing hole  38   d  is formed on the restriction plate  38  so that the plunger  33  is protruded out of the case  30 .  
         [0080]    In case that the plunger releasing hole  38   d  of the restriction plate  38  corresponds to a plunger passage hole  32   a  of the case  30 , the plunger releasing hole  38   d  guides moving of the plunger  33  like the plunger guide in the first embodiment, and at the same time, supports the plunger  33 .  
         [0081]    In the second embodiment, the height of the guide rails  32   c  supporting the restriction plate  38  is formed lower than that of the guide rails in the first embodiment.  
         [0082]    Guide projections  32   d  are protruded facing each other on the upper end part of the guide rail  32   c  and are coupled to the guide recesses  38   a  formed on both sides of the restriction plate  38 , whereby the guide rails  32   c  guides the moving of the restriction plate  38  to left/right directions.  
         [0083]    A door switch for a refrigerator according to third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 8.  
         [0084]    [0084]FIG. 8A is a perspective view showing the door switch for the refrigerator according to the third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8B is a cross-sectional view of line C-C in FIG. 8A.  
         [0085]    The door switch for the refrigerator according to the third embodiment of the present invention is constructed unlike those of first and second embodiments, such that an restriction plate  48  is moved frontward/backward in the length direction of a case  40 , and is able to restrict or release a plunger  43 . Especially, the restriction plate  48  does not include the plunger releasing hole.  
         [0086]    That is, a pair of guide rails  42   c  are formed on both sides of the case  40  in the length direction, and the restriction plate  48  is inserted between the guide rails  42   c . And as shown in FIG. 8B, a recess  42   d  and a protrusion  48   a  coupled with each other as concave/convex structure are formed on the guide rails  42   c  and on the restriction plate  48  respectively, whereby the linear movement of the restriction plate  48  is guided.  
         [0087]    Of course, moving restriction projections  48   c  are formed on both end part of the protrusions on the restriction plate  48  so that the restriction plate  48  is not seceded from the guide rails, and at the same time, the movement range is restricted.  
         [0088]    Therefore, if the restriction plate  48  is moved to right in FIG. 8A, the plunger guide  42   c  and the plunger passage hole  42   a  are opened and the plunger  43  is able to move freely. However, if the restriction plate  48  is moved to left, the plunger passage hole  42   a  is blocked and the movement of the plunger  43  out of the case is restricted.  
         [0089]    A door switch for a refrigerator according to fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 9.  
         [0090]    [0090]FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing the door switch for refrigerator according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0091]    The door switch for a refrigerator according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention is opened/closed using a hinge, and therefore it is constructed different from the sliding structure in first, second, and third embodiments.  
         [0092]    That is, in the door switch for a refrigerator according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention, an restriction plate  58  is connected to upper part of the case  50  using a hinge  60  and is opened/closed to ′S&#39; in FIG. 9, whereby the plunger passage hole  52   a  is opened.  
         [0093]    Herein, a front end part of the restriction plate  58  is coupled to the stopping protrusion part  52   c  protruded from the case  50  using a hook, and therefore the opening of the restriction plate  58  is prevented.  
         [0094]    The hook structure includes a hook  58   a  formed on the restriction plate  58  and a stopping projection  52   d  formed on the stopping protrusion part  52   c , and the state that the restriction plate  58  is blocking the plunger passage hole  52   a  is maintained.  
         [0095]    On the other hand, an asperity part  52   e  is formed on upper end part of the stopping protrusion part  52   c , therefore if the user presses to ° F. direction in FIG. 9, the asperity part  52   e  is turned over and the restriction plate  58  is released.  
         [0096]    As described above, in case that the stopping protrusion part  52   c  does not restrict the restriction plate  58 , the plunger  53  is protruded out of the case while pushing the restriction plate  58  by the elastic member  54 , whereby the plunger  53  turns on/off the chamber light according to the opening/closing of the door.  
         [0097]    According to the door switch of the present invention, the chamber light is able to be turned on/off in the state that the door is opened by operating the restriction plate, and therefore the user is able to use the refrigerator more conveniently.  
         [0098]    Also, according to the door switch of the present invention, the user is able to turn off the chamber light even if the door is opened, and therefore the power consumption caused by turning on the chamber light inefficiently can be reduced.  
         [0099]    As the present invention may be embodied in several forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, it should also be understood that the above-described embodiments are not limited by any of the details of the foregoing description, unless otherwise specified, but rather should be construed broadly within its spirit and scope as defined in the appended claims, and therefore all changes and modifications that fall within the meets and bounds of the claims, or equivalence of such meets and bounds are therefore intended to be embraced by the appended claims.