Abstract:
A method of manufacturing a refrigerator having a body, storage compartments, and a door that opens/closes the storage compartments and comprises a front panel formed of a metal plate material, through holes being formed in the front panel, the method including forming the through holes in the front panel by performing an etching or laser process; and filling a filler member in the through holes so that foreign substances are prevented from permeating an internal space of the through holes.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/242,120, filed on Apr. 1, 2014, which claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application Nos. 10-2013-0038051 and 10-2013-0090529, filed on Apr. 8, 2013 and Jul. 30, 2013, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    1. Field 
         [0003]    Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a refrigerator having a door on which a display unit is disposed. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0005]    In general, a refrigerator is a home appliance that keeps food fresh by including a storage compartment for storing food and a cold air supplying unit for supplying cold air to the storage compartment. The storage compartment is open/closed by a door, and a display unit on which operating information of the refrigerator is displayed or to which operating instructions of the refrigerator are input, is disposed on the door. 
         [0006]    Among these refrigerators, a refrigerator in which the display unit is hidden in an internal space of the door, so as to improve an aesthetic appeal of an exterior. In this case, a front panel of the door is formed of tempered glass or a transparent resin material so that the information displayed on the display unit can be transmitted to the outside through the front panel. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0007]    Therefore, it is an aspect of the present disclosure to provide a refrigerator having a door including a front panel formed of a metal material and a display unit hidden in an internal space of the door. 
         [0008]    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. 
         [0009]    In accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure, a refrigerator includes: a body; storage compartments formed inside the body; and a door that opens/closes the storage compartments, wherein the door may include: a front panel that constitutes a front side and sides of the door and that is formed of an iron plate material, the front panel having through holes that pass through the front panel, wherein the through holes constitute a predetermined shape; a rear panel that is coupled to the rear of the front panel and constitutes a rear side of the door; a foaming space formed between the front panel and the rear panel; an adiabatic material foamed in the foaming space so as to insulate the storage compartments; a display unit including a display portion having a shape corresponding to the shape of the through holes and displaying information when at least a portion of the display portion is turned on or off, the display unit disposed in the rear of the front panel so that a position of the display portion corresponds to a position of the through holes; an upper cap including a body portion and an accommodation space formed inside the body portion so as to accommodate the display unit, the upper cap being coupled to an upper part of the front panel; and a lower cap coupled to a lower part of the front panel, wherein the front of the accommodation space may be open so that light of the display unit is diffused into the through holes, and the upper cap may be disposed to closely contact a rear side of the front panel so that the adiabatic material in the foaming space is prevented from permeating the accommodation space. 
         [0010]    The refrigerator may further include a sealing member disposed on a front side of the body portion of the upper cap so as to seal a space between the body portion of the upper cap and the front panel. 
         [0011]    The upper cap may further include an insertion groove which is formed in a top end of the body portion and through which the display unit is inserted into the accommodation space. 
         [0012]    The display unit may further include a light source portion that emits light and a guide portion that guides light of the light source portion to the display portion 
         [0013]    The display unit may further include a cover sheet on which the display portion is formed and which is coupled to the guide portion. 
         [0014]    The predetermined shape of the display portion may include at least one selected from the group consisting of a picture, a character, a number, and a symbol. 
         [0015]    The guide portion may include guide holes formed to have sizes thereof gradually increasing from the light source portion to the display portion. 
         [0016]    The refrigerator may further include a filler member filled in the through holes. 
         [0017]    The filler member may be a silicon resin or an ultraviolet (UV) resin. 
         [0018]    A diameter of the through holes may be 0.1 to 0.5 mm. 
         [0019]    A distance between the through holes may be 0.3 to 1.5 mm. 
         [0020]    A thickness of the front panel may be 0.6 mm or less. 
         [0021]    The through holes may be formed through an etching process or a laser drilling process. 
         [0022]    The display unit may further include an input unit having a capacitance touch button, and the input unit may sense touch of a particular region of the front panel corresponding to the capacitance touch button and may receive operating instructions of the refrigerator. 
         [0023]    In accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure, a refrigerator includes: a body; storage compartments formed inside the body; and a door that opens/closes the storage compartments, wherein the door may include: a front panel that constitutes a front side and sides of the door and that is formed of an iron plate material, the front panel having through holes that pass through the front panel, wherein the through holes constitute a predetermined shape; a rear panel that is coupled to the rear of the front panel and constitutes a rear side of the door; a foaming space formed between the front panel and the rear panel; an adiabatic material foamed in the foaming space so as to insulate the storage compartments; a display unit including a display portion having a shape corresponding to the shape of the through holes and displaying information when at least a portion of the display portion is turned on or off, the display unit disposed in the rear of the front panel so that a position of the display portion corresponds to a position of the through holes; an upper cap coupled to an upper part of the front panel; and a lower cap coupled to a lower part of the front panel, wherein the upper cap may include: an accommodation space in which the display unit is accommodated; an insertion groove which is formed in a top surface of the upper cap and through which the display unit is inserted into the accommodation space; and a body portion disposed at vertical and horizontal sides and a rear side of the accommodation space so that the accommodation space is separated and partitioned off from the foaming space. 
         [0024]    The refrigerator may further include a sealing member disposed on a front side of the body portion of the upper cap so as to seal a space between the body portion of the upper cap and the front panel. 
         [0025]    The refrigerator may further include a cover coupled to the insertion groove so as to seal the insertion groove after the display unit has been inserted into the accommodation space through the insertion groove. 
         [0026]    In accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure, a refrigerator includes: a body; storage compartments formed inside the body; and a door that opens/closes the storage compartments, wherein the door may include: a front panel that constitutes a front side and sides of the door and that is formed of an iron plate material, the front panel having through holes that pass through the front panel, wherein the through holes constitute a predetermined shape; a rear panel that is coupled to the rear of the front panel and constitutes a rear side of the door; a foaming space formed between the front panel and the rear panel; an adiabatic material foamed in the foaming space so as to insulate the storage compartments; a display unit including a display portion having a shape corresponding to the shape of the through holes and displaying information when at least a portion of the display portion is turned on or off, the display unit disposed in the rear of the front panel so that a position of the display portion corresponds to a position of the through holes; and a filler member filled in the through holes so that foreign substances are prevented from permeating an internal space of the through holes. 
         [0027]    The filler member may be an ultraviolet (UV) paint. 
         [0028]    Air may be removed from the internal space of the through holes. 
         [0029]    The filler member may not overflow to a surface of a front side or a rear side of the front panel except the internal space of the through holes. 
         [0030]    The filler member may be transparent. 
         [0031]    A diameter of the through holes may be 0.1 to 0.5 mm. 
         [0032]    A distance between the through holes may be 0.3 to 1.5 mm. 
         [0033]    In accordance with still another embodiment of the present disclosure, a method of manufacturing a refrigerator including a body, storage compartments, and a door that opens/closes the storage compartments and includes a front panel formed of an iron plate material, through holes being formed in the front panel, includes: forming the through holes in the front panel by performing an etching or laser process; and filling a filler member in the through holes so that foreign substances are prevented from permeating an internal space of the through holes. 
         [0034]    The filler member may be an ultraviolet (UV) paint. 
         [0035]    The filling of the filler member in the through holes may include attaching a protective vinyl to a front side of the front panel. 
         [0036]    The filling of the filler member in the through holes may include applying the filler member into the through holes through a rear side of the front panel to which no protective vinyl is attached. 
         [0037]    The filling of the filler member in the through holes may include removing air generated in an internal space of the through holes. 
         [0038]    The removing of the air generated in the internal space of the through holes may include removing the air using vacuum. 
         [0039]    The filling of the filler member in the through holes may include a squeegee process of pushing the filler member that overflows to a surface of the front side or the rear side of the front panel except the internal space of the through holes. 
         [0040]    In accordance with yet still another embodiment of the present disclosure, a method of filling a filler member in through holes formed in a plate, includes: applying the filler member into the through holes; removing air generated in an internal space of the through holes using vacuum; and pushing the filler member that overflows to a surface of a front side or a rear side of the plate except the internal space of the through holes. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0041]    These and/or other aspects of the disclosure will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which: 
           [0042]      FIG. 1  illustrates an exterior of a refrigerator in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
           [0043]      FIG. 2  is a schematic exploded perspective view of a door of the refrigerator illustrated in  FIG. 1 , 
           [0044]      FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of the door of the refrigerator of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0045]      FIG. 4  is an exploded view of a display unit of the refrigerator of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0046]      FIG. 5  is an enlarged view of a periphery of through holes of a front panel of the refrigerator of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0047]      FIG. 6  is an enlarged view of the periphery of the through holes of the front panel in a state in which the display unit of the refrigerator of  FIG. 1  is turned off; 
           [0048]      FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B of  FIG. 5 ; 
           [0049]      FIG. 8  illustrates a filler member filled in the through holes in  FIG. 7 ; 
           [0050]      FIG. 9  illustrates a state in which air is generated while the filler member is applied into the through holes, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
           [0051]      FIG. 10  illustrates a state in which air is removed from the through holes of  FIG. 9  using vacuum equipment; 
           [0052]      FIG. 11  is a flowchart illustrating a method of filling the filler member in the through holes, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
           [0053]      FIG. 12  illustrates a state in which the filler member is applied into the through holes, in accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure; and 
           [0054]      FIG. 13  is a flowchart illustrating a method of filling the filler member in the through holes, in accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0055]    Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the present disclosure, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. 
         [0056]      FIG. 1  illustrates an exterior of a refrigerator in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         [0057]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , a refrigerator  1  includes a body  10 , storage compartments  11  and  12  provided inside the body  10 , and a cold air supplying unit (not shown) that supplies cold air to the storage compartments  11  and  12 . 
         [0058]    The storage compartments  11  and  12  may be partitioned off into an upper refrigerator compartment  11  and a lower freezer compartment  12  by an intermediate wall. The refrigerator compartment  11  may be maintained at a temperature of about or so as to keep food under refrigeration. The refrigerator compartment  11  has an open front side via which food can be put in or taken out from the refrigerator compartment  11 . The open front side may be open/closed by a pair of doors  21  and  22  that are rotatably coupled to the body  10 . Handles  21   a  and  22   a  may be disposed on the pair of doors  21  and  22 . 
         [0059]    The freezer compartment  12  may be maintained below a temperature of 0° C. so as to keep food frozen. The freezer compartment  12  has an open front side via which food can be put in or taken out from the freezer compartment  12 . The open front side may be open/closed by a door  31  that is slidably disposed in a forward/backward direction. A handle  31   a  may be disposed on the door  31 . 
         [0060]    A plurality of through holes  51  through which operating information of the refrigerator  1  is displayed, may be formed in one of the doors  21  and  22 . At least a portion of the plurality of through holes  51  becomes bright or dark so that a particular shape can be displayed and thus operating information of the refrigerator  1  can be displayed through the through holes  51 . The configuration of the through holes  51  will be described below. 
         [0061]    Even though a French Door Refrigerator (FDR) is illustrated in the current embodiment of the present disclosure, embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto, and all types of refrigerators may be used. 
         [0062]      FIG. 2  is a schematic exploded perspective view of a door of the refrigerator illustrated in  FIG. 1 , and  FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of the door of the refrigerator of  FIG. 1 . 
         [0063]    Referring to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the door  21  may be formed by coupling a front panel  50  that constitutes a front side and both sides of the door  21 , a rear panel  70  that is coupled to a rear side of the front panel  50  and constitutes a rear side of the door  21 , and an upper cap  60  and a lower cap  90  that seal top and bottom ends of an internal space formed between the front panel  50  and the rear panel  70 , to each other. 
         [0064]    The handle  21   a  may be disposed on the front panel  50 . The front panel  50  may be formed of a metal material, such as steel, aluminum, an alloy, a phase change material (PCM), and a voice coil motor (VCM) material. The front panel  50  may be formed by bending one plate to constitute the front side and both sides of the door  21 . 
         [0065]    The front panel  50  may have a larger strength than the strength of a tempered glass plate or a resin plate due to characteristics of a metal material and may also give a luxurious feeling to a user. The aesthetic appeal of the front panel  50  may be further improved through surface treatment of the metal. 
         [0066]    That is, a hair line process, a mirror polishing process, or a bead blast process may be performed on the surface of the front panel  50 . In this case, one among these processes may be performed on the front panel  50 . 
         [0067]    Alternatively, all of the above-described plurality of processes may be performed on the front panel  50 . That is, the front panel  50  may have all of hair line patterns, gloss, and beads. In this case, a process order may be the order of the mirror polishing process, the hair line process, and the bead blast process. 
         [0068]    The rear panel  70  may be vacuum-formed using a resin material. The rear panel  70  may have a dyke  71  that protrudes backwards so that a door pocket can be mounted in the rear panel  70 . 
         [0069]    Each of the upper cap  60  and the lower cap  90  may be injection-molded using a resin material. The front panel  50 , the rear panel  70 , the upper cap  60 , and the lower cap  90  are temporarily assembled using an insertion coupling structure and an adhesive tape, and then an adiabatic material foaming solution can be injected and foamed into the internal space. 
         [0070]    That is, a foaming space  40  in which an adiabatic material  41  is foamed, is formed between the front panel  50  and the rear panel  70 . The adiabatic material  41  may be used to insulate the storage compartment  11 , and urethane may be used as the adiabatic material  41 . If foaming of the adiabatic material foaming solution into the foaming space  40  is completed, the front panel  50 , the rear panel  70 , the upper cap  60 , and the lower cap  90  can be firmly coupled to each other due to an adhesive force of the foaming solution. 
         [0071]    A display unit  100  on which operating information of the refrigerator  1  may be displayed or to which operating instructions of the refrigerator  1  may be input, is disposed in an internal space of the door  21 . The display unit  100  may be disposed to closely contact the rear side of the front panel  50 . 
         [0072]    The display unit  100  may be accommodated in the upper cap  60  coupled to an upper part of the front panel  50  and may be supported thereon. The display unit  100  may be fixed in such a way that a display portion  111  is placed at a position corresponding to the through holes  51  of the front panel  50 . 
         [0073]    The upper cap  60  includes a body portion  63  and an accommodation space  64  which is formed inside the body portion  63  so that the front of the accommodation space  64  is open and in which the display unit  100  is accommodated. That is, the accommodation space  64  is formed in the form of a groove in the front of the body portion  63 . Also, an insertion groove  62  through which the display unit  100  can be inserted into the accommodation space  64 , is formed in a top surface  61  of the upper cap  60 . 
         [0074]    The front of the accommodation space  64  is open because light of the display portion  111  of the display unit  100  accommodated in the accommodation space  64  can be diffused into the through holes  51  of the front panel  50 . 
         [0075]    Fixing protrusions  65  that pressurize the display unit  100  forwards so as to fix the display unit  100 , may be disposed in the accommodation space  64 . The fixing protrusions  65  may protrude from the body portion  63  forwards. The fixing protrusions  65  may have approximately gentle curved surfaces so as to guide movement of the display unit  100  inserted into the accommodation space  64  from upwards to downwards. The fixing protrusions  65  may be provided as an elastic member having elasticity. 
         [0076]    When the foaming solution of the adiabatic material  41  is injected and foamed into the foaming space  40 , the foaming solution of the adiabatic material  41  should not permeate the accommodation space  64 . To this end, the upper cap  60  is disposed such that a front side of the body portion  63  can closely contact the rear side of the front panel  50 . 
         [0077]    The body portion  63  of the upper cap  60  closely contacts the rear side of the front panel  50  so that the accommodation space  64  formed inside the body portion  63  may be separated and partitioned off from the foaming space  40 . That is, vertical and horizontal sides and a rear side of the accommodation space  64  may be covered by the body portion  63 , and a front side of the accommodation space  64  may be covered by the rear side of the front panel  50 . 
         [0078]    A sealing member  67  may be disposed on the front side of the body portion  63  so as to guarantee sealing of the accommodation space  64  and the foaming space  40 . The sealing member  67  may be formed of an elastic material, such as rubber, or an adhesive material, such as a tape. When the upper cap  60  is coupled to the upper part of the front panel  50 , the sealing member  67  may closely contact the rear side of the front panel  50  and may seal the accommodation space  64  in a separate space. 
         [0079]    The upper cap  60  may further include a cover  68  that seals the insertion groove  62  after the display unit  100  has been inserted into the accommodation space  64  through the insertion groove  62 . The cover  68  may have a pressurization portion  69  that pressurizes the display unit  100  and prevents the display unit  100  from moving in a vertical direction. 
         [0080]    In the present embodiment, the accommodation space  64  in which the display unit  100  is accommodated, and the body portion  63  that separates and partitions off the accommodation space  64  from the foaming space  40  are formed integrally with the upper cap  60 . However, embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto, and the accommodation space  64  and the body portion  63  may be separately disposed and may be fixed and coupled to the upper cap  60 . 
         [0081]    Through this structure, the display unit  100  may be mounted in the internal space of the door  21  and is not exposed to the outside. However, if particular information is displayed on the display unit  100 , the information may be displayed to the outside through the plurality of through holes  51 . 
         [0082]      FIG. 4  is an exploded view of a display unit of the refrigerator of  FIG. 1 . 
         [0083]    Referring to  FIG. 4 , the display unit  100  may include a cover sheet  110 , a light source portion  130  that emits light, and a guide portion  120  that guides light emitted from the light source portion  130  to the display portion  111 . 
         [0084]    The cover sheet  110  may include the display portion  111  that becomes bright or dark so as to display operating information of the refrigerator  1  and a blocking portion  112  that is always maintained in a relatively dark state. The display portion  111  may be formed of a transparent material or a fluorescent material, and the blocking portion  112  may be formed of an opaque material. 
         [0085]    The cover sheet  110  may be disposed separately from the guide portion  120  and may be attached to one surface of the guide portion  120 . 
         [0086]    The display portion  111  may be configured as one of a picture  111   a , a character  111   b , a number, a symbol, and a segment  111   c  that constitutes a portion of the number and the symbol, or a combination thereof, so as to display the operating information of the refrigerator  1 . Thus, if light is radiated onto the cover sheet  110 , the picture  111   a , the character  111   b , and the number and the symbol  111   c  of the display portion  111  appear bright, and the operating information may be displayed on the display portion  111 . 
         [0087]    The light source portion  130  may include a light emitting diode (LED)  131  that emits light, a printed circuit board (PCB)  132  on which the LED  131  is mounted, and a connector  133  to which power is connected. A plurality of LEDs  131  may be disposed and may be individually controlled. 
         [0088]    The guide portion  120  guides light emitted from the LEDs  131  to direct toward the cover sheet  110 . The guide portion  120  may include a body portion  121  formed of a material that reflects light and guide holes  122  formed to pass through the body portion  121 . The guide holes  122  may be formed to have sizes thereof that gradually increase from the LEDs  131  to the cover sheet  110 , as illustrated in  FIGS. 7 and 8 . 
         [0089]    The display unit  100  may further include an input unit to which operating instructions of the refrigerator  1  are input. A capacitance touch sensing method may be used in the input unit. 
         [0090]    For example, the input unit may have a spring-shaped touch button  140  and a sensor (not shown) that measures a change in charges generated by a user&#39;s touch. The touch button  140  may be mounted on the printing circuit board  132 , may pass through button holes  123  of the guide portion  120 , and may contact the cover sheet  110 . 
         [0091]    If the user touches a particular region of the front panel  50  corresponding to a position of the touch button  140 , the sensor may measure a change in charges that flow through the touch button  140  and may sense whether the user touches the particular region of the front panel  50  or not. Various well-known methods, such as a decompression method, a dome switch method, an infrared (IR) proximity sensing method as well as the capacitance touch sensing method may be used in the input unit. 
         [0092]    The display portion  111  may be formed integrally with the guide portion  120 . In this case, an additional cover sheet may not be disposed on the display unit  100 . 
         [0093]      FIG. 5  is an enlarged view of a periphery of through holes of a front panel of the refrigerator of  FIG. 1 ,  FIG. 6  is an enlarged view of the periphery of the through holes of the front panel in a state in which the display unit of the refrigerator of  FIG. 1  is turned off,  FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B of  FIG. 5 , and  FIG. 8  illustrates a filler member filled in the through holes in  FIG. 7 . 
         [0094]    Referring to  FIGS. 5 through 8 , if the display unit  100  hidden in the internal space of the door  21  displays particular information, the information may be displayed through the plurality of through holes  51  of the front panel  50  of the door  21 , as illustrated in  FIG. 5 . 
         [0095]    The through holes  51  formed in the front panel  50  may have a diameter of about 0.1 to 0.5 mm, and a distance between the through holes  51  may be about 0.3 to 1.5 mm. The through holes  51  may be measured by approximately user&#39;s naked eyes. In this case, it is assumed that the thickness of the front panel  50  is 0.6 mm or less. 
         [0096]    The through holes  51  may be formed through an etching process or a laser drilling process. When the sizes of the through holes  51  are in the range of 0.3 to 0.4 mm, the etching process having high precision may be appropriate for forming the through holes  51 . 
         [0097]    When the sizes of the through holes  51  are 0.2 mm or less, some thermal deformation or burr may occur, and the laser drilling process may be used to form the through holes  51 . An assessment function of the through holes  51  having relatively small sizes may be lowered if the sizes of the through holes  51  are large. Thus, the sizes of the through holes  51  may be 0.2 mm or less. 
         [0098]    For example, the sizes of through holes  51   c  corresponding to the segment  111   c  that constitutes a portion of the number in  FIG. 3  may be in a range of 0.3 to 0.4 mm, and the sizes of through holes  51   a  and  51   b  corresponding to a small picture  111   a  and a small character  111   b  may be 0.2 mm or less. The through holes  51  are formed in a predetermined region corresponding to the display portion  111  of the display unit  100 . 
         [0099]    That is, the through holes  51  may be arranged to constitute shapes, such as a picture  51   a , a character  51   b , and a number segment  51   c , which correspond to the picture  111   a , the character  111   b , and the number segment  111   c  of the display portion  111 , respectively. Thus, if the LEDs  131  emit light and a particular picture, a character, a number, and a symbol are displayed on the display unit  100 , the particular picture, the character, the number, and the symbol may be displayed on the front panel  50  of the door  21 . 
         [0100]    As illustrated in  FIG. 7 , consequently, light emitted from the LEDs  131  of the PCB  132  may sequentially pass through the guide holes  122  of the guide portion  120 , the display portion  111  of the cover sheet  110 , and the plurality of through holes  51  of the front panel  50  and may be recognized by the user. 
         [0101]    As illustrated in  FIG. 8 , a filler member  52  may be filled in the through holes  51  so as to prevent the through holes  51  from clogging due to foreign substances inserted into the through holes  51 . 
         [0102]    The filler member  52  may be formed of a transparent material or a fluorescent material. The filler member  52  may be a silicon resin or an ultraviolet (UV) resin. The filler member  52  may be filled in the plurality of through holes  51  by applying silicon or a UV paint onto the front panel  50 . 
         [0103]    In this way, forming the through holes  51  in the front panel  50  of the door  21  and disposing and hiding the display unit  100  inside the door  21  may be applied to not only a refrigerator but also a kitchen home appliance, such as a cooking device. 
         [0104]      FIG. 9  illustrates a state in which air is generated while the filler member is applied into the through holes, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure,  FIG. 10  illustrates a state in which air is removed from the through holes of  FIG. 9  using vacuum equipment, and  FIG. 11  is a flowchart illustrating a method of filling the filler member in the through holes, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         [0105]    The method of filling a filler member in through holes in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to  FIGS. 9 through 11 . Here, an example in which a UV paint is used as the filler member, will be described. Hereinafter, all of the filler member, the UV paint, and a paint refer to the same thing. 
         [0106]    As illustrated in  FIG. 11 , the method of filling the filler member  52  in the through holes  51  in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure includes coating a protective vinyl ( 310 ), applying a paint ( 320 ), removing air ( 330 ), a squeegeeing operation of pushing the overflowing filler member  52  ( 340 ), hardening a UV paint ( 350 ), and inspecting ( 360 ). 
         [0107]    Coating the protective vinyl ( 310 ) is an operation of coating a protective vinyl  200  so as to close one of both openings of the through holes  51 . In the present embodiment, the protective vinyl  200  is coated on a front side  50   a  of the front panel  50 . However, embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto, and the protective vinyl  200  may be coated on a rear side  50   b  of the front panel  50 . 
         [0108]    The protective vinyl  200  needs to be closely coated on the front side  50   a  of the front panel  50  so that the paint  52  may not escape from the through holes  51 . The protective vinyl  200  may be removed if the operation of filling the paint  52  in the through holes  51  is completed. 
         [0109]    Applying the paint  52  ( 320 ) is substantially an operation of applying a UV paint into the through holes  51 . Since the protective vinyl  200  is coated on the front side  50   a  of the front panel  50 , the paint  52  is applied into the through holes  51  through an inlet of the through holes  51  formed in the rear side  50   b  of the front panel  50 . 
         [0110]    Applying the paint  52  ( 320 ) may be performed by immersing the front panel  50  into a container filled with the paint  52 . 
         [0111]    As illustrated in  FIG. 9 , in an operation of applying the paint  52  into all of the plurality of through holes  51 , the paint  52  may overflow inevitably in an internal space of the through holes  51  and may be partially applied onto a surface of the rear side  50   b  of the front panel  50 . 
         [0112]    For convenience of explanation, a portion of the paint  52  applied onto the surface of the rear side  50   b  of the front panel  50  (not the internal space of the through holes  51 ) is referred to as an overflow portion  52   a . Although this will be described below, the overflow portion  52   a  is removed by a squeegee process. 
         [0113]    As illustrated in  FIG. 9 , while the paint  52  is applied, air  210  may be generated in the internal space of the through holes  51 . The air  210  causes the paint  52  not to be applied into a portion of the internal space of the through holes  51 . Also, the paint  52  may be pushed toward the protective vinyl  200 . Thus, an aesthetic appeal is not good in a state in which the paint  52  is filled in the through holes  51 . 
         [0114]    In order to prevent this phenomenon, if coating the paint  52  is completed, an operation of removing the air  210  generated in the internal space of the through holes  51  is performed. Removing the air  210  may be performed by removing the air  210  using vacuum through vacuum equipment. A state in which the air  210  is removed is illustrated in  FIG. 10 . 
         [0115]    Squeegeeing ( 340 ) is a leveling operation by removing the overflow portion  52   a  of the paint  52  and may be performed by pushing the rear side  50   b  of the front panel  50  using a push stick. Although this will be described below, the squeegeeing operation may be unnecessary according to the shape of the through holes  51 . 
         [0116]    Hardening the UV paint ( 350 ) is an operation of hardening the UV paint  52  by radiating UV rays onto the UV paint of which applying has been completed. 
         [0117]    Inspecting ( 360 ) is a final operation of inspecting a filled state of the UV paint  52 . 
         [0118]      FIG. 12  illustrates a state in which the filler member is applied into the through holes, in accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure, and  FIG. 13  is a flowchart illustrating a method of filling the filler member in the through holes, in accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         [0119]    As described above, a squeegeeing operation may be unnecessary according to the shape of through holes. For example, as illustrated in  FIG. 12 , if the front panel  50  is half etched and through holes  410  and  420  include a half-etched portion  410  and a hole portion  420 , the squeegeeing operation is not necessary. 
         [0120]    This is because the paint  52  can be applied in such a way that the paint  52  is applied into only all of the hole portions  420  of the through holes  410  and  420  and the paint  52  is not applied into a portion of the half-etched portion  410 . That is, in this way, when the front panel  50  is half-etched, overflow of the paint  52  may not occur. 
         [0121]    By excluding the squeegeeing operation, filling the paint may be performed through the same process as the above-described embodiment. That is, the method of filling a filler member in through holes in accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure may be performed by sequentially performing coating a protective vinyl ( 510 ), applying a paint ( 520 ), removing air ( 530 ), hardening a UV paint ( 540 ), and inspecting ( 550 ). These operations are the same as those of the above-described embodiment, and thus descriptions thereof will be omitted. 
         [0122]    Air may be removed from the through holes using the filling method, and a filler member may be filled such that overflow of the filler member does not occur. Thus, an aesthetic appeal of the door can be improved. 
         [0123]    The method of filling the filler member  52  in the through holes  51  is not applied only to the front panel  50  of the refrigerator door. Of course, the method of filling the filler member  52  in the through holes  51  may be applied to a case that a filler member is filled in through holes formed in a plate, such as an iron plate. That is, the method of filling the filler member  52  in the through holes  51  may also be applied to a kitchen home appliance, such as a cooking device, as well as the refrigerator. 
         [0124]    As described above, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, a front panel of a refrigerator is formed of a metal material, and a display unit is hidden in an internal space of a door, and information displayed on the display unit can be seen to the outside through through holes formed in the front panel. Thus, an aesthetic appeal of the refrigerator can be improved. 
         [0125]    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 invention, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.