Abstract:
Disclosed is a drawer type door opening/closing structure of a refrigerator. The structure comprises: a refrigerator body having a storage space formed therein; a door for selectively opening and closing the storage space in the refrigerator body, the door being drawn out and pushed into the refrigerator body in a manner in which a drawer is moved, the door being capable of being pivoted about a lower end of the door; at least one support frame hingedly connected to a rear surface of the door to allow the door to pivot about the lower end of the door and allow a storage box for storing an object to be seated behind the door; at least one movable rail formed on the support frame; at least one guide rail formed on an inner surface of a side wall of the refrigerator body to be engaged with the movable rail and guide movement of the support frame; and at least one cover bracket protruding backward from the rear surface of the door to cover a gap between the support frame and the rear surface of the door. The structure facilitates placing or removing of an object, reduces the possibility of accident, and prevents the refrigerator from being broken.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the invention  
           [0002]    The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly to a drawer type door opening/closing structure of a refrigerator, in which a portion for storing an object can be drawn out from or pushed into a refrigerator body.  
           [0003]    2. Description of the Prior Art  
           [0004]    [0004]FIG. 1 illustrates a drawer type door opening/closing structure of a refrigerator according to the prior art. As shown, the conventional drawer type door  4  is disposed at a front surface of a refrigerator body  2  to selectively close or open a space inside of the door  4 . A tray  6  for storing an object therein, which has an open top, is fixed to a rear surface of the door  4 . Movable rails  8  are provided on side surfaces of the tray  6  and extend long along the tray  6  backward from the rear surface of the door  4  to guide movement of the tray  6 . The movable rails  8  are movably supported by guide rails (not shown) fixed to inner surfaces of side walls of the refrigerator body  2 .  
           [0005]    When the door  4  having the construction described above is drawn out, the tray  6  moves out of the refrigerator body  2  together with the door  4 . Then, the tray  6  emerges out of the refrigerator body  2  so that a user can put an object on the tray  6  or pick a stored object out of the tray  6 .  
           [0006]    When the door  4  having been drawn out of the refrigerator body  2  is pushed into the refrigerator body  2 , the tray  6  comes into the refrigerator body  2  while the movable rails  8  are guided along the guide rails. When the tray  6  has been completely inserted in the refrigerator body  2 , the door  4  comes into tight contact with the front surface of the refrigerator body  2  to prevent the cooling air in the refrigerator body  2  from leaking.  
           [0007]    However, the conventional drawer type door of a refrigerator as described above has problems as follows.  
           [0008]    First, in order to put or take an object into or out of the refrigerator having the drawer type door  4  as described above, it is inevitable that the door  4  should be drawn out forward so that the tray  6  is exposed. That is, since the tray  6  is opened as mush as the distance by which the door  4  has moved out of the refrigerator body  2 , the door  4  must be drawn out of the refrigerator body  2  as much as possible in order to facilitate placing or removing of an object. However, when the tray  6  is completely exposed out of the refrigerator body  2 , too much cooling air may leak out of the refrigerator body  2 .  
           [0009]    Further, when the tray  6  contains many objects or a heavy object and is thus heavy, it may be difficult to move the tray  6  by drawing or pushing the door  4 .  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0010]    Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a drawer type door opening/closing structure of a refrigerator, which can minimize movement of the door while an object can be easily put into or removed from the refrigerator.  
           [0011]    It is another object of the present invention to provide a drawer type door opening/closing structure of a refrigerator, which can be opened or closed more completely.  
           [0012]    It is another object of the present invention to provide a drawer type door opening/closing structure of a refrigerator, which can be safely operated to prevent an accident while the door is opened or closed.  
           [0013]    In order to accomplish this object, there is provided a drawer type door opening/closing structure of a refrigerator, the structure comprising: a refrigerator body having a storage space formed therein; a door for selectively opening and closing the storage space in the refrigerator body, the door being drawn out and pushed into the refrigerator body in a manner in which a drawer is moved, the door being capable of being pivoted about a lower end of the door; at least one support frame hingedly connected to a rear surface of the door to allow the door to pivot about the lower end of the door and allow a storage box for storing an object to be seated behind the door; at least one movable rail formed on the support frame; at least one guide rail formed on an inner surface of a side wall of the refrigerator body to be engaged with the movable rail and guide movement of the support frame; and at least one cover bracket protruding backward from the rear surface of the door to cover a gap between the support frame and the rear surface of the door.  
           [0014]    The cover bracket is located outside of the support frame when the door stands upright. The door includes a door basket for storing an object, the door basket being disposed at an upper portion of the rear surface of the door. The the door further includes at least one tilting latch formed at one side of the rear surface of the door, the tilting latch having a lower end hingedly assembled with the support frame, the tilting latch having a latch jaw and the support frame having a stopper pin, wherein the latch jaw and the stopper pin can be engaged with each other to limit a range within which the door can be pivoted.  
           [0015]    In accordance with another object of the present invention, there is provided a drawer type door opening/closing structure of a refrigerator, the structure comprising: a refrigerator body having at least one storage space formed therein; a door for selectively opening and closing said at least one storage space in the refrigerator body, the door being drawn out and pushed into the refrigerator body in a manner in which a drawer is moved, the door being capable of being pivoted about a lower end of the door; at least one support frame hingedly connected to a rear surface of the door to allow the door to pivot about the lower end of the door and allow a storage box for storing an object to be seated behind the door; and at least one cover bracket protruding backward from the rear surface of the door to cover a gap between the support frame and the rear surface of the door.  
           [0016]    The structure may further comprise: at least one movable rail formed on the support frame; and at least one guide rail formed on an inner surface of a side wall of the refrigerator body, wherein the guide rail is engaged with the movable rail and guide movement of the support frame. The cover bracket is located outside of the support frame when the door stands upright. The door includes a door basket for storing an object, the door basket being disposed at an upper portion of the rear surface of the door. The door further includes at least one tilting latch formed at one side of the rear surface of the door, the tilting latch having a lower end hingedly assembled with the support frame, the tilting latch having a latch jaw and the support frame having a stopper pin, wherein the latch jaw and the stopper pin can be engaged with each other to limit a range within which the door can be pivoted.  
           [0017]    A drawer type door opening/closing structure of a refrigerator according to the present invention can be tilted forward to a predetermined angle about its lower end. Therefore, the refrigerator can have a wider opening for receiving an object, which facilitate input or taking out of an object. Further, the cover brackets reduces the possibility of accident and prevents the refrigerator from being broken. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0018]    The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a drawer type door opening/closing structure of a refrigerator according to the prior art;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a refrigerator employing a drawer type door opening/closing structure according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 3 is a side view of a portion of a drawer type door opening/closing structure according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 4 is a top plan view of several elements, including cover brackets, of a drawer type door opening/closing structure according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0023]    Hereinafter, a drawer type door opening/closing structure of a refrigerator according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.  
         [0024]    As shown in the drawings, a refrigerator body  50  has a refrigerating compartment  52  and a freezing compartment  54 , which are formed therein to form separate storage spaces, respectively. The refrigerating compartment  52  is located at a relatively upper portion of the refrigerator body  50 , and the freezing compartment  54  is located at a relatively lower portion of the refrigerator body  50  under the refrigerating compartment  52 . A vegetable compartment  56  may be separately formed at a proper portion of the refrigerating compartment  52 .  
         [0025]    The refrigerating compartment  52  contains a plurality of shelves  61 , each of which has a shape of a cantilever plate to load and store an object thereon. The shelves  61  are assembled with and held by the shelf holders  63  provided at inner surfaces of the refrigerating compartment  52  and extending in a vertical direction of the refrigerating compartment  52 . A proper number of shelves  61  according to the size of the refrigerating compartment  52  are vertically spaced predetermined intervals apart from each other to compart the refrigerating compartment  52  into a proper number of storage compartment.  
         [0026]    The refrigerating compartment  52  may further include a snack pan  65  for storing fish, snack, and the like, and a can shelf  67  for storing a beverage can thereon, which are located under one of the shelves  61 . Also, the refrigerating compartment  52  may include an egg box  69  for storing an egg, which is located under one of the shelves  61 .  
         [0027]    A control panel  71  for controlling the operation of the refrigerator is disposed at the ceiling of the refrigerating compartment  52 , and a lamp  73  is disposed at and exposed out of a lower surface of the control panel  71 . When a refrigerating compartment door  86 , which will be described below, is opened, the lamp  73  is turned on to light the interior of the refrigerating compartment  52 . When the refrigerating compartment door  86  is closed, the lamp  73  is turned off. A cooling air port  75  is formed at an upper portion of an inner surface of a wall of the refrigerating compartment  52  to allow cool air to be exhausted into the refrigerating compartment  52  through the cooling air port  75 .  
         [0028]    The vegetable compartment  56  is arranged at a lowermost portion of the refrigerating compartment  52  to form a space in which a vegetable box  80  for storing fruits or vegetables can be seated. A vegetable box cover  82  is disposed above the vegetable box  80  to shield a top surface of the vegetable box  80 . The vegetable box cover  82  may contain a magic crisper for restraining evaporation of moisture of an object stored in the vegetable box  80 . The vegetable box cover  82  has a vegetable box door  96  formed at a distal end of the vegetable box cover  82 , which is described later.  
         [0029]    A freezing compartment door  84  and the refrigerating compartment door  86 , which enable the refrigerating compartment  52  and the refrigerating compartment  52  to be selectively opened and closed, respectively, are provided at front surfaces of the freezing compartment  54  and the refrigerating compartment  52 , respectively, which together constitute the front surface of the refrigerator body  50 .  
         [0030]    The refrigerating compartment door  86  has one side connected to a right or left side of the front surface of the refrigerator body  50  by means of a hinge (not shown), so that the other side of the refrigerating compartment door  86  can be pivoted forward to open the refrigerating compartment  52 . A first door grip  86 ′ is provided at a portion of the front surface of the refrigerating compartment door  86 , which is located adjacent to the other side of the refrigerating compartment door  86  opposite to the side where the hinge is located. The refrigerating compartment door  86  further includes a first door basket  88  for storing an object, which is formed at a rear surface of the refrigerating compartment door  86 .  
         [0031]    The freezing compartment door  84  is disposed at the front surface the freezing compartment  54  under the refrigerating compartment  52 . In order to open the freezing compartment  54 , the freezing compartment door  84  may be either linearly moved forward from the front surface of the refrigerator body  50  or pivoted forward a predetermined angle about a hinge located at a lower end of the refrigerator body  50 . Reference numeral  84 ′ not described above designates a grip of the freezing compartment  54 .  
         [0032]    The freezing compartment  54  has a storage box  90  for seating an object therein. The storage box  90  is assembled with a rear surface of the freezing compartment door  84 , so that the storage box  90  moves in company with the freezing compartment door  84  when the freezing compartment door  84  is moved.  
         [0033]    An upper portion of the freezing compartment  54  is partitioned into a left section and a right section, in which an ice maker  92  and a storage basket  94  are seated, respectively. The storage basket  94  may be formed of wires. Of course, the portion in which the ice maker  92  and the storage basket  94  are located is sufficiently high enough to prevent the ice maker  92  or the storage basket  94  from coming into contact with the storage box  90 .  
         [0034]    The freezing compartment door  84  is of a drawer type door, which is opened when it is drawn out forward. Specifically, the freezing compartment door  84  has a construction which enables the freezing compartment door  84  to rotate forward about its lower end until the freezing compartment door  84  is tilted forward at a predetermined angle. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, the storage space in the freezing compartment  54  can be opened by simply tilting the freezing compartment door  84  without drawing the freezing compartment door  84  forward of the refrigerator body  50 . Further, the freezing compartment door  84  is supported by a separate elastic member (not shown) so that the freezing compartment door  84  can be restored to its original state (the state in which the freezing compartment door  84  stands upright, from among the states shown in the figures) when the force pulling the freezing compartment door  84  open is eliminated.  
         [0035]    A pair of tilting latches  102  are connected to the rear surface of the freezing compartment door  84 . The tilting latches  102  extend backward from opposite sides of the rear surface of the freezing compartment door  84 . Each of the tilting latches  102  has a latch jaw  102   a  formed at an upper rear end of the tilting latch  102  and a lower hinge pin  102   b  formed at a lower end of the tilting latch  102 .  
         [0036]    A pair of support frames  104  are connected to the rear surface of the freezing compartment door  84 . Each of the support frames  104  has one side connected to the freezing compartment door  84  and the other side movably supported in the freezing compartment  54 . In other words, the freezing compartment door  84  is actually installed at the support frames  104 . It is preferred that each of the support frames  104  has a shape of an inverted “L”, including a horizontal section  104   a  and a vertical section  104   b , as shown in FIG. 3. The storage box  90  is located between and supported by the support frames  104  constructed as described above.  
         [0037]    The support frame  104  has a lower hinge hole  106  formed through a portion adjacent to a lower end of the vertical section  104   b . The lower hinge pins  102   b  are rotatably inserted through the lower hinge holes  106 , respectively, so that the freezing compartment door  84  can rotate about the lower hinge pins  102   b.    
         [0038]    Further, a stopper pin  108  protrudes inward from the vertical section  104   b  of the support frame  104 . When the latch jaw  102   a  has rotated a predetermined angle,  103  catches or engages with the latch jaw  102   a , thereby limiting the range of angle to which the freezing compartment door  84  can be pivoted open.  
         [0039]    Of course, the latch jaw  102   a  may be directly caught by or directly engage with an end portion of the vertical section  104   b  of the support frame  104 , without separately forming the stopper pin  108  at the support frame  104 .  
         [0040]    Cover brackets  109  protrude backward from a lowermost portion of the rear surface of the freezing compartment door  84 . Each of the cover brackets  109  prevents foreign material from being introduced from a side of the freezing compartment  54  into a gap between the vertical section  104   b  of the support frame  104  and the freezing compartment door  84  when the freezing compartment door  84  is restored to its upright position from its forward tilted position. It is preferred that the cover bracket  109  has a substantially rectangular shape. Of course, the cover bracket  109  may have various other shapes such as a fan shape, an inverted triangular shape, etc.  
         [0041]    The cover brackets  109  protrude backward from opposite side portions of the lowermost portion of the rear surface of the freezing compartment door  84 , specifically, they are formed outside of the support frames  104 . Therefore, when the freezing compartment door  84  stands upright, the cover brackets  109  are located outside of the vertical section  104   b  of the support frame  104 .  
         [0042]    That is, as shown in detail in FIG. 4, when the freezing compartment door  84  stands upright, the left-side cover bracket  109  is located on the left of the vertical section  104   b  of the left-side support frame  104 , and the right-side cover bracket  109 ′ is located on the right of  104   bk  of the right-side support frame  104 ′.  
         [0043]    A movable rail  110  is formed on an upper portion of an outer surface of each of the support frames  104 . In other words, a pair of movable rails  110  are formed on outer surfaces of the pair of support frames  104 , respectively. When the freezing compartment door  84  is drawn out, the movable rails  110  slide forward to enable the storage box  90  to move forward along with the freezing compartment door  84 . The movable rail  110  may be integrally formed with the support frame  104  formed of a metal steel plate.  
         [0044]    Guide rails  112  are formed on inner surfaces of side walls of the freezing compartment  54  to slidably support the movable rails  110 , respectively. The movable rail  110  is supported by and can slide along the guide rail  112 .  
         [0045]    A second door basket  114  is assembled with an upper portion of the rear surface of the freezing compartment door  84  to store an object on the rear surface of the freezing compartment door  84 . The second door basket  114  can be easily exposed and accessed only by tilting the freezing compartment door  84 . Therefore, an object can be easily stored in or taken out of the second door basket  114 .  
         [0046]    Hereinafter, an operation of a drawer type door opening/closing structure of a refrigerator according to the present invention, having the construction as described above, will be described in detail.  
         [0047]    When a user pulls the second door grip  84 ′ of the freezing compartment door  84  forward and downward in order to store or take out an object, the freezing compartment door  84  rotates forward and downward about the lower hinge pin  102   b , that is, about the lower end of the freezing compartment door  84 . Here, the rotation of the freezing compartment door  84  stops when the latch jaw  102   a  of the tilting latch  102  is caught by or engages with the stopper pin  108  of the support frame  104 .  
         [0048]    When the freezing compartment door  84  has rotated a predetermined angle counterclockwise in FIG. 3 together with the tilting latch  102 , the second door basket  114  provided at the rear surface of the freezing compartment door  84  becomes exposed so that an object can be put into or taken out of the second door basket  114 .  
         [0049]    Further, in the state in which the freezing compartment door  84  is tilted as described above, when the freezing compartment door  84  is pulled forward, the support frames  104  connected to the rear surface of the freezing compartment door  84  are drawn out together with the freezing compartment door  84 , so that the storage box  90  is exposed. When the storage box  90  is exposed as described above, a user can put an object into or take an object out of the storage box  90 .  
         [0050]    Here, the movable rails  110  formed on the support frames  104  slide forward along the guide rails  112 , so that the support frames  104  can smoothly move forward.  
         [0051]    Next, the sequence in which the storage box  90  and the second door basket  114  having been drawn out of the freezing compartment  54  are inserted back into the freezing compartment  54  will be described hereinafter.  
         [0052]    When a user pushes the freezing compartment door  84  toward the freezing compartment  54 , the tilting latch  102  attached to the rear surface of the freezing compartment door  84  rotates about the lower hinge pin  102   b . This rotation stops when the rear surface of the freezing compartment door  84  comes into close contact with the vertical sections  104   b  of the support frames  104 . When the tilting latch  102  rotates as described above, the second door basket  114  and the freezing compartment door  84  connected to the tilting latch  102  also rotate clockwise in FIG. 3 until the freezing compartment door  84  stands upright.  
         [0053]    Here, the cover bracket  109  prevents a portion of a human body, such as a finger, or other foreign material from being caught between the freezing compartment door  84  and the vertical sections  104   b  of the support frames  104 .  
         [0054]    That is, when the freezing compartment door  84  is tilted forward, the gap as designated by ‘A’ in FIG. 3 forms a space shaped like an inverted triangle in a side view between the vertical sections  104   b  of the support frames  104  and the freezing compartment door  84 . However, the cover bracket  109  covers the space, thereby preventing foreign material from coming into the space or gap between the rear surface of the freezing compartment door  84  and the vertical sections  104   b  of the support frames  104 .  
         [0055]    Further, when the user goes on pushing the freezing compartment door  84  into the freezing compartment  54 , the movable rails  110  of the support frames  104  slide along the guide rails  112  into the freezing compartment  54 . It goes without saying that, at this time, the storage box  90  also moves into the freezing compartment  54 .  
         [0056]    Meanwhile, the present invention allows a user to pull out the storage box  90  without pivoting the freezing compartment door  84 . For this operation, the user can pull the freezing compartment door  84  forward or forward and upward. Then, the freezing compartment door  84  is drawn out while standing upright without being pivoted, so that the storage box  90  and the second door basket  114  are drawn all together out of the refrigerator.  
         [0057]    Although the above description is given of a case in which the present invention is applied to a drawer type door for a refrigerating compartment, it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to a drawer type door for a freezing compartment.  
         [0058]    As described above in detail, a drawer type door opening/closing structure of a refrigerator according to the present invention enables the door to be tilted forward up to a predetermined angle, and the door has cover brackets provided at side portions of the rear surface of the door to prevent alien material from being introduced from the side portions.  
         [0059]    By a drawer type door opening/closing structure of a refrigerator according to the present invention, a user either can put an object into or take an object out of a door basket by tilting only the door without drawing the door forward out of the refrigerator, or can draw the door out of the refrigerator without tilting the door. Therefore, the user can open or close the door in a wider variety of ways, and the refrigerator can have a wider opening for receiving an object, which facilitate input or taking out of an object.  
         [0060]    Further, the cover brackets provided at side portions of the rear surface of the door prevent alien material, including human fingers, from being introduced from the side portions into the gap between the door and the support frame. Therefore, the present invention reduces the possibility of accident in which a portion of a human body is caught between the door and the support frame and prevents in advance the opening/closing structure of the drawer type door from being broken due to the foreign material.  
         [0061]    Moreover, when a foreign material is caught between the door and the support frame, typically the door and the refrigerator body cannot come into close contact with each other, so that cooling air may leak out of the refrigerator. However, the present invention can solve such a problem.  
         [0062]    Although a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.