Abstract:
The present invention relates to a refrigerator door which can prevent vapor condensation on one side thereof, and a refrigerator therewith. To achieve this, the present invention provides a refrigerator door including one pair of door bodies rotatably connected to a refrigerator body; and a heating device provided to at least one of ends of the door bodies facing each other in a state the door bodies are closed, for prevention of vapor condensation on the ends of the door bodies; and a refrigerator therewith, thereby preventing vapor condensation on one side of the door, permitting the user to use the refrigerator with comfort.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]     This application claims the benefit of Korean Application No. P2004-113731, filed on Dec. 28, 2004, which is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention relates to refrigerators, and more particularly, to a refrigerator door which can prevent vapor condensation thereon, and a refrigerator therewith.  
         [0004]     2. Discussion of the Related Art  
         [0005]     In general, the refrigerator, an appliance for storing food at a low temperature, stores the food at a frozen state or a cold state depending on kinds of food. Cold air supplied to the refrigerator is produced by heat exchange action of refrigerant continuously as the refrigerant is compressed, condensed, expanded, and evaporated repeatedly, and the cold air supplied thus is delivered throughout an inside of the refrigerator uniformly by convection, to enable to store the food at a desired temperature.  
         [0006]     A related art refrigerator will be described with reference to  FIGS. 1 and 2 .  
         [0007]     Referring to  FIG. 1 , there is a body  10  of the refrigerator provided with a refrigerating chamber  20  for low temperature storage of food, and a freezing chamber  30  for frozen storage of food on an upper side and a lower side thereof, respectively.  
         [0008]     The refrigerating chamber  20  and the freezing chamber  30 , spaces independent from each other, have fronts to be opened, respectively. The fronts are opened/closed with doors  40 ,  50 , and  60  selectively. In the doors  40 ,  50 , and  60 , there are upper doors  40 , and  50  for opening/closing the refrigerating chamber  20  on the upper side of the body  10 , and a lower door  60  for opening/closing the freezing chamber  30  on a lower side of the body  10 .  
         [0009]     The upper doors  40 , and  50  are rotatably secured to a left and a right of the body  10 , for selective opening/closing of a front of the refrigerating chamber  20 . On fronts of bodies  41 , and  51  of the upper door, there are upper door handles  42 , and  52  for easy holding of the upper doors  40 , and  50  by the user.  
         [0010]     At facing ends of the left, and right doors  41 , and  51 , there are gaskets  45 , and  55  provided thereto for preventing cold air from leaking from the body  10  of the refrigerator to an outside of the refrigerator.  
         [0011]     The lower side of the front of the refrigerator body  10 , i.e., the front of the freezing chamber  30  is opened/closed with the lower door  60 , selectively. The lower door  60  slides in front/rear directions, to open/close the freezing chamber  30  selectively, and there is a lower door handle  62  on the upper side of a lower door body  61  for easy holding of the lower door  60  by the user.  
         [0012]     In the meantime, referring to  FIG. 2 , in the refrigerating chamber  20 , there are a variety of drawers, baskets, and shelves, and so on suitable to various kinds of food for low temperature storage of various kinds of food.  
         [0013]     Temperatures varies even in the same refrigerating chamber  20  or the freezing chamber  30  depending on positions thereof, owing to the drawers, baskets, shelves, and so on which partitions the space, leading a cold air flow to be changed within the refrigerator body  10 .  
         [0014]     The upper doors  40 , and  50 , opening/closing the front of the refrigerating chamber  20 , are hinged at outer edges of the body  10  for opening/closing the refrigerating chamber  20  in left/rights.  
         [0015]     Moreover, in the refrigerating chamber  20 , there are a plurality of baskets and shelves for storage of food requiring cold storage. On outer circumferences of the upper doors  40 , and  50 , there are gaskets  45 , and  55 .  
         [0016]     The gaskets  45 , and  55  are configured such that the gaskets  45 , and  55  are in contact with the other so that the gaskets  45 , and  55  can close a gap between the upper door bodies  41 , and  51  when the upper door bodies  41 , and  51  are closed. For effective closure of the gaskets  45 , and  55 , it is preferable that the gaskets  45 , and  55  are formed of elastic rubber, or silicone, each with a little upward protrusion.  
         [0017]     The left, and right upper doors  40 , and  50  are identical.  
         [0018]     However, the related art door has the following problems.  
         [0019]     The left, and right upper doors are brought into contact with each other only with the gaskets on the upper doors without any other structures. Since provision of members to portions the gaskets are in contact is not possible for insulation, the portions the gaskets are in contact are weak in insulation.  
         [0020]     Moreover, in general, a temperature inside of the refrigerating chamber closed with the upper doors is low in comparison to a temperature of the room where the refrigerator is installed, significantly.  
         [0021]     Consequently, there is a substantial difference of temperatures between an inside, and an outside of the upper doors due to minute leakage of cold air between gaskets in contact with each other, or a temperature difference between an inside, and an outside of the refrigerating chamber, to cause vapor condensation at one side of the upper door exposed to an outside of the refrigerator, i.e., on surfaces the left, and right upper doors are close to each other, to result in complaint of the user.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0022]     Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a refrigerator door, and a refrigerator therewith that substantially obviates one or more problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.  
         [0023]     An object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator door, in which a heating device is provided to one side of door that close an opened front of a refrigerator body on both sides thereof, for preventing vapor condensation at one side of the door.  
         [0024]     Additional advantages, objects, and features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and in part will become apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned from practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.  
         [0025]     To achieve these objects and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, a refrigerator door includes one pair of door bodies rotatably connected to a refrigerator body; and a heating device provided to at least one of ends of the door bodies facing each other in a state the door bodies are closed, for prevention of vapor condensation on the ends of the door bodies.  
         [0026]     Preferably, the heating device includes a heat generating portion for generating heat, and a base portion for making uniform distribution of the heat from the heat generating portion throughout the end of the door body. More preferably, the heat generating portion is constructed of hot-wire.  
         [0027]     In the meantime, the heat generating portion may be provided to one side of the base portion, so as to be in contact with the base portion. The base portion may have grooves for receiving the heat generating portion.  
         [0028]     Preferably, the base portion is formed of aluminum. More preferably, the heating device is on facing ends of the door bodies in an up/down direction.  
         [0029]     In the meantime, preferably, the door bodies each include an outer case to form an exterior of the door body, and an inner case in rear of the outer case to form an interior of the door body.  
         [0030]     In another aspect of the present invention, a refrigerator includes a refrigerator body having an opened front, and a refrigerator door for opening/closing the opened front of the refrigerator body, wherein the refrigerator door includes one pair of door bodies rotatably connected to the refrigerator body; and a heating device provided to at least one of ends of the door bodies facing each other in a state the door bodies are closed, for prevention of vapor condensation on the ends of the door bodies.  
         [0031]     It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description of the present invention are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0032]     The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principle of the invention. In the drawings;  
         [0033]      FIG. 1  illustrates a front view of a related art refrigerator;  
         [0034]      FIG. 2  illustrates a partial perspective view of a related art refrigerator, with a door opened;  
         [0035]      FIG. 3  illustrates a perspective view of a refrigerator having refrigerator doors in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention applied thereto;  
         [0036]      FIG. 4  illustrates a perspective view of a refrigerator door in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, with a partial cut away view; and  
         [0037]      FIG. 5  illustrates a perspective view of a variation of a refrigerator door in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, with a partial cut away view. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [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. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.  
         [0039]     The refrigerator in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to  FIG. 3 .  
         [0040]     Referring to  FIG. 3 , an inside of a refrigerator body  100  is partitioned into a refrigerating chamber  200  and a freezing chamber  300 .  
         [0041]     In the refrigerating chamber  200 , on an upper side of the refrigerator body  100 , there are various shapes of baskets  220 , shelves  240 , and drawers  260 , partitioning a space of the refrigerating chamber  200 , for effective holding of various kinds of food.  
         [0042]     Therefore, cold air supplied to one side of the refrigerator body  100  is influenced by the baskets  220 , shelves  240 , and drawers  260 , to restrict or regulate convection of the cold air. Thus, the user is enabled to store food according to temperature characteristics caused by such a difference of cold air supply.  
         [0043]     A front of the refrigerating chamber  200  is opened, and the opened front of the refrigerating chamber  200  is closed with the upper doors  400 , and  500 , selectively. The upper doors  400 , and  500  are mounted on a left, and a right of the refrigerator body  100 , with opposite edges of bodies  410 , and  510  of the upper doors hinged at sides of the refrigerator body  100 , enabling the doors to rotate in opposite directions, to close the refrigerating chamber  200 , selectively.  
         [0044]     In the meantime, there are heating devices  590  at facing ends of the door bodies  410 , and  510  for prevention of vapor condensation. Detailed description of the heating device will be given later, with reference to  FIG. 4 .  
         [0045]     Though not shown, on one side of the upper door bodies  410 , and  510 , there is a home bar for handy taking out of wine or drink as necessary or a dispenser for purifying water to enable to take out from an outside of the refrigerator, or a display and operation buttons for temperature indication, and display of a state of an inside of the refrigerator body  100 .  
         [0046]     In the meantime, in the freezing chamber  300  on the lower portion of the refrigerator body  100 , there is fish, meat, or food required to be stored for a long time stored in a frozen state.  
         [0047]     A lower door  600  includes a lower door body  610  provided on a front of the freezing chamber  300 , for closing an inside of the freezing chamber  300 . And a storage box  320  is fixed to a rear surface of the lower door body  610 .  
         [0048]     On one side of the lower door body  600 , there is a lower door handle  620  for the user to make easy holding of the lower door  600 . It is preferable that the lower door handle  620  is fixedly secured to an upper side of the lower door  600 .  
         [0049]     In the freezing chamber  300 , there are drawers, or baskets, and so on for frozen storage of food sorted according to sizes or states of the food, and together with an ice maker  340  for making, and storing ice cubes.  
         [0050]     The heating device on the refrigerator door will be described with reference to  FIG. 4 .  
         [0051]     As the left, and right upper doors  400 , and  500  are identical, for convenience of explanation, only the right upper door  500  will be described.  
         [0052]     Referring to  FIG. 4 , the upper door body  510 , having a shape of a substantially rectangular board with a predetermined thickness, closes around a half of the refrigerating chamber  200 .  
         [0053]     The upper door body  510  includes an outer case  520  and an inner case  530 , which form an exterior thereof. The outer case  520 , forming an outer shape of the upper door  500 , is in general constructed by bending a steel plate.  
         [0054]     At an edge of the outer case  520  mating with one of left, and rights of an upper surface of the refrigerating chamber  200 , there is a hinge for rotatable mounting of the upper door  500 .  
         [0055]     In the meantime, the inner case  530  is on an inner side of the upper door  500 . The inner case  530  faces an inside of the refrigerating chamber  200  when the upper door  500  is closed so as to be invisible from an outside of the refrigerator. It is preferable that the inner case  530  is formed of synthetic plastic.  
         [0056]     The inner case  530  is in rear of the outer case  520 , with a size the inner case  530  can be adjoin to rear edges of the outer case  520 , includes a rim  531  projected backward from a periphery of the inner case  530  to a predetermined height, and a cavity  533  on an inner side of the rim  531 , to form a space.  
         [0057]     On opposite insides of the rim  531 , there are pluralities of mounting pieces  535  projected and exposed to the cavity  533 . The mounting pieces  535  support mounting of storage spaces, such as the shelves, drawers, and so on which partition the cavity  533 , for storage of food.  
         [0058]     There is insulating material (not shown) stuffed between the outer case  520  and the inner case  530 . The insulating material prevents the refrigerator from losing heat due to a temperature difference between an inside and outside of the refrigerator  200 . A variety of materials can be used as the insulating material.  
         [0059]     Outer edges of the inner case  530  and inner edges of the outer case  520  are in contact with each other, and a sealing member  570  is provided to a portion the edges are in contact, for sealing a gap between the inner case  530  and the outer case  520 .  
         [0060]     At facing ends of the left, and right upper door bodies  510 , and  610  when the upper door bodies  500  close the refrigerating chamber  200 , i.e., on sides of the inner cases  530  at a middle of the refrigerating chamber  200  when the upper door bodies  510  are closed, there are gaskets  550 .  
         [0061]     The gaskets  550  are formed of rubber, silicone, or so on having elasticity for making close contact with each other, and mounted so as to be projected outwardly from, sides of the inner cases  530 , i.e., portions of the left, and right upper doors  500  which are brought into contact with each other when the left, and right upper doors  500  are rotated to close the opened portion of the refrigerating chamber  200 .  
         [0062]     In the meantime, the heating device  590  is provided to at least one of ends of the left and right upper door bodies  410 , and  510  which face each other when the door bodies  410 , and  510  are closed, i.e., the sides of the outer cases  520 . The embodiment illustrates the heating devices  590  provided to the ends of the left, and right upper door bodies  410 , and  510 .  
         [0063]     The heating device  590  is mounted so as to be in contact with an inside of the side of the outer case  520  along the side of the outer case  520  in an up/down direction, for heating the side of the outer case  520 .  
         [0064]     The heating device  590  includes a heat generating portion  591 , and a base portion  593 .  
         [0065]     The heat generating portion  591  runs a plurality of times, or a plurality of separate pieces thereof run, on a surface of the base portion  593 . The heat generating portion  591  may have various forms, and the embodiment shows the heat generating portion  591  constructed of hot-wire.  
         [0066]     The heat generating portion  591  is in contact with an inner side surface of the base portion  593 . The heat generating portion  591  may be attached to the base portion  593  with an adhesive.  
         [0067]     The base portion  593 , on an outer of the heat generating portion  591 , distributes heat from the heat generating portion  591  to the end of the door body  510 , uniformly. Therefore, it is preferable that the base portion  593  has a predetermined area, and formed of a material having a good heat conductivity, for uniform distribution of heat from the heat generating portion  591  to the end of the upper door body  510 . The base portion  593  may be formed of, for an example, aluminum.  
         [0068]     In the meantime, referring to  FIG. 4 , it is preferable that the outer case  520  is bent to sides where the refrigerator doors  510 , and  610  face each other, to enclose the base portion  593 . It is more preferable that the bent portion of the outer case  520  has a plurality of holes for good distribution of heat from the heat generating portion  591  to portions where the left, and right door bodies  410 , and  510  face each other.  
         [0069]     A variation of the heating device will be described with reference to  FIG. 5 .  
         [0070]     A basic structure of the embodiment is identical to the foregoing embodiment. That is, in the embodiment too, the heating device  690  includes a heat generating portion  691 , and a base portion  693 , the heat generating portion  691  is constructed of hot-wire, and the heat from the heat generating portion  691  is distributed to the end of the upper door body  510  uniformly by the base portion  693 .  
         [0071]     However, in the embodiment, the heat generating portion  691  is mounted on an outer side surface of the base portion  693 . Along with this, the base portion  693  has grooves for receiving the heat generating portion  691 , thereby providing a space for mounting the heat generating portion  691  therein.  
         [0072]     In the meantime, different from the embodiment, of course, it is also viable that the heating generating portion  691  is attached to an outer side surface of the base portion with an adhesive.  
         [0073]     Referring to  FIG. 5 , it is preferable that the outer case  520  is bent to sides where the refrigerator doors  510 , and  610  face each other, to enclose the base portion  693 .  
         [0074]     The operation of the refrigerator door of the present invention will be described.  
         [0075]     If the left, and right upper door bodies  410 , and  510  are rotated to close the refrigerating chamber  200 , the gaskets  550  on the left, and right upper doors  400 , and  500  come into contact with each other, to close an inside of the refrigerating chamber  200 .  
         [0076]     In this instance, the elastic gaskets  550  come into close contact with each other, to compress each other, thereby minimizing a gap between the left, and right upper door bodies  410 , and  510 . When the left, and right upper door bodies  410 , and  510  are closed, there is a gap formed between the outer cases  520  of the left, and right upper door bodies  410 , and  510  in view of nature of the left, and right upper door bodies  410 , and  510  which rotate thus.  
         [0077]     Then, the heating device  590  on the inside of the one side of the outer cases  520  adjacent to, and facing each other comes into operation, to generate heat to heat the one side of the outer case  520  exposed to an outside of refrigerator.  
         [0078]     The heating of the heating device  590  maintains a temperature of the one side of the outer case  520  constant, to remove moist, formed by a temperature difference between the cold air of the refrigerating chamber  200  and an outside of the refrigerating chamber  200 , from the side of the outer case  520 .  
         [0079]     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the inventions. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.  
         [0080]     For an example, though the embodiments describe on the upper doors  400 , and  500  which close the refrigerating chamber on the upper side of the body  100 , the present invention is applicable to all doors which rotate from opposite sides to close single space regardless the doors are upper doors, or lower doors, or the chamber is refrigerating chamber or the freezing chamber.  
         [0081]     The refrigerator door of the present invention can resolve user&#39;s complaint caused by vapor condensation on facing sides of left, and right doors, taking place due to minute leakage of cold air between a gap of the gaskets, or transfer of heat from the refrigerating chamber.  
         [0082]     Along with this, the base portion distributes heat throughout the end of the door body, to prevent the vapor condensation effectively.  
         [0083]     Moreover, the prevention of the local temperature difference at the ends of the door bodies permits vapor condensation caused by a temperature difference depending on positions of the door bodies.