Patent Publication Number: US-8112865-B2

Title: Refrigerator cable ejection method

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 2007-0107063, filed on Oct. 24, 2007 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a refrigerator cable ejection method, and, more particularly, to a refrigerator cable ejection method that is capable of more easily ejecting a cable distributed in a refrigerator outside the refrigerator at the time of manufacturing the refrigerator. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Generally, a refrigerator includes a refrigerator body having a storage chamber defined therein, the storage chamber being open at the front thereof, and a door rotatably hinged to the front of the refrigerator body to open or close the storage chamber. 
     At the inside rear of the storage chamber is mounted an evaporator, of a refrigeration cycle, to generate cool air. Consequently, food is stored in the storage chamber for a long time in a refrigerated or frozen state by the cool air generated by the evaporator. 
     The refrigerator further includes other components of the refrigeration cycle, such as a condenser, a compressor, an expanding device, an ice maker to make ice, and various electronic parts such as a lighting unit and a display unit. In the refrigerator body is distributed a cable to supply power to the electronic parts. 
     The refrigerator body includes an inner liner configured to be open at the front thereof such that a space defined by the inner liner constitutes the storage chamber, an outer liner configured to be fitted outside the inner liner, and a foam insulation material filled between the inner liner and the outer liner. Between the inner liner and the outer liner is defined a filling space which is filled with the foam insulation material. The cable is distributed in the filling space before the filling space is filled with the foam insulation material. One end of the cable is ejected out of the outer liner, and the other end of the cable is guided to the respective electronic parts. After the cable is ejected out of the outer liner, a plug is mounted at the ejected end of the cable through a post process. 
     The cable ejection is achieved by a worker pushing one end of the cable into an ejection hole formed at one end of the outer liner inside the outer liner spaced apart somewhat from the inner liner before fitting the outer liner outside the inner liner. In this state, the outer liner is fitted outside the inner liner. 
     In the conventional refrigerator with the above-stated construction, however, the worker pushes the cable into the narrow ejection hole, formed at the outer liner, while holding one end of the cable, to eject the cable. As a result, it is difficult to push the cable into the ejection hole. 
     Furthermore, the cable ejection process is performed before fitting the outer liner outside the inner liner. Consequently, when the outer liner is pushed to the inner liner, such that the outer liner is fitted outside the inner liner, after the cable is ejected, the length of the cable ejected out of the outer liner is excessive. As a result, it is necessary to cut the end of the cable ejected out of the outer liner, such that the ejected end of the cable has a predetermined length, or pull the ejected cable into the filling space, such that the ejected end of the cable has an appropriate length. In the conventional art, therefore, the process to eject the cable, distributed in the refrigerator, out of the outer liner is very troublesome. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Therefore, it is an aspect of the invention to provide a refrigerator cable ejection method that is capable of more easily ejecting a cable distributed in a refrigerator outside the refrigerator at the time of manufacturing the refrigerator. 
     In accordance with one aspect, the present invention provides a refrigerator cable ejection method to eject one end of a cable out of an outer liner through an ejection hole formed at the outer liner before a filling space is filled with a foam insulation material in a refrigerator constructed in a structure in which the outer liner is fitted outside an inner liner, the cable is distributed in the filling space defined between the inner liner and the outer liner, and the filling space is filled with a foam insulation material while the cable is distributed in the filling space, wherein the refrigerator cable ejection method is performed to eject one end of the cable out of the outer liner through the ejection hole at the time of fitting the outer liner outside the inner liner using an ejector including a pass-through member mounted outside the inner liner corresponding to the ejection hole such that the cable passes through the pass-through member and a guide member constructed in a hollow structure to receive the cable, passing through the pass-through member, the guide member being detachably coupled to the pass-through member such that the guide member is ejected out of the outer liner together with the cable received in the guide member through the ejection hole at the time of fitting the outer liner outside the inner liner, and, subsequently, the guide member is separated from the pass-through member. 
     Preferably, the ejector further includes a bracket mounted at the outside of the inner liner, and the pass-through member is mounted at the outside of the inner liner through the bracket. 
     Preferably, the bracket is mounted at the outside bottom of one corner of the inner liner adjacent to the outer liner in a supported fashion, and the ejection hole is formed at the outer liner corresponding to the bracket. 
     Preferably, the pass-through member includes a bracket coupling part coupled to the bracket, a guide member coupling part to which the guide member is detachably coupled, the guide member coupling part being configured to be ejected out of the ejection hole together with the guide member, and an outer liner support part disposed between the bracket coupling part and the guide member coupling part, the outer liner support part being configured to be supported at the inside of the outer liner around the ejection hole in a state in which the guide member coupling part is ejected out of the ejection hole, and the cable passes from the bracket coupling part to the guide member coupling part. 
     Preferably, the bracket coupling part is rotatably coupled to the bracket, the pass-through member further includes a rotation guide part disposed between the outer liner support part and the guide member coupling part, the rotation guide part being configured to be located at the ejection hole, in a state in which the guide member coupling part is ejected out of the ejection hole, to allow the rotation of the pass-through member, and the ejection hole and the guide member coupling part are configured such that the guide member coupling part is fixed to the outer liner in a state in which the guide member coupling part and the ejection hole cross each other by rotating the pass-through member in a state in which the rotation guide part is located in the ejection hole. 
     Preferably, the ejection hole is formed in the shape of a long hole, and the guide member coupling part has a shape and size corresponding to the ejection hole. 
     Preferably, the guide member is provided at the ejection-direction end thereof, ejected through the ejection hole, with a tip end. 
     Additional aspects and/or advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       These and/or other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, of which: 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view illustrating the structure of principal components of a refrigerator to which a refrigerator cable ejection method according to the present invention is applied, including the structure of an ejector used to perform the refrigerator cable ejection method; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view illustrating a cable ejecting process based on the refrigerator cable ejection method according to the present invention before an outer liner is fitted outside an inner liner of the refrigerator; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view illustrating the cable ejecting process based on the refrigerator cable ejection method according to the present invention, a pass-through member of the ejector being fixed in an ejection hole by rotating a guide member of the ejector in a state in which the outer liner is fitted outside the inner liner of the refrigerator; and 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view illustrating the completion of the cable ejecting process based on the refrigerator cable ejection method according to the present invention, a filling space being filled with a foam insulation material. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiment of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. The embodiment is described below to explain the present invention by referring to the figures. 
       FIGS. 1 to 4  illustrate the structure of principal components of a refrigerator to which a refrigerator cable ejection method according to the present invention is applied, including the structure of an ejector  50  used to eject a cable  1  out of a refrigerator body  10 . 
     The refrigerator includes a refrigerator body  10  having a storage chamber  21  defined therein, the storage chamber  21  being open at the front thereof, and a door (not shown) rotatably hinged to the front of the refrigerator body  10  to open or close the storage chamber  21 . 
     The refrigerator body  10  includes an inner liner  20  configured to be open at the front thereof such that a space defined by the inner liner  20  constitutes the storage chamber  21 , an outer liner  30  configured to be fitted outside the inner liner  20 , and a foam insulation material  40  filled between the inner liner  20  and the outer liner  30 . Between the inner liner  20  and the outer liner  30  is defined a filling space  41  which is filled with the foam insulation material  40 . 
     The refrigerator further includes an evaporator to generate cool air to cool the interior of the storage chamber  21 , a condenser/compressor/expanding device constituting a refrigeration cycle together with the evaporator, an ice maker to make ice, and various electronic parts (not shown) such as a lighting unit and a display unit mounted at the front of the door (not shown). In the filling space  41  is distributed a cable to supply power to the electronic parts (not shown). 
     The cable  1  is distributed in the filling space  41  before the filling space  41  is filled with the foam insulation material  40 . One end of the cable  1  is ejected out of the refrigerator body  10  through an injection hole  31  formed at one side of the outer liner  30 , and the other end of the cable  1  is guided to the respective electronic parts (not shown). After the cable  1  is ejected out of the outer liner  30 , a plug (not shown) is mounted at the ejected end of the cable  1  through a post process. 
     Meanwhile, the ejector  50 , used at the time of ejecting the cable  1 , includes a pass-through member  60  mounted outside the inner liner  20  corresponding to the ejection hole  31 , the pass-through member  60  having a pass-through hole  60   a  formed in the longitudinal direction thereof such that the cable  1  passes through the pass-through hole  60   a , a bracket  70  mounted at the outside of the inner liner  20  to fix the pass-through member  60 , and a guide member  80  detachably coupled to the pass-through member  60  to guide the ejection of the cable  1 . 
     The bracket  70  allows the pass-through member  60  to be mounted at the outside of the inner liner  20  without the structural modification of the inner liner  20 . The bracket  70  is mounted at the outside bottom of one corner of the inner liner  20  adjacent to the outer liner  30  in a supported fashion. 
     Specifically, the bracket  70  includes first and second support parts  71  and  72  configured to be supported at adjacent sides of one corner of the inner liner  20  and a third support part  73  configured to be supported at the bottom of one corner of the inner liner  20 . Consequently, the bracket  70  is stably supported at the outside of the inner liner  20 . The bracket  70  may be supported at the outside of the inner liner  20  while the bracket  70  is fixed to the inner liner  20  by an adhesive tape (not shown). The ejection hole  31  is preferably formed at the outer liner  30  corresponding to the bottom of one corner of the inner liner  20  such that the ejection hole  31  corresponds to the pass-through member  60  mounted at the bracket  70 . 
     The guide member  80  is constructed in a hollow structure in which one end of the guide member  80  is open and the other end of the guide member  80  is closed such that the cable  1 , passing through the pass-through member  60 , is received in the guide member  80 . One end of the guide member  80  is fixed to a guide member coupling part  62  of the pass-through member  60 . 
     The guide member  80  is coupled to the pass-through member  60 , one end of the cable  1  is inserted into the guide member  80  through the pass-through member  60 , and the pass-through member  60  is coupled to the bracket  70 . Subsequently, the outer liner  30  is pushed to the inner liner  20  from the rear of the inner liner  20  such that the outer liner  30  is fitted outside the inner liner  20 . As a result, the guide member  80  is ejected out of the outer liner  30  through the ejection hole  31  because the pass-through member  60  is located at a position corresponding to the ejection hole  31 . At this time, the cable  1 , extending into the guide member  80 , is ejected out of the ejection hole  31  together with the guide member  80 . Consequently, when the guide member  80  is pulled out of the outer liner  30  such that the guide member  80  is separated from the pass-through member  60 , the guide member  80  is removed from the outer liner  30 , and, at the same time, one end of the cable  1 , received in the guide member  80 , is exposed outside while being ejected out of the outer liner  30 . 
     The guide member  80  includes a square pillar-shaped member body  81  configured to be coupled to the pass-through member  60  and a tip end  82  formed at the ejection-direction end of the guide member  80  to guide the ejection of the guide member  80 . 
     The open end of the member body  81  is inserted into the guide member coupling part  62 , with the result that the guide member  80  is fixed to the pass-through member  60 . The length of the guide member  80  is decided in consideration of the ejected length of the cable  1  ejected out of the outer liner  30 . The ejected length of the cable  1  is appropriately decided. 
     The pass-through member  60  includes a bracket coupling part  61  coupled to the bracket  70  while being backed up by the bracket  70 , a guide member coupling part  62  to which the guide member  80  is detachably coupled, the guide member coupling part  62  being configured to be ejected out of the ejection hole  31  together with the guide member  80 , an outer liner support part  63  disposed between the bracket coupling part  61  and the guide member coupling part  62 , the outer liner support part  63  being configured to be supported at the inside of the outer liner around the ejection hole  31  in a state in which the guide member coupling part  62  is ejected out of the ejection hole  31 , and a rotation guide part  64  disposed between the outer liner support part  63  and the guide member coupling part  62 , the rotation guide part  64  being configured to be located at the ejection hole  31 , in a state in which the guide member coupling part  62  is ejected out of the ejection hole  31 , to allow the rotation of the pass-through member  60 . 
     The bracket coupling part  61 , the outer liner support part  63 , the rotation guide part  64 , and the guide member coupling part  62  are integrated in the pass-through direction of the cable  1  such that the bracket coupling part  61 , the outer liner support part  63 , the rotation guide part  64 , and the guide member coupling part  62  are sequentially formed from one end to the other end of the pass-through member  60 . The pass-through hole  60   a  is configured to sequentially extend through the bracket coupling part  61 , the outer liner support part  63 , the rotation guide part  64 , and the guide member coupling part  62 . 
     A back-up part  74  is integrally formed at the upper part of the first support part  71  of the bracket  70  such that the bracket coupling part  61  of the pass-through member  60  is coupled to the back-up part  74  in a state in which the bracket coupling part  61  is backed up by the back-up part  74 . The bracket coupling part  61  is formed in the shape of a rod such that the pass-through member  60  can rotate in a state in which the bracket coupling part  61  is coupled to the back-up part  74  in such a manner that the bracket coupling part  61  is backed up by the back-up part  74 . The back-up part  74  is configured to surround at least half of the outside of the bracket coupling part  61  such that the back-up part  74  rotatably supports the bracket coupling part  61 . By the rotation of the pass-through member  60 , the pass-through member  60  is fixed in the ejection hole  31  in a state in which the cable  1  is ejected. Consequently, the pass-through member  60  remains stably fixed in the ejection hole  31  when the filling space is filled with the foam insulation material  40  in a state in which the cable  1  is ejected. 
     Specifically, the ejection hole  31  is formed in the shape of a rectangular long hole having a vertical length greater than a lateral length. The guide member coupling part  62  of the pass-through member  60  is formed in the shape of a rectangular box having a shape and size corresponding to the ejection hole  31  and open toward the outer liner  30  such that the guide member coupling part  62  can pass through the ejection hole  31 . 
     Consequently, when the pass-through member  60  is rotated such that the guide member coupling part  62  and the ejection hole  31  cross each other in a state in which the guide member coupling part  62  is ejected out of the ejection hole  31  and the rotation guide part  64  is located in the ejection hole  31 , as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the guide member coupling part  62  is caught in the ejection hole  31  in a state in which the outer liner support part  63  and the guide member coupling part  62  are supported inside and outside the ejection hole  31 , whereby the pass-through member  60  is fixed in the ejection hole  31  without using an adhesive. 
     At this time, it is possible to conveniently perform the rotation of the pass-through member  60  while holding the guide member  80  ejected out of the ejection hole  31 . It is preferred to remove the guide member  80  in a state in which the pass-through member  60  is fixed in the ejection hole  31 . 
     Hereinafter, a refrigerator cable ejection method using the ejector  50  with the above-stated construction will be described in detail. 
     First, in a state of  FIG. 1 , a worker fixes the bracket  70  to the bottom of one corner of the inner liner  20  corresponding to the ejection hole  31 , such that the bracket  70  is supported by the inner liner  20 , using a tape (not shown). 
     Subsequently, when one end of the member body  81  of the guide member  80  is inserted into the guide member coupling part  62  of the pass-through member  60 , such that the guide member  80  is coupled to the pass-through member  60 , and one end of the cable  1  is pushed into the pass-through hole  60   a  of the pass-through member  60 , the one end of the cable, passing through the pass-through member  60 , extends into the guide member  80 . In this state, the bracket coupling part  61  of the pass-through member  60  is coupled to the back-up part  74  of the bracket  70  in such a manner that the bracket coupling part  61  is backed up by the back-up part  74 . As a result, the pass-through member  60 , to which the guide member  80  is coupled, is fixed to the bracket  70  such that the pass-through member  60  is rotatably supported by the bracket  70 . This state is shown in  FIG. 2 . 
     In this state, the outer liner  30  is fitted outside the inner liner  20 . Since the ejection hole  31  corresponds to the pass-through member  60  and the guide member  80 , the guide member coupling part  62  of the pass-through member  60  and the guide member, coupled to the guide member coupling part  62 , are ejected out of the outer liner  30  through the ejection hole  31  at the time of fitting the outer liner outside the inner liner  20 . At this time, one end of the cable  1 , received in the guide member  80 , is also ejected out of the ejection hole  31  together with the guide member  80 . 
     In a state in which the one end of the cable  1  is ejected out of the outer liner  30  together with the guide member  80 , the worker rotates the pass-through member  80 , such that the guide member coupling part  62  and the ejection hole  31  cross each other, while holding the guide member  80  ejected out of the outer liner  30 . As a result, the pass-through member  60  is fixed in the ejection hole  31 , as shown in  FIG. 3 . Subsequently, when the guide member  80  is pushed out of the outer liner  30  such that the guide member  80  is separated from the pass-through member  60 , the guide member  80  is removed from the outer liner  30 , whereby the one end of the cable  1 , received in the guide member  80 , is exposed in a state in which the one end of the cable  1  is ejected out of the outer liner  30 . 
     In this state, the filling space  41 , defined between the inner liner  20  and the outer liner  30 , is filled with the foam insulation material  40 . At this time, the pass-through member  60  is fixed in the ejection hole  31 , and therefore, the fixation between the pass-through member  60  and the ejection hole  31  is maintained even though the foam insulation material  40  collides with the pass-through member  60  when the filling space  41  is filled with the foam insulation material  40 . 
     In a state in which the filling of the foam insulation material  40  is completed, as shown in  FIG. 4 , the bracket  70  and the pass-through member  60  are more securely fixed in the filling space  41  by virtue of the foam insulation material  40 . A plug (not shown) is mounted at the ejected end of the cable  1  through a post process. 
     In the refrigerator cable ejection method according to this embodiment, one end of the cable  1 , distributed in the filling space  41 , is ejected out of the outer liner  30  at the time of fitting the outer liner  30  outside the inner liner  20 . Consequently, it is possible to more simply perform the cable ejecting process. 
     Also, in the refrigerator cable ejection method according to the present invention, the length of the cable  1  extending into the guide member  80  through the pass-through member  60  corresponds to that of the cable  1  finally ejected out of the outer liner  30 . Consequently, it is possible to appropriately adjust the length of the cable  1  to be ejected out of the outer liner  30 , before fitting the outer liner  30  outside the inner liner  20 , whereby it is not necessary to readjust the length of the cable  1  ejected out of the outer liner  30 . Consequently, it is possible to more easily perform the cable ejecting process. 
     As apparent from the above description, the refrigerator cable ejection method according to the present invention has the effect of ejecting one end of a cable out of an outer liner through an ejector at the time of fitting the outer liner outside an inner liner and easily adjusting the length of the cable ejected out of the outer liner, thereby more easily performing a refrigerator cable ejecting process. 
     Although a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in this embodiment without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.