Patent Publication Number: US-8991953-B2

Title: Refrigerator with drawer sealing apparatus

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §119(a), this application claims the benefit of earlier filing date and right of priority to Korean Application No. 10-2012-0103534, filed on Sep. 18, 2012, the contents of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     1. Field of the Disclosure 
     This specification relates to a refrigerator with a drawer sealing apparatus, and more particularly, to a refrigerator with a sealing apparatus disposed in a drawer, capable of preventing a deteriorated level of seal in a closed state of the drawer generally used as a vegetable chamber. 
     2. Background of the Disclosure 
     As is well known, a refrigerator is an apparatus for storing foods in a frozen or refrigerated state so as to be maintained in a fresh state for an extended time. 
     The refrigerator may include a refrigerator main body having a cooling chamber, and a door for opening and closing the cooling chamber. The refrigerator main body may include a refrigerating cycle system for providing cold air into the cooling chamber. 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating one example of the related art refrigerator,  FIG. 2  is a perspective view illustrating a vegetable chamber of the related art refrigerator,  FIG. 3  is a sectional view illustrating a closed sealed state of a drawer door and a case,  FIG. 4  is a sectional view illustrating a gasket disposed on the drawer door, and  FIG. 5  is an enlarged view of main parts of  FIG. 3 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the refrigerator may include a refrigerator main body  10  having a cooling chamber  20 , and a cooling chamber door  30  for opening and closing the cooling chamber  20 . 
     The cooling chamber  20  may include a freezing chamber  21  and a refrigerating chamber  22 . 
     The cooling chamber door  30  may include a freezing chamber door  31  and a refrigerating chamber door  32  for opening and closing the freezing chamber  21  and the refrigerating chamber  22 , respectively. 
     The refrigerating chamber  22  may include therein a plurality of shelves  41  partitioning the refrigerating chamber  22  in a vertical direction. 
     Meanwhile, the refrigerating chamber  22  may include therein a so-called vegetable chamber  50  for storing vegetables and/or fruits. 
     The vegetable chamber  50  may be provided in plurality. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , each vegetable chamber  50  may include a case  54  and a drawer  16  received in the case  54 , which can be drawn out and received along back and forth directions with respect to the case  54 . 
     The drawer  16  may include a drawer door  16   a  disposed on a front thereof for sealing the case  54 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , in the vegetable chamber  50  of the related art refrigerator, the inside of the vegetable chamber  50  may be sealed by a gasket G disposed along an edge of the drawer door  16   a.    
     Referring to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the gasket G may include a body part G 1  fixed to the drawer door  16   a , and a sealing part G 2  contacting an edge of an opening of the case  43  to block external air. 
     However, in the vegetable chamber  50  of the related art refrigerator, when the drawer door  16  is closed on the case  54 , the gasket G may come off due to impact or vibration of the vegetable chamber  50 , which may make it difficult to completely seal the case  54 , causing difficulty in maintaining the sealed state of the inside of the vegetable chamber  50 . 
     SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     Therefore, to obviate the drawbacks of the related art, an aspect of the detailed description is to provide a refrigerator having a drawer sealing apparatus, capable of preventing a deterioration of vacuum sealing ability of an inside of a vegetable chamber due to a gasket between a case of the vegetable chamber and a drawer door coming off in a closed state of a drawer of the vegetable chamber. 
     To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of this specification, as embodied and broadly described herein, there is provided a refrigerator having a drawer sealing apparatus including a refrigerator main body having a cooling chamber, a case disposed within the cooling chamber and forming an accommodation space with a front opening, a drawer accommodated in the case to be drawn out, a drawer door for opening and closing the front opening of the case as the drawer is closed, and a sealing apparatus comprising a drawer side member disposed on the drawer door and a case side member disposed on the case. 
     The sealing apparatus may have a sealing position where the drawer side member and the case side member are engaged with each other to maintain a sealed state when the drawer door is closed, and an unsealing position where the engaged state is released when the drawer door is open. 
     The drawer side member may include a drawer fixing unit fixed to a lower portion of the drawer door, and a fixing hook disposed at the drawer fixing portion. 
     The case side member may include a case fixing holder fixed to a lower portion of the case, and a movable hook mounted on the case fixing holder to be hinge-rotated. 
     The movable hook may be rotated to be stopped by the fixing hook when engaged with the fixing hook in the sealing position, and rotated to be released from the fixing hook in the unsealing position. 
     The movable hook may also include a hook hinge fixed to the case fixing holder. 
     The movable hook may be rotated centering on the hook hinge as a shaft such that a stopping hook formed on an end portion of the movable hook couples to a stopping portion formed on the fixing hook. 
     The case side member may include a hinge shaft formed on one end thereof and fixed to the case fixing holder, and a telescopic member formed on the other end thereof and contactable with the movable hook. 
     The telescopic member may include a telescopic rod expanded in the sealing position and contracted in the unsealing position. 
     The movable hook and the telescopic member may include engagement curved portions, respectively, on contact portions therebetween, and the telescopic member may be rotated to be expanded and contracted in response to the hinge-rotation of the movable hook. 
     In accordance with another exemplary embodiment, the case side member may further include a spring configured to allow one end portion of the telescopic rod to be maintained in a contact state with the movable hook. 
     The telescopic rod may be mounted in the spring, and both ends of the spring may be locked at both end portions of the telescopic member to have an elastic restoring force in an expanding direction of the telescopic member. 
     In accordance with another exemplary embodiment, the telescopic member may include a movable hook pressing member configured to press the fixing hook to hinge-rotate the movable hook when being engaged into the sealing position. 
     The movable hook may include a rotation pressing protrusion pressed by the movable hook pressing member such that the movable hook is rotated centering on the hook hinge as a shaft. 
     Preferably, the movable hook pressing member may be an elastic bar having one end fixed to the hinge shaft of the telescopic member and the other end contactable with the rotation pressing protrusion. 
     In accordance with another exemplary embodiment, the case fixing holder may include a hook stopping jaw and the movable hook comprises a holder stopping jaw. 
     In accordance with those aspects of the present disclosure, by an operation of simply pressing a drawer toward a case for accommodation of the drawer, the drawer may be hermetically accommodated in the case and simultaneously the hermetic state may be maintained. 
     Also, for convenience of stopping and releasing a hook, a spring which applies an elastic restoring force in an expanding direction may be separately provided on a telescopic member, which may allow for conversion into a sealing position and an unsealing position even by a small force. 
     The present disclosure may also prevent a gasket, which is disposed between the case and the drawer, from coming off when a drawer door is closed, which may result in further improvement of a sealing performance of an inside of a vegetable chamber. 
     In addition, as components associated with an operation of the drawer are accommodated within the drawer, unexpected locking (restrictions) which may be caused due to those components being externally exposed may be minimized. 
     Further scope of applicability of the present application will become more apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the disclosure, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the detailed description. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosure and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate exemplary embodiments and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure. 
       In the drawings: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating one example of a related art refrigerator; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view illustrating a vegetable chamber of the related art refrigerator; 
         FIG. 3  is a sectional view illustrating a closed state of a drawer door and a case illustrated in  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a sectional view illustrating a gasket disposed on the drawer door of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  is an enlarged view of main parts of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view illustrating a refrigerator with a vegetable chamber in accordance with one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the vegetable chamber in accordance with one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 8  is a sectional view illustrating a closed state of a drawer door of  FIG. 7 ; 
         FIG. 9  is a perspective view illustrating a sealing apparatus for the vegetable chamber of the exemplary embodiment; 
         FIG. 10A  is a planar sectional view illustrating a state that the drawer is located at an unsealing position; and 
         FIG. 10   b  is a planar sectional view illustrating a state that the drawer is located at a sealing position. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     Description will now be given in detail of a refrigerator having a drawer sealing apparatus according to the exemplary embodiments, with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     Furthermore, the terms including an ordinal number such as first, second, and etc., can be used to describe various elements, but the elements should not be limited by those terms. The terms are used merely for the purpose to distinguish an element from the other element. 
     The accompanying drawings are used to help easily understood the technical idea of the present invention and it should be understood that the idea of the present invention is not limited by the accompanying drawings. The idea of the present invention should be construed to extend to any alterations, equivalents and substitutes besides the accompanying drawings. 
     As illustrated in  FIGS. 6 to 8 , a refrigerator having a drawer sealing apparatus in accordance with one exemplary embodiment may include a refrigerator main body  110  having a cooling chamber  120  providing a storage space, a case  140  disposed within the cooling chamber and forming an accommodating space with a front opening, a drawer  160  accommodated in the case  140  to be drawn out, a drawer door  165  for closing the front opening of the case  140  as the drawer  160  is pushed in, and a sealing apparatus  300  having a drawer side member  310  disposed on the drawer door  165  and a case side member  330  disposed on the case  140 . 
     The refrigerator main body  110  may further include a cooling chamber door  130  for opening and closing the cooling chamber  120 . The cooling chamber  120  may be partitioned into a freezing chamber  121  and a refrigerating chamber  122 . Here, the arrangement of the freezing chamber  121  and the refrigerating chamber  122  may not be limited to that illustrated. The chambers may also be vertically arranged, or a case including a plurality of freezing chambers and refrigerating chambers may also be taken into account. 
     The cooling chamber door  130  may include a freezing chamber door  131  for opening and closing the freezing chamber  121 , and a refrigerating chamber  132  for opening and closing the refrigerating chamber door  132 . A plurality of shelves  125  may be disposed within the refrigerating chamber  122 , and the drawer  160  may be installed in one or more of the plurality of shelves  125 . Here, the drawer may be, as illustrated, installed in plurality or only one drawer may also be provided. 
     The drawer  160  may be accommodated within the case  140  to be drawn out. The case  140  may have the front opening facing the front of the refrigerating chamber  122 . Accordingly, the drawer  160  may be drawn out and accommodated along back and forth directions of the refrigerating chamber  122 . 
     The case  140  may have a rectangular parallelepiped shape with the front surface open. A flange  143  may externally extend from the front surface of the case  140 . Here, the case  140 , for example, may be made of synthetic resin. 
     A plurality of ribs may be formed on an outer surface of the case  140  to improve rigidity of the case  140 . Meanwhile, the refrigerator may include a de-compressor system or a pump (not shown) for decompressing the inside of the case  140 . 
     The drawer  160  may include an accommodating portion for receiving foods, and a front portion disposed at the front of the accommodating portion. A drawer door  165  may be formed on the front portion. The drawer door  165  may extend from the accommodating portion to close the front opening of the case  140 . 
     The drawer door  165  may come in contact with the flange  143  formed on an edge of the front opening of the case  140 . Here, the drawer door  165  may have a rectangular parallelepiped shape to correspond to the front opening of the case  140 . 
     A gasket G as a sealing member may be disposed between the drawer  160  and the case  140 . Here, the gasket G may be fixed to one of the drawer  160  or the case  140 . 
     The gasket G may come in contact with the flange  143  as the front opening of the case  140  to block a gap between the drawer door  165  and the case  140 , thereby sealing an inner space. 
     The gasket G, for example, may be formed of rubber. 
     The gasket G may have a closed loop shape (a shape similar to a rectangular ring). 
     Meanwhile, referring to  FIG. 8 , a sealing apparatus  300  may be disposed at the drawer  160  and the case  140 . The sealing apparatus  300  may allow the inner space of the drawer  160  and the case  140  to be hermetically sealed from the exterior when the drawer  160  is accommodated in the case  140 . 
     The sealing apparatus  300  may be provided with a drawer side member  310  disposed on the drawer door  165  and a case side member  330  disposed on the case  140 . 
     The sealing apparatus  300  may have a sealing position where the drawer side member  310  and the case side member  330  are engaged with each other to maintain the sealed state when the drawer door  165  is closed, and an unsealing position where the drawer side member  310  and the case side member  330  are separated from each other when the drawer door  165  is open. 
     Referring to  FIG. 9 , the drawer side member  310  may include a drawer fixing portion  311  fixed to a lower portion of the drawer door  165 , and a fixing hook  313  disposed at the drawer fixing portion  311 . 
     The sealing apparatus  300  may improve a sealing force by pulling on the drawer in a closing direction when the drawer is closed, by allowing the drawer side member  310  and the case side member  330  to be engaged with each other while being fixed to the lower portion of the drawer door  165  and a lower portion of the case  140 , respectively. 
     The case side member  330  may include a case fixing holder  331  fixed to the lower portion of the case  140 , and a movable hook  333  mounted in the case fixing holder  331  to be hinge-rotated. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 9 ,  10   a  and  10   b , the case fixing holder  331  may serve as a housing in which components such as the movable hook  333  and a telescopic member  335  are assembled. 
       FIG. 10A  is a planar sectional view illustrating in detail an unsealed position as an open state of the drawer, and  FIG. 10   b  is a planar sectional view illustrating in detail a sealed position as a closed state of the drawer. 
     As illustrated in  FIGS. 10A and 10B , the movable hook  333  may be hinge-rotated to be stopped when being engaged with the fixing hook  313  in the sealing position, and hinge-rotated to be released from the fixing hook  313  in the unsealing position. 
     The movable hook  333  may include a hook hinge  333   b  fixed to the case fixing holder  331 . 
     The movable hook  333  may preferably be made of plastic with high rigidity into a shape of plate similar to a shape of “└.” 
     The hook hinge  333   b  may be formed on a central corner of the “└”-shaped movable hook  333 . The hook hinge  333   b  may be fixed within the case fixing holder  331  such that the movable hook  333  can be rotated about the hook hinge  333   b  within a predetermined angle. 
     A stopping hook  333   a  engaged with the fixing hook  313  may be formed on a left end portion of the movable hook  333 . Also, a hook stopping jaw  331   a  may be formed on the movable hook  333  on an opposite side of the stopping hook  333   a.    
     Accordingly, the movable hook  333  may be rotated centering on the hook hinge  333   b  such that the stopping hook  333   a  formed on the end portion thereof can be coupled to a stopping portion  313   a  formed on the fixing hook  313 . 
     Still referring to  FIGS. 10A and 10B , the case side member  330  may include a hinge shaft  335   b  disposed on one end thereof and fixed to the case fixing holder  331 , and a telescopic member  335  disposed on the other end thereof and contactable with the movable hook  333 . 
     One end of the telescopic member  335 , as illustrated in  FIGS. 10A and 10B , may preferably be hinge-fixed to an inner edge of the case fixing holder  331 . 
     The telescopic member  335  may include a telescopic rod  335   d  which is expanded in the sealing position and contracted in the unsealing position. 
     The telescopic rod  335   d  may be formed such that two pipes with different diameters are inserted into a shape of telescope so as to be expendable and contractible. 
     The movable hook  333  and the telescopic member  335  may include engagement curved portions  333   c  and  335   c  on contact portions therebetween, respectively. This may allow one end portion of the telescopic member  335  to be smoothly slidable in a contact state with the movable hook  333 . 
     In detail, the dome-like curved portion  335   c  may be formed on a left end of the telescopic member  335 . The engagement curved portion  333   c  which is recessed to accommodate the curved portion  335   c  of the telescopic member  335  so as to be rollable thereon may be formed on an upper side of the movable hook  333 . 
     The telescopic member  335  and the movable hook  333  may cooperatively be rotated centering on the hinge shaft  335   c  and the hook hinge  333   b , respectively. During the cooperative rotation, a length of the telescopic member  335  may change. 
     The telescopic member  335  may be expanded when it is located at the sealing position as illustrated in  FIG. 10B , and contracted when it is located at the unsealing position as illustrated in  FIG. 10A . 
     Here, the case side member  330  may include a spring  337  having an elastic restoring force to control the expansion and contraction of the telescopic rod  335   d . The spring  337  may allow one end portion of the telescopic rod  335   d  to be maintained in the contact state with the movable hook  333 . 
     Also, the telescopic rod  335   d  may be mounted in the spring  337 . Both ends of the spring  337  may preferably be locked at both end portions of the telescopic member  335  to have an elastic restoring force in an expanding direction. 
     That is, the spring  337  may have the elastic restoring force in a direction that the telescopic rod  335   d  is expanded. Referring to  FIG. 10A , the both ends of the spring  337  may be locked in stopping jaws formed on the both end portions of the telescopic member  335 . 
     Accordingly, the spring  337  may have the elastic restoring force toward being expanded in a lengthwise direction. The spring  337  may have a greater elastic restoring force when the drawer is open to be unsealed as illustrated in  FIG. 10A , and have a smaller elastic restoring force when the drawer is closed to be sealed as illustrated in  FIG. 10B . 
     Since the elastic restoring force of the spring  337  is, of course, apt to move in a direction from having the greater elastic restoring force to the smaller elastic restoring force, the movable hook  333  may be affected by a force applied toward the sealing position in a state where an external force is separately applied. Accordingly, the movable hook  333  may pull on the fixing hook  313  fixed to the drawer door  165  so as to allow for maintenance of the sealing force. 
     Meanwhile, the telescopic member  335  may include a movable hook pressing member  335   a  pressed by the fixing hook  313  upon being engaged into the sealing position so as to hinge-rotate the movable hook  333 . 
     The movable hook  333  may include a rotation pressing protrusion  333   e  pressed by the movable hook pressing member  335   a  such that the movable hook  333  can be rotated based on the hook hinge  333   b.    
     The rotation pressing protrusion  333   e  may be located with being spaced from the hook hinge  333   b  of the movable hook  333 . Accordingly, the rotation pressing protrusion  333   e  may receive a rotation moment by the movable hook pressing member  335   e  so as to rotate the movable hook  333 . 
     Preferably, the movable hook pressing member  335   a  may have a shape of elastic bar having one end fixed to the hinge shaft  335   b  of the telescopic member  335 , and the other end coming in contact with the rotation pressing protrusion  333   e.    
     The movable hook pressing member  335   a  may be made of plastic having high rigidity, and preferably be formed as a member which is not easily bent or broken by a pressing force from a lower side. 
     When the drawer is closed, the movable hook pressing member  335   a  may allow the rotation pressing protrusion  333   e  to be inwardly moved. This may prevent the rotation pressing protrusion  333   e  from being separated from the movable hook pressing member  335   a.    
     In accordance with another exemplary embodiment, the case fixing holder  331  may include a hook stopping jaw  331   a , and the movable hook  333  may include a holder stopping jaw  333   d.    
     Referring to  FIGS. 10A and 10B , the hook stopping jaw  331   a  and the holder stopping jaw  333   d  may come in contact with each other in the unsealing position, to limit a rotation range of the movable hook  333 . This may allow the movable hook  333  to stay at the unsealing position, as illustrated in  FIG. 10A . 
     The foregoing embodiments and advantages are merely exemplary and are not to be construed as limiting the present disclosure. The present teachings can be readily applied to other types of apparatuses. This description is intended to be illustrative, and not to limit the scope of the claims. Many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The features, structures, methods, and other characteristics of the exemplary embodiments described herein may be combined in various ways to obtain additional and/or alternative exemplary embodiments. 
     As the present features may be embodied in several forms without departing from the characteristics thereof, it should also be understood that the above-described embodiments are not limited by any of the details of the foregoing description, unless otherwise specified, but rather should be construed broadly within its scope as defined in the appended claims, and therefore all changes and modifications that fall within the metes and bounds of the claims, or equivalents of such metes and bounds are therefore intended to be embraced by the appended claims.