Patent Publication Number: US-2009229186-A1

Title: Refrigerator door opening apparatus

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a refrigerator door opening apparatus, and more particularly to a refrigerator door opening apparatus capable of easily and conveniently opening a refrigerator door, without supplying an electric power. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Conventionally, a refrigerator door comprises a gasket made of soft synthetic resins, and a permanent magnet. The gasket is attached to the refrigerator door along an outer periphery surface inside thereof. The permanent magnet is installed in the gasket. 
     When the refrigerator door is in a closed state, the refrigerator door is maintained in the closed state due to a magnetic attraction of the permanent magnet. In addition, when a user will open the refrigerator door while gripping a knob thereof, it is necessary for the user to pull with all one&#39;s strength. Therefore, the users such as children, seniors, and handicapped people cannot easily open the refrigerator door, thereby there is a difficult to open the refrigerator door. 
     In addition, when the user is in holding things in both hands, it is not easy to open the door of the refrigerator. 
     To solve the above-mentioned problem, Korean Utility Model No. 20-0368371 discloses an apparatus for opening a refrigerator door in such a manner that electric current is supplied to electromagnets installed along outer peripheral side of the refrigerator door, and being operated by a separate switch, thereby causing repelling force between the electromagnets and then opening the refrigerator door. However, when such electromagnets are used, it is lead to power consumption, and thus the cost of maintenance is higher. In addition, since such conventional refrigerator ought to have additional components, such as power supply, switch and the like, for operating the electromagnet, the manufacturing cost of the conventional refrigerator also is higher. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator door opening apparatus capable of easily and conveniently opening a refrigerator door without supplying an electric power, even when a user holds things in both hands. Also, another object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator door opening apparatus in which the maintenance cost and the manufacturing cost of a refrigerator can be reduced. 
     In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus an apparatus opening a refrigerator door, comprising: a foot pedal; a sliding unit for sliding the foot pedal downwardly; and a unit for providing a repelling force with a first and a second portions, the first portion coupled with the foot pedal and the second portion located separately from the first portion. 
     Other objects and advantages of the present invention can be understood by the following description, and become apparent with reference to the embodiments of the present invention. Also, it is obvious to those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains that the objects and advantages of the present invention can be realized by the means as claimed and combinations thereof. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing a refrigerator door opening apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view showing the refrigerator door opening apparatus. 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view showing a foot pedal sliding unit which is comprised in the refrigerator door opening apparatus. 
         FIG. 4  is an exploded perspective view showing a foot pedal and a first operating unit which are comprised in the refrigerator door opening apparatus 
         FIG. 5  is an exploded perspective view showing a second operating unit which is comprised in the refrigerator door opening apparatus. As shown in  FIGS. 1 to 5 , the refrigerator door opening apparatus according to the first embodiment comprises a foot pedal sliding unit  100 ; a foot pedal  110  coupled to a first operating unit  120 ; and a second operating unit  200 . 
         FIGS. 6 and 7  are the drawings showing another embodiment of this invention. 
         FIGS. 8 and 9  are the drawings showing another embodiment of this invention. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS 
     The advantages, features and aspects of the invention will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, which is set forth hereinafter. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the first pedal sliding unit  100  is attached to or installed in an opened lower side of a refrigerator body R 1  so as to support the operation transmitting unit  110  described later in detail. The foot pedal sliding unit  100  is coupled to the foot pedal  110  through at least one of a shaft  10 A vertically fixed to the foot pedal sling unit  100 , and thus the foot pedal  110  can movable vertically along the shaft  10 A. 
     If the foot pedal sliding unit  100  is attached to an outer surface of the refrigerator body R 1 , the foot pedal sliding unit  100  may be attached to the refrigerator body R 1 , but not limited, by means of various coupling methods, such as adhesion, glue, hook, and the like. For example, as shown in  FIG. 3 , the foot pedal sliding unit  100  may be attached to the refrigerator body R 1  by magnetic force of a permanent magnet, which is fixed to an elongated recess  10 C formed on central portion of the foot pedal sliding unit  100 . 
     The foot pedal  110  is coupled to the first operating unit  120 , and may be movably coupled to the foot pedal sliding unit  100  through at least one of the shaft  10 A. When the first operating unit  120  is vertically and downwardly moved along the shaft  10 A of the foot pedal sliding unit  100 , it makes possible for the first operating unit  120  to operate a second support unit  200  to be descried later in detail. As shown in  FIG. 4 , a magnet installing portion  12 A is formed on the first operating unit  120 , and a permanent magnet M 1  is installed to the magnet installing portion  12 A. 
     The foot pedal  120  includes a plate-shaped portion  11 A in which a user pushes down it using one&#39;s foot, for example. An elastic member  10 B (see  FIG. 2 ) is disposed on the shaft  10 A of the foot pedal sliding unit  100 , below the plate-shaped portion  11 A. Therefore, after the plate-shaped portion  11 A is vertically pushed down by a physical part, for example a foot, and the plate-shaped portion  11 A can be returned to initial position thereof by means of the elastic member  10 B. 
     The elastic member  10 B can be formed with a coil spring shown in  FIG. 2 . However, the elastic member  10 B may be employed as a rubber, hydraulic system and the like, but not limited as long as the elastic member  10 B can make the plate-shaped portion  11 A to be returned to initial position thereof using force of restitution. 
     The second operating unit  200 , as shown in  FIG. 2 , is attached to the left downside corner of the refrigerator door, or according to the position of the first operating unit, may be placed inside the door. When anyone pushes downwardly the foot pedal  110  to open automatically the door, the first operating unit  120  and the second operating unit  200  are placed to face each other to open it. At this time, they may include permanent magnets M 1  and M 2  each other with opposite polarity. A magnet acceptable space  20  is formed in the second operating unit  200  to accept the magnet M 2 , as shown in  FIG. 5 , with the opposite polarity against the magnet M 1  of the first operating unit  120 . The second operating unit  200  may be attached to the door R 2  by using the permanent magnet M 2  itself, or any other methods like adhesion, glue, hook, etc. Therefore, when anyone moves vertically and downwardly the foot pedal  110 , the permanent magnets M 1  and M 2  are arranged to face each other, and at this time, by the repelling force of two magnets the door is bound to be opened. 
       FIGS. 6 and 7  are the drawings showing another embodiment of this invention. This door opening apparatus comprises a foot pedal sliding unit  300 , a foot pedal  310  coupled to a first operating unit  320 , and a second operating unit  400 . Except the operation of the first and second operating units  320  and  400 , the other operations are the same as the prior embodiment. At this embodiment, the first operating unit  320  includes a sloped protrusion  32 A, and the second operating unit  400  includes a convexity  40 . When the foot pedal  310  is moved vertically and downwardly, the sloped protrusion  32 A passes by the convexity  40 , and the refrigerator door is bound to be opened. 
       FIGS. 8 and 9  are the drawings showing another embodiment of this invention. This door opening apparatus comprises a foot pedal sliding unit  500 , a foot pedal  510  coupled to a first operating unit  520 , and a second operating unit  600 . Except the operation of the first and second operating units  520  and  600 , the other operations are the same as the prior embodiments. At this embodiment, the first operating unit  520  includes a projected bar  52 A having “L” shape, and the second operating unit  600  forms a sloped hole  60  so as to guide the projected bar  52 A along the hole  60 . Therefore, by the movement of the foot pedal  510 , the projected bar  52 A is moved along the hole  60 , and the refrigerator door is opened. 
     The present application contains subject matter related to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2008-0022629, filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Mar. 11, 2008, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     While the present invention has been described with respect to the specific embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.