Patent Publication Number: US-11384973-B2

Title: Refrigerator

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 15/830,666, filed Dec. 4, 2017, which claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2016-0166316, filed Dec. 8, 2016, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Field 
     Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a refrigerator in which an ice-making chamber is provided. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     A refrigerator is a home appliance including a main body having storage compartments, a cooling air supply provided to supply cooling air to the storage compartments, and doors provided to open and close the storage compartments and configured to maintain the freshness of food stored therein. 
     The refrigerator may also include an ice-making chamber for making and storing ice, and in the case of a bottom mounted freezer (BMF) type refrigerator, an ice-making chamber is provided at one corner inside a refrigerator compartment, or at a rear surface of a refrigerator compartment door. 
     An ice maker for making ice and an ice bucket configured to store the ice made by the ice maker and transfer the ice to a dispenser are disposed in the ice-making chamber, and in the case in which the ice-making chamber is provided inside the refrigerator compartment or on the rear surface of the refrigerator compartment door, the door should be opened such that the ice maker and the ice bucket disposed in the ice-making chamber are accessed. 
     SUMMARY 
     To address the above-discussed deficiencies, it is a primary object to provide a refrigerator of which an ice-making chamber is easily accessible. 
     It is another aspect of the present disclosure to provide a refrigerator in which leakage of cooling air is prevented when the ice-making chamber is accessed. 
     It is still another aspect of the present disclosure to provide a refrigerator in which space utilization of a storage compartment increases. 
     It is yet another aspect of the present disclosure to provide a refrigerator in which a storage compartment configured to store food and an ice-making chamber configured to make and store ice are separated from each other and thus a flow of cooling air between the storage compartment and the ice-making chamber is blocked. 
     It is yet another aspect of the present disclosure to provide a refrigerator in which ice making efficiency is improved. 
     Additional aspects of the disclosure will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be appreciated from the description. 
     In accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure, a refrigerator includes: a main body including a wall and a storage compartment formed by the wall; a door rotatably coupled to the main body to open and close the storage compartment, and including an ice-making chamber formed in a front surface of the door to be separated from the storage compartment; a cooling chamber in which a cooler provided inside the wall and configured to generate cooling air is disposed; and a cooling air duct configured to connect the ice-making chamber and the cooling chamber to supply the cooling air generated by the cooler to the ice-making chamber. 
     The wall may include an inner box, an outer box, and an insulation provided between the inner box and the outer box and further include a cooling chamber case buried in the insulation and including the cooling chamber formed thereinside. 
     The refrigerator may further include an auxiliary door provided to open and close the ice-making chamber, wherein the ice-making chamber may be accessible by opening the auxiliary door in a state in which the door is closed. 
     An auxiliary door may be rotatably coupled to the door in a direction different from a rotational direction of the door. 
     An auxiliary door may be rotatable in the same as a rotational direction of the door and cover an entire front surface of the door. 
     The cooling air duct may include a supply duct provided to supply cooling air of the cooling chamber to the ice-making chamber, and a collecting duct provided such that air of the ice-making chamber is collected in the cooling chamber. 
     The supply duct may include a main body supply duct provided in the main body and a door supply duct provided in the door, and the main body supply duct and the door supply duct may be connected to each other when the door is closed, and separated from each other when the door is opened. 
     An inlet of the main body supply duct may be connected to the cooling chamber, an outlet of the door supply duct may be connected to the ice-making chamber, and an outlet of the main body supply duct and an inlet of the door supply duct may be provided to be connected to each other when the door is closed. 
     The collecting duct may include a main body collecting duct provided in the main body and a door collecting duct provided in the door, and the main body collecting duct and the door collecting duct may be connected to each other when the door is closed and separated from each other when the door is opened. 
     An inlet of the door collecting duct may be connected to the ice-making chamber, an outlet of the main body collecting duct may be connected to the cooling chamber, and an outlet of the door collecting duct and an inlet of the main body collecting duct may be connected to each other when the door is closed. 
     The refrigerator may further include an ice maker disposed in the ice-making chamber and configured to make ice, and an ice bucket disposed in the ice-making chamber and configured to store the ice generated by the ice maker. 
     The door may include a dispenser configured to supply ice stored in the ice bucket to the outside, and the ice bucket may include a mover configured to transfer ice to the dispenser. 
     The refrigerator may further include a blower fan disposed in the cooling chamber and configured to circulate cooling air between the ice-making chamber and the cooling chamber through the cooling air duct. 
     The cooler may include at least any one of a vaporizer and a thermoelement. 
     In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, a refrigerator includes: a main body including an upper wall, a bottom wall, a rear wall, a left side wall, a right side wall, and an intermediate wall provided between the upper wall and the bottom wall; a refrigerator compartment formed between the upper wall and the intermediate wall; a freezer compartment formed between the intermediate wall and the bottom wall; a refrigerator compartment door provided to open and close the refrigerator compartment; a freezer compartment door provided to open and close the freezer compartment; an ice-making chamber formed in a front surface of the refrigerator compartment door to be separated from the refrigerator compartment; a cooling chamber provided in the main body, wherein an ice-making chamber cooler is disposed in the cooling chamber to cool the ice-making chamber; a cooling air duct provided to connect the cooling chamber and the ice-making chamber; and a blower fan provided such that cooling air of the cooling chamber flows to the ice-making chamber through the cooling air duct. 
     The cooling chamber may be provided inside any one among the intermediate wall, the rear wall, the upper wall, the left side wall, and the right side wall. 
     The refrigerator may further include a refrigerator compartment cooler provided to cool the refrigerator compartment, and a freezer compartment cooler provided to cool the freezer compartment, wherein the ice-making chamber may be cooled independently of the refrigerator compartment and the freezer compartment. 
     In accordance with still another aspect of the present disclosure, a refrigerator includes: a main body including a refrigerator compartment and a freezer compartment; a door configured to open and close the refrigerator compartment and including an ice-making chamber formed in a front surface of the door to be separated from the refrigerator compartment; a connecting duct configured to connect the ice-making chamber and the freezer compartment; and a thermoelement including a cooling portion configured to absorb heat and a heating portion configured to dissipate the heat, and disposed in the connecting duct to dissipate heat of the ice-making chamber to the freezer compartment to cool the ice-making chamber. 
     The thermoelement may be disposed adjacent to the freezer compartment such that the cooling portion faces the connecting duct and the heating portion faces the freezer compartment. 
     The thermoelement may be disposed adjacent to the ice-making chamber such that the cooling portion faces the ice-making chamber and the heating portion faces the connecting duct. 
     Before undertaking the DETAILED DESCRIPTION below, it may be advantageous to set forth definitions of certain words and phrases used throughout this patent document: the terms “include” and “comprise,” as well as derivatives thereof, mean inclusion without limitation; the term “or,” is inclusive, meaning and/or; the phrases “associated with” and “associated therewith,” as well as derivatives thereof, may mean to include, be included within, interconnect with, contain, be contained within, connect to or with, couple to or with, be communicable with, cooperate with, interleave, juxtapose, be proximate to, be bound to or with, have, have a property of, or the like. 
     Definitions for certain words and phrases are provided throughout this patent document, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that in many, if not most instances, such definitions apply to prior, as well as future uses of such defined words and phrases. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure and its advantages, reference is now made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals represent like parts: 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a view illustrating a front surface of a refrigerator according to one embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a schematic perspective view illustrating main components of the refrigerator of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  illustrates a schematic side cross-sectional view illustrating the main components of the refrigerator of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIGS. 4 to 6  illustrate views of refrigerators according to another embodiment of the present disclosure in which cooling chambers configured to cool an ice-making chamber are provided in a rear wall, an upper wall, and a left side wall of main bodies; 
         FIGS. 7 to 8  illustrates views of a refrigerator according to still another embodiment of the present disclosure in which a thermoelement is used as a cooler for cooling an ice-making chamber; and 
         FIG. 9  illustrates a view of a refrigerator according to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure provided such that an auxiliary door is rotatable in the same rotational direction as a door and covers an entire front surface of the door. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIGS. 1 through 9 , discussed below, and the various embodiments used to describe the principles of the present disclosure in this patent document are by way of illustration only and should not be construed in any way to limit the scope of the disclosure. Those skilled in the art will understand that the principles of the present disclosure may be implemented in any suitably arranged system or device. 
     Hereinafter, the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a view illustrating a front surface of a refrigerator according to one embodiment of the present disclosure,  FIG. 2  illustrates a schematic perspective view illustrating main components of the refrigerator of  FIG. 1 , and  FIG. 3  illustrates a schematic side cross-sectional view illustrating the main components of the refrigerator of  FIG. 1 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 to 3 , a refrigerator  1  may include a main body  10  having a wall and refrigerator and freezer compartments  21  and  22 , doors  30  and  31  rotatably provided to open and close the refrigerator and freezer compartment  21 , and a door  32  slidably provided to open and close the freezer compartment  22 . An ice-making chamber  40  may be formed at a front surface of the door  30  and configured to make and store ice. 
     The wall may include an inner box  18 , an outer box  19  coupled to an outer side of the inner box  18 , and an insulation  20  provided between the inner box  18  and the outer box  19 . The inner box  18  may be formed of a plastic material by injection-molding, and the refrigerator and freezer compartments  21  and  22  may be formed by the inner box  18 . The outer box  19  may be formed of a metal material. A urethane foam insulation may be used as the insulation  20 , and a vacuum insulation panel and the urethane foam insulation may be used as the insulation  20  as necessary. The urethane foam insulation may be formed by coupling the inner box  18  and the outer box  19 , filling a space between the inner box  18  and the outer box  19  with urethane foam in which urethane and a foaming agent are mixed, and foaming the urethane foam. Since the urethane foam has a high adhesive force, a coupling force between the inner box  18  and the outer box  19  may be increased, and when foaming is completed, a sufficient strength may be secured. 
     From another perspective, the wall may include an upper wall  12 , a bottom wall  13 , a rear wall  14 , a left side wall  15 , a right side wall  16 , and an intermediate wall  17 . The intermediate wall  17  may substantially horizontally extend between the upper wall  12  and the bottom wall  13 , and the refrigerator and freezer compartments  21  and  22  may be divided into the upper refrigerator compartment  21  and the lower freezer compartment  22 . The refrigerator compartment  21  may be maintained at a temperature of about 0 to 5 degrees Celsius and may store food under refrigeration, and the freezer compartment  22  may be maintained at a temperature of about minus 30 to 0 degrees Celsius and may store food frozen. 
     The doors  30  and  31  may be rotatably coupled to the main body  10  by hinge members  30   a  and  30   b  in right and left directions. The door  30  may include a door front plate  33 , a door rear plate  34 , and an insulation  35  provided between the door front plate  33  and the door rear plate  34 . The urethane foam insulation may be used as the insulation  35  like the insulation  20  of the main body  10 , and the vacuum insulation panel and the urethane foam insulation may be used as the insulation  35  as necessary. 
     The ice-making chamber  40  may be formed by recessing a part of the door front plate  33 . Accordingly, the ice-making chamber  40  may be separated and insulated from the refrigerator compartment  21  of the main body  10  by the insulation  35 . 
     The ice-making chamber  40  may be formed to have an open front surface, and the open front surface of the ice-making chamber  40  may be opened or closed by an auxiliary door  36 . The auxiliary door  36  may be rotatably coupled to the door  30 . The auxiliary door  36  may be provided to be vertically rotatable about a hinge shaft  37 . 
     An ice maker  41  configured to make ice by freezing water using cooling air of the ice-making chamber  40 , and an ice bucket  42  configured to store the ice made by the ice maker  41  may be disposed in the ice-making chamber  40 . The ice bucket  42  may include a mover  43  configured to transfer stored ice to a dispenser  50 , which will be described below, and an ice crushing blade  46  configured to crush ice. The mover  43  may include a moving motor  45  and a moving member  44  configured to stir or transfer ice using a rotational force of the moving motor  45  while rotating. 
     With the above structure, even in a state in which the door  30  is closed, the ice-making chamber  40  can be accessible by opening only the auxiliary door  36 , the ice bucket  42  can be withdrawn from the ice-making chamber  40 , and the ice maker  41  and the ice bucket  42  can be repaired or replaced. In addition, since a state in which the door  30  is closed is maintained when the main ice-making chamber  40  is accessed, cooling air of the refrigerator compartment  21  cannot leak. 
     The dispenser  50  configured to supply ice to an outside of the door  30  may be provided below the ice-making chamber  40 . The dispenser  50  may include a dispensing space  53  formed to be recessed to receive ice, a dispensing tray  54  on which a container, such as a cup, may be put in the dispensing space  53 , a chute  51  configured to connect a discharging hole of the ice bucket  42  and the dispensing space  53 , an opening and closing member  52  configured to normally close the chute  51  to prevent leakage of cooling air of the ice-making chamber  40  through the chute  51  and open the chute  51  such that ice passes through the chute  51  when the dispenser operates, and a switch  55  from which an operation command of the dispenser may be input. 
     The refrigerator  1  includes a cooler configured to generate cooling air to supply the cooling air to the refrigerator compartment  21 , a freezer compartment  22 , and the ice-making chamber  40 . The cooler may include a refrigerator compartment vaporizer  2 , a freezer compartment vaporizer  4 , and an ice-making chamber vaporizer  62 . The refrigerator compartment vaporizer  2 , the freezer compartment vaporizer  4 , and the ice-making chamber vaporizer  62  may be connected to a compressor  6 , a condenser (not shown), and an expender (not shown), and cooling air may be generated using evaporation latent heat of a refrigerant. 
     Cooling air generated by the refrigerator compartment vaporizer  2  may be supplied to the refrigerator compartment  21  by a refrigerator compartment blower fan  3 , cooling air generated by the freezer compartment vaporizer  4  may be supplied to the freezer compartment  22  by a freezer compartment blower fan  5 , and cooling air generated by the ice-making chamber vaporizer  62  may be supplied to the ice-making chamber  40  by an ice-making chamber blower fan  63 . 
     The refrigerator compartment vaporizer  2  and the refrigerator compartment blower fan  3  may be disposed behind the refrigerator compartment  21 , and the freezer compartment vaporizer  4  and the freezer compartment blower fan  5  may be disposed behind the freezer compartment  22 . The ice-making chamber vaporizer  62  and the ice-making chamber blower fan  63  may be disposed in a cooling chamber  60  provided inside the intermediate wall  17 . 
     The cooling chamber  60  may be formed inside a cooling chamber case  61 , and the cooling chamber case  61  may be installed to be buried in the insulation  20  of the intermediate wall  17 . The cooling chamber case  61  may have substantially a hollow hexahedral shape, and may have a thickness less than that of the intermediate wall  17 . As described above, since the cooling chamber  60  configured to cool the ice-making chamber  40  is provided inside the intermediate wall  17  of the main body, space reduction of the refrigerator and freezer compartments  21  and  22  can be minimized and space utilization can be improved. 
     The refrigerator  1  includes a cooling air duct  70  configured to connect the ice-making chamber  40  and the cooling chamber  60  to supply cooling air generated in the cooling chamber  60  to the ice-making chamber  40 . Since the ice-making chamber  40  is provided in the door  30  and the cooling chamber  60  is provided in the main body  10 , the cooling air duct  70  may be provided such that the ice-making chamber  40  and the cooling chamber  60  are connected when the door  30  is closed and the ice-making chamber  40  and the cooling chamber  60  are separated from each other when the door  30  is opened. 
     The cooling air duct  70  may include supply ducts  72  and  73  provided to supply cooling air of the cooling chamber  60  to the ice-making chamber  40 , and collecting ducts  77  and  76  provided such that the cooling chamber  60  collects air of the ice-making chamber  40 , and may guide the air to circulate between the ice-making chamber  40  and the cooling chamber  60 . 
     The supply ducts  72  and  73  may include the main body supply duct  72  provided in the main body  10 , and the door supply duct  73  provided in the door  30 . An inlet  72   a  of the main body supply duct  72  may be connected to the cooling chamber  60 , an outlet  73   b  of the door supply duct  73  may be connected to the ice-making chamber  40 , and an outlet  72   b  of the main body supply duct  72  and an inlet  73   a  of the door supply duct  73  may be provided to be connected to each other when the door  30  is closed. 
     The collecting ducts  76  and  77  may include the main body collecting duct  76  provided in the main body  10  and the door collecting duct  77  provided in the door  30 . An inlet  77   a  of the door collecting duct  77  may be connected to the ice-making chamber  40 , an outlet  76   b  of the main body collecting duct  76  may be connected to the cooling chamber  60 , and an outlet  77   b  of the door collecting duct  77  and an inlet  76   a  of the main body collecting duct  76  may be provided to be connected to each other when the door  30  is closed. 
     Sealing members  78  configured to maintain sealing of a connecting portion between the main body supply duct  72  and the door supply duct  73  and sealing of a connecting portion between the main body collecting duct  76  and the door collecting duct  77  in a state in which the door  30  is closed may be provided in the door  30 . 
     In the present embodiment, although the cooling air duct  70  passes through the intermediate wall  17 , the cooling air duct  70  may also be provided to pass through the left and right side walls  15  and  16  or the upper wall  12 . 
     With the above structure, since the ice-making chamber  40  is independently separated from the refrigerator compartment  21  and the freezer compartment  22 , and the cooling air duct  70  directly connects the ice-making chamber  40  and the cooling chamber  60  without passing through the refrigerator compartment  21  and the freezer compartment  22 , odors of food stored in the refrigerator compartment  21  and the freezer compartment  22  are not introduced into the ice-making chamber  40 , a temperature and a humidity of the ice-making chamber  40  may be maintained independently of the refrigerator compartment  21  and the freezer compartment  22 . 
       FIGS. 4 to 6  illustrate views of refrigerators according to another embodiment of the present disclosure in which cooling chambers configured to cool an ice-making chamber are provided in a rear wall, an upper wall, and a left side wall of main bodies. 
     The refrigerators according to another embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to  FIGS. 4 to 6 . The same reference numerals in the drawings denote the same elements as those of the above-described embodiment, and the descriptions thereof may be omitted. 
     A cooling chamber  60  for supplying cooling air to an ice-making chamber  40  may not be provided inside an intermediate wall  17  of a main body  10 , but may be provided inside the other walls of the main body  10 . For example, the cooling chamber  60  may be provided inside a rear wall  14  of the main body  10  as illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the cooling chamber  60  may be provided inside an upper wall  12  of the main body  10  as illustrated in  FIG. 5 , and the cooling chamber  60  may be provided inside a left side wall  15  or right side wall  16  of the main body  10  as illustrated in  FIG. 6 . 
       FIGS. 7 to 8  illustrate views of a refrigerator according to still another embodiment of the present disclosure in which a thermoelement is used as a cooler for cooling an ice-making chamber. 
     An example in which a thermoelement is disposed adjacent to a freezer compartment is illustrated in  FIG. 7 , and an example in which the thermoelement is disposed adjacent to an ice-making chamber is illustrated in  FIG. 8 . 
     A refrigerator  200  according to still another embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to  FIG. 7 . The same reference numerals in the drawings denote the same elements as those of the above-described embodiment, and the descriptions thereof may be omitted. 
     Unlike the vaporizer of the above-described embodiment, a thermoelement  262  may be used as a cooler configured to generate cooling air for supplying the cooling air to an ice-making chamber  40 . 
     The thermoelement  262  includes a cooling portion  262   a  formed on one surface thereof to absorb heat and a heating portion  262   b  formed on the opposite surface thereof to dissipate heat, the cooling portion  262   a  absorbs heat, and the heating portion  262   b  dissipates the heat according to the Peltier effect. 
     The refrigerator  200  may include a connecting duct ( 260  and  270 ) configured to connect an ice-making chamber  40  and a freezer compartment  22 , and the thermoelement  262  may be disposed in the connecting duct ( 260  and  270 ). 
     The connecting duct ( 260  and  270 ) may include a cooling chamber  260  formed such that one surface of the cooling chamber  260  in an intermediate wall  17  of a main body  10  is in contact with a freezer compartment  22 , and a cooling air duct  270  configured to connect the cooling chamber  260  and the ice-making chamber  40 . The cooling chamber  260  may be formed inside a cooling chamber case  261 , and the cooling chamber case  261  may be installed to be buried in an insulation  20 . 
     The thermoelement  262  may be disposed adjacent to the freezer compartment  22  such that the cooling portion  262   a  faces the connecting duct ( 260  and  270 ), and the heating portion  262   b  faces the freezer compartment  22 . A blower fan  269  may be formed such that cooling air generated by the cooling portion  262   a  of the thermoelement  262  flows to the ice-making chamber  40  through the connecting duct ( 260  and  270 ). 
     A cooling portion heat transfer member  263  may be attached to the cooling portion  262   a , and a heating portion heat transfer member  266  may be attached to the heating portion  262   b . The cooling portion heat transfer member  263  may include a base  264  in surface contact with the cooling portion  262   a  and a thermal exchange pin  265 , and the heating portion heat transfer member  266  may include a base  267  in surface contact with the heating portion  262   b , and a thermal exchange pin  268 . 
     With the above structure, since the thermoelement  262  absorbs heat of the ice-making chamber  40  and dissipates the heat to the freezer compartment  22 , the thermoelement  262  can cool the ice-making chamber  40 . Since a temperature of the freezer compartment  22  is generally maintained at a temperature of a refrigerator compartment  21  or at a temperature less than room temperature, heat of the heating portion  262   b  of the thermoelement  262  is dissipated to the freezer compartment  22  rather than an outside of the refrigerator compartment  21  or the refrigerator, a temperature difference between the cooling portion  262   a  and the heating portion  262   b  of the thermoelement  262  decreases, and thus cooling efficiency of the ice-making chamber  40  may be improved. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 8 , the thermoelement  262  may also be disposed adjacent to the ice-making chamber  40 . 
     The refrigerator  200  may include the connecting duct ( 260  and  270 ) configured to connect the ice-making chamber  40  and the freezer compartment  22 , and the thermoelement  262  may be disposed in the connecting duct ( 260  and  270 ). 
     The connecting duct ( 260  and  270 ) may include a cooling chamber  260  formed such that one surface of the cooling chamber  260  inside a door  30  is connected to the ice-making chamber  40 , and a cooling air duct  270  configured to connect the cooling chamber  260  and the freezer compartment  22 . The cooling chamber  260  is formed inside the cooling chamber case  261 , and the cooling chamber case  261  may be installed to be buried in the insulation  35  of the door  30 . 
     The thermoelement  262  may be disposed adjacent to the ice-making chamber  40  such that the cooling portion  262   a  faces the ice-making chamber  40  and the heating portion  262   b  faces to the connecting duct ( 260  and  270 ). The blower fan  269  may be provided such that air flows to dissipate heat of the heating portion  262   b  of the thermoelement  262  to the freezer compartment  22 . 
       FIG. 9  illustrates a view of a refrigerator according to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure provided such that an auxiliary door is rotatable in the same rotational direction as a door and covers an entire front surface of the door. 
     The refrigerator according to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to  FIG. 9 . The same reference numerals in the drawings denote the same elements as those of the above-described embodiment, and the descriptions thereof may be omitted. 
     Unlike the above-described embodiment, an auxiliary door  336  may be provided to rotate in the same as a rotational direction of a door  330 , and cover an entire front surface of the door  330 . 
     A refrigerator  300  may include a main body  310  having a refrigerator compartment  321  and a freezer compartment  322 , a pair of doors  330  and  331  rotatably provided to open and close the refrigerator compartment  321 , and a door  332  slidably provided to open and close the freezer compartment  322 . 
     An ice-making chamber  340  configured to make and store ice may be formed in the front surface of the door  330 . An ice maker  341  configured to make ice, and an ice bucket  342  configured to store the ice may be disposed in the ice-making chamber  340 . A dispenser  350  configured to supply to the outside may be provided in the door  330 . 
     The doors  330  and  331  may be rotatably coupled to the main body  310  in left and right directions by hinge members  330   a  and  331   a . The refrigerator  300  may include an auxiliary door  336  provided to open and close the ice-making chamber  340 . The auxiliary door  336  may be rotatably provided in a left-right direction which is the same direction as a rotational direction of the door  330 , and may have a size to cover the entire front surface of the door  330 . The auxiliary door  336  may be rotatably coupled to the door  330  or the main body  310  by a hinge member  337 . 
     As is apparent from the above description, since an ice-making chamber is formed in a front surface of a door, an ice maker and an ice bucket disposed in the ice-making chamber can be easily accessed without opening a door. 
     Ice can be easily withdrawn, and an ice maker and an ice bucket can be easily repaired and replaced. 
     Since a state in which a door is closed is maintained when an ice-making chamber is accessed, cooling air of a storage compartment cannot leak. 
     Since an ice-making chamber is formed in a front surface of a door and a cooler configured to cool the ice-making chamber is provided inside a partition wall of a main body, space utilization of the storage compartment can be improved. 
     Since an ice-making chamber and a storage compartment configured to store food are formed to be separated from each other and cooling air is supplied to the ice-making chamber and the storage compartment through independent routes, cooling air cannot flow between the ice-making chamber and the storage compartment, and thus odors of the storage compartment cannot be transferred to the ice-making chamber. 
     Since a thermoelement is provided such that heat of an ice-making chamber is not dissipated to an outside of a refrigerator, which is at room temperature, or a refrigerator compartment but is dissipated to a freezer compartment having a relatively low temperature, ice making efficiency can be improved. 
     Although the technical sprit of the present disclosure has been described with reference to specific embodiments, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described specific embodiments. Various other embodiments that may be changed or modified by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure defined by the appended claims fall within the scope of the present disclosure. 
     Although the present disclosure has been described with an exemplary embodiment, various changes and modifications may be suggested to one skilled in the art. It is intended that the present disclosure encompass such changes and modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims.