Patent Publication Number: US-2011048059-A1

Title: Kimchi refrigerator

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 2009-0080107, filed on Aug. 27, 2009 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Field 
     Embodiments relate to a kimchi refrigerator having a drawer-type opening and closing system, capable of reducing a deviation of the inner temperature thereof. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Generally, a refrigerator refers to an apparatus having a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve and an evaporator and thereby preserving freshness of various food through heat transfer achieved by state change of refrigerant. 
     Recently, a kimchi refrigerator has been developed to mature and freshly store kimchi using the above principle of the refrigerator. The kimchi refrigerator matures kimchi to a proper degree according to seasons and users&#39; taste and then maintains a predetermined temperature so that the properly matured taste of kimchi can be maintained for a long time. 
     The kimchi refrigerator adopts a direct cooling system that uses natural convection achieved by the evaporator. However, according to the direct cooling system using the natural convection, a temperature deviation may be caused between an upper part and a lower part of a storage chamber of the refrigerator. 
     Whereas a general refrigerator has a door opened and closed in a lateral direction, the kimchi refrigerator, having a relatively small size, historically has a door hinged on an upper part of a main body and opened and closed in an up and down direction. However, kimchi refrigerators having drawer-type storage chambers are becoming increasingly popular. 
     The kimchi refrigerator having a drawer-type storage chamber is opened at a front part of the storage chamber, which is adjacent to the door. Therefore, loss of cool air occurs mostly at the front part. 
     Thus, in the conventional kimchi refrigerator using natural convection of the evaporator and having the drawer-type storage chamber, a considerable temperature deviation is induced between the upper and lower front parts of the storage chamber. 
     SUMMARY 
     Therefore, it is an aspect to provide a kimchi refrigerator capable of reducing a temperature deviation between upper and lower front parts of a storage chamber thereof. 
     Additional aspects will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. 
     The foregoing and/or other aspects of are achieved by providing a kimchi refrigerator including a storage chamber having an opening at a front thereof; a door opening and closing the storage chamber; an evaporator surrounding the storage chamber in contact with an outer surface of the storage chamber; a basket received in the storage chamber to receive at least one container storing kimchi, and taken in and out of the storage chamber according to the opening and closing operation of the door; and an auxiliary cooling member contacting a surface of a front outer surface of the basket, which is adjacent to the evaporator. 
     The evaporator may be disposed to contact with outer surfaces of both sides and a bottom side of the storage chamber. The auxiliary cooling member may surface-contact both sides and a bottom side of the basket. The auxiliary cooling member is formed of a high thermal-conductivity material. 
     The kimchi refrigerator may further include a mounting member mounted to a rear surface of the door, and the basket may be removably mounted to the mounting member. 
     The kimchi refrigerator may further include moving rails mounted on both sides of the mounting member; and fixed rails formed on both sides of the storage chamber for sliding engagement with the moving rails. 
     The basket may be formed of plastic, and a bending prevention member may be connected to a bottom side of the basket to prevent bending of the basket. 
     The foregoing and/or other aspects may be achieved by providing a kimchi refrigerator including an outer case; an inner case disposed in the outer case to form at least one storage chamber having an opening at a front thereof; a basket received in the storage chamber to receive at least one container; an evaporator mounted in contact with an outer surface of the inner case to cool the storage chamber; and an auxiliary cooling member contacting an outer surface of the basket, which is adjacent to the evaporator. 
     The evaporator may be disposed at both sides and a bottom side of the inner case. 
     The auxiliary cooling member may be disposed at both sides and a bottom side of the basket. The auxiliary cooling member may be made of a high thermal-conductivity material. 
     The kimchi refrigerator may further include a door opening and closing the front of the storage chamber; and a mounting member mounted to a rear surface of the door, wherein the basket is removably mounted to the mounting member. 
     The kimchi refrigerator may further include moving rails mounted on both sides of the mounting member; and fixed rails formed on both sides of the storage chamber for sliding engagement with the moving rails. 
     The auxiliary cooling member may be disposed at a front part of the basket. 
     The basket may be made of plastic, and a bending prevention member may be connected at a bottom side of the basket to prevent bending of the basket. 
     The foregoing and/or other aspects are also achieved by providing a kimchi refrigerator including an outer case; an inner case disposed in the outer case to form at least one storage chamber having an opening at a front thereof; a door opening and closing the storage chamber; a basket received in the storage chamber to receive at least one container, and taken in and out of the storage chamber according to the opening and closing operation of the door; an evaporator mounted in contact with an outer surface of the inner case to cool the storage chamber; an auxiliary cooling member contacting an outer surface of the basket, which is adjacent to the evaporator; and a bending prevention member connected to a bottom of the basket to prevent bending of the basket. 
     The auxiliary cooling member may be made of a high thermal-conductivity material and disposed at a front part of the basket. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       These and/or other aspects 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 a perspective view showing a kimchi refrigerator according to an embodiment; 
         FIG. 2  is a partially exploded perspective view of a door of a storage chamber according to the embodiment of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a bottom view of a basket connected with an auxiliary cooling member of the kimchi refrigerator shown in  FIG. 1 ; and 
         FIG. 4  is a sectional view of the refrigerator of  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing a kimchi refrigerator according to an embodiment.  FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of a part of a storage chamber door.  FIG. 3  is a bottom view of a basket connected with an auxiliary cooling member of the kimchi refrigerator shown in  FIG. 1 .  FIG. 4  is a sectional view of the refrigerator of  FIG. 1 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 1  to  FIG. 4 , the kimchi refrigerator includes a main body  10  having at least one storage chamber  20 , and a door  25  to open and close the storage chamber  25 . 
     The main body  10  includes an outer case  11  forming the exterior appearance thereof, an inner case  13  mounted in the outer case  11  to form the at least one storage chamber  20 , and a machine chamber (not shown) receiving various mechanical parts. 
     As aforementioned, the outer case forms the exterior appearance. An operation panel (not shown) may be formed at one side of the outer case  11 , to select conditions such as maturing time, temperature and type of food to be stored in the storage chamber  20 . 
     At least one storage chamber  20  is formed in the inner case  13 . A basket  30  is provided in the storage chamber  20  to receive containers  40  storing food such as kimchi therein. 
     The storage chamber  20  may include a first storage chamber  20   a  mounted with a door  25   a  opened and closed in a lateral direction, and second and third storage chambers  20   b  and  20   c  disposed under the first storage chamber  20   a  and respectively mounted with doors  25   b  and  25   c  which are opened and closed like a drawer. The kimchi refrigerator according to the embodiments may include one storage chamber  20  having the drawer-type door  25 , or a plurality of the storage chambers. 
     The machine chamber receives parts including a compressor (not shown) compressing refrigerant, and a condenser (not shown) condensing the refrigerant supplied from the compressor. The machine chamber is partitioned from the storage chamber  20 . 
     In addition, a foam  15  such as foamed urethane is stuffed in a space between the outer case  11  and the inner case  13  for heat insulation. 
     An evaporator  50 , in which refrigerant flows to maintain a low inner temperature of the storage chamber  20 , is mounted in the space filled with the foam material  15 . As shown in the drawing, the evaporator  50  takes the form of a general refrigerant pipe. In case of the storage chamber  20  having the drawer-type doors  25   b  and  25   c , the evaporator  50  is mounted to surround both lateral sides and a bottom side of the drawer-type storage chambers  20   b  and  20   c . That is, the evaporator  50  having the refrigerant pipe form is mounted in contact with an inner wall of the inner case  13  so as to surround both sides and the bottom side of the storage chambers  20   b  and  20   c.    
     Cold air transferred from the evaporator  50  to both sides and the bottom side of the storage chambers  20   b  and  20   c  is supplied through natural convection of inner air of the storage chambers  20   b  and  20   c . In other words, the air cooled by heat exchange at the evaporator  50  moves down while warm air moves up. The temperature of the storage chambers  20   b  and  20   c  is decreased through such air convection. 
     A heater (not shown) using electric heating wires may be mounted between the outer case  11  and the inner case  13  to heat the inside of the storage chamber  20 , so as to mature the stored kimchi by maintaining a predetermined temperature proper for maturing thereof. 
     In addition, a mounting member  60  is mounted at a rear surface of the drawer-type doors  25   b  and  25   c . The basket  30  is removably connected to the mounting member  60 . 
     The basket  30  may be made of plastic in the form of a cabinet having an opened upper side. As aforementioned, the basket  30  holds a storage space to receive containers  40  storing food such as kimchi. 
     Flanges  31  are integrally extended outward from both upper ends of the basket  30  so as to be removably mounted to the mounting member  60 . 
     Additionally, a bending prevention member  80  is mounted at a bottom side of the basket  30  so that the basket  30 , which is made of plastic, is not bent due to repeated thermal expansion and contraction. The bending prevention member  80  may be mounted in a lateral direction at the bottom side of the basket  30 . 
     Moving rails  61  are mounted at both sides of the mounting member  60  in a longitudinal direction so that the doors  25   b  and  25   c  are moved in a drawer system, thereby opening and closing the storage chambers  20   b  and  20   c.    
     Also, fixed rails  63  are formed on both sides of the inner case  13  for slidable engagement with the moving rails  61  of the mounting member  60 . Specifically, the fixed rails  63  are mounted in a longitudinal direction on the inner wall of the inner case  13 . 
     Therefore, the basket  30  mounted to the mounting member  60  may be moved forward and backward according to the sliding movement of the moving rails  61  engaged with the fixed rails  63 . Accordingly, the user is able to put in and take out food stored in the containers  40  with respect to the basket  30 . 
     In the basket  30  disposed in the drawer-type storage chambers  20   b  and  20   c , a temperature deviation occurs between an upper part and a lower part of the storage chamber  20  by the natural convection by the evaporator  50  during the operation of the kimchi refrigerator. Especially, the temperature deviation is greater between upper and lower front parts of the storage chambers  20   b  and  20   c , the front parts adjacent to the doors  25   b  and  25   c.    
     To this end, an auxiliary cooling member  70  is provided to reduce the deviation of the inner temperature of the basket  30 . 
     The auxiliary cooling member  70  may be formed of a high thermal-conductivity material including metal such as iron and aluminum, alloys, resins and the like. According to an exemplary embodiment, an aluminum plate may be used as the auxiliary cooling member  70 . 
     The auxiliary cooling member  70  made of the high thermal-conductivity material is disposed adjacent to the evaporator  50  contacting both sides and the bottom side of each of the storage chambers  20   b  and  20   c . Here, the auxiliary cooling member  70  is brought into surface-contact with both outer sides and the bottom side of the basket  30  at the front area of the basket  30 . 
     That is, high temperature at the upper front part in the basket  30  is transferred to the lower front part in the basket  30 . Specifically, the high temperature of the upper front part inside the basket  30  is transferred to the auxiliary cooling member  70  having a low temperature and being disposed adjacent to the evaporator  50 , through an upper end of the auxiliary cooling member  70 . Accordingly, the temperature deviation between the upper and the lower front parts of the basket  30  may be reduced. 
     Meanwhile, both sides and the bottom side of the basket  30  may be frozen by the cold air from the evaporator  50  since these elements are adjacent to the evaporator  50 . However, such freezing may be prevented by the high temperature of the upper front part of the basket  30  transferred through the auxiliary cooling member  70 . 
     As described above, a kimchi refrigerator according to the embodiments may reduce the temperature deviation between upper and lower front parts of a storage chamber, by using an auxiliary cooling member. 
     Although a few embodiments have been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the embodiments, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.