Patent Publication Number: US-2012037642-A1

Title: Refrigerator

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 2010-0077592, filed on Aug. 11, 2010 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Field 
     Embodiments of the present invention relate to a refrigerator having doors to open and close storage chambers provided in a main body. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     In general, refrigerators are apparatuses which are provided with components of a refrigerating cycle to store articles received therein in a frozen or refrigerated state using cool air generated by an evaporator of the refrigerating cycle. 
     A refrigerator includes a main body provided with storage chambers to store articles, such as food, and doors to open and close the storage chambers. Each door is installed such that one side end thereof is rotatably connected to one side of the main body and is rotated in the rightward and leftward directions to open and close each storage chamber. 
     Recently, among refrigerators, a refrigerator, in which an opening is provided on a door and a sub-door to open and close the opening is installed at the opening so as to allow articles within a storage chamber to be taken out of the storage chamber without opening the door, has been developed and placed on the market. 
     SUMMARY 
     Therefore, it is an aspect of the present invention to provide a refrigerator in which upper hinge modules are easily embedded in the upper surface of a main body. 
     Additional aspects 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. 
     In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a refrigerator includes a main body provided with storage chambers, an outer case forming an external appearance of the main body, an inner case disposed at the inside of the outer case and forming the storage chambers, and a heat insulating member formed by filling a space between the outer case and the inner case with foaming resin, wherein the outer case includes a main frame obtained by bending a metal plate into a U shape and forming a lower surface and both side surfaces of the main body, and upper frames installed on the main frame and forming an upper surface of the main body. 
     The refrigerator may further include doors, each of which is provided with one end installed on the main body, to open and close the storage chambers, upper hinge modules to enable one side of the upper end of each door to be rotatably installed on the main body, and main body hinge receipt parts depressed on the upper frames to embed rear ends of the upper hinge modules in the upper frames. 
     The main body hinge receipt parts may be depressed to a depth corresponding to a thickness of the upper hinge modules. 
     The upper frames may include a first upper frame forming the front portion of an upper surface of the outer case and provided with the main body hinge receipt parts, and a second upper frame forming the rear portion of the upper surface of the outer case. 
     The first upper frame may be made of resin. 
     The refrigerator may further include an upper reinforcing frame made of metal and disposed under the first upper frame. 
     The main frame may include frame support parts provided at upper portions of both inner side surfaces thereof to support both ends of the upper reinforcing frame, and the upper reinforcing frame may include insertion parts extended downward and inserted into the frame support parts. 
     The second upper frame may be made of metal. 
     The storage chambers may include a freezing chamber and a refrigerating chamber horizontally divided by a diaphragm, the doors may include a freezing chamber door to open and close the freezing chamber and a refrigerating chamber door to open and close the refrigerating chamber, the upper hinge modules may be prepared in a pair so as to allow one side of the upper end of each of the freezing chamber door and the refrigerating chamber door to be rotatably installed at one of both sides of the main body, and the main body hinge receipt parts may be provided at both sides of the upper frames. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       These and/or other aspects 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 a perspective view of a refrigerator in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of the refrigerator in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view illustrating a mounting state of an upper hinge module applied to the refrigerator in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view illustrating a mounting state of a lower hinge module applied to the refrigerator in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIGS. 5 to 7  are views illustrating the mounting state of the upper hinge module applied to the refrigerator in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 8  is an exploded perspective view of a main body applied to the refrigerator in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 9  is an exploded perspective view of the lower hinge module applied to the refrigerator in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIGS. 10 and 11  are longitudinal-sectional views illustrating a door height adjusting method through the lower hinge module applied to the refrigerator in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 12  is a longitudinal-sectional view of the lower hinge module applied to the refrigerator in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 13  is a longitudinal-sectional view of a lower hinge module applied to a refrigerator in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 14  is an exploded perspective view of a door applied to a refrigerator in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 15  is an exploded perspective view illustrating a mounting state of a handle and a door cover applied to the refrigerator in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 16  is a partially-enlarged perspective view illustrating a mounting state of a transparent display unit applied to a refrigerator in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 17  is a perspective view of a sub-door applied to a refrigerator in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 18  is a longitudinal-sectional view illustrating a mounting state of the sub-door and a locking device applied to the refrigerator in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 19  is an exploded perspective view of the locking device applied to the refrigerator in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIGS. 20 and 21  are perspective views illustrating an operating state of the locking device applied to the refrigerator in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 22  is a perspective view of a door shelf applied to the refrigerator in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 23  is a perspective view illustrating a mounting state of an upper hinge module applied to a conventional refrigerator; 
         FIG. 24  is a perspective view illustrating a mounting state of a lower hinge module applied to the conventional refrigerator; and 
         FIG. 25  is a longitudinal-sectional view illustrating a mounting state of a sub-door and a locking device applied to the conventional refrigerator. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. 
     Hereinafter, a refrigerator in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the refrigerator in accordance with this embodiment includes a main body  10  forming an external appearance of the refrigerator and provided with storage chambers  111 F and  111 R to store articles therein, and doors  20 , each of which is provided with one side end rotatably installed on the main body  10 , rotated to open and close the storage chambers  111 F and  111 R. 
     As shown in  FIG. 8 , components of a refrigerating cycle, such as a compressor  11  to compress a refrigerant, a condenser  12  to exchange heat between the refrigerant and air at the outside of the main body  10  to cool the refrigerant, an expansion valve (not shown) to decompress and expand the refrigerant, and an evaporator (not shown) to absorb heat from air at the insides of the storage chambers  111 F and  111 R to generate cool air, are installed in the main body  10 . Thereby, the cool air generated by the evaporator is supplied to the storage chambers  111 F and  111 R, thereby storing the articles in a low temperature state in the storage chambers  111 F and  111 R. 
     A machinery room in which the compressor  11 , the condenser  12 , and the expansion valve are installed is provided at the rear region of the lower portion of the main body  10 , and a cooling room in which the evaporator is disposed is installed at the rear of the storage chambers  111 F and  111 R. 
     The storage chambers  111 F and  111 R include a freezing chamber  111 F located at one side of the main body  10  to store articles in a frozen state and a refrigerating chamber  111 R located at the other side of the main body  10  to store articles in a refrigerated state, and the freezing chamber  111 F and the refrigerating chamber  111 R are horizontally divided from each other. The doors  20  include a freezing chamber door  20 F to open and close the freezing chamber  111 F and a refrigerating chamber door  20 R to open and close the refrigerating chamber  111 R. 
     The main body  10  includes an outer case  100  forming an external shape thereof, and an inner case  110  disposed in the outer case  100  to form the above-described storage chambers  111 F and  111 R. A space between the outer case  100  and the inner case  110  is filled with a heat insulating member. The majority of the outer case  100  is made of metal in consideration of durability, and the inner case  110  is made of resin in consideration of a heat insulating function and convenience in manufacture. 
     The outer case  100  forming the external shape of the main body  10  includes a main frame  101  obtained by bending a plate member made of metal in a U shape to integrally form lower and both side surfaces of the outer case  100 , upper frames  102  and  103  installed at the upper end of the main frame  101  to form an upper surface of the outer case  100 , a rear frame  105  covering the rear portion of the main frame  101  to form a rear surface of the outer case  100 , and a machinery room frame  106  and a lower frame  107  installed at the rear region of the lower portion of the main frame  101  to respectively form the above-described machinery room and the lower surface of the machinery room. 
     The inner case  110  is made of resin, and is provided with an opened front surface portion to form the storage chambers  111 F and  111 R. A diaphragm  112  vertically extended to horizontally divide the inner case  110  into the storage chambers  111 F and  111 R is provided in the inner case  110 , and one of the storage chambers  111 F and  111 R serves as the freezing chamber  111 F and the other one of the storage chambers  111 F and  111 R serves as the refrigerating chamber  111 R. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , in order to rotatably install the freezing chamber door  20 F and the refrigerating chamber door  20 R on the main body  10 , upper hinge modules  30  are installed at both sides of the upper surface of the main body  10  so as to enable the upper end of one side of each of the two doors  20  to be rotatably installed on the upper surface of the main body  10 , and lower hinge modules  40  are installed at both sides of the lower surface of the main body  10  so as to enable the lower end of the side of each of the two doors  20  to be rotatably installed on the lower surface of the main body  10 . 
     An upper hinge recess  20   a  is provided on the upper end of one side of each of the two doors  20 , and a lower hinge recess  20   b  is provided on the lower end of one side of each of the two doors  20 . One side of the upper end of each door  20  is rotatably installed on the main body  10  through an upper hinge  31   a  and the upper hinge recess  20   a  and one side of the lower end of each door  20  is rotatably installed on the main body  10  through a lower hinge  43  and the lower hinge recess  20   b , thereby allowing the two doors  20  to be rotatably installed on the main body  10 . 
     Therefore, as shown in  FIG. 4 , the rear ends of the two lower hinge modules  40  are installed on the outer lower surface of the outer case  100  of the main body  10  and the front ends of the two lower hinge modules  40  are installed on the lower surface of the two doors  20 , thereby bearing loads of the two doors  20  through the lower hinges  43  installed in the lower hinge recesses  20   b  of the doors  20  and simultaneously rotatably supporting one side of the lower end of each of the two doors  20 . Further, as shown in  FIG. 3 , the two upper hinge modules  30  are disposed on the upper surfaces of the two doors  20 , thereby allowing the two doors  20  to be rotated in an upright state through the upper hinges  31   a  installed in the upper hinge recesses  20   a  of the doors  20  to open and close the storage chambers  111 F and  111 R. 
     In a conventional refrigerator, both side surfaces and a lower surface of an outer case of a main body are prepared as separate members, and thus fixing members to fix regions connecting the side surfaces and the lower surface of the outer case are installed at the outer surfaces of connection parts between the side surfaces and the lower surface of the outer case. Thereby, the quality of an external appearance of the refrigerator may be lowered. 
     On the other hand, in this embodiment, the main frame  101  integrally forms the lower surface and both side surfaces of the outer case  100  of the main body  10 , and thus connection parts between the lower surface and the side surfaces of the outer case  100  are not formed, thereby preventing lowering of the quality of the external appearance of the refrigerator due to installation of separate members. 
     In this embodiment, in order to reinforce strength of regions in which the lower hinge modules  40  are mounted to allow the lower hinge modules  40  to be stably mounted on the lower surface of the main body  10 , a lower reinforcing frame  108  (with reference to  FIG. 8 ) is mounted on the inner lower surface of the outer case  100 . 
     The upper hinge module  30 , as shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , includes an upper hinge bracket  31  on which the upper end of the door  20  is rotatably installed, a fixing bracket  32  fixed to the upper surface of the main body  10  to fix the rear end of the upper hinge bracket  31  to the main body  10 , a fixing lever  33  detachably and rotatably installed on the fixing bracket  32  to selectively apply pressure to the upper hinge bracket  31  to be supported by the fixing bracket  32  according to a rotation angle of the fixing lever  33 , and a hinge cover  34  to cover the upper hinge bracket  31 , the fixing bracket  32 , and the fixing lever  33 . 
     In order to prevent the door  20  from moving due to vibration generated during transportation of the refrigerator, a movement preventing member  70 , as shown in  FIG. 3 , is installed between the upper hinge module  30  and the door  20 . The movement preventing member  70  is separably installed on the upper hinge  31   a  to maintain a gap between the upper surface of the door  20  and the upper hinge bracket  31 , thereby preventing the door  20  from moving. 
     Such a movement preventing member  70  includes a pair of hinge support parts  71  respectively formed in an arc shape and supported by both sides of the upper hinge  31   a , an elastic part  72  formed in an arc shape and connecting one end of each of the two hinge support parts  71  to each other to allow the two hinge support parts  71  to be elastically supported by the upper hinge  31   a , and insertion guides  73 , each of which is provided at the other end of each of the two hinge support parts  71 , to guide the upper hinge  31   a  to a space between the two hinge supports  71 . 
     Therefore, while the refrigerator is transported, the movement preventing member  70  is installed at the upper hinge  31   a  such that the upper hinge bracket  31  and the door  20  are supported by each other via the movement preventing member  70  so as to prevent the door  20  from moving, and after installation of the refrigerator has been completed, the movement preventing member  70  is separated from the upper hinge  31   a  such that the door  20  is smoothly rotated. 
     The fixing bracket  32  includes a first support  321  extended upward from the rear end of the fixing bracket  32  to support the rear end of the upper hinge bracket  31 , and a pair of second supports  322  extended upward from both side ends of the fixing bracket  32  to rotatably mount the fixing lever  33  therebetween. A support hole  321   a  into which the rear end of the upper hinge bracket  31  is inserted is provided on the first support  321 , and lever mount grooves  322   a  into which both sides of the fixing lever  33  are rotatably installed are provided on the second supports  322 . 
     The rear end of the upper hinge bracket  31  is fixed to the upper surface of the main body  10  through the fixing bracket  32 , and the front end of the upper hinge bracket  31  is protruded forward from the main body  10 . Further, the upper hinge bracket  31  includes the upper hinge  31   a  protruded downward from the front end of the upper hinge bracket  31  and rotatably installed at the upper end of the door  20 , and a support protrusion  31   b  protruded from the rear end of the upper hinge bracket  31  and inserted into the support hole  321   a.    
     In this embodiment, the upper hinge module  30  is configured such that the upper hinge bracket  31  moves in the rightward and leftward directions to adjust the upper end of the door  20  within a designated length in the rightward and leftward directions. For this purpose, an adjustment guide  31   c  arranged in parallel with one of the two second supports  322  is provided at one side of the upper hinge bracket  31 , and an adjustment screw  35  rotated to move the upper hinge bracket  31  is installed on the corresponding second support  322 . Therefore, the upper hinge bracket  31  moves in the rightward and leftward directions by rotating the adjustment screw  35  so as to change an interval between the second support  322  and the adjustment guide  31   c , and when the upper hinge bracket  31  moves, the upper end of the door  20  rotatably installed on the main body  10  through the upper hinge bracket  31  moves in the rightward and leftward directions. 
     The fixing lever  33 , as shown in  FIG. 7 , includes a pressure part  33   a  provided at the front end of the fixing lever  33  and applying pressure to the upper hinge bracket  31  according to a rotation angle of the fixing lever  33  to attach the upper hinge bracket  31  to the fixing bracket  32 , a lever part  33   b  provided at the rear end of the fixing lever  33  to allow a worker to easily rotate the fixing lever  33 , and a pair of hinge protrusions  33   c  provided at both sides of the fixing lever  33  to rotatably install the fixing lever  33  on the fixing bracket  32 . 
     Here, the upper hinge module  30  includes the upper hinge bracket  31 , the fixing bracket, the fixing lever  33 , and the hinge cover  23 , as described above, and thus inevitably has a designated thickness in the vertical direction. In the conventional refrigerator, as shown in  FIG. 23 , if an upper hinge module  30 ′ having a designated thickness, is installed on the upper surface of a main body  10 ′, the upper hinge module  30 ′ is protruded upward from the main body  10 ′, and the upper end of a door  20 ′ is located at a height corresponding to the upper surface of the upper hinge module  30 ′ so as to shield the upper hinge module  30 ′ protruded upward from the main body  10 ′. In this case, the height of the refrigerator is determined by the door  20 ′ being relatively high and the height of the main body  10 ′ is lower than that of the door  20 ′, and thus the height of the main body  10 ′ becomes lower than that of the door  20 ′, i.e., that of the refrigerator, thereby reducing a volume of storage chambers formed in the main body  10 ′. 
     Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , main body hinge receipt parts  102   a  to receive the rear ends of the upper hinge modules  30  are provided on the upper surface of the main body  10 , and a door hinge receipt part  20   f  to receive the front end of each of the upper hinge module  30  is provided on the upper surface of the door  20 . 
     The main body hinge receipt part  102   a  is depressed to a depth corresponding to the thickness of the upper hinge module  30 , and the front end of the main body hinge receipt part  102   a  is opened so as to allow the front end of the upper hinge module  30  to be protruded forward from the main body  10 . Further, a support rib  102   c  separated from the inner wall of the main body hinge receipt part  102   a  is provided in the main body hinge receipt part  102   a , and the side surface of the hinge cover  34  is supported by the support rib  102   c.    
     The door hinge receipt part  20   f  is depressed at one side of the rear surface of the door  20  so as to receive the front end of the upper hinge module  30 , and the above-described upper hinge recess  20   a  is provided on the lower surface of the inside of the door hinge receipt part  20   f.    
     Since the main body hinge receipt part  102   a  is provided on the upper surface of the main body  10  in such a manner, if the rear end of the upper hinge module  30  is installed in the main body hinge receipt part  102   a  and the front end of the upper hinge module  30  is installed in the door hinge receipt part  20   f , the rear end of the upper hinge module  30  is embedded in the upper surface of the main body  10  and the front end of the upper hinge module  30  is received in the door hinge receipt part  20   f , and thus the upper surface of the main body  10  is located at a height corresponding to that of the upper surface of the door  20 . 
     In this embodiment, the upper surface of the upper hinge module  30 , i.e., the upper surface of the hinge cover  34 , is located at the same height as the upper end of the door  20  and the upper surface of the main body  10 , thereby preventing an increase in the height of the refrigerator or lowering of the quality of the external appearance of the refrigerator generated when the upper hinge module  30  is protruded upward from the main body  10 . 
     Further, if the upper hinge module  30  is embedded in the upper surface of the main body  10 , as in this embodiment, the upper surface of the main body  10  is located at the same height as the upper surface of the upper hinge module  30  and the upper end of the door  20 , and thus the main body  10  having a greater height may be applied to the refrigerator a the designated height, thereby securing a greater volume of the storage chambers  111 F and  111 R in the main body  10 . 
     The refrigerating chamber  111 R and the freezing chamber  111 F are horizontally provided in parallel in the refrigerator and one side of the refrigerating chamber door  20 R and one side of the freezing chamber door  20 F are rotatably installed at both sides of the main body  10 . Therefore, a pair of upper hinge modules  30  is provided and the main body hinge receipt parts  102   a  are respectively provided at both sides of the upper surface of the main body  10  so as to rotatably support the upper end of one side of each of the two doors  20 . 
     As described above with reference to  FIG. 8 , the outer case  100  includes the main frame  101  formed in a U shape and the upper frames  102  and  103 . This serves to easily form the main body hinge receipt parts  102   a  on the upper surface of the outer case  100 . 
     That is, an outer case applied to the conventional refrigerator includes a main frame obtained by bending a plate member made of metal in a reverse U shape to form upper and both side surfaces of the outer case, and in order to embed upper hinge modules in the upper surface of a main body, main body hinge receipt parts need to be formed by partially deforming the upper surface of the main frame made of metal relatively scarcely deformable. Therefore, in case of the conventional refrigerator, as shown in  FIG. 23 , instead of forming of the main body hinge receipt parts by deforming the upper surface of the refrigerator, which is scarcely deformable, the upper hinge modules  30 ′ are installed on the main body  10 ′ under the condition that the upper hinge modules  30 ′ are protruded upward from the main body  10 ′. 
     However, as in this embodiment, if the upper frames  102  and  103  forming the upper surface of the outer case  100  are prepared as members provided separately from the main frame  101 , the upper frames  102  and  103  provided with the main body hinge receipt parts  102   a  are manufactured separately from the main frame  101  and are then installed on the main frame  101  formed by bending the plate member made of metal in a U shape, thereby simply manufacturing the outer case  100  provided with the main body hinge receipt parts  102   a.    
     In this embodiment, the upper frames  102  and  103  include a first upper frame  102  provided with the main body hinge receipt parts  102   a  at both sides thereof to form the front portion of the upper surface of the outer case  100 , and a second upper frame  103  disposed at the rear of the first upper frame  102  to form the rear portion of the upper surface of the outer case  100  and thus to form the upper surface of the outer case  100 , i.e., the upper surface of the main body  10 , together with the first upper frame  102 . Here, the first upper frame  102  is made of resin so as to easily mold the main body hinge receipt parts  102   a , and the second upper frame  103  is made of metal so as to have sufficient strength. 
     Since resin has a higher heat insulating property than metal as well as is easily molded into a designated shape through an injection mold, although the thickness of partial regions of the upper end of the main body  10  provided with the main body hinge receipt parts  102   a  is decreased during a process of forming the main body hinge receipt parts  102   a  on the upper surface of the main body  10 , a region of the upper end of the main body  10  in which the first upper frame  102  made of resin is disposed may have a heat insulating ability similar to a region of the upper end of the main body  10  in which the second upper frame  103  made of metal is disposed. 
     Although this embodiment illustrates that the upper frames  102  and  103  include the first upper frame  102  and the second upper frame  103  manufactured separately, an upper frame may be prepared as a single member. 
     If the upper hinge module  30  is mounted in the main body hinge receipt part  102   a  provided on the first upper frame  102  made of resin, as described above, load of the door  20  may be applied to the first upper frame  102  through the upper hinge module  30 . Therefore, an upper reinforcing frame  104  made of metal to reinforce strength of the first upper frame  102  made of resin is disposed under the first upper frame  102 . Both sides of the upper reinforcing frame  104  are bent downward so as to correspond to the lower surfaces of the main body hinge receipt parts  102   a  of the first upper frame  102 . In this embodiment, a through hole  102   b  is formed through the main body hinge receipt part  102  such that the fixing bracket  32  is fixed directly to the upper reinforcing frame  104  through the through hole  102   b . If the fixing bracket  32  is installed on the upper reinforcing frame  104 , the load of the door  20  is supported by the upper reinforcing frame  104  made of metal instead of the first upper frame  102  made of resin, and thus the mounting state of the door  20  on the main body  10  is stably maintained. 
     Further, the upper reinforcing frame  104  serves to allow both side surfaces of the main frame  101  to be supported by each other. For this purpose, frame support parts  101   a  supporting both ends of the upper reinforcing frame  104  are provided at the upper portions of both inner side surfaces of the main frame  101 , and insertion parts  104   b  extended downward to be inserted into the frame support parts  101   a  are provided at both ends of the upper reinforcing frame  104 . 
     The lower hinge module  40 , as shown in  FIGS. 9 and 10 , includes a lower hinge bracket  41  provided with a rear end installed on the lower surface of the outer case  100  and a front end protruded forward from the main body  10  and extended under the door  20  installed in front of the main body  10 , a leg  42  installed on the lower hinge bracket  41  and disposed under the lower hinge bracket  41  to allow the lower hinge bracket  41  and the main body  10  provided with the lower hinge bracket  41  to rest on the ground, the lower hinge  43  disposed at the front end of the lower hinge bracket  41  to rotatably support one side of the lower end of the door  20 , and an elevating device  44  vertically moving the lower hinge  43  to move the door  20  in the vertical direction within a designated range. 
     The leg  42  is screw-connected with the lower hinge bracket  41  and is rotated so as to be vertically movable relative to the lower hinge bracket  41 . Therefore, the leg  42  is rotated so as to vertically move, thereby allowing the main body  10  to rest on the ground through the leg  42  and the lower hinge bracket  41 . Further, leveling of the main body  10  is achieved by moving the lower hinge bracket  41  and the main body  10  upward within a designated range by rotating the leg  42  under the condition that the leg  42  rests on the ground. 
     In order to screw-connect the leg  42  with the lower hinge bracket  41 , a male screw part  41   a  provided with a male screw on the outer circumferential surface thereof is formed on the lower hinge bracket  4 , and a fastening hole  42   a  provided with a female screw on the inner circumferential surface thereof is formed on the leg  42 . 
     Although this embodiment illustrates that the male screw part  41   a  is formed on the lower hinge bracket  41  and the fastening hole  42   a  is formed on the leg  42 , a screw-connection structure between the lower hinge bracket  41  and the leg  42  is not limited thereto. Conversely, as shown in  FIG. 11 , a male screw part  41   a ′ may be formed on the leg  42  and a fastening hole  42   a ′ may be formed on the lower hinge bracket  41 . 
     The elevating device  44  includes an elevating member  441  vertically movably installed on the lower hinge bracket  41  to vertically move the lower hinge  43 , and an elevating guide  442  installed at the front end of the lower hinge bracket  41  to allow the elevating member  441  to be vertically movably installed on the lower hinge bracket  41 . 
     A male screw is formed on the outer circumferential surface of the elevating member  441 , and a guide hole  442   a  vertically penetrating the elevating guide  442  and provided with a female screw on the inner circumferential surface of the guide hole  442   a  so as to be screw-connected with the elevating member  441  is provided on the elevating guide  442 . 
     The lower hinge  43  includes a hinge part  43   b  inserted into the lower hinge recess  20   b  and provided with a guide receipt recess  43   a  to receive the elevating guide  442 , and a door support part  43   c  extended from the lower end of the hinge part  43   b , formed in a ring shape, and supported by a portion of the door  20  adjacent to the lower hinge recess  20   b.    
     Further, a latch part  43   d  is extended downward from the door support part  43   c  of the lower hinge  43  so as to prevent the lower hinge  43  from being rotated together with rotation of the elevating member  441  and the elevating guide  442  while the user rotates the elevating member  441 , and a latch hole  41   b  into which the latch part  43   d  is inserted is provided on the lower hinge bracket  41 . 
     In order to rotate the elevating member  441  using transmitted external force, a polygonal recess  441   a  is provided on the lower surface of the elevating member  441 , as shown in  FIGS. 12 and 13 . Therefore, the elevating member  441  is rotated using rotary force, which is applied by a tool, such as a hexagonal wrench, and is then transmitted through the polygonal recess  441   a , and then moves upward or downward according to a rotating direction thereof. The lower hinge  43  moves upward or downward as the elevating member  441  moves upward or downward, and the door  20  supported by the door support part  43   c  of the lower hinge  43  moves upward and downward together with upward or downward movement of the lower hinge  43 . Therefore, the door  20  is moved upward and downward so as to be precisely located at a designated position in front of the main body  10  by rotating the elevating member  441 . 
     Stoppers  21  (with reference to  FIG. 2 ) disposed facing the front ends of the lower hinge brackets  41  to limit the rotation angle of the doors  20  are disposed at the lower ends of the two doors  20 . In this embodiment, the stopper  21  having a designated width in the widthwise direction of the door  20  is formed in front of the lower hinge bracket  41 , and is latched to the side surface of the lower hinge bracket  41  as the door  20  is opened, thereby limiting the rotation angle of the door  20  to less than a designated angle. Further, since the stopper  21  is disposed in front of the lower hinge bracket  41 , the stopper  21  serves to shield the lower hinge bracket  41  under the closed state of the door  20  such that the lower hinge bracket  41  is not seen from the front of the refrigerator. 
     As shown in  FIG. 24 , a general lower hinge module  40 ′ applied to the conventional refrigerator is fixed to the lower portion of the front surface of the main body  10 ′. In case of the lower hinge module  40 ′ fixed to the lower portion of the front surface of the main body  10 ′, in order to stably support load of the door  20 ′, at least two points of the lower hinge modules  40 ′ vertically separated from each other are fixed to the lower portion of the front surface of the main body  10 ′, and in order to enable the lower hinge module  40 ′ to support load of the door  20 ′, a reinforcing member  45  made of metal is disposed at the inside of the lower end of the main body  10 ′. In order to obtain a space in which the lower hinge module  40 ′ and the reinforcing member  45  are installed, the thickness of the lower end of the main body  10 ′ of the conventional refrigerator needs to be greater than the height of the hinge module  40 ′ and the height of the reinforcing member  45 , and thereby a volume of storage chambers  111 F′ and  111 R′ is reduced. 
     However, if the above-described lower hinge modules  40  are installed on the lower surface of the main body  10  in such a manner, the thickness of the lower end of the main body  10  is maximally reduced as far as a proper heat insulating ability is maintained, and this means that the height of the lower ends of the storage chambers  111 F and  111 R is maximally lowered. Thereby, a greater volume of the storage chambers  111 F and  111 R is secured within the main body  10  having the same height. 
     As described above, if the height of the upper surface of the main body  10  is raised so as to be equal to the height of the upper surfaces of the upper hinge modules  30  by embedding the upper hinge modules  30  in the upper surface of the main body  10  and the thickness of the lower end of the main body  10  is reduced by mounting the lower hinge modules  40  on the lower surface of the main body  10 , a maximally large volume of the storage chambers within the refrigerator having a designated height is obtained. 
     The door  20 , as shown in  FIGS. 14 and 15 , includes a pair of door side frames  201  and  202  forming both side surfaces of the door  20 , a support frame  205  provided with both ends installed on the two door side frames  201  and  202  to allow the two door side frames  201  and  202  to support each other, an upper door cap  203  and a lower door cap  204  respectively installed at the upper ends and the lower ends of the two door side frames  201  and  202  and forming upper and lower surfaces of the door  20 , a door front panel  206  made of tempered glass and forming a front surface of the door  20 , and a door rear frame  207  forming a rear surface of the door  20  such that a door shelf (not shown) is mounted on the door rear frame  207 . 
     Further, a decorative unit  80  to decorate the door  20  is disposed on the rear surface of the door front panel  206 . The decorative unit  80  includes a plurality of decorative members  81  to reflect or emit light, and a fixing plate  82  to which the plurality of decorative members  81  formed in a designated shape is fixed. The decorative members  81  may include jewel members made of lustrous minerals to reflect right, or light emitting members, such as LEDs emitting right. 
     Therefore, after the two door side frames  201  and  202 , the door front panel  206 , the door rear panel  207 , the upper door cap  203 , and the lower door cap  204  are connected to form an inner space therein, the inner space is filled with foaming resin, thereby completing formation a heat insulating member within the door  20 . 
     Further, the door  20  includes a door trim  210  to support a side end of the door front panel  206 , and a handle  210   a  and  210   b  to allow a user to easily apply force to the door  20  is extended integrally from the door trim  210 . Since the doors  20  include the freezing chamber door  20 F and the refrigerating chamber door  20 R and the freezing chamber door  20 F and the refrigerating chamber door  20 R are rotatably installed at both sides of the main body  10 , the two door trims  210  disposed at the two doors  20  face each other, and the two handles  210   a  and  210   b  are disposed in front of the diaphragm  112  such that the handle  210   a  and  210   b  of the freezing chamber door  20 F and the handle  210   a  and  210   b  of the refrigerating chamber door  20 R face each other. 
     If the handle  210   a  and  210   b  is formed integrally with the door trim  210 , as described above, the handle  210   a  and  210   b  is installed on the door  20  by installing the door trim  210  on the door  20 , and thus the handle  210   a  and  210   b  is simply installed. 
     The door trim  210  is installed on any one of the two door side frames  201  and  202  provided on the respective two doors  20 . The door side frames  201  and  202  of the two doors  20  include a pair of first door side frames  201  forming side surfaces of the two doors  20  facing each other and respectively provided with the above-described door trims  210  installed thereon, and a pair of second door side frames  202  forming the other side surfaces of the two doors  20 . Since the handle  210   a  and  210   b  of one door  20  and the handle  210   a  and  210   b  of the other door  20  face each other, as described above, the two first door side frames  201  of the two doors  20  are disposed in front of the diaphragm  112  such that the first door side frame  201  of one door  20  and the first door side frame  201  of the other door  20  face each other. 
     A handle groove  201   a  stepped so as to be opened forward and sideward is provided at one side of the first door side frame  201 . The handle groove  201   a  is opened toward the neighboring first door side frame  201 , and the handle  210   a  and  210   b  is extended so as to be substantially parallel with the front surface of the door  20  and then cover the front portion of the handle groove  201   a . In order to install the door trim  210  on the first door side frame  201 , a trim mount groove  201   b  running parallel with the handle groove  201   a  is installed at a part of the first door side frame  201  adjacent to the handle groove  201   a , and a trim mount part  210   c  installed in the trim mount groove  210   b  is provided on the door trim  210 . 
     The handle  210   a  and  210   b  includes a first handle part  210   a  formed to cover the entirety of the handle groove  201   a , and a second handle part  210   b  extended to a smaller length than the first handle part  210   a  to cover a part of the handle groove  201   a.    
     In this embodiment, the first handle part  210   a  is provided on the upper portion of the freezing chamber door  20 F and the second handle part  210   b  is provided on the lower portion of the refrigerating chamber door  20 R, and conversely, the second handle part  210   b  is provided on the upper portion of the refrigerating chamber door  20 R and the first handle part  210   a  is provided on the lower portion of the refrigerating chamber door  20 R. Thereby, the two handles  210   a  and  210   b  provided on the two doors  20  are separated from each other, thus allowing a user to put his/her hand into a space between the two handles  210   a  and  210   b  so as to easily grip the handles  210   a  and  210   b.    
     Further, a panel support part  210   e  supporting the door front panel  206  is depressed on one end of the handle  210   a  and  210   b  located opposite to the other end of the handle  210   a  and  210   b  provided with the first handle part  210   a  and the second handle part  210   b . Therefore, after the edge of the rear surface of the door front panel  206  is attached to the front surface of the first door side frame  201 , the panel support part  210   e  of the handle  210   a  and  210   b , and the front surfaces of the upper door cap  203  and the lower door cap  204  by a double-sided adhesive tape, a foaming resin fills a space formed by the door front panel  206 , the door rear frame  207 , the first door side frame  201 , the second door side frame  202 , the upper door cap  203 , and the lower door cap  204 , thereby forming the heat insulating member within the door  20 . Then, since the resin forming the heat insulating member is solidified under the condition that the resin is attached to the rear surface of the door front panel  206  during a formation process of the heat insulating member, the door front panel  206  is supported by the heat insulating member attached to the rear surface thereof. 
     In this embodiment, the handle  210   a  and  210   b  is made of a transparent member, and a handle cover  211  made of metal and serving to achieve a decorative effect and to increase durability of the handle  210   a  and  210   b  is disposed at the front end of the handle  210   a  and  210   b . A relatively thick grip part  210   d  to stably install the handle cover  211  and to allow the user to easily grip the handle  210   a  and  210   b  is provided at the front end of the handle  210   a  and  210   b , and the handle cover  211  covers the grip part  210   d.    
     Further, a display unit  209  to display an operating state of the refrigerator is installed on the door  20 . In order to install the display unit  209 , a display frame  208  provided with a display receipt part  208   a , in which the display unit  209  is received, is provided at the inside of the first door side frame  201 . In order to install the display unit  209 , a display insertion hole  203   a  through which the display unit  209  is inserted into the display receipt part  208   a  is provided on the upper door cap  203 . 
     Although this embodiment describes that the display unit  209  is installed at the inside of the first door side frame  201 , the position of the display unit  209  is not limited thereto. That is, as shown in  FIG. 16 , a display unit  209 ′ to display various data may be formed on the handle  210   a  and  210   b  made of a transparent material through a specific method, such as patterning. 
     Further, although this embodiment describes that the handle  210   a  and  210   b  is made of the transparent material, the material for the handle  210   a  and the  210   b  is not limited thereto. That is, the handle  210   a  and  210   b  may be made of an opaque material, as needed. 
     Further, an opening  20   c  through which articles are taken out of the refrigerating chamber  111 R without opening the refrigerating chamber door  20 R, as shown in  FIG. 17 , is provided on the refrigerating chamber door  20 R, and a sub-door  50  to open and close the opening  20   c  is installed at the opening  20   c . The lower end of the sub-door  50  is rotatably installed at a part of the main body  10  adjacent to the opening  20   c , and is rotated to open and close the opening  20   c . Although this embodiment describes that the sub-door  50  is provided on the refrigerating chamber door  20 R, the sub-door  50  may be provided on the freezing chamber door  20 F. 
     In order to maintain the closed state of the opening  20   c  by the sub-door  50 , a locking member  51  is provided on the sub-door  50 , and a locking device  60  to selectively lock the locking member  51  is provided on the door  20 . The locking device  60  locks the locking member  51  provided on the sub-door  50  or releases the locking of the locking member  51 , and thus locks the sub-door  50  or releases the locking of the sub-door  50 , thereby maintaining the closed state of the opening  20   c  by the sub-door  50  or allowing the sub-door  50  to be opened from the opening  20   c.    
     The lower end of the sub-door  50  is hinged to the main body  10 , and is vertically rotated so as to open and close the opening  20   c . A sub-door support part  20   d  protruded toward the inside of the opening  20   c  to support the rear surface of the sub-door  50  is provided on the door  20 . Here, the opening  20   c  includes a first opening part  20   c - 1  formed in front of the sub-door support part  20   d  to receive the sub-door  50  therein and a second opening part  20   c - 2  formed by the sub-door support part  20   d , and the rear surface of the sub-door  50  has a wider area than the second opening part  20   c - 2  such that the edge of the rear surface of the sub-door  50  is supported by the sub-door support part  20   d.    
     Further, in this embodiment, a cooling plate  52  made of metal is disposed on the rear surface of the sub-door  50 . The cooling plate  52  is cooled by cool air transmitted from the refrigerating chamber  111 R when the opening  20   c  is closed by the sub-door  50 , and delays raise in temperature of an article placed on the cooling plate  52  provided on the rear surface of the sub-door  50  when the opening  20   c  is opened and the article is placed on the cooling plate  52 . 
     The locking member  51  is protruded upward from the upper portion of the rear surface of the sub-door  50 , and the locking device  60  is installed at a region of the door  20  adjacent to the upper portion of the first opening part  20   c - 1  so as to correspond to the locking member  51 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 25 , a conventional locking device  60 ′ is installed at a sub-door support part  20   d ′. If the locking device  60 ′ is installed at the sub-door support part  20   d ′, the sub-door support part  20   d ′ requires a space to install the locking device  60 ′, and thus the width of the sub-door support part  20   d ′ needs to be greater than the height of the locking device  60 ′. When the width of the sub-door support part  20   d ′ is increased, the area of the opening  20   c ′ is inevitably reduced. Further, the conventional locking device  60 ′ includes a rotary hook (not shown) vertically rotated and locked with a locking member  51 ′, and in order to vertically rotate the rotary hook, the locking device  60 ′ has a designated thickness or more in the vertical direction and such a thickness of the locking device  60 ′ increases the width of the sub-door support part  20   d′.    
     Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 18 , at least a part of the locking device  60  is embedded in a region of the door  20  adjacent to the upper portion of the first opening parts  20   c - 1 , and the sub-door support part  20   d  is protruded toward the inside of the opening  20   c  from a region of the door  20  at the rear of the locking device  60 . 
     In order to embed the part of the locking device in the region of the door  20  adjacent to the upper portion of the opening  20   c , a locking device mount recess  20   e , which is depressed upward, is formed on the region of the door  20  adjacent to the upper portion of the first opening part  20   c - 1 . The locking device mount recess  20   e  has a smaller depth than the thickness of the locking device  60  in the vertical direction, and thus a part of the locking device  60  is installed within the locking device mount recess  20   e  and the remaining part of the locking device  60  is protruded toward the inside of the first opening part  20   c - 1 . Fixing parts  61   c  through which fastening members, such as screws, pass are provided at both sides of a locking case  61 , and the locking case  61  is fixed to the locking device mount recess  20   e  through the fixing parts  61   c.    
     If at least the part of the locking device  60  is embedded in the region of the door  20  adjacent to the upper portion of the first opening part  20   c - 1  in this manner, the width of the sub-door support part  20   d  is reduced in direct proportion to the depth of the embedded part of the locking device  60 , thereby increasing the size of the second opening part  20   c - 2 . 
     Further, the locking member  51  is formed in a rod shape, and is protruded upward from the upper portion of the inner surface of the sub-door  50 . Here, the front end of the locking member  51  is protruded to a height corresponding to the upper end of the sub-door  50 . 
     The locking device  60 , as shown in  FIG. 19 , includes the locking case  61 , a sliding member  62  installed in the locking case  61  so as to be movable in the forward and backward directions, and a rotary hook  63  rotated in the rightward and leftward directions according to the position of the sliding member  62  and selectively locked with the locking member  51 . 
     If the front end of the above-described locking member  51  formed in the rod shape is protruded to the height corresponding to the upper end of the sub-door  50  and the rotary hook  63  of the locking device  60  is rotated in the rightward and leftward directions and locked with the locking member  51 , locking of the locking device  60  by the locking member  51  may be stably achieved although the locking device  60  is embedded in the region of the door  20  adjacent to the upper portion of the first opening part  20   c - 1 . 
     A guide part  61   a  in which the sliding member  62  is movably installed is provided on the locking case  61  in the forward and backward directions, first rail parts  61   b  along which the sliding member  62  is movably installed are protruded and formed at both sides of the guide part  61   a , and second rail parts  62   a  corresponding to the first rail parts  61   b  are depressed and formed at both sides of the sliding member  62 . A pair of first elastic members  64  consisting of coil springs to elastically support the sliding member  62  so as to protrude the sliding member  62  from the locking case  61  is disposed within the guide part  61   a.    
     The rotary hook  63  is rotatably installed on the sliding member  62  through a hinge shaft  65 , and a second elastic member  66  consisting of a torsion spring to elastically support the rotary hook  63  so as to rotate the rotary hook  63  in one direction is installed on the hinge shaft  65 . 
     The locking device  60  further includes a guide member  68  to maintain a state in which the sliding member  62  is received within the guide part  61   a  or a state in which a designated position of the sliding member  62  is protruded from the guide part  61   a.    
     The guide member  68  restricts movement of the sliding member  62  while interacting with the sliding member  62 . For this purpose, a cam hole  62   b  is provided on the upper surface of the sliding member  62 , and the guide member  68  is formed in an approximately inverse U shape such that one end of the guide member  68  is movably installed in the cam hole  62   a  and the other end of the guide member  68  is rotatably installed on the locking case  61 . A support plate  69  to restrict upward movement of the guide member  68  is installed on the locking case  61 . 
     Therefore, as shown in  FIG. 20 , in a state in which the sliding member  62  is received in the guide part  61   a  of the locking case  61 , the rotary hook  63  is supported by the side surfaces of the guide part  61   a  and thus the locking member  51  is locked with the rotary hook  63 . Further, as shown in  FIG. 21 , when at least a designated part of the sliding member  62  is protruded from the guide part  61   a  of the locking case  61 , the rotary hook  63  is separated from the guide part  61   a  and is then rotated in one direction by elastically restoring force of the second elastic member  66  of the rotary hook  63 , and thereby locking of the locking member  51  by the locking device  60  is released. 
     Further, as shown in  FIG. 22 , a door shelf  90  to contain articles to be taken out through the opening  20   c  is disposed on the rear surface of the door  20 . In this embodiment, as described above, the width of the sub-door support part  20   d  is decreased, and thus the size of the second opening part  20   c - 2  is increased. Therefore, in order to more efficiently use the opening  20   c , the door shelf  90  is formed in a two-stage structure in which a first storage part  91  provided at the lower portion of the door shelf  90  and a second storage part  92  provided above the first storage part  91  are integrally formed. In this embodiment, the first storage part  91  has a greater height than the second storage part  92  so as to store articles having relatively high height, such as plastic bottles, and the second storage part  92  has a smaller height than the first storage part  91  so as to store articles having relatively low height, such as canned beverages. 
     As is apparent from the above description, in a refrigerator in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, in which an outer case of a main body includes a U-shaped main frame and upper frames installed at the upper end of the main frame, the upper frames provided with main body hinge receipt parts are separately manufactured and are then installed on the main frame, thereby easily forming the outer case of the main body provided with the main body hinge receipt parts on the upper surface thereof. 
     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 these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.