Patent Publication Number: US-2005134473-A1

Title: Display unit for refrigerator

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of Invention  
      The present invention relates to a display unit installed at a door side of a refrigerator, and more particularly, to a display unit for a refrigerator capable of improving the performance of speakers for transmitting sound and thus the sound quality thereof.  
      2. Description of the Prior Art  
      In general, a top mount refrigerator in which freezing and refrigerating chambers are vertically formed and can be opened or closed by individual doors, respectively, has been widely used. However, as a refrigerator becomes larger, a side-by-side refrigerator in which freezing and refrigerating chambers are formed from side to side and can be opened or closed by individual doors that are pivoted on the lateral sides, respectively, is recently put on the market.  
       FIG. 1  shows a front view of a related art side-by-side refrigerator. As shown in the figure, a pair of doors  11  and  13  are installed from side to side to a main body  10  of a refrigerator. The doors  11  and  13  serve to open or close freezing and refrigerating chambers formed in the main body  10  of the refrigerator and installed on both sides of the main body  10  such that the doors can be pivoted on hinges h and h′, respectively.  
      In order to meet a variety of consumer demands and prevent the loss of cold air in the chambers, a dispenser  15  capable of dispensing cold water or ice from the refrigerator has been recently installed on a refrigerating chamber door of a side-by-side refrigerator. Further, a display unit  17  having a TV receiving function is generally installed on a front surface of the refrigerating chamber door. Therefore, the display unit  17  having the TV receiving function allows a user to watch the TV in the kitchen where the refrigerator is placed.  
      The display unit  17  comprises a display  18  that is made of a relatively thin LCD and a panel  19  that defines an edge of the display. Further, the display unit  17  receives video and sound signals transmitted over the radio by means of circuit components embedded in the display unit such that the user can watch the TV through the display unit. In addition, a plurality of through-holes  20  are formed in the panel  19  of the display unit  17 .  
      The through-holes  20  function as cooling holes for cooling a variety of components provided in the display unit  17  or as speaker holes for transmitting original sound generated from the speakers (not shown) provided in the display unit  17  to the outside of the display unit. Further, the speakers for generating sound are directly installed at the rear of the through-holes  20 .  
      However, since the speakers of the TV are installed in a portion such as a refrigerator door on which spatial limitation is imposed in view of its thickness, there is a problem in that the sound transmission is not effective. That is, since sound generated forward of the speakers is merely transmitted to the outside via the through-holes, sound generated rearward of the speakers impinges directly on the refrigerating chamber door or freezing chamber door adjacent to the refrigerating chamber door and reflected in a diffuse manner. Therefore, there are problems in that low or middle frequency sound can be hardly heard as well as high-frequency sound is emphasized, whereby squealing sound is produced.  
      As seen from a graph shown in  FIG. 6 , effective sound transmission cannot be made in relatively low and middle frequency sound regions of the conventional transmitted sound. In addition, a sound level is partially increased in a high-frequency sound region such that a squealing sound is produced.  
      Therefore, it can be understood that in the sound region of the conventional sound, the transmission of low or middle frequency sound is not sufficient and a relatively high-frequency sound is partially amplified and transmitted.  
      Further,  FIG. 2  shows a sectional view of the conventional through-holes  20 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , the through-holes  20  passing back and forth through the panel  19  of the display unit  17  are formed to have the same diameter at the front and rear ends thereof.  
      However, since the display unit  17  is installed on a front surface of the door  13  of the refrigerator as described above, water drops may be introduced into the display unit  17  through the through-holes  20  when cleaning the refrigerator. Therefore, this may result in failure or malfunction of the circuit components installed within the display unit  17 .  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      Accordingly, the present invention is conceived to solve the aforementioned problems in the prior art. An object of the present invention is to provide a sound system mounted with a display unit for a refrigerator capable of improving sound quality when watching the TV using the display unit.  
      Another object of the present invention is to provide a sound system for a refrigerator capable of preventing water from penetrating into a display unit of the refrigerator via through-holes.  
      According to the present invention for achieving the objects, there is provided a display unit for a refrigerator, comprising a display which is mounted to a front surface of the refrigerator, a mounting panel which is mounted around an edge of the display and formed with a plurality of speaker holes, a speaker which is installed on a rear surface of the speaker holes of the mounting panel to transmit sound, and a resonance box which is installed to have a predetermined space enough to accommodate the speaker therein and to enclose the speaker. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      The above and other objectives, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:  
       FIG. 1  is a front view of a refrigerator with a general display unit installed thereon;  
       FIG. 2  is a sectional view of speaker holes according to the prior art;  
       FIG. 3  is a partial front view of a refrigerator door mounted with a display unit according to the present invention;  
       FIG. 4  is a sectional view taken along line A-A′ of  FIG. 3 ;  
       FIG. 5  is a sectional view of speaker holes according to the present invention; and  
       FIG. 6  is a graph illustrating the relationship between the level and frequency band of the sound generated from speakers according to the related art and the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
      Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.  
       FIG. 3  is a front view showing a main part of a refrigerator mounted with a display unit according to the present invention,  FIG. 4  is a sectional view taken along line A-A′ of  FIG. 3 ,  FIG. 5  is a sectional view of through-holes according to the present invention, and  FIG. 6  is a graph illustrating the relationship between the level and frequency band of sound generated from speakers according to the related art and the present invention.  
      The configuration of other parts of a refrigerator mounted with a display unit according to the present invention is the same as that shown in  FIG. 1 . Further, as shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , a display unit  120  is installed on a front surface of a refrigerating chamber door  100 . In addition, since the display unit  120  has a TV receiving function, a user can watch the TV using the display unit  120  installed on the front surface of the refrigerator door.  
      Storage spaces such as freezing and refrigerating chambers are provided in the refrigerator at the rear of the refrigerator door. A plurality of shelves on which foodstuffs to be stored are placed are also provided in the storage spaces. Further, a plurality of door baskets are detachably installed at a rear surface of the door  100  to allow stored articles including a variety of foods to be placed therein.  
      Herein, the display unit  120  comprises a display  122  consisting of a thin LCD and a mounting panel  124  installed around an edge of the display  122 , in consideration of the thickness of door. The display  122  consisting of LCD is a device for receiving the broadcast signal by means of circuit components installed within the display unit and displaying the received broadcast. Further, the mounting panel  124  installed around the edge of the display  122  is formed with a plurality of speaker holes  124   a ,  124   b  and  124   c . An operating button  124   d  that a user manipulates to select a desired function of the display is also provided at the mounting panel  124 .  
      As shown in  FIG. 4 , speakers  126  for converting electrical signals into sound waves and generating sound is provided at the rear of the speaker holes  124   a ,  124   b  and  124   c  of the mounting panel  124 . Further, a controller (not shown) for controlling the operation of the display  122  and speakers  126  is provided at the rear of the operating button  124   d  of the mounting panel  124  in such a manner that the operating button  124   d  of the mounting panel  124  is connected with the display  122  and the speakers  126 .  
      Of course, the display unit  120  may be installed on any one of the refrigerating and freezing chamber doors. When the display unit  120  is installed on the refrigerator door, an additional decoration panel  128  may be installed around the edge of the display unit  120  such that any mounting portions of the display unit cannot be exposed to the outside.  
      A rectangular resonance box  132  is provided at the rear of the speakers  126  that are installed at the rear of the speaker holes  124   a ,  124   b  and  124   c  formed in the mounting panel  124 . The resonance box  132  is formed to have a space enough to accommodate the speakers  126  therein and covered on the rear side of the speakers  126 . The resonance box  132  is a device for combining a sound generated from a front surface of the speakers  126  and a sound generated from and reflected on a rear surface of the speakers  126  so as to improve the quality of low and middle frequency sound.  
      At the front of the resonance box  132  is formed a sound transmission tube  134  with a predetermined length that is installed to communicate with the speaker holes  124   a ,  124   b  and  124   c  of the mounting panel  124  such that sound generated from the rear surface of the speakers  126  is reflected on and transmitted forward from the resonance box. Thus, since the sound that is reflected on and propagating forwardly from the resonance box  132  is transmitted to the outside in such a state where its sound pressure is increased while the sound passes through the sound transmission tube  134 , the sound can be transmitted farther.  
      A sound absorbing material  136  capable of absorbing high frequency sound is installed on a rear surface of the resonance box  132  corresponding to the rear surface of the speakers  126 . The sound absorbing material  136  can prevent the high frequency sound from being irregularly amplified by absorbing the high frequency sound. Further, it is preferred that the sound absorbing material  136  be a porous sound absorbing material with a plurality of holes formed thereon or therein. The sound absorbing material may be made of nonwoven fabrics, textile sheets, compressed sponges or the like. This sound absorbing material  136  serves to improve sound quality by allowing the high frequency sound of the sound generated from the speakers  126  to impinge on the interior of the fine holes and then be partially dissipated into thermal energy.  
      In a sound system for a refrigerator of the present invention so configured, when the display unit  120  mounted to the front surface of the refrigerator door  100  is turned on, a video screen is displayed on the display  122  and a sound is simultaneously transmitted to the outside through the speakers  126 .  
      During the sound transmission, a sound generated from the front surface of the speakers  126  is directly transmitted to the outside through the plurality of speaker holes  124   a ,  124   b  and  124   c  formed in the mounting panel  124 . At the same time, a sound generated from the rear surface of the speakers  126  is reflected on the resonance box  132  and transmitted through the sound transmission tube  134  with increased sound pressure thereof. Thus, the sound can be not only transmitted farther to the outside but also improved such that the low and middle frequency sound is heard louder.  
      Since the high frequency sound generated from the rear surface of the speakers  126  is absorbed in the fine holes of the sound absorbing material  136 , sound energy can be converted and dissipated into thermal energy such that the occurrence of squealing sound is prevented and the sound quality of high frequency sound is also improved.  
      In addition, as shown in  FIG. 6 , the sound generated by the related art speakers was not well heard by the user because the sound level of low and middle frequency sound is low, and the squealing sound was also provided to the user because the sound level of high frequency sound is too high in some frequency bands. On the other hand, the improved sound quality can be provided to the user within an audible frequency band because the sound level of the low and middle frequency sound generated by the speakers to which the structure of the present invention is applied is further reinforced and the sound level of the high frequency sound thereof is relatively uniformly distributed as compared with the related art.  
      Next, the configuration of the speaker holes of the present invention is described with reference to  FIG. 5 . Hereinafter, one of the speaker holes  124   a  will be described as an example of the speaker holes.  
      The speaker hole  124   a  is formed to perforate forward through the mounting panel  124 . Thus, as described above, the sound propagating forward from the speaker  126  and the sound propagating forward from the interior of the resonance box  132  through the sound transmission tube  134  can pass through the speaker hole  124   a.    
      The speaker hole  124   a  of the present invention includes a central portion C with a substantially constant diameter, a front portion F facing from the central portion C toward the front of the refrigerator, and a rear portion R facing from the central portion C toward the interior of the refrigerator. The central portion C is formed to have a substantially constant diameter. The front portion F is shaped as a cone of which diameter is gradually increased toward the front of the refrigerator, while the rear portion R is shaped as a cone of which diameter is gradually increased toward the rear of the refrigerator. As compared with the related art speaker hole, therefore, the diameters of the front and rear portions F and R of the speaker hole  124   a  are gradually increased, and thus, it can be understood that the substantial sectional areas of the front and rear portions F and R are increased.  
      Accordingly, even though water drops adhere to the mounting panel  124  and the front surface of the refrigerator door  100  or run down into a portion where the speaker hole  124  when cleaning the front surface of the refrigerator door, the water drops stay in the front portion F of the speaker hole  124  of which sectional area is sufficiently expanded. Thus, it is difficult for the water drops to penetrate into the display unit through the central portion C. Although the water drops pass through the front portion F and reach up to the central portion C, they stay in and evaporate from the rear portion R because the sectional area of the rear portion R is sufficiently large as compared with the related art. Thus, it is not easy for the water to substantially penetrate into the display unit. The present invention is basically configured in such a manner that the penetration of water into the display unit can be prevented by substantially increasing the diameter of the front and/or rear portions and thus expanding the sectional area thereof to allow the water to stay therein. In addition, considering surface tension that is exerted on the water drops formed on the front surface of the mounting panel  124  and the front portion F of the speaker hole  124   a , it can be understood that the aforementioned configuration can fully prevent the water drops from passing through the speaker hole and penetrating into the display unit.  
      Although both the front and rear portions F and R of the speaker hole  124   a  are configured in such a manner that their diameters are gradually increased as compared with that of the central portion C of the speaker hole  124   a  according to the illustrated embodiment of the present invention, it is obvious that the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the present invention may be configured in such a manner that the diameter of the front portion F is gradually increased as compared with that of the central portion C, while the diameter of the rear portion R is the same as that of the central portion C.  
      As discussed above, the basic technical spirit of the present invention is that the resonance box is installed to improve the sound quality of the display unit mounted to the front surface of the refrigerator door. Further, to prevent water drops from penetrating into the display unit through the speaker hole through which the sound is transmitted, at least a front portion of the speaker hole is expanded and thus its sectional area is increased.  
      In a sound system for a refrigerator mounted with a display unit according to the present invention so configured, a resonance box is installed at the rear of a speaker such that the speaker is enclosed in the resonance box. Therefore, sound generated from the rear of the speaker is also reflected on the resonance box and transmitted forward to the outside, and thus, the low and middle frequency sound characteristics can be improved. Further, since a sound absorbing material is attached to an inner surface of the resonance box facing a rear surface of the speaker, high frequency sound generated from the rear surface can be dissipated into thermal energy in fine holes of the sound absorbing material. Thus, there are advantages in that the occurrence of squealing sound can be prevented and the high frequency sound characteristics can also be improved. Therefore, an effect that the sound system can improve sound quality of the display unit mounted to the refrigerator door is expected.  
      In addition, the present invention is configured in such a manner that water drops are not introduced into the display unit through speaker holes. Therefore, another effect that the damage of inner components of the display unit due to water can be prevented and thus reliability of the display unit can also be improved is also expected.  
      It will be apparent that those skilled in the art can make various modifications and changes within the scope of the fundamental technical spirit of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should be construed on the basis of the appended claims.