Patent Publication Number: US-2012042684-A1

Title: Refrigerator

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     The embodiment relates to a refrigerator. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     In general, a refrigerator is an apparatus that stores foods in a low-temperature state. 
     The refrigerator includes a main body having a storage chamber and a door that is movably connected to the main body to open and close the storage chamber. 
     The storage chamber can be partitioned into, for example, a refrigerating chamber and a freezing chamber. The door includes a refrigerating chamber door that opens and closes the refrigerating chamber and a freezing chamber door that opens and closes the freezing chamber. 
     Therefore, a user should open the freezing chamber door or the refrigerating chamber door so as to draw out foods stored in the refrigerating chamber or the freezing chamber. 
     SUMMARY 
     It is an object of an embodiment to provide a refrigerator that allows a user to draw out foods stored in a storage chamber with small power. 
     According to an aspect, a refrigerator includes: a main body having a storage chamber; a main door that is movably connected to the main body to open and close the storage chamber; a sub-door that is rotatably connected to the main door to open and close a part of the storage chamber; and a receiving member that is joined to the sub-door, and is drawn out from the storage chamber while moving together with the sub-door when the sub-door is opened. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a refrigerator according to a first embodiment; 
         FIG. 2  is a partial exploded perspective view of a refrigerator according to a first embodiment; 
         FIG. 3  is a partial perspective view of a state where a sub-door is opened according to a first embodiment; 
         FIG. 4  is a partial perspective view of a state where a sub-door is closed according to a first embodiment; 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a refrigerator according to a second embodiment; 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a state where a sub-door is opened according to a second embodiment; and 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of a refrigerator according to a third embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a refrigerator according to a first embodiment and  FIG. 2  is a partial exploded perspective view of a refrigerator according to a first embodiment. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the refrigerator  10  according to the embodiment includes a main body  100  having a storage chamber and a door that is movably joined to the main body  100 , and opens and closes the storage chamber. 
     The storage chamber includes a refrigerating chamber  200  and a freezing chamber  300  that is positioned below the refrigerating chamber  200  and is partitioned from the refrigerating chamber  200 . 
     The door includes a plurality of refrigerating chamber doors  210  and  220  for opening and closing the refrigerating chamber  200  and a freezing chamber door  320  for opening and closing the freezing chamber  300 . 
     The plurality of freezing doors  210  and  220  is rotatably connected to the main body  100  by a hinge assembly  230 . 
     The freezing door  320  is slidably connected to the main body  100  by a rail assembly  400  provided in the main body  100 . 
     A basket  360  for receiving foods is joined onto a rear surface of the freezing chamber door  320 . The basket  360  connected to the rear surface of the freezing chamber door  320  is connected to the rail assembly  400 . The rail assembly  400  includes a rail unit  410  of which the length is adjustable in the front and rear direction of the refrigerator  10  and a joining unit  420  that is provided on a front surface of the rail unit  410  and joined onto the rear surface of the freezing chamber door  320 . 
     Meanwhile, a sub-door  340  that allows a user to draw out foods stored in the freezing chamber  300  without opening the freezing chamber door is provided in the freezing chamber door  320 . 
     Therefore, when the freezing chamber door  320  is opened, all foods received in the basket  360  are drawn out from the freezing chamber  300 . 
     In contrast, when the sub-door  340  is opened, some foods received in the basket  360  can be drawn out from the freezing chamber  300 . 
     Accordingly, in the embodiment, the freezing chamber door  320  itself may be referred to as a main door. 
     The sub-door  340  can be rotatably connected to the freezing chamber door  320  by, for example, the hinge assembly. The hinge assembly can include a hinge bracket  350  fixed onto the top and the bottom of the freezing chamber door  340  and a hinge shaft  352  providing a rotation center of the sub-door  340 . 
     A vertical length of the sub-door  340  can be the same as a vertical length of the freezing chamber door  320 . Accordingly, the integrity of the sub-door  340  and the freezing chamber door  320  can be increased. 
     In addition, a holder  322  for holding the sub-door  340  is recessed at a part of the front surface of the freezing chamber door  320 . Therefore, the front and rear direction of the freezing door  320  can be maintained the same in left and right directions in a state where the sub-door  340  is joined by the holder  322 . 
     A main door groove  321  and a sub-door groove  342  for providing a handle are formed on the top of the freezing chamber door  320  and the top of the sub-door  340 . In contrast, an additional handle can be joined to each of the freezing chamber door  320  and the sub-door  340 . 
     Therefore, when the freezing chamber door  320  is pulled in a state where the hand is put in the main door groove  321 , the freezing chamber door  320  is opened together with the sub-door  340 . In contrast, when the sub-door  340  is pulled in a state where the hand is put in the sub-door groove  342 , only the sub-door  340  is opened in a state where the freezing chamber door  320  is closed. 
     Meanwhile, an inner space of the basket  360  can be partitioned into a plurality of spaces by a partitioning part  362 . For example, the inner space of the basket  360  can be divided into a left space and a right space by the partitioning part  362 . 
     In addition, an opening portion  364  for allowing the foods to be drawn in and out is formed on a front surface of the basket  360 . 
       FIG. 3  is a partial perspective view of a state where a sub-door is opened according to a first embodiment and  FIG. 4  is a partial perspective view of a state where a sub-door is closed according to a first embodiment. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 to 4 , a receiving member  370  for receiving the foods is provided on a rear surface of the sub-door  340 . Although not shown, the receiving member  370  can be removably joined to, for example, the sub-door  340  by a hook scheme. 
     Accordingly, the receiving member  370  can rotate with the sub-door  340 . 
     In the embodiment, when the sub-door  340  rotates, the sub-door  340  rotates together with the receiving member  370 . Therefore, the rotation center of the sub-door  340  extends in the upper and lower direction of the refrigerator in order to prevent shaking or falling-down of the foods while the receiving member  370  rotates. That is, the sub-door  340  and the receiving member  370  horizontally rotate. 
     A sealer  346  for preventing cool air from being leaked can be provided on the rear surface of the sub-door  340 . In addition, a magnet (not shown) for joining the sub-door  340  and the freezing chamber door  320  to each other can be provided in the sealer  346 . 
     In addition, an opening portion  326  providing a space in which the receiving member  370  can move while the sub-door  340  is opened and closed is formed in the freezing chamber door  320 . 
     The receiving member  370  includes a joining unit  371  joined to the rear surface of the sub-door  340 , an extension unit  372  substantially vertically extending from the joining unit  371 , one or more support unit  374  for supporting the foods, and a connection unit  373  for preventing the foods from being dropped by connecting the joining unit  371  and the extension unit  372  to each other. 
     In addition, in order to prevent interferences of the receiving member  370 , the freezing chamber door  320 , and the basket  360  while the sub-door  340  is opened and closed, vertical lengths and horizontal lengths of the extension unit  372  and the joining unit  371  are smaller than vertical lengths and horizontal lengths of the opening portions  326  and  364 , respectively. 
     Further, in order to prevent interferences of the connection unit  373 , the freezing chamber door  320 , and the basket  360  while the sub-door  340  is opened and closed, the connection unit  373  may have a round shape. 
     Therefore, when viewed from the upper side of the receiving member  370 , the receiving member  370  can have a fanwise shape having an angel of approximately 90 degrees. 
     Of course, the shape of the receiving member  370  described above is exemplary and as long as the receiving member  370  does not interfere with the basket and the freezing chamber door in a state where the receiving member  370  is joined to the sub-door, the shape of the receiving member is not limited. 
     Therefore, referring to  FIG. 4 , the receiving member  370  is positioned in the basket  360  by passing through the opening portion  326  of the freezing chamber door  320  and the opening portion  364  of the basket  360  in a state where the sub-door  340  is closed. For example, the receiving member may be positioned at a left space of the basket  360 . 
     In contrast, referring to  FIG. 3 , the receiving member  370  positioned in the basket  360  is drawn out from the refrigerating chamber (or freezing chamber) together with the sub-door  340  by passing through the opening portions  326  and  364  in a state where the sub-door  340  is opened. 
     For example, frequently used foods, foods for children, etc. can be received in the receiving member  370 . In this case, since the user can draw out desired foods by opening the sub-door  340  without opening the freezing chamber door  320 , user convenience is improved. 
     That is, since power for opening the sub-door  340  is smaller than power for opening the freezing chamber door  320 , the user can draw out the foods stored in the freezing chamber (or basket) with small power. 
     Further, since the receiving member  370  is joined onto the rear surface of the sub-door  340 , the foods received in the receiving member  370  may be drawn out from the freezing chamber (or basket) at the time of opening the sub-door  340 . As a result, the user needs not to draw out the foods by putting his/her hand into the opening portions  326  and  364 . 
     Moreover, since the freezing chamber door  320  is positioned below the refrigerating chamber doors  210  and  220 , the height of the sub-door  340  from the bottom of the refrigerator  10  is decreased, such that the children can easily open and close the sub-door  340 . 
     In the embodiment, the receiving member  370  is positioned in the basket  360  by passing through the opening portion  364  of the basket  360  in the state where the sub-door  340  is closed. 
     Unlike this, an avoidance space is formed in the basket  360  as large as the shape of the receiving member  370 , such that the receiving member  370  maybe positioned outside of the basket  360  in the state where the sub-door  340  is closed. Of course, even in this case, the foods received in the receiving member  370  can be cooled by the cool air of the freezing chamber  300 . 
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a refrigerator according to a second embodiment and  FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a state where a sub-door is opened according to a second embodiment . 
     Most elements of the embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment . However, the embodiment is different from the first embodiment in the shape and joining scheme of the sub-door. Therefore, hereinafter, only specific elements of the embodiment will be described and the same elements as the first embodiment refer to the descriptions and reference numerals of the first embodiment. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 5 and 6 , a sub-door  540  of the embodiment is provided in the freezing chamber door  320  to be horizontally rotatable. In addition, a vertical length of the sub-door  540  is smaller than the vertical length of the freezing chamber door  320 . 
     A hinge shaft  542  is connected to the top and the bottom of the sub-door  540  so as to horizontally rotate the sub-door  540 . 
     In addition, a latch hook  544  for joining the sub-door  540  to the freezing chamber door  320  is formed on the rear surface of the sub-door  540  and a latch slot  546  for joining the latch hook  544  is formed in the freezing chamber door  320 . 
     Since structures of the latch hook  544  and the latch slot  546  can use the known structures, a detailed description thereof will be omitted. 
     Therefore, when a front surface of the sub-door  540  corresponding to a part where the latch hook  544  is formed is pressed in a state where the sub-door  540  is closed, the latch hook  544  and the latch slot  546  are disjoined from each other, such that the sub-door  540  is opened. In contrast, when the sub-door  540  is closed by rotation, the latch hook  544  and the latch slot  546  are joined to each other. 
     According to the embodiment, since the user presses the sub-door just once in order to open the sub-door  540 , the user convenience is improved. 
       FIG. 7  is a perspective view of a refrigerator according to a third embodiment. 
     Most elements of the embodiment are the same as those of the third embodiment. However, the embodiment is different from the third embodiment in the type of refrigerator. 
     Referring to  FIG. 7 , the refrigerator  60  according to the embodiment includes a main body  600  that is formed by horizontally partitioning a freezing chamber (not shown) and a refrigerating chamber (not shown), and a freezing chamber door  620  and a refrigerating chamber door  610  for opening and closing the freezing chamber and the refrigerating chamber, respectively. 
     In addition, a sub-door  630  having the same structure and rotation scheme as the first embodiment or the second embodiment is provided in the freezing chamber door  620 . For example, the sub-door  630  having the same structure as the second embodiment is shown in  FIG. 7 . 
     In the embodiment, since the freezing chamber door  620  and the refrigeration door  610  are horizontally disposed, the sub-door  630  is disposed in the freezing chamber door  620  so that a height H 2  to the center of the sub-door  630  is smaller than a height H 1  to the center of the freezing chamber door  620  in order to allow the user, particularly, the children to easily open the sub-door  630 . 
     According to a proposed embodiment, as an additional sub-door is provided in a freezing chamber door, a user can draw out desired foods by opening the sub-door without opening the freezing chamber door, thereby improving user convenience. 
     Further, since a receiving member is joined onto a rear surface of the sub-door, foods received in the receiving member may be drawn out from the freezing chamber (or basket) at the time of opening the sub-door. As a result, the user needs not to draw out the foods by putting his/her hand into an opening portion. 
     In addition, since the sub-door horizontally rotates around a rotation center extending in a horizontal direction of the refrigerator, it is possible to minimize shaking and falling-down of the foods while the sub-door and the receiving member rotate.