Patent Abstract:
A refrigerator capable of preventing the loss of cool air caused by successive closing of both refrigerating compartment doors. The refrigerator includes a body having a storage compartment, a pair of first and second doors provided at opposite sides of the body to open or close the storage compartment together, and a closing keeping unit provided between each door and the body, to prevent the first door, which is in a closed state, from being opened by a predetermined external force generated as the second door is closed, while allowing the first door to be opened by an external force exceeding the predetermined external force, thereby efficiently preventing the loss of cool air due to the unintentional opening of the closed door.

Full Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 2007-0019202, filed on Feb. 26, 2007 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    1. Field 
         [0003]    The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and, more particularly, to a mixed type refrigerator having a unit to keep the refrigerator doors in a closed state. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0005]    In general, a refrigerator is an apparatus to supply cool air, which is generated from an evaporator of a refrigeration cycle, into a storage compartment, for keeping various food reserves inside the storage compartment in a fresh state for a long time. The refrigerator includes a body forming the outer appearance of the refrigerator, a storage compartment defined in the body to have an opened front side, and a door coupled to a front side of the body to open or close the storage compartment. 
         [0006]    Conventionally, domestic refrigerators may be classified, on the basis of the arrangement of a refrigerating compartment and a freezing compartment and the installation structure of doors, into a general type refrigerator, a side-by-side type refrigerator, a mixed type refrigerator, etc. In the most widely used general type refrigerator, a freezing compartment and a refrigerating compartment are arranged above and below each other, and also, a freezing compartment door and a refrigerating compartment door are arranged above and below each other. 
         [0007]    In the side-by-side type refrigerator, a freezing compartment and a refrigerating compartment are arranged side by side, and a freezing compartment door and a refrigerating compartment door are arranged side by side. The freezing compartment includes an ice maker to make ice, and the freezing compartment door includes a dispenser to allow a user at the outside of the freezing compartment door to easily dispense ice made by the ice maker. The side-by-side type refrigerator is suitable for a high capacity refrigerator in which both a freezing compartment and a refrigerating compartment have a high capacity. 
         [0008]    In the mixed type refrigerator, a freezing compartment is below and a refrigerating compartment is on top. The freezing compartment is opened or closed by a drawer type door, and the refrigerating compartment is opened or closed by a pair of refrigerating compartment doors. In this case, an ice maker is installed in the refrigerating compartment and a dispenser is installed to one of the refrigerating compartment doors. As compared to the side-by-side refrigerator in which the ice maker is installed in the freezing compartment, the mixed type refrigerator has an advantage of preventing water being supplied into the ice maker from being frozen. 
         [0009]    One example of the mixed type refrigerator is disclosed in Korean Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2005-0117536. The conventional mixed type refrigerator, disclosed in the above publication, is configured such that a refrigerating compartment is provided in an upper section of a refrigerator body and a freezing compartment is provided in a lower section of the body. The refrigerating compartment is opened or closed by a pair of refrigerating compartment doors, and the freezing compartment is opened or closed by a drawer type door. 
         [0010]    In the above described conventional mixed type refrigerator in which the single refrigerating chamber is closed by two doors, however, there is the problem in that, in the course of closing one of the doors in a state where the other door is in a closed state, the other door may be unintentionally opened by a pressure, thus causing the loss of cool air. 
         [0011]    Further, to achieve an automatic closing function, the refrigerator door conventionally includes various elements such as a cam, a spring, etc. However, the spring has a gradual degradation in elastic force after a long time use. Therefore, to solve this problem, there is a need to change the spring periodically. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0012]    Accordingly, it is an aspect of the invention to provide a mixed type refrigerator having a side-by-side type refrigerating compartment, which can prevent the loss of cool air caused by successive closing of both refrigerating compartment doors. 
         [0013]    Additional aspects and/or advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. 
         [0014]    In accordance with the invention, the above and/or other aspects can be achieved by the provision of a refrigerator including a body having a storage compartment; a pair of doors provided at opposite sides of the body to open or close the storage compartment together; and a closing keeping unit provided between each door and the body, to prevent the associated door, which is in a closed state, from being opened by a predetermined external force generated as the other door is closed, while allowing the associated door to be opened by an external force exceeding the predetermined external force. 
         [0015]    The closing keeping unit may include a cam member provided at the associated door; a lever provided at the body to be selectively caught by the cam member for keeping the associated door in a closed state, or to be released from the cam member for allowing the associated door to be opened; and an elastic member to elastically support the lever. 
         [0016]    The body may include a hinge assembly to allow each door to be opened away from or closed to the body via a pivotal rotation thereof, and the lever may be disposed on the hinge assembly. 
         [0017]    The hinge assembly may include a fixing portion and a reinforcing portion, and the door may be connected to the fixing portion, and the lever is installed on the reinforcing portion. 
         [0018]    One end of the lever may be caught by the cam member, and the other end of the lever may be elastically supported on the hinge assembly by the elastic member. 
         [0019]    The hinge assembly may include a plurality of fixing ends to regulate a tensile force of the elastic member. 
         [0020]    The cam member may include a flat portion and a curved protruding portion, and one end of the lever may be located in a section between the flat portion and the apex of the curved protruding portion when the door is in a closed state. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0021]    These and/or other aspects and advantages of the exemplary embodiments 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: 
           [0022]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing a refrigerator according to the present invention; 
           [0023]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view showing a part of the refrigerator according to the present invention; and 
           [0024]      FIGS. 3 to 5  are views illustrating the operation of a closing keeping unit included in the refrigerator according to the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
       [0025]    Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. The embodiments are described below to explain the present invention by referring to the figures. 
         [0026]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing a refrigerator according to the present invention. Referring to the drawing, the refrigerator includes a body  10  having a storage compartment therein. The storage compartment is divided into an upper storage compartment  10   a  serving as a refrigerating compartment, and a lower storage compartment  10   b  serving as a freezing compartment. 
         [0027]    Doors  11  and  12  are installed at front sides of the respective storage compartments  10   a  and  10   b , to selectively open or close the interior of the respective storage compartments  10   a  and  10   b . Specifically, the refrigerating compartment  10   a  is provided with a pair of the doors  11  at left and right sides thereof, respectively. The doors  11  are opened away from or closed to the body  10  via a pivotal rotation thereof. The freezing compartment  10   b  is provided with the door  12  at a front side thereof. The door  12  is opened away from or closed to the body  10  via a forward sliding movement thereof. The door  12  of the freezing compartment  10   b  is a drawer type door, and slides together with an inner receiving member  13  upon an opening or closing operation thereof. 
         [0028]    Although not shown, each of the pivotally rotatable opening/closing doors  11  includes a plurality of shelves installed at a rear surface thereof in multiple stages, to facilitate easy organization of food reserves. Similarly, a plurality of shelves and drawers or basket-shaped receiving members are installed in the refrigerating compartment  10   a . The body  10  is installed, at the rear side of the refrigerating compartment  10   a , with an evaporator, which constitutes a refrigeration cycle to generate cool air, for the supply of cool air into the upper storage compartment  10   a . Also, a machine room is provided at the rear side of the freezing compartment  10   b  of the body  10 , to receive a compressor and a condenser for compressing a refrigerant and condensing the compressed refrigerant. In  FIG. 1 , reference numeral  14  represents a dispenser, and reference numeral  15  represents a home-bar door. 
         [0029]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view showing a part of the refrigerator body and the door according to the present invention. As shown, the door  11  is coupled to a door hinge assembly  20 , so as to be opened away from or closed to the body  10  via a pivotal rotation thereof. A pair of the hinge assemblies  20  are installed at upper and lower sides of the door  11 , respectively. 
         [0030]    Considering the illustrated upper hinge assembly  20  according to an embodiment of the present invention, a base bracket  21  of the hinge assembly  20  is installed to a front corner of the body  10 , and an extended bracket  22  protrudes forward from the base bracket  21 . A rotating shaft of the door  11  is coupled to the extended bracket  22 . 
         [0031]    In the mixed type refrigerator in which the single refrigerating chamber  10   a  is opened or closed by two doors, there is the problem in that any one of the doors, which is in a closed state, may be unintentionally opened by an external force caused as the other door is closed. To solve this problem, the present embodiment suggests a closing keeping unit  30 , which is preferably installed to the hinge assembly  20 . 
         [0032]    The closing keeping unit  30  includes a pivotally rotatable lever  31 , which is provided on the base bracket  21  of the hinge assembly  20  installed on the body  10 , a cam member  32  provided on the door  11  to be selectively caught by a first end  31   a  of the lever  31 , and an elastic member  35  to elastically support a second end  31   b  of the lever  31 . 
         [0033]    The base bracket  21  includes a fixing portion  21   a  and a reinforcing portion  21   b  extended from the fixing portion  21   a  parallel to a longitudinal direction of the door  11 . The lever  31  is installed on the reinforcing portion  21   b  because, if the lever  31  is positioned close to the fixing portion  21   a , the door  11  may be easily opened even by a low external force (i.e. a pressure generated upon closing of the other door) in the same manner as the prior art. Therefore, the lever  32  is preferably spaced apart from the fixing portion  21   a  by an appropriate distance on the basis of the capacity of the refrigerator. 
         [0034]    The cam member  32  includes a flat portion  33  and a curved protruding portion  34  such that the first end  31   a  of the lever  31  is selectively caught by one of the portions  33  and  34  according to the opening or closing operation of the door. When the first end  31   a  of the lever  31  is caught by the flat portion  33 , the door  11  is in a substantially closed state. When the first end  31   a  of the lever  31  is caught by the curved protruding portion  34 , the door is in a slightly opened state. 
         [0035]    The elastic member  35  is a conventionally used coil spring, and is provided between the second end  31   b  of the lever  31  and the reinforcing portion  21   b  of the base bracket  21 . In an interval after the door  11  is opened but before the first end  31   a  of the lever  31  passes the flat portion  33  and the apex of the curved protruding portion  34 , the elastic member  35  restricts the pivotal rotation of the lever  31 , thereby allowing the door  11  to be automatically returned to a closed state thereof (auto-closing). Then, after the first end  31   a  of the lever  31  passes the apex of the curved protruding portion  34 , the elastic member  35  applies an elastic force to the lever  31 , thereby allowing the lever  31  to be returned to the flat portion  33  by passing the curved protruding portion  34  reversely. To assure efficient movements of the lever  31  and the cam member  32 , a roller  31   c  is provided at the first end  31   a  of the lever  31 . 
         [0036]    Meanwhile, the reinforcing portion  21   b  of the base bracket  21  includes a plurality of fixing ends  26  to selectively support one end of the elastic member  35 . The respective fixing ends  26  have different lengths from the second end  31   b  of the lever  31 . Conventionally, if the elastic member has a degradation in elastic force by the repetitive opening and closing operations of the door  11 , the elastic member should be changed with a new one. However, with the adoption of the different lengths of the fixing ends  26 , the lifespan of the elastic member  35  can be prolonged by simply changing the fixing end  26 , to which the end of the elastic member  35  is coupled. 
         [0037]    In  FIG. 2 , reference numeral  27  represents a noise-proof stopper. 
         [0038]    Now, the operation of the closing keeping unit  30  for the door having the above described configuration will be described with reference to  FIGS. 3 to 5 . 
         [0039]      FIG. 3  illustrates the door  11  closed to the body  10 . As shown, the first end  31   a  of the lever  31  is located in a first section P 1  between the flat portion  33  of the cam member  32  and the apex of the curved protruding portion  34 . Therefore, the door  11  can be stably kept in a closed state. Also, in a state wherein the door  11  is in the first section P 1 , the lever  31  cannot pass the curved protruding portion  34  by an external force even if the other door is closed. Therefore, the closed state of the door  11  can be kept with a high stability. 
         [0040]    Subsequently, if the door  11  is opened by the user to the extent as shown in  FIG. 4  (the first end  31   a  of the lever  31  is located in the first section P 1 ), the lever  31  cannot pass the curved protruding portion  34  of the cam member  32  by the elastic force of the elastic member  35  provided at the second end  31   b  of the lever  31 . Therefore, the door  11  can be elastically returned to the closed state thereof (i.e. to the state as shown in  FIG. 1 ). 
         [0041]    Meanwhile, if the first end  31   a  of the lever  31  passes the first section P 1  and also, passes the overall second section P 2  as shown in  FIG. 5 , the door  11  is kept in an opened state. In this case, the first end  31   a  of the lever  31  readies to come into contact with a specific portion of the curved protruding portion  34  located in the section P 2  at the back of the apex of the curved protruding portion  34 , under the influence of the restoration force of the elastic member  35 . 
         [0042]    Accordingly, if the user pushes the door  11  to close the door  11 , the first end  31   a  of the lever  31  comes into contact with a rear surface  34   b  of the curved protruding portion  34  at the back of the apex and passes the second section P 2  and the first section P 1  in sequence, thereby causing the door  11  to be closed. 
         [0043]    When the elastic force of the elastic member  35  is gradually degraded after a long time use, one end of the elastic member  35  is coupled to appropriately selected another fixing end  26 , so as to keep the tensile force of the elastic member  35  at a constant level. 
         [0044]    As apparent from the above description, the present invention provides a refrigerator in which a closing keeping unit is provided at each of a pair of doors provided at opposite sides of a single storage compartment to open or close the storage compartment, thereby efficiently preventing one door, which is in a closed state, from being unintentionally opened by an external force generated as the other door is closed. 
         [0045]    Further, in the refrigerator according to the present invention, a hinge assembly includes a plurality of fixing ends to regulate the tensile force of an elastic member included in the closing keeping unit. This has the effect of extending the lifespan of the elastic member, thereby eliminating the need for a frequent change of the elastic member. 
         [0046]    Although 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 this embodiment without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.

Technology Classification (CPC): 5