Abstract:
The present embodiment relates to a refrigerator, and more specifically to a refrigerator capable of effectively receiving various kinds of foods in the inside of a basket by selectively shielding a door basket provided at a rear of a refrigerator door and providing a basket cover selectively fixed to an upper end of the door basket or the rear of the door. 
     The refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises: a main body formed with a storage chamber; a door rotatably coupled with the main body; and a door basket mounted on the door, the door basket including a basket main body storing stores and a basket cover rotatably coupled with one side of the basket main body and fixed to any one of the basket main body and the door. 
     With the refrigerator configured as above, the utility of the door basket of the refrigerator is increased.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    The present embodiment relates to a refrigerator, and more specifically to a refrigerator capable of easily receiving various kinds of foods in the inside of a basket by selectively shielding a door basket for a refrigerator and providing a basket cover selectively fixed to an upper end of the door basket or a rear of the door through an improved structure of a refrigerator. 
         [0002]    Generally, a refrigerator is to store foods at low temperature. The inside of the refrigerator is provided with a storage chamber where food is stored in a freezing state or a cooling state according to a state of foods to be stored. 
         [0003]    The inside of the refrigerator is cooled by continuously supplying cooling air. The cold air is continuously generated by a heat exchange action of refrigerant, which repeatedly performs a cycle of compression-condensation-expansion-evaporation. And, the cooling air supplied to the inside of the refrigerator is uniformly transferred to the inside of the refrigerator by convection, making it possible to store foods in the inside of the refrigerator at a desired temperature. 
         [0004]    The refrigerator tends to get bigger and have multi-functionality in line with various tastes of users and a change of eating habits. Thereby, products having various configurations have been launched. 
         [0005]    Generally, a storage space formed in the inside of a refrigerator main body may be partitioned into a freezing chamber and a cooling chamber so as to permit a cooling storage or freezing storage of foods. 
         [0006]    Also, the main body of the refrigerator may rotatably be coupled with a refrigerator door to shield cooling air circulating the inside of the refrigerator. And, a rear of the refrigerator door may be provided with a plurality of baskets receiving stores. 
         [0007]    Also, the basket may be provided with a basket cover that shields at least a portion of the basket. 
         [0008]    And, the basket cover may generally be formed of a transparent material to be able to confirm the stores therein. And, the basket cover is rotated based on a predetermined rotation axis to open and close the storage space in the inside of the basket. 
         [0009]    Also, an end of the basket cover is provided with a handle to be able to easily open and close the basket cover. 
         [0010]    However, the related art as described above has the following problems. 
         [0011]    With the related art, since the upper side of the basket included in the refrigerator is configured to be opened, when it receives foods giving out as inherent smell such as dairy products or salted fish, a problem arise in that the smell from the dairy products or the salted fish is diffused in the refrigerator. 
         [0012]    Also, since the basket cover is not formed with a sealing structure sealing the stores therein from the outside, a problem arises in that the smell from foods received in the basket is effectively not shielded. 
         [0013]    Also, when foods with long length such as a bottle is received in the inside of the basket cover, since the upper end of the received foods is interfered with the basket cover, a problem arises in that the storage of foods is difficult. 
         [0014]    Also, with the aforementioned problems, since the dairy products and the beverage bottle, etc are separated and stored from each other, a problem arises in that user convenience is degraded. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0015]    An embodiment of the present invention proposes to solve the problems of the related art as described above. It is an object of the present embodiment to provide a refrigerator sealing stores in the inside of a door basket from the outside by providing a basket cover selectively sealing an inner space of the door basket. 
         [0016]    Also, it is an object of the present embodiment to provide a refrigerator capable of easily receiving various kinds of foods in the inside of a basket by selectively fixing a basket cover to an upper end of a door basket or a rear of a door through an improved structure of the basket cover. 
         [0017]    There is provided a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention, comprising: a main body formed with a storage chamber; a door rotatably coupled with the main body; and a door basket mounted on the door, the door basket including a basket main body storing stores and a basket cover rotatably coupled with one side of the basket main body and fixed to any one of the basket main body and the door. 
         [0018]    There is provided a refrigerator according to another embodiment, comprising: a main body formed with a storage chamber; a door rotatably coupled with the main body; a basket main body detachably coupled with the door and having an opened upper surface; a basket cover selectively shielding an upper surface of the basket main body; and a cover fixing unit selectively fixing the basket cover to a rear of the door. 
         [0019]    There is provided a refrigerator according to another embodiment, comprising: a main body formed with a storage chamber; a door rotatably coupled with the main body; a basket main body detachably coupled with the door and having an opened upper surface; a basket cover selectively shielding an upper surface of the basket main body; and in a state where the basket cover shields the upper surface of the basket main body, a cover fixing means locked to the basket main body. 
         [0020]    There is provided a refrigerator according to another embodiment, comprising: a main body formed with a storage chamber; a door rotatably coupled with the main body; and a door basket provided with a basket main body detachably coupled with the door and a basket cover selectively shielding an opened upper surface of the basket main body, the basket cover being provided with a first locking part locked to the basket main body in a state where the basket main body is shielded and a second locking part locked to the door in a state where the basket main body is opened. 
         [0021]    According to the refrigerator with the configuration, the door basket can selectively shielded by the basket cover so that foods stored in the basket, for example, foods with great possibility to diffuse the inherent smell such as the dairy products or the salted fish into the inside of the main body are sealed from the outside, making it possible to reduce the smell of foods in the inside of the refrigerator. 
         [0022]    And, when foods with a height higher than that of the inner space of the door basket, such as a beverage bottle or a water bottle are stored, the basket cover is rotated to be fixed to the rear of the door, making it possible to increase the utility of the door basket. 
         [0023]    Also, the basket cover is operated according to the kinds of foods stored in the basket so that the receiving space of the basket can properly controlled, making it possible to increase user convenience. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0024]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing a state where a refrigerator door according to a first embodiment of the present invention is opened. 
           [0025]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view showing a state where a basket cover is shielded to a door basket of the refrigerator according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0026]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view showing a state where the basket cover is opened. 
           [0027]      FIG. 4  is a side cross-sectional view showing a state where the door basket receives dairy products. 
           [0028]      FIG. 5  is a side cross-sectional view showing a state where the door basket receives a beverage bottle. 
           [0029]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view showing a structure of a door basket of a refrigerator according to a second embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0030]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view showing a state where a basket cover of the refrigerator according to the second embodiment of the present invention is opened. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
       [0031]    Hereinafter, a refrigerator according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
         [0032]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing a state where a refrigerator door according to a first embodiment of the present invention is opened. 
         [0033]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , a refrigerator  100  according a first embodiment of the present invention includes a main body  110  forming an outer appearance and having a storage chamber formed therein and doors  130 ,  140  rotatably coupled with the main body  110 . 
         [0034]    In detail, the storage chamber is partitioned into a freezing chamber  112  for storing foods in a freezing state and a cooling chamber  113  for storing foods in a cooling state by means of a partition part  120 . And, the doors  130 ,  140  is divided into a freezing chamber door  130  selectively shielding the freezing chamber  112  and a cooling chamber door  140  selectively shielding the cooling chamber  113 . 
         [0035]    Also, the freezing chamber  112  and the cooling chamber  113  are provided with a plurality of shelves  150  to receive stores. And, the inner spaces of the freezing chamber  112  and the cooling chamber  113  are partitioned by means of the shelves  150 . 
         [0036]    Also, the rears of the freezing chamber door  130  and the cooling chamber door  140  are provided with a plurality of door baskets  200 . 
         [0037]    And, the door basket  200  is further provided with a basket main body  210  storing the stores and a basket cover  220  rotatably coupled with one side of the basket main body  210  to selectively shield the inner space of the door basket  200 . 
         [0038]    The door basket  200  may detachably be coupled with the freezing door  130  and the cooling chamber door  140 . And, the freezing chamber door  130  and the cooling chamber door  140  is formed with a basket mounting part (not shown) on which the door basket  200  is mounted. 
         [0039]    And, the door basket  200  can be fitted in the basket mounting part. 
         [0040]    And, the basket cover  220  may selectively be fixed to the rears of the doors  130 ,  140  and the upper end of the basket main body according to kinds of foods received in the inside of the door basket  200  by means of a cover fixing means to be described later. 
         [0041]    Hereinafter, the structure of the door basket  200  will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
         [0042]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view showing a state where the basket cover is shielded to the door basket of the refrigerator according to a first embodiment of the present invention and  FIG. 3  is a perspective view showing a state where the basket cover is opened. 
         [0043]    Referring to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the door basket  200  according to the first embodiment of the present invention has a rectangular parallelepiped with a horizontal length longer than a vertical length. 
         [0044]    In detail, the door basket  200  includes a basket main body  210  storing the stores and a basket cover  220  rotatably coupled to one side of the basket main body  210 . 
         [0045]    And, the basket main body  210  has a shape that its upper surface is opened and the basket cover  220  can selectively shield the opened upper surface of the basket main body  210 . 
         [0046]    In more detail, the basket main body  210  is formed with cover coupling parts  250  so that it is coupled with the door basket  200 . And, the cover coupling parts  250  are provided at the rear upper end of the basket main body  210  and the cover coupling part  250  are formed with hinge parts  252  so that they is hinge-coupled with the basket cover  220 . Herein, the cover coupling part  250  and the hinge part  252  may be formed at both ends of the basket main body  210 , respectively. 
         [0047]    And, a rotation restricting part  260 , which is extended to the same height as the cover coupling part  250  to restrict a range rotated to the rear of the basket cover  220 , is formed between the cover coupling parts  250 . The basket cover  220  may be rotated to the basket main body  210  in a range of approximately 90° from a closed state by means of the rotation restricting part  260 . 
         [0048]    Also, the upper end of the basket main body  210  is provided with a shielding projection  270  as the cover fixing means locked to the basket cover  220  while the basket cover  220  is closed. 
         [0049]    And, the lower side of the basket cover  220  is provided with a lower projection  226  as another fixing part locked to the shielding projection  270  while the basket cover  220  is closed. 
         [0050]    And, while the shielding projection  270  is locked to the lower projection  226 , bent portions of the shielding projection  270  and the lower projection  226  may be locked to each other. 
         [0051]    And, the storage space of the basket main body  210  may be sealed by the lock of the shielding projection  270  and the lower projection  226 . 
         [0052]    Meanwhile, the drawing shows the shielding projection  270  formed at a center of the front upper end of the basket main body  200 ; however, it can be formed at the upper ends of both sides thereof according to a position of the lower projection  226  and formed at the front and the upper ends of both sides thereof. 
         [0053]    Also, the upper end of the basket cover  220  is formed with an upper side projecting part  224  as the cover fixing means, which is projected upwardly and locked to the refrigerator doors  130 ,  140  while the basket cover  220  is opened. 
         [0054]    And, the basket cover  220  is formed with a bent part  225  bent and extended in a vertical direction from one side end of the upper side projecting part  224 . Herein, the bent part  225  is maintained in a locked state while the basket cover  220  is locked to the refrigerator doors  130 ,  140 . 
         [0055]    In other words, the upper surface of the basket cover  220  is formed with the upper side projecting part  224  having an approximately           shape and the bent part  225 . And, the upper side projecting part  224  and the bent part  225  are locked to a cover fixing part  132  to be described later. 
         [0056]    Also, the lower side of the basket cover  220  is provided with a shielding member  230  for sealing the inner space of the basket main body  210  by means of the basket cover  220  while the lower projection  226  is engaged with the shielding projection  270 . 
         [0057]    Herein, the shielding member  230  may not be provided a place where the lower projection  226  is positioned. 
         [0058]    The shielding member  230  may be formed of an elastic material. And, in order to easily seal the inner space of the basket main body  210 , the shielding member  230  may have a thickness equal to or more than a height at a state where the lower projection  226  is engaged with the shielding projection  270 . 
         [0059]    Also, the basket main body  210  is provided with a basket engaging part  240  engaged with the basket mounting part (not shown) provided at the rears of the doors  130 ,  140  while the basket main body  210  is mounted on the doors  130 ,  140 . 
         [0060]    And, the basket engaging part  240  is provided with a mounting projection  242  inserted into the basket mounting part. Of course, the basket mounting part may be formed with an insert groove into which the mounting projection  242  is inserted. 
         [0061]    On the contrary, the basket engaging part  240  may be formed with the insert groove and the basket mounting part may be formed with the mounting projection. 
         [0062]    With the aforementioned configuration, the door basket  200  may be mounted on the rears of the doors  130 ,  140  by a fitting manner. 
         [0063]      FIG. 4  is a side cross-sectional view showing a state where the door basket receives dairy products and  FIG. 5  is a side cross-sectional view showing a state where the door basket receives a beverage bottle. 
         [0064]    Referring to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the refrigerator doors  130 ,  140  according to the first embodiment of the present invention are provided with the cover fixing part  132  as the cover fixing means locked to the upper side projecting part  224  of the basket cover  220  while the basket cover  220  is opened. 
         [0065]    And, the cover fixing part  132  may be formed to be projected to the outside from the rears of the refrigerator doors  130 ,  140 . And, the cover fixing part  132  has a           shape where the front portion is more slightly collapsed than the rear portion. 
         [0066]    Meanwhile, if the basket cover  220  is completely opened, the upper side projecting part  224  is locked to the cover fixing part  132 . And, the bent part  225  contacts the upper surface of the cover fixing part  132 . 
         [0067]    Also, the shielding projection  270  is formed to be projected upwardly from the front upper end of the basket main body  200 , wherein the projected end is formed in a hook shape. 
         [0068]    In other words, the upper end of the shielding projection  270  has a slope and is projected forward as it is going from the upper side to the lower side and the central portion of the shielding projection  270  is collapsed toward a rear side to form a locking projection. 
         [0069]    And, the lower projection  226  has a shape corresponding to the shielding projection  270 . In other words, the upper end of the lower projection  226  has a slope and is collapsed forward as it is going from the upper side to the lower side and the central portion of the lower projection  226  is projected forward to form a locking projection. 
         [0070]    As described above, the shielding projection  270  and the lower projection  226  are interfered with each other so that the basket cover  220  can be maintained in a state where the inner space of the basket main body  210  is sealed. 
         [0071]    As shown in the drawing, the inner space of the basket main body  210  is maintained in the sealed state by the basket cover  220 . And, the dairy product D received in the basket main body  210  may be maintained in a fresh state. 
         [0072]    Also, the shielding member  230  of the elastic material provided at the lower side of the basket cover  230  is formed to have a thickness thicker than the height of the state where the shielding projection  270  is engaged with the lower projection  226 . 
         [0073]    And, while the shielding projection  270  is engaged with the lower projection  226 , the shielding member is elastically deformed to firmly shield a gap between the basket cover  220  and the basket main body  210 , thereby improving the sealing performance. 
         [0074]    Referring to  FIG. 5 , there is shown a case where the length of the beverage bottle B stored in the inside of the cooling chamber is longer than the height of the inner space of the basket main body  210 . Accordingly, the beverage bottle B is received in the basket main body  210  in the state where the basket cover  220  is opened. 
         [0075]    And, the basket cover  220  is rotated by 90° based on the hinge part  252  and the upper side projecting part  224  provided at the upper surface of the basket cover  220  is locked to the cover fixing part  132 . 
         [0076]    And, the bent part  225  is maintained in a state where it contacts the upper surface of the cover fixing part  132 . Meanwhile, in order to maintain the coupled state of the basket cover  220 , the bent part  225  may be formed of a material with predetermined elasticity. 
         [0077]    In other words, while the basket cover  220  is opened to lock the upper side projecting part  224  to the cover fixing part  132 , the bent part  225  is elastically deformed to maintain a state where it is closely attached to the upper surface of the cover fixing  132   
         [0078]    Thereafter, if the upper side projecting unit  224  is completely locked to the cover fixing part  132 , the bent part  225  can be inserted into the rear portion of the cover fixing part  132 , that is, the collapsed portion thereof. 
         [0079]    Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The present embodiment will be described based on the differences from the first embodiment. The same portions will be indicated by the reference numerals of the first embodiment. 
         [0080]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view showing a structure of a door basket of a refrigerator according to a second embodiment of the present invention and  FIG. 7  is a perspective view showing a state where a basket cover of the refrigerator according to the second embodiment of the present invention is opened. 
         [0081]    Referring to  FIGS. 6 and 7 , the door basket  200  according to a second embodiment of the present invention includes the basket main body  210  storing the stores and the basket cover  220  provided at the upper side of the basket main body  210  to be rotatably coupled therewith based on the hinge part  252 . 
         [0082]    In detail, both sides of the basket main body  210  are formed with the cover coupling parts  250  so that the basket cover  220  is fitted therein. 
         [0083]    The cover coupling part  250  is formed to be projected upwardly from at the rear end upper sides of both sides of the basket main body  210 , wherein the projected portion is formed in an overturned Ω shape. And, the hinge part  252  formed at the basket cover  220  is forcibly inserted through the upper thereof and is rotatably formed at the central portion. 
         [0084]    The upper end of the basket main body  210  is formed with a lower locking groove  310  as the cover fixing means locked to the basket cover  220  in the state where the basket cover  220  is closed. 
         [0085]    Herein, the lower locking groove  310  is formed to be collapsed inwardly from the front of the upper ends on both sides of the basket main body  210 . 
         [0086]    Also, the lower surface of the basket cover  220  is provided with a first locking part  320  as the cover fixing means inserted into the lower locking groove  310  while the basket cover  220  is closed. Herein, the first locking part  320  may be formed of a material with predetermined elasticity and may have a hook shape. 
         [0087]    In other words, the first locking unit  320  is received and fixed in the lower locking groove  310 . To this end, although not shown in the drawing, the inner side of the lower locking groove  310  may be formed with a locking projection so that the end of the first locking part  320  is locked thereto. 
         [0088]    Also, the upper surface of the basket cover  220  may be provided with a second locking part  330  as the cover fixing means locked to the refrigerator doors  130 ,  140  in the state where the basket cover is opened. 
         [0089]    And, the second locking part  330  is projected upwardly from the upper front end of the basket cover  220  and may be formed in the same hook shape as the first locking part  320 . 
         [0090]    Referring to  FIG. 7 , the cooling chamber door  140  is formed with a upper locking groove  340  as the cover fixing means, the upper locking groove  340  being locked to the second locking part  330  when the second locking part  330  is inserted into the upper locking groove. 
         [0091]    In other words, the upper locking groove  340  is formed to be collapsed inwardly from the rear of the refrigerator door  140 , thereby fixing the basket cover  220  while the basket main body  210  is opened. 
         [0092]    And, the upper locking groove  340  may be formed at a position where the second locking part  330  can be inserted when the basket cover  220  is opened, in the state where the basket main body  210  is mounted on the refrigerator. 
         [0093]    And, the inner side of the upper locking groove  340  may be formed with the locking projection so that the end of the second locking part  330  is locked thereto. 
         [0094]    Therefore, when the foods such as the beverage bottle is stored in the inside of the basket main body  210 , the second locking part  330  is engaged with the upper locking groove  340  to maintain the basket cover in the opened state. 
         [0095]    The scope of the present embodiment is not limited to the foregoing embodiments, but those skilled in the art can make many other modifications based on the present embodiment.