Patent ID: 7934695

Claim:
A refrigerator comprising: a valve assembly located at a refrigerant path from a condenser to at least one expansion valve for controlling flow of a refrigerant from the condenser to the at least one expansion valve, the valve assembly comprising: a valve chamber, wherein the refrigerant drawn from the condenser is held in the valve chamber; at least one outlet hole through which the refrigerant held in the valve chamber is discharged to a corresponding outlet path connected to the at least one expansion valve; a valve body for selectively opening and closing the at least one outlet hole as the valve body rotates, such that the refrigerant held in the valve chamber is selectively discharged to the corresponding outlet path; a holding part recessed on a bottom of the valve chamber in the shape of a closed channel that surrounds the at least one outlet hole, in which a predetermined amount of oil for oil-sealing between the bottom of the valve chamber and the valve body is held; and a valve base at which the at least one outlet hole and the holding part are fixedly formed, wherein the valve body selectively opens and closes the at least one outlet hole as the valve body rotates and is in contact with the valve base, wherein the holding part is provided at a protrusion near the at least one outlet hole.