Patent Document

This application claims the benefit of the Korean Patent Application No. P2007-0000000, filed on, 2007, which is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a can receiving apparatus and a refrigerator having the same, and more particularly, to a can receiving apparatus for a refrigerator, in which a can receiving shelf can be fixed at an upper-limit position or a lower-limit position upon pivotal rotation thereof, achieving an improvement in space utility and workability. 
     2. Discussion of the Related Art 
     Generally, a refrigerator is devised to store food at low temperatures. According to desired storage requirements of food, the refrigerator stores food at a refrigerating temperature or freezing temperature. Cold air fed into the refrigerator is produced via heat-exchange of a refrigerant. 
     Specifically, the refrigerant is continuously circulated in the refrigerator while repeatedly undergoing a cycle of compression, condensation, expansion and evaporation. With heat exchange between the refrigerant and air inside the refrigerator, cold air can be produced. As the produced cold air is uniformly transmitted within the refrigerator by convection, food stored in the refrigerator can be maintained at desired temperatures. 
     A refrigerator body includes a freezing compartment in which food is stored at a freezing temperature, and a refrigerating compartment in which food is stored at a refrigerating temperature. A partition wall separates the freezing compartment from the refrigerating compartment. According to the shape of products, door(s) are provided at front left and/or right sides of the refrigerator body. 
     Of foods to be stored, ones received in cans or bottles, eggs, and the like are generally stored by use of door baskets provided at an inner surface of the refrigerator door. However, the door baskets may have a limited receiving space. 
     In addition to a basic storage function, recently, refrigerators have been developed to have certain extra functions according to various consumer demands. For example, a refrigerator may be designed to additionally have an independent auxiliary storage apparatus (conventionally, referred to as a ‘home bar’), which is provided to be exposed to the outside. 
     With the auxiliary storage apparatus, a user can conveniently store or remove food without opening the refrigerator door. 
     Conventional auxiliary storage apparatuses are provided with a shelf capable of conveniently storing wine bottles, etc. However, development of an apparatus suitable to efficiently store plural cans is still insufficient. In particular, there exists a need for a receiving apparatus capable of assuring convenient storage and removal of cans without deterioration of space utility despite frequent use of the associated auxiliary storage apparatus. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a can receiving apparatus and a refrigerator having the same that substantially obviate one or more problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art. 
     An object of the present invention is to provide a can receiving apparatus for a refrigerator, which can achieve excellent space utility and assure convenient storage and removal of plural cans in association with the use of another auxiliary storage apparatus. 
     Additional advantages, objects, and features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and in part will become apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned from practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings. 
     To achieve these objects and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, a can receiving apparatus for a refrigerator comprises: a case; a can receiving shelf coupled to the case in a pivotally rotatable manner; and a holding means to fix the can receiving shelf at an upper limit position upon pivotal rotation of the can receiving shelf. 
     The holding means may include a holding protrusion provided at one of the case and the can receiving shelf, and a receiving member provided at the other one of the case and the can receiving shelf so as to be coupled with the holding protrusion. 
     The receiving member may include a pair of receiving ribs having free ends curved towards each other. 
     Preferably, the receiving ribs are formed at the case, and the case is formed with a guide recess having a bottom surface spaced apart from the free ends of the receiving ribs. 
     In this case, the receiving ribs may extend to the center of the guide recess. 
     More preferably, the case is further formed with a receiving recess to fix the can receiving shelf at a lower limit position upon pivotal rotation of the can receiving shelf. 
     The receiving recess may receive the holding protrusion formed at the can receiving shelf. 
     Preferably, the receiving recess is formed at a lower end of the guide recess. 
     The holding protrusion may be provided at either side of the can receiving shelf, and the receiving member may be provided at an inner wall surface of the case. 
     The case may include an opened front frame, an upper frame, and a pair of side frames. 
     Preferably, the case further includes a cover to open or close the front frame. 
     More preferably, the cover is made of a transparent material. 
     The cover may be perforated in an upper portion thereof with a cover opening for movement of cold air. 
     The upper frame may be perforated with a frame opening for movement of cold air. 
     The can receiving shelf may be located at an upper position of the case, and the can receiving shelf may include a front wall portion, a pair of sidewall portions and a bottom portion. 
     Preferably, the bottom portion is repeatedly formed with a raised portion and a recessed portion, to correspond to a lower contour of a can received on the bottom portion. 
     More preferably, the recessed portion is perforated with a separating hole to facilitate removal of the can. 
     Meanwhile, the case may be mounted to a refrigerator door, and preferably, may be provided at an auxiliary storage apparatus. 
     In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided a refrigerator having a can receiving apparatus, wherein the can receiving apparatus comprises: a case; a can receiving shelf coupled to the case in a pivotally rotatable manner; and a holding means to fix the can receiving shelf when the can receiving shelf is pivotally rotated to an upper limit position thereof, the holding means including a holding protrusion provided at one of the case and the can receiving shelf, and a receiving member provided at the other one of the case and the can receiving shelf so as to be coupled with the holding protrusion. 
     The receiving member may be formed with a receiving space, into which the holding protrusion is inserted, and an entrance port to be spread outward when the holding protrusion is inserted into the receiving space. 
     The receiving member may be mounted to a side surface of the case via a fastener. 
     The receiving member may have a plate form. 
     The entrance port of the receiving space formed in the receiving member may be spread outward. 
     The receiving member may be further formed with a shock-absorbing recess connected with the receiving space, the shock-absorbing recess having a size to prohibit insertion of the holding protrusion. 
     It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description of the present invention are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principle of the invention. In the drawings: 
         FIG. 1  is a front perspective view illustrating a can receiving apparatus for a refrigerator according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a rear perspective view of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a partially enlarged perspective view illustrating a holding means of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view illustrating the usage of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a partially enlarged perspective view illustrating a holding means of  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a partially enlarged perspective view illustrating a further embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 7  is a partially enlarged perspective view illustrating a still further embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2  illustrating a can receiving apparatus for a refrigerator according to the present invention, the can receiving apparatus includes a case  100 , a can receiving shelf  200 , and holding means  300 . 
     The case  100  is constituted of a rectangular front frame  110  having an opening, an upper frame  120  horizontally extending rearward from an upper end of the front frame  110 , and a pair of side frames  130  extending rearward from both sides of the front frame  110 . 
     Both the side frames  130  are obliquely spread outward from the front frame  110  and also, vertically extend downward from the upper frame  120 . All of the front frame  110 , the upper frame  120  and the side frames  130  define an outer appearance of the case  100 . 
     Each side frame  130  is provided at a rear end thereof with a rearwardly-extending vertical flange  135 . The rearwardly-extending vertical flange  135  can be mounted to, for example, an independent auxiliary storage apparatus (not shown) which can allow a user to conveniently store or remove a variety of food without opening a refrigerator door. 
     The front frame  110  is provided with a cover  111  to open or close the opening of the front frame  110 . The cover  111  is hingedly coupled to both the side frames  130 , so as to be pivotally rotated up and down along an arc path. 
     To keep the cover  111  at a fixed vertical position so as to prevent the cover  111  from being further rotated rearward from a pivotally rotated lower-limit position thereof, both the side frames  130  are provided with stoppers  131 , respectively. The stoppers  132  extend inward from the side frames  130  toward the center of the case  100 . 
     Preferably, the cover  111  is made of a transparent material to allow the interior of the case  100  to be visible from the outside. The cover  111  is perforated in an upper portion thereof with a rectangular cover opening  112  for easy observation of cans stored on the can receiving shelf  200  and movement of cold air therethrough. 
     The cover  111  is provided at a lower end thereof with a forwardly-protruding grip  113 , to allow a user to pivotally rotate the cover  111  using the grip  113 . The forwardly-protruding grip  113  has a relatively recessed rear portion, and the user can easily pull up or push up the grip  113 . 
     The upper frame  120  is perforated with frame openings  121  for movement of cold air. As shown, it is preferred that a plurality of frame openings be perforated parallel to each other to achieve a sufficient flow rate of cold air without deteriorating the strength of the upper frame  120 . 
     Preferably, both the side frames  130  are provided at outer surfaces thereof with outwardly-protruding longitudinal reinforcing pieces  137 , respectively, to reinforce the side frames  130 . 
     The can receiving shelf  200  is mounted to an upper position of the case  100  such that it is pivotally rotatable up and down along an arc path. For this, the can receiving shelf  200  is provided at both sides thereof with rotatable protrusions  240 , which can be rotatably inserted into a wall surface of the case  100 . 
     The can receiving shelf  200  is constituted of a front wall portion  210 , sidewall portions  220  extending rearward from both sides of the front wall portion  210 , and a bottom portion  230 . 
     The bottom portion  230  is alternately and repeatedly formed with convexly raised portions  231  and concavely recessed portions  232 , which have a gentle curvature to stably store plural cans thereon. The recessed portions  232  serve to retain cans thereon, and the raised portions  231  serve to prevent rolling of the cans. 
     Each recessed portion  232  is perforated with an elongated separating hole  233 , through which the user inserts his/her finger to conveniently push up and remove the can stored on the recessed portion  232 . 
     To prevent the stored can from unintentionally falling from a rear end of the can receiving shelf  200 , it is preferred that the bottom portion  230  of the can receiving shelf  200  be normally tilted gradually upwardly and rearwardly. Forward separation of the can is naturally limited by the front wall portion  210  of the can receiving shelf  200 . 
     The holding means  300  serve to fix the can receiving shelf  200  at an upper-limit position upon pivotal rotation of the can receiving shelf  200 . Each of the holding means  300  includes a holding protrusion  310  formed at one of the case  100  and the can receiving shelf  200 , and a receiving member  320  formed at the other one of the case  100  and the can receiving shelf  200 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , in an embodiment of the present invention, the holding means  300  includes the holding protrusion  310  formed at the can receiving shelf  200 , and the receiving member  320  formed at the case  100  so as to be coupled with the holding protrusion  310 . 
     The holding protrusion  310  is formed at an outer surface of the corresponding sidewall portion  220  of the can receiving shelf  200 , to protrude perpendicular to the outer surface of the sidewall portion  220 . Preferably, the holding protrusion  310  is provided near a bottom of the rotatable protrusion  240 , for efficient fixing and release operations thereof. 
     The receiving member  320  is formed at the corresponding side frame  130  of the case  100 . Here, in consideration of the fact that the side frame  130  extends rearward from the front frame  110  to be spread outward, to allow the receiving member  320  to oppose the holding protrusion  310 , the receiving member  320  is formed at a supporting plate  132  protruding inward from an inner surface of the side frame  130 . 
     The inwardly-protruding supporting plate  132  is formed with a circular guide recess  133 . In turn, the guide recess  133  is formed at the center of a lower end thereof with a semi-circular receiving recess  134 , to fix the holding protrusion  310  at a lower-limit position of the can receiving shelf  200 . 
     The receiving member  320  is formed of a pair of receiving ribs  321  extending from near an upper end of the supporting plate  132  to the center of the guide recess  133 . Lower halves of the receiving ribs  321  are spaced apart from the bottom surface of the guide recess  133  to form free ends, and are curvedly away from each other and then, closer to each other. 
     With this configuration, the pair of receiving ribs  321  defines an approximately circular receiving space S having an entrance port E, through which the holding protrusion  310  can be elastically inserted into the receiving member  320 . 
     Although the present invention describes the receiving member  320  using the pair of receiving ribs  321  as shown, of course, the receiving member  320  may employ various other coupling means so long as the other coupling means can fix the holding protrusion  310  at the upper-limit position or lower-limit position of the can receiving shelf  200 . 
     Now, operational effects of the can receiving apparatus for a refrigerator according to the present invention having the above-described configuration will be described. 
     When it is desired to store plural cans on the can receiving shelf  200  within the case  100 , the cover  111 , hingedly coupled to both the side frames  130 , is pivotally rotated upward and then, the plural cans are stored in a laid condition on the recessed portions  232  formed at the bottom portion  230  of the can receiving shelf  200 . 
     Specifically, for convenience of storage, as shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , after the can receiving shelf  200  is pivotally rotated counterclockwise until it reaches the upper-limit position thereof, the holding protrusion  310 , protruding from either sidewall portion  220  of the can receiving shelf  200 , is fixedly inserted into the receiving space S of the receiving member  320  defined by the pair of receiving ribs  321 . 
     Thereby, the can receiving shelf  200  can be fixedly kept at a tilted position, and the respective cans can be stably stored on the can receiving shelf  200  at fixed positions. In such a storage state, the rearwardly and upwardly tilted bottom portion  230  of the can receiving shelf  200  can prevent the cans from falling, the repeatedly formed raised portions  231  can prevent the cans from rolling, and the front wall portion  210  can prevent forward separation of the cans. 
     In particular, as a result of the receiving member  320  being formed of the pair of receiving ribs  321  which have the lower halves spaced apart from the bottom surface of the guide recess  133  to form free ends while being curved away from each other and then being gradually curved closer to each other, the holding protrusion  310  can be elastically inserted into the receiving member  320  and consequently, can maintain a desired coupling force despite frequent use thereof. 
     Also, when it is desired to remove the cans stored in the tilted state of the can receiving shelf  200 , the user simply pushes the cans up with one hand by inserting his/her fingers into the elongated separating holes  233  perforated in the recessed portions  232  and thereafter, can conveniently remove the cans by gripping the pushed cans with the other hand. 
     On the contrary, when it is desired to return the can receiving shelf  200  to an original position thereof, as shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the can receiving shelf  200  is pivotally rotated clockwise to the original position, whereby the holding protrusion  310  is separated from the receiving space S of the receiving member  320  and then, is fixedly inserted into the semi-circular receiving recess  134  formed at the lower end of the guide recess  133 . 
     According to the present invention as described above, the can receiving shelf  200  can be stably fixed at the upper-limit position or the lower-limit position upon pivotal rotation thereof, and this assures easy storage and discharge of the cans. 
     Meanwhile, when the flanges  135  of both the side frames  130  are coupled to, for example, an independent auxiliary storage apparatus installed at the refrigerator door, the can receiving shelf  200  occupies a small volume and allows the user to conveniently store or remove cans without opening the refrigerator door. 
       FIG. 6  illustrates a can receiving apparatus according to a further embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the receiving member  320  may be a single member. As shown in  FIG. 6 , the receiving member  320  takes the form of a plate, and is centrally formed with the receiving space S into which the holding protrusion  310  is fixedly inserted, in the same manner as the above-described embodiment. The receiving member  320  is mounted to the wall surface of the case  100  by means of fasteners  325 . 
     Similar to the above-described embodiment, the receiving member  320  shown in  FIG. 6  is configured such that an entrance port E thereof is spread outward to assure easy insertion of the holding protrusion  310 . 
     The entrance port E preferably has a smaller width than a diameter of the holding protrusion  310 . 
     The receiving member  320  may be made of, for example, plastic or a sufficiently elastic metal. Accordingly, the receiving member  320  can be spread outward upon insertion of the holding protrusion  310 . On the other hand, after the holding protrusion  310  is completely inserted into the receiving space S, the receiving member  320  can hold the holding protrusion  310  in place, so as to prevent the holding protrusion  310  from being rotated to a horizontal position upon receiving the weight of the can receiving shelf  200  and the cans stored on the can receiving shelf  200 . 
     With relation to separating the holding protrusion  310  from the receiving space S, it is preferred that the receiving member  302  have a fixing force suitable to allow the holding protrusion  310  to be easily separated from the receiving space S upon receiving a rotational torque applied to the can receiving shelf  200  by the user. 
     The fixing force of the receiving member  320  may be adjusted by adjusting a size of the entrance port E of the receiving member  320 , or by appropriately selecting a constituent material of the receiving member  320 . 
     In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 6 , the receiving member  320  may further include a shock-absorbing recess S 1 , which is connected with the receiving space S and has a smaller width than a diameter of the holding protrusion  310 . The shock-absorbing recess S 1  absorbs collision shock caused as the holding protrusion  310  collides with an inner wall surface of the receiving space S when being seated in the receiving space S. 
     The width of the shock-absorbing recess S 1  is determined so as not to allow insertion of the holding protrusion  310 , and the shock-absorbing recess S 1  can dampen shock applied to the receiving member  320  by the holding protrusion  310  when the holding protrusion  310  is completely inserted into the receiving space S. Such a shock-absorbing effect may be accomplished by the shape of the receiving ribs  321  shown in  FIG. 3 . That is, the shock-absorbing effect can be accomplished by the configuration of the receiving ribs  321  in which distal ends of the receiving ribs  321  extend closer to each other after defining the receiving space S. 
     Specifically, with the above-described configuration of the receiving ribs  321 , the receiving member  320  can exert a repulsive force against a force spreading the receiving member  320  outward upon insertion of the holding protrusion  310 , thereby achieving smooth operation. 
       FIG. 7  illustrates a still further embodiment of the can receiving apparatus according to the present invention. In the present embodiment shown in  FIG. 7 , the receiving member  320  may take the form of a single wire. 
     Similar to the above-described embodiment shown in  FIG. 6 , the receiving member  320  has the shock-absorbing recess S 1 , which is connected with the receiving space S and has a smaller width than a diameter of the holding protrusion  310 . 
     In the embodiments shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 , the entrance port E of the receiving member  320  may be configured to be spread outward. This configuration can smoothly guide insertion of the holding protrusion  310 , preventing damage to the receiving member  320  and providing the receiving member  320  with smooth operation. 
     As apparent from the above description, the present invention provides a can receiving apparatus and a refrigerator having the same, which exhibit the following advantageous effects. 
     First, according to the present invention, a can receiving shelf included in the can receiving apparatus can be fixed at an upper limit position or a lower limit position upon pivotal rotation thereof while stably supporting cans stored thereon. This assures easy storage and discharge of the cans. 
     Second, when the can receiving apparatus is mounted to an independent auxiliary storage apparatus installed at a refrigerator door, it is possible to conveniently store or remove plural cans without opening the refrigerator door. 
     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the inventions. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalent.

Technology Category: 2