REFRIGERATOR HAVING THE PARTITION MEMBER

A refrigerator having a partition member, including a refrigerator main body having a cooling chamber therein; a partition member disposed at a front surface of the cooling chamber so as to divide an opening of the cooling chamber into a plurality of smaller openings; and a plurality of doors for opening and closing the plurality of smaller openings, whereby the opening of the cooling chamber is divided into a plurality of smaller openings and each smaller opening is selectively open and closed, thereby facilitating opening and closing operations and preventing a leakage of cooling air.

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Description
TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a refrigerator having a partition member, and more particularly, to a refrigerator having a partition member which can divide an opening of a cooling chamber into a plurality of smaller openings and selectively open and close each of the smaller openings.

BACKGROUND ART

In general, a refrigerator stores foods such as meat, fish, vegetables, fruits, drinks, and the like in a fresh condition.

A refrigerator includes a refrigerator main body having cooling chambers such as a freezing chamber, a refrigerating chamber, a vegetable compartment, etc., doors for opening and closing the cooling chambers, and a refrigeration cycle device for supplying cooling air to the cooling chambers.

The refrigeration cycle device is generally implemented as a vapor compression refrigeration cycle which is comprised of a compressor for compressing a refrigerant, a condenser for radiating the compressed refrigerant, an expansion unit for expanding the refrigerant, and an evaporator in which the refrigerant absorbs latent heat and thus to be evaporated.

In the refrigerator, the refrigeration cycle device operates when the temperature of the freezing chamber or the refrigerating chamber is higher than a preset temperature. As the refrigeration cycle device operates, an evaporator generates cooling air. Then, the cooling air generated by the evaporator is circulated in the freezing chamber and refrigerating chamber by a cooling fan.

While the cooling air is circulated in the freezing chamber and the refrigerating chamber, the freezing chamber, the refrigerating chamber and a vegetable compartment provided in the refrigerating chamber can be maintained at the preset temperature.

Refrigerators may be categorized into various types according to the circulation method of cooling air, location of a freezing chamber and a cooling chamber, and the structure of the evaporator.

For instance, there are refrigerator types such as a top-mount freezer type in which a freezing chamber is formed at an upper portion of the refrigerator main body and a refrigerating chamber is disposed therebelow, and a bottom freezer type in which the refrigerating chamber is formed at an upper portion of the refrigerator main body and a freezing chamber is disposed therebelow. In addition, there is a side-by-side type in which a refrigerating chamber and a freezing chamber are respectively disposed at right and left sides of the refrigerator main body.

Meanwhile, a loss of cooling air may be caused when a user opens the door for opening the refrigerating chamber or the freezing chamber. In particular, the freezing chamber has a great difference in temperature from an outside, thereby causing more loss of the cooling air.

In this structure, however, a freezing chamber door is configured to entirely open a front opening of the freezing chamber, thereby causing great loss of the cooling air when a user opens the freezing chamber door to remove food kept in the refrigerator or store food therein.

In addition, some of the refrigerators have drawer-type doors. Such drawer-type doors may cause great loss of cooling air since when the doors are open and closed, the freezing chamber door and food items stored therein are all drawn out from the freezing chamber. Besides, food may be damaged by contacting hot air from the outside.

In addition, when the drawer-type freezing door is open and closed, food weight as well as load of the door itself is added to the drawer-type freezing door, thereby making it difficult to perform opening and closing operations.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION Technical Problem

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator having a partition member which can divide an opening of a cooling chamber into a plurality of smaller openings and selectively open and close each of the smaller openings.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator having a partition member which can facilitate opening and closing operations and reduce a loss of cooling air by reducing a size of a door.

Technical Solution

To achieve these objects, there is provided a refrigerator having a partition member, including: a refrigerator main body having a cooling chamber therein; a partition member disposed at a front surface of the cooling chamber so as to divide an opening of the cooling chamber into a plurality of smaller openings; and a plurality of doors for opening and closing the plurality of smaller openings.

Here, at least one of the doors may be configured to be slidable with respect to the refrigerator main body.

In addition, at least one of the doors may be configured to be rotatable with respect to the refrigerator main body.

The partition member divides the opening of the cooling chamber into two smaller openings, and one of the doors is configured to be slidable to the refrigerator main body and another door is configured to be rotatable to the refrigerator main body.

The partition member may be disposed at the refrigerator main body in right and left directions.

The partition member may be disposed at the refrigerator main body in up and down directions.

The partition member may further include a plurality of gaskets contacting the doors disposed at both sides of the partition member.

The partition member may include a case forming a receiving space therein, and a filling material filled inside the case.

At least one of the gaskets may be adhered to the case.

At least one of the gaskets may be detachably coupled to the case.

The gasket may include a coupling portion coupled to the case, and a blocking portion formed at one side of the coupling portion and contacting the door.

The blocking portion includes a first partial blocking portion outwardly extending from one side of the coupling portion, and a second partial blocking portion extending from another end of the coupling portion spaced from the first partial blocking portion toward an end portion of the first partial blocking portion.

The second partial blocking portion may form an insulating space, in cooperation with the first partial blocking portion, by contacting the first partial blocking portion by a pressure of the door when the door is closed.

The blocking portion may be formed to have a closed-loop section having an insulating space therein.

The case may have an inclination portion so as to correspond to a shape of the door.

Each door may have a door gasket contacting the partition member.

To achieve these objects, there is provided a refrigerator having a partition member according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, including: a refrigerator main body having a cooling chamber therein; a partition member disposed at a front surface of the cooling chamber so as to divide an opening of the cooling chamber into a plurality of smaller openings; a plurality of doors for opening and closing the plurality of smaller openings; gaskets provided in the partition member so as to contact the doors; and door gaskets provided in the doors so as to contact the partition member.

Here, the partition member may include inclination portions corresponding to a shape of the doors such that a gap between the partition member and the doors becomes smaller.

The door gaskets and the gaskets may be disposed to cooperatively block a gap at the doors and the inclination portions.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS

As so far described, according to the present invention, the front opening of the cooling chamber is divided into a plurality of smaller openings and each smaller opening is selectively open and closed, thereby reducing the size of the doors for opening and closing the smaller openings thus to facilitate the opening and closing operations. The smaller openings are open and closed using small-sized doors, thereby preventing the leakage of the cooling air.

In addition, the front opening of the cooling chamber is divided into smaller openings, and the doors for opening and closing the smaller openings are configured to be slidable and/or rotatable, thereby easily opening and closing the smaller openings and efficiently utilizing the inner space.

In addition, the partition member is positioned in right and left directions or up and down directions so as to implement various layouts of the inner space, thereby utilizing the inner space thus to meet user s various needs.

In addition, the gasket is provided to contact the doors each disposed at both sides of the partition member, thereby preventing the leakage of the cooling air as well as dewfall of the partition member.

In addition, the door gaskets and the gaskets are provided so as to respectively contact the doors and the partition member, thereby more effectively preventing the leakage of the cooling air.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a refrigerator having a partition member according to one exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a modified exemplary partition member in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing main parts of a refrigerator having a partition member according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing operations in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a refrigerator having a partition member according to still another exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VII-VII in FIG. 6.

 MODE FOR THE INVENTION

Reference will now be given in detail to a refrigerator having a partition member according to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a refrigerator having a partition member according to one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a modified exemplary partition member in FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 1, the refrigerator having a partition member includes a refrigerator main body 110 having a cooling chamber therein, a partition member 150 disposed at a front surface of the cooling chamber so as to divide an opening of the cooling chamber into a plurality of smaller openings, and a plurality of doors 135 for opening and closing the smaller openings. A refrigerating chamber 120 and the freezing chamber 130 are formed inside the refrigerator main body 110. In this exemplary embodiment, it is assumed that the partition member 150 is installed at the freezing chamber 130. The partition member 150 may be installed at the refrigerating chamber 120, or may be installed at both the refrigerating chamber 120 and the freezing chamber 130.

The refrigerating chamber 120 is formed at an inner upper region of the refrigerator main body 110, and a pair of refrigerating chamber doors 125 is rotatably mounted at a front opening of the refrigerating chamber 120 so as to selectively open and close the refrigerating chamber 120. One of the refrigerating chamber doors 125 is provided with a dispenser 127, which allows a user to draw out water or ice pieces without having to open the refrigerating chamber door 125. Another is provided with a home bar 128.

The freezing chamber 130 may be formed at a lower region of the refrigerator main body 110.

The partition member 150 is provided at a front surface of the freezing chamber 130 such that the front opening of the freezing chamber 130 is divided into a plurality of smaller openings that are relatively smaller in size.

The partition member 150 is disposed in right and left directions of the refrigerator main body 110. By this, the front opening of the freezing chamber 130 is divided into two smaller openings having a reduced height but the same width.

Here, the partition member 150 may be disposed such that the two smaller openings are formed to have the same size, or have different heights from each other. With such configuration, the inner space of the freezing chamber 130 may be selectively open and closed by being divided into smaller openings having a relatively reduced height as compared to the width, thereby preventing a loss of cooling air and facilitating opening and closing operations.

Both ends of the partition member 150 are coupled onto the front surface of the refrigerator main body 110 by screws 154. Here, the partition member 150 may be hook-coupled or fixed by other fixing means to the refrigerator main body 110.

The freezing chamber 130 includes two freezing chamber doors 135 so as to respectively open and close the two smaller openings divided by the partition member 150. Here, the freezing chamber doors 135 are configured to open and close the respective smaller openings of the freezing chamber 130 while being slid along the refrigerator main body 110 in front and rear directions.

A handle 136 is installed on a front surface of each freezing chamber door 135. An accommodating container or accommodating unit 138 is provided at rear surfaces of each freezing chamber door 135 so as to accommodate food therein.

A door gasket 141 is formed at rear edges of each freezing chamber door 135 so as to respectively contact an edge of the smaller openings of the freezing chamber 130. The door gasket 141 may be formed to be elastically deformed. In addition, the front surface of the partition member 150 may have a magnetic substance (steel plate), and the door gasket 141 may have a magnet such that it is coupled to the edge of the smaller opening by a magnetic force.

A rail 139 is disposed at both sides of each freezing chamber door 135 such that each freezing chamber door 135 slides with respect to the refrigerator main body 110 in front and rear directions. A rail holder 132 may be provided in the inner side walls of the freezing chamber 130 so as to couple and support each rail 139 thereto.

The partition member 150, as shown in FIG. 2, includes a case 152 having a receiving space therein, a filling material 162 filled inside the case 152, and a plurality of gaskets 165 disposed on an outer surface of the case 152 so as to contact the respective freezing chamber doors 135 disposed at both sides of the case 152. Here, the filling material 162 may be implemented as an insulating material.

A through hole 153 through which the partition member 150 is coupled to the refrigerator main body 110 by the screws 154 is formed at both ends of the case 152 in a lengthwise direction.

In the drawing, each front area of upper and lower surfaces of the case 152 has an inclination portion 155 formed to correspond to the shape of the freezing chamber door 135, i.e., the shape of a dike portion 143 backwardly protruding from the rear surface of the freezing chamber door 135 and having an inward-inclined outer surface. This is to prevent a leakage of the cooling air by narrowing a gap between the partition member 150 and the freezing chamber doors 135 respectively disposed at upper and lower sides of the partition member 150.

The door gasket 141 formed at the rear surfaces of each freezing chamber door 135 contacts the front surface of the case 152.

The gaskets 165 may be disposed on the upper and lower surfaces of the case 152 so as to contact the respective dike portions 143 of the freezing chamber doors 135. The gaskets 165 serve to block the gap between the partition member 150 and the freezing chamber doors 135 in cooperation with the door gaskets 141, thereby effectively preventing the leakage of the cooling air.

The gasket 165, as shown in FIG. 2, may include a coupling portion 166 coupled to the case 152, and a blocking portion 170 integrally formed with the coupling portion 166 and contacting the dike portions 143 of each freezing chamber door 135 so as to prevent the leakage of the cooling air. Here, the gasket 165 may be formed of a rubber material, etc. for elastic deformation.

Ribs 157 each protruding from the upper and lower surfaces of the case 152 and extending in a lengthwise direction may be formed on an outer surface of the case 152, i.e., upper and lower surfaces thereof. The coupling portion 166 may include a receiving groove 168 so as to insert the rib 157 therein, whereby the gasket 165 is easily coupled to and/or separated from the partition member 150.

The blocking portion 170 may be formed to have a closed-loop cross section so as to form an insulating space 172 therein. Here, the coupling portion 166, as shown in FIG. 3, may be integrally fixed to the case 152 using an adhesive material 175. Although not shown, the coupling portion 166 may be coupled to the case 152 by screws.

With such configuration, the partition member 150 is mounted at the front opening of the freezing chamber 130 in left and right directions, and the smaller openings divided by the partition member 150 are selectively open and closed by the respective freezing chamber doors 135. Accordingly, the size of the freezing chamber door 135 becomes smaller, thereby facilitating the opening and closing operations. In addition, the smaller openings are selectively open and closed by the freezing chamber doors 135, thereby preventing the leakage of the cooling air caused by the opening and closing of the smaller openings.

Meanwhile, if the freezing chamber doors 135 are closed to block the corresponding smaller openings, each gasket 165 is configured to contact the dike portions 143 of the respective freezing chamber doors 135, thereby preventing the leakage of the cooling air. Here, the front surface of the case 152 of the partition member 150 is contacted by the door gaskets 141 of the freezing chamber doors 135, thereby preventing the leakage of the cooling air through the gap between the freezing chamber doors 135 and the partition member 150.

Hereinafter, descriptions of another exemplary embodiment according to the present invention will be given in detail with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing main parts of a refrigerator having a partition member according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing operations in FIG. 4. For reference, the same reference numerals will be given to the same or similar components having the same or similar functions, and detailed explanations therefor are omitted.

The refrigerator having such partition member may include the refrigerator main body 110 having the refrigerating chamber 120 and the freezing chamber 130 therein, a partition member 180 disposed at a front surface of the freezing chamber 130 of the refrigerator main body 110 so as to divide the front opening of the freezing chamber 130 into a plurality of smaller openings, and a plurality of freezing chamber doors 135 for respectively opening and closing the smaller openings.

The partition member 180 includes a case 152 having a receiving space therein, a filling material 162 filled inside the case 152, and a plurality of gaskets 185 each coupled onto an outer surface of the case 152 so as to contact the respective freezing chamber doors 135.

An inclination portion 155 is formed at upper and lower surfaces of the case 152 so as to correspond to a shape of a dike portion 143 of the freezing chamber door 135, and the gasket 185 is respectively adhered to the upper and lower surfaces of the case 152.

Meanwhile, the gasket 185 may be configured to have a coupling portion 186 coupled to the case 152 of the partition member 180, and a blocking portion 190 formed at one side of the coupling portion 186 so as to block a gap between the freezing chamber door 135 and the partition member 180.

The blocking portion 190 includes a first partial blocking portion 191 outwardly protruding from one side of the coupling portion 186 and extending in a lengthwise direction, and a second partial blocking portion 192 protruding from another side of the coupling portion 186, i.e., a position spaced from the first partial blocking portion 191 to the freezing chamber door 135, and extending in a lengthwise direction.

Each end of the first and second partial blocking portions 191, 192 may be separated from each other in a free state (i.e., any external force is not applied), whereby the manufacturing process of the gasket 185 is facilitated and a production cost is reduced.

With such configuration, when a corresponding smaller opening of the freezing chamber doors 135 is closed, as shown in FIG. 5, the second partial blocking portion 192 is contacted to be pressed by the dike portion 143 of the freezing chamber door 135, thereby contacting the end of the first partial blocking portion 191. A closed-loop insulating space 193 is formed inside the first and second partial blocking portions 191, 192 contacting each other. By this, the leakage of the cooling air inside the freezing chamber 130 to the outside may be efficiently prevented.

Hereinafter, descriptions of another exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be given in detail with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a refrigerator having a partition member according to still another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VII-VII in FIG. 6.

Referring to FIG. 6, the refrigerator having a partition member includes a refrigerator main body 110 having a refrigerating chamber 120 and a freezing chamber 130 therein, a partition member 210 for dividing a front opening of the freezing chamber 130 into a plurality of smaller openings, and freezing chamber doors 205 for selectively opening and closing the smaller openings divided by the partition member 210.

The partition member 210 is disposed at the front surface of the freezing chamber 130 in up and down directions. The front opening of the freezing chamber 130 is divided into 2 smaller openings by the partition member 210, the smaller openings having the same height but reduced width. Such structure may utilize the inner space of the freezing chamber 130 by having the smaller openings with the same height but reduced width.

The partition member 210 is disposed at a central portion of the front surface of the freezing chamber 130 such that the two smaller openings have the same size. Here, the partition member 210 may also be moved in left or right direction so that the smaller openings may have different sizes.

Each smaller opening divided by the partition member 210 is provided with the freezing chamber door 205 so as to open and close the smaller opening. By this, the smaller openings of the freezing chamber 130 may be selectively open and closed, thereby preventing the leakage of the cooling air. In addition, the size of the freezing chamber door 205 may be reduced, thereby facilitating the opening and closing operations. Each of the freezing chamber doors 205 is formed to have a relatively large height as compared to a width so as to correspond to the respective smaller openings.

The freezing chamber doors 205 are configured to open and close the corresponding smaller openings while being slid along the refrigerator main body 110 in front and rear directions. Here, the freezing chamber doors 205 may be configured to open and close the smaller openings through a rotation movement. In addition, one of the freezing chamber doors 205 may be configured to open and close the corresponding smaller opening by being slid and another to open and close the smaller opening by being rotated.

Referring to FIG. 7, the partition member 210 includes a case 212 having a receiving space therein, a filling material 222 filled inside the case 212, and a plurality of gaskets 225 coupled onto an outer surface of the case 212 and contacting the respective freezing chamber doors 205 so as to prevent a leakage of cooling air.

An inclination portion 215 is formed on right and left surfaces of the case 212 so as to correspond to a shape of a dike portion 207 of the freezing chamber door 205. The gaskets 225 may be coupled to the right and left sides of the case 212, respectively.

The gasket 225 includes a coupling portion 226 coupled to the case 212, and a blocking portion 230 outwardly protruding from one side of the coupling portion 226 and contacting the dike portion 207 of the freezing chamber door 205.

The blocking portion 230 may have a closed-loop section so as to form an insulating space 232 therein. Ribs 217 each protruding toward an outside and extending in a lengthwise direction (i.e., up and down directions) may be formed on right and left surfaces of the case 212. The coupling portion 226 may include a receiving groove 228 so as to receive the rib 217 therein, whereby the gasket 225 is easily coupled to the partition member 210.

With such configuration, the partition member 210 is installed at the front opening of the freezing chamber 130 in up and down directions, and each smaller opening divided by the partition member 210 in right and left directions may be selectively open and closed by the respective freezing chamber doors 205.

Meanwhile, if each freezing chamber door 205 is received to close the smaller openings, each gasket 225 contacts the dike portion 207 of the corresponding freezing chamber door 205, whereby a gap between the freezing chamber door 205 and the case 212 can be blocked, thus to prevent the leakage of the cooling air. Here, the front surface of the case 212 of the partition member 210 is contacted by the door gaskets 208 of each freezing chamber door 205, thereby more efficiently preventing the leakage of the cooling air through the gap between the partition member 210 and each freezing chamber door 205.

As the present invention may be embodied in several forms without departing from the characteristics thereof, it should also be understood that the above-described embodiments are not limited by any of the details of the foregoing description, unless otherwise specified, but rather should be construed broadly within its scope as defined in the appended claims, and therefore all changes and modifications that fall within the metes and bounds of the claims, or equivalents of such metes and bounds are therefore intended to be embraced by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A refrigerator having a partition member, comprising:

a refrigerator main body having a cooling chamber therein;
a partition member disposed at a front surface of the cooling chamber so as to divide an opening of the cooling chamber into a plurality of smaller openings; and
a plurality of doors for opening and closing the plurality of smaller openings.

2. The refrigerator having a partition member of claim 1, wherein at least one of the doors is slidable with respect to the refrigerator main body.

3. The refrigerator having a partition member of claim 1, wherein at least one of the doors is rotatable with respect to the refrigerator main body.

4. The refrigerator having a partition member of claim 1, wherein the partition member divides the opening of the cooling chamber into two smaller openings, and one of the doors is slidable to the refrigerator main body and another door is rotatable to the refrigerator main body.

5. The refrigerator having a partition member of claim 1, wherein the partition member is disposed at the refrigerator main body in right and left directions.

6. The refrigerator having a partition member of claim 1, wherein the partition member is disposed at the refrigerator main body in up and down directions.

7. The refrigerator having a partition member of claim 1, wherein the partition member comprises a plurality of gaskets contacting the doors disposed at both sides of the partition member.

8. The refrigerator having a partition member of claim 7, wherein the partition member comprises a case forming a receiving space therein, and a filling material filled inside the case.

9. The refrigerator having a partition member of claim 8, wherein at least one of the gaskets is adhered to the case.

10. The refrigerator having a partition member of claim 8, wherein at least one of the gaskets is detachably coupled to the case.

11. The refrigerator having a partition member of claim 8, wherein the gasket comprises a coupling portion coupled to the case, and a blocking portion formed at one side of the coupling portion and contacting the door.

12. The refrigerator having a partition member of claim 11, wherein the blocking portion comprises a first partial blocking portion outwardly extending from one side of the coupling portion, and a second partial blocking portion extending from another end of the coupling portion spaced from the first partial blocking portion toward an end portion of the first partial blocking portion.

13. The refrigerator having a partition member of claim 12, wherein the second partial blocking portion forms an insulating space, in cooperation with the first partial blocking portion, by contacting the first partial blocking portion by a pressure of the door when the door is closed.

14. The refrigerator having a partition member of claim 11, wherein the blocking portion is formed to have a closed-loop section having an insulating space therein.

15. The refrigerator having a partition member of claim 7, wherein the case has an inclination portion so as to correspond to a shape of the door.

16. The refrigerator having a partition member of claim 1, wherein each door has a door gasket contacting the partition member.

17. A refrigerator having a partition member, comprising:

a refrigerator main body having a cooling chamber therein;
a partition member disposed at a front surface of the cooling chamber so as to divide an opening of the cooling chamber into a plurality of smaller openings;
a plurality of doors for opening and closing the plurality of smaller openings;
gaskets provided in the partition member so as to contact the doors; and
door gaskets provided in the doors so as to contact the partition member.

18. The refrigerator having a partition member of claim 17, wherein the partition member includes inclination portions corresponding to a shape of the doors such that a gap between the partition member and the doors becomes smaller.

19. The refrigerator having a partition member of claim 18, wherein the door gaskets and the gaskets are disposed to cooperatively block a gap at the doors and the inclination portions.

Patent History
Publication number: 20110011121
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 30, 2008
Publication Date: Jan 20, 2011
Inventor: Do-Hyung Kim (Gyeongsangnam-Do)
Application Number: 12/933,323
Classifications
Current U.S. Class: Plural Cooled Compartments (62/441); Unit Includes Movable Wall Section, E.g., Door (62/449)
International Classification: F25D 11/02 (20060101); F25D 23/02 (20060101);