REFRIGERATOR

Abstract

A refrigerator is provided. The refrigerator includes a cabinet, a refrigerator compartment door, a freezer compartment door, an ice compartment, a dispenser, a cabinet duct disposed in an inner wall of the refrigerator compartment. The cabinet duct allows cool air for making ice to flow therein, and has a cabinet duct opening that opens toward an inside of the refrigerator compartment and that is disposed longitudinally in a vertical direction. The refrigerator also includes an ice compartment duct having an ice compartment duct opening that is configured to communicate with the cabinet duct when the refrigerator compartment door is oriented in a closed position and that is defined longitudinally in a vertical direction. The ice compartment duct is disposed in a sidewall of the ice compartment.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 and 35 U.S.C. 365 to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2009-0129462 (filed on Dec. 23, 2009), which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a refrigerator.

BACKGROUND

Generally, a refrigerator is a home appliance, which stores foods in a storage space that is covered by a refrigerator door to keep foods at low temperatures, and enables foods to be stored in a fresh state by cooling the inside of the storage space using cold air generated through heat exchange with refrigerant that circulates through a cooling cycle.

The inside of the refrigerator may be divided into a refrigerator compartment and a freezer compartment. Receiving members such as shelves, drawers, and baskets are disposed within the refrigerator compartment and the freezer compartment. The refrigerator compartment and freezer compartment are covered by doors. The refrigerator is classified into various types according to positions of the refrigerator compartment and the freezer compartment and configurations of the doors.

Due to changes in dietary life and well-being trends, consumers prefer larger, multi-functional refrigerators, and various convenient refrigerators have been introduced in the market.

For example, the refrigerator may include an ice making device for making ices. The refrigerator may further include a dispenser for dispensing the made ices to the outside thereof. The ice making device may be disposed in a freezer compartment or a freezer compartment door. Also, the ice making device may be disposed in a refrigerator compartment or a refrigerator compartment door, which have an insulation space.

SUMMARY

In one aspect, a refrigerator includes a cabinet with a refrigerator compartment and a freezer compartment. The refrigerator also includes a refrigerator compartment door configured to open and close at least a portion of the refrigerator compartment and a freezer compartment door configured to open and close at least a portion of the freezer compartment. The refrigerator further includes an ice compartment in which an insulation space is defined in the refrigerator compartment door. The ice compartment includes an ice maker configured to make ice. In addition, the refrigerator includes a dispenser through which ice made within the ice compartment is dispensed. The dispenser is disposed in the refrigerator compartment door. The refrigerator also includes a cabinet duct disposed in an inner wall of the refrigerator compartment and configured to guide cool air. The cabinet duct has a cabinet duct opening that opens toward an inside of the refrigerator compartment and that is disposed longitudinally in a vertical direction. The refrigerator further includes an ice compartment duct having an ice compartment duct opening that is configured to communicate with the cabinet duct when the refrigerator compartment door is oriented in a closed position and that is defined longitudinally in a vertical direction. The ice compartment duct is disposed in a sidewall of the ice compartment.

Implementations may include one or more of the following features. For example, the refrigerator may include a gasket that is disposed on a circumference of the ice compartment duct opening and that is configured to reduce leakage of cool air between the cabinet duct and the ice compartment duct. In this example, the gasket may include a plurality of reinforcement ribs disposed in a horizontal direction to allow gasket holes of a central portion of the gasket to maintain intervals therebetween. Further, in this example, the refrigerator may include a fixing member that is disposed on a sidewall of the ice compartment, that sequentially passes through the gasket and door liners defining the ice compartment, and that is fixed to the ice compartment duct.

In some implementations, the refrigerator may include a duct cover disposed on the cabinet duct opening and providing a passage through which cool air flows in and out of the cabinet duct. In these implementations, the refrigerator may include a plurality of grills horizontally disposed in an opened cover hole of the duct cover and a gasket may contact an outer circumference of the opened cover hole of the duct cover. In addition, in these implementations, the duct cover may include a cover coupling part passing through an inner case defining an inner sidewall of the refrigerator compartment and restricted within the ice compartment duct opening.

In some examples, the cabinet duct may include a cabinet supply duct configured to guide, to the ice compartment, cool air from within a heat-exchange chamber comprising an evaporator and a cabinet recovery duct configured to guide, to the freezer compartment, cool air discharged from the ice compartment. In these examples, the refrigerator may include a cool air inlet disposed at a lower end of the cabinet supply duct and oriented longitudinally in a vertical direction, and a cool air outlet disposed at a lower end of the cabinet recovery duct and oriented longitudinally in a horizontal direction. The cool air inlet may communicate with the heat-exchange chamber comprising the evaporator, and the cool air outlet may communicate with the freezer compartment.

Further, the cabinet duct may include a barrier that is disposed along a center of an inside of the cabinet duct and that partitions the cabinet duct into the cabinet supply duct and the cabinet recovery duct. The cabinet supply duct and the cabinet recovery duct may include cabinet duct guide parts that are inclined or rounded to guide movement of cool air at ends of the cabinet supply duct and the cabinet recovery duct. The ice compartment duct may have an ice compartment inner opening exposed toward an inside of the ice compartment and having a vertical length less than that of the ice compartment duct opening.

In some implementations, the ice compartment duct may have a horizontal width gradually increasing from the ice compartment duct opening of an outside of the ice compartment to an ice compartment inner opening exposed toward an inside of the ice compartment. In these implementations, the ice compartment duct opening and the ice compartment inner opening may have the same area as each other.

In some examples, the ice compartment duct may include an ice compartment duct guide part that is inclined or rounded to guide a direction of cool air guided by the ice compartment duct. In addition, the refrigerator may include heaters disposed around an inlet and outlet of the cabinet duct. The heaters may be disposed in a region except a front end of the cabinet duct opening.

Further, the cabinet duct opening may have a vertical length greater than that of the ice maker. In the refrigerator compartment door, a portion at which the ice compartment is defined may have a thickness less than that of a portion disposed below the ice compartment.

The details of one or more implementations are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an example refrigerator.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a state in which cool air flows into/from an example ice compartment.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of an example cabinet duct.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line I-I′ of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of an example ice compartment duct and an example gasket.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of an example ice compartment duct disposed in an example ice compartment.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an example refrigerator compartment door with an example ice compartment door opened.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an example refrigerator compartment door in which an example ice making assembly is removed from the ice compartment.

FIGS. 9 and 10 are perspective views of the example ice making assembly.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of an example ice bin.

FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view of the example ice bin.

FIG. 13 is a vertical sectional view of an example refrigerator compartment door.

FIG. 14 is a view of a state in which an example ice maker is rotated to separate ices therefrom in FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 is a sectional view of an example refrigerator compartment door including an example ice compartment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates an example refrigerator, and FIG. 2 illustrates a state in which a portion of an example refrigerator door is opened.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a refrigerator 1 includes a cabinet 10 defining an outer appearance thereof and refrigerator doors 11 and 14 movably connected to the cabinet 10.

A storage compartment for storing foods is defined inside the cabinet 10. The storage compartment includes a refrigerator compartment 102 and a freezer compartment 104 disposed below the refrigerator compartment 102.

That is, a bottom freeze type refrigerator in which a refrigerator compartment is disposed above the freezer compartment is described as an example. Other configurations or arrangements may be used.

The refrigerator doors 11 and 14 include refrigerator compartment doors 11 opening and closing the refrigerator compartment 102 and freezer compartment doors 14 opening and closing the freezer compartment 104.

The refrigerator compartment doors 11 include a plurality of doors 12 and 13, which are disposed at left and right sides, respectively. The plurality of doors 12 and 13 include a first refrigerator compartment door 12 and a second refrigerator compartment door 13 disposed at a right side of the first refrigerator compartment door 12. The first refrigerator compartment door 12 may be independently movable with respect to the second refrigerator compartment door 13.

The freezer compartment doors 14 include a plurality of doors 15 and 16, which are vertically disposed. The plurality of doors 15 and 16 include a first freezer compartment door 15 and a second freezer compartment door 16 disposed below the first freezer compartment door 15.

The first and second refrigerator compartment doors 12 and 13 may be rotatably operated, and the first and second freezer compartment doors 15 and 16 may be slidably operated.

A dispenser 17 for dispensing water and/or ices is disposed in one of the first and second refrigerator compartment doors 12 and 13. For example, the dispenser 17 is disposed in the first refrigerator compartment door 12 in FIG. 1.

Also, an ice compartment (see reference numeral 120 of FIG. 8) including an ice making assembly (see reference numeral 200 of FIG. 9) for generating and storing ice is defined in one of the first and second refrigerator compartment doors 12 and 13.

In this example, the dispenser 17 and the ice making assembly may be disposed in the first refrigerator compartment door 12 or the second refrigerator compartment door 13. Thus, it will be described below that the dispenser 17 and the ice making assembly are disposed in the refrigerator compartment door 11. Here, the first refrigerator compartment door 12 and the second refrigerator compartment door 13 are commonly called the refrigerator compartment door 11.

The ice compartment 120 defined in the refrigerator compartment door 11 has an independent insulation space. The ice compartment 120 may be opened and closed by an ice compartment door 130. An ice compartment duct 800 (see FIG. 5) is disposed in the ice compartment 120 to allow air to flow into the inside/outside of the ice compartment 120. An ice compartment duct opening 832 is exposed through a surface of the ice compartment 120.

When the refrigerator compartment door 11 is closed, the ice compartment duct opening 832 may be defined in a position corresponding to that of a cabinet duct 700 to communicate with the cabinet duct 700 disposed in a sidewall of the refrigerator compartment 102. A gasket 840 is disposed around the ice compartment duct opening 832 to closely adhere to a cabinet duct opening 740 defined in an end of the cabinet duct 700.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example cabinet duct, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line I-I′ of FIG. 2.

Referring to FIGS. 2 to 4, the cabinet duct 700 is disposed inside the cabinet 10 adjacent to the refrigerator compartment door 11 including the ice compartment 120. The cabinet duct 700 is covered by a foam insulation material inside the cabinet 10. Only the cabinet duct opening 740, a cool air inlet 712, and a cool air outlet 714 are exposed to a space of the inside of the refrigerator so that the cool air flows therebetween.

A lower end of the cabinet duct 700 is disposed in the freezer compartment 104 and a heat-exchange chamber 106 in which an evaporator is disposed and extends up to the refrigerator compartment 102 having a height corresponding to that of the ice compartment 120.

The cabinet duct 700 includes a cabinet supply duct 710 and a cabinet recovery duct 720. The cabinet supply duct 710 guides the cool air within the heat-exchange chamber 106 toward the ice compartment 120. The cabinet recovery duct 720 guides the cool air within the ice compartment 120 to the freezer compartment 104.

The cabinet supply duct 710 and the cabinet recovery duct 720 may have independent passages, respectively. That is, the cabinet duct 700 includes the cabinet supply duct 710 and the cabinet recovery duct 720, which are independently provided.

The cabinet supply duct 710 may be partitioned by a barrier 730 to form the cabinet supply duct 710 and the cabinet recovery duct 720. The barrier 730 is integrated with the cabinet supply duct 710 and extends along the cabinet supply duct 710.

As described above, if the cabinet supply duct 710 includes passages for supplying and recovering the cool air, the passages may be removably disposed or integrated with each other.

The cool air inlet 712 opened longitudinally in a vertical direction is disposed at a lower end of the cabinet supply duct 710. The cool air inlet 712 is exposed to a sidewall of the heat-exchange chamber 106. Thus, cool air generated inside the heat-exchange chamber 106 may be introduced into the cabinet supply duct 710. At this time, the cool air inlet 712 may be disposed longitudinally in a vertical direction to secure a sufficient suction flow rate according to a structural characteristic of the heat-exchange chamber 106 having a vertically long and narrow width.

The cool air outlet 714 opened longitudinally in a horizontal direction is disposed at a lower end of the cabinet recovery duct 720. The cool air outlet 714 is exposed to a sidewall of the freezer compartment 104. Thus, the cool air guided from the ice compartment 120 is recovered inside the freezer compartment 104. At this time, the cool air outlet 714 may be disposed longitudinally in a horizontal direction to reduce (e.g., prevent) the inflow of the cool air from interfering with a receiving member disposed inside the freezer compartment 104.

The cabinet duct 700 includes a plurality of fixing members 732 on an outer surface thereof such that the cabinet duct 700 is stably fixed to the inside of the cabinet 10 without being shaken. The duct fixing members 732 may be formed of an elastically deformable material such as rubber.

The cabinet duct opening 740 opened to communicate with the ice compartment duct 800 is defined in an upper end of the cabinet duct 700, i.e., the cabinet supply duct 710 and the cabinet recovery duct 720. The cabinet duct opening 740 is exposed to the sidewall of the refrigerator compartment 102. Also, the cabinet duct opening 740 is defined at a position corresponding to that of the ice compartment duct opening 832 exposed to the sidewall of the ice compartment 120.

The cabinet duct openings 740 having the same configuration as each other are defined in the cabinet supply duct 710 and the cabinet recovery duct 720, respectively. Thus, since the cabinet duct openings 740 have the same structure and configuration as each other except positions thereof, the cabinet duct openings 740 respectively defined in the cabinet supply duct 710 and the cabinet recovery duct 720 are designated the same reference numeral. Hereinafter, the cabinet duct opening 740 defined in the cabinet supply duct 710 will be described as an example.

The cabinet duct opening 740 is defined in an upper end of the cabinet supply duct 710. A cabinet duct guide part 742 for smoothly guiding the cool air is disposed at an end of the cabinet supply duct 710.

The cabinet duct guide part 742 is disposed from a bottom surface of the cabinet duct 700 up to the cabinet duct opening 740. The cabinet duct guide part 742 may be rounded or inclined. Thus, when the cool air is guided to the cabinet duct opening 740 defined in a direction crossing a cool air passage direction of the cabinet duct 700, the cool air may flow along the cabinet duct guide part 742.

The cabinet duct opening 740 is defined longitudinally in a vertical direction. Also, when the refrigerator compartment door 11 is closed, the cabinet duct opening 740 may communicate with the ice compartment duct opening 832. The cabinet duct opening 740 has a vertical length less than a half of a vertical length of the ice compartment 120 and greater than that of the ice maker 210 (see FIG. 9) within the ice compartment 120.

A duct cover 750 is disposed at an upper side of the cabinet duct opening 740. The duct cover 750 inhibits (e.g., prevents) foreign substances from being introduced into the cabinet duct opening 740 and provides an entrance and exit passage of the cool air. The duct cover 750 includes a circumference part 752 and a plurality of grills 754. The circumference part 752 is disposed along the cabinet duct opening 740. The plurality of grills 754 connect the circumference part 752 in a horizontal direction.

Also, the duct cover 750 further includes a cover coupling part 756 passing through an inner case 101 defining an inner sidewall of the cabinet 10 and coupled to the cabinet duct 700. A sealing member 770 for reducing (e.g., preventing) the cool air from leaking is further disposed on the outside of the duct cover 750.

A heating member 760 is further disposed on the outside of the cabinet duct opening 740. The heating member 760 heats the outside of the cabinet duct opening 740 to reduce (e.g., prevent) dew condensation from being generated on the inner case 101 corresponding to the outside of the cabinet duct opening 740.

The heating member 760 includes a heating wire 762 and an aluminum foil 764 supporting the heating wire 762 and fixing the heating member 760. A hole corresponding to the opening 740 of the cabinet duct opening 740 is defined in the aluminum foil 764 to allow the heating member 760 to be easily installed.

The heating wire 762 may be disposed on the outside of a portion except a front end of the cabinet duct opening 740 adjacent to an opened front surface of the refrigerator compartment 102. Thus, the cabinet duct opening 740 may be disposed at the front most portion of the inside of the cabinet 10 to contact the sidewall of the slim ice compartment 120.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example ice compartment duct and an example gasket, and FIG. 6 illustrates the example ice compartment duct disposed in the example ice compartment.

Referring to FIGS. 2, 5, and 6, the refrigerator compartment door 11 includes an outer case 111 and a door liner 112 coupled to the outer case 111. The door liner 112 defines a back surface of the refrigerator compartment door 11.

The door liner 112 defines the ice compartment 120. The door liner defining the back surface of the refrigerator compartment door 11 is depressed to define the ice compartment 120. An ice compartment duct 800 is disposed in a sidewall of the ice compartment 120 defined by the door liner 112.

The ice compartment duct 800 communicates with the cabinet duct 700 to allow the cool air to come in and out from the inside/outside of the ice compartment 120. The ice compartment duct 800 may be disposed at a position at which the refrigerator compartment door 11 contacts the cabinet duct 700 when the refrigerator compartment door 11 is closed.

The ice compartment duct 800 includes an ice compartment supply duct 810 disposed at an upper side of the ice compartment 120 and an ice compartment recovery duct 820 disposed below the ice compartment supply duct 810. The ice compartment supply duct 810 and the ice compartment recovery duct 820 may be separately provided and respectively installed in the sidewall of the ice compartment 120. Also, the ice compartment supply duct 810 and the ice compartment recovery duct 820 may be integrated with each other.

The ice compartment supply duct 810 and the ice compartment recovery duct 820 have the same structure as each other except their mounted positions and dispositions. Thus, only the ice compartment supply duct 810 will now be described.

The ice compartment supply duct 810 includes the ice compartment duct opening 832 facing the outside of the ice compartment 120, an ice compartment inner opening 834 facing the inside of the ice compartment 120, and an ice compartment duct guide part 830 connecting the ice compartment duct opening 832 to the ice compartment inner opening 834.

The ice compartment duct opening 832 has a size corresponding to that of the cabinet duct opening 740 and is defined at a position corresponding to that of the cabinet duct opening 740. The ice compartment duct opening 832 is defined longitudinally in a vertical direction. The ice compartment duct opening 832 may be defined in an outer mounting part 124 disposed on the door liner 112 outside the ice compartment 120.

The ice compartment inner opening 834 is defined in an inner mounting part 122 disposed on the door liner 112 inside the ice compartment 120. The ice compartment inner opening 834 has a length less than a vertical length of the ice compartment duct opening 832 and greater than a horizontal length of the ice compartment duct opening 832. At this time, the ice compartment duct opening 832 and the ice compartment inner opening 834 have the same opened area as each other to reduce (e.g., prevent) the cool air supplied through the ice compartment duct 800 from being lost.

In the ice compartment duct openings 832, the ice compartment duct opening 832 of the ice compartment supply duct 810 may be disposed at a position corresponding to that of the ice maker 210 inside the ice compartment 120. Also, the ice compartment duct opening 832 of the ice compartment recovery duct 820 may be disposed at a position corresponding to that of the ice bin 300 (see FIG. 7).

The ice compartment duct guide part 830 connecting the ice compartment duct opening 832 to the ice compartment inner opening 843 may be inclined or rounded. The ice compartment duct guide part 830 may have a vertical height gradually decreasing from the ice compartment duct opening 832 toward the ice compartment inner opening 834 and a horizontal width gradually increasing from the ice compartment duct opening 832 toward the ice compartment inner opening 834.

The gasket 840 is disposed on the ice compartment duct opening 832. The gasket 840 reduces (e.g., prevents) the cool air from leaking between the cabinet duct 700 and the ice compartment duct 800 when the refrigerator compartment door 11 is closed. The gasket 840 is fixed to the ice compartment duct 800 by a gasket fixing member 850.

The gasket 840 is disposed longitudinally in a vertical direction, like the ice compartment duct opening 832. The gasket 840 may be formed of an elastic material or have an elastic structure. When the refrigerator compartment door 11 is closed, the gasket 840 contacts the circumference part 752 of the duct cover 750. That is, a hollow portion through which the cool air comes in and out is defined at a center of the gasket 840. Also, a contact part 844 selectively contacting the circumference 752 of the duct cover 750 is disposed along a circumference of the hollow portion.

A plurality of reinforcement ribs 842 are disposed in the hollow portion of the gasket 840 in a horizontal direction to prevent the hollow portion from being constricted or deformed. Thus, the hollow portion may not be constricted or deformed by the reinforcement ribs 846 to smoothly guide the cool air even through an external force is applied to the gasket 840.

The gasket fixing member 850 is disposed along a circumference of a lower portion of the gasket 840. The gasket fixing member 850 passes through the lower portion of the gasket 840 and the door liner 112 and is coupled to the ice compartment duct opening 832. Thus, the gasket 840 may be maintained in a state in which it is fixed to the ice compartment duct opening 832, and also, the position of the gasket 840 may be maintained even when the gasket 840 contacts the duct cover 750.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example refrigerator compartment door with an example ice compartment door opened, and FIG. 8 illustrates the example refrigerator compartment door in which an example ice making assembly is removed from the ice compartment.

Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, the ice making assembly 200 for generating and storing the ices is disposed inside the ice compartment 120. The ice compartment 120 is opened and closed by an ice compartment door 130. The ice compartment door 130 is rotatably connected to the door liner 112 by a hinge 139.

A handle 140 coupled to the door liner 112 in a state where the ice compartment 120 is closed by the ice compartment door 130 is disposed on the ice compartment door 130. A handle coupling part 128 coupled to a portion of the handle 140 is defined in the door liner 112. The handle coupling part 128 receives the portion of the handle 140.

A receiving member for receiving foods is disposed on the ice compartment door 130. The receiving member has a basket shape. The receiving member is detachably disposed on a back surface (a surface facing the inside of the refrigerator) of the ice compartment door 130.

A gasket is disposed around a front surface (a surface facing the inside of the ice compartment) of the ice compartment door 130. The gasket may contact an opened front end of the ice compartment 120 to seal the ice compartment 120.

The door liner 112 defines the ice compartment 120 and a back surface of the refrigerator compartment door 11. In the back surface of the refrigerator compartment door 11 defined by the door liner 112, a lower side of the ice compartment, i.e., a rear side of the dispenser 17 further protrudes when compared to a portion at which the ice compartment is defined. Thus, the refrigerator compartment door 11 defined by the door liner 112 may have a height difference. That is, in the total thickness of the refrigerator compartment door 11, a portion at which the ice compartment 120 is defined has a thickness less than that of the portion at which the ice compartment is defined.

A cool air duct 290 for guiding the cool air passing through the ice compartment supply duct 810 to the ice making assembly 200 is disposed in the ice compartment 120. The cool air duct 290 includes a passage through which cool air flows, and the cool air passing through the cool air duct 290 is finally supplied to the ice making assembly 200. Since the cool air may be concentrated to the ice making assembly 200 by the cool air duct 290, the ices may be rapidly generated.

The refrigerator compartment door 11 includes a first connector 125 for supplying a power to the ice making assembly 200. The first connector 125 is exposed to the ice compartment 120. The refrigerator compartment door 11 includes a water supply pipe 126 for supplying water to the ice making assembly 200.

The water supply pipe 126 is disposed between the outer case ill and the door liner 112, and its end passes through the door liner 112 and is disposed at the ice compartment 120.

An opening 127 for discharging the ices is defined at the lower side of the inner sidewall 114 of the door liner 112 constituting the ice compartment 120. An ice duct 150 communicating with the opening 127 is disposed at the lower side of the ice compartment 120.

FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate an example ice making assembly.

Referring to FIGS. 7 to 10, the ice making assembly 200 defines a space where ices are generated. The ice making assembly 200 includes an ice maker 210 supporting the generated ices, a driving source 220 providing a power for automatically rotating the ice maker 210 to separate the ices from the ice maker 210, a gear box 224 transmitting the power of the driving source 220 to the ice maker 210, and a water guider 240 guiding water supplied from the water supply pipe 126 to the ice maker 210.

The ice making assembly 200 includes a support mechanism 250 supporting a seat part 215 on which the ice maker 210 is seated, an ice bin 300 storing ices separated from the ice maker 210, a full ice sensor 270 for detecting a full ice state of the ice bin 300, and a motor assembly 280 selectively connected to the ice bin 300.

An electric wire connected to the motor assembly 280 and an electric wire connected to the driving source 220 are connected to a second connector 282. The second connector 282 is removably connected to the first connector 125.

In detail, the support mechanism 250 includes a first support part 252 and a second support part 260 coupled to the first support part 252.

The first support part 252 is seated on the ice compartment 120. The motor assembly 280 is installed on the first support part 252. The motor assembly 280 further includes a connection member 284 connected to an ice discharge member 400 (that will be described later) when the ice bin 300 is disposed. The connection member 284 may be exposed to a front side through the first support part 252.

An ice opening 253 through which the ices discharged from the ice bin 300 pass is disposed in a bottom surface of the first support part 252. The ice bin 300 is seated on the first support part 252. That is, the first support part 252 supports the ice bin 300.

When the ice bin 300 is seated on the first support part 252, the motor assembly 280 is connected to the ice bin 300. In this example, the state where the ice bin 300 is seated on the first support part 252 represents the state where the ice compartment 120 accommodates the ice bin 300.

The seat part 215 on which the ice maker 210 is seated is installed on the second support part 260. A rotation shaft 212 has one side and the other side, which are respectively connected to both sides of the ice maker 210. The one side of the rotation shaft 212 is connected to the gear box 224, and the other side of the rotation shaft 212 is rotatably connected to the seat part 215.

The full ice sensor 270 is disposed on the second support part 260 at a position spaced apart from the ice maker 210. The full ice sensor 270 is disposed below the ice maker 210.

The full ice sensor 270 includes a transmission part 271 transmitting a signal and a receiving part 272 spaced apart from the transmission part 271 and receiving the signal from the transmission part 271.

The transmission part 271 and the receiving part 272 are disposed in the inner space of the ice bin 300 when the ice bin 300 is seated on the first support part 252.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example ice bin.

Referring to FIG. 11, an opening 310 is defined at an upper side of the ice bin 300. The ice bin 300 has a front wall 311, a rear wall 312, and sidewalls 313.

An inclined guide surface 320 is disposed inside the ice bin 300 to support the stored ices and guide the stored ices such that the ices are moved downwardly by their own weight.

An ice storage space 315 in which the ices are stored is defined by the front wall 311, the rear wall 312, the sidewalls 313, and the inclined guide surface 320.

The inclined guide surface 320 includes a first inclined guide surface 321 and a second inclined guide surface 322. The first inclined guide surface 321 is inclined downwardly from one wall of the sidewalls 313 toward a central portion. The second inclined guide surface 322 is inclined downwardly from the other wall of the sidewalls 313 toward the central portion.

An ice discharge member 400 is disposed between the first inclined guide surface 321 and the second inclined guide surface 322 to discharge the ices received in the ice bin 300 to the outside of the ice bin 300. That is, the first inclined guide surface 321 and the second inclined guide surface 322 are disposed at left and right sides of the ice discharge member 400.

The ice discharge member 400 includes one or more rotation blades 410 to define a predetermined space 411 in which the ices may be positioned. The ice discharge member 400 may include a plurality of rotation blades 410 to easily discharge the ices.

Hereinafter, the ice discharge member 400 including the plurality of rotation blades 410 will be described as an example.

The ices disposed on the first inclined guide surface 321 and the second inclined guide surface 322 are moved toward the ice discharge member 400 by their own weight. Then, the ices are discharged to the outside of the ice bin 300 by an operation of the ice discharge member 400.

The ice discharge member 400 is rotatably disposed between the first inclined guide surface 321 and the second inclined guide surface 322. Also, a discharge part 500 having a discharge hole 510 in which the ices are finally discharged is disposed between the first inclined guide surface 321 and the second inclined guide surface 322.

The ice discharge member 400 is forwardly/reversely and rotatably (or rotatable in both directions) disposed on the discharge part 500.

When the ice discharge member 400 is rotated in a first direction, one or more fixed blades 480 interacting with the rotation blades 410 to crash the ices are disposed at a side of a lower portion of the ice discharge member 400, i.e., a side of the discharge part 500.

The plurality of fixed blades 480 are spaced from each other, and the rotation blades 410 pass through spaces between the plurality of fixed blades 480.

When the ices are compressed by the rotation operations of the rotation blades 410 in a state where the ices are jammed between the fixed blades 480 and the rotation blades 410, the ices are crashed to form ice chips.

When the ice discharge member 400 is rotated in a second direction opposite to the first direction, an opening/closing member 600 selectively communicating with the discharge hole 510 and the ice storage space 315 to discharge ice cubes is disposed at the side of the lower portion of the ice discharge member 400, i.e., the side of the discharge part 500.

An operation restriction part 650 is disposed below the opening/closing member 600 to restrict an operation range of the opening/closing member 600, thereby reducing (e.g., preventing) the ice cubes from being excessively discharged.

The discharge part 500 has a discharge guide wall 520 having a configuration corresponding to a rotational track of the rotation blade 410. The fixed blades 480 are disposed below the discharge guide wall 520.

The discharge guide wall 520 reduces (e.g., prevents) the crushed ice chips from remaining on the discharge part 500. An ice jam prevention part 330 protruding toward the rotation blade 410 is disposed on a back surface of the front wall 311 of the ice bin 300 to reduce (e.g., prevent) the ices from being jammed between the rotation blades 410 and the front wall 311 of the ice bin 300.

FIG. 12 illustrates the example ice bin.

Referring to FIGS. 11 and 12, the plurality of rotation blades 410 are fixed to a rotation shaft 420. The rotation shaft 420 passes through a support plate 425 and a connection plate 428 connected to the connection member 284 of the motor assembly (see reference numeral 280 of FIG. 6). The rotation shaft 420 is horizontally disposed within the ice bin 300.

An elastic member 429 having a coil spring shape is disposed between the support plate 425 and the connection plate 428 to elastically support the connection plate 428. The support plate 425 has an inclined surface 426 to smoothly move the ices disposed on a lateral surface of the support plate 425 toward the plurality of rotation blades 410.

In a state where the plurality of rotation blades 410, the support plate 425, the connection plate 428, and the elastic member 429 are coupled to the rotation shaft 420, an insertion member 421 is inserted into a front end of the rotation shaft 420.

The plurality of rotation blades 410 is disposed spaced from each other in a direction parallel to an extending direction of the rotation shaft 420.

The rotation shaft 420 is connected to one side of each of the plurality of fixed blades 480. That is, the rotation shaft 420 passes through the plurality of fixed blades 480. A through-hole 481 through which the rotation shaft 420 passes is defined in the respective fixed blades 480.

Here, the through-hole 481 may have a diameter greater than that of the rotation shaft 420 such that the fixed blades 480 are not moved when the rotation shaft 420 is rotated.

The plurality of rotation blades 410 and the plurality of fixed blades 480 may be alternately disposed in the direction parallel to the extending direction of the rotation shaft 420.

As described above, the other side of each of the plurality of fixed blades 480 is fixed to a lower side of the discharge guide wall 520. A fixing member 485 is connected to the other side of the respective fixed blades 480 and inserted into a groove 521 defined in the discharge guide wall 520.

The opening/closing member 600 may be provided in one or plurality. The opening/closing member 600 is disposed at a lateral side of the plurality of fixed blades 480.

The opening/closing member 600 is rotatably disposed on the discharge part 500. The opening/closing member 600 may be formed of an elastic material or supported by an elastic member 640 such as a spring.

This is done for returning the opening/closing member 600 to its initial position when a compression effect is released in a state where an end of the opening/closing member 600 is moved downwardly by the compression effect due to the ices.

The ice discharge member 400, the fixed blade 480, and the opening/closing member 600 are disposed within the ice bin 300, and then, a front plate 311a constituting the front wall 311 of the ice bin 300 is disposed.

A cover member 318 may be disposed at a lower portion of a front surface of the front plate 311a to reduce (e.g., prevent) the opening/closing member 600 or the fixed blade 480 from being exposed to the outside.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example refrigerator compartment door, and FIG. 14 illustrates a state in which an example ice maker is rotated to separate ices therefrom in FIG. 13.

Referring to FIGS. 13 and 14, the ice bin 300 is substantially vertically disposed below the ice maker 210 in a state where the ice making assembly 200 is disposed within the ice compartment 120.

In detail, an inlet 301a of the opening 310 of the ice bin 300 is disposed at a position lower than that of the ice maker 210. Thus, when the ice compartment door 130 closes the ice compartment 120, the ice bin 300 is not disposed in a region A between the ice compartment door 130 and the ice maker 210. That is, the ice bin 300 may be disposed in the region A except for the region between the ice compartment door 130 and the ice maker 210 in an entire region of the ice compartment 120.

This is done for a reason that the ice bin 300 does not need to dispose the ice bin 300 in the region A because the ice maker 210 is tuned over by its rotation operation to separate ices I from the ice maker 210 due to ice's self-weight, thereby dropping into the ice bin 300. That is, since the ices I separated from the ice maker 210 do not pass through the region A, the ice bin need not be disposed in the region A.

Thus, since the ice bin 300 is not disposed in the region A, the ice compartment door 130 may be disposed further adjacent to the ice maker 210. As a result, a total thickness of the refrigerator compartment door 11 may be reduced. That is, the refrigerator compartment door 11 may be slim.

The plurality of rotation blades 410 may be disposed spaced from each other in a direction parallel to the extending direction (front and rear directions) of the rotation shaft 420. The plurality of rotation blades 410 may be disposed within a range of a front-rear width W of the ice maker 210.

Thus, when the ice maker 210 is rotated to separate the ices I from the ice maker 210, a portion of the plurality of ices separated from the ice maker 210 directly drops into at least one rotation blade of the plurality of rotation blades 410. That is, the ices I separated from the ice maker 210 drop down by their self-weight, and one or more ices I of the dropping ices directly contact at least one rotation blade 410.

At this time, a dropping direction of the ices I separated from the ice maker 210 crosses the extending direction of the rotation shaft 420. In another aspect, the dropping direction of the ices I separated from the ice maker 210 is substantially parallel to a virtual surface defined when the plurality of rotation blades 410 is rotated.

A horizontal distance from the ice compartment door 130 to the rotation shaft 212 of the ice maker 210 is greater than the shortest horizontal distance from the ice compartment door 130 to the discharge hole 510.

A foam solution is filled between the outer case 111 and the door liner 112 of the refrigerator compartment door 11 to form a foam insulation material 115. An insulation material 116 different from the foam insulation material 115 is attached to the back surface of the outer case 111 of the refrigerator compartment door 11.

The insulation material 116 is formed of a material having a high efficiency when compared to the foam insulation material 115. For example, a vacuum insulation panel may be used as the insulation material 116, and the insulation material 116 may be attached to a region corresponding to the outer case 111 of the ice compartment 120.

The vacuum insulation panel includes a core material having a vacuum state within an envelope material having low gas permeability. The vacuum insulation panel has superior insulation performance and relatively thin thickness when compared to polyurethane or styrofoam.

Thus, a filling amount of the foam insulation material 115 may be reduced in the region in which the insulation material 116 is attached. As a result, the refrigerator compartment door 11 corresponding to the ice compartment 120 may be slimmer in thickness.

Also, an ice compartment door insulation material 134 including a vacuum insulation panel equal to the insulation material 116 may be attached to the inside of the ice compartment door 130. The ice compartment door insulation material 134 may be attached to design the slimmer ice compartment door 130.

Of course, as necessary, a foam solution together with the ice compartment door insulation material 134 may be filled in the ice compartment door 130.

As described above, in the refrigerator compartment door 11 including the ice compartment door 130, the region in which the ice compartment is defined may be slimmer due to the structure of the ice making assembly 200, the insulation material 116, and the ice compartment door insulation material 134.

Thus, the width of the sidewall through which the cool air comes in and out to the inside/outside of the ice compartment 120 may become narrow. In this state, the ice compartment duct opening 832 may be disposed longitudinally in a vertical direction to secure a sufficient flow amount of the cool air. As a result, when the refrigerator compartment door 11 is closed, the cabinet duct openings 740 communicating with each other may be disposed also longitudinally in a vertical direction.

An effect of the refrigerator including the above-described constitutions will be described below.

When the refrigerator compartment door 11 is closed, the ice compartment and the cabinet duct 700 communicate with each other to allow the cool air to flow therebetween. When the refrigerator compartment door 11 is closed, the gasket 840 contacts the duct cover 750 to allow the ice compartment duct 800 and the cabinet duct 700 to communicate with each other without leaking the cool air.

In this state, the cool air is supplied to make the ices in the ice maker 210 or prevent the ices stored in the ice bin 300 from being melted. For this, the cool air generated in the evaporator within the heat-exchange chamber 106 forcibly blows by a blow fan, and thus is supplied to the refrigerator compartment 102, the freezer compartment 104, and ice compartment 120.

The cool air within the heat-exchange chamber 106 is introduced into the cabinet supply duct 710 through the cool air inlet 712 and introduced into the ice compartment supply duct 810 through the cabinet duct opening 740 of the cabinet supply duct 710 and the ice compartment duct opening 832 of the ice compartment supply duct 810. Also, the cool air is supplied inside the ice compartment 120 through the ice compartment inner opening 834 of the ice compartment supply duct 810.

At this time, the sufficient amount of the cool air passing through the cabinet duct opening 740 and the ice compartment duct opening 832, which are disposed longitudinally in the vertical direction is supplied to the ice maker 210 through the ice compartment inner opening 834 without being lost.

The cool air within the ice compartment 120 is discharged through the ice compartment inner opening 834 of the ice compartment recovery duct 820. Then, the cool air is introduced into the cabinet recovery duct 720 via the ice compartment duct opening 832 of the ice compartment recovery duct 820 and the cabinet duct opening 740 of the cabinet recovery duct 720. Thereafter, the cool air is supplied to the freezer compartment 104 through the cool air outlet 714.

Also, at this time, the sufficient amount of the cool air passing through the cabinet duct opening 740 and the ice compartment duct opening 832, which are disposed longitudinally in the vertical direction is discharged into the freezer compartment 104 from the ice compartment 120 through the ice compartment inner opening 834 without being lost.

As described above, the cool air is continuously circulated through the passage. Thus, a temperature for making the ices in the ice compartment 120 and a temperature for maintaining the made ice may be maintained.

Also, the spaces within the refrigerator are thermally insulated by the foam insulation material 115 within the refrigerator compartment door 11. Specifically, a space between the ice compartment 120 and an external space of the ice compartment 120 may be thermally further insulated by the insulation material 116 having a sheet shape and disposed inside the refrigerator compartment door 11 corresponding to the region in which the ice compartment is defined.

Also, a space between the ice compartment 120 and the refrigerator compartment 102 may be thermally insulated by the foam insulation material within the refrigerator compartment door 11 and/or the insulation material 116 having the sheet shape.

When ices are made in the ice maker 210 within the ice compartment 120, a portion of the ice maker 210 at which the ices are made is rotated, and thus, the made ices drop vertically downward from the ice maker 210. The ices separated from the ice maker 210 directly drop toward the ice discharge member 400 and then are piled up a lower space within the ice bin 300.

When the dispenser 17 is operated to dispense the ices stored in the ice bin 300, the rotation blades 410 are rotated to dispense the made ices in the ice cube state that is their original state. At this time, when the rotation blades 410 is rotated in the first direction, the ices disposed in the space between the rotation blades 410 are discharged to the discharge hole 510 through the opening/closing part 600.

When the rotation blades 410 is rotated in the second direction, the ices disposed in the space between the rotation blades 410 are crushed between the fixed blade 480 and the rotation blade 410, and thus discharged to the discharge hole 510 in the ice chip state.

That is, the ice cube state or the ice chip state of the ices may be determined according to the rotation direction of the rotation blade 410. The ices discharged to the discharge hole 510 are dispensed to the dispenser 17 via the inlet 152 and the outlet 154 of the ice duct 150.

FIG. 15 illustrates an example refrigerator compartment door including an example ice compartment.

The example refrigerator compartment door and the example ice compartment shown in FIG. 15 may be similar to the example refrigerator compartment door and the example ice compartment described above with respect to FIGS. 1-14, except only for a structure of an ice compartment duct. Thus, only specific portions of this example will now be described.

Hereinafter, portions having the same function as the previously described embodiment are denoted by the same reference numeral and its explanation will be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 15, an ice compartment is defined by a door liner 112 constituting a back surface of a refrigerator compartment door 11. An ice duct 900 is disposed inside the door liner 112 constituting a sidewall of the ice compartment 120.

When the refrigerator compartment door 11 is closed, the ice compartment duct 900 may include an ice compartment supply duct 910 communicating with a cabinet supply duct 810 and an ice compartment recovery duct 920 communicating with the cabinet recovery duct 820.

A gasket 940 is disposed on an ice compartment duct opening 901 defined in an outer sidewall of the ice compartment 120. The gasket 940 may be fixed to the ice compartment duct 900 by a gasket fixing member 950. Also, ice compartment duct cover 970 is disposed on an ice compartment inner opening 902 defined in an inner sidewall of the ice compartment 120.

The ice compartment duct 900 is formed of a material such as styrofoam or polyurethane. Also, the ice compartment duct 900 is inserted into the sidewall of the ice compartment 120 in a state where it includes an ice compartment duct guide part 960 through which cool air flows therein.

The ice compartment duct guide part 960 connects the ice compartment duct opening 901 to the ice compartment inner opening 902. The ice compartment duct guide part 960 has a vertical height gradually decreasing from the outside of the ice compartment 120 to the inside of the ice compartment 120 and a horizontal width gradually increasing from the outside of the ice compartment 120 to the inside of the ice compartment 120. That is, the ice compartment duct guide part 960 is inclined or rounded to allow the cool air to come in and out the inside/outside of the ice compartment 120.

According to the proposed implementations, the cabinet duct for supplying the cool air to the ice compartment defined in the refrigerator compartment door and the openings of the ice compartment duct corresponding to each other are defined longitudinally in the vertical direction.

Thus, when the ice compartment or the refrigerator compartment door including the ice compartment is slim, the opening through which the cool air comes in and out is defined longitudinally in the vertical direction to secure the sufficient amount of the cool air, thereby improve the cooling efficiency within the ice compartment.

Also, since the inside of the ice compartment is inclined and the ice compartment duct opening is defined longitudinally in the vertical direction than the ice compartment inner opening of the inside of the ice compartment, the cool air can smoothly flow into the ice compartment.

Thereafter, since the cool air for storing and making the ices within the ice compartment can be effectively circulated, the power consumption can be improved.

Although examples have been described with reference to a number of illustrative implementations, it should be understood that numerous other modifications and implementations can be devised by those skilled in the art that will fall within the spirit and scope of the principles of this disclosure. More particularly, various variations and modifications are possible in the component parts and/or arrangements of the subject combination arrangement within the scope of the disclosure, the drawings and the appended claims. In addition to variations and modifications in the component parts and/or arrangements, alternative uses will also be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A refrigerator comprising:

a cabinet comprising a refrigerator compartment and a freezer compartment;

a refrigerator compartment door configured to open and close at least a portion of the refrigerator compartment;

a freezer compartment door configured to open and close at least a portion of the freezer compartment;

an ice compartment in which an insulation space is defined in the refrigerator compartment door, the ice compartment comprising an ice maker configured to make ice;

a dispenser through which ice made within the ice compartment is dispensed, the dispenser being disposed in the refrigerator compartment door;

a cabinet duct disposed in an inner wall of the refrigerator compartment and configured to guide cool air, the cabinet duct having a cabinet duct opening that opens toward an inside of the refrigerator compartment and that is disposed longitudinally in a vertical direction; and

an ice compartment duct having an ice compartment duct opening that is configured to communicate with the cabinet duct when the refrigerator compartment door is oriented in a closed position and that is defined longitudinally in a vertical direction, the ice compartment duct being disposed in a sidewall of the ice compartment.

2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, further comprising a gasket that is disposed on a circumference of the ice compartment duct opening and that is configured to reduce leakage of cool air between the cabinet duct and the ice compartment duct.

3. The refrigerator according to claim 1, further comprising a duct cover disposed on the cabinet duct opening and providing a passage through which cool air flows in and out of the cabinet duct.

4. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the cabinet duct comprises:

a cabinet supply duct configured to guide, to the ice compartment, cool air from within a heat-exchange chamber comprising an evaporator; and

a cabinet recovery duct configured to guide, to the freezer compartment, cool air discharged from the ice compartment.

5. The refrigerator according to claim 4, further comprising a cool air inlet disposed at a lower end of the cabinet supply duct and oriented longitudinally in a vertical direction, and

a cool air outlet disposed at a lower end of the cabinet recovery duct and oriented longitudinally in a horizontal direction.

6. The refrigerator according to claim 5, wherein the cool air inlet communicates with the heat-exchange chamber comprising the evaporator, and

the cool air outlet communicates with the freezer compartment.

7. The refrigerator according to claim 4, wherein the cabinet duct comprises a barrier that is disposed along a center of an inside of the cabinet duct and that partitions the cabinet duct into the cabinet supply duct and the cabinet recovery duct.

8. The refrigerator according to claim 4, wherein the cabinet supply duct and the cabinet recovery duct comprise cabinet duct guide parts that are inclined or rounded to guide movement of cool air at ends of the cabinet supply duct and the cabinet recovery duct.

9. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the ice compartment duct has an ice compartment inner opening exposed toward an inside of the ice compartment and having a vertical length less than that of the ice compartment duct opening.

10. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the ice compartment duct has a horizontal width gradually increasing from the ice compartment duct opening of an outside of the ice compartment to an ice compartment inner opening exposed toward an inside of the ice compartment.

11. The refrigerator according to claim 10, wherein the ice compartment duct opening and the ice compartment inner opening have the same area as each other.

12. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the ice compartment duct comprises an ice compartment duct guide part that is inclined or rounded to guide a direction of cool air guided by the ice compartment duct.

13. The refrigerator according to claim 1, further comprising heaters disposed around an inlet and outlet of the cabinet duct,

wherein the heaters are disposed in a region except a front end of the cabinet duct opening.

14. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the cabinet duct opening has a vertical length greater than that of the ice maker.

15. The refrigerator according to claim 3, further comprising a plurality of grills horizontally disposed in an opened cover hole of the duct cover.

16. The refrigerator according to claim 15, wherein a gasket contacts an outer circumference of the opened cover hole of the duct cover.

17. The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein the gasket further comprises a plurality of reinforcement ribs disposed in a horizontal direction to allow gasket holes of a central portion of the gasket to maintain intervals therebetween.

18. The refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein the duct cover comprises a cover coupling part passing through an inner case defining an inner sidewall of the refrigerator compartment and restricted within the ice compartment duct opening.

19. The refrigerator according to claim 2, further comprising a fixing member that is disposed on a sidewall of the ice compartment, that sequentially passes through the gasket and door liners defining the ice compartment, and that is fixed to the ice compartment duct.

20. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein, in the refrigerator compartment door, a portion at which the ice compartment is defined has a thickness less than that of a portion disposed below the ice compartment.