Refrigerator

Abstract

A refrigerator includes: a main body cabinet forming a storing compartment which has a front opening formed with a predetermined height and width; and a plurality of illumination units disposed along an inner circumference of the main body cabinet and adjacent to the front opening; each illumination unit comprising a light source which has a predetermined light directivity angle θ, and each light source of the plurality of illumination units is disposed not to be superposed with each other.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority from Korean Patent Application No. 10-2007-0034080, filed on Apr. 6, 2007 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The present invention generally relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to a refrigerator having an improved position of an illumination unit that illuminates the inside of a storing compartment.

2. Description of the Related Art

A refrigerator is a device which preserves articles at a temperature near freezing using a refrigerating cycle that includes a compressor, a condenser and an evaporator. The refrigerator has a storing compartment therein. The storing compartment receives cold air produced using the refrigerating cycle and preserves the articles. The storing compartment is opened or closed by a door in order to prevent leakage of the cold air flowing within the storing compartment and to maintain thermal insulation from the outside.

On the other hand, an illumination unit, that is an illuminating lamp, is installed in the storing compartment. The illuminating lamp emits light so that the stored articles can be easily recognized. Also, the illuminating lamp is turned on and off by a signal of a door opening and closing sensing unit which is disposed at a place near to the door and is capable of sensing the opening and closing of the door. Such an illuminating lamp is disposed at an inner side of the storing compartment.

However, according to a conventional refrigerator as described above, the illuminating lamp is disposed at an inner side of the storing compartment. Therefore, when many articles are stored in the storing compartment, the articles block the light and the inside of the storing compartment becomes dark, thus making it hard to recognize the articles stored in the storing compartment.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, it is an aspect of the present invention to provide a refrigerator having an improved position of an illumination unit so that the illumination unit can illuminate efficiently, irrespective of the number of articles stored in a storing compartment.

Additional aspects and/or advantages of the present invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the present invention.

The foregoing and/or other aspects of the present invention can be achieved by providing a refrigerator including: a main body cabinet forming a storing compartment which has a front opening formed with a predetermined height and width; and a plurality of illumination units disposed along an inner circumference of the main body cabinet, each illumination unit including a light source which has a predetermined light directivity angle θ, and the light directivity angle θ of each of the light sources is disposed to not be superposed with the light sources on the opposite side of the inner circumference.

According to an aspect of the invention, the light directivity angle θ of each light source is disposed not to be superposed with each other, wherein the plurality of illumination units are adjacent to the front opening.

According to an aspect of the invention, if the width of the front opening is W then a height interval H1 of the plurality of illumination units satisfies the following equation: H1≦W×tan(θ/2).

According to an aspect of the invention, if the height of the storing compartment is H then a width interval W1 of the plurality of illumination units satisfies the following equation: W1≦H×tan(θ/2).

According to an aspect of the invention, the light directivity angle θ of the light source is 120 to 160 degrees.

According to an aspect of the invention, the light source includes a light-emitting diode (LED).

According to an aspect of the invention, the illumination unit further includes a housing which has an opening that the light source passes through and is received in an inner wall of the main body cabinet, and a cover which is made of a transparent material and covers the opening of the housing.

According to an aspect of the invention, the cover guides light irradiated by the light source to diverge inside the storing compartment.

According to an aspect of the invention, if a height of the front opening is H then a width interval W1 of the plurality of illumination units satisfies the following equation: W1≦H×tan(θ/2).

According to an aspect of the invention, the light directivity angle θ of the light source is 120 to 160 degrees.

According to an aspect of the invention, the light source includes a light-emitting diode (LED).

According to an aspect of the invention, the illumination unit further includes a housing which has an opening that the light source passes therethrough and is received in an inner wall of the main body cabinet, and a cover which is made of a transparent material and covers the opening of the housing.

According to an aspect of the invention, the cover guides light irradiated by the light source to diverge inside the storing compartment.

According to an aspect of the invention, a refrigerator comprises: a main body cabinet forming a storing compartment which has a front opening formed with a predetermined height and width; and a plurality of illumination units disposed along of an inner circumference of the main body cabinet; the plurality of illumination units being disposed in a zigzag arrangement along the inner circumference of the main body cabinet.

According to another aspect of the invention, the illumination units each comprise a light source which has a predetermined light directivity angle θ.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and/or other aspects and advantages will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the exemplary embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a part of an illumination unit described in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the illumination units disposed with a predetermined interval in a height direction; and

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the illumination units disposed with a predetermined interval in a width direction.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. The embodiments are described below so as to explain the present invention by referring to the figures.

In this specification, a side-by-side type refrigerator is described as an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited to this exemplary embodiment but may also be applied to top mounted freezer (TMF) type and bottom mounted freezer (BMF) type refrigerators.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention and FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a part of an illumination unit described in FIG. 1.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the refrigerator 1 according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a main body cabinet 3 which forms a storing compartment 10 having a front opening 20, and a plurality of illumination units 60 which are disposed along an inside circumference of the main body cabinet 3 to be adjacent to the front opening 20.

The main body cabinet 3 forms an external appearance of the refrigerator 1. A plurality of storing compartments 10 are formed in the main body cabinet 3 with foaming agent filled between the storing compartments 10. In this case, the front opening 20 is formed in front of the storing compartment 10 formed by the main body cabinet 3 so that articles can enter and exit through the front opening 20.

The storing compartment 10, as the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, is laterally divided into a cooling compartment 12 and a freezing compartment 14 by a barrier 18. In the storing compartment 10, shelves 41 are disposed with a predetermined interval therebetween to divide the storing compartment 10 into a plurality of spaces, and storing drawers 42 are disposed to store the articles such as vegetables that need to prevent moisture evaporation.

The cooling compartment 12 stores the articles at a temperature higher than a freezing point, that is, normally at temperature of about 4° C. The freezing compartment 14 stores the articles to be frozen at a temperature lower than the freezing point. Also, an ice maker 40 is installed in the freezing compartment 14 to receive water from an outer water supply source (not shown) and make ice.

On the other hand, the front opening 20 of the storing compartment 10, where the articles pass through, is opened and closed by a door 30. Also, a receiving part 16, where the illumination unit 60 to be described later is received, is formed at an inner wall of the storing compartment 10 adjacent to the front opening 20.

The door 30 is connected to the main body cabinet 3 to open and close the front opening 20 of the storing compartment 10. As an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the door 30 includes a cooling compartment door 32 and a freezing compartment door 34 which are rotatably connected to the main body cabinet 3 to open and close the cooling compartment 12 and the freezing compartment 14 respectively. In this case, a dispenser unit (not shown) is installed in the freezing compartment door 34 to take the ice from the ice maker 40 and drinking water from a water supplying unit (not shown) accommodated in the main body cabinet 3 in the outside. On the other hand, a door opening and closing sensing unit 43 is provided at the inner wall of the storing compartment 10 adjacent to the door 30 to contact the door 30.

If the door 30 is opened, the door opening and closing sensing unit 43 transmits an opening signal to indictate opening of the door 30 to a controlling unit (not shown). The controlling unit controls the illumination units 60 disposed in the storing compartment 10 to be turned on according to the opening signal transmitted from the door opening and closing sensing unit 43.

The illumination unit 60 includes a light source 62 which is turned on and off by a control signal of the controlling unit, a substrate 64 which provides a signal to the light source and is mounted with the light source 62, a housing 66 which is received in the inner wall of the main body cabinet 3 with an opening that the light source 62 and the substrate 64 pass through, and a cover 68 of a transparent material which covers the opening of the housing 66. The illumination unit 60 is disposed along an inner circumference of the main body cabinet 3 to be adjacent to the front opening 20 of the storing compartment 10. In this case, the illumination unit 60 is disposed plurally with a predetermined interval therebetween to be adjacent to the front opening 20 of the storing compartment 10.

As an embodiment of the present invention, the light source 62 is a light-emitting diode (LED). In this case, as an embodiment of the present invention, the LED used as the light source 62 is mounted as a set of 3 to 6 onto one of the substrates 64. Alternatively, the light source 62 may be embodied by a fluorescent lamp or an incandescent lamp. However, as the fluorescent lamp or the incandescent lamp generates a lot of heat, it is possible but not necessary to use the LED as the light source 62.

The light source 62 has a predetermined light directivity angle θ. In this case, the light directivity angle θ means an angle at which light is diverged from the light source 62. As an embodiment of the present invention, the light directivity angle θ of the light source 62 is 120 to 160 degrees. Such a light directivity angle θ of the LED is used in this embodiment of the present invention. As an embodiment of the present invention, each of the light sources 62 is disposed along the inner circumstance of the main body cabinet 3 adjacent to the front opening 20 of the storing compartment 10 without overlapping the light directivity angle θ of each light source 62 with that of the other light source 62. A reference to a disposition interval to dispose each light source 62 without superposition of the light directivity angles θ between the light sources 62 is described later in this specification. It is possible but not necessary that an irradiation of the light source 62 is directed toward an inside to the storing compartment 10.

A printed circuit board (PCB) is used for the substrate 64 and controls an electrical signal from the outside and transmits an on/off control signal of the controlling unit to the light source 62.

The housing 66 is provided to receive the light source 62 and the substrate 64. The housing 66 is received in the receiving part 16 which is formed at the inner circumference of the main body cabinet 3 adjacent to the front opening 20 of the storing compartment 10. As an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible but not necessary that the housing 66 is recessed relative to a plate surface of the storing compartment 10 to be received in the receiving part 16. For example, the housing 66 is made not to protrude from the plate surface of the storing compartment 10 when it is coupled with the cover 68 to be described later, so that it may not interfere with a structure such as the shelf 41 that is taken in or out of the storing compartment 10.

The cover 68 is provided to cover the opening of the housing 66 which the light source 62 and the substrate 64 pass through. The cover 68 is made of a transparent material so that the light irradiated by the light source 62 in the housing 66 can reach inside the storing compartment 10. On the other hand, the cover 68 is provided to guide a diverging direction of the light irradiated by the light source 62 to the inside of the storing compartment 10. That is, the cover 68 guides the diverging direction of the light irradiated by the light source 62 in the housing 66 to the inside of the storing compartment 10, thus enabling the articles preserved in the storing compartment 10 to be more easily recognized.

With the above configuration, a plurality of the illumination units 60 according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention are disposed along the inner circumference of the main body cabinet 3 and adjacent to the front opening 20 of the storing compartment 10. Hereinafter, the disposition interval of the illumination units 60 is described.

The principle of the disposition of the illumination units 60 according to the embodiment of the present invention is that the light directivity angles θ of the light sources 62 are disposed not to superpose with the light directivity angles 0 of the light sources 62 disposed in opposite sides of the rectangular front opening 20.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the illumination units 60 disposed with a predetermined interval H1 in a height direction. As shown in FIG. 3, the height interval H1 between the illumination units 60 in the height direction is expressed by the following equation 1.

That is, if a width of the front opening 20 is W then the height interval H1 between the plurality of illumination units 60 satisfies the equation 1:

H1≦W×tan(θ/2)   (1)

The equation 1 for the illumination unit 60 with a left lower side of the cooling compartment 12 as an example shows that tan(θ/2) is (height/base) and determines the height interval H1 which is the disposition interval in the height direction of the illumination unit 60 by multiplying the width W (which is a base in this case) with tan(θ/2). Accordingly, the light directivity angles θ of the illumination units 60 disposed on the same compartment, opposite sides in the width direction are not superposed with each other.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the illumination units 60 disposed with a predetermined interval W1 in a width direction. As shown in FIG. 4, the width interval W1 between the illumination units 60 in the width direction is expressed by the following equation 2.

That is, if the height of the front opening 20 is H then the width interval W1 between the plurality of illumination units 60 satisfies the equation 2:

W1≦H×tan(θ/2)   (2)

The equation 2 for the illumination unit 60 with a left upper side of the cooling compartment 12 as an example shows that tan(θ/2) is (height/base) and determines the width interval W1 which is the disposition interval in the width direction of the illumination unit 60 by multiplying the height H (which is a base in this case) with tan(θ/2). Accordingly, the light directivity angles θ of the illumination units 60 disposed on the opposite sides in the height direction are not superposed with each other.

Therefore, as the illumination units illuminating the storing compartment are dispersed along the circumference of the main body cabinet adjacent to the front opening of the storing compartment, the storing compartment can be efficiently illuminated irrespective of the articles stored in the storing compartment.

Also, the illumination units on the opposite sides can be disposed not to be superposed with each other by using the light directivity angle of each illumination unit, thus effectively disposing the illumination units and decreasing production cost.

In addition, as the illumination units are disposed by using the predetermined light directivity angle of the illumination unit, they can be applied to the storing compartment of various sizes, thus improving production efficiency.

As described hereinbefore, according to the embodiment of the present invention, as the illumination units are dispersed along the circumference of the main body cabinet and adjacent to the front opening of the storing compartment, the refrigerator storing compartment can be efficiently illuminated irrespective of the stored articles.

Also, the illumination units on the opposite sides can be disposed not to be superposed with each other by using the light directivity angle of each illumination unit, thus disposing the illumination units efficiently and providing the refrigerator which can decrease production costs.

In addition, as the illumination units are disposed by using the predetermined light directivity angle thereof, they can be applied to the storing compartment of various sizes, and thus the refrigerator having improved production efficiency can be provided.

Although an exemplary embodiment of the present invention has been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A refrigerator comprising:

a main body cabinet forming a storing compartment which has a front opening formed with a predetermined height and width; and

a plurality of illumination units disposed along an inner circumference of the main body cabinet,

each illumination unit comprising a light source which has a predetermined light directivity angle θ, and

the light directivity angle θ of each of the light sources is disposed to not be superposed with the light sources on the opposite side of the inner circumference, and the light sources are disposed to emit light toward an inside of the storing compartment.

2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of illumination units are adjacent to the front opening.

3. The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein if the width of the front opening is W then a height interval H1 of the plurality of illumination units satisfies the following equation:

H1≦W×tan(θ/2).

4. The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein if a height of the front opening is H, then a width interval W1 of the plurality of illumination units satisfies the following equation:

W1≦H×tan(θ/2).

5. The refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein if a height of the front opening is H then a width interval W1 of the plurality of illumination units satisfies the following equation:

W1≦H×tan(θ/2).

6. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the light directivity angle θ of the light sources is 120 to 160 degrees.

7. The refrigerator according to claim 5, wherein the light sources comprise a light-emitting diode (LED).

8. The refrigerator according to claim 2, further comprising an inner wall of the main body cabinet, wherein the illumination units further comprise a housing which has an opening that the respective light source passes through and is received in the inner wall of the main body cabinet, and a cover which is made of a transparent material and covers the opening of the respective housing.

9. The refrigerator according to claim 8, wherein the covers guide light irradiated by the respective light sources to diverge inside the storing compartment.

10. A refrigerator comprising:

a main body cabinet forming a storing compartment which has a front opening formed with a predetermined height and width; and

a plurality of illumination units disposed along an inner circumference of the main body cabinet,

the plurality of illumination units being disposed in a zigzag arrangement along the inner circumference of the main body cabinet.

11. The refrigerator according to claim 10, wherein the illumination units each comprise a light source which has a predetermined light directivity angle θ.

12. The refrigerator according to claim 11, further comprising an inner wall of the main body cabinet, wherein the illumination units further comprise a housing which has an opening that the respective light source passes through and is received in the inner wall of the main body cabinet, and a cover which is made of a transparent material and covers the opening of the respective housing.