REFRIGERATOR RELATED TECHNOLOGY

- LG Electronics

A refrigerator is disclosed in which cool air ducts guide cool air from a freezing chamber to an ice making chamber provided at a refrigerating chamber door. The cool air ducts are provided at a barrier sectioning the freezing chamber and the refrigerating chamber and at the refrigerating chamber door.

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Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority to Korean Application No. 10-2009-0028626 filed in Korea on Apr. 2, 2009, the entire contents of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a refrigerator and air flow control technology.

BACKGROUND

In general, a refrigerator is a device for maintaining food items at a low temperature in a certain accommodating space, including a refrigerating chamber maintained at temperature of above zero and a freezing chamber maintained at temperature of below zero. Refrigerators may include an automatic ice making device.

The automatic ice making device may be installed in the freezing chamber or in the refrigerating chamber. When an ice making chamber including the ice making device is installed in the refrigerating chamber, a cool air duct may be provided to guide cool air to the ice making chamber from the freezing chamber.

For example, a 3-door bottom freezer type refrigerator has a freezing chamber disposed at a lower portion and a refrigerating chamber disposed at an upper portion. An evaporator is installed on a rear wall face and an ice making chamber is installed at an upper portion of a refrigerating chamber door. A cool air duct for guiding cool air of the freezing chamber to the ice making chamber is provided.

SUMMARY

In one aspect, a refrigerator includes a refrigerator body, a refrigerating compartment defined at a first portion of the refrigerator body, and a freezing compartment defined at a second portion of the refrigerator body. The second portion of the refrigerator body is different than the first portion of the refrigerator body. The refrigerator also includes a barrier that separates the freezing compartment from the refrigerating compartment and at least one evaporator configured to cool air used in regulating operating temperatures in the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment that differ, with the freezing compartment having an operating temperature that is lower than an is operating temperature of the refrigerating compartment. The refrigerator further includes a refrigerating compartment door that is configured to open and close at least a portion of the refrigerating compartment, a freezing compartment door that is configured to open and close at least a portion of the freezing compartment, and an ice compartment positioned at the refrigerating compartment door and configured to receive cool air from the freezing compartment. In addition, the refrigerator includes a first duct positioned at the barrier that separates the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment and defines a passage at least partially through the barrier and a second duct positioned at the refrigerating compartment door and configured to, when the refrigerating compartment door is oriented in a closed position, connect with the first duct to define an air flow passage between the freezing compartment and the ice compartment. The refrigerator includes a unit that is positioned at the barrier separating the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment. The unit is configured to open the first duct when the refrigerating compartment door is oriented in the closed position and close the first duct when the refrigerating compartment door is oriented in an opened position.

Implementations may include one or more of the following features. For example, the first duct may be separated from the second duct when the refrigerating compartment door is oriented in the opened position. In this example, the second duct may be a supply duct configured to guide air to the ice compartment and the refrigerator may include a return duct positioned at the refrigerating compartment door and configured to guide air from the ice compartment. The supply duct may be positioned on an interior surface of the refrigerating compartment door at a first side of the refrigerating compartment door and the return duct may be positioned on the interior surface of the refrigerating compartment door at a second side of the refrigerating compartment door that is opposite of the first side.

In addition, the supply duct may have an outlet oriented to output cool air in a first direction and the return duct may have an inlet oriented to receive cool air in a second direction that is different than the first direction. The supply duct may extend into the ice compartment to a first height and the return duct may extend into the ice compartment to a second height that is different than the first height. The refrigerator also may include an ice maker positioned within the ice compartment and configured to freeze liquid water into ice. An outlet of the supply duct and an inlet of the return duct may be positioned on opposite sides of the ice maker such that air flow from the outlet of the supply duct to the inlet of the return duct passes over the ice maker.

Further, the second duct may be positioned such that at least a portion of the second duct is within a range of the refrigerator body when the refrigerating compartment door is oriented in the closed position. The refrigerating compartment door may include a protrusion on its inner surface such that the protrusion is positioned in the refrigerator body when the refrigerating compartment door is oriented in the closed position and the second duct may be positioned on an inner face of the protrusion or at an inner side of the protrusion.

In some implementations, the first duct may include a freezing compartment duct such that a first end of the freezing compartment duct communicates with the freezing compartment and a second end of the freezing compartment duct communicates with the second duct when the refrigerating compartment door is oriented in the closed position. In these implementations, the refrigerator may include a fan that is oriented such that its discharge side communicates with the freezing compartment duct and promotes movement of air along the freezing compartment duct.

In some examples, the unit may include a housing having one or more cool air through holes that allow the second duct to communicate with the freezing compartment through the first duct when the refrigerating compartment door is oriented in the closed position and a plate configured to open and close the one or more cool air through holes of the housing in response to closing and opening of the refrigerating compartment door. In these examples, the refrigerator may include an elastic member positioned at one side of the plate. When the refrigerating compartment door is oriented in the opened position, the elastic member may apply force to the plate in a direction that causes the plate to close the one or more cool air through holes.

Further, the refrigerator may include a guide hole defined by the housing and a guide unit that is coupled to the plate. The guide unit may have at least a portion inserted into the guide hole, may be configured to be pressed by the refrigerating compartment door when the refrigerating compartment door moves from the opened position to the closed position, and may be configured to, in response to being pressed by the refrigerating compartment door, move the plate from a first position in which the plate closes the one or more cool air through holes to a second position in which the plate opens the one or more cool air through holes. The refrigerator may include a sealing member provided to at least one of the second duct and the one or more cool air through holes. A portion of the housing where an end of the second duct interfaces with the one or more cool air through holes may be inclined relative to ground when the refrigerator body is oriented in an ordinary operating orientation.

In another aspect, a refrigerator includes a refrigerator body, a refrigerating compartment defined at a first portion of the refrigerator body, and a freezing compartment defined at a second portion of the refrigerator body. The second portion of the refrigerator body is different than the first portion of the refrigerator body. The refrigerator also includes a barrier that separates the freezing compartment from the refrigerating compartment and at least one evaporator configured to cool air used in regulating operating temperatures in the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment that differ, with the freezing compartment having an operating temperature that is lower than an operating temperature of the refrigerating compartment. The refrigerator further includes a refrigerating compartment door that is configured to open and close at least a portion of the refrigerating compartment, a freezing compartment door that is configured to open and close at least a portion of the freezing compartment, and an ice compartment positioned at the refrigerating compartment door. In addition, the refrigerator includes a supply duct positioned at the refrigerating compartment door and configured to guide air to the ice compartment and a return duct positioned at the refrigerating to compartment door and configured to guide air from the ice compartment. The refrigerator includes a unit that is positioned at the barrier separating the freezing compartment and the refrigerating compartment. The unit defines, through the barrier, a supply passage configured to interface with the supply duct when the refrigerating compartment door is oriented in a closed position and separate from the supply duct when the refrigerating compartment door is oriented in an opened position. The unit also defines, through the barrier, a return passage configured to interface with the return duct when the refrigerating compartment door is oriented in the closed position and separate from the return duct when the refrigerating compartment door is oriented in the opened position. The unit further includes at least one blocking unit that is configured to open the supply passage and the return passage when the refrigerating compartment door is oriented in the closed position and close the supply passage and the return passage when the refrigerating compartment door is oriented in the opened position.

Implementations may include one or more of the following features. For example, the refrigerator may include an ice maker positioned within the ice compartment. In this example, the supply duct may be positioned on an interior surface of the refrigerating compartment door at a first side of the refrigerating compartment door, the return duct may be positioned on the interior surface of the refrigerating compartment door at a second side of the refrigerating compartment door that is opposite of the first side, and an outlet of the supply duct and an inlet of the return duct may be positioned on opposite sides of the ice maker such that air flow from the outlet of the supply duct to the inlet of the return duct passes over the ice maker.

In yet another aspect, a refrigerator includes a refrigerator body, a refrigerating compartment defined at a first portion of the refrigerator body, and a freezing compartment defined at a second portion of the refrigerator body. The second portion of the refrigerator body is different than the first portion of the refrigerator body. The refrigerator also includes a barrier that separates is the freezing compartment from the refrigerating compartment and at least one evaporator configured to cool air used in regulating operating temperatures in the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment that differ, with the freezing compartment having an operating temperature that is lower than an operating temperature of the refrigerating compartment. The refrigerator further includes a refrigerating compartment door that is configured to open and close at least a portion of the refrigerating compartment, a freezing compartment door that is configured to open and close at least a portion of the freezing compartment, and an ice compartment positioned at the refrigerating compartment door. In addition, the refrigerator includes a door supply duct configured to guide air to the ice compartment and positioned on an interior surface of the refrigerating compartment door at a first side of the refrigerating compartment door and a door return duct configured to guide air from the ice compartment and positioned on the interior surface of the refrigerating compartment door at a second side of the refrigerating compartment door that is opposite of the first side. Further, the refrigerator includes a barrier supply duct that is positioned at the barrier that separates the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment, that defines a passage at least partially through the barrier, and that is configured to connect with the door supply duct to define a supply air flow passage from the freezing compartment to the ice compartment when the refrigerating compartment door is oriented in a closed position. The refrigerator includes a barrier return duct that is positioned at the barrier that separates the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment, that defines a passage at least partially through the barrier, and that is configured to connect with the door return duct to define a return air flow passage from the ice compartment to the freezing compartment when the refrigerating compartment door is oriented in the closed position.

Implementations may include one or more of the following features. For example, the refrigerator may include a unit that is positioned at the barrier separating the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment. The unit may be configured to open the barrier supply duct and the barrier return duct when the refrigerating compartment door is oriented in the closed position and close the barrier supply duct and the barrier return duct when the refrigerating compartment door is oriented in an opened position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a 3-door bottom freezer type refrigerator;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a cool air supply device of the refrigerator in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a refrigerating chamber door of the refrigerator in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line I-I in FIG. 3, showing one example;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line I-I in FIG. 3, showing another example;

FIGS. 6 and 7 are vertical sectional views showing examples with respect to the direction of a cool air passage in the refrigerator of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a damper in the refrigerator of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along line in FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view schematically showing a closed state of the refrigerating chamber door to explain the process of circulating cool air in the freezing chamber; and

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a cool air flow path in the 3-door bottom freezer type refrigerator.

 DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates a 3-door bottom freezer type refrigerator. As shown in FIG. 1, a refrigerator includes a refrigerating chamber 2 defined at an upper portion of a refrigerator body 1. The refrigerating chamber 2 keeps food items in storage at a refrigerating temperature above freezing. A freezing chamber 3 is defined at a lower portion of the refrigerator body 1. The freezing chamber 3 keeps food items in storage at a freezing temperature at or below freezing.

The refrigerator body 1 includes an outer case 11 that defines an external appearance and an inner case 12 that is separately disposed at an inner side of the outer case 11 to define a food item accommodating space therein. A foaming agent or other insulation material is positioned between the outer case 11 and the inner case 12. The inner case 12 is divided into the refrigerating chamber 2 and the freezing chamber 3 with a horizontal barrier 13 interposed therebetween.

A plurality of refrigerating chamber doors 4 are installed at both sides of the refrigerating chamber 2 and open and close the refrigerating chamber 2 at both sides. A single freezing chamber door 5 is installed at the freezing chamber 3 to open and close the freezing chamber 3.

A machinery room in which a compressor and a condenser are installed is defined at a lower end of a rear surface of the refrigerator body 1, and an evaporator 6 (see FIG. 2) is installed at an inner side of the barrier 13 sectioning the refrigerating chamber 2 and the freezing chamber 3 and connected to the condenser and the compressor to supply cool air to the refrigerating chamber and/or the freezing chamber 3. A single evaporator 6 may be installed to supply cool air to the refrigerating chamber 2 and the freezing chamber 3, or a refrigerating chamber evaporator and a freezing chamber evaporator may be provided to independently supply cool air to the refrigerating chamber 2 and the freezing chamber 3, respectively.

An ice making chamber 41 is positioned at an inner wall face of an upper portion of one of the refrigerating chamber doors 4, and an ice making device 7 is installed at the inner side of the ice making chamber 41 to make ice. An ice storage container 8 is installed under the ice making device 7 to receive ice made by the ice making device 7. A dispenser (not shown) may be installed at a lower side of the ice making chamber 41 to allow ice stored in the ice storage container 8 to be dispensed out of the refrigerator such that it is dispensed to a front side of the refrigerating chamber door 4.

When a load in the refrigerating chamber 2 or in the freezing chamber 3 is detected, the compressor operates to generate cool air in the evaporator 6, and one portion of the cool air is supplied to the refrigerating chamber 2 and the freezing chamber 3 and another portion of the cool air is supplied to the ice making chamber 41. The cool air supplied to the ice making chamber 41 is heat-exchanged to allow the ice making device 7 mounted in the ice making chamber 41 to make ice. The cool air supplied to the ice making chamber 41 is returned to the freezing chamber 3 or supplied to the refrigerating chamber 2. The ice made by the ice making device 7 is stored in the ice storage container 8 and dispensed according to a request from the dispenser. This process is repeatedly performed.

When the evaporator 6 is installed in the freezing chamber 3 and when cool air generated from the evaporator is guided to the ice making chamber 42 disposed at the upper portion of the refrigerating chamber door 4, keeping a loss of the cool air to a minimum may be desired in order to reduce power consumption of the refrigerator. In some implementations, when cool air is transferred from the freezing chamber to the ice making chamber, a loss of cool air is reduced to thus reduce the power consumption of the refrigerator.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of the cool air supply device of the refrigerator. As shown in FIG. 2, the refrigerator is configured such that cool air of the freezing chamber is supplied to the ice making chamber via the refrigerating chamber door 4.

In this example, a freezing chamber duct 110 is installed on a lower surface of the barrier 13, namely, on the ceiling of the freezing chamber 3, to guide cool air from the freezing chamber 3 of the ice making chamber 41. A first door duct 120 is installed at one side of the refrigerating chamber door 4 and selectively connected with the freezing chamber duct 110 to supply cool air from the freezing chamber 3 to the ice making chamber 41. A second door duct 130 is installed at the other side of the refrigerating chamber door 4 to return cool air of the ice making chamber 41 to the freezing chamber 3. A damper 200 is installed at the barrier 13 to selectively connect the freezing chamber duct 110 and the first door duct 120 and selectively connect the freezing chamber 3 and the second door duct 130. A blower 300 is installed in the freezing chamber 3 to blow cool air generated from the evaporator 6 to the ice making chamber 41.

The ice making chamber duct 110 has a single hollow rectangular shape, and has an inlet defined at one end thereof and open toward the freezing chamber 3, specifically, toward the blower 300. The ice making chamber duct 110 has an outlet defined at another end thereof and open to be connected with a first cool air through hole 211 of a damper housing 210 (described in more detail below) toward the first door duct 120. A discharge part of the blower 300 may be connected to the inlet of the freezing chamber duct 110.

The freezing chamber duct 110 may be installed on the lower surface of the barrier 13, namely, on the upper inner wall face of the inner case at the side of the freezing chamber, and also may be buried within the barrier 13 based on the thickness of the barrier 13. The freezing chamber duct 110 may be separate from the damper 200 and installed by an attachment mechanism (e.g., screw), or may be integrally formed with the damper housing 210 accommodating each element of the damper 200. In other implementations, the damper housing 210 itself may be used as the freezing chamber duct 110.

Both the first and second door ducts 120 and 130 may have a hollow rectangular shape. The first door duct 120 is connected to the outlet of the freezing chamber duct 110 via the first cool air through hole 211 of the damper housing 210. The second door duct 130 is connected to another horizontal surface of the ice making chamber 41, namely, to a side different from the side to which the first door duct 120 is connected. The second door duct 130 is connected to the freezing chamber via a second cool air through hole 212 of the damper housing 210.

The first and second door ducts 120 and 130 may be disposed to be as far away as possible from each other at both left and right sides in the widthwise direction of the refrigerating chamber door 4 as shown in FIG. 3 in order to increase an effective volume of the refrigerating chamber door 4 as well as to increase the distance (d) between an outlet 122 of the first door duct 120 and an inlet 131 of the second door duct 130 to allow cool air to circulate in the ice making chamber 41. In this case, the outlet 122 of the first door duct 120 may be oriented in a horizontal direction while the inlet 131 of the second door duct 130 may be oriented in a vertical direction to generate a flow resistance of cool air to thus lengthen time for cool air to stay in the ice making chamber 41. The outlet 122 of the first door duct 120 may be disposed to be higher than the inlet 131 of the second door duct 130 to supply cool air to the vicinity of the ice making device.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the first and second door ducts 120 and 130 may be have a rectangular shape, respectively, and may be assembled (e.g., mounted) to the inner surface of the refrigerating chamber door 4. In other implementations, the first and second door ducts 120 and 130 may be integrally formed when the inner case constituting the inner wall face of the refrigerating chamber door 4 is molded. Also, as shown in FIG. 4, the first and second door ducts 120 and 130 may protrude from the inner surface of the refrigerating chamber door 4, or may be recessed. When the first and second door ducts 120 and 130 protrude, the insulation thickness may be increased to reduce a heat loss to the exterior of the refrigerator. When the first and second door ducts 120 and 130 are recessed, the effective volume in the refrigerating chamber may be increased.

As shown in FIG. 4, the first and second door ducts 120 and 130 may be positioned at an inner side of the ice making chamber 41 of the refrigerating chamber door 4, or as shown in FIG. 5, the first and second door ducts 120 and 130 may be defined within protrusions 42 defining the ice making chamber 41 of the refrigerating chamber door 4. For example, when the first and second door ducts 120 and 130 are positioned within the ice making chamber 41 as shown in FIG. 4, the widthwise insulation thickness (t1) with respect to the first and second door ducts 120 and 130 may be increased. Meanwhile, when the first and second door ducts 120 and 130 are buried within the protrusions 42 as shown in FIG. 5, the widthwise insulation thickness (t2) with respect to the respective ducts 120 and 130 is reduced. However, when the first and second door ducts 120 and 130 are buried within the protrusions 42 as shown in FIG. 5, the thickness of the side wall of the refrigerator body 1 is maintained as it is, sufficiently preventing a loss of cool air that passes through the cool air ducts 120 and 130. Moreover, in the case where the first and second door ducts 120 and 130 are buried within the protrusions 42, the space of the ice making chamber 41 may be increased.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, an inlet 121 of the first door duct and an outlet 132 of the second door duct may protrude from the lower surface of the refrigerating chamber door 4 (e.g., from an inner wall face of the lower end of the refrigerating chamber door 4) such that they open at the lower surface of the protrusions 42 inserted into the refrigerating chamber 2. In this example, if the refrigerating chamber door 4 slightly sags by its weight, the cool air passage may be more strongly sealed.

If the lower surface of the protrusion 42 of the refrigerating chamber door 4 is detachably attached to the upper surface of the barrier 13 in a tightly facing manner, as shown in FIG. 6, the lower surface of the protrusion 42 of the refrigerating chamber door 4 and a corresponding front upper surface (or the opening side) of the barrier 13 correspond to each other at a certain angle (α). Namely, the lower surface of the protrusion 42 of the refrigerating chamber door 4 and the corresponding front upper surface may be slanted upwardly toward the rear wall face (or inner side) of the refrigerating chamber 2 in order to reduce contact abrasion of the cool air through holes 211 and 212 of the damping housing 210 and damper gaskets 241 and 242 installed at the second door duct 130.

In other implementations, as shown in FIG. 7, the inlet 121 of the first door duct 120 and the outlet 132 of the second door duct 130 may be open to the inner wall face of the refrigerating chamber door 4, (e.g., open to a vertical sealing face 43 connected to the lower surface of the protrusion 42), and the corresponding outlet of the freezing chamber duct 110, (e.g., the cool air through holes 211 and 212 provided at the damper housing 210) may be positioned at the front side of the damper housing 210 at a same surface as the front side of the barrier 13. In these implementations, damage to the damper gaskets 241 and 242 may be reduced.

As shown in FIG. 8, the damper 200 includes a damper housing 210 including the plurality of cool air through holes 211 and 212 that connect the damper 200 to the outlet of the freezing chamber duct 110. The damper housing 210 may be coupled to the barrier 13. A damper plate 220 is slidably coupled within the damper housing 210 to open and close the cool air through holes 211 and 212 of the damper housing 210, and damper springs 230 are installed at one side of the damper plate 220 and elastically support the damper plate 220 against the damper housing 210. For instance, the damper plate 220 and the damper springs 230 are installed within the damper housing 210, forming a single module.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the damper housing 210 has a rectangular shape overall, and a front upper surface in contact with the lower surface of the protrusion 42 of the refrigerating chamber door 4 has a sealing face 215 at a certain slope angle (α) increased toward the rear side. First and second cool air through holes 211 and 212 allow cool air to pass therethrough are positioned at the middle portion of the sealing face 215 of the damper housing 210.

The first and second cool air through holes 211 and 212 are spaced apart in a widthwise direction. The first cool air through hole 211 connects with the inlet 121 of the first door duct 120 when the door is oriented in a closed position. The second cool air through hole 212 passes through the damper housing 210 to allow the outlet 132 of the second door duct 130 and the freezing chamber 3 to communicate therethrough when the door is oriented in a closed position. A long guide hole 213 is defined in a forward/backward direction (e.g., in the direction that the refrigerating chamber door 4 is open and closed) between the first and second cool air through holes 211 and 212 to allow a guiding unit 224 to be slidably inserted therein.

The damper gaskets 241 and 242 may be installed on the upper surface of the damper housing 210 (e.g., on the sealing face 215 corresponding to the inlet 121 of the first door duct and the outlet 132 of the second door duct 130 installed at the refrigerating chamber door 4, respectively) to reduce leakage of air that passes through the cool air through holes 211 and 212 of the damping housing 210. In this example, the damper gaskets 241 and 242 have the same ring shape as the cool air through holes 211 and 212 and are coupled to the cool air through holes 211 and 212. Although not shown, the damper gaskets 241 and 242 may be installed, respectively, on the lower surface of the refrigerating chamber door 4, (e.g., at the inlet 121 of the first door duct 120 and the outlet 132 of the second door duct 130) or may be installed at the cool air through holes 211 and 212 of the damping housing 210 and at the corresponding inlet 121 of the first door duct 120 and the outlet 132 of the second door duct 130.

As shown in FIG. 8, the damper plate 220 includes a plurality of plate body parts. For instance, the damper plate 220 includes first and second plate body parts 221 and 222 that have a width large enough to enable opening and closing of the first and second cool air through holes 211 and 212. The first and second plate body parts 221 and 222 are connected by a connection unit 223 that coordinates movement of the first and second plate body parts 221 and 222. A guide unit 224 is integrally formed in the middle of the connection unit 223 and positioned to contact the refrigerating chamber door 4 to open and close the first and second plate body parts 221 and 222 according to an opening and closing operation of the refrigerating chamber door 4. For example, when the refrigerating chamber door 4 closes, the refrigerating chamber door 4 contacts the guide unit 224 and presses the guide unit 224 along the guide hole 213. The pressing of the guide unit 224 causes the plate body parts 221 and 222 to depress the damper springs 231 and 232, respectively, and open the first and second cool air through holes 211 and 212. When the refrigerating chamber door 4 opens, the refrigerating chamber door 4 releases the guide unit 224 and the guide unit 224 moves back along the guide hole 213 based on the force of the damper springs 231 and 232 pressing the plate body parts 221 and 222, respectively. The plate body parts 221 and 222 close the first and second cool air through holes 211 and 212 based on the force of the damper springs 231 and 232.

In order to reduce leakage of cool air, the damper plate 220 may have a surface that is shaped to slidably contact with the inner surface of the damper housing 210. For example, if the damper housing 210 has a uniform thickness, a front upper surface of the damper plate 220 has the same slope angle (α) as the sealing face 215 of the damper housing 210, and if the inner surface of the damper housing 210 is flat, the damper plate 220 may be flat, as well.

In the above description, the plurality of the plate body parts 221 and 222 are connected by the connection frame, but may not be. For instance, a single plate that is wide enough to open and close both the cool air through holes 211 and 212 may be used, or a single plate may be used such that a corresponding middle portion between the cool air through holes 211 and 212 is slightly narrow.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 10, the guide unit 224 may protrude in a direction substantially perpendicular to the opening and closing direction of the damper plate 220, and may have a length such that an end thereof is exposed from the sealing face 215 via the guide hole 213 of the damper housing 210 (e.g., a length that it can be in contact with the edge of the protrusion 42 of the refrigerating chamber door 4). In this example, the guide unit 224 may protrude in the same direction as the opening and closing direction of the damper plate 220. Further, the guide hole 213 may pass through the front surface of the damper housing 210 so that the guide unit 224 contacts the vertical sealing face 43 extending to the protrusion 42 of the refrigerating chamber door 4.

The damper springs 230 include first and second damper springs 231 and 232 provided at the rear portion of the plate body parts 221 and 222, respectively. The first and second damper springs 231 and 232 may be compression coil springs having an elasticity coefficient allowing the first and second damper springs 231 and 232 to be compressed when the refrigerating chamber door 4 is closed and restored when the refrigerating chamber door 4 is open. One end of the damper springs 231 and 232 is fixed to a rear wall face of the damper housing 210 and the other end of the damper springs 231 and 232 is fixed to a rear side face of the plate body parts 221 and 222.

The blower 300 is installed separately to blow cool air of the freezing chamber 3 to the ice making chamber 41 and also may guide cool air of the freezing chamber 3 to the refrigerating chamber 2. The blower 300 may be installed in the freezing chamber 3 or at a middle portion between the first and second door ducts 120 and 130. When the blower 300 is installed at the cool air duct, it may be installed at the first door duct 120 to supply cool air. Although not shown, the blower 300 may be installed within the damper housing 210 to form a module together with the damper 200.

The refrigerating chamber door 4 has a door sealing face 42a. The door sealing face 42a seals the door 4 against a frame of the refrigerating chamber 2 to close an opening of the refrigerating chamber 2.

The refrigerator constructed as described above operates as follows. When ice making is required in a state that the refrigerating chamber door 4 is closed, the ice making device of the ice making chamber 41 is controlled to start an ice making operation. As the ice making operation starts, a water supply unit supplies water to the ice making container of the ice making device 7. When supplying of water is completed, water in the ice making container is exposed to cool air supplied from the freezing chamber 3 to the ice making chamber 41 via the freezing chamber duct 110 and the first door duct 120 for more than a certain time period, so as to be frozen.

FIG. 11 illustrates a closed state of the refrigerating chamber door to explain the process of circulating cool air in the freezing chamber. As shown in FIG. 11, when the refrigerating chamber door 4 is closed, the damper plate 220 of the damper 200, specifically, the guide unit 224, is brought into contact with the edge of the protrusion 42 of the refrigerating chamber door 4, and the damper plate 220 is pushed toward the rear wall face in the refrigerator, along with the refrigerating chamber door 4.

Then, the damper plate 220, overcoming the elastic force of the damper springs 230, is pushed toward the rear wall face in the refrigerator, and the first and second cool air through holes 211 and 212 of the damper housing 210 are simultaneously opened. Next, the blower 300 provided in the freezing chamber 3 operates to allow cool air in the freezing chamber 3 to be introduced into the inlet 121 of the freezing chamber duct 110. The cool air is immediately introduced into the first door duct 120 via the first cool air through hole 211 of the damper housing 210. Passing through the first door duct 120, the cool air is introduced from the outlet 122 to one wall face of the ice making chamber 41.

Cool air supplied to the ice making chamber 41 flows to traverse the ice making chamber 41 in a horizontal direction, is heat-exchanged with water in the ice making chamber as described above, and then introduced to the inlet 131 of the second door duct 130 open at the lower end of the other side of the ice making chamber 41. The cool air flows down along the second door duct 130, is returned to the freezing chamber 3 via the second cool air through hole 212 of the damper housing 210, and is then cooled again in the freezing chamber 3. This sequential process is repeatedly performed to allow cool air from the freezing chamber to be circulated and supplied to the ice making chamber to allow the ice making device in the ice making chamber to make ice.

Meanwhile, when the refrigerating chamber door 4 is open in the course of supplying cool air from the freezing chamber 3 to the ice making chamber 41, an external force pushing the damper plate 220 is released, returning the damper plate 220 to its original position by virtue of the restoration force of the damper springs 230. That is, the plate body parts 221 and 222 of the damper plate 220 are moved to positions at which the cool air through holes 211 and 212 of the damper housing 210 are blocked. Accordingly, the freezing chamber duct 110 and the first door duct 120 or the second door duct 130 and the freezing chamber duct 110 are blocked, reducing cool air from being leaked to the outside of the refrigerator by a natural convection.

Accordingly, cool air from the freezing chamber is directly supplied to the refrigerating chamber door via the barrier, so a loss of cool air can be reduced. In the related art, because the cool air duct that transfers cool air of the freezing chamber to the ice making chamber is provided at the side wall face of the refrigerating chamber, the insulation thickness is reduced to generate a loss of cool air, or because the cool air duct is formed in a slant line, the movement distance of cool air is increased to generate a loss of cool air. However, in some implementations, because cool air is directly supplied to the refrigerating chamber door, the insulation thickness is increased to reduce a loss of cool air and because the cool air duct is formed in a straight line, the movement distance of the cool air is reduced to thus reduce a loss of cool air.

In addition, as well as the increase in the insulation thickness with respect to the cool air duct, because the cool air duct is positioned within the refrigerating chamber, a temperature difference with external air is reduced. This effectively reduces or prevents generation of frost at the cool air duct. Accordingly, a defrosting heater may not need to be installed, or, if the defrosting heater is installed, its operation time can be reduced, thus reducing a loss of cool air passing through the cool air duct and power consumption in using the heater.

Moreover, because the cool air duct is positioned at the refrigerating chamber door, time for cool air to stay in the ice making chamber can be lengthened. This may enable quick and uniform cooling of water in the ice making container. In the related art, because the cool air duct is connected to one side of the ice making chamber, the inlet and outlet of the ice making chamber are close to one wall face, and thus, a portion of cool air introduced into the ice making chamber via the cool air duct is not circulated throughout the entire ice making chamber, but is quickly discharged from the ice making chamber. However, in some implementations, because the first and second door ducts are disposed with a certain height difference at both sides of the ice making chamber with the ice making device interposed therebetween, the inlet and the outlet of the ice making chamber are relatively far away from each other. Accordingly, most cool air introduced into the ice making chamber via the first door duct flows to the second door duct after passing through the ice making device and cool air can stay in the ice making chamber for more time, each of which increases an amount of cool air in contact with the ice making device. As such, time for making ice in the ice making device may be shortened, the ice may be made uniformly, a loss of cool air in the ice making chamber may be significantly reduced, and thus, energy efficiency of the refrigerator may be improved.

In the above-described implementations, the second door duct 130 is configured to return cool air of the ice making chamber 41 to the freezing chamber 3. In another example, as shown in FIG. 12, the second door duct 130 is used as a supply side cool air duct like the first door duct 120. A refrigerating chamber duct 140 is installed in the refrigerating chamber 2, replacing the second door duct 130, to supply cool air of the ice making chamber 41 to the refrigerating chamber 2 to cool the refrigerating chamber 2. A return duct provided in the refrigerating chamber 2 may return cool air to the freezing chamber 3.

The basic configuration of the refrigerator in the example shown in FIG. 12 may be the same as that of the former examples described above and its operational effect is also similar. Accordingly, detailed description has not been repeated. In the example shown in FIG. 12, because cool air supplied to the ice making chamber 41 is not returned to the freezing chamber 3, but supplied to the refrigerating chamber 2 via the refrigerating chamber duct 140, an additional cool air duct or blow fan for supplying cool air of the freezing chamber 3 to the refrigerating chamber 2 does not need to be used. Thus, a fabrication cost may be reduced. In addition, because the refrigerating chamber duct 140 is installed in the refrigerating chamber in place of the second door duct 130, the effective volume of the refrigerating chamber door 4 may be increased.

Also, in this case, while the second door duct 130 is maintained at the refrigerating chamber door 4, it can be also utilized as a supply cool air duct, not a return cool air duct. In this case, because the sectional area of the supply cool air duct is twice compared with the above-described examples, when cool air of the freezing chamber 3 flows to the ice making chamber 41, a movement resistance of the cool air may be reduced to quickly supply cool air.

The techniques described through the disclosure are not limited to a 3D-bottom freezer type refrigerator in which the freezing chamber is installed at the lower portion of the refrigerator, the refrigerating chamber is installed at the upper portion of the refrigerator, and the ice making chamber is installed at the refrigerating chamber door. Rather, the techniques may be applicable other types of refrigerators, such as a refrigerator in which an ice making chamber is provided at the refrigerating chamber door and cool air of the freezing chamber is supplied to the ice making chamber.

It will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims. For example, advantageous results still could be achieved if steps of the disclosed techniques were performed in a different order and/or if components in the disclosed systems were combined in a different manner and/or replaced or supplemented by other components. Accordingly, other implementations are within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. A refrigerator comprising:

a refrigerator body;
a refrigerating compartment defined at a first portion of the refrigerator body;
a freezing compartment defined at a second portion of the refrigerator body, the second portion of the refrigerator body being different than the first portion of the refrigerator body;
a barrier that separates the freezing compartment from the refrigerating compartment;
at least one evaporator configured to cool air used in regulating operating temperatures in the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment that differ, with the freezing compartment having an operating temperature that is lower than an operating temperature of the refrigerating compartment;
a refrigerating compartment door that is configured to open and close at least a portion of the refrigerating compartment;
a freezing compartment door that is configured to open and close at least a portion of the freezing compartment;
an ice compartment positioned at the refrigerating compartment door and configured to receive cool air from the freezing compartment;
a first duct positioned at the barrier that separates the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment and defines a passage at least partially through the barrier;
a second duct positioned at the refrigerating compartment door and configured to, when the refrigerating compartment door is oriented in a closed position, connect with the first duct to define an air flow passage between the freezing compartment and the ice compartment; and
a unit that is positioned at the barrier separating the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment, that is configured to open the first duct when the refrigerating compartment door is oriented in the closed position, and that is configured to close the first duct when the refrigerating compartment door is oriented in an opened position.

2. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the first duct is separated from the second duct when the refrigerating compartment door is oriented in the opened position.

3. The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein the second duct is a supply duct configured to guide air to the ice compartment, further comprising:

a return duct positioned at the refrigerating compartment door and configured to guide air from the ice compartment.

4. The refrigerator of claim 3, wherein the supply duct is positioned on an interior surface of the refrigerating compartment door at a first side of the refrigerating compartment door, and the return duct is positioned on the interior surface of the refrigerating compartment door at a second side of the refrigerating compartment door that is opposite of the first side.

5. The refrigerator of claim 3, wherein the supply duct has an outlet oriented to output cool air in a first direction and the return duct has an inlet oriented to receive cool air in a second direction that is different than the first direction.

6. The refrigerator of claim 3, wherein the supply duct extends into the ice compartment to a first height and the return duct extends into the ice compartment to a second height that is different than the first height.

7. The refrigerator of claim 3, further comprising an ice maker positioned within the ice compartment and configured to freeze liquid water into ice,

wherein an outlet of the supply duct and an inlet of the return duct are positioned on opposite sides of the ice maker such that air flow from the outlet of the supply duct to the inlet of the return duct passes over the ice maker.

8. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the second duct is positioned such that at least a portion of the second duct is within a range of the refrigerator body when the refrigerating compartment door is oriented in the closed position.

9. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the refrigerating compartment door comprises a protrusion on its inner surface such that the protrusion is positioned in the refrigerator body when the refrigerating compartment door is oriented in the closed position, and the second duct is positioned on an inner face of the protrusion or at an inner side of the protrusion.

10. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the first duct comprises a freezing compartment duct such that a first end of the freezing compartment duct communicates with the freezing compartment and a second end of the freezing compartment duct communicates with the second duct when the refrigerating compartment door is oriented in the closed position.

11. The refrigerator of claim 10, further comprising a fan that is oriented such that its discharge side communicates with the freezing compartment duct and promotes movement of air along the freezing compartment duct.

12. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the unit comprises a housing having one or more cool air through holes that allow the second duct to communicate with the freezing compartment through the first duct when the refrigerating compartment door is oriented in the closed position, and a plate configured to open and close the one or more cool air through holes of the housing in response to closing and opening of the refrigerating compartment door.

13. The refrigerator of claim 12, further comprising an elastic member positioned at one side of the plate, and, when the refrigerating compartment door is oriented in the opened position, the elastic member applies force to the plate in a direction that causes the plate to close the one or more cool air through holes.

14. The refrigerator of claim 12, further comprising a guide hole defined by the housing, and a guide unit that is coupled to the plate, that has at least a portion inserted into the guide hole, that is configured to be pressed by the refrigerating compartment door when the refrigerating compartment door moves from the opened position to the closed position, and that is configured to, in response to being pressed by the refrigerating compartment door, move the plate from a first position in which the plate closes the one or more cool air through holes to a second position in which the plate opens the one or more cool air through holes.

15. The refrigerator of claim 12, further comprising a sealing member provided to at least one of the second duct and the one or more cool air through is holes.

16. The refrigerator of claim 12, wherein a portion of the housing where an end of the second duct interfaces with the one or more cool air through holes is inclined relative to ground when the refrigerator body is oriented in an ordinary operating orientation.

17. A refrigerator comprising:

a refrigerator body;
a refrigerating compartment defined at a first portion of the refrigerator body;
a freezing compartment defined at a second portion of the refrigerator body, the second portion of the refrigerator body being different than the first portion of the refrigerator body;
a barrier that separates the freezing compartment from the refrigerating compartment;
at least one evaporator configured to cool air used in regulating operating temperatures in the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment that differ, with the freezing compartment having an operating temperature that is lower than an operating temperature of the refrigerating compartment;
a refrigerating compartment door that is configured to open and close at least a portion of the refrigerating compartment;
a freezing compartment door that is configured to open and close at least a portion of the freezing compartment;
is an ice compartment positioned at the refrigerating compartment door;
a supply duct positioned at the refrigerating compartment door and configured to guide air to the ice compartment;
a return duct positioned at the refrigerating compartment door and configured to guide air from the ice compartment; and
a unit that is positioned at the barrier separating the freezing compartment and the refrigerating compartment, that defines, through the barrier, a supply passage configured to interface with the supply duct when the refrigerating compartment door is oriented in a closed position and separate from the supply duct when the refrigerating compartment door is oriented in an opened position, that defines, through the barrier, a return passage configured to interface with the return duct when the refrigerating compartment door is oriented in the closed position and separate from the return duct when the refrigerating compartment door is oriented in the opened position, and that includes at least one blocking unit that is configured to open the supply passage and the return passage when the refrigerating compartment door is oriented in the closed position and close the supply passage and the return passage when the refrigerating compartment door is oriented in the opened position.

18. The refrigerator of claim 17 further comprising an ice maker positioned within the ice compartment,

wherein the supply duct is positioned on an interior surface of the refrigerating compartment door at a first side of the refrigerating compartment door, the return duct is positioned on the interior surface of the refrigerating compartment door at a second side of the refrigerating compartment door that is opposite of the first side, and an outlet of the supply duct and an inlet of the return duct are positioned on opposite sides of the ice maker such that air flow from the outlet of the supply duct to the inlet of the return duct passes over the ice maker.

19. A refrigerator comprising:

a refrigerator body;
a refrigerating compartment defined at a first portion of the refrigerator body;
a freezing compartment defined at a second portion of the refrigerator body, the second portion of the refrigerator body being different than the first portion of the refrigerator body;
a barrier that separates the freezing compartment from the refrigerating compartment;
at least one evaporator configured to cool air used in regulating operating temperatures in the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment that differ, with the freezing compartment having an operating temperature that is lower than an operating temperature of the refrigerating compartment;
a refrigerating compartment door that is configured to open and close at least a portion of the refrigerating compartment;
a freezing compartment door that is configured to open and close at least a portion of the freezing compartment;
an ice compartment positioned at the refrigerating compartment door;
a door supply duct configured to guide air to the ice compartment and positioned on an interior surface of the refrigerating compartment door at a first side of the refrigerating compartment door;
a door return duct configured to guide air from the ice compartment and positioned on the interior surface of the refrigerating compartment door at a second side of the refrigerating compartment door that is opposite of the first side;
a barrier supply duct that is positioned at the barrier that separates the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment, that defines a passage at least partially through the barrier, and that is configured to connect with the door supply duct to define a supply air flow passage from the freezing compartment to the ice compartment when the refrigerating compartment door is oriented in a closed position; and
a barrier return duct that is positioned at the barrier that separates the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment, that defines a passage at least partially through the barrier, and that is configured to connect with the door return duct to define a return air flow passage from the ice compartment to the freezing compartment when the refrigerating compartment door is oriented in the closed position.

20. The refrigerator of claim 19 further comprising:

a unit that is positioned at the barrier separating the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment, that is configured to open the barrier supply duct and the barrier return duct when the refrigerating compartment door is oriented in the closed position, and that is configured to close the barrier supply duct and the barrier return duct when the refrigerating compartment door is oriented in an opened position.
Patent History
Publication number: 20100251743
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 25, 2010
Publication Date: Oct 7, 2010
Applicant: LG ELECTRONICS INC. (Seoul)
Inventors: Myung-Ryul LEE (Seoul), Nam-Gi LEE (Seoul), Seong-Jae KIM (Seoul)
Application Number: 12/731,568
Classifications
Current U.S. Class: Means Producing Shaped Or Modified Congealed Product (62/340); Cooler Integral With Or Forming Dividing Wall (62/443); Unit Includes Movable Wall Section, E.g., Door (62/449); Cooled Gas Directed Relative To Cooled Enclosure (62/407)
International Classification: F25C 1/00 (20060101); F25D 13/04 (20060101); F25D 23/02 (20060101); F25D 17/04 (20060101);