REFRIGERATOR AND DOOR FOR THE SAME

- Samsung Electronics

A door for a refrigerator having a reduced number of constituent elements, resulting in reduction in material and processing costs as well as manufacturing time is provided. The door may include a reinforced glass panel defining a front surface, a pair of lateral frames to support the reinforced glass panel, a rear panel defining a rear surface, a pair of caps including upper and lower caps, and a foam charged into an interior space of the door to couple the reinforced glass panel, lateral frames, rear panel and caps to one another. Each lateral frame comes into contact with two surfaces including a lateral surface and a rear surface of the reinforced glass panel to support the reinforced glass panel. Also, each lateral frame may be formed via extrusion molding of PVC synthetic resin and is painted via liquid painting.

Skip to: Description  ·  Claims  · Patent History  ·  Patent History
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the priority benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2011-0107889, filed on Oct. 21, 2011 and Korean Patent Application No. 10-2012-0051474, filed on May 15, 2012 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

Embodiments relate to a door for a refrigerator.

2. Description of the Related Art

Generally, a refrigerator is an apparatus that includes a storage compartment in which food is stored and a cold air supply device to supply cold air into the storage compartment, thereby serving to keep food fresh. The storage compartment has an open front side for entrance/exit of food, and a door is provided to open or close the open front side.

Oftentimes, some doors have front panels formed of reinforced glass to improve the outer appearance thereof. As shown in FIG. 9, a conventional door may include a reinforced glass panel 1 defining a front surface, a rear panel 2, a pair of lateral frames 3 and 4, and a pair of intermediate members 5 and 6.

The reinforced glass panel 1 defines the front surface of the door and contributes to improvement in aesthetic appreciation and decoration of the door. The reinforced glass panel 1 may be damaged or broken when continuously receiving shock due to nature of glass. The pair of lateral frames 3 and 4 is coupled to both lateral sides of the reinforced glass panel 1 to prevent damage or breakage of the panel 1.

The pair of lateral frames 3 and 4 is generally formed via extrusion molding of aluminum. Aluminum has good durability and is light. Intermediate members 5 and 6 formed of Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) material are interposed between the reinforced glass panel 1 and the pair of lateral frames 3 and 4 to improve shock-resistance and wear-resistance of the door. The intermediate members 5 and 6 are installed to come into contact with a rear surface of the reinforced glass panel 1.

The above-described conventional door may require the additional intermediate members 5 and 6 because of high price of aluminum and for improvement in shock-resistance and wear-resistance of the reinforced glass panel 1. Moreover, aluminum having high thermal conductivity and electric conductivity may deteriorate insulation performance of the storage compartment, and may cause electric shock accidents upon ground failure of a refrigerator. Additionally, the aluminum lateral frames have complexity in view of manufacture because they may require forming, cutting, coating, painting processes, etc.

SUMMARY

In accordance with an aspect of one or more embodiments, there is provided a refrigerator having a door that achieves reduction in material and processing costs.

In accordance with an aspect of one or more embodiments, there is provided a refrigerator having a door that provides enhanced insulation effects and eliminates the risk of electric shock even upon ground failure of the refrigerator.

In accordance with an aspect of one or more embodiments, there is provided a refrigerator having a door that achieves improvement in surface texture and color impression.

In accordance with an aspect of one or more embodiments, there is provided a refrigerator includes a main body, a storage compartment defined in the main body, and a door pivotally rotatably mounted to the main body to open or close an open front side of the storage compartment, wherein the door includes a reinforced glass panel defining a front surface of the door, a pair of lateral frames to support the reinforced glass panel, a rear panel defining a rear surface of the door, a pair of caps including an upper cap and a lower cap, and a foam charged into an interior space of the door to couple the reinforced glass panel, the pair of lateral frames, the rear panel and the pair of caps to one another, wherein each of the pair of lateral frames comes into contact with two surfaces including a lateral surface and a rear surface of the reinforced glass panel to support the reinforced glass panel, and wherein each of the pair of lateral frames is formed via extrusion molding of PVC synthetic resin and is painted via liquid painting.

The pair of lateral frames may be subjected to natural drying after completion of painting.

Each of the pair of lateral frames may include a first support portion coming into contact with the lateral surface of the reinforced glass panel and a second support portion coming into contact with the rear surface of the reinforced glass panel.

The first support portion may include a first support surface coming into contact with the lateral surface of the reinforced glass panel, and the second support portion may include a second support surface coming into contact with the rear surface of the reinforced glass panel.

The first support surface and the second support surface may be flat.

The first support portion may protrude farther forward than the second support portion.

The first support portion may protrude farther than the second support portion at least by a length of the lateral surface of the reinforced glass panel, to prevent the lateral surface of the reinforced glass panel from being exposed to the outside.

Each of the pair of lateral frames may take the form of a single part.

In accordance with an aspect of one or more embodiments, there is provided a refrigerator includes a main body, a storage compartment defined in the main body, and a door pivotally rotatably mounted to the main body to open or close an open front side of the storage compartment, wherein the door includes a reinforced glass panel defining a front surface of the door, a pair of lateral frames to support the reinforced glass panel, a rear panel defining a rear surface of the door, a pair of caps including an upper cap and a lower cap, and a foam charged into an interior space of the door to couple the reinforced glass panel, the pair of lateral frames, the rear panel and the pair of caps to one another, and wherein each of the pair of lateral frames is formed into a single part via extrusion molding of PVC synthetic resin.

Each of the pair of lateral frames may be painted via liquid painting.

Each of the pair of lateral frames may be subjected to natural drying after completion of painting.

In accordance with an aspect of one or more embodiments, there is provided a manufacturing method of a door for a refrigerator includes preparing a reinforced glass panel, a rear panel, and a pair of caps, preparing a pair of lateral frames to support the reinforced glass panel, provisionally fixing the reinforced glass panel, the pair of lateral frames, the rear panel, and the pair of caps, and foaming an insulating material into an interior space of the door to fix the reinforced glass panel, the pair of lateral frames, the rear panel, and the pair of caps, wherein the preparation of the pair of lateral frames includes forming a pair of extruded lateral frame articles via extrusion molding of PVC synthetic resin, painting the pair of extruded lateral frame articles via liquid painting, and drying the pair of painted lateral frames via natural drying.

In accordance with an aspect of one or more embodiments, there is provided a refrigerator includes a main body, a storage compartment defined in the main body, and a door pivotally rotatably mounted to the main body to open or close an open front side of the storage compartment, wherein the door includes a reinforced glass panel defining a front surface of the door, a rear panel defining a rear surface of the door, an upper cap and a lower cap respectively defining an upper surface and a lower surface of the door, a pair of lateral frames defining both lateral surfaces of the door, an interior space defined by the reinforced glass panel, the rear panel, the upper cap, the lower cap, and the pair of lateral frames, and an insulating foam charged into an interior space of the door to couple the reinforced glass panel, the rear panel, the upper cap, the lower cap, and the pair of lateral frames to one another, and wherein each lateral frame includes a PVC plate formed via extrusion molding of PVC, a decorative film attached to a surface of the PVC plate to improve the outer appearance of the PVC plate without painting the PVC plate, and an adhesive material to attach the PVC plate and the decorative film to each other.

The decorative film may be formed of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP).

The decorative film may have a hair line pattern.

In accordance with an aspect of one or more embodiments, there is provided a manufacturing method of a door for a refrigerator includes preparing a reinforced glass panel defining a front surface of the door, a rear panel defining a rear surface of the door, an upper cap and a lower cap respectively defining an upper surface and a lower surface of the door, and a pair of lateral frames defining both lateral surfaces of the door, provisionally fixing the reinforced glass panel, the rear panel, the upper cap, the lower cap, and the pair of lateral frames, and foaming an insulating material into an interior space of the door defined by the reinforced glass panel, the rear panel, the upper cap, the lower cap, and the pair of lateral frames, wherein the preparation of each lateral frame includes forming a PVC plate via extrusion molding of PVC resin, and attaching a decorative film to a surface of the PVC plate.

The formation of the PVC plate via extrusion molding of PVC resin and the attachment of the decorative film to the surface of the PVC plate may be successively implemented.

The attachment of the decorative film to the surface of the PVC plate may include introducing the PVC plate and the decorative film to a wrapping roller.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

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

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the outer appearance of a refrigerator according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of a left door for the refrigerator of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of a right door for the refrigerator of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an exploded plan view showing the configuration of the right door for the refrigerator of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an assembled plan view showing the configuration of the right door for the refrigerator of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an assembled plan view showing the configuration of a right door for a refrigerator according to an embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a view explaining the sequence of manufacturing a lateral frame of the right door for the refrigerator of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart explaining a manufacturing method of the door for the refrigerator of FIG. 6; and

FIG. 9 is a view showing the configuration of a conventional refrigerator door.

 DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the outer appearance of a refrigerator according to an embodiment. The refrigerator 10 according to an embodiment includes a main body 11, storage compartments 12 and 13 defined in the main body 11 for food storage, and a cold air supply device (not shown) to supply cold air into the storage compartments 12 and 13.

The main body 11 includes an outer shell defining the external appearance of the refrigerator 10, an inner shell defining the storage compartments 12 and 13, and an insulating material foamed between the outer shell and the inner shell for insulation of the storage compartments 12 and 13.

The storage compartments 12 and 13 may be classified into the first storage compartment 12 at the left side of a vertical partition 16 and the second storage compartment 13 at the right side of the vertical partition 16. The first storage compartment 12 and the second storage compartment 13 may respectively serve as a freezing compartment and a refrigerating compartment. Shelves 14 may be placed in the storage compartment 13 to support food placed thereon.

The storage compartments 12 and 13 may respectively have open front sides for entrance/exit of food, and doors 21 and 22 may be pivotally rotatably installed to the main body 11 to open or close the open front sides respectively. The doors 21 and 22 may be pivotally rotatably installed to the main body 11 using upper hinge members 15 and lower hinge members (not shown). The left door 21 and the right door 22 may individually open or close the first storage compartment 12 and the second storage compartment 13.

The door 22 may be provided with a so-called home-bar chamber 24 for simple storage of food to allow a user to put or take food into or from the chamber 24 without opening the door 22. Additionally, door guards 25 for food storage may be installed to a rear surface of the door 22. The configuration of the doors 21 and 22 will be described hereinafter.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of the left door for the refrigerator of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of the right door for the refrigerator of FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is an exploded plan view showing the configuration of the right door for the refrigerator of FIG. 1, and FIG. 5 is an assembled plan view showing the configuration of the right door for the refrigerator of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 2, the left door 21 may include a front reinforced glass panel 30, a rear panel 31, a pair of lateral frames 60 and 70, an upper cap 90, and a lower cap 91.

The reinforced glass panel 30 formed of reinforced glass has an approximately rectangular shape to define a front surface of the door having improved aesthetic appreciation and decoration. The rear panel 31 has the same shape as the reinforced glass panel 30 to define a rear surface of the door.

The rear panel 31 may be provided at a rear surface thereof with a pair of vertically elongated door guard mounts 32 for installation of the door guards (25, see FIG. 1). The rear panel 31 may be formed via vacuum forming.

The pair of lateral frames 60 and 70 defining the lateral surfaces of the left door 21 may include the first lateral frame 60 and the second lateral frame 70. The second lateral frame 70 may be integrally provided with a handle groove (80, see FIG. 4) for opening/closing of the left door 21.

Each of the pair of lateral frames 60 and 70 may be formed into a single part via extrusion molding of synthetic resin, and more particularly, of polyvinyl chloride (PVC). PVC has smaller weight than aluminum and low material and processing costs. Also, PVC ensures good insulation effects of the storage compartment owing to lower thermal conductivity than aluminum. Of course, PVC additionally provides sufficient rigidity to prevent deformation of the reinforced glass panel 30.

In the case in which the pair of lateral frames 60 and 70 is formed of PVC, the entire left door 21 has no conductivity, which may prevent electric shock even upon ground failure of the refrigerator.

Further, the pair of lateral frames 60 and 70 formed of PVC may be subjected to liquid painting and natural drying for surface treatment. Liquid painting may be more conveniently applicable regardless of the kind of a painting object than metal painting, such as powder painting or electrostatic painting, and has shorter process time. Natural drying has short process time and enables curing at a room temperature upon addition of an acid catalyst, such as hydrochloric acid.

Accordingly, extrusion molding of the lateral frames 60 and 70 using PVC synthetic resin may provide both lateral frames 60 and 70 with sufficient force to support the reinforced glass panel 30 as well as insulation and stability, and may achieve reduction in cost and time.

The lateral frames 60 and 70 according to an embodiment may be manufactured via extrusion molding, cutting, painting, and drying processes, and may not require a coating process, having a simplified manufacturing process.

The upper cap 90 and the lower cap 91 are respectively coupled to an upper end and a lower end of the left door 21 to hermetically seal an interior space of the left door 21. The interior space (33, see FIG. 5) is charged with a foam (34, see FIG. 5) to ensure strong inter-coupling of respective elements.

Referring to FIG. 3, the right door 22 may include front reinforced glass panels 50 and 51, a home-bar case 41, a home-bar door 40, a rear panel 52, a pair of lateral frames 110 and 120, an upper cap 140, and a lower cap 141.

The reinforced glass panels 50 and 51 may be vertically arranged with the home-bar case 41 interposed therebetween. The home-bar door 40 may be hinged to the home-bar case 41 to open or close an opening 44 of the home-bar case 41.

The rear panel 52 may have a rear panel opening 54 corresponding to the home-bar opening 44. The rear panel 52 may be provided at a rear surface thereof with a pair of door guard mounts 53 for installation of the door guards (25, see FIG. 1).

The pair of lateral frames 110 and 120, which defines lateral surfaces of the right door 22 and supports the reinforced glass panels 50 and 51, may be formed via extrusion molding of PVC resin, similar to the pair of lateral frames 60 and 70 of the left door 21. Also, the pair of lateral frames 110 and 120 may be subjected to liquid painting and natural drying upon surface treatment.

The upper cap 140 and the lower cap 141, which respectively define an upper surface and a lower surface of the right door 22, may be formed in the same manner as the upper cap 90 and the lower cap 91 of the left door 21.

The lateral frames 110 and 120 may also serve as conventional intermediate members (5 and 6, see FIG. 9) that are interposed between the reinforced glass panel and the lateral frames to improve shock-resistance and wear-resistance.

More specifically, differently from the related art in which the intermediate members (5 and 6, see FIG. 9) formed of ABS synthetic resin are interposed between the reinforced glass panel and the aluminum lateral frames to come into contact with the rear surface of the reinforced glass panel for improvement of shock-resistance and wear-resistance, according to an embodiment, the lateral frames 110 and 120 may be formed of PVC synthetic resin, and thus may come into contact with the reinforced glass panels 50 and 51.

This will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5. As shown, each of the first lateral frame 110 and the second lateral frame 120 comes into contact with to two surfaces, i.e. a lateral surface and a rear surface, of the reinforced glass panel 50 or 51 to support the reinforced glass panels 50 and 51. Although FIGS. 3 to 5 show the right door 22, this is equal in the case of the left door 21.

The first lateral frame 110 includes a first support portion 61 having a first support surface 63 to come into contact with a lateral surface 56 of the reinforced glass panel 50 or 51, and a second support portion 62 having a second support surface 64 to come into contact with a rear surface 58 of the reinforced glass panel 50 or 51. The first support surface 63 and the second support surface 64 may be flat.

The second lateral frame 120 includes a first support portion 65 having a first support surface 67 to come into contact with a lateral surface 57 of the reinforced glass panel 50 or 51, and a second support portion 66 having a second support surface 68 to come into contact with the rear surface 58 of the reinforced glass panel 50 or 51. The first support surface 67 and the second support surface 68 may be flat.

As such, the first lateral frame 110 and the second lateral frame 120 come into contact with the rear surface of the reinforced glass panel without requiring the additional intermediate members (5 and 6, see FIG. 9). This reduces the number of constituent elements of the doors 21 and 22, resulting in enhanced manufacturing efficiency and costs.

The first support portions 61 and 65 that come into contact with the lateral surfaces 56 and 67 of the reinforced glass panel 50 or 51 may protrude farther forward than the second support portions 62 and 66 that come into contact with the rear surface 58 of the reinforced glass panel 50 or 51.

The first support portions 61 and 65 may protrude farther forward than the second support portions 62 and 66 by a length equal to or greater than the thickness of the reinforced glass panel 50 or 51, i.e. the length of the lateral surfaces 56 and 57.

With this configuration, the lateral surfaces 56 and 57 of the reinforced glass panel 50 or 51 are hidden by the first support portions 61 and 65 of the lateral frames 110 and 120 so as not to be exposed to the outside, resulting in improvement in aesthetics of the door.

The doors 21 and 22 may be manufactured as follows. First, the reinforced glass panels 30, 50 and 51, the rear panels 31 and 52, the pairs of upper and lower caps 90, 91, 140 and 141, and the pairs of lateral frames 60, 70, 110 and 120 are prepared.

The pairs of lateral frames 60, 70, 110 and 120 may be formed by extrusion molding PVC synthetic resin, and sequentially painting and natural drying the resulting extruded article.

Thereafter, the reinforced glass panels 30, 50 and 51, the rear panels 31 and 52, the pairs of upper and lower caps 90, 91, 140 and 141, and the pairs of lateral frames 60, 70, 110 and 120 are provisionally fixed using an adhesive material, such as an adhesive tape, and thereafter are firmly fixed to one another using adhesion of an insulating material foamed in the interior spaces defined therebetween.

FIG. 6 is an assembled plan view showing the configuration of the right door for a refrigerator according to an embodiment, FIG. 7 is a view explaining the sequence of manufacturing the lateral frame of the right door for the refrigerator of FIG. 6, and FIG. 8 is a flowchart explaining a manufacturing method of the door for the refrigerator of FIG. 6.

In the following description, the same elements as those of the refrigerator according to the previously described embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and a description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 6, the door for the refrigerator according to the present embodiment may include the reinforced glass panels 50 and 51 defining a front surface of the door, the rear panel 52 defining a rear surface of the door, upper and lower caps defining upper and lower surfaces of the door, a pair of lateral frames 210 and 220 defining lateral surfaces of the door, and an insulating foam 34 to intercouple the respective elements.

The lateral frames 210 and 220 may respectively include PCV plates 211 and 221 formed via extrusion molding of PVC resin, and decorative films 213 and 223 attached to outer surfaces of the PVC plates 211 and 221. Adhesive materials 212 and 222 may be interposed between the PVC plates 211 and 221 and the decorative films 213 and 223 to attach the decorative films 213 and 223 to the PVC plates 211 and 221.

That is, the lateral frames 210 and 220 for the refrigerator according to the present embodiment may be manufactured by extrusion molding PVC resin to form the PVC plates 211 and 221, and attaching the decorative films 213 and 223 to the PVC plates 213 and 223 instead of painting surfaces of the PVC plates.

This may provide the lateral frames 210 and 220 with a variety of designs that may be impossible to obtain via painting. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, by attaching the decorative films 213 and 223 having a hair line pattern to the PVC plate 211 and 221, the lateral frames 210 and 220 may have a hair line pattern and exhibit the same texture as aluminum. Of course, the decorative films 213 and 223 may have various patterns and colors except for the line pattern.

Also, attaching the decorative films 213 and 223 to the PVC plates 211 and 221 have a shorter process time than painting and drying the PVC plates 211 and 221, resulting in reduction in manufacturing time.

Referring to FIG. 7, the PVC plates 211 and the decorative films 231 are introduced into and attached to each other by a wrapping device. The wrapping device may include transfer rollers 240 to transfer the PVC plate 211, a decorative film input member 250 to introduce the decorative film 213, and a wrapping roller 260 to attach the PVC plate 211 and the decorative film 213 to each other. In this case, before the decorative film 231 reaches the wrapping roller 260, the adhesive material 212 may be applied to one surface of the decorative film 231. The wrapping roller 260 ensures that the decorative film 231 is adhered to the surface of the PVC plate 211 without a risk of separation.

In this case, the transfer roller 240 may directly transfer the extruded PVC plate 211 from an extruder 230 to the wrapping roller 250. That is, extrusion molding of the PVC plate 211 using PVC resin and attaching the decorative film 213 to the surface of the PVC plate 211 may be successively implemented in a single line. This may result in further reduction in manufacturing time.

Hereinafter, a method of manufacturing the door for the refrigerator according to the secondly described embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 8.

First, the reinforced glass panel(s) 30; 50 and 51 defining the front surface of the door is prepared (310). Also, the rear panel 31; 52 defining the rear surface of the door is prepared (320). The upper cap 90; 140 and the lower cap 91; 141 defining the upper and lower surfaces of the door are prepared (330).

Then, the lateral frames 210 and 220 defining the lateral surfaces of the door are prepared (340). In this case, the lateral frames 210 and 220 may be formed by forming the PVC plates 211 and 221 using PVC resin (350) and attaching the decorative films 213 and 223 to the surfaces of the PVC plates 211 and 221 (360).

Next, the reinforced glass panel(s) 30; 50 and 51, the rear panel 31; 52, the upper cap 90; 140, the lower cap; 91 and 141, and the lateral frames 210 and 220 are provisionally assembled (370).

Next, the insulating foam 34 is charged into the interior space 33 defined by the reinforced glass panel(s) 30; 50 and 51, the rear panel 31; 52, the upper cap 90; 140, the lower cap; 91 and 141, and the lateral frames 210 and 220 (380). The reinforced glass panel(s) 30; 50 and 51, the rear panel 31; 52, the upper cap 90; 140, the lower cap; 91 and 141, and the lateral frames 210 and 220 may be firmly adhered to one another with adhesive force of the insulating foam 34.

As is apparent from the above description, according to an embodiment, a door for a refrigerator achieves reduction in material and processing costs, which may reduce the price of the refrigerator.

Also, the number of constituent elements of the door is reduced, resulting in enhanced manufacturing efficiency and costs.

Also, the weight of the door may be reduced.

Also, the door may be realized to have various surface textures and colors.

Also, time consumed for surface treatment including painting and drying may be reduced.

Also, the door has no conductor, which makes an earth unnecessary.

Also, lateral frames of the door are prepared by simply cutting and painting an extruded PVC article, which provides a simplified manufacturing process.

Although a few embodiments have been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the present disclosure, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A refrigerator comprising:

a main body;
a storage compartment defined in the main body; and
a door pivotally rotatably mounted to the main body to open or close a front side of the storage compartment,
wherein the door includes:
a reinforced glass panel defining a front surface of the door;
a pair of lateral frames to support the reinforced glass panel;
a rear panel defining a rear surface of the door;
a pair of caps including an upper cap and a lower cap; and
a foam charged into an interior space of the door to couple the reinforced glass panel, the pair of lateral frames, the rear panel, and the pair of caps to one another,
wherein each of the pair of lateral frames comes into contact with two surfaces including a lateral surface and a rear surface of the reinforced glass panel to support the reinforced glass panel, and
wherein each of the pair of lateral frames is formed via extrusion molding of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) synthetic resin and is painted via liquid painting.

2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the pair of lateral frames is subjected to natural drying after completion of painting.

3. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein each of the pair of lateral frames includes a first support portion coming into contact with the lateral surface of the reinforced glass panel and a second support portion coming into contact with the rear surface of the reinforced glass panel.

4. The refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein the first support portion includes a first support surface coming into contact with the lateral surface of the reinforced glass panel, and the second support portion includes a second support surface coming into contact with the rear surface of the reinforced glass panel.

5. The refrigerator according to claim 4, wherein the first support surface and the second support surface are flat.

6. The refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein the first support portion protrudes farther forward than the second support portion.

7. The refrigerator according to claim 6, wherein the first support portion protrudes farther than the second support portion at least by a length of the lateral surface of the reinforced glass panel, to prevent the lateral surface of the reinforced glass panel from being exposed to the outside.

8. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein each of the pair of lateral frames takes the form of a single part.

9. A refrigerator comprising:

a main body;
a storage compartment defined in the main body; and
a door pivotally rotatably mounted to the main body to open or close a front side of the storage compartment,
wherein the door includes:
a reinforced glass panel defining a front surface of the door;
a pair of lateral frames to support the reinforced glass panel;
a rear panel defining a rear surface of the door;
a pair of caps including an upper cap and a lower cap; and
a foam charged into an interior space of the door to couple the reinforced glass panel, the pair of lateral frames, the rear panel, and the pair of caps to one another, and
wherein each of the pair of lateral frames is formed into a single part via extrusion molding of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) synthetic resin.

10. The refrigerator according to claim 9, wherein each of the pair of lateral frames is painted via liquid painting.

11. The refrigerator according to claim 10, wherein each of the pair of lateral frames is subjected to natural drying after completion of painting.

12. A method of manufacturing a door for a refrigerator, the method comprising:

preparing a reinforced glass panel, a rear panel, and a pair of caps;
preparing a pair of lateral frames to support the reinforced glass panel;
provisionally fixing the reinforced glass panel, the pair of lateral frames, the rear panel, and the pair of caps; and
foaming an insulating material into an interior space of the door to fix the reinforced glass panel, the pair of lateral frames, the rear panel, and the pair of caps,
wherein the preparation of the pair of lateral frames includes:
forming a pair of extruded lateral frame articles via extrusion molding of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) synthetic resin;
painting the pair of extruded lateral frame articles via liquid painting; and
drying the pair of painted lateral frames via natural drying.

13. A refrigerator comprising:

a main body;
a storage compartment defined in the main body; and
a door pivotally rotatably mounted to the main body to open or close a front side of the storage compartment,
wherein the door includes:
a reinforced glass panel defining a front surface of the door;
a rear panel defining a rear surface of the door;
an upper cap and a lower cap respectively defining an upper surface and a lower surface of the door;
a pair of lateral frames defining both lateral surfaces of the door;
an interior space defined by the reinforced glass panel, the rear panel, the upper cap, the lower cap, and the pair of lateral frames; and
an insulating foam charged into an interior space of the door to couple the reinforced glass panel, the rear panel, the upper cap, the lower cap, and the pair of lateral frames to one another, and
wherein each lateral frame includes a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plate formed via extrusion molding of PVC, a decorative film attached to a surface of the PVC plate to improve the outer appearance of the PVC plate without painting the PVC plate, and an adhesive material to attach the PVC plate and the decorative film to each other.

14. The refrigerator according to claim 13, wherein the decorative film is formed of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP).

15. The refrigerator according to claim 13, wherein the decorative film has a hair line pattern.

16. A method of manufacturing a door for a refrigerator, the method comprising:

preparing a reinforced glass panel defining a front surface of the door, a rear panel defining a rear surface of the door, an upper cap and a lower cap respectively defining an upper surface and a lower surface of the door, and a pair of lateral frames defining both lateral surfaces of the door;
provisionally fixing the reinforced glass panel, the rear panel, the upper cap, the lower cap, and the pair of lateral frames; and
foaming an insulating material into an interior space of the door defined by the reinforced glass panel, the rear panel, the upper cap, the lower cap, and the pair of lateral frames;
wherein the preparation of each lateral frame includes:
forming a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plate via extrusion molding of PVC resin; and
attaching a decorative film to a surface of the PVC plate.

17. The manufacturing method according to claim 16, wherein the formation of the PVC plate via extrusion molding of PVC resin and the attachment of the decorative film to the surface of the PVC plate are successively implemented.

18. The manufacturing method according to claim 16, wherein the attachment of the decorative film to the surface of the PVC plate includes introducing the PVC plate and the decorative film to a wrapping roller.

Patent History
Publication number: 20130099650
Type: Application
Filed: Oct 18, 2012
Publication Date: Apr 25, 2013
Applicant: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (Suwon-shi)
Inventor: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (Suwon-si)
Application Number: 13/654,883
Classifications
Current U.S. Class: Including Particular Storage Compartment (312/404); Closure Structure (312/405); Forming Plural Continuous Web Laminae (156/243)
International Classification: F25D 23/08 (20060101); F25D 23/04 (20060101); F25D 23/02 (20060101);