EP3034973A1

EP3034973A1 - Refrigerator

Info

Publication number: EP3034973A1
Application number: EP15200273.9A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Jaehun Jung; Seonil Yu; Hyokku Kwon
Original assignee: LG Electronics Inc
Current assignee: LG Electronics Inc
Priority date: 2014-12-17
Filing date: 2015-12-15
Publication date: 2016-06-22
Anticipated expiration: 2035-12-15
Also published as: EP3034973B1; CN105716357A; CN105716357B

Abstract

Disclosed is a refrigerator including a cabinet (1) defining an external appearance, a storage compartment (2) provided inside the cabinet (1), a first door (31) and a second door (32) pivotably provided at left and right sides of the cabinet (1), the doors being configured to open or close the storage compartment (2), a pillar (4) having one side pivotably provided at the first door (31) and configured to prevent leakage of cold air between the first door (31) and the second door (32), a pillar boss (41) protruding from a top of the pillar (4), a guide recess (510) configured to guide the pillar boss (41), and a rotator (41) having the guide recess (510), and the rotator (41) is rotatable about a rotation axis.

Description

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application Nos. 10-2014-0182070, filed on December 17, 2014 , and 10-2014-0182071, filed on December 17, 2014 which are hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a refrigerator and, more particularly, to a pillar provided in a refrigerator.

Discussion of the Related Art

A conventional refrigerator refers to an apparatus that stores, for example, food at low temperatures using cold air.
The refrigerator utilizes a refrigeration cycle consisting of evaporation, compression, condensation, and expansion, in order to generate cold air.
The refrigerator includes a storage compartment therein. The storage compartment may include a freezing compartment, in which stored items are kept at a temperature below zero degrees, and a refrigerating compartment, in which stored items are kept at a temperature higher than in the freezing compartment.
In recent years, as consumers have come to demand increased convenience of use, a double door refrigerator, which adopts a pillar, has become a common type of refrigerator.
The pillar is a device that is provided at a left door and seals a gap between the left door and a right door in order to prevent cold air from leaking from the gap between the two doors.
However, in a conventional refrigerator, since the pillar is unfolded when the right door is opened, problems such as, for example, interference between the pillar and a vegetable box when the vegetable box is pulled out from a storage compartment, and collision between the pillar and the right door when the left door is opened may occur.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a refrigerator that substantially obviates one or more problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.
One object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator, in which a pillar is folded when a right door is opened, which prevents interference between the pillar and a vegetable box when the vegetable box is pulled out.
In addition, another object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator, which prevents a pillar from interfering with a door basket when a door is opened.
In addition, a further object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator, which achieves increased usability and increased storage capacity, particularly when a door is opened.
Additional advantages, objects, and features will be set forth in part in the description which follows and in part will become apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned from practice. The objectives and other advantages may be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.
To achieve these objects and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, in accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a refrigerator includes a cabinet defining an external appearance, a storage compartment provided inside the cabinet, a first door and a second door pivotably provided at left and right sides of the cabinet, the doors being configured to open or close the storage compartment, a pillar having one side pivotably provided at the first door and configured to prevent leakage of cold air between the first door and the second door, a pillar boss protruding from a top of the pillar, a guide recess configured to guide the pillar boss, and a rotator having the guide recess, wherein the rotator is rotatable about a rotation axis.
The guide recess may include an insertion portion configured to be open so as to enable insertion of the pillar boss, a first slope (which may also be referred to as a first curved portion) located close to the door, the first slope being convex, and a second slope (which may also be referred to as a second curved portion) located far from the door, the second slope being concave.
In addition, the insertion portion may be wider than the pillar boss.
The rotator may be provided to be rotatable in a first direction by closing force of the second door.
Here, the refrigerator may further include a protruding member configured to protrude from the rotator, so as to come into contact with the second door.
The second slope may guide the pillar boss when the second door is closed, thereby allowing the pillar to be unfolded.
In addition, the refrigerator may further include an elastic member provided at the other side of the rotator and configured to provide elastic force required to rotate the rotator in a second direction.
Here, the refrigerator may further include a first guide configured to penetrate the elastic member so as to guide stretching and compression of the elastic member, and a second guide having a through-hole for penetration of one end of the first guide, the second guide being provided at the ceiling of the storage compartment in order to guide the elastic member, and the other end of the first guide may be rotatably connected to the rotator.
The first slope may guide the pillar boss when the second door is opened, thereby allowing the pillar to be folded.
The elastic force of the elastic member may be smaller than the closing force of the second door.
In addition, the pillar may include a pillar spring therein so as to keep the pillar folded or unfolded, and the elastic force of the elastic member may be larger than inertia force of the pillar spring.
The pillar boss may pass through the first slope and may be removed from the insertion portion when the first door is opened, thereby allowing the pillar to be folded.
The pillar boss may be introduced into the insertion portion and may inwardly slide on the second slope when the first door is opened, thereby allowing the pillar to be unfolded.
The refrigerator may further include a housing installed at the ceiling of the storage compartment, the second guide being provided inside the housing.
Here, the rotator may be rotatably provided below the housing, and the rotator and the first guide may be connected to each other through a lower surface of the housing.
A rotating shaft of the protruding member connected to the rotator may be movable, and the refrigerator may further include a third guide formed in a lower surface of the housing to guide the protruding member so as to be linearly moved.
The protruding member may include a contact portion having a flat side configured to come into surface contact with the second door.
Meanwhile, the elastic member may include two elastic members arranged parallel to each other, and the contact portion may be located between positions of the two elastic members.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a refrigerator includes a cabinet having a storage compartment, a first door and a second door rotatably provided at left and right sides of the cabinet in order to open or close the storage compartment, a pillar rotatably provided at the first door in order to seal a gap between the first door and the second door, a rotator rotatably provided at a ceiling of the storage compartment, the rotator being rotated in a first direction when the second door is closed, and an elastic member configured to provide elastic force required to rotate the rotator in a second direction when the second door is opened, wherein the pillar is unfolded when the rotator is rotated in the first direction, and is folded when the rotator is rotated in the second direction.
In addition, the refrigerator may further include a pillar boss formed at a top of the pillar, and a guide recess formed in the rotator in order to guide the pillar boss.
Here, the pillar may be in an unfolded state when the pillar boss is located inside the guide recess, and may be in a folded state when the pillar boss is located outside the guide recess.
At this time, the guide recess may include an insertion portion configured to be open for entry and exit of the pillar boss, a first slope having a convex shape in order to guide the pillar boss to be removed from the insertion portion, and a second slope having a concave shape in order to guide the pillar boss to be inserted into the insertion portion.
The guide recess may be rotated in the second direction and the first slope provides force required to rotate the pillar boss in the first direction when the second door is opened.
The pillar may be rotated beyond the first angle to thereby be folded when the pillar boss is removed from the insertion portion.
Meanwhile, the guide recess may be rotated in the first direction and the second slope may provide force required to rotate the pillar boss in the second direction when the second door is closed.
The pillar boss may be guided by the second slope, and the pillar may be rotated beyond the first angle to thereby be unfolded.
Meanwhile, the rotator may be rotated in the first direction to the maximum extent and is static in a closed state of the second door.
In addition, when the first door is being opened, the pillar boss may slide on the first slope to thereby be removed from the insertion portion.
The pillar may be rotated beyond the first angle to thereby be folded when the pillar boss is removed from the insertion portion.
In addition, when the first door is closed, the pillar boss may be inserted into the insertion portion, and the second slope may provide force required to rotate the pillar boss in the second direction.
The pillar boss may be guided by the second slope, and the pillar may be rotated beyond the first angle to thereby be unfolded.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description of the present invention are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the present invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the present invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the present invention and together with the description serve to explain the principle of the present invention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a refrigerator according to one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating, for example, a pillar, a protruding member, a rotator, and a housing according to one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a top exploded perspective view illustrating, for example, the protruding member, the rotator, and the housing according to one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a bottom exploded perspective view illustrating, for example, the protruding member, the rotator, and the housing according to one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a top perspective view illustrating a state in which a first door and a second door are closed according to one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a top perspective view illustrating a state in which the first door is being opened according to one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 7 is a top perspective view illustrating a completely opened state of the first door according to one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 8 is a top perspective view illustrating a state in which the first door and the second door are closed according to one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 9 is a top perspective view illustrating a state in which the second door is being opened according to one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 10 is a top perspective view illustrating an opened state of the second door according to one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 11 is a top perspective view illustrating an opened state of the second door according to one embodiment of the present invention, wherein the housing is omitted for better understanding;
FIG. 12 is a top perspective view illustrating a state in which the second door is being closed according to one embodiment of the present invention, wherein the housing is omitted for better understanding;
FIG. 13 is a top perspective view illustrating a closed state of the second door according to one embodiment of the present invention, wherein the housing is omitted for better understanding;
FIG. 14 is a top perspective view illustrating a state in which a first door and a second door are closed according to another embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 15 is a top perspective view illustrating a state in which the first door is being opened according to another embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 16 is a top perspective view illustrating a completely opened state of the first door according to another embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 17 is a top perspective view illustrating a state in which the first door and the second door are closed according to another embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 18 is a top perspective view illustrating a state in which the second door is being opened according to another embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 19 is a top perspective view illustrating an opened state of the second door according to another embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 20 is a top perspective view illustrating an opened state of the second door according to another embodiment of the present invention, wherein the housing is omitted for better understanding;
FIG. 21 is a top perspective view illustrating a state in which the second door is being closed according to another embodiment of the present invention, wherein the housing is omitted for better understanding; and
FIG. 22 is a top perspective view illustrating a closed state of the second door according to another embodiment of the present invention, wherein the housing is omitted for better understanding.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
A pillar provided in a refrigerator according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. 1.
The refrigerator of the present invention may include a cabinet 1 defining an external appearance of the refrigerator, a storage compartment 2 defined inside the cabinet 1, a first door 31 and a second door 32 pivotably provided respectively at the left and right sides of the cabinet 1 in order to open or close the storage compartment 2, a pillar 4 provided at the first door 31, a pillar boss 41 formed on the top of the pillar 4, and a rotator 51 having a guide recess 510 configured to guide the pillar boss 41.
As such, the present invention provides the refrigerator in which the pillar 4 is unfolded to seal a gap between the doors 31 and 33 in a state in which both the doors 31 and 33 are closed, and the pillar 4 is folded in a state in which at least one of the doors 31 and 33 is opened.
Hereinafter, considering a configuration of the refrigerator, the storage compartment 2 refers to a space in which storage items may be stored. The storage compartment may be divided into a freezing compartment in which storage items are stored at a temperature below zero degrees, and a refrigerating compartment in which storage items are stored at a temperature higher than zero degrees.
The storage compartment 2 may include a shelf 21 on which the storage items may be placed, and a vegetable box 23 which is configured to receive storage items therein and to be pulled out of the storage compartment 2.
The doors 31 and 33 may prevent the leakage of cold air supplied into the storage compartment 2. The doors 31 and 33 may include the first door 31, which is hinged to the left side of the cabinet 1 and is pivotable, and the second door 33 which is hinged to the right side of the cabinet 1 and is pivotable.
Each of the first door 31 and the second door 33 may be provided at a rear surface thereof with a door basket 311 so as to receive storage items therein.
In addition, a gasket 331 is provided at the periphery of the rear surface of each of the first door 31 and the second door 33, and prevents cold air from being discharged between the doors 31 and 33 and the cabinet 1.
Although the pillar 4 is provided at the first door 31 in one embodiment of the present invention, in another embodiment, the pillar 4 may be provided at the second door 3, and other components related thereto may correspondingly be provided and operated in the opposite configuration.
Referring to FIG. 2, the pillar 4 takes the form of an elongated bar. That is, the pillar 4 is long in the vertical direction and wide in the horizontal direction. The pillar 4 may incorporate a pillar spring (not illustrated) therein, and the elastic force of the pillar spring (not illustrated) becomes minimum force that must be supplied to the pillar 4 so as to allow the pillar 4 to be folded or unfolded.
Alternatively, there is present a first angle, which is an angular range to cause the pillar 4 to be changed between a folded state and an unfolded state. Thus, when external force is applied to exceed the first angle when the pillar 4 is in the unfolded state, the pillar 4 is folded. Contrary, when external force is applied to exceed the first angle when the pillar 4 is in the folded state, the pillar 4 is unfolded.
Although the pillar boss 41 may have a circular pole shape, the pillar boss 41 may have an oval pole shape in order to increase the radius of curvature.
The pillar boss 41 protrudes from the top of the pillar 4. The pillar 4 incorporates a pillar boss spring (not illustrated) therein to support the pillar boss 41 such that the pillar boss 41 is movable up and down.
Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the pillar boss 41 from being damaged while being guided to the guide recess 510.
Referring to FIGs. 3 and 4, the guide recess 510 has a prescribed space therein in order to guide the pillar boss 41.
More specifically, the guide recess 510 includes an insertion portion 513 which is open for the insertion of the pillar boss 41, a first slope 511 (which may also be referred to as a first curved portion) which is connected to the insertion portion 513 and is located close to the doors 31 and 33, the first slope 51 being convex rearward, and a second slope 512 (which may also be referred to as a second curved portion) which is connected to the insertion portion 513 and is located far from the doors 31 and 33, the second slope 512 being concave forward.
Alternatively, the guide recess 510 may include the insertion portion 513 which is open to allow the insertion and removal of the pillar boss 41, the first slope 511 which is configured to guide the pillar boss 41 when the pillar boss 41 is removed from the insertion portion 513, and the second slope 512 which is configured to guide the pillar boss 41 when the pillar boss 41 is inserted into the insertion portion 513.
In this case, a prescribed space is defined between the first slope 511 and the second slope 512 so as to guide the pillar boss 41. The first slope 511 is convex and the second slope 512 is concave.
Here, the insertion portion 513 is wider than the pillar boss 41. This prevents the pillar boss 41 from being damaged by colliding with the periphery of the insertion portion 513 when the pillar boss 41 is inserted into the insertion portion 513 due to the assembly tolerance of the doors 31 and 33 and the assembly tolerance of the pillar 4.
The rotator 51 includes the guide recess 510, and is provided below housings 55 and 56 (which will be described below), which are installed at the ceiling of the storage compartment 2, so as to be rotatable about the rotation axis C. Since the housings 55 and 56 are not essential to the present invention, the rotator 51 may be rotatably provided at the ceiling of the storage compartment 2. In addition, the guide recess 510 may be formed in an inner case of the storage compartment 2.
In addition, the rotator 51 may take the form of a fan-shaped plate. Here, a straight portion of the fan-shaped rotator 51 is configured so as not to protrude forward from a top surface of the storage compartment 2 even if the rotator 51 is rotated, thus having no risk of interference with the doors 31 and 33.
The storage compartment 2 may have a concavely stepped fixing portion (not illustrated) at the ceiling thereof, and the rotator 51 and the housings 55 and 56 may be provided at the fixing portion (not illustrated). In this case, the rotator 51 and the housings 55 and 56 may be placed on the same plane as the top surface of the storage compartment 2.
Here, as definitions related to rotation directions, which will be described in the specification, when viewing the rotator 51 from the top side, the counterclockwise direction or the right-handed screw direction is referred to as a first direction R, and the clockwise direction or the left-handed screw direction is referred to as a second direction L. The first direction R and the second direction L are applied not only to the rotation of the rotator 51, but also to the rotation of the pillar 4.
Meanwhile, the refrigerator according to one embodiment of the present invention may further include a protruding member 53 connected to the rotator 51 and an elastic member 571 connected to the rotator 51.
The protruding member 53 is configured to protrude downward from the rotator 51. There is the rotation axis C between the guide recess 510 and the protruding member 53. That is, in one embodiment of the present invention, when viewing the rotator 51 from the top side, the guide recess 510 is located at the left side of the rotator 51 and the protruding member 53 is located at the right side of the rotator 51.
In addition, the protruding member 53 may be spaced apart from the rotation axis C to the maximum extent, so as to allow more torque to be applied when force is supplied in order to rotate the rotator 51.
Accordingly, the protruding member 53 comes into contact with the second door 33 when the second door 33 is closed, and is pushed rearward by the closing force of the second door 33, thereby rotating the rotator 51 in the first direction R.
In this case, the protruding member 53 may come into contact with a pusher (not illustrated) which protrudes from the rear surface of the second door 33, or may come into contact with the door basket 311 provided at the rear surface of the second door 33.
The protruding member 53 may be rotatably provided in a protruding member fitting hole 515 formed in the rotator 51. In another embodiment, the protruding member 53 may be integrally formed at the underside of the rotator 51.
Meanwhile, the elastic member 571 provides elastic force required to allow the rotator 51 to be rotated in the second direction L.
The elastic member 571 may include a spring.
The rotation axis C may be present between the guide recess 510 and the elastic member 571. That is, the elastic member 571 is located at the right side of the rotator 51.
In this case, the elastic member 571 is compressed when the rotator 51 is rotated in the first direction R, and returns to an original state thereof when the rotator 51 is rotated in the second direction L. That is, the rotator 51 is rotated in the second direction L using the compressive elastic force of the elastic member 571.
Meanwhile, in order to enhance the operation ability of the elastic member 571, the refrigerator of the present invention may further include the housings 55 and 56 installed at the ceiling of the storage compartment 2, and guides 573 and 567 for the elastic member 571 provided inside the housings 55 and 56.
The housings 55 and 56 include the upper housing 56 and the lower housing 56. The rotator 51 is provided on a lower surface of the lower housing 55 so as to be rotatable about the rotation axis C.
The guides 573 and 567 are provided inside the housings 55 and 56, and include the first guide 573 into which the elastic member 571 is fitted, and the second guide 567 formed in the lower housing 55 in order to guide the first guide 573.
The second guide 567 has a through-hole 567a into which one end of the first guide 573 is fitted so as to be guided.
The first guide 573 has an expanded portion 573a formed at the other end thereof, the expanded portion 573a having a greater diameter than the first guide 573 so as to prevent the elastic member 571 from being removed from the first guide 573.
As such, the elastic member 571 is fitted into the first guide 573, and in turn, the first guide 573 is fitted into the through-hole 567a so as to be guided in the front-and-rear direction. With this guidance, the elastic member 571 is compressed between the expanded portion 573a and the through-hole 567a.
Meanwhile, in order to enhance the elastic force of the elastic member 571, two elastic members may be provided. Thus, in order to guide the respective elastic members 571, two first guides 573, two expanded portions 573a, two second guides 567, and two through-holes 567a may be provided.
In this case, the two expanded portions 573a may be integrally formed with each other, which allow the two elastic members 571 to be moved in the same manner.
Meanwhile, in a case where the elastic members 571 and the guides 573 and 567 are provided inside the housings 55 and 56, the refrigerator of the present invention may further include a linkage member 58 configured to connect the expanded portions 573a and the rotator 51 to each other, and a third guide 555 formed in the lower housing 55 to enable the movement of the linkage member 58.
As such, the elastic force of the elastic members 571 may be transmitted to the rotator 51 so as to rotate the rotator 51.
The third guide 555 takes the form of an elongated rectangular hole having a prescribed length in the front-and-rear direction, the third guide 555 being perforated in the lower surface of the lower housing 55 and serving to allow the linkage member 58 to be linearly moved in the front-and-rear direction.
In addition, in one embodiment of the present invention, as the protruding member 53 and the linkage member 58 are directly connected to each other using the same shaft, forces to rotate the rotator 51 in different directions are present on the same shaft.
As such, when the rotator 51 is rotated, unsmooth rotation such as, for example, rattling of the rotator 51, which is caused by opposite forces applied at different distances from the rotation axis C, may hardly occur.
In this case, the protruding member fitting hole 515 must be perforated in the rotator 51 so as to have a prescribed area, in order to ensure that the rotating shaft of the protruding member 53 connected to the rotator 51 is movable inside the protruding member fitting hole 515. This is because the linkage member 58 is linearly moved in the front-and-rear direction by the third guide 555 and the protruding member 53 connected to the rotator 51 is rotated, which causes the protruding member 53 and the linkage member 58 to conflict with each other when connected using the same shaft.
Accordingly, as the rotating shaft of the protruding member 53 is movable in the protruding member fitting hole 515, the protruding member 53 is also linearly movable in the front-and-rear direction.
In addition, the lower housing 55 may have a fourth guide 553 perforated therein in order to prevent the rotator 51 from falling down from the housings 55 and 56 and to guide the rotation of the rotator 51, and the rotator 51 may further include a support piece 513' which is connected to the rotator 51 through the fourth guide 553 so as to be guided by the fourth guide 553.
In the refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention, the protruding member 53 may include a flat contact portion 531 so as to come into surface contact with the second door 33 or the pusher (not illustrated).
That is, the protruding member 53 may have a semicircular pole shape, and the contact portion 531 may be formed as a flat surface formed at the diameter of a semicircle.
The contact portion 531 may incorporate a first magnet therein, and a second magnet may be incorporated inside the pusher (not illustrated). The first magnet and the second magnet have different polarities so as to be attracted to each other.
As such, when the second door 33 is opened, the protruding member 53 is pulled, by the pusher, in the direction in which the second door 33 is opened, and correspondingly, the rotator 51 is rotated in the second direction L.
Through provision of the guide recess 510, the pillar 4 is operated so as to be unfolded when the pillar boss 41 is inserted into the guide recess 510, and is operated so as to be folded when the pillar boss 41 is removed from the guide recess 510.
Hereinafter, the folding and unfolding operations of the pillar 4 upon the opening and closing of the first door 31 and the second door 33 will be described with reference to FIGs. 5, 6 and 7.
First, a folding configuration of the pillar 4 when the first door 31 is opened and an unfolding configuration of the pillar 4 when the first door 31 is closed will be described.
Referring to FIG. 5, in a state in which the second door 33 is closed, the protrusion 53 is moved rearward to the maximum extent by the second door 33, and the rotator 51 is static in a state in which it is rotated in the first direction R to the maximum extent. In addition, as described above, the guide recess 510 is located at the left side of the rotator 51.
Here, when the first door 31 is opened, the pillar boss 41 slides on the first slope 511 (see FIG. 6) and passes through the insertion portion 513, thereby being removed from the guide recess 510 (see FIG. 7).
Since the first slope 511 is convex rearward, the pillar boss 41 is rotated in the first direction R, and larger force than the elastic force of the pillar spring (not illustrated) provided inside the pillar 4 is applied to the pillar boss 41, thus causing the pillar 4 to be folded. That is, folding torque applied to the pillar boss 41 by the first slope 511 must be larger than the elastic force of the pillar spring described above.
Alternatively, once the pillar boss 41 has been removed from the insertion portion 513, the pillar 4 is rotated beyond the first angle, thereby being folded.
Accordingly, as the pillar 4 is folded as exemplarily illustrated in FIG. 6, when the first door 31 is opened, the pillar 4 hardly collides with the second door 33 or the door basket 311 of the second door 33, and the pillar 4 hardly protrudes from the side surface of the second door 31, which may improve the aesthetic appearance of the refrigerator.
Although not illustrated in the drawings, contrary, when the first door 31 is closed, the pillar boss 41 is introduced into the insertion portion 513 and comes into contact with the second slope 512 so as to slide on the second slope 512. Thereby, the pillar boss 41 is inserted inside the guide recess 510.
Since the second slope 512 is concave forward, the pillar boss 41 is rotated in the second direction L, and larger force than the elastic force of the pillar spring (not illustrated) provided inside the pillar 4 is applied to the pillar boss 41, thus causing the pillar 4 to be unfolded.
That is, the pillar boss 41 receives unfolding torque required to allow the pillar 4 to be unfolded by sliding and rotating on the second slope 512, and the unfolding torque must be larger than the elastic force of the pillar spring described above.
Alternatively, as the pillar 4 is rotated beyond the first angle while the pillar boss 41 is being guided by the second slope 512, the pillar 4 is unfolded.
Accordingly, the pillar 4 is unfolded and seals a gap between the first door 31 and the second door 33 so as to prevent leakage of cold air.
Hereinafter, a folding configuration of the pillar 4 when the second door 33 is opened will be described with reference to FIGs. 8, 9 and 10.
FIG. 8 illustrates a state in which both the first door 31 and the second door 33 are closed. In such a state, the protruding member 53 is pushed rearward by the second door 33, and the rotator 51 is rotated in the first direction R to the maximum extent.
This is because the closing force of the second door 33 is larger than the elastic force of the elastic member 571. The closing force of the second door 33 may include, for example, the weight of the door 33, the weight of items stored in the door basket 311, and magnetic force of the magnet in the closed state of the door 33.
In this case, the pillar 4 is in the unfolded state, and prevents leakage of cold air between the first door 31 and the second door 33.
As exemplarily illustrated in FIG. 9, when the second door 33 begins to be opened, the closing force of the second door 33 applied to the rotator 51 is removed, and therefore the rotator 51 is rotated in the second direction L by the elastic force of the elastic member 571.
Thereby, the guide recess 510 formed in the rotator 51 is also rotated in the second direction L.
Force is applied to the pillar boss 41 located in the guide recess 510 by the first slope 511 in the direction in which the pillar 4 is rotated (i.e. the first direction R). Since this force is larger than the elastic force of the pillar spring (not illustrated) provided inside the pillar 4, the pillar 4 is rotated toward the first door 31.
That is, the elastic force of the elastic member 571 must be larger than the elastic force of the pillar spring of the pillar 4 in order to ensure that the pillar 4 may be folded. Thus, as exemplarily illustrated in FIG. 10, the pillar 4 is folded when the second door 33 is completely opened.
Alternatively, the pillar 4 is rotated beyond the first angle to thereby be folded when the pillar boss 41 is removed from the insertion portion 513.
Since the pillar 4 is in the folded state, the pillar 4 does not cover an opening of the storage compartment 2 that is opened or closed by the second door 33, which allows the vegetable box 23 provided inside the storage compartment 2 to be configured to have a great volume, and may prevent the user from being blocked by the pillar 4 when introducing or retrieving storage items.
Hereinafter, an unfolding configuration of the pillar 4 when the second door 33 is closed will be described with reference to FIGs. 11, 12 and 13.
FIG. 11 illustrates a state in which the second door 33 is opened. In such a state, the rotator 51 is rotated in the second direction L to the maximum extent by the elastic member 571 (see FIG. 10), and the pillar 4 is folded. In addition, the protruding member 53 is moved toward the second door 33.
As exemplarily illustrated in FIG. 12, when the second door 33 is being closed, the second door 33 comes into contact with the protruding member 53. The closing force of the second door 33 is transmitted through the protruding member 53 to the rotator 51 so as to rotate the rotator 51 in the first direction R. As such, the guide recess 510 formed in the rotator 51 is also rotated in the first direction R.
In this case, the pillar boss 41 is inserted into the guide recess 510 through the insertion portion 513. The second slope 512 applies force to the pillar boss 41 in the direction in which the pillar 4 is rotated (i.e. the second direction L), and comes into contact with the pillar boss 41 so as to guide the pillar boss 41.
Accordingly, as exemplarily illustrated in FIG. 13, the pillar 4 is unfolded when the second door 33 is completely closed, thereby preventing leakage of cold air between the first door 31 and the second door 33.
Alternatively, the pillar boss 41 is guided by the second slope 512 and is unfolded when the pillar 4 is rotated beyond the first angle.
As described above, as the rotator 51 is rotated when the second door 33 is opened or closed, the guide recess 510 is also rotated, and the pillar boss 41 is guided by the rotating guide recess 510. With this operation, the refrigerator of the present invention achieves enhanced operation ability compared to a pillar and a pillar guide of the related art.
This is because the guide recess 510 pushes the pillar boss 41 in the direction in which the pillar 4 is rotated, in order to rotate the pillar 4. In other words, since the guide recess 510 pushes the pillar boss 41 in the tangential direction of the radius of rotation of the pillar 4, rather than pushing the pillar boss 41 in the rotation axis direction of the pillar 4, torque applied to the pillar 4 is increased.
Meanwhile, FIGs. 14 to 22 illustrate a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIGs. 14 to 22 sequentially correspond to FIGs. 5 to 13. A description except for a difference as follows overlaps the above description with reference to FIGs. 5 to 13, and thus will be omitted below.
As exemplarily illustrated in FIGs. 14 to 22, the pillar 4 is pivotably provided at the first door 31 using a coupler 43 and is secured to the side surface of the door basket 311 provided at the first door 31.
As is apparent from the above description, with a refrigerator according to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention, when a user opens a door and pulls out a vegetable pulled out from a storage compartment, there occurs no interference between a pillar and the vegetable box, which may result in increased convenience of use.
In addition, according to the present invention, there occurs no interference between a pillar and a door basket when a door is opened, which may increase the practical storage capacity of the door basket.
In addition, according to the present invention, as a pillar is folded when a door is opened, which may result in increased usability and increased storage capacity.
Although the exemplary embodiments have been illustrated and described as above, of course, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the embodiments are provided to assist understanding of the present invention and the present invention is not limited to the above described particular embodiments, and various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention, and the modifications and variations should not be understood individually from the viewpoint or scope of the present invention.

Claims

A refrigerator comprising:
a cabinet (1) defining an external appearance;

a storage compartment (2) provided inside the cabinet (1);

a first door (31) and a second door (32) pivotably provided at left and right sides of the cabinet (1), the doors being configured to open or close the storage compartment (2);

a pillar (4) having one side pivotably provided at the first door (31) and configured to seal a gap between the first door (31) and the second door (32) in a state in which the first door (31) and second door (32) are closed;

a pillar boss (41) protruding from a top of the pillar (4);

a rotator (51) installed on the storage compartment (2), wherein the rotator (51) comprises a guide recess (510) configured to guide the pillar boss (41); and

wherein the rotator (51) is rotatable about a rotation axis.
The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the guide recess (510) includes:
an insertion portion (513) configured to be open so as to receive the pillar boss (4);

a first curved portion (511) connected to the insertion portion (513), the first curved portion (511) being convex; and

a second curved portion (512) connected to the insertion portion (513), the second curved portion (512) being concave.
The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein the rotator (51) is provided to be rotatable in a first direction by closing force of the second door (32).
The refrigerator according to claim 3, further comprising a protruding member (53) protruding from the rotator (51),
wherein the protruding member (53) is arranged to come into contact with the second door (32) and rotate the rotator (51) in a first direction when the second door (32) is closed.
The refrigerator according to claim 4, wherein the second curved portion (512) is arranged to guide the pillar boss (41) when the second door (32) is closed by a closing force.
The refrigerator according to claim 4, further comprising an elastic member (571) provided at the rotator (51) and configured to provide elastic force arranged to rotate the rotator (51) in a second direction.
The refrigerator according to claim 6, further comprising:
a first guide (573) configured to guide the elastic member (571) fitted thereinto;

a second guide (567) configured to guide the first guide (573);

an expanded portion (573a) formed at one end of the first guide (573) and having a larger diameter than a diameter of the first guide (573); and

a through-hole (567a) formed in the second guide (567) such that the other end of the first guide (573) is fitted into the through-hole (567a), so as to prevent removal of the elastic member (571),

wherein the expanded portion (573a) is connected to the rotator (51).
The refrigerator according to claim 6, wherein the first curved portion (511) is arranged to guide the pillar boss (41) when the second door (32) is opened.
The refrigerator according to claim 6, wherein the elastic force of the elastic member (571) is less than the closing force of the second door (32) during closing of the second door (32).
The refrigerator according to claim 9, wherein the pillar (4) includes a pillar spring, wherein the elastic force of the elastic member (571) is larger than the force of the pillar spring.
The refrigerator according to claim 10, wherein the pillar boss (41) slides on the first curved portion (511) and passes through the insertion portion (513) when the first door (31) is opened, thereby removing the pillar boss (41) from the guide recess (510).
The refrigerator according to claim 10, wherein the pillar boss (41) is introduced into the insertion portion (513) and inwardly slides on the second curved portion (512) when the first door is closed, thereby the pillar boss (41) is inserted inside the guide recess (510).
The refrigerator according to claim 7, wherein the elastic member (571) includes two elastic members and the first guide (573) includes two first guides, and the protruding member (53) is located between the two elastic members.
The refrigerator according to claim 7, wherein:
the rotator (51) is arranged to be rotated in the first direction when the second door (32) is closed; and

the elastic member (571) is configured to rotate the rotator (51) in the second direction when the second door (32) is opened.
The refrigerator according to claim 14, wherein the rotator (51) is rotated in the first direction to a maximum extent in a closed state of the second door (32).