KR100296800B1 - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A refrigerator is provided to reduce costs for parts and achieve improved operating reliability of refrigerator by maintaining constant return rotation speed of operating lever. CONSTITUTION: A refrigerator comprises a main body having a freezer compartment; a door for opening/closing the front opening of the freezer compartment; an ice making tray disposed in the freezer compartment; a baffle(31) for opening/closing an ice outlet port(29) arranged at the front surface of the door; an operating lever(37) for operating the baffle in the direction of opening or closing the ice outlet port; a rack(43) spaced apart from a rotary shaft(39) of the operating lever, and which is slidable during the rotation of the operating lever; a pinion(53) rotating as being engaged with the rack; and a damping unit connected to the pinion in such a manner that the damping unit integrally rotates with the pinion and reduces rotating speed of the pinion.

Description

Refrigerator

The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, a main body having a freezer compartment, a door for opening and closing a front opening of the freezer compartment, an ice tray provided in the freezer compartment, a baffle for opening and closing an ice outlet provided at the front of the door; And an operating lever for opening and closing the baffle in an opening direction in which the baffle opens the ice discharge port by pressing the baffle, and a return direction in which the baffle blocks the ice discharge port.

The refrigerator has a main body in which a freezer compartment and a refrigerating compartment are formed with an intermediate partition therebetween, and a freezer compartment door and a refrigerating compartment door that open and close front openings of the freezer compartment and the refrigerating compartment. Some of these refrigerators are provided with a dispenser on the front of the door to provide an ice tray in the freezer compartment and a water storage tank in the refrigerating compartment to supply ice and water to the outside.

6 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of a dispenser region of a conventional refrigerator, FIG. 7 is a side cross-sectional view of the operating lever region of FIG. 6, and FIG. 8 is an enlarged side cross-sectional view of the pneumatic cylinder of FIG. 6. As shown in these figures, the freezing chamber door 107 has a door outer plate 119 forming an appearance and a door inner plate 121 spaced apart from the door outer plate 119 at a filling interval of the heat insulating material. Door caps (not shown) are coupled to upper and lower ends of the outer plate 119 and the door inner plate 121 to be coupled to block the upper and lower ends.

An opening 120 is formed in the central region of the door outer plate 119, and the dispenser accommodating part 124 recessed from the plate surface is formed in the door inner plate 121 corresponding thereto. The dispenser accommodating part 124 is coupled to the dispenser case 125 having a substantially rectangular cylindrical shape, and a dispenser cover 122 having an operation panel 123 for operating an apparatus is formed on the front side of the dispenser case 125. Are combined.

A cylindrical ice guide member 127 is formed in the upper region of the dispenser case 125. An ice discharge port 129 is formed at the end of the ice guide member 127, and a support bracket 130 is coupled to the front edge of the ice discharge port 129, and the support pin 130 has a pivot pin 133. Baffle 131 for rotating and opening the ice discharge port 129 is coupled to the axis. The pivot pin 133 of the baffle 131 is coupled with a spring 135 for applying an elastic force to the baffle 131 in the direction in which the baffle 131 blocks the ice discharge port 129.

On the other hand, the baffle 131 is coupled to the operation lever 137 so that the baffle 131 is spaced apart from the ice discharge port 129 so that the ice discharge port 129 can be developed, the operation lever 137 is rotatable. A locking pin 141 protruding parallel from the rotation shaft 139 and parallel to the rotation shaft 139 is formed. The locking pin 141 applies resistance to the rotation of the operating lever 137 so that the ice can be completely discharged from the ice discharge port 129 when the baffle 131 rotates to block the ice discharge port 129. The pneumatic cylinder mechanism 143 is engaged.

The pneumatic cylinder mechanism 143 has a cylindrical cylinder 145 and a piston 147 accommodated to slide in the cylinder 145. The piston rod 149 is coupled to the piston 147, and the other end of the piston rod 149 is coupled to the locking pin 141 of the operation lever 137 so as to be relatively movable. The piston 147 is provided with an air passing hole 151 along the shaft center, and the air passing hole 151 is opened and closed by a blocking member 153 provided at the end of the piston rod 149.

By such a configuration, when the operation lever 137 is pressurized inwardly, the operation lever 137 rotates about the rotation shaft 139 by the shaft, whereby the baffle 131 rotates the ice pin 133 around the ice discharge port 129. Rotate so as to be spaced apart from) so that the ice discharge port 129 is opened. When the operation lever 137 is released from pressure, the operation lever 137 rotates the rotation shaft 139 back to the axis. At this time, the pneumatic cylinder mechanism 143 coupled to the locking pin 141 of the operation lever 137 is rotated. ) Adds resistance to the return rotation of the operation lever 137.

That is, the air passing hole 151 of the piston 147 is opened at the time of the open rotation of the operation lever 137 to smoothly rotate the operation lever 137, and the air passage at the time of the return rotation of the operation lever 137. The ball 151 is blocked by the blocking member 153 to compress the air, thereby applying resistance to the return rotation of the operating lever 137.

By the way, in such a conventional refrigerator, a pneumatic cylinder mechanism that resists rotation of the operating lever so that ice can be completely discharged from the ice discharge port is dependent on imports, and the purchase cost is relatively high, and the inner diameter of the cylinder Since the outer diameter portions of the piston are in sliding contact with each other, the airtightness may be degraded as the service period elapses. Therefore, when the airtightness is lowered, there is a problem that it is difficult to maintain a constant return rotation speed of the operation lever, which may lower the reliability of the product.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator which can reduce component costs and improve reliability.

1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator according to the present invention;

2 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of the dispenser region of FIG. 1;

3 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of the operating lever region of FIG. 2;

4 and 5 are side cross-sectional views for explaining the operating state of the rack and pinion, respectively;

6 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of a dispenser area of a conventional refrigerator,

7 is a side cross-sectional view of the operating lever region of FIG. 6;

8 is an enlarged side cross-sectional view of the pneumatic cylinder of FIG. 6.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

1: body 3: freezer

5: refrigerator compartment 7: freezer door

25: dispenser case 29: ice discharge outlet

31: baffle 37: operation lever

39: rotating shaft 41: locking pin

43: rack 45: guide pin

47: guide member 49: return transfer guide

51: open transport guide 52: guide member

53: pinion 54: guide slope

55 damping means

According to the present invention, the object is, the freezer compartment is formed, the door for opening and closing the front opening of the freezer compartment, the ice tray provided in the freezer compartment, the baffle for opening and closing the ice discharge port provided in the front of the door, and the baffle A refrigerator having an opening direction in which the baffle opens the ice discharge port and the operation lever opening and closing the baffle in a return direction in which the baffle blocks the ice discharge port, the refrigerator being predetermined from a rotation shaft of the operation lever. A damping rack connected to a distance spaced position to be slidably movable when the operation lever is rotated, a pinion rotating in engagement with the rack, and connected to the pinion so as to be integrally rotatable with the pinion to reduce the rotational speed of the pinion. It is achieved by a refrigerator comprising a means.

Here, it is preferable to further include a guide means for releasing from the pinion when moving the rack in the open direction, and to engage the rack and the pinion when rotating the rack in the return direction.

The guide means includes a guide member having a return transfer guide path and an open transfer guide path in communication with the inside of the return period, and guide the rack to the return transfer guide path at an end position of the open transfer guide path. Including a member may be effective.

The rack may further include a guide pin protruding from the side of the rack and interacting with the guide member and the guide member, and the return transfer guide may be disposed above the open transfer guide path.

The guide member may be rotatably installed at an end position of the open transfer guide path, and the induction member may further include an inclined surface for guiding the guide pin to the return transfer guide path.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail with respect to the present invention.

1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of the dispenser region of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of the operating lever region of FIG. 2, and FIGS. Side cross-sectional view for explaining the operation state of the pinion. As shown in these drawings, the refrigerator according to the present invention has a main body 1 having a freezing compartment 3 and a refrigerating compartment 5 respectively formed on the left and right sides with an intermediate partition 2 therebetween, and opening and closing the front opening thereof. It has a freezer compartment door 7 and a refrigerating compartment door 9 respectively coupled to the front left and right regions of the main body 1.

In the upper region of the refrigerating compartment 5, a plurality of shelves 10 are installed along the vertical direction to divide the space in the refrigerating compartment 5, and the lower region of the refrigerating compartment 5 can store and store vegetables and fruits. A plurality of storage drawers 12 are provided. Behind these drawers 12, a water storage tank (not shown) is installed to store water.

An ice making tray 13 for ice making is installed in an upper region of the freezing compartment 3, and an ice storage container 15 is provided below the ice making tray 13 to store ice that has been de-iced from the ice making tray 13. ) Is provided. An ice passage opening 17 is formed on the lower front surface of the ice storage container 15 to penetrate the plate surface so that the ice stored in the ice storage container 15 can be discharged.

On the other hand, the freezer door 7 has a door outer plate 19 to form an appearance, and a door inner plate 21 spaced apart from the door outer plate 19 at a filling interval of the insulating material, and these door outer plates 19 and Door caps (not shown) are coupled to upper and lower ends of the door inner plate 21 to be coupled to block the upper and lower ends.

An opening 20 is formed in the central region of the door outer plate 19 through the plate surface, and the dispenser accommodating portion 24 recessed from the plate surface is formed in the door inner plate 21 corresponding thereto. The dispenser accommodating part 24 has a dispenser case 25 having a substantially rectangular cylindrical shape, and a dispenser cover 22 having an operation panel part 23 for operating a device is formed on the front side of the dispenser case 25. Are combined.

In the central region of the dispenser case 25, a supply space 26 recessed from the plate surface is formed, and in the upper region, a cylindrical ice guide member 27 for guiding the ice from the ice passage opening 17 is formed. . The support bracket 30 is coupled to the front edge of the ice discharge port 29 formed at the end of the ice guide member 27, and the support bracket 30 is connected to the ice discharge port 29 with the pivot pin 33 as the axis. The baffle 31 which opens and closes is rotatably coupled. The pivot pin 33 of the baffle 31 is coupled with a spring 35 for applying an elastic force to the baffle 31 in the direction in which the baffle 31 blocks the ice discharge port 29.

The baffle 31 is coupled to the operation lever 37 so that the baffle 31 is spaced apart from the ice discharge port 29 so that the ice discharge port 29 is opened, and the operation lever 37 is provided at the rear side of the operation lever 37. An open detecting switch 38 for contacting 37 and detecting rotation of the operating lever 37 is protruded toward the operating lever 37.

On the other hand, on one side of the operation lever 37, a locking pin 41 is formed to be spaced apart from the rotation shaft 39 of the operation lever 37 to protrude in parallel with the rotation shaft 39. The locking pin 41 is coupled to the rack 43 so as to be rotatable, and a guide pin 45 protruding horizontally in the longitudinal direction of the rack 43 is formed on an opposite side of the rotation shaft of the rack 43. . The guide pin 45 has a return transfer guide path 49 formed at an upper portion thereof, and is accommodated in a guide member 47 formed with an open transfer guide path 51 parallel to the return transfer guide path 49 at a lower side thereof. It is interlocked with each other when the operating lever 37 opens and returns.

At the end position of the open transfer guide 51 of the guide member 47, a pass position allowing the passage of the guide pin 45 so that the guide pin 45 enters the return transfer guide 49, and a free end surface. An induction member 52 is provided which is rotatable between the guide positions in contact with the bottom surface of the open transfer guide 51 and guide the guide pin 45 to the return transfer guide 49.

Guide inclined surface 54 is formed on the return transfer guide path 49 side surface of the guide member 52 so that the guide pin 45 can be smoothly guided to the return transfer guide path 49. The pinion 53 is installed on the upper side of the rack 43 at predetermined intervals so that the guide pin 45 of the rack 43 is engaged with the rack 43 when sliding along the return transfer guide path 49. The damping means 55 which applies resistance to the rotation of the pinion 53 is provided in the rotation shaft of the pinion 53.

By this configuration, when the operating lever 37 is pressed inward to rotate the pivot shaft 39 to the shaft, the guide pin 45 of the rack 43 installed to be rotatable to the operating lever 37 is an open transfer guide. It is conveyed along the furnace 51. At this time, the rack 43 is spaced apart from the pinion 53 and does not affect the rotation of the operating lever 37. When the operation lever 37 rotates to the end of the open rotation, the guide member 52 rotatably installed at the end position of the open transfer guide 51 rotates upward and the guide pin 45 returns to the return transfer guide ( 49) and return to the initial position.

When the operating lever 37 is released and is rotated by the elastic force of the spring 35 coupled to the pivot pin 33 of the baffle 31, the guide pin 45 is guide sloping surface of the guide member 52 ( 54 is then transferred to the return transfer guide 49. At this time, the rack 43 is engaged with the pinion 53 and the pinion 53 coupled to the damping means 55 is applied to the linear movement of the rack 43. Therefore, the operation lever 37 is rotated to return at a predetermined delay speed, whereby the baffle 31 is rotated slowly around the pivot pin 33 to block the ice discharge port (29).

As such, the rack is connected to a position spaced a predetermined distance away from the rotational axis of the operation lever, and the sliding movable rack when the operation lever is rotated, the pinion rotated in engagement with the rack, and connected to the pinion so as to be integrally rotatable with the pinion. By providing a damping means for lowering the rotational speed of the pinion, the operation lever can be rotated back with a predetermined delay speed to block the ice discharge port.

As described above, according to the present invention, there is provided a refrigerator capable of reducing component costs and improving reliability.

Claims (6)

A main body having a freezer compartment, a door for opening and closing the front opening of the freezer compartment, an ice tray provided in the freezer compartment, a baffle for opening and closing the ice outlet provided at the front of the door, and the baffle being pressed to press the baffle into the ice outlet. A refrigerator having an opening direction for opening a door and an operating lever for opening and closing the baffle in a return direction in which the baffle blocks the ice discharge port, the refrigerator being connected to a position spaced a predetermined distance from a rotation shaft of the operating lever. A slide movable rack upon rotation of the lever; A pinion meshing with the rack; And a damping means connected to the pinion so as to be integrally rotatable with the pinion to reduce the rotational speed of the pinion. The refrigerator according to claim 1, further comprising guide means for releasing from the pinion when the rack is moved in the open direction and engaging the rack and the pinion with each other when the rack is rotated in the return direction. 3. The guide according to claim 2, wherein the guide means includes a guide member having a return transfer guide path and an open transfer guide path in communication with the return transfer guide path, and the rack at the end position of the open transfer guide path. Refrigerator comprising an induction member to guide to. The refrigerator of claim 3, further comprising guide pins protruding from the side of the rack to interact with the guide member and the guide member. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the return transfer guide is disposed above the open transfer guide. The method of claim 5, wherein the guide member is rotatably installed at the end position of the open transfer guide, the guide member is characterized in that the inclined surface for guiding the guide pin to the return transfer guide is formed Refrigerator.

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