KR100733078B1 - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

A refrigerator is provided to control an amount of supplied water by controlling the hydraulic pressure of water to be supplied to a dispenser. A main body has a storage compartment. A door opens and shuts the storage compartment. A dispenser is installed at the door. A water supply pipe transmits water to be supplied to the dispenser. A water supply coupler connects an external pipe with the water supply pipe and has a plurality of transmission paths different in a flow section. The water supply coupler transmits water through any one transmission path selected among the plurality of transmission paths. The water supply coupler includes a coupler main body(50) having the transmission paths and a valve body(60) opening only one among the transmission paths.

Description

Refrigerator {REFRIGERATOR}

1 is a schematic view of a refrigerator according to the present invention,

2 is a perspective view illustrating a main part of a refrigerator according to the present invention,

3 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III in Fig. 2,

FIGS. 4A and 4B are cross-sectional views of the refrigerator according to the present invention along the line IV-IV in FIG. 3,

Figures 5A and 5B are cross-sectional views illustrating the embodiment of Figures 4A and 4B,

6 is a control block diagram of a refrigerator according to the present invention.

Description of the Related Art [0002]

1: Main body 2: Storage room

10: door 20: dispenser

21: Water lever 27:

30: water supply device 31: external connection part

33: water purification unit 34: water supply pipe

35: External piping 36: Water valve

40: water supply coupler 50: coupler main body

51: transmission plate 60: valve body

61: valve body 63:

70: driving unit 71: motor

75: first gear 77: second gear

100:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to a refrigerator capable of controlling the amount of water supplied to a dispenser.

In recent years, refrigerators are additionally equipped with various units considering functionality and convenience in addition to basic devices for storing food freshly. According to this tendency, installation of a dispenser for receiving drinking water without opening a door is increasing.

Generally, a refrigerator equipped with a dispenser includes a drinking water tank in which drinking water is stored, and a water supply pipe that connects the drinking water tank and the dispenser and forms a flow path of water supplied to the dispenser.

However, since the water supply pipe of the conventional refrigerator is provided with a pipe having a constant cross-sectional area, the supply amount of the drinking water over time is always constant. Therefore, there is a problem that a large amount of water can not be supplied in a short time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator which can regulate the water pressure of water supplied to a dispenser to control the amount of water to be supplied.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a refrigerator including a main body having a storage chamber, a door for opening and closing the storage chamber, and a dispenser provided on the door, the water supply pipe for delivering water to be supplied to the dispenser; And a water supply coupler that connects the external piping to the water supply pipe and has a delivery passage having a plurality of different flow cross-sectional areas and allows water to be delivered through any one of the plurality of delivery passages.

The water supply coupler includes a coupler main body having the transfer passages formed therein; And a valve body that opens only one of the transfer passages.

The driving unit may further include a stepping motor to move the coupler body and the valve body relative to each other.

And a selection unit for selecting any one of the plurality of transmission paths.

And a controller for controlling driving of the driving unit based on a result selected by the selection unit.

Before describing the embodiments of the present invention, a side-by-side refrigerator will be described by way of example, but the application of the present invention is not limited thereto.

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

The refrigerator according to the present invention includes a main body 1 for forming a storage chamber 2 having a front opening, a door 10 for pivotally opening and closing the front opening of the storage chamber 2, a dispenser 20 And a water supply device 30 for supplying water to the dispenser 20.

1, the storage compartment 2 of the refrigerator of the present invention is partitioned into a refrigerating compartment 4 and a freezing compartment 3 by an intermediate partition 5. A door 10 for opening and closing the front opening is provided in the front opening of the storage chamber 2 and a door guide (not shown) for accommodating corks and the like is disposed vertically inside the door 10.

In the freezing chamber 3, an ice-maker 6 for ice-making is installed. On the front surface of the freezing chamber door 11, there is provided a dispenser 20 capable of receiving ice from the ice maker 6 and drinking water from the outside.

The dispenser 20 is provided with a water lever 21 for supplying drinking water and an ice lever 23 for supplying ice and a button portion 25 formed by a plurality of buttons is attached, Or hot water. The button unit 25 may be a general button or a touch screen using a display. The dispenser 20 may be provided on the front surface of the freezer compartment door 11 but may be provided on the front surface of the refrigerator compartment door 12.

The water supply device (30) of the refrigerator according to the present invention includes an external connection part (31) for allowing water to flow into the high water from an external water supply source, a water purification part (33) for purifying water introduced from the external connection part (31) A water supply pipe 34 for transferring water supplied to the water supply pipe 20, an external pipe 35 for supplying water to the water supply pipe 34, and a water supply coupler 34 for connecting the external pipe 35 to the water supply pipe 34. [ (40).

The external connection part 31 is connected to a device capable of supplying water such as an external tap water 32 or a water purifier (not shown) at one end so as to allow water to flow from the outside to the outside, and the other end removes impurities of the inflow water And is connected to the integer part 33.

The water purification part 33 is preferably provided as a water filter to remove impurities of water introduced into the interior through the external connection part 31.

The water supply pipe 34 forms a channel through which the water supplied from the external pipe 35 flows to the water dispenser 20 through the water supply coupler 40. One end of the water supply pipe (34) is connected to the water supply coupler (40) and the other end is connected to the water lever (21).

The external piping 35 forms a flow path for the water purified in the water purification section 33 to move to the water supply coupler 40. One end of the external pipe 35 is connected to the water purification part 33 and the other end is connected to the water supply coupler 40. Between the water purification unit 33 and the water supply coupler 40, a cold water tank 37 disposed in the refrigerating chamber 4 for storing low-temperature drinking water may be provided.

A water valve 36 for interrupting the water supplied to the water supply coupler 40 is provided in one area of the external pipe 35 between the cold water tank 37 and the water supply coupler 40. The water valve 36 operates in conjunction with the water lever 21 described above. That is, when the water lever 21 is pressed, the water valve 36 is opened, and when the water lever 21 is released, the water valve 36 is closed.

2 and 3, the water supply coupler 40 is disposed between the external pipe 35 and the water supply pipe 34, and transfers the water supplied from the external pipe 35 to the water supply pipe 34 do. The water supply coupler 40 has a coupler main body 50 formed with transfer passages 52 having different flow cross-sectional areas, a valve body 60 for opening only one of the transfer passages 52, a coupler main body 50, And a driving unit (70) for moving one of the valve bodies (60) relative to each other.

Although the coupler main body 50 is connected to the water supply pipe 34 and the valve body 60 is connected to the external pipe 35, the coupler main body 50 is connected to the external pipe 35, And that the valve body 60 may be connected to the water supply pipe 34 in advance.

One end of the coupler main body 50 is connected to the water supply pipe 34 and the other end is connected to the valve body 60. As shown in Figs. 4A and 4B, the other end of the coupler main body 50 is provided with a transfer plate 51 having a plurality of transfer passages 52 having different flow cross-sectional areas.

One end of the valve body 60 is connected to the external pipe 35 and the other end is connected to the coupler main body 50. The valve body 60 has a valve body 61 rotatably provided with respect to the coupler main body 50 and a valve body 61 protruding from the inner circumferential surface of the valve body 61 and pivoted according to the rotation of the valve body 61, And a blocking plate 63 for opening only one of the transmission passages 52 formed in the base plate 52. [ Here, the valve body 60 is rotatably provided to the external pipe 35 as well. That is, the valve body 60 is rotatably provided between the coupler main body 50 and the external pipe 35.

The transmission plate 51 and the blocking plate 63 may be variously provided. For example, as shown in Figs. 4A and 4B, the transfer plate 51 is formed with a plurality of transfer passages 52a, 52b, 52c, 52d, and 52e having different flow cross-sectional areas And the blocking plate 63 may be provided so as to rotate with respect to the transmitting plate 51 and to open any one of the plurality of transmission passages 52. Here, the reason why the plurality of transfer passages 52 are provided is determined by the amount of water supplied to the dispenser 20 in accordance with the cross-sectional area of the transfer passage 52. On the other hand, the amount of water supplied to the dispenser 20 can be selected by the selection unit 27 described later. 5A and 5B, one or two transmission passages 152 are formed in the transmission plate 151 and the blocking plate 163 is provided to adjust the size of the transmission passage 152 It is possible.

Although the valve body 60 is described as being rotatable with respect to the coupler main body 50, the present invention is not limited thereto. Needless to say, the coupler main body 50 may be provided so as to be rotatable with respect to the valve body 60 .

The driving unit 70 provides a driving force so that the valve body 60 rotates with respect to the coupler main body 50. The drive unit 70 includes a motor 71 and a gear assembly 73.

The motor 71 is preferably provided as a stepping motor that rotates stepwise at a predetermined angle so that the valve body 60 can be rotated step by step. Here, it is preferable that the arrangement of the transmission passages 52 of the transfer plate 51 is arranged to correspond to the rotating stage of the stepping motor 71. In other words, once the stepping motor 71 is rotated, the transmission passage 52 is equiangularly arranged on the transfer plate 51 so that the transfer passage 52 in which the shutoff plate 63 is rotated and opened is changed.

The gear assembly 73 includes a first gear 75 that is coupled to the rotation shaft of the motor 71 and a second gear 77 that rotates the valve body 60 in accordance with the rotation of the first gear 75 . The second gear 77 is preferably formed along the outer peripheral surface of the valve body 61. Therefore, the valve body 60 can be rotated in accordance with the driving of the motor 71.

The refrigerator according to the present invention further includes a selection unit 27 for selecting any one of the plurality of transmission passages 52 and a control unit 100 for controlling the driving unit 70 based on the selection of the selection unit 27 can do.

The selection unit 27 is provided for the user to select the amount of water supplied to the dispenser 20. [ That is, the selection unit 27 is provided to select any one of the plurality of transmission passages 52. [ The selection unit 27 may be provided in the button unit 25 of the dispenser 20 described above.

The controller 100 controls the driving of the driver 70 according to the transmission path 52 selected by the selector 27. [ That is, the control unit 100 drives the motor 71 to open the transmission path 52 selected by the selection unit 27, and rotates the blocking plate 63.

The operation of the refrigerator according to the present invention including such a configuration will be described with reference to the drawings.

First, when the user selects the amount of water to be supplied to the dispenser 20 from the selection unit 27, the control unit 100 determines whether the amount of water supplied to the dispenser 20 is equal to the amount of water selected by the selection unit 27, The motor 71 of the driving unit 70 is operated to open the shutoff plate 52 to rotate the shutoff plate 63. When the user presses the water lever 21, the control unit 100 opens the water valve 36 and discharges the water to the outside through the selected transfer passage 52.

As described above, the external pipe 35 is connected to the water supply pipe 34, and the water is passed through any one of the plurality of transmission passages 52 with the transfer passage 52 having a plurality of different flow cross- The water pressure of the water supplied to the dispenser 20 can be adjusted. Accordingly, the amount of water supplied to the dispenser 20 can be adjusted.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a refrigerator which can regulate the water pressure of water supplied to the dispenser and control the amount of water to be supplied.

Claims (5)

A refrigerator having a dispenser provided on the door, comprising: a main body having a storage chamber; a door for opening and closing the storage chamber; A water supply pipe for delivering water to be supplied to the dispenser; And a water supply coupler connecting the external piping to the water supply pipe and having a delivery passage having a plurality of different flow cross-sectional areas for delivering water through a selected one of the plurality of delivery passages. The method according to claim 1, The water supply coupler includes: A coupler main body having the transfer passages formed therein; And a valve body which opens only one of the transfer passages. 3. The method of claim 2, Further comprising a driving unit for relatively moving one of the coupler body and the valve body. The method of claim 3, Wherein the driving unit includes a stepping motor. 5. The method of claim 4, Further comprising: a selection unit for selecting any one of the plurality of transmission passages.

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