KR102309310B1 - refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and to a refrigerator in which a user can easily insert/withdraw stored items. More specifically, the present invention relates to a refrigerator that can easily use a drawer for accommodating stored items.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, a cabinet having a storage room; a door rotatably provided in the cabinet to open and close the storage compartment; a drawer provided in the storage compartment and provided to move between an initial position and an operation position spaced apart from the initial position by a predetermined distance forward from the initial position according to the opening and closing of the door; and a control configuration for controlling automatic withdrawal and automatic entry of the drawer, wherein the control configuration includes: a main control unit including a sensor for detecting opening and closing of the door; and a motor for moving the drawer from the initial position to the operating position by forward driving, and moving the drawer from the operating position to the initial position by reverse driving, wherein the drawer is located at the initial position There may be provided a refrigerator including a motor assembly including a first Hall sensor for detecting that and a second Hall sensor for monitoring that the drawer is positioned at the manipulation position.

Description

refrigerator

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and to a refrigerator in which a user can easily insert/withdraw stored items. More specifically, the present invention relates to a refrigerator that can easily use a drawer for accommodating stored items.

BACKGROUND ART In general, a refrigerator is a device for freezing or refrigerated storage of food or the like by discharging cold air generated by a refrigeration cycle including a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve, an evaporator, and the like to lower the temperature in a refrigerator.

A refrigerator generally includes a freezer compartment in which food or beverage is frozen and stored as a storage compartment, and a refrigerating compartment in which the food or beverage is stored at a low temperature.

The refrigerator is a Top Mount Type, in which the freezer compartment is placed at the top of the refrigerating compartment, a Bottom Freezer Type in which the freezer compartment is located at the bottom of the refrigerating compartment, and a side-by-side type in which the freezer compartment and the refrigerating compartment are divided into left and right sides. It can be divided into (Side-by-Side Type). In this case, a door is provided in each of the freezing compartment and the refrigerating compartment, and the freezing compartment or the refrigerating compartment can be accessed through the door.

In addition to the refrigerator in which the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment are separated from each other, there are also refrigerators in which the freezing compartment and the refrigerating compartment can be accessed through a single door. Most of these refrigerators are small, and in general, a freezer compartment is provided in a predetermined space inside the refrigerator compartment.

In addition, among top-mount type refrigerators, a French type refrigerator in which the upper refrigerating compartment is opened and closed through the left and right doors is also provided. The freezer compartment of the French-type refrigerator may also be opened and closed through the left and right doors.

In the refrigerator compartment and the freezer compartment, shelves or storage boxes containing stored goods are generally provided. The storage box is generally provided to form an independent storage space inside the storage room. That is, a storage box may be provided to independently store vegetables, fruits, etc. from other storages or to store meat, fish, and the like independently from other storages.

In recent years, the capacity of refrigerators tends to increase in size. Therefore, since the front and rear width of the storage compartment such as the refrigerating compartment or the freezing compartment is increased, it is not easy to take out the stored material stored deep inside. Accordingly, most of the storage boxes are provided in the form of drawers. That is, the user can pull out the storage box to take out the storage inside. In particular, most of the drawer-type storage boxes are provided in the lower region of the refrigerator to enhance user convenience.

In addition, recently, home-bars, ice makers, shelves, or door boxes are mounted on the back of the door of the refrigerator, and there is a tendency to use the back of the door as a separate storage space or as a separate functional space. have. That is, the function of the door goes beyond simply opening and closing the freezer compartment or the refrigerating compartment, and the door forms a separate storage space or performs additional functions such as generation and supply of ice or cold water. For this reason, the distance through which the rear surface of the door is drawn into the refrigerating compartment or the freezing compartment is becoming longer. Accordingly, there may be a problem in that the rear surface of the door and the front end of a shelf or storage box provided in the refrigerating compartment or the freezing compartment interfere with the rear surface of the door.

In order to reduce such interference, the front end of the shelf or storage box may be positioned to be spaced a predetermined distance backward from the front of the main body of the refrigerator. That is, the front end of the shelf or storage box may be positioned to be further spaced apart from the rear of the freezing compartment or the refrigerating compartment. Therefore, when the storage box is provided in the form of a drawer, it may be difficult for a user to grab the front end of the storage box and take it out. In other words, it may be difficult for the user to take out the storage box after putting his or her hand deeper into the storage compartment. In particular, when the storage box is located at the lower part of the refrigerator, it is not very inconvenient to extend a hand in a crouched position to take out the storage box.

When the user opens the door to take out the storage box, imagine that the front end of the storage box (that is, the handle of the storage box) is not directly in front of the user but is located deep in the storage room, this inconvenience can be easily understood.

Meanwhile, a drawer in a conventional refrigerator, particularly a drawer in a freezer compartment, is drawn in and out through a rail. In general, the rail is provided on the side wall of the storage compartment, and the drawer is provided with a rail connection part. The rail connection part is formed in the form of a roller so that the drawer moves back and forth while being inserted into the rail.

However, in this type of drawer, it is not easy to couple the drawer to the rail. In particular, it can be said that it is not an easy task for the user to fit the roller to the rail while holding the drawer in a state in which heavy storage materials are stored in the drawer.

And, if necessary, the drawer may be used after the entire drawer is separated from the refrigerator, instead of storing or taking out the stored items after withdrawing the drawer. In this case, it would not be cumbersome to separate and reconnect the rail connection parts from the rails one by one. Accordingly, unless there is a special circumstance, it can be said that the user knows the necessity of separating the drawer and uses it without separating the drawer.

An object of the present invention is to basically solve the problems of the conventional refrigerator.

An object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator in which a drawer provided in a storage compartment is automatically drawn forward a predetermined length when a user opens a door of the refrigerator. That is, an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator in which a drawer automatically moves from an initial position to an operation position.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, it is an object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator in which the user does not need to apply additional force other than the force to open the door by automatically moving the drawer from the initial position to the operation position through the electric drive unit.

An object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator in which a drawer can automatically return to an initial position from an operation position when a user closes a door of the refrigerator. That is, an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator that can reduce the user's effort to withdraw the drawer from the initial position to the operating position and at the same time reduce the user's effort to draw the drawer from the operating position to the initial position.

An object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator in which a drawer is automatically drawn out by the operation of an electric driving unit and the drawer can be automatically drawn in by the elastic restoring force of a spring.

An object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator that can significantly reduce interference between drawers that move automatically when a door is opened and closed through a sensor that detects a door open (close) angle very accurately. That is, it is an object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator capable of very accurately detecting door opening (closing) at a set angle when a door opening (closing) angle at which interference between a door and a drawer can be minimized is set.

An object of the present invention is to provide a door open detection sensor capable of flexibly responding even when a preset door opening angle is changed according to a product model, and a refrigerator including the same.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator that can be easily applied to a conventional refrigerator and can detect when a door open and a door close detection are at the same angle through a single sensor.

An object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator that can protect the electric drive unit by preventing the configuration for automatically withdrawing the drawer from being exposed inside the storage compartment, and is convenient to use and has a beautiful interior design of the storage compartment through an embodiment of the present invention. .

An object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator capable of moving a plurality of drawers from an initial position to an operation position substantially simultaneously through a single electric driving unit.

An object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator in which automatic drawing in and out of a drawer can be performed with reliability and durability through an embodiment of the present invention. In particular, an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator capable of minimizing damage to an electric drive unit due to overload or repeated use for a long period of time.

Through an embodiment of the present invention, a refrigerator capable of easily assembling components related to these components, such as a drawer automatically drawn out and an electric drive unit for automatically drawing out the drawer, and at the same time being able to easily repair it when necessary. would like to provide

An object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator that allows a plurality of drawers to be automatically drawn out integrally and is easy to manufacture and maintain.

An object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator capable of easily connecting and detaching the drawer to a rail supporting the drawer.

An object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator capable of easily separating and combining only a basket for accommodating storage in a drawer. That is, an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator in which only the basket can be easily separated and recombined while maintaining the connection between the rail and the rail connection part of the drawer.

An object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator capable of minimizing the visible exposure of rails to users.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a control method of a refrigerator capable of minimizing a load on a motor and flexibly responding to various usage environments for a drawer.

In order to achieve the above object, according to an embodiment of the present invention, a cabinet having a storage room; a door rotatably provided in the cabinet to open and close the storage compartment; a sensor for detecting the opening of the door, a drawer provided in the storage compartment, and provided to move from an initial position to an operation position spaced from an initial position forward by a predetermined distance when the opening of the door is detected; a drawer holder elastically deformed when the drawer is moved from the initial position to the operation position, and providing an elastic restoring force so that the drawer moves from the operation position to the initial position; an electric drive unit for moving the drawer from the initial position to the operation position and elastically deforming the drawer holder; In addition, a refrigerator including a rail provided to move the drawer back and forth with respect to the storage compartment may be provided.

The drawer holder preferably includes a hanging member selectively connected to the drawer, and a spring that is elastically deformed or elastically restored according to the moving direction and distance of the hanging member. That is, when the drawer is moved forward in a state in which the hanging member is connected to the drawer, the spring may be elastically deformed. And, when the force pushing the drawer is removed while the hanging member is connected to the drawer, the drawer may be moved backward by elastic restoration of the spring. Accordingly, the forward movement (drawing out) of the drawer is automatically performed by driving the electric driving unit, and the rear movement (drawing in) of the drawer may be automatically performed by the elastic force of the drawer holder.

Preferably, the drawer is provided with a locking member selectively connected to the drawer holder.

The drawer holder may include a housing in which a slot for accommodating the spring and guiding the movement of the hanging member is formed. The housing is provided in a fixed state, and the hanging member moves with respect to the housing. Of course, the hanging member may be provided to move together with the drawer.

The hanging member may be selectively connected to the drawer by protruding in a horizontal direction with respect to the housing.

The electric driving unit may include a motor assembly and a moving frame, and the moving frame may be provided to be movable back and forth between the initial position and the operation position by driving the motor assembly.

The moving frame may include a transmission member that transmits a force to the drawer, and the transmission member pushes the drawer to move the drawer from the initial position to the manipulation position.

The electric driving unit may include a motor assembly and a transmission member moved back and forth by the driving of the motor assembly, and the transmission member may be provided to move the locking member of the drawer forward through the hanging member. Accordingly, automatic withdrawal and automatic withdrawal are possible through one locking member provided in the drawer.

The hanging member may be provided to protrude from the housing of the drawer holder to be connected to the locking member of the drawer, and the transmission member may be provided to push the hanging member in a direction perpendicular to the protruding direction of the hanging member.

Preferably, a seating portion is formed on one side of the hanging member to be seated by contacting the transmission member. Through this, it is possible to transmit a stable force and displacement from the transmission member to the hanging member.

As the transmission member is seated on the seating portion and moves forward, the movement of the transmission member is transmitted to the hanging member, and when the transmission member is separated from the seating portion and moves backward, the transmission member and the hanging member It is preferable that the connection of That is, the transmission member is provided to push the hook member, but not to pull it.

In order to achieve the above object, according to an embodiment of the present invention, a cabinet having a storage room; a door rotatably provided in the cabinet to open and close the storage compartment; a sensor for detecting the opening of the door; a drawer provided in the storage compartment to move from an initial position to an operation position spaced from an initial position forward by a predetermined distance when the opening of the door is sensed, the drawer including a locking member; a drawer holder including a hook member selectively connected to the lock member and a spring elastically deformed or elastically restored by the movement of the lock member; an electric drive unit including a transmission member for pushing the hanging member to move the drawer from the initial position to an operation position and a motor assembly for electrically moving the transmission member; In addition, a refrigerator including a rail provided to move the drawer back and forth with respect to the storage compartment may be provided.

It is preferable that the connection between the holding member and the holding member is maintained in a section between the initial position and the manipulation position. Accordingly, the spring of the drawer holder may be elastically deformed by the withdrawal of the drawer in the section.

As the drawer is further drawn forward from the operating position, the connection between the hooking member and the hooking member is released, and the drawer may be manually drawn out. That is, when the connection between the locking member and the hooking member is released, the withdrawal of the drawer no longer elastically deforms the spring of the drawer holder. And, when the connection is released, the spring is preferably maintained in an elastically deformed state.

In order to move the drawer from the operation position to the initial position, the electric driving unit is preferably driven to move the transmission member rearward. That is, it is preferable that the force pushing the drawer is no longer transmitted to the drawer. Accordingly, as the spring is elastically restored, the hanging member moves the locking member rearward so that the drawer can be returned from the operation position to the initial position.

The drawer holder preferably includes a housing having a slot for accommodating the spring and guiding the movement of the hanging member.

The hanging member may protrude toward the drawer with respect to the housing and may be selectively connected to the drawer.

Preferably, the transmission member is positioned between the housing and the locking member, and is provided to push the hooking member forward from the rear of the hanging member.

The drawer is provided with a plurality of up and down, the transfer member is provided in each of the plurality of drawers, and the electric drive unit is provided to move the plurality of transfer members integrally by driving the motor assembly It may include a moving frame.

In order to achieve the above object, according to an embodiment of the present invention, a cabinet having a storage room; a door rotatably provided in the cabinet to open and close the storage compartment; a magnet provided in the door and provided to rotate with a predetermined rotation radius about the rotation axis of the door as the door is opened; It is provided on the upper or lower part of the magnet so as to be spaced apart from the magnet, and is provided to be fixed with respect to the cabinet regardless of rotation of the door, and effective magnetic force strength for contact switching when the opening angle of the door reaches a preset opening angle A refrigerator including a reed switch having a critical point of may be provided.

The magnet may be provided such that, as the opening angle of the door is varied, a vertical distance from the reed switch is maintained and only a horizontal distance is changed. Accordingly, when the horizontal distance between the reed switch and the magnet deviates from the critical point, the reed switch detects that the door is opened at a preset opening angle.

The magnet may be mounted inside a door decoration forming a lower surface of the door, and the reed switch may be provided under the magnet.

Preferably, the rotation shaft of the door is formed as a vertical axis so that the door is opened and closed by rotating left and right, and is spaced apart from the left or right side of the cabinet in front of the cabinet.

The reed switch may be provided to be spaced apart from the front of the cabinet, and may be provided to be biased toward a left and right center of the cabinet from a rotation axis of the door.

Preferably, the reed switch is provided on a hinge cover that forms a rotation shaft of the door and is formed horizontally with respect to the ground.

It is preferable that the magnet is provided such that a horizontal distance from the reed switch to the reed switch is increased past the vertical upper portion of the reed switch as the opening angle of the door increases.

It is preferable that the opening or closing of the door is sensed by switching the contact of the reed switch. And, it is preferable that the contact switching is performed at the same door opening angle. The door opening angle may be set to approximately 90 degrees. When the door is opened and opened to an angle of 90 degrees, the contact of the reed switch is switched so that the opening of the door can be detected. Thereafter, the door may be further opened. When the door is closed to a 90 degree angle while the door is closed in an open state exceeding 90 degrees, the contact point of the reed switch may be switched to sense the door closing.

The magnet preferably includes a plurality of magnets having different horizontal angles with respect to the reed switch. Through this, errors and deviations between products can be significantly reduced compared to the case of using only one magnet.

Preferably, the magnet includes a horizontal magnet provided to be parallel to a front surface of the cabinet in a longitudinal direction and a vertical magnet provided to be substantially perpendicular to the horizontal magnet in a longitudinal direction based on a state in which the door is closed.

The magnet is a bar magnet, and it is preferable that the length is greater than the height of the magnet in the mounted state.

The reed switch may be provided to have a rectangular shape having a horizontal side and a vertical side. And, it is preferable that the length of the horizontal side of the reed switch is greater than the length of the vertical side. In addition, the length of the horizontal magnet and the vertical magnet is preferably greater than a horizontal side of the reed switch.

Preferably, when the opening angle of the door is 90 degrees, the angle between the horizontal magnet and the horizontal side of the reed switch is substantially 90 degrees.

It is preferable that a rotation radius of the horizontal magnet with respect to the door rotation axis is smaller than a rotation radius of the vertical magnet.

In order to increase the opening angle of the door corresponding to the critical point, the horizontal magnet is mounted so that the distance between the horizontal magnet and the door rotation shaft becomes small, and to decrease the opening angle of the door corresponding to the critical point, the horizontal The horizontal magnet may be mounted to increase a distance between the magnet and the door rotation shaft.

In order to achieve the above object, according to an embodiment of the present invention, a cabinet having a storage room; a door rotatably provided in the cabinet to open and close the storage compartment; A reed switch provided in the door to be fixed with respect to a magnet and the cabinet with a predetermined rotational radius around the rotation axis of the door as the door is opened, the contact of which is switched at the critical point of effective magnetic force strength by the magnet; a sensor for detecting that the door is opened when a preset opening angle of the door is reached; When the opening of the door is sensed, an electric driving unit for moving the drawer from the initial position to the front operation position spaced apart by a predetermined distance; In addition, a refrigerator including a rail provided to move the drawer back and forth with respect to the storage compartment may be provided.

Preferably, the magnet is provided such that a vertical distance from the reed switch is maintained and only a horizontal distance is changed as the opening angle of the door is varied.

Preferably, the magnet is mounted inside the door decoration forming the lower surface of the door, and the reed switch is provided under the magnet.

The magnet preferably includes a plurality of magnets having different horizontal angles with respect to the reed switch.

In order to achieve the above object, according to an embodiment of the present invention, a cabinet having a storage room; a door rotatably provided in the cabinet to open and close the storage compartment; a drawer provided to be movable back and forth in the storage compartment; and a rail for supporting the drawer so as to be movable back and forth with respect to the storage compartment, wherein the drawer includes: a basket for accommodating the storage; In addition, there may be provided a refrigerator including a drawer frame having a basket seating part on which the basket is mounted and a rail coupling part seated on the rail and coupled to the rail. Accordingly, the basket may be easily detachably provided on the drawer frame. In addition, the drawer frame may be easily detachably provided on the rail through the rail coupling part.

Preferably, the basket is vertically downwardly seated on the basket seating portion to be coupled to the drawer frame, and the basket is provided such that coupling with the drawer frame is released while moving vertically upward.

An opening may be formed in a central portion of the drawer frame, and the seating portion may be formed around the opening.

The basket may include a lower basket inserted into the opening and an upper basket seated on the seating portion, and the lower basket and the upper basket may be integrally formed.

Preferably, the rail coupling portion is provided to extend back and forth from both left and right sides of the drawer frame, and the upper basket is formed to have a larger left and right width than the lower basket so as to cover the rail coupling portion from the upper portion. Through this, it is possible to prevent the rail and the rail coupling portion from being visually exposed to the user.

The rail preferably includes a moving rail that moves back and forth integrally with the drawer.

The rail coupling part may be formed in a channel-shaped cross section so that the rail coupling part is seated while surrounding the moving rail.

It is preferable that the rear end of the rail coupling part is hooked to the rear of the moving rail, so that a hooking part for limiting the rear movement and the upper movement of the rail coupling part is formed.

The locking part may be formed so that a rear end of the rail coupling part is inserted.

An elastic protrusion may be provided at the front end of the moving rail, and a mounting hole may be formed at the front end of the rail coupling part to be inserted while the elastic protrusion is elastically deformed and then elastically restored.

In a state in which the rear end of the rail coupling part is inserted into the locking part, as the front end of the rail coupling part moves downward, the elastic protrusion may be elastically deformed and then inserted into the mounting hole and coupled thereto.

That is, after the front of the rail coupling part is positioned higher than the rear, the rear end of the rail coupling part may be inserted into the engaging part first. Through this, left and right and front and rear positions of the rail coupling part coupled to the rail may be tentatively determined. Thereafter, the front of the rail coupling portion may be moved downward. When the front of the rail coupling part moves downward, the elastic protrusion is inserted into the mounting hole. Thereby, left and right front and rear support points of the rail coupling part may be formed. Accordingly, the rail coupling portion can be coupled to the rail very easily. Conversely, the user may press the elastic protrusions located on the left and right, respectively. Then, the front of the rail coupling portion can be lifted upward while pressing the elastic protrusion. Through this, the coupling between the front of the rail coupling part and the rail is released. Thereafter, the user may lift the entire rail engaging portion upward after pulling the rail engaging portion forward. Accordingly, the rail coupling portion may be completely separated from the rail.

Meanwhile, the drawer frame in which the rail coupling part is formed may be easily separated from the basket as described above. Accordingly, the user may first couple the drawer frame to the rail coupling portion and then combine the drawer frame and the basket. Of course, the separation order can be performed in reverse. The weight of the drawer itself may be significant in a state in which the storage material is stored in the basket. Therefore, it is difficult to separate or combine the entire drawer from the rail at once. However, since the basket and the drawer frame can be easily separated and coupled, it becomes very easy to couple the drawer to or from the rail.

Preferably, the moving rail is provided on both sides of the drawer, and the drawer frame is fixed to the moving rail through four front and rear, left and right support points by the elastic protrusion and the engaging part.

Preferably, the rail includes a fixed rail provided under the moving rail and fixed in the storage compartment, and the moving rail is slidably provided with respect to the fixed rail.

The drawer preferably includes a drawer decoration provided to extend left and right in the lower front of the basket so as to cover the rail coupling portion from the front of the drawer. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the rail and the rail coupling portion from being visually exposed to the user through the drawer decoration.

Specifically, the basket covers the upper portion of the rail and the rail coupling portion, and the drawer decor covers the front portion.

In order to achieve the above object, according to an embodiment of the present invention, a cabinet having a storage room; a door rotatably provided in the cabinet to open and close the storage compartment; a drawer provided to be movable back and forth in the storage compartment, the drawer including a drawer frame having a basket for accommodating the storage and a rail coupling part; and a rail coupled to the rail coupling part to support the drawer so as to be movable back and forth with respect to the storage compartment, wherein the rail coupling part is seated from the upper part of the rail to the lower part and is formed in a channel shape to surround the rail, , A refrigerator may be provided, wherein a locking part into which the rear end of the rail coupling part is inserted is formed at the rear of the rail, and an elastic protrusion inserted into a mounting hole provided at the front end of the rail coupling part is formed at the front of the rail. have.

Preferably, the rail includes a moving rail and a fixed rail slidably supporting the moving rail from a lower portion of the moving rail, and the rail coupling portion is coupled to the moving rail.

Preferably, the mounting hole is formed in a side flange covering the outer surface of the moving rail, and the elastic protrusion is elastically deformed in the left and right central directions of the drawer, and then restored and inserted into the mounting hole.

An elastic protrusion bracket for forming the elastic protrusion on the fixed rail is mounted at the front end of the fixed rail, and a cutout is formed between the elastic protrusion bracket and the elastic protrusion to allow elastic deformation of the elastic protrusion. . Therefore, the structure of the elastic protrusion bracket or the elastic protrusion can be very simple because the elasticity of the structure itself is used.

In order to be easily mounted in the mounting hole or to be easily separated from the mounting hole, the elastic protrusion is preferably formed in a round shape.

Preferably, the rail includes a rail bracket for fixing the fixing rail to a side wall of the storage compartment.

Preferably, the rail bracket includes a front rail bracket and a rear rail bracket which are respectively provided at a predetermined distance before and after the fixed rail. Accordingly, it is possible to stably support the rail. Through this, the drawer can also be stably supported.

The drawer frame is provided with a locking member protruding toward the side wall of the storage chamber, and a transmission member protruding toward the drawer frame from the side wall of the storage chamber to push the locking member from the rear of the locking member is formed. can be That is, the transmission member may be provided to move back and forth.

By moving the locking member through the movement of the transfer member, an electric driving unit for moving the drawer forward by a predetermined distance from the initial position to the operation position may be provided. That is, the transmission member may be moved back and forth by the driving of the electric driving unit.

The forward and backward movement of the transmission member may be interfered with by the front rail bracket and the rear rail bracket. Therefore, it is preferable that the transmission member and the locking member are provided to move between the front rail bracket and the rear rail bracket in a section between the initial position and the operation position of the drawer.

In order to achieve the above object, according to an embodiment of the present invention, a cabinet having a storage room; a door rotatably provided in the cabinet to open and close the storage compartment; a sensor for detecting the opening of the door; a drawer provided to be movable back and forth in the storage compartment and including a drawer frame having a basket for accommodating the storage, a rail coupling part, and a locking member protruding in the direction of a side wall of the storage compartment; a rail coupled to the rail coupling part to support the drawer so as to be movable back and forth with respect to the storage compartment, the rail being supported on the side wall of the storage compartment through a front rail bracket and a rear rail bracket; And it includes a transmission member formed to protrude toward the drawer frame from the side wall of the storage compartment, and when the opening of the door is sensed, the locking member is moved through the movement of the transmission member to move the drawer forward from the initial position. and an electric driving unit for moving to an operation position spaced apart by a predetermined distance, wherein the transmission member is a section between the initial position of the drawer and the operation position in order to avoid interference between the front rail bracket and the rear rail bracket In the present invention, there may be provided a refrigerator characterized in that it is provided to move between the front rail bracket and the rear rail bracket.

In order to achieve the above object, according to an embodiment of the present invention, a cabinet having a storage room; a door rotatably provided in the cabinet to open and close the storage compartment; a drawer provided in the storage compartment and including a locking member; a sensor for detecting the opening of the door; In addition, there may be provided a refrigerator including a moving assembly coupled to the drawer to support the drawer to be movable back and forth with respect to the storage compartment and integrally coupled to and separated from the right or left sidewall of the storage compartment.

The moving assembly may include: a support frame provided to be coupled to the sidewall; a motor assembly mounted on an inner surface of the support frame facing the sidewall; a rail mounted on the outer surface of the support frame to support the drawer so as to be movable back and forth; and a transmission member mounted on the support frame to move forward and backward by driving the motor assembly in a space between the side wall and the support frame, and configured to penetrate the support frame and push the locking member from the rear. It may include a frame. Accordingly, the support frame, the motor assembly, the rail, and the entire moving frame may be detachably provided on the sidewall integrally through the support frame.

The side wall is a partition wall that partitions the storage compartment to the left and right, respectively, and the moving assembly may be mounted on at least one of a left side or a right side of the side wall.

It is preferable that a penetration portion through which at least a portion of the motor assembly passes is formed in the partition wall.

When the moving assemblies are mounted on the left and right sides of the partition wall, it is preferable that the through portion is formed such that the motor assembly on one side and the motor assembly on the other side pass through the through portion and are vertically disposed. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent an increase in the thickness of the partition wall due to the motor assembly. This means that it is possible to prevent a reduction in the storage space due to an increase in the thickness of the partition wall.

Preferably, the support frame is provided to cover the through portion as it is coupled to the partition wall.

An opening for extending an electric wire through the partition wall may be formed in the partition wall.

It is preferable that a wire penetrating part for extending the electric wire to the motor assembly is formed in the partition wall, and a connection part or a wire coupling part for connection with the motor assembly is provided at an end of the electric wire.

Accordingly, after the motor assembly is connected through the wire coupling part, the moving assembly may be integrally coupled to the sidewall or the partition wall. Conversely, after the moving assembly is integrally separated from the sidewall or the partition wall, the connection of the motor assembly may be separated through the wire coupling part. Thereafter, the moving assembly may be completely separated from the sidewall or the partition wall.

A plurality of fastening parts may be formed on the support frame, and a plurality of fastening parts respectively corresponding to the support parts of the support frame may be formed on the sidewall.

A motor avoidance groove for accommodating at least a part of the motor of the motor assembly may be formed in the support frame. Through the motor avoidance groove, it is possible to prevent an increase in the overall thickness of the partition wall or an increase in the volume in which the entire support frame protrudes into the storage compartment. This means that it is possible to minimize the reduction of the space of the storage room.

The drawer is provided with a plurality of up and down, and the rail is provided with a plurality of up and down to support the plurality of rails, and the motor avoidance groove is formed between a specific rail and a rail positioned above or below the specific rail. desirable.

It is preferable that the support frame has slits formed back and forth to guide the movement of the transmission member, and the transmission member is provided to penetrate the slit from the inside to the outside of the support frame.

Preferably, the rail is mounted to the support frame through a front rail bracket and a rear rail bracket, and the slit is formed between the front rail bracket and the rear rail bracket.

The moving assembly includes a drawer holder that is elastically deformed when the drawer is drawn out, and provides an elastic restoring force to the drawer when the drawer is drawn in, and the drawer holder is mounted on the outer surface of the support frame. It is preferable to be

The drawer holder may include: a housing having a slot formed in a longitudinal direction and provided with a spring; It moves along the slot to generate elastic deformation and elastic restoration of the spring, and preferably includes a hanging member selectively connected to the drawer.

The drawer, a basket for accommodating the storage; And it is preferable to include a rail coupling portion formed in a channel shape so as to be seated from the upper portion of the rail to the lower portion to surround the rail.

Preferably, a locking part into which the rear end of the rail coupling part is inserted is formed at the rear of the rail, and an elastic protrusion inserted into a mounting hole provided at the front end of the rail coupling part is formed in the front of the rail.

The drawer preferably includes a drawer frame provided with a basket seating portion on which the basket is mounted and the rail coupling portion.

The locking member is preferably formed to protrude from the drawer frame toward the side wall of the storage compartment.

In order to achieve the above object, according to an embodiment of the present invention, a cabinet having a storage room; a door rotatably provided in the cabinet to open and close the storage compartment; a drawer provided in the storage compartment and including a locking member; a sensor detecting the opening of the door; and a moving assembly coupled to the drawer to support the drawer to be movable back and forth with respect to the storage compartment and integrally coupled to and separated from the right or left sidewall of the storage compartment, wherein the moving assembly comprises: a support frame provided to be coupled to the sidewall and having slits formed in front and back; a motor assembly mounted on an inner surface of the support frame facing the sidewall; a rail mounted on the outer surface of the support frame to support the drawer so as to be movable back and forth; and a transmission member mounted on the support frame to move back and forth by driving the motor assembly in a space between the side wall and the support frame, and configured to pass through the slit to push the locking member from the rear. A refrigerator comprising a may be provided.

It is preferable that a wire through portion for extending the electric wire to the motor assembly is formed in the partition wall, and a connection portion for connection with the motor assembly is provided at an end of the electric wire.

In order to achieve the above object, according to an embodiment of the present invention, a motor, a drawer provided to be movable back and forth in a storage room provided in a cabinet, and the drawer by driving the motor to push the drawer to the initial stage A control method of a refrigerator including a transfer member for automatically withdrawing from a position to an operation position, the method comprising: determining a condition for automatically withdrawing the drawer in a standby state; When the condition is satisfied in the determination step, a withdrawal step of driving the motor in one direction to move the transmission member forward to perform the drawer withdrawal to the operation position; a stopping step of stopping the drawing of the drawer by maintaining one-way driving of the motor after the drawing out step; And after the stopping step, the control method of the refrigerator including a return step of driving the motor in the reverse direction to return the transmission member to the rear may be provided.

In the stopping step, the drawer is stopped at the operating position. However, unidirectional driving of the motor is maintained. That is, the force pushing the drawer is maintained. That is, in a state in which the one-way driving of the motor is maintained, it is possible to prevent the drawer from being automatically retracted. In other words, it is possible to prevent the drawer from being automatically drawn in even when the user tries to further withdraw the drawer in a state in which the drawer is automatically drawn out to the operation position.

When power is applied to the refrigerator, it is preferable to include an initial step of moving the transmission member to the initial position by driving the motor in a reverse direction to start the standby state. That is, it is preferable that the initialization step is performed. This is because, in a state in which the refrigerator is provided to the user, the transfer member may be located at a different location than the initial position.

In the initial stage, the motor is preferably driven in the reverse direction until a signal is generated from the first Hall sensor detecting the initial position or until a predetermined time is reached.

Preferably, when the driving of the motor is stopped in the initial step, a standby state for performing the determination step is started.

In the initial stage, when a signal is generated from the second hall sensor for detecting the manipulation position or the motor is driven until the predetermined time is reached, a notification step of notifying that the operation is abnormal is preferably performed.

In the withdrawing step, the motor is preferably driven until a signal is generated from the second Hall sensor that detects the manipulation position or until the predetermined time is reached.

The motor is a brushless DC (BLDC) motor, and in the drawing step, a signal (FG, Frequency Generator) generated when the motor is rotated is calculated and a duty ratio for driving the motor is changed according to the calculated FG. Control is preferred. The calculation of the FG is preferably performed every predetermined time. For example, it may be performed every 100 ms (milliseconds). In addition, as the calculated FG is larger, it is preferable to control the duty ratio to be larger.

During the withdrawal step, when the calculated FG is smaller than the obstacle FG corresponding to the obstacle preventing the drawer from being drawn out, it is preferable that the returning step is performed without the stopping step.

In the withdrawal step, when a signal is generated from the first Hall sensor detecting the initial position of the motor or the motor is driven until the predetermined time is reached, a notification step of notifying that the operation is abnormal is preferably performed .

The stopping step is preferably performed for a predetermined time with a minimum duty ratio among duty ratios for driving the motor.

Preferably, FG is calculated in the stopping step, and when the FG calculated during the stopping step is smaller than a predetermined FG, the returning step is performed.

Preferably, the returning step includes stopping the driving of the motor for a predetermined time.

In the returning step, it is preferable that the motor is driven in the reverse direction until a signal is generated from the first Hall sensor for detecting the initial position or until a predetermined time is reached, so that the driving of the motor is stopped.

In the return step, when a signal is generated from the second hall sensor for detecting the manipulation position or the motor is driven until the predetermined time is reached, a notification step of notifying that the operation is abnormal is preferably performed.

Preferably, the driving of the motor is stopped and the motor is switched to the standby state.

The refrigerator includes a door for opening and closing the storage compartment, and a sensor for detecting the opening of the door when the opening angle of the door is a predetermined opening angle, and the condition for automatically withdrawing the drawer is that the door is opened through the sensor. It is desirable to include the generation of a signal.

The refrigerator includes a door switch that detects whether the door is opened or closed based on whether the door and the cabinet are in close contact,

Preferably, the condition for automatically withdrawing the drawer further includes detecting a door opening through the door switch.

When the closing of the door is sensed through the sensor during the withdrawal step or the stopping step, the emergency return step of stopping the taking out step or stopping step and driving the motor in the reverse direction to return the transmission member to the rear is performed This is preferable.

When the emergency return step is started, if the motor is driven in one direction, it is preferable to stop the driving of the motor for a predetermined time and then drive the motor in the reverse direction.

Features of each of the above-described embodiments may be implemented in combination in other embodiments.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a refrigerator in which the drawer provided in the storage compartment is automatically drawn forward by a predetermined length when the user opens the door of the refrigerator. That is, it is possible to provide a refrigerator in which the drawer automatically moves from the initial position to the operation position.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a refrigerator in which the user does not need to apply additional force other than the force to open the door by automatically moving the drawer from the initial position to the operation position through the electric drive unit. .

According to one embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a refrigerator in which the drawer can automatically return to the initial position from the operation position when the user closes the door of the refrigerator. That is, it is possible to provide a refrigerator that can reduce the user's effort to withdraw the drawer from the initial position to the operation position and at the same time reduce the user's effort to draw the drawer from the operation position to the initial position.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a refrigerator in which the drawer is automatically drawn out by the operation of the electric driving unit and the drawer is automatically drawn in by the elastic restoring force of the spring.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a refrigerator that can significantly reduce interference between drawers that move automatically when a door is opened and closed through a sensor that detects a door opening (closing) angle very accurately. That is, if a door opening (closing) angle at which the interference between the door and the drawer can be minimized is set, it is possible to provide a refrigerator capable of detecting the door opening (closing) very accurately at the set angle.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a door open detection sensor capable of flexibly responding even when a preset door opening angle is changed according to a product model, and a refrigerator including the same.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator that can be easily applied to a conventional refrigerator and can detect when a door open and a door close detection are at the same angle through a single sensor.

Through one embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a refrigerator having a convenient and beautiful interior design of the storage compartment by preventing the configuration for automatically withdrawing the drawer from being exposed to the inside of the storage compartment, thereby protecting the electric driving unit. have.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a refrigerator capable of moving a plurality of drawers from an initial position to an operation position at substantially the same time through a single electric driving unit.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a refrigerator in which automatic drawing-in and withdrawal of the drawer can be performed with reliability and durability. In particular, it is possible to provide a refrigerator capable of minimizing damage to the electric drive unit due to overload or repeated use for a long period of time.

Through an embodiment of the present invention, a refrigerator capable of easily assembling components related to these components, such as a drawer automatically drawn out and an electric drive unit for automatically drawing out the drawer, and at the same time being able to easily repair it when necessary. can provide

According to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a refrigerator that allows a plurality of drawers to be automatically drawn out integrally and is easy to manufacture and maintain.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a refrigerator capable of easily connecting and detaching the drawer to a rail supporting the drawer.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a refrigerator capable of easily separating and combining only the basket for accommodating the storage in the drawer. That is, it is possible to provide a refrigerator in which only the basket can be easily separated and recombined while maintaining the connection between the rail and the rail connection part of the drawer.

Through an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a refrigerator capable of minimizing the visible exposure of the rail to the user.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a control method of a refrigerator capable of minimizing the load on the motor and flexibly responding to various usage environments for the drawer.

1 is a front view of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 2 shows a lower storage compartment portion of the refrigerator shown in Figure 1,
3 shows an embodiment of the sensor shown in FIG. 2 and a mounting state of the sensor;
Figure 4 shows another embodiment of the sensor shown in Figure 2 and the mounting state of the sensor,
5 is an exploded view of the side wall and the moving assembly shown in FIG. 2;
Figure 6 shows a state in which the rail and the drawer holder are mounted to the support frame in the moving assembly shown in Figure 5,
Figure 7 shows the initial positions of the motor assembly and the moving frame in the moving assembly shown in Figure 5,
Figure 8 shows the operation positions of the motor assembly and the moving frame in the moving assembly shown in Figure 5,
9 shows an enlarged cross-section of a connection part between the drawer and the moving assembly;
10 shows a side view of the drawer, in particular the connecting part of the drawer frame and the moving assembly,
11 shows the connection relationship between the drawer and the drawer holder according to the draw-out (in-in) distance of the drawer,
12 shows another embodiment of a moving assembly;
Figure 13 shows the position and connection relationship of the locking member of the drawer, the hooking member of the drawer holder, and the transmission member in the operating position in the embodiment shown in Figure 12,
Figure 14 shows the position and connection relationship of the locking member, the hooking member and the transmission member in a state in which the drawer is further drawn out from the operation position in the embodiment shown in Figure 12;
15 shows a drawer applicable to an embodiment of the present invention;
16 shows a rail applicable to an embodiment of the present invention,
17 shows a state in which the drawer shown in FIG. 15 is combined with the rail shown in FIG. 16;
18 shows a state in which the front end of the drawer shown in FIG. 15 is combined with the front end of the rail shown in FIG. 16;
19 is a block diagram of a control configuration applicable to an embodiment of the present invention;
20 to 26 are flowcharts of respective steps in a control method applicable to an embodiment of the present invention.

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

1 shows a front side of a refrigerator 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. An example of a four-door refrigerator having a refrigerating compartment 11 at an upper portion and freezing compartments 12 and 13 at the lower portion is shown. For convenience, the left and right doors of the upper refrigerating compartment are omitted, and the left door of the lower freezing compartment is omitted, so that only the right door 20 of the lower refrigerating compartment is shown. Of course, this embodiment can be applied not only to this type of refrigerator but also to a side-by-side type refrigerator. That is, if the refrigerator is provided with a door that opens and closes the storage compartment and a drawer that moves back and forth in the storage compartment, the present embodiment may be applied.

The refrigerator includes a cabinet 10 having storage compartments 11 , 12 , and 13 , and a door 20 rotatably provided in the cabinet to open and close the storage compartment. As described above, if there are a plurality of storage compartments, a plurality of doors may be provided corresponding thereto.

The refrigerating compartment 11 and the freezing compartments 12 and 13 may be partitioned from each other through the horizontal partition wall 14 . In addition, the left freezing compartment 12 and the right freezing compartment 13 may be partitioned from each other through separate side walls or partition walls 16 . The partition wall 16 may be referred to as a vertical partition wall for convenience. The refrigerating compartment 11 , the left freezing compartment 12 , and the right freezing compartment 13 may be opened and closed by individual doors, respectively.

The storage compartments 11 , 12 , and 13 , in particular the freezing compartments 12 and 13 , may be provided with a drawer 30 including a basket 31 for accommodating stored items. A plurality of drawers 30 may be provided vertically. 1 shows an example in which three drawers 30a, 30b, and 30c are provided in the right and left freezer compartments, respectively. Of course, the present embodiment may be applied to a case in which a drawer is provided in the refrigerating compartment as well as the freezing compartment. In addition, one or two drawers in one door may be automatically interlocked with one door, and four or more drawers may be automatically interlocked with one door.

In this embodiment, it is intended to provide a refrigerator in which the drawer 30 can be automatically moved for the convenience of the user by interlocking with the opening and/or opening and closing of the door 20 . For example, as the right freezer compartment 13 is opened or closed through the door 20 , a refrigerator can be provided in which the drawer 30 provided in the right freezer compartment 13 can automatically move. Of course, such automatic movement of the drawer may be applied only to one of the two freezer compartments 12 and 13, and may be applied to both. In addition, it may be applied to a refrigerator compartment other than a freezer compartment.

FIG. 2 shows only the lower freezer compartments 12 and 13 in the refrigerator shown in FIG. 1 . The omitted left freezer compartment door can be said to be in a closed state, and the right freezer compartment door 20 is in an open state.

As shown, the drawer 30 provided in the left freezer compartment can be said to be more drawn into the storage compartment than the drawer provided in the right freezer compartment. That is, based on the figure shown in FIG. 2 , the position of the drawer 30 provided in the left freezing compartment may be referred to as an initial position, and the position of the drawer 30 provided in the right freezing compartment may be referred to as an operation position.

In other words, it can be said that the drawer 30 in a state in which the door 20 is closed is located at the initial position, and the drawer 30 in a state in which the door 20 is open is located in the operation position. .

As described above, storage boxes or baskets 25 are provided on the rear surface of the door 20 , and a separate door storage area 21 may be formed through this. In order to exclude interference between the door 20 and the drawer 30 and the basket 25 provided in the door 20, in particular, the drawer is retracted to the initial position when the door 20 is closed. When the user opens the door 20 to take out the stored material, the drawer 30 moves from the initial position to the forwardly operated position so that the user can more easily withdraw the drawer. Accordingly, since the front end or the handle 35 of the drawer is moved to a position closer to the user, the user can more easily withdraw the drawer.

That is, the initial position may be a position of the drawer in a state in which the drawer is substantially moved to the inside of the storage chamber, and the operation position may be a position spaced apart by a predetermined distance forward from the initial position. In this operation position, the user does not need to put his or her hand deep into the storage compartment to hold the handle 35 , so that the drawer 30 can be operated very conveniently. On the other hand, the operation position may be referred to as a standby position. This is because, on the side of the drawer, it may be a position waiting to receive a user's manipulation.

As shown in Fig. 2, it is preferable that the drawer 30 does not deviate from the opening 17 of the storage compartment even in the operating position. That is, even if the door 20 is opened, it is preferable that the drawer 30, particularly the front end or the handle 35 of the drawer, is located behind the opening 17 . That is, it is still preferable that the drawer 30 is located inside the storage compartment. This is because opening the door 20 by the user may not necessarily mean using or withdrawing the drawer 30 . This is because, for example, the door 20 may be opened to use the door storage area 21 . In addition, when there are a plurality of drawers 30 , since only a specific drawer can be withdrawn, the drawer 30 that will not be drawn out to the outside of the storage chamber only causes cold air loss.

As will be described later, embodiments of the present invention may provide a refrigerator in which the drawer is automatically moved according to the user's door opening shape, particularly, the door opening angle. Through this, it is possible to prevent the drawer from being moved unnecessarily, thereby reducing cold air loss and energy loss. In addition, it is possible to provide a refrigerator in which interference between the drawer and the door can be minimized.

Also, when the door is opened, the cold air in the storage room is basically lost. And, as the drawer is withdrawn, the cold air inside the basket of the drawer is also lost. That is, as the withdrawal length of the drawer increases, the loss of cold air inside the basket is accelerated. In particular, when the drawer is drawn out more forward than the opening, the loss of cold air may be further accelerated. Therefore, in order to minimize the loss of cool air inside the basket at the operating position, it is preferable that the drawer 30 does not leave the inside of the storage compartment even at the operating position of the drawer.

The manipulation position may be, for example, a position moved approximately 120 mm forward from the initial position. Of course, the interval between the manipulation position and the initial position may be set differently depending on the shape of the refrigerator, the position of the drawer, the distance at which the storage area 21 of the door is drawn into the storage compartment, and the capacity of the refrigerator. However, it is preferable that the operation position is a position where the front end of the drawer or the handle 35 does not deviate from the opening 17 of the storage compartment. That is, it is preferable that the front end or the handle be positioned inside the opening without departing from the opening.

The present embodiment can be said to be related to a refrigerator in which a drawer provided in the storage compartment is automatically moved (withdrawn) from an initial position to an operation position when the door 20 for opening and closing the storage compartment is opened. Accordingly, the refrigerator according to the present embodiment includes an electric driving unit 150 (refer to FIG. 5) for moving the drawer, and includes a sensor 40 (refer to FIG. 3) for detecting a condition in which the electric driving unit is driven. desirable.

Specifically, the sensor 40 is a sensor provided to detect the opening of the door 20, and when the sensor 40 detects the opening of the door 20, the electric drive unit 10 operates to operate the The lower 30 is moved from the initial position to the operation position.

The door 20 may be a swing-type door that is opened and closed by rotating about a substantially vertical axis. That is, if a state in which the door 20 completely blocks the opening 17 is defined as a 0 degree angle, the door 20 may be opened by rotating it to exceed 90 degrees.

Here, when the door 20 slightly deviates from the opening 17, it can be said that the door is in an open state when viewed broadly. For example, when the close contact between the door 20 and the opening 17 is released, it can be said that the door is opened. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 2 , when the close contact between the gasket 22 provided on the rear surface of the door 20 and the cabinet 10 is released, the door 20 may be said to be opened. Accordingly, in such a state, a loss of cold air may inevitably occur.

In order to detect whether the door 20 and the cabinet 10 are in close contact, a door switch to be described later may be provided. The door switch may be provided to interlock with the operation of a lighting device provided in the storage compartment. That is, when it is determined that the close contact between the door 20 and the cabinet 10 is released through the door switch, the lighting device may be controlled to turn on. In addition, when the close contact between the door 20 and the cabinet 10 is performed through the door switch after the lighting device is turned on, the lighting device may be controlled to increase in size. Accordingly, the door switch detects whether the door is opened or closed through a relatively very small opening angle. In general, such a door switch may be formed to have a mechanically swinging structure according to the separation distance between the door and the cabinet.

Details of the door switch and the lighting device will be described later.

However, the opening of the door in the present embodiment can be said to be on the premise that the drawer is drawn out as described above. That is, when the user opens the door 20 on the premise that the drawer is drawn out and used, it is preferable that the drawer is moved to the operation position. Therefore, it can be said that the opening angle of the door for detecting the opening of the door is very important. In addition, it can be said that the opening angle of the door for drawing out the drawer is relatively much larger than the opening angle of the door detected by the above-described door switch.

For example, when a user attempts to withdraw only the stored material accommodated in the door storage area 21 on the rear surface of the door 20, the door may be opened only at an angle of 40 to 50 degrees. In this case, it may be preferable that the drawer continues to be in the initial position. Of course, it can be said that the door switch is in a state where it is determined that the door is open.

When a user withdraws the drawer and wants to use it, the user generally knows empirically that the door must be opened more than 90 degrees. This is because, at a door opening angle of 90 degrees or less, the drawer is caught in the basket 25 on the rear surface of the door before the drawer is completely drawn out. In general, in order for the drawer to be completely withdrawn without interference with the door, the door must be opened, for example, by 100 degrees or more.

Accordingly, it is preferable that the opening angle of the door for automatic movement of the drawer is substantially 80 degrees or more, and more preferably about 90 degrees front and rear angle. That is, it is preferable that the opening of the door is sensed at such an angle so that the electric driving unit is driven. This is to consider that it takes a certain amount of time for the drawer to move to the operation position. That is, the angle at which the door opening is sensed is preferably smaller than the opening angle of the door at which the interference between the drawer and the door is completely excluded. Of course, the angle at which the opening of the door is sensed and the drawer automatically starts to move is preferably determined so that the door and the drawer at the operating position do not interfere with each other.

Meanwhile, the opening angle of the door for automatic movement of the drawer may be an angle that does not interfere with the rear basket 25 of the door while the drawer is withdrawn to the operating position. As shown in FIG. 2 , the basket 25 may protrude in a direction perpendicular to the rear surface of the door. Accordingly, in a state in which the door is opened by 90 degrees, the basket 25 is positioned outside the opening 17 . This means that the drawer 30 does not interfere with the basket 25 until the drawer is drawn out to the opening 17 . Of course, when the drawer is further drawn out in a state in which the door is opened 90 degrees, interference between the drawer 30 and the basket 25 may occur. Accordingly, it has been described above that the opening angle of the door must be further increased in order to completely withdraw the drawer.

For this reason, it is preferable that the sensor 40 is a sensor capable of accurately detecting a predetermined door opening angle for the door 20 to take out the drawer. To this end, the sensor 40 preferably includes a magnet 42 and a reed switch 41 (reed switch). Of course, only the reed switch 41 may be referred to as a sensor, and the reed switch may sense a preset door opening angle through the magnet 42 .

As the distance between the reed switch 41 and the magnet 42 is varied, the strength of the magnetic force applied to the reed switch is varied. That is, the specific separation distance between the reed switch 41 and the magnet 42 , that is, the distance at which the contact point of the reed switch 41 is changed, can be predicted relatively accurately by varying the magnetic force of the magnet 42 itself.

3 shows the positional relationship between the reed switch 41 and the magnet 42 in one embodiment for the sensor 40 . Specifically, FIG. 3 shows a state in which the door 20 is opened at an angle of 90 degrees. That is, the door 20 is rotated 90 degrees with respect to the hinge cover 45 positioned near the leg 2 fixed to the ground and opened is shown. 3 is a view looking upward from the ground.

The reed switch may be located on the hinge cover 45 , and the magnet 42 may be provided under the door 20 . Specifically, the magnet 42 may be provided on the cap decoration 24 of the door 20 . Of course, the reed switch may be positioned on the door 20 and the magnet 42 may be positioned on the hinge cover. However, since a contact is formed and a configuration for transmitting a door open signal or a closing signal to the outside is a reed switch, the reed switch is preferably located in a fixed configuration, that is, the hinge cover 45 .

Since the door 20 rotates based on the hinge axis 23 , that is, the rotation axis of the door, the vertical separation distance between the reed switch 41 and the magnet 42 is the same regardless of the opening angle of the door 20 . However, as the opening angle of the door 20 is changed, the horizontal distance between the reed switch 41 and the magnet 42 is changed. That is, the magnet 42 rotates with the same radius based on the hinge shaft 23 , and the horizontal distance from the magnet 42 varies according to the rotation angle at this time.

When the door 20 is closed, the magnet 42 is located near the reed switch 41 . Accordingly, when the door 20 is closed, the magnetic force of the magnet 42 may affect the reed switch 41 . And, as the opening angle of the door 20 increases, the magnet 42 approaches the reed switch to the maximum and then moves away from the reed switch again. That is, as the opening angle of the door 20 increases, the magnetic force of the magnet 42 does not affect the reed switch 42 . Therefore, for example, when the opening angle of the door 20 reaches a 90 degree angle, the contact point of the reed switch 41 may be changed. This change of the contact of the reed switch 41 can be said to be the generation of the door open on (on) signal. That is, when the door is opened to a preset angle, it is possible to detect this as the door opening. In other words, in the section between the door 20 is closed and the opening angle (for example, 90 degrees) is less than the magnetic force of the magnet 42 affects the reed switch 42, so that the contact of the reed switch 41 is maintained, and when the opening angle is reached, the magnetic force of the magnet 42 no longer affects the reed switch 42, so that the contact of the reed switch 41 is changed.

In other words, when the opening angle of the door reaches a preset opening angle, the reed switch has a critical point of effective magnetic force strength for contact switching. That is, when the critical point is reached, the contact of the reed switch is switched, which can be said to detect that the door is opened.

Accordingly, by implementing a sensor that detects the opening of the door through the reed switch 41 and the magnet 42 , it is possible to generate a door open on signal at a desired door opening angle (a preset angle).

As described above, when the door is opened and the door opening angle is reached, the magnetic force of the magnet 42 does not affect the reed switch 41 . That is, the threshold is exceeded. On the contrary, when the door is closed while the door is opened exceeding the door opening angle, the magnetic force of the magnet 42 affects the reed switch 41 when the door opening angle is reached. Accordingly, the door opening angle for detecting the door open and the door closing angle for detecting the closing of the door may be set to be the same. In addition, the opening of the door and the closing of the door can be detected through the same angle through one sensor 40 .

In other words, the sensor 40 may perform door open detection and door closing detection through the same angle. For example, after the door opening is sensed at the same angle, the subsequent detection of the same angle may be referred to as door closing detection. Also, the same angle after door closing detection may be referred to as door open detection.

This is because, as described above, interference between the door and the drawer needs to be excluded not only when the door is opened but also when the door is closed. That is, as will be described later, even when the drawer is automatically retracted, it can be said that the drawer is automatically retracted in advance before the door interferes with the drawer.

However, as shown in FIG. 3 , when one magnet 42 is used, a problem in that a predetermined opening angle of the door is different for each product may occur. For example, when one magnet 42 and the reed switch 41 are mounted by setting the opening angle of the door to 90 degrees, a deviation in the opening angle of the door may occur for each product. That is, some products detect an opening angle of 85 degrees, some products detect an opening angle of 90 degrees, and some products detect an opening angle of 95 degrees, so a detection deviation may occur for each product. Such deviation may be caused by various causes, such as deviation in magnetic force of the magnet 42 , deviation in mounting of the magnet 42 and the lease switch 41 .

In addition, when one magnet 42 is used, it is not easy to change the opening angle of the door. This is because, for each product model, an opening angle of 90 degrees may be preferable for a specific model, but an opening angle of 85 degrees may be preferable for other specific models.

Therefore, it can be said that it is desirable to provide the sensor 40 capable of flexibly changing the opening angle of the door while reducing the deviation in the preset opening angle of the door. The present applicant intends to provide a sensor 40 using a plurality of magnets in order to solve the problem of the sensor 40 implemented through one magnet 42 .

Hereinafter, another embodiment of the sensor 40 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 4 . Basically, this embodiment is very similar to the embodiment described above. However, in this embodiment, a plurality of magnets may be provided, unlike the above-described embodiment.

Also in this embodiment, the reed switch may be located on the hinge cover 45 , and the plurality of magnets 42 may be provided on the cap decoration 24 of the door 20 . The cap decoration 24 may be said to be a configuration for forming the lower surface of the door 20 . Accordingly, the magnet 42 is positioned inside the door 20 .

The reed switch 41 may be provided to be fixed with respect to the cabinet 10 . For example, it may be provided on the hinge cover 45 protruding from the front of the cabinet 10 . In addition, the door 20 , particularly the cap decoration 24 , has a predetermined vertical gap at the upper portion of the hinge cover 45 , and is opened and closed based on the hinge shaft 23 .

The magnet 42 may include a horizontal magnet 42a and a vertical magnet 42b. The horizontal magnet 42a is a magnet provided parallel to the front side of the door 20 or the front side of the cabinet 10, and the vertical magnet 42b is a magnet positioned substantially perpendicular to the horizontal magnet 42a. can do.

When the door 20 is closed, the horizontal magnet 42a may be positioned to be parallel to one surface of the reed switch 41 . The reed switch 41 may be provided in a rectangular shape, and the horizontal magnet 42a may be positioned parallel to a horizontal side of the reed switch 41 . In addition, the vertical magnet 42b may be positioned to be parallel to a vertical side of the reed switch 41 . A horizontal side of the reed switch may be formed to be larger than a vertical side of the reed switch.

In addition, the horizontal magnet 42a and the vertical magnet 42b are rod-shaped magnets, and may be formed to have a length greater than a height based on a vertical cross-section shown in FIG. 4 .

In a state in which the door 40 is closed, the horizontal magnet 42a may be positioned to extend from the rear of the reed switch 41 to left and right. And, the vertical magnet (42b) may be located in a form that is elongated back and forth from the left or right side of the reed switch. That is, the two magnets 42a and 42b may be spaced apart from each other and positioned to surround the reed switch 41 . Accordingly, the horizontal magnet and the vertical magnet may be provided with different horizontal angles with respect to the reed switch.

Accordingly, when the door 20 is closed, the two magnets 42a and 42b simultaneously provide effective magnetic force to the reed switch 41 .

In addition, the distance between the horizontal magnet 42a and the hinge shaft 23 is smaller than the distance between the vertical magnet 42b and the hinge shaft 24 . That is, the rotation radius of the horizontal magnet 42a is smaller than the rotation radius of the vertical magnet 42b. In addition, a distance between the reed switch 41 and the hinge shaft 24 may be set to be similar to a rotation radius of the horizontal magnet 42a.

Through this, the horizontal magnet 42a rotates near the reed switch 41 as the door 20 is opened, and the vertical magnet 42b rotates at a position relatively far from the reed switch 41 . will do This means that the area in which the horizontal magnet 42a can overlap the reed switch 41 is relatively large.

Therefore, basically, the magnetic force sensed by the reed switch 41 is the magnetic force generated by the horizontal magnet 42a, and the magnetic force generated by the vertical magnet 42b is auxiliary to the reed switch 41. go crazy

On the premise that the strength of the magnetic force is inversely proportional to the square of the distance, the strength of the magnetic force decreases very rapidly as the position of the magnet 42a moves away from the reed switch 41 . This means that even if the magnet moves in a very short section, a very large change in magnetic force strength may occur. For this reason, it is very difficult to accurately set the critical point where the magnetic force does not affect, that is, the door opening angle at the position where the magnetic force is affected. In other words, when only one magnet, for example, the horizontal magnet 42a is provided, a sharp change in magnetic force strength occurs before and after the critical point, making it difficult to set the critical point.

In the present embodiment, the change in the magnetic force strength is gradually progressed up to the critical point through the vertical magnet 42b, and then the change in the magnetic force strength is abruptly generated after the critical point. That is, since the vertical magnet 42b continuously provides auxiliary magnetic force up to the critical point, rapid magnetic force change up to the critical point may be limited.

Meanwhile, according to the present embodiment, the critical point, that is, the opening angle of the door can be easily set to about 90 degrees. That is, it becomes possible to easily adjust the opening angle of the door detected by the reed switch 41 .

Specifically, the position of the vertical magnet 42b may be moved back and forth by the horizontal magnet 42a shown in FIG. 4 in a fixed state. That is, the vertical magnet 42b may be a fixed magnet, and the horizontal magnet 42a may be a variable magnet.

When the horizontal magnet 42a is moved rearward, the distance between the horizontal magnet 42a and the hinge shaft 23 is reduced. In other words, the distance between the horizontal magnet 42a and the reed switch 41 becomes small with the reference shown in FIG. 4 (that is, in a state in which the door is opened 90 degrees). Therefore, in order to exclude the influence of the magnetic force exerted by the horizontal magnet 42a on the reed switch 41, the door 20 should be further opened. That is, the horizontal magnet 42a may be horizontally moved close to the hinge shaft 23 in order to preset the door opening angle by more than 90 degrees.

Conversely, it is possible to move the horizontal magnet 42a forward. That is, it can be horizontally moved away from the hinge shaft 23 . In this case, the distance between the horizontal magnet 42a and the reed switch 41 is increased. Accordingly, it is possible to exclude the influence of the horizontal magnet 42a in a state where the door opening angle is less than 90 degrees.

As a result, it becomes possible to flexibly set the door opening angle through the fixed magnet 42b as the auxiliary magnet and the variable magnet 42a as the main magnet.

On the other hand, in the embodiment of the sensor 40 described above, an example in which a reed switch is provided under the magnet has been described. However, on the contrary, a reed switch may be provided on the magnet. For example, a magnet is provided in the door decoration forming the upper surface of the door 40, and a reed switch may be mounted at a position facing the door decoration. In any case, the vertical distance between the magnet and the reed switch is fixed regardless of the opening angle of the door, and the horizontal distance between the magnet and the reed switch will vary as the opening angle of the door changes.

Through this embodiment, it is possible to detect the opening and closing of the door at a preset door opening angle simply and accurately using a relatively very simple reed switch and a magnet. In addition, the door opening angle may be set differently for each model of the refrigerator. In this case, it is possible to flexibly apply the position of any one of the plurality of magnets by changing the position.

As described above, when the opening of the door is detected through the sensor 40, the drawer 30 is moved from the initial position to the operation position. Accordingly, a structure for supporting the drawer 30 to be movable and a structure or configurations for automatically moving the drawer 30 are required. Hereinafter, the moving assembly 100 for supporting the drawer and moving the drawer will be described in detail. Hereinafter, specific configurations of the drawer associated with the moving assembly 100 will be described in detail.

5 illustrates a moving assembly 100 that may be coupled to a sidewall of a freezer compartment of the refrigerator illustrated in FIG. 1 . Specifically, the partition wall 16, which is one of the side walls of the freezing compartment, and the moving assembly 100 respectively positioned on the left and right of the freezing compartment partition wall 16 are shown. Of course, this is a case in which the freezing compartment is provided on the left and right sides of the freezing compartment partition wall 16, and when there is one freezing compartment, the partition wall 16 may be a left insulating wall (left side wall) or a right insulating wall (right side wall) of the freezing compartment. . In addition, when the respective freezing chambers are provided on the left and right sides of the partition wall 16 , the moving assembly 100 may be provided in only one of the freezing chambers, not both of the freezing chambers. In any case, the moving assembly 100 is preferably mounted on the side wall of the storage compartment.

However, when the left and right freezer compartments shown in FIG. 1 are divided, it is very disadvantageous in terms of thermal insulation performance to mount the moving assembly 100 on the left insulating wall or the right insulating wall. In the case of maintaining the conventional insulation wall thickness, there is a risk that the inner space of the moving assembly 100 storage chamber becomes very small. Therefore, it is preferable to mount the moving assembly 100 to the freezing compartment partition wall 16, in which thermal insulation performance is not prioritized among the side walls of the freezing compartment.

The partition wall 16 is a partition wall partitioning the left and right freezing chambers, and is preferably formed symmetrically on the left and right sides. That is, moving assemblies having the same shape may be mounted on the left and right sides of the partition wall 16 in the same shape. Accordingly, drawers that are automatically drawn out/retracted from both the left and right freezer compartments may be provided.

Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the moving assembly 100 is mounted on the left and right sides of the side walls forming the storage compartment, in particular the partition walls 16 dividing the left and right storage compartments, will be described in detail.

The moving assembly 100 performs a function of supporting the drawer 30 to be movable back and forth. And, the drawer 30 forms structures that can be automatically drawn out. In addition, it is possible to form structures into which the drawer 30 can be automatically retracted.

The moving assembly 100 preferably includes a support frame 110 . The support frame 110 may be mounted on one side wall of the freezing compartment, particularly the partition wall 16 . As will be described later, the support frame 110 may be provided to mount various components such as an electric driving unit, and the moving assembly 100 is formed as one assembly through the support frame 110 on one side wall of the freezing compartment, particularly the It may be mounted on the partition wall 16 or separated from the partition wall 16 . That is, the moving assembly 100 may be integrally coupled to or separated from the side wall of the storage compartment. Therefore, manufacturing can be very simple, and subsequent maintenance can also be performed very easily. This is because, as will be described later, after the drawer 30 is separated from the rail 120 , the entire moving assembly 100 including the support frame 110 can be separated from the partition wall 16 . . Conversely, after all the moving assemblies are formed and mounted on the partition wall 16 , the drawer 30 may be coupled to the rail 120 . Thus, manufacturing and subsequent maintenance are greatly facilitated.

A rail 120 may be mounted on the support frame 110 . The rail 120 may be provided so that the drawer moves back and forth in the storage compartment. That is, the drawer 30 may be supported so as to be movable back and forth in the storage chamber through the rail 120 . The drawer 30 may be moved while sliding back and forth through the rail 120 .

When there are a plurality of drawers 30 , a plurality of rails 120 may also be provided accordingly. Accordingly, a plurality of rails 120 may be mounted on a single support frame 110 . Specifically, the plurality of rails 120 may be mounted vertically.

Meanwhile, the support frame 110 is mounted on the partition wall 16 to form a predetermined space 130 between the support frame 110 and the partition wall 16 . The predetermined space 130 may be referred to as a space that is not exposed inside the storage compartment. Accordingly, the components provided in the predetermined space 130 are not exposed to the inside of the storage chamber. For this reason, the predetermined space may be referred to as an isolation space, and may be referred to as an electric drive unit mounting space for mounting the electric drive unit as will be described later.

The predetermined space, the isolation space or the electric driving unit mounting space 130 is provided between the inner surface 112 and the partition wall 16 of the support frame 110 , and the components mounted on the inner surface 112 are the storage compartment. It is not exposed inside. On the other hand, components mounted on the outer surface 111 of the support frame 110 may be exposed inside the storage compartment. For example, the rail 120 may be mounted on the outer surface 111 of the support frame 110 , and thus the rail 120 may be exposed inside the storage compartment.

An electric driving unit 150 may be provided on the inner surface 112 of the support frame 110 . That is, the electric driving unit 150 may be located in the predetermined space 130 . Accordingly, the electric driving unit 150 is not substantially exposed to the inside of the storage chamber. This is because the support frame 110 covers the electric driving unit 150 .

Specifically, the electric driving unit 150 may be mounted on the inner surface of the support frame 110 instead of the partition wall 16 . That is, when the support frame 110 is separated from the partition wall 16 , it is preferable that the electric driving unit 150 is also separated from the partition wall 16 .

The electric driving unit 150 may be configured to move the drawer 30 from the initial position to the operation position as it is driven. Accordingly, the electric driving unit 150 includes a motor assembly 160 that generates a force to move the drawer 30 and a moving frame 170 that applies a force to the drawer so that the drawer 30 moves. can be done by

The moving frame 170 may be provided to move back and forth by the driving of the motor assembly 160 . Here, the forward and backward movement may be in the same direction as the forward and backward movement of the drawer 30 . That is, the moving frame 170 may be provided to move in the same direction as the movement direction of the drawer 30 by driving the motor assembly 160 .

Specifically, the moving frame 170 may be movably mounted to the support frame 110 . For example, the moving frame 170 may be mounted on the inner surface of the support frame 110 to be movable back and forth. Accordingly, since the entire moving frame 170 is substantially located in the predetermined space 130 , the entire moving frame 170 and the moving state of the moving frame 170 cannot be seen inside the storage compartment. However, as will be described later, the movement of the moving frame 170 must be transferred to the drawer 30 provided in the storage compartment. Therefore, it is preferable that the configuration for transmitting the force, for example, the transmission member to be described later is exposed to the outer surface of the support frame 110 .

Accordingly, the moving frame 170 may be configured to transmit the force of the motor assembly 160 located in the predetermined space 130 to the drawer 30 located outside the predetermined space 130 .

Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 5 , a through portion 16a may be formed in the partition wall 16 . The through portion 16a may be formed so that the motor assembly 160 passes therethrough. The motor assembly 160 may have a predetermined left and right width based on the reference shown in FIG. 5 . Therefore, when the motor assembly 160 is positioned in the predetermined space 130 to isolate it from the storage chamber, there is a risk that the left and right widths of the partition wall 16 or the left and right widths of the support frame 110 become excessively large. This can be said to narrow the space inside the storage room. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the storage compartment space from being reduced due to the motor assembly 160 through the through portion 16a.

Specifically, when the moving assembly 100 is positioned on the left and right sides of the partition wall 16, a part of the left motor assembly (a motor assembly for moving the drawer in the left freezer compartment) passes through the through portion 16a. It may be located in the predetermined space 130 on the right side through the hole. Conversely, a part of the right motor assembly (a motor assembly for moving the drawer in the right freezing compartment) may pass through the through portion 16a and be positioned in the left predetermined space 130 . In addition, the two motor assemblies 150 may be positioned vertically side by side. That is, the two motor assemblies 150 may be positioned vertically in parallel so that the left and right widths partially overlap. Through this, it is possible to minimize the influence of the thickness due to the moving assembly compared to the case in which the two motor assemblies 150 are positioned side by side from side to side.

Here, the through portion 16a may be formed to correspond to the outer shape of the motor assembly 150 . Accordingly, the motor assembly 150 may be fitted to the through portion 16a to be fixed and supported. Further, when the motor assembly is provided on the left and right sides of the partition wall 16 , the through portion 16a may be formed to be elongated vertically. One motor assembly passes through the upper side and the other motor assembly passes through the lower side. That is, the two motor assemblies may be vertically disposed through the through portion 16a. The through portion 16a is preferably covered by the support frame 110 as the support frame 110 is coupled to the partition wall 16 .

Meanwhile, the motor assembly 150 includes a motor 162 operating through electrical energy. Accordingly, a wire for supplying electric energy must be connected to the motor assembly 150 . That is, an electric wire must be connected from the power supply device (not shown) of the refrigerator to the motor assembly 150 .

An upper opening 16b through which an electric wire is connected may be formed in the partition wall 16 . The electric wire connected from the power supply may extend to the upper opening 16b of the vertical partition 16 through the inside of the horizontal partition 14 shown in FIG. 1 . A wire through portion 16c may be formed in the horizontal bulkhead 14 . That is, the electric wire may further extend from the upper opening 16b to the electric wire penetrating portion 16b. After the electric wire 16d is further extended to the right from the electric wire penetrating portion 16c, it may be closed with the electric wire coupling portion 16e. The illustrated wire coupling portion 16e may be referred to as a wire coupling portion for connection with the motor assembly 150 provided on the right side. Similarly, a wire and a wire coupling portion may be provided on the left side of the wire through portion 16c.

Before the moving assembly 100 is mounted on the bulkhead 16 , the electric wire may be extended through the horizontal bulkhead 14 and the vertical bulkhead 16 , and then the electric wire may pass through the wire penetrating portion 16c . And it is possible to form a wire coupling portion (16e) at the end of the wire.

The wire coupling portion 16e is located in the predetermined space 130 described above. Therefore, before the moving assembly 100 is mounted on the partition wall 14 , first, the motor assembly 150 is connected through the wire coupling part 16e. In addition, the moving assembly 100 may be fixed to the partition wall 16 through the fastening part 115 formed on the support frame and the fastening part 16f formed on the partition wall 16 . The fastening parts 115 and 16f may be formed in a boss shape for screw coupling. Conversely, the moving assembly 100 may be spaced apart from the partition wall 16 by removing the screws. Thereafter, by removing the connection between the wire coupling portion 16e and the motor assembly 100 , the moving assembly 100 may be completely separated from the partition wall 16 . That is, the structural and electrical connection with the partition wall 16 can be eliminated.

Accordingly, through the structure of the barrier rib 16 , the structure of the moving assembly 100 , the connection structure of electric wires through the barrier rib, etc., coupling, separation and connection of the moving assembly 100 can be performed very easily. .

As described above, the motor assembly 100 includes a motor 162 . In general, the motor is formed in a cylindrical shape. The rotation axis direction of the motor may be perpendicular to the partition wall 16 . Accordingly, the left and right widths of the motor assembly 100 may increase due to the size of the motor itself (the height of the cylindrical motor).

As shown in FIG. 5 , a motor avoidance groove 116 may be formed in the support frame 110 . That is, the circular motor avoidance groove 116 may be formed according to the shape of the motor. In addition, the motor avoidance groove 116 may accommodate at least a portion of the motor. Accordingly, only a portion corresponding to the motor may be expanded without the need to increase the left and right widths of the entire motor assembly 100 . The motor avoidance groove 116 may be formed in the support frame 110 in order to exclude interference with the expanded portion.

Based on the right support frame, the motor avoidance groove 116 protrudes to the right. Other components mounted on the support frame may be interfered with by the protruding motor avoidance groove 116 . In order to prevent this, the motor avoidance groove 116 is preferably formed in a position corresponding to the rail 120 and the rail (120).

Assuming that the three rails 120 are mounted on the support frame 110 , the motor avoidance groove 116 may be formed on the right support frame between the middle rail and the lower rail. Conversely, the motor avoidance groove 116 may be formed in the left support frame between the upper rail and the middle rail.

Through the motor avoidance groove 116 , the motor assembly 160 may be more firmly coupled to the support frame 110 . In addition, by forming the motor avoidance groove 116 between the rail and the rail, it is possible to minimize the reduction of the storage room space due to the overall expansion of the aforementioned predetermined space 130 .

If, in consideration of the size of the motor, the left and right widths of the entire motor assembly 100 are further increased, for example, if the left and right widths of the entire housing 16 of the motor assembly are further increased, the motor assembly 100 and the In order to avoid interference between the rails, the space inside the storage compartment will inevitably be reduced.

Hereinafter, a structure for supporting the drawer and applying a force to the drawer will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 6 . FIG. 6 shows a rail 120 corresponding to one drawer 30 in the support frame 110 and a structure for transmitting force to the drawer 30 .

Although not shown in FIG. 6 , the drawer 30 is movably supported forward and backward through the rail 120 . In general, a user draws out or retracts the drawer 30 while pulling or pushing the drawer 30 . At this time, it can be said that the rail 120 is generally provided so that the drawer can be easily drawn in and out while minimizing the required force. Accordingly, the rail 120 may be mounted on the outer surface 111 of the support frame 110 , that is, the surface facing the inside of the storage compartment.

As described above, the electric driving unit 150 , particularly the motor assembly 160 , may be mounted on the inner surface 112 of the support frame 110 . Here, the inner surface 112 may be a surface facing the side wall or the partition wall 16 . Accordingly, a structure for transmitting the force generated from the inner surface 112 portion of the support frame to the outer surface 111 portion of the support frame is required.

To this end, it is preferable that the support frame 110 has a slit 113 formed therein. That is, it is preferable that a slit passing through the support frame 110 is formed. It is possible to transmit the movement of the moving frame 170 to the drawer 30 through the slit 113 .

Specifically, the moving frame 170 may include a transmission member 171 that transmits a force to the drawer 30 . The transmission member 171 may be provided to pass through the slit 113 . That is, substantially the entire moving frame 170 is moved on the inner surface 112 of the support frame, but a part of the moving frame, that is, the transmission member 171 passes through the slit 113 to support the support. It is preferable to move from the outer surface 111 portion of the frame. Accordingly, the transmission member 171 is shown to move forward and backward along the slit 113 .

The transmission member 171 performs a function of transmitting the force of the electric driving unit, in particular, the movement of the moving frame 170 to the drawer 30 . That is, the transfer member 171 may push the drawer 30 so that the drawer 30 moves through the rail. In other words, it is possible to automatically move the drawer 30 even if the user does not manually manipulate the drawer.

Meanwhile, the rail 120 and the drawer holder 180 may be mounted on the support frame 110 . Specifically, a pair of rails 120 , one slit 113 , and one drawer holder 180 may be provided as a set in one drawer 30 . When there are a plurality of drawers 30 , they may also be provided in a plurality of sets.

The drawer holder 180 may be provided to provide an elastic restoring force to the drawer 30 . In particular, the drawer 30 may be elastically deformed when the drawer 30 is withdrawn, and may be provided to provide an elastic restoring force to the drawer 30 when the drawer 30 is drawn in. That is, as described above, the drawer may be drawn out automatically by the electric driving unit, and the drawer may be drawn in automatically by the drawer holder 180 . Details of the mechanism between the drawer holder 180 and the drawer 30 will be described later.

Hereinafter, a mechanism between the electric driving unit 150 and the drawer 30 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8 . 7 is a view of the moving assembly 100 in the initial position of the drawer from the inner side 112 of the support frame 110, and FIG. 8 is a support frame of the moving assembly 100 in the operation position of the drawer. It is a view from the inner side 112 of (110).

The motor assembly 160 may be provided in a predetermined space between the inner surface 112 of the support frame 110 and the partition wall 16 or in the electric driving unit mounting space 130 . Specifically, the motor assembly 160 may be mounted on the inner surface 112 of the support frame 110 .

The motor assembly 160 may include a housing 161 , and power components such as a motor 162 and a gear 162a may be accommodated in the housing 161 . Accordingly, since the housing 161 is fixed to the support frame 110 , the motor assembly 160 may be stably supported by the support frame. As described above, due to the shape of the motor 162, the housing 161 of the portion corresponding to the motor 162 may be formed to protrude more than the other portions, which is located in the motor avoidance groove 116 described above. can be seated

A plurality of gears 162a may be provided to reduce rotational speed and transmit torque.

The electric driving unit 150 may include a connecting member 163 . It may be said that the motor assembly 160 includes the connection member 163 . The connection member 163 may be provided between the housing 161 of the motor assembly, in particular, the motor assembly 160 and the moving frame 170 . That is, the connecting member 163 may be provided to connect the motor assembly 160 and the moving frame 170 .

The connecting member 163 may be provided to have a different withdrawal distance from the motor assembly 160 , particularly the housing 161 . That is, the withdrawal distance of the connecting member 163 may be varied. As the withdrawal distance of the connecting member 163 from the fixed housing 161 increases, the distance between the housing 161 and the moving frame 170 increases. Conversely, as the withdrawal distance of the connecting member 163 decreases, the distance between the housing 161 and the moving frame 170 decreases. Accordingly, the motor assembly 160 is driven so that the withdrawal distance of the connecting member 163 is variable, and as a result, the moving frame 170 is moved.

Preferably, one side of the connecting member 163 is movably fixed with respect to the motor assembly 160 , and the other side is fixed to move integrally with the moving frame 170 . That is, the other side of the moving frame 170 may be coupled to the moving frame 170 . A connecting member coupling part 174 may be formed in the moving frame 170 , and the moving frame 170 and the connecting member 163 are coupled to each other through the connecting member coupling part 174 . Accordingly, the movement of the connecting member 163 may be transferred to the movement of the moving frame 170 .

Specifically, the connecting member 163 may be formed in the form of a rack, and the motor assembly 160 may be provided in the form of a pinion. That is, any one of the gears 162a may be connected to the connecting member 163 as a pinion gear. For example, the clockwise rotation of the motor 162 may be converted into a forward movement of the connecting member 163 through the gear 162a, and the counterclockwise rotation of the motor 162 may be converted into the gear ( 163a), it can be switched to the rearward movement of the connecting member 163 . Of course, due to the gear configuration, the rotational direction of the motor and the moving direction of the connecting member may be reversed.

Accordingly, it is possible to increase or decrease the withdrawal distance of the connecting member according to the forward and reverse driving of the motor assembly 160 . The driving of the motor assembly 160 pushes or pulls the connecting member 163, and thus pushes or pulls the moving frame.

The moving frame 170 may be configured to transmit the driving force of the motor assembly 160 to the drawer 30 . Therefore, basically, the moving frame 170 is moved by the driving of the motor assembly 160 . Specifically, the moving frame 170 is preferably provided to be movable on the inner surface 113 of the support frame 110 .

As described above, not only one drawer but also a plurality of drawers may be provided in the storage compartment, and when the door is opened, it is preferable that all of the plurality of drawers be moved from the initial position to the operation position. It is preferable that the movement of the plurality of drawers is performed collectively. Accordingly, the moving frame 170 may be provided to transmit force not only to one drawer but also to all of the plurality of drawers.

In order to transmit force to a plurality of drawers arranged vertically, the moving frame 170 is preferably formed to extend vertically. In addition, a plurality of transmission members 171 may be provided in the moving frame 170 . Similarly, the transmission members may be disposed vertically in one moving frame 170 . One transfer member 171 may be provided to correspond to one drawer 30 .

7 and 8 show an example in which three transmission members 171 are formed in one moving frame 170 . This means that one moving frame 170 can move to move three drawers arranged vertically. That is, it means that the three drawers can be simultaneously moved from the initial position to the operation position through the movement of the single connecting member 163 . Through this, it is possible to simultaneously move the plurality of drawers through one motor assembly 150 , one connection member 163 , and one moving frame 170 . That is, in spite of having only one electric drive unit 150 interlocked with one door 20 , it is possible to easily move a plurality of drawers. Accordingly, the configuration can be simple, and it becomes possible to implement an easy and easy control logic.

The moving frame 170 is preferably supported so as to be movable back and forth on the inner surface 112 of the support frame 110 . More specifically, the moving frame 170 is preferably supported so as to be slidable back and forth.

As described above, the moving frame 170 may be provided to move the plurality of drawers 30 . Accordingly, the moving frame 170 is provided in the form of a plate extending up and down, and therefore, it is preferable to minimize the movement deviation between the upper and lower portions when the moving frame 170 moves.

To this end, it is preferable that sliding support portions 172 are respectively provided on the upper and lower portions of the moving frame 170 . The sliding support 172 may be formed in a pair on the upper portion of the moving frame 170 and a pair on the lower portion. Accordingly, the moving frame 170 can be moved with four support points on the top, bottom, left, and right. Through this, it is possible to prevent the moving frame from being twisted when the moving frame 100 is moved forward and backward.

The upper and lower portions of the moving frame 170 may have left and right widths to form the support portion 172 . The transmission member 171 may be formed in this extended portion. On the other hand, the extended portion may not be formed in the portion of the transmission member formed in the middle. Accordingly, there may be a problem that the transmission member 171 formed in the middle is separated from the moving frame 170 when used for a long period of time. That is, there is a risk that the connection portion between the transmission member 171 and the moving frame 170 may be damaged. This is because the transmission member 171 may be formed in a protruding shape from the moving frame 170, and the transmission member 171 may be bent and damaged when used for a long time.

In order to solve this, in particular, it is preferable that a strength reinforcing rib (not shown) is formed between the moving frame 170 and the transmission member provided in the middle. The strength reinforcing ribs may be formed parallel to the direction in which the force is received, and a plurality of strength reinforcing ribs may be formed.

In order to allow the moving frame 170 to move more smoothly, a guide bar 114 may be formed on the support frame 110 . The guide bar 114 may be formed to correspond to the upper and lower portions of the moving frame 170 , respectively. Accordingly, the guide bar may include an upper guide bar and a lower guide bar. In addition, the sliding support 172 may be formed to surround the guide bar 114 . Accordingly, the sliding support 172 may be slid back and forth while surrounding the guide bar 114 .

A liner 173 (refer to FIG. 9 ) made of a POM material may be interposed between the guide bar 114 and the sliding support 172 . That is, a liner formed of an engineering plastic such as polyacetal or polyoxymethylene may be interposed. POM material has very good mechanical strength, wear resistance, low friction resistance and self-lubrication. Therefore, even when used for a long period of time, the moving frame 170 can be supported so that it can be moved smoothly. Of course, the guide bar 114 is preferably coated with a lubricant such as grease.

Meanwhile, in FIG. 7 , the motor assembly 160 is mounted at a position lower than the upper and lower centers of the support frame 110 . This is to allow the two motor assemblies 160 to be mounted vertically through the partition wall 16 as described with reference to FIG. 5 . That is, the motor assembly 160 may be mounted on the opposite support frame 110 at a position higher than the vertical center of the support frame 110 .

Due to the position of the motor assembly 160 , the connecting member 163 pushes or pulls the upper and lower portions of the moving frame 170 , not the upper and lower central portions. Therefore, basically, the connecting member 163 has no choice but to apply a force to twist the moving frame. In order to minimize the force applied to an eccentric portion other than the upper and lower center portions of the moving assembly 170 , the connecting member 163 includes an extension portion 164 . The extension part 164 may be formed to extend upwardly or downwardly from an end (ie, an end connected to the moving frame) of the connecting member 163 . The extension part 164 is preferably formed to further pass the upper and lower centers of the moving assembly 170 . That is, the extension part 164 shown in FIG. 7 further extends from the lower center of the upper and lower center of the moving assembly 170 to the upper part, and in the case of the opposite extension part, the extension part 164 further extends from the upper and lower center upper part of the moving assembly 170 to the lower part. It is preferable to do so. Through this, even if the upper and lower centers of the connecting member 163 and the upper and lower centers of the moving frame do not coincide, the distortion of the moving frame 170 can be minimized. In addition, the connecting member 163 may be coupled to the moving frame by coupling the extension part 164 to the connecting member coupling part 174 . A plurality of the connecting member coupling parts 174 may be provided so that the force and movement displacement applied through the connecting member 163 may be uniformly transmitted to the upper and lower portions of the moving frame 170 .

As described above, a slit 113 is formed in the support frame 110 . The number of the slits 113 may be the same as the number of drawers 30 . The slit 113 is formed to pass through the support frame 110 , and is formed to be elongated to the left and right of the support frame 110 based on FIGS. 7 and 8 . The transmission member 171 moves left and right along the slit 113 . With respect to the refrigerator, the transfer member 171 moves back and forth along the slit 113 . Since the transmission member passes through the support frame 110 , it may be connected to the drawer 30 provided on the outer surface 111 side of the support frame 110 . That is, the transfer member 171 may be coupled to the drawer 30 or may be in contact with the drawer 30 . The transmission member 171 is connected to the drawer so that a force can be directly applied to the drawer 30 .

7 , the distance between the motor assembly 150 and the moving frame 170 in the initial position is relatively small. In this state, the moving frame 170 is biased to the left. In other words, it is positioned more deeply into the storage compartment of the refrigerator.

When it is determined through the sensor 40 that the door 20 is opened, that is, when a door open signal is generated, the motor assembly 150 is driven, and the distance between the motor assembly 150 and the moving frame 170 is will increase relatively. That is, the connecting member 163 pushes the moving frame 170 to move the moving frame 170 forward. At this time, the transfer member 171 of the moving frame 170 pushes the drawer 30 to move the drawer 30 to the operation position. In other words, the shape of the moving assembly 100 in the initial position shown in FIG. 7 is changed to the shape of the moving assembly 100 in the operation position shown in FIG. 7 . In other words, it can be said that the connecting member 163 and the moving frame 170 shown in FIG. 7 are located at the initial positions, and the connecting member 163 and the moving frame 170 shown in FIG. 8 are located at the operating position. it can be said that On the other hand, the relative position change of the support frame 110 and the housing 161 of the motor assembly does not occur. Accordingly, it can be said that the moving frame 170 is provided to be movable back and forth between the initial position and the operation position by the driving of the motor assembly 160 . In addition, it can be said that the moving frame 170 is connected to the drawer so as to apply a force to the drawer in a direction in which the drawer is drawn out from the initial position to the manipulation position.

As will be described later, the connection between the drawer 30 and the moving frame, in particular, the transmission member 171 may be referred to as a lock, and release of this connection may be referred to as a lock release. In particular, when the moving frame 170 is moved from the operation position to the initial position in the opposite direction, it is preferable that the connection between the moving frame 170 and the drawer 30 be released. That is, it is preferable that the jam release is performed. For this reason, it is preferable not to apply force to the drawer 30 when the moving frame 170 is moved from the operation position to the initial position. In other words, the movement from the initial position to the operation position of the drawer 30 is performed by the driving of the electric driving unit 150 , but the movement from the operation position to the initial position is performed by the driving of the electric driving unit 150 . It is desirable to make it independent of Details on this will be described later.

Hereinafter, an automatic movement mechanism of the drawer 30 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 9 . 9 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a portion in which the drawer 30 is connected to the moving assembly 100 .

The drawer 30 may include a basket 31 for accommodating storage and a drawer frame 32 provided outside the basket 31 . The basket 31 may be movably supported on the rail 120 through the drawer frame 32 . The basket 31 and the drawer frame 32 are preferably provided to be movable integrally. The drawer frame 32 may be provided under the basket 31 . Details of the structure of the drawer 30 and the coupling structure between the drawer 30 and the rail 120 will be described later.

The drawer frame 32 and the moving frame 170 are partitioned through the support frame 110 . However, the transfer member 171 of the moving frame 170 may extend to the drawer frame 32 through the slit 113 formed in the support frame 110 .

The moving frame 170 may be selectively connected to the drawer frame 32 . Through the connection between the moving frame 170 and the drawer frame 32 , the movement of the moving frame 170 may be converted into the movement of the drawer frame 32 , that is, the drawer 30 . Conversely, by disconnecting the moving frame 170 and the drawer frame 32 , it is possible to prevent the movement of the moving frame 170 from being converted to the movement of the drawer 30 .

Specifically, a locking member 33 may be formed on the drawer. The locking member 33 may be referred to as a first locking member 33 for convenience in distinguishing it from other locking members to be described later. The first locking member 33 may be formed on the drawer frame 32 , and may be formed to extend toward the moving frame 170 .

As described above, the moving frame 170 may move forward from the initial position to the operation position. The movement of the moving frame 170 is converted into movement from the initial position of the drawer 30 to the operation position. And, the movement of the moving frame 170 from the initial position to the operation position may be generated by a force pushing the moving frame 170 from the rear. Therefore, it is preferable that the moving frame 170 moves the drawer 30 from the initial position to the operation position by pushing the drawer 30 .

To this end, the first locking member 33 is preferably positioned in front of the transmission member 171 . In addition, when both the moving frame 170 and the drawer 30 are in the initial position state, it is preferable that both are in contact with each other. Accordingly, as the transmission member 171 moves from the initial position to the operation position, the first locking member 33 can be continuously pushed. Due to this, the drawer 30 may also be moved from the initial position to the operation position.

Conversely, when the drawer 30 is in the operating position state, the transfer member 171 may be returned to the initial position. That is, at this time, the connection or engagement between the transmission member 171 and the first locking member 33 is released. Accordingly, the drawer 30 maintains the operation position state, and the transmission member 171 , particularly the moving frame 170 , may be returned to the initial position.

As described above, the initial position of the drawer 30 may be a state in which the drawer 30 is still located inside the storage compartment. Accordingly, when the drawer 30 is used, the user opens the door 20 and pulls the drawer 30 to withdraw at least a portion of the drawer 30 out of the storage compartment. Accordingly, the maximum withdrawal position of the drawer 30 may be defined. That is, the maximum withdrawal position may be a position in which the drawer 30 is maximally drawn forward in a state in which the drawer 30 is supported on the rail 120 . The maximum withdrawal position may be preset through the rail 120 . That is, the separation distance between the manipulation position and the maximum withdrawal position may be preset.

Basically, the drawer 30 may be movably supported between the initial position and the maximum withdrawal position through the rail 120 . As described above, the drawer 30 may be automatically moved from the initial position to the operation position by the driving of the electric driving unit 150 .

Here, it is preferable that the drawer 30 is manually withdrawn from the manipulation position to the maximum withdrawal position (a position spaced apart by a predetermined distance forward from the manipulation position). That is, it is preferable that the connection between the moving frame 170 and the drawer 30 is released from the operation position to the maximum withdrawal position, so that the drawer 30 can be manually pulled out.

When the door 20 is opened, the drawer 30 may be automatically moved to an operation position so that the user can easily withdraw the drawer 30 . When the user uses the drawer 30, the drawer may be further drawn out manually from the operation position. And, when the use of the drawer 30 is finished, the drawer 30 may be manually drawn in. For example, the user may manually retract the drawer 30 to the operation position or near the operation position. Of course, it will also be possible to manually retract the drawer 30 to the initial position.

That is, the automatic withdrawal of the drawer 30 interlocked with the opening of the door may be performed from the initial position to the operation position, and may be manually withdrawn from the operation position to the maximum withdrawal position.

Meanwhile, when the drawer 30 is withdrawn to the operation position, the motor assembly 160 may operate to move the connection member 163 to the initial position. Accordingly, retraction of the drawer 30 may always be performed manually.

As an example, the user may directly push the drawer 30 from the maximum withdrawal position to the initial position. In addition, after the user directly pushes the drawer 30 from the maximum withdrawal position to the operation position, and then closes the door 20, the drawer 30 can be drawn in to the initial position. In this case, it can be said that the door basket provided on the rear surface of the door 20 pushes the drawer 30 as the door is closed. Accordingly, when the user manually closes the door 20 , the user must close the door by applying a force equal to or greater than the force for retracting the drawer.

In the above, the mechanism between the drawer 30 and the moving assembly 100 has been basically described in terms of automatic withdrawal of the drawer 30 . However, it is desirable to minimize the user's effort when drawing in as well as withdrawing the drawer 30 .

In this embodiment, in order to provide the user's convenience when the drawer 30 is retracted, a refrigerator into which the drawer 30 can be automatically retracted may be provided. In particular, it is possible to provide a refrigerator in which the drawer 30 can be automatically drawn into the initial position from an operation position or a position near the operation position. That is, in the same way that the automatic withdrawal of the drawer 30 does not require the user's force, the user's force is not required for the automatic withdrawal of the drawer 30 . In addition, it is possible to prevent the door basket on the rear surface of the door 20 from applying an impact to the drawer, and there is no need for the user to apply a force for retracting the drawer other than the force to close the door 20 .

To this end, as shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 8 , a drawer holder 180 may be provided. That is, like the rail 120 , the drawer holder 180 may be mounted on the outer surface 111 of the support frame 110 .

Specifically, the rail 120 may be mounted on the lower portion of the slit 113 with respect to the slit 113 , and the drawer holder 180 may be mounted on the upper portion of the slit 113 .

The drawer holder 180 may be provided to provide an elastic restoring force to the drawer 30 when the drawer 30 returns to the initial position from the operation position or a position near the operation position. The drawer 30 may be automatically returned to the initial position through the elastic restoring force.

To this end, the drawer holder 180 may be provided to be selectively connected to the drawer 30 . That is, it may be provided to selectively hold the drawer.

Specifically, the drawer holder 180 may include a hanging member 181 . The hanging member 181 may be provided to be selectively connected to the drawer 30 . More specifically, the drawer may be provided with a second locking member 34 . That is, the second locking member 34 connected to the hooking member 181 of the drawer holder 180 may be provided separately from the first locking member 33 connected to the transmission member 171 of the moving frame.

The second locking member 34 may be provided above the first locking member 33 . Specifically, the second locking member 34 may be formed to protrude from the drawer frame 32 in the direction of the support frame 110 .

As shown in FIG. 10 , the hook member 181 of the drawer holder 180 may be selectively connected to the second lock member 34 provided in the drawer 30 . For example, in the section from the initial position of the drawer 30 to the manipulation position (this can be referred to as an elastic section), the second locking member 34 is connected to the drawer holder 180 . can

When the drawer 30 is withdrawn from the elastic section, a spring (not shown) provided in the drawer holder 180 is elastically deformed. And, when the drawer 30 is retracted in the elastic section, the spring is elastically restored.

Specifically, in the elastic section, the drawer 30 is automatically drawn forward by the operation of the electric driving unit 150 . That is, it is drawn out to the operation position. As the drawer 30 is withdrawn, the second locking member 34 provided in the drawer 30 pushes the hanging member 181 . The hanging member 181 moves forward together with the second locking member 34, and accordingly, the spring may be elastically deformed. For example, the spring may be tensioned. The elastic restoring force generated at this time automatically retracts the drawer 30 .

More specifically, by the operation of the electric driving unit 150, the drawer 30 can overcome the elastic force of the drawer holder 180 and can be automatically drawn out. As described above, when the force pushing the drawer 30 is removed through the electric driving unit 150 , an elastic restoring force by the drawer holder 180 is applied to the drawer 30 . Accordingly, the catching member 181 pulls the second catching member 34 of the drawer by the elastic restoring force. Accordingly, even if the user does not apply a separate force to retract the drawer 30 , the drawer 30 can be automatically retracted.

Accordingly, while the transmission member 171 is provided only for pushing the first locking member 33 , the hooking member 181 is pulled by the second locking member 34 and holds the second locking member 34 . It can be said that it is equipped to pull. That is, the hook member 181 is pulled by the second locking member 34 when the drawer 30 is drawn out, and the second locking member 34 is pulled in when the drawer 30 is drawn in. will pull In other words, it is preferable that the hooking member 181 and the second locking member 34 are always connected to each other when the drawer 30 is drawn in and out of the elastic section. Accordingly, when the drawer is retracted, the user can operate the drawer very conveniently by enabling automatic retracting instead of manual retracting. Of course, it is preferable that the automatic drawing-in of the drawer 30 is performed from the above-described maximum withdrawal position to the initial position, not from the operation position or from the operation position near the operation position to the initial position.

Hereinafter, an automatic retraction mechanism of the drawer by the drawer holder 180 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 10 .

As described above, the drawer holder 180 is elastically deformed when the drawer 30 is moved from the initial position to the operation position, and when the drawer 30 is moved from the operation position to the initial position. An elastic restoring force is provided to the drawer 30 . Here, elastic deformation and elastic restoration may occur in the drawer holder 180 continuously from the initial position to the manipulation position.

In FIG. 10, an example in which the elastic section starts further from the front than the initial position and ends further from the front than the manipulation position is shown.

First, in FIG. 10, the second locking member 34 in the initial position is shown. A state in which the first locking member 33 and the transmission member 171 are connected in this initial position is shown.

When the door is opened, the electric driving unit 150 operates so that the transmission member 171 pushes the first locking member 33 forward. Accordingly, the drawer 30 is withdrawn forward, and similarly, the second locking member 34 also moves forward.

In FIG. 10, for convenience, a state in which one hook member 181 is positioned at an elastic starting position and an operating position is shown. And, for convenience, a state in which one transmission member 181 is positioned at the initial position and the operation position is shown. It can be seen that the transmission member 181 is biased to the left of the slit 113 in the initial position, and is biased to the right of the slit 113 in the operation position.

When the second locking member 34 is moved forward from the initial position to reach the elastic starting position, the second locking member 34 is connected to the hooking member 181 . The elastic starting position may be preset between the initial position and the manipulation position, which is the shape of the slots 183 and 184 formed in the housing 182 of the drawer holder 180 and the hanging member 181 . This can be done by changing the connection relationship of

For example, when the separation distance between the initial position and the manipulation position is 120 mm, the elastic starting position may be set to be separated by 30 mm forward from the initial position.

Since the coupling between the second locking member 34 and the hooking member 181 is released until the drawer reaches the elastic starting position from the initial position, the spring of the drawer holder 180 is not elastically deformed. And, as the drawer is further drawn out to reach the elastic starting position, the hanging member 181 moves forward to elastically deform the spring. And, when the drawer moves further forward to reach the operating position, the elastic deformation is further increased. That is, the second locking member 34 is hooked to the hooking member 181 shown on the right side of FIG. 10 , and the drawer 30 is in the operating position.

As shown, it can be seen that the drawer holder 180 at the manipulation position of the drawer 20 applies a force for drawing in the drawer 30 . Accordingly, in the present embodiment, the operation of the electric driving unit 150 may be maintained (eg, driven in a clockwise direction) at the operation position. That is, it is preferable that the operation state of the electric driving unit 150 is maintained so that the drawer 20 is always pushed in the open state of the door 20 . In other words, the driving of the motor assembly 160 is maintained while the door is kept open, so that the moving frame 170 may be controlled to maintain the operation position. Of course, as will be described later, when the closing of the door 20 is sensed, the motor assembly 160 may be reversely driven (eg, counterclockwise driven) so that the moving frame 170 returns to its initial position.

On the other hand, maintaining the operation of the electric driving unit 150 in the operation position of the drawer 30 may cause an overload of the electric driving unit 150 . This is because, since the connecting member 163 cannot move forward, the motor rotates in vain. Accordingly, the electric driving unit 150 may return the moving frame 170 to the initial position by reverse driving after moving the drawer 30 to the operation position and maintaining the operation for a predetermined time. The predetermined time may be determined in consideration of a time required for a user to select a specific drawer and withdraw the specific drawer. For example, the electric driving unit 150 may be controlled to be reversely driven after moving the moving frame 170 to the operation position and maintaining the operation position for about 5 seconds.

As described above, the automatic withdrawal of the drawer 20 by the electric driving unit 150 is preferably from the initial position to the operation position. Accordingly, the withdrawal from the operation position to the maximum withdrawal position can be performed manually. That is, the user may directly pull the drawer 20 to withdraw it.

When withdrawing the drawer 20 from the operation position to the maximum withdrawal position, the drawer holder 180 may be elastically deformed in a direction that prevents extraction. Therefore, it is preferable to release the connection between the drawer holder 180 and the drawer 30 during manual withdrawal.

For this purpose, it is preferable to form an inclined slot 185 in the slot formed in the housing 182 of the drawer holder. Specifically, it is preferable to form the inclined slot 185 in front of the lower slot 184 among the two slots 183 and 184 formed side by side. The inclined slot 185 may be referred to as a first inclined slot 185 for convenience in distinguishing it from other inclined slots to be described later.

The first inclined slot 185 is positioned in front of the slot 184 . When the user withdraws the drawer 30 forward a little further from the operation position, the hanging member 181 may be constrained by the first inclined slot 185 . At this time, the hanging member 181 is rotated so that the coupling between the hanging member 181 and the second locking member 34 is released. In addition, the position at which the coupling between the hook member 181 and the second lock member 34 is released may be referred to as an elastic end position. Accordingly, the elastic start position in this embodiment can be said to be in front of the initial position, and similarly, the elastic end position can be said to be in front of the operation position.

When the coupling between the hooking member 181 and the second locking member 34 is released, the user can easily withdraw the drawer manually to the maximum withdrawal position without being disturbed by the drawer holder 180 . there will be

According to the present embodiment, as described above, the moving frame 170 may maintain the operation position in the open state of the door. Accordingly, in the state in which the door is open, the user can manually retract the drawer 30 to the operation position after withdrawing the drawer.

At this time, the user may not retract the drawer 30 to the operation position. However, as described above, in this embodiment, the distance between the elastic end position and the manipulation position is relatively very short. Accordingly, as the door is closed, the door may push the drawer 30 . That is, by pushing the drawer 30 , the second locking member 34 may be reconnected with the hooking member 181 . When the door is closed, since the moving frame 170 returns to its initial position, the force for drawing out the drawer 30 is removed. Accordingly, by the elastic restoring force of the drawer holder 180, the hanging member 181 pulls the second locking member 34, so that the drawer 30 automatically returns to the initial position. .

Unlike the above, the elastic starting position and the initial position may be the same. However, in this case, when the drawer 30 is returned to the initial position, an impact may be applied to the drawer 30 . And, in this case, since the amount of elastic deformation of the spring is relatively large (that is, the elastic section is increased), the elastic restoring force of the spring may be reduced over time.

Therefore, by setting the elastic starting position to be spaced forward from the initial position, the initial return speed of the drawer can be relatively fast and the end return speed can be relatively slow. Here, it can be said that this difference in the return speed is very important.

The initial return speed is related to the closing speed of the door. For example, if the door closes very quickly and the initial return speed of the drawer is slower than the closing speed of the door, the door may apply an impact to the drawer. Conversely, if the end return speed is fast, a large impact may be applied to the rail 120 by the drawer 20 as described above. Therefore, it is preferable that the drawer returns quickly at the beginning, and then returns smoothly and slowly at the end. That is, it is preferable to return the drawer by inertia at the end.

On the other hand, when the drawer 30 is drawn out, the second locking member 34 is connected to the hanging member 181 at the elastic start position when the drawer 30 is withdrawn, and vice versa, when the drawer 30 is drawn in, at the elastic start position. The connection between the second locking member 34 and the hooking member 181 is released. This can be performed in the same manner as the structure at the elastic end position described above. Similarly, a second inclined slot 186 is formed at the rear end of the upper slot 183 to allow the hook member 181 to rotate in the elastic starting position. If the hook member 181 in the aforementioned first inclined slot rotates counterclockwise to release the connection, the hook member 181 in the second inclined slot 186 rotates clockwise to release the connection. can do.

According to the above-described embodiment, the drawer may be automatically drawn out and automatically drawn in in the following order.

1) When the door is closed, the plurality of drawers are in the initial position.

2) When the door open signal is generated, the electric drive unit is driven to move the moving frame from the initial position to the operation position. Accordingly, the plurality of drawers are integrally moved from the initial position to the operation position and stopped.

3) From the operation position of the drawer, the user can manually withdraw the drawer further.

4) When a door closing signal is generated or a predetermined time elapses after the drawer is moved to the operating position, the electric driving unit is driven in the reverse direction to return the moving frame to its initial position. As the door is closed, the door may push the drawer and the drawer may return to its initial position.

5) When the drawer is returned to its initial position, it can be automatically restored by the elastic restoring force. At this time, the elastic restoring force is generated by the elastic deformation generated when the drawer is moved to the operation position. The elastic deformation and elastic restoration may be generated by a spring provided in the drawer holder.

Accordingly, according to the present embodiment, when the door is opened, the drawer can be automatically withdrawn to an operation position from which the user can easily withdraw the drawer. As the door is closed at the operation position, the door may push the drawer into the initial position, and the drawer may be automatically retracted to the initial position by using an elastic restoring force.

Hereinafter, the drawing-out and drawing-in steps of the drawer will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 11 . 11, the connection and disconnection of the drawer holder 180 according to the change in the position of the drawer 30 are sequentially shown.

11 (a) shows a state in which the connection between the drawer holder 180 and the drawer 30 is released from the initial position of the drawer.

When the door open signal is generated, the electric drive unit operates to move the drawer to the operating position. FIG. 10(b) shows a point in time when the drawer holder 180 and the drawer 30 are connected while the drawer moves from the initial position to the operation position. This position may be referred to as an elastic starting position as described above.

From the initial position to the elastic starting position, no reaction force acts except for the frictional force of the rail 120 that is substantially negligible. That is, a force that prevents the drawer from being drawn out is not generated. Therefore, it is possible to prevent overload of the electric drive unit in the initial operation of the electric drive unit in advance. Then, the spring of the drawer holder 180 is elastically deformed from the elastic starting position. The elastic starting position may be set, for example, to a position spaced 30 mm forward from the initial position.

As the drawer moves further forward beyond the elastic starting position, the spring of the drawer holder is continuously elastically deformed.

10( c ) shows a position where the spring of the drawer holder is elastically deformed.

FIG. 10( d ) shows a state in which the drawer is moved further forward and the connection between the drawer holder 180 and the drawer is released, that is, the elastic end position. Therefore, in the elastic end position, the elastic restoring force by the spring of the drawer holder is not applied to the drawer.

It has been described that the operation position in the above-described embodiment is a position between FIGS. 10 ( c ) and 10 ( d ). Therefore, the user must manually withdraw the drawer from the operation position to the elastic end position, and in this case, the user must overcome the elastic restoring force of the drawer holder spring for a very short distance. The user may further withdraw the drawer manually from the elastic end position of the drawer. At this time, the user does not withdraw the drawer while overcoming the elastic restoring force.

Conversely, when the drawer is retracted, the user can manually retract the drawer further back than the elastic end position shown in FIG. 10(d). That is, it is possible to manually retract the drawer to the operation position. In this operation position, the drawer holder 180 and the drawer are reconnected.

When a door closing signal is generated or when a predetermined time elapses from the operation position of the electric driving unit, the electric driving unit returns to the initial position. That is, the force pushing the drawer through the electric drive is no longer maintained. Accordingly, in the operating position, the drawer is provided with an elastic restoring force by the spring of the drawer holder. Due to this, the drawer is automatically retracted.

As the drawer is retracted, the elastic restoring force of the drawer holder is provided to the drawer up to the position shown in FIG. 10( b ). Thus, the drawer can be returned with a very high speed. In addition, when approaching the initial position, that is, in the section between Figure 10 (b) and Figure 10 (a), the elastic restoring force is released. Therefore, at this time, the drawer can be returned to the initial position by the inertial force.

In the above, the embodiment for the automatic withdrawal of the drawer and the embodiment for the automatic withdrawal of the drawer have been described in detail. Specifically, an embodiment in which at least two locking members 33 and 34 of the drawer are provided for automatic withdrawal and automatic withdrawal of the drawer has been described in detail.

Hereinafter, another embodiment in which automatic withdrawal and automatic withdrawal of the drawer can be implemented through one locking member will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 12 . A basic mechanism or configuration may be applied similarly or identically to the above-described embodiment. Accordingly, features different from the above-described embodiment will be described in detail.

Similarly in this embodiment, the motor assembly 160 and the moving frame 170 may be provided. The motor assembly 160 may be mounted on one side wall of the storage compartment, and the motor assembly 160 is connected to the moving frame 170 . Similarly, as the motor assembly 160 operates, the moving frame 170 moves back and forth.

In addition, the drawer holder 180 may be provided in this embodiment as well. The drawer holder may also be mounted on one side wall of the storage compartment. The drawer holder 180 may be the same drawer holder as in the above-described embodiment. However, in the present embodiment, the drawer holder 180 may be provided such that the hanging member 181 protrudes laterally without protruding downward or upward. In other words, the hanging member 181 may be provided to protrude toward the drawer 20 .

The drawer 30 may be provided with a locking member 36 . That is, the drawer 30 is moved forward by pushing the locking member 36 . The locking member 36 may be provided to be selectively connected to the hooking member 181 of the drawer holder 180 . Accordingly, by the forward movement of the drawer 30, the locking member 36 moves the hanging member 181 forward. That is, it can be said that the engaging member 36 in the present embodiment corresponds to the second engaging member 34 in the above-described embodiment in that it is selectively connected to the engaging member 181 .

However, it can be said that the locking member 33 is moved forward by the transmission member 171 provided in the moving frame 170 . That is, it can be said that the locking member 36 in this embodiment corresponds to the first locking member 33 in the above-described embodiment. Accordingly, in this embodiment, it can be said that one locking member 36 is connected to the drawer holder 180 and the moving frame 170 .

Specifically, the transfer member 171 provided in the moving frame 170 may be provided to push the hanging member 181 of the drawer holder 180 . That is, the transmission member 171 pushes the engaging member 181 connected to the engaging member 36 and consequently pushes the engaging member 36 . In other words, the transmission member 171 may be provided to push the hanging member 181 from one rear side of the hanging member 181 protruding in the drawer direction.

The moving frame 170 in this embodiment may be provided with a connecting member coupling portion 174 coupled to the connecting member 180 . In addition, the moving frame 170 may be provided with a roller 176 so that the moving frame 170 can move back and forth stably.

The roller 176 may be formed in two places on the upper part of the moving frame and two places on the lower part. Accordingly, the moving frame can be stably moved with four supporting points. Of course, the roller 176 may be provided to roll on one side wall of the storage chamber.

The moving frame 170 may be provided to be movable back and forth between the drawer holder 180 and the drawer 30 . In particular, the transfer member 171 of the moving frame 170 may be provided to move back and forth within a gap between the locking member 36 of the drawer and the drawer holder 180 .

The moving frame 170 may be formed in a plate shape, and a plurality of slits 175 may be formed to reduce weight. In addition, when the moving frame 170 is provided to move the three drawers arranged vertically, three transmission members 171 should also be provided. In this case, the two transmission members 171 may be provided at the upper end and the lower end of the moving frame 170 . In addition, the intermediate transmission member 171 may be formed through the slit 175 . Specifically, it may be formed through a slit 177 formed in the middle. That is, a portion of the slit 177 in which the slit is not formed may be referred to as an intermediate transmission member.

Hereinafter, the drawer capable of automatic withdrawal and automatic withdrawal will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 15 to 18 . The described drawer may be similarly applied to a general manual withdrawal and a manually drawn drawer.

The drawer 30 may include a basket 31 and a drawer frame 32 . The basket 31 may be provided to accommodate storage. The drawer frame 32 may be provided to support the basket 31 .

Specifically, the drawer frame 32 may include a basket seating part 38 and a rail coupling part 37 coupled to the rail 120 .

The basket may be seated on the basket seating part 38 , such that the basket 31 may be coupled to the drawer frame 32 . In particular, the basket 31 may be vertically downwardly seated on the basket seating portion 38 to be coupled to the drawer frame. Conversely, the basket 31 may be disengaged from the drawer frame while moving vertically upward. Accordingly, coupling and separation between the drawer frame 32 and the basket 31 are very easy.

An opening 38a may be formed in a central portion of the drawer frame. In addition, the seating portion 38 may be formed around the opening 38a.

The basket 31 may include an upper basket 31a and a lower basket 31b. The lower basket 31b may be inserted into the opening 38a , and the upper basket 31a may be seated on the seating portion 38 . In addition, the upper basket 31a and the lower basket 31b may be integrally formed.

The rail coupling part 37 may be provided to extend back and forth from both left and right sides of the drawer frame 32 . The rail coupling part 37 and the rail are preferably covered from the user's view as much as possible.

To this end, the upper basket is preferably formed to have a larger left and right width than the lower basket so as to cover the rail coupling portion 37 from the upper portion. In addition, the drawer frame 32 may include a drawer decoration 39 . The drawer decoration may be provided in front of the drawer frame 32 . In particular, the drawer decoration 39 may be provided to extend from the front lower portion of the basket 31 to the left and right. That is, it may be provided to cover the rail coupling part 37 in front of the drawer 30 .

Meanwhile, the above-described locking member 33 may be formed on the drawer frame 32 . The drawer may be commonly used in the left freezer compartment and the right freezer compartment. Accordingly, the locking members 33 may be respectively formed on the left and right sides of the drawer frame 32 . As described above, when the drawer 30 is formed in the right freezer compartment, only the locking member 33 provided on the left side may be used.

A locking member mounting portion 34a for mounting a locking member for coupling with the drawer holder may be formed on the drawer frame 32 . Similarly, the mounting portions 34a may be formed on both left and right sides of the drawer, respectively.

The locking member 34 coupled to the drawer holder is provided for automatic retraction. Accordingly, when automatic retraction is not required, the locking member 34 may be omitted. Accordingly, unlike the case in which the locking member 33 is integrally formed with the drawer frame 32 , it is preferable that the locking member 34 is detachably provided on the drawer frame.

Hereinafter, the rail 120 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 16 .

The rail 120 is configured to support the drawer 30 to be movable back and forth. Accordingly, the rail 120 preferably includes a moving rail 121 that moves forward and backward integrally with the drawer 30 .

In addition, the rail coupling part 37 may be provided to be coupled to the moving rail 121 .

Specifically, the rail coupling part 37 may be formed to have a cross section of a channel shape so as to be seated while surrounding the moving rail 121 . That is, it is preferable that the rail coupling part 37 is mounted on the moving rail 121 to be coupled.

A locking part 125 may be formed at the rear end of the moving rail 121 . The locking part 125 may be formed so that the rear end of the rail coupling part 37 is inserted. Accordingly, when the rail coupling part 37 is inserted into the locking part 125 , backward movement and upper movement at the rear end of the rail coupling part 37 may be restricted.

An elastic protrusion 128 may be formed at the front end of the moving rail 121 . In addition, a mounting hole 37a for inserting the elastic protrusion 128 may be formed at the front end of the rail coupling part 37 .

The moving rail 121 may be provided with an elastic protrusion bracket 126 coupled to the moving rail 121 to form the elastic protrusion 128 . A mounting part 126a may be provided on one side of the elastic protrusion bracket 126 and the elastic protrusion support part 126b may be provided on the other side. Accordingly, the elastic protrusion bracket 126 may be coupled to the moving rail 121 through the mounting part 126a.

A cutout 127 may be formed between the elastic protrusion supporting part 126b and the mounting part 126b. In addition, the elastic protrusion 128 may be formed in a bent form in the elastic protrusion support portion 126b. Accordingly, the elastic protrusion 128 may be elastically deformed with respect to the elastic protrusion support part 126b through the cutout 9127 .

Specifically, the elastic protrusion supporting part 126b may be formed horizontally, and the elastic protrusion 128 may be formed to be vertically bent downwardly in the elastic protrusion supporting part 126b. Accordingly, the elastic protrusion may be elastically deformed in a direction in which an angle with the elastic protrusion support part 126b is decreased. That is, it may be elastically deformed toward the left and right center of the drawer.

Meanwhile, the rail 120 may include a fixed rail 122 . The fixed rail 122 supports the fixed rail 122 to be slidably movable under the moving rail 121 .

The rail 120 may be fixed to the side wall of the storage compartment or the support frame 110 through the rail brackets 123 and 124 . The rail bracket may include a front rail bracket 123 and a rear rail bracket 124 . That is, at least two supporting points may be formed at the front and rear of one rail. These rails 120 are provided on both sides of the drawer 30, respectively.

The front rail bracket 123 and the rear rail bracket 124 are formed to be spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance in the front and rear. The above-described transmission member 171 may be provided to move between the front rail bracket 123 and the rear rail bracket 124 . That is, the section between the initial position and the operation position of the transmission member 171 is located between the front rail bracket and the rear rail bracket. Accordingly, the transmission member 171 and the brackets 123 and 124 do not interfere. This means that the slit 113 of the support frame 110 is formed between the front rail bracket and the rear rail bracket.

Hereinafter, the coupling structure of the drawer 30 and the rail 120 will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 17 and 18 .

In order to couple the drawer frame 32 to the rail 120 , the user moves the drawer frame 32 with the front of the drawer up and the rear of the drawer down as shown in FIG. 17 . can be moved backwards. At this time, the rear end of the rail coupling part 37 is inserted into the locking part 125 provided on the rail to be caught.

As shown in FIG. 9 , the rail coupling part 37 may be seated while surrounding the moving rail 121 on the rail 120 , particularly the moving rail 121 . Therefore, when the rail coupling part 37 is seated on the moving rail 121, the left and right movement of the drawer is restricted.

Thereafter, in the state shown in FIG. 17 , the user may lower the front of the drawer frame 32 downward. At this time, the elastic protrusion 128 is elastically deformed in the left and right center direction of the drawer, and when the rail coupling part 37 is completely seated on the moving rail 121, the elastic protrusion 128 is elastically restored and mounted. It is inserted into the hole (37a). The mounting hole 37a may be formed in a side flange 37b covering an outer surface of the moving rail. Therefore, even if the elastic protrusion 128 protrudes after being inserted into the mounting hole (37a)

Accordingly, the drawer frame 32 may be fixed to the moving rail 121 by the locking part 125 and the elastic protrusion 128 .

On the other hand, the state shown in FIG. 17 may be referred to as an initial position of the drawer 30 . As shown, it can be seen that at the initial position of the drawer 30 , the engaging member 33 and the engaging member mounting portion 34a are positioned between the front rail bracket 123 and the rear rail bracket 124 . In particular, it can be seen that the position is biased toward the rear rail bracket (124).

When the drawer 30 is moved to the operation position, the locking member 33 and the locking member mounting part 34a may move forward and be positioned to be biased toward the front rail bracket 123 . Accordingly, the engaging member 33 and the engaging member mounting portion 34a are always positioned between the front rail bracket 123 and the rear rail bracket 124 in the section between the operation position and the initial position of the drawer 30 . It is preferable to be

Hereinafter, a relationship between control elements applicable to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 19 .

First, the refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a main control unit 200 . A basic operation of the refrigerator may be controlled through the main controller 200 .

The refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a motor assembly 160 . The motor assembly 160 may include a motor 162 and a motor control unit 160 . The motor 162 may be driven in a forward and reverse direction. For example, the above-described transmission member 171 may be moved forward by driving in the forward direction (clockwise). Conversely, the transfer member 171 may be moved backward by the reverse driving.

The driving direction of the motor 162 , a duty ratio applied to the motor, and driving and stopping of the motor may be controlled through the motor controller 160 .

The motor assembly 160 may include a connection member 163 that moves back and forth as described above. The maximum protrusion length of the connecting member 163 corresponds to the operation position of the transfer member, and the minimum protrusion length of the connecting member 163 corresponds to the initial position of the transfer member. Accordingly, the connecting member 163 moves between the maximum protrusion length and the minimum protrusion length.

Using this, it is possible to determine whether the connection member 163 in the motor assembly 160 is at a position corresponding to an initial position of the drawer or a position corresponding to an operation position of the drawer. That is, the motor assembly 160 may include two Hall sensors 166 and 167 .

7 and 8 , a magnet 168 may be provided in the motor assembly 160 . The magnet 168 may be provided to move inside the housing 161 according to the movement of the connecting member 163 . Accordingly, when the magnet 168 is recognized by the first Hall sensor 166, it can be seen that the transmission member is at an initial position. And, when the second hall sensor 167 recognizes the magnet 168, it can be seen that the transmission member is an operation position.

Using these hall sensors 166 and 167, it is possible to determine whether the motor assembly 160 is operating normally. This will be described in detail in a control method to be described later.

The motor control unit 165 basically operates the motor 162 when the door opening is detected through the sensor 40 . Here, the sensor 40 may be a sensor that detects the opening of a door at a preset opening angle (eg, an opening angle of 90 degrees). That is, when the sensor 40 detects that the door is opened by 90 degrees, for example, the motor control unit 165 operates the motor 162 so that the drawer is drawn out from the initial position to the operation position.

When a door opening is detected by the sensor 40 , a door opening signal may be generated and transmitted to the motor control unit 165 through the main control unit 200 . Of course, the door open signal may be directly transmitted to the motor control unit 165 .

Meanwhile, the refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a door switch 50 . The door switch 50 may have a configuration generally used in a refrigerator. When the door switch 50 detects the opening of the door, the lighting device 60 illuminating the storage compartment may be operated. Here, the door switch 50 may be configured to be provided separately from the sensor 40 . That is, basically, it can be said that the configuration is provided only for the control of the lighting device 60 . For example, the door switch 50 may determine that the door is opened at a relatively very small opening angle, and thus the lighting device 60 may be operated. Basically, it can be said that the state in which the close contact between the door and the cabinet is released can be detected as the door open.

As described above, on the assumption that the door is opened through the door switch 50 , the door open detection through the sensor 40 should be generated. This is because the door open detection through the door switch 50 is performed at a very small opening angle, and the door open detection through the sensor 40 is performed at an opening angle of approximately 90 degrees, for example. Control logic through the sensor 40 and the door switch 50 will be described later.

Hereinafter, a control method applicable to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 20 to 26 .

First, the initial step S10 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 20 . The initial stage may be referred to as a stage in which the motor 162 is first driven when power is applied to the refrigerator. That is, the motor 162 is initially driven to move the transmission member to the initial position to initialize the electric drawer system.

Therefore, when the initial step (S10) starts, the motor operates (S30). That is, it operates to return the transmission member 171 to the initial position. In this case, the motor driving direction may be counterclockwise as an example. Hereinafter, it will be described on the premise that the transmission member moves rearward when the motor driving direction is counterclockwise and the transmission member moves forward when the motor driving direction is clockwise.

The operation of the motor may be controlled to a predetermined duty ratio. The operation of the motor is terminated when it is determined that the transmission member 171 is returned to the initial position through the first Hall sensor 166 . For example, when a signal is generated from the first Hall sensor 166, the operation of the motor is stopped (S40).

In addition, the operation of the motor may be controlled to stop when the operation time elapses for a predetermined time. For example, the predetermined time may be 5 seconds. Here, the predetermined time may be set longer than the maximum allowable motor operation time in consideration of the margin. Therefore, it can be said that the operation of the motor is normally performed until the ON signal from the first Hall sensor 166 is generated before the predetermined time is reached.

Therefore, after the motor is stopped (S50), if it is detected that the operation time of the motor is longer than a predetermined time or that a signal is generated from the second hall sensor 167 (S50), it is determined that an error has occurred in the electric drawer system can be judged. Accordingly, when an error occurs, the notification step S100 may be performed. That is, the step of indicating an error may be initiated.

Here, it is normal that the on signal generation of the second Hall sensor 167 is generated at the operation position of the transmission member 171 rather than the initial position. Therefore, it can be said that the generation of the ON signal of the second Hall sensor 167 in the initial step S10 is an abnormal occurrence in the entire electric drawer system including the Hall sensors.

In addition, when the motor operates for more than a predetermined time, it can be said that an abnormality has occurred in the entire electric drawer system as described above. This is because the load by the drawer is not applied to the motor 162 when the transmission member returns to the initial position.

Meanwhile, when an error occurs, a notification step S100 may be performed as shown in FIG. 21 . In the notification step (S100), it is determined again whether there is an error (S110), and at this time, it can be determined in which drawer the error occurred. That is, when electric drawers are installed in both freezer compartments, it is determined whether the error is of the left drawer or the error of the right drawer. In case of an error of the electric drawer, the step of displaying the error (S120) may be performed. In this case, an error code may be displayed through the display.

Then, after displaying an error or after determining that it is not an error, it is switched to the standby state ( S200 ). The standby state S200 may be a state in which the driving of the motor is stopped.

As shown in FIG. 22 , determination steps ( S210 and S220 ) of determining a condition for automatically withdrawing the drawer in the standby state ( S200 ) may be performed. The condition for automatic withdrawal of the drawer may be the detection of opening of the door through the sensor 40 . Specifically, when the reed switch 41 detects the opening of the door ( S210 ), it can be considered that the above condition is satisfied.

Accordingly, the motor 162 always maintains the standby state S200 until the door opening is detected through the sensor 40 .

Meanwhile, as described above, the detection of the door opening through the sensor 40 is based on the detection of the door opening through the door switch 50 . Accordingly, when the door opening through the door switch 50 is detected (S200), the withdrawing step (S300) can be performed.

And, if the opening of the door is detected through the sensor 40 and the door opening is not detected through the door switch 50, it is determined whether there is an error in the sensor 40 (S230) and the corresponding error can be displayed on the display. have. After that, it may be switched to the standby state (S200).

In the withdrawing step (S300), the motor 162 should operate to push the drawer 30 forward. Accordingly, a relatively large load is applied to the motor 162 in the drawing-out step. In particular, when there is a lot of storage in the drawer 30, a larger load is applied. Therefore, it is preferable that a large output is controlled to be generated from the motor according to the load in the withdrawal step (S300). That is, it is preferable to control the duty ratio to increase as the load increases.

Specifically, the extracting step ( S300 ) may include a step ( S310 ) of calculating a signal (FG, Frequency Generator) generated when the motor rotates. The FG may be calculated every preset time, for example, 100 ms (milliseconds).

In addition, the drawing-out step (S300) may include a motor drawing-out driving step (S320) of driving the motor in a clockwise direction by changing a duty ratio according to the calculated FG. That is, after dividing into a plurality of load conditions according to the calculated FG, the motor may be driven at a preset duty ratio in each load condition.

For example, when the calculated FG is 0 to 50, the motor may be driven by setting the duty ratio to 180. And, when the calculated FG is 51 to 100, the motor may be driven by setting the duty ratio to 200. As the calculated FG increases, the duty ratio may be increased, and for example, when the calculated FG is 251 or more, the duty ratio may be controlled to 250.

In other words, the larger the calculated FG is, the greater the load is and the higher the output of the motor is.

The pull-out driving step of the motor ( S320 ) may be performed until the on signal is generated from the second Hall sensor 167 . In addition, the pulling-out driving step ( S320 ) of the motor may be performed until a preset time is reached. For example, the preset time may be 3 seconds.

On the other hand, during the drawing-out driving step of the motor ( S320 ), an obstacle may occur that prevents the drawer from being drawn out. That is, a very heavy object may block the front of the drawer, or a foreign object may enter the rail 120 and the moving rail 121 may not be moved. Accordingly, in this case, if the motor is continuously driven in the clockwise direction, a large load may be generated on the motor. That is, the motor may be damaged. Therefore, when a failure occurs, it is preferable that the motor driving step is not continued and the return step S500 is performed.

Of course, it is preferable that the step (S350) of determining whether there is an obstacle is performed before the return step (S500) is performed.

The obstacle determination step S350 may be performed during the driving step of the motor, and the obstacle determination step S350 is preferably performed when the FG calculation cycle reaches a predetermined number of times. For example, the obstacle determination step S350 may be performed from the fourth FG calculation. That is, the initial, for example, up to the third FG calculation may be excluded from the obstacle determination. This is because a relatively large load may be generated on the motor by the static friction force at the initial stage of the drawing-out driving stage of the motor. Accordingly, the obstacle determination step (S350) is performed from a predetermined number of times, and this may be performed until the drawing-out driving step (S320) of the motor ends.

When the FG calculated in the determining step S350 is greater than the preset obstacle FG, it is determined that there is no obstacle, and the motor withdrawal driving step may be continued. However, when the calculated FG is equal to or smaller than the preset obstacle FG, it may be determined that the obstacle exists. That is, it may be determined that the motor is not driven normally due to an overload of the motor due to the obstacle. Therefore, if it is determined that an obstacle exists, the motor is driven and a return step ( S500 ) is performed.

On the other hand, when it is determined that there is no obstacle and the pull-out driving of the motor is terminated, a step S340 of determining whether there is an error may be performed. It may be determined whether the predetermined time, for example, 3 seconds or more, has been taken until the end of the withdrawal driving of the motor. The predetermined time may also be referred to as the maximum allowable time, and it may be determined that it takes more than 3 seconds to be an error. In addition, it may be determined as an error even when the on signal of the first Hall sensor 166 is generated. When the drawing-out driving step S340 of the motor ends, that is, when the drawing-out step S300 is finished, the stopping step S400 may be performed.

24 , the stopping step ( S400 ) is not a step of stopping the driving of the motor. That is, it can be said that the drawing of the drawer is stopped. In other words, the pulling-out driving step of the motor is a step of moving the transmission member forward, and it is determined that the transmission member moves to the operation position through the second hall sensor 167, and the forward movement of the transmission member is stopped. do. That is, the step in which the forward movement of the transmission member is stopped may be referred to as the stopping step (S400).

As described above, in the withdrawal step S300, the motor is driven in a clockwise direction. Similarly, in the stopping step ( S400 ), the clockwise driving of the motor may be maintained. However, since the drawer is not pushed in the stopping step ( S400 ), the driving of the motor may be maintained with the minimum output.

In the stopping step (S400), the motor may be controlled to drive (S420) with a minimum duty ratio that can be applied to the motor. That is, in driving the motor associated with the automatic withdrawal of the drawer, the motor may be controlled to operate with the smallest duty ratio among the duty ratios applied to the motor. This is to prevent the drawer from being automatically drawn in even before the user operates the drawer due to the elastic force of the drawer holder in the stopping step (S400).

Meanwhile, the stopping step ( S400 ) may be performed for a predetermined time. For example, it may be performed for 3 seconds (S430). Then, when the predetermined time elapses, the return step (S500) may be performed.

In the stopping step ( S400 ), the user may push the drawer 30 in the retracting direction. In this case, it is preferable to perform the returning step (S500) even during the stopping step. To this end, the step of calculating the FG (S410) may be performed even in the stopping step (S400). Then, a step (S440) of determining whether the user pushes the drawer in the retracting direction through the calculated FG may be performed. For example, when the calculated FG is smaller than a predetermined FG, it may be determined that the user has pushed the drawer.

Also in this case, it is preferable that the determination step S440 is performed after the predetermined number of FG calculations has elapsed.

As described above, the stopping step ( S400 ) may be normally performed for, for example, 3 seconds. Thereafter, the motor may be driven to return the transmission member 171 to the initial position. This may be referred to as a return step (S500). In the return step, the force pushing the drawer is removed. Therefore, in the returning step, the drawer is automatically returned by the elastic restoring force of the drawer holder described above.

As shown in FIG. 25 , the return step ( S500 ) includes a step ( S510 ) of stopping the driving of the motor. That is, the step of temporarily stopping the driving of the motor in order to change the driving direction of the motor may be performed. The motor may be a BLDC (blushless DC) motor, and in this case, a brake input may be applied to the motor to stop driving. The step S510 may be performed, for example, for 10 ms. Through this step ( S510 ), it is possible to prevent an impact from being applied to the motor itself due to a sudden change in the direction of rotation of the motor.

Meanwhile, the returning step ( S500 ) may be performed similarly to the above-described initial step ( S50 ).

That is, when a signal from the first Hall sensor 166 is generated or the motor operates counterclockwise until a preset time (S530), the driving of the motor may be stopped (S540). Here, the preset time means the maximum allowable time and may be, for example, 5 seconds. It may be determined as an error that the motor is driven for 5 seconds (S550). Of course, a case in which a signal from the second Hall sensor 167 is generated may also be determined as an error (S550). In case of an error, a notification step (S100) may be performed.

In addition, when the driving of the motor is stopped (S540), the standby state (S200) is performed.

Here, the duty ratio in the return step (S500) is preferably greater than the duty ratio in the initial step (S10). However, when the FG sensed in the drawing step, that is, the total FG is smaller than the predetermined FG, the motor may be driven with the same duty ratio as in the initial step S10 . That is, in this case, it is because the obstacle is substantially excluded from the forward or reverse driving of the motor. Accordingly, even when a relatively small duty ratio is applied, the transmission member can be smoothly returned.

On the other hand, when the door is suddenly closed, the drawer in the operation position may collide with the basket of the door. Therefore, it is preferable that the step of urgently returning the drawer is performed. For example, if the door is suddenly closed while the drawer is being drawn out, the drawer may collide with the drawer because the door is closed while the drawer is being drawn out.

Therefore, in this case, it is very desirable that the control logic to urgently return the drawer is performed.

That is, it is preferable that the step (S700) of emergency return of the drawer is performed during the above-described withdrawing step (S300) and stopping step (S400). Of course, this emergency return step need not be performed when the drawer is positioned at the initial position.

Therefore, first, the step of determining the emergency return condition ( S600 ) may be performed, and when the emergency return condition is satisfied, the emergency return step ( S700 ) may be performed.

As described above, the emergency return condition may be said to be satisfied during the withdrawal step or the stop step, and the sensor 40 detects that the door is closed. That is, it can be said that the reed switch 41 detects the closing of the door.

The emergency return step may also be performed in the same manner as the return step. That is, it may include a step of driving the motor counterclockwise ( S720 ), a step of stopping the motor ( S740 ), and an error determination step ( S750 ). Of course, if it is determined as an error, the notification step (S100) may be performed.

Meanwhile, when the emergency return step is started, the motor may be driven in a clockwise direction. Therefore, it is preferable to drive the motor in a counterclockwise direction after stopping the driving of the motor for a predetermined time, for example, 10 ms.

Through the above-described control method, it is possible to minimize the load applied to the motor. In addition, when a large load is applied to the motor due to an obstacle, the motor may perform a return step or an emergency return step to prevent a large load from being continuously applied to the motor.

10: cabinet 20: door
30: Drawer 31: Basket
32: drawer frame 40: sensor
41: reed switch 42: magnet
100: moving assembly 110: support frame
120: rail 150: electric drive unit
160: motor assembly 170: moving frame
180: drawer holder

Claims (15)

a cabinet equipped with a storage room;
a door rotatably provided in the cabinet to open and close the storage compartment;
a drawer provided in the storage compartment and provided to move between an initial position and an operation position spaced apart from the initial position by a predetermined distance forward from the initial position according to the opening and closing of the door; and
Includes a control configuration for controlling automatic withdrawal and automatic withdrawal of the drawer,
The control configuration is
a main control unit including a sensor for detecting opening and closing of the door; and
A motor for moving the drawer from the initial position to the operating position by forward driving and moving the drawer from the operating position to the initial position by reverse driving, the drawer being positioned at the initial position A motor assembly including a first Hall sensor for detecting and a second Hall sensor for monitoring that the drawer is positioned at the manipulation position,
When the main control unit detects the closing of the door through the sensor,
The motor assembly drives the motor in a reverse direction at a first speed until the first Hall sensor is turned on. The method of claim 1,
The motor assembly,
a connecting member having one side fixed to the motor assembly, and the other side being connected such that a withdrawal distance varies with movement of the drawer; and
The refrigerator further comprising a magnet provided to move according to the movement of the connecting member. 3. The method of claim 2,
When the magnet is recognized by the first Hall sensor, it is detected that the drawer is located in the initial position,
When the magnet is recognized by the second hall sensor, the refrigerator detects that the drawer is located at the manipulation position. 4. The method of claim 3,
The motor is mounted on the inner tooth of the support frame,
The refrigerator further comprising a transmission member passing through the support frame to transmit the force of the motor to the drawer. 5. The method of claim 4,
When the magnet is recognized by the first Hall sensor, it is determined that the transmission member is located at the initial position,
When the magnet is recognized by the second hall sensor, it is determined that the transfer member is located at the manipulation position, the refrigerator. delete The method of claim 1,
When the main control unit determines that the emergency return condition is satisfied,
The motor assembly drives the motor in a reverse direction at a second speed faster than the first speed until the first Hall sensor is turned on. 8. The method of claim 7,
The emergency return condition includes a case in which closing of the door is sensed through the sensor while the drawer is being pulled out. 9. The method of claim 8,
When the main control unit determines that the emergency return condition is satisfied,
The motor assembly stops the driving of the motor for a predetermined time and then drives the motor in the reverse direction at the second speed. The method of claim 1,
The main control unit,
a lighting device provided inside the storage compartment; and
The refrigerator further comprising a door switch for driving the lighting device when the door is not attached to the cabinet. The method of claim 1,
The sensor of the main control unit,
a reed switch provided to switch contacts at a critical point according to a change in magnetic force; and
A refrigerator comprising a plurality of magnets spaced apart from each other by varying a horizontal distance to the reed switch. 12. The method of claim 11,
The plurality of magnets,
a horizontal magnet provided to be parallel to the front of the door or the front of the cabinet; and
A refrigerator comprising a vertical magnet positioned vertically with the horizontal magnet. 13. The method of claim 12,
When the door is closed,
The horizontal magnet is positioned parallel to the horizontal side of the reed switch,
The vertical magnet is positioned parallel to the vertical side of the reed switch on the left or right side of the reed switch,
In the reed switch, the horizontal side is longer than the vertical side, the refrigerator. 14. The method of claim 13,
When the opening angle of the door is opened at 90 degrees, the angle between the horizontal magnet and the horizontal side of the reed switch forms 90 degrees. The method of claim 1,
The sensor of the main controller is provided to determine the closing of the door at the same angle as the door opening angle for determining the opening of the door.

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