KR20070114425A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

A refrigerator is provided to install a door switch in a storage compartment and operate the door switch in accordance with opening and shutting of a door to prevent interference between the door of the storage compartment in which the door switch is installed, and a door of another storage compartment. A refrigerator has a main body(10). A first storage compartment(30) and a second storage compartment(20) are defined in the main body with a front side of each compartment opening. A first door(13) opens and shuts the open side of the first storage compartment. A partition wall(34) is installed crossing the first storage compartment. A first door switch(40) is installed at a front of the partition wall to sense opening and shutting of the first door. An operating member(13a) is installed at the first door at a position corresponding to the first door switch to operate the first door switch in accordance with opening and shutting of the first door.

Description

Refrigerator {Refrigerator}

1 is a front view showing a conventional refrigerator equipped with a door switch.

2 is a diagram schematically showing a door switch, a refrigerating compartment door and a freezing compartment door when a reversible door is adopted as a refrigerating compartment door and a drawer door is used as a freezer compartment door in a refrigerator having a conventional door switch.

3 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 4 is an enlarged perspective view showing the door switch and the operation structure according to the opening and closing of the door.

5 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention.

* Description of symbols on the main parts of the drawings *

      10: main body, 12: refrigerator compartment door,

      13: freezer door, 13a: operating member,

      20: refrigerator, 21: shelves,

      30: freezer, 34: bulkhead,

      40: door switch, 42: button portion,

The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to a refrigerator having a door switch for detecting whether a door is opened or closed.

In general, the refrigerator is a device for supplying the cold air generated by the freezing cycle to the storage compartment to maintain the freshness of various foods for a long time.

      The refrigerator has a main body provided with a storage compartment for storing food, a door rotatably installed in the main body through a hinge device, and a door for opening and closing the storage compartment, and detecting whether the door is opened or closed and controlling the operation of the refrigerator according to the result. It has a door switch for.

     When the door is opened by the door switch, a lamp installed inside the refrigerator is turned on to illuminate the inside of the storage compartment, and the operation of the fan is stopped to minimize the loss of cold air.

1 is a front view showing a conventional refrigerator equipped with a door switch.

      As shown in FIG. 1, when the door switch 1 is installed in the intermediate partition 4 partitioning the refrigerating compartment 2 and the freezing compartment 3, the refrigerating compartment door 5 and the freezing compartment door 6 are closed. Each has two buttons 1a and 1b that are pressed.

      Further, the refrigerating compartment door 5 and the freezing compartment door 6 are provided with push protrusions 5a and 6a for pressing the buttons 1a and 1b of the door switch 1, respectively.

However, in the conventional refrigerator, since the door switch 1 is installed in the intermediate partition 4 between the refrigerating chamber 2 and the freezing chamber 3, there are certain limitations on the size of the push protrusions 5a and 6a due to space constraints. When the size of the push protrusions 5a and 6a is not sufficient, when a large amount of food is stored in the refrigerating compartment door 5 and the refrigerating compartment door 5 is struck, the contact point between the button 1a and the push protrusion 5a is shifted. The door switch 1 may not operate properly.

      In addition, since the door switch 1 is mounted inside the intermediate partition 4 in which the heat insulating material is foamed, there is a problem in that the door switch 1 is not easily assembled and repaired.

      On the other hand, in recent years, the refrigerating chamber door is configured as a reversible door that can selectively change the opening and closing direction, such as the right-opening or left-opening method, and the freezer door 6 as a drawer-type door (see Fig. 1). In this case, as shown in FIG. 2, the push protrusions 5a and 6a interfere with each other according to the open position of the door.

      2 is a view schematically showing a door switch, a refrigerating compartment door and a freezing compartment door when a reversible door is adopted as a refrigerating compartment door and a drawer door is used as a freezer compartment in a refrigerator having a conventional door switch. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the pressing protrusion 5a of the refrigerating compartment door is positioned at the left side of the pressing protrusion 6a of the freezer compartment door in the state where the doors 5 and 6 are closed, and the refrigerating compartment door 5 is used in a right-opening manner. In this case, when both the refrigerating compartment door 5 and the freezing compartment door 6 are opened, interference may occur between the push protrusions 5a and 6a.

The present invention is to solve this problem, an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator having a door switch which is not affected by the switching operation even when a large amount of food is loaded on the door is not affected by the switching operation To provide.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a highly compatible door switch, which is commonly applicable to both a rotary door hinged to the main body, a reversible door and a drawer door selectable in an open / close direction, and does not cause interference between doors. To provide a refrigerator.

In order to achieve the above object, a refrigerator according to the present invention includes a main body, first and second storage compartments which are partitioned from each other in the main body and open at the front thereof, and a first door that opens and closes one opened surface of the first storage chamber. A partition installed across the first storage compartment, a first door switch installed at the front of the partition so as to detect whether the first door is opened or closed, and the first door switch operated according to the opening and closing of the first door. And an operating member provided at a position corresponding to the first door switch in the first door.

The first door is selectively hinged to both sides of the main body to rotate and open and close.

The first door is characterized in that the sliding and opening and closing in the front and rear direction of the main body.

A second door for opening and closing the opened one surface of the second storage compartment is selectively hinged to both sides of the main body.

The first door switch includes a button part embedded in the partition wall and protruding toward the front of the main body, and the actuating member protrudes toward the button part at a corresponding position to press the button part in the first door. It is characterized by.

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

As shown in FIG. 1, the refrigerator according to the present invention includes a main body 10 in which storage chambers 20 and 30 are formed and an open front surface thereof, and storage chambers 20 and 30 in the interior of the main body 10. Includes an upper refrigerating compartment 20 and a lower freezing compartment 30 which are mutually divided by an intermediate wall 11. The front surface of the main body 10 is provided with a refrigerator compartment door 12 and a freezer compartment door 13 for opening and closing the refrigerating compartment 20 and the freezing compartment 30, respectively.

The refrigerating chamber 20 is provided with a shelf 21 for placing a storage. The shelf 21 is guided by a guide (not shown) formed on the side wall of the refrigerating compartment 20 to be inserted into and fixed to the refrigerating compartment 20.

Shelf 21 is provided with a plurality of spaced up and down at a predetermined interval depending on the size of the storage space to partition the storage space to be stored more storage.

In addition, the upper portion of the refrigerating chamber 20 is provided with a control panel portion 22 for controlling the state of the refrigerator, the lamp 23 is formed below the control panel portion 22. The lamp 23 is turned on when the refrigerating chamber door 12 is opened to serve to illuminate the inside of the refrigerating chamber 20, and is configured to be off when the refrigerating chamber door 12 is closed. In the rear wall of the refrigerating chamber 20, a cold air discharge port 24 for discharging cold air into the refrigerating chamber 20 is formed.

The freezer compartment 13 and the refrigerating compartment door 12 may be provided in a reversible type so as to shield the freezing compartment 30 and the refrigerating compartment 20, which are storage spaces, from the outside and selectively open and close the refrigerating compartment 20. It rotates forward with a hinge (not shown) formed at the left end or the right end of the freezer compartment 30 to open and close the refrigerating compartment 20 and the freezer compartment 30.

The upper part of the freezer compartment 30 is divided into left and right sides, and an ice maker 31 and an ice bank 32 for storing ice made in the ice maker 31 are installed on the left side, and a storage drawer 33 for the freezer compartment on the right side and the lower side. Is provided.

A partition wall 34 is installed between the ice maker 31 and the ice bank 32 and the freezer compartment drawer 33 located on the right side thereof to partition each other, and the partition wall 34 opens and closes the freezer door 13. The door switch 40 for detecting the burying is embedded.

      The door switch 40 includes a switch body 41 in which an electrical contact is installed therein, and a button portion 42 interlocked with the contact and protruding outside the switch body 41 to operate the contact. Detailed description of the configuration will be omitted.

The inner surface of the freezer door 13 corresponds to the button part 42 so that the button part 42 of the door switch 40 is pressed by the freezer door 13 in the closed state of the freezer door 13. The operating member 13a is installed in the position.

      When there is a space spaced between the inner surface of the freezer compartment door 13 and the partition wall, the operating member 13a is provided in a shape protruding into the freezer compartment 30 in consideration of the spaced distance, and the The tip is provided flat, but its area is determined so as to prevent malfunction due to deflection or tolerance of the freezer compartment door 13.

      On the other hand, the door switch for detecting the opening or closing of the refrigerating compartment door 12 may also be installed on the separation wall or the upper body separately from the freezer compartment side door switch 40, it is not shown in the figure.

      5 is the same as the basic structure of the refrigerator and the freezer compartment 13 is provided in a drawer type that is opened and closed by sliding in the front and rear directions instead of the rotating structure by the hinge coupling.

      The door switch 40 is provided in the same way as the rotary door described above, the operation member (not shown) for the operation of the door switch 40 is also applied to the drawer door 13 in the refrigerator according to the invention The door switch 40 has been shown to be equally applicable to the rotary door and the drawer door without other structural changes.

According to the structure of the door switch 40 described above, since the door switch 40 is installed in the storage compartment and the operation member 13a for operating the door switch 40 is installed on the inner side of the door, interference with the door of the other storage compartment is fundamentally blocked. .

      Therefore, in the case of the refrigerator having the refrigerating compartment 20 in the upper portion and the freezing compartment 30 in the lower portion, as shown in the illustrated embodiment, the door of the refrigerating compartment may be provided in a pivoting manner in which one side is hinged and further opened and closed. It can also be configured as a reversible type that can be selected.

      In particular, in the case of the reversible type door structure, there is a restriction on the installation position of the door switch according to the left and right simultaneous operation, when the door switch of the freezer compartment is installed on the partition provided in the freezer compartment as in the present invention, the operation structure of the refrigerating compartment door Regardless of the interference problem between doors does not occur.

     Even in the case of the freezer, the door switch can selectively adopt a reversible type door or a drawer door in the same state.

According to this embodiment, the structure of the door switch is installed in the freezer compartment, but the same applies to the case of the refrigerating compartment, and the installation position of the door switch may be installed at the front of the storage compartment so that the door can be operated according to the opening and closing of the door. Wherever applicable, it can be applied not only to bulkheads provided in storage rooms, but also to other structures such as shelves.

As described above, in the refrigerator according to the present invention, a door switch is provided in a storage compartment and operated according to opening and closing of a door.

Therefore, no interference occurs between the door of the storage compartment in which the door switch is installed and the door of another storage compartment adjacent to the door.

In addition, when the door switch according to the present invention is applied, reversible doors and drawer-type doors can be selectively applied to each storage room without any structural changes in the refrigerator body, and thus standardize parts and assembly processes to be applied to various models. This can reduce the production cost.

Claims (5)

A main body, a first storage compartment and a second storage compartment partitioned from each other in the main body, and having a front surface opened, a first door for opening and closing an opened surface of the first storage chamber, a partition wall disposed across the first storage chamber, and the first storage chamber. A first door switch installed at a front surface of the partition wall to detect whether a door is opened or closed, and corresponding to the first door switch in the first door to operate the first door switch according to opening and closing of the first door; A refrigerator comprising an operating member provided at a position. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the first door is selectively hinged to both sides of the main body to rotate and open and close. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the first door is opened and closed by sliding in the front and rear directions of the main body. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein a second door for opening and closing one opened surface of the second storage compartment is selectively hinged to both sides of the main body.       The method of claim 1, wherein the first door switch includes a button part embedded in the partition wall and protruding forward of the main body, and the first door may press the button part. Refrigerator, characterized in that the operation member is formed to protrude toward the button portion so as to correspond to the position.

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