KR20140131759A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

A refrigerator according to the present invention comprises: a main body having a storage room therein; a main door mounted on one side of the front side of the storage room, able to rotate, and opening or closing the storage room; a sub door mounted on the main door, able to rotate, and opening or closing an auxiliary storage room so that the auxiliary storage room arranged at the rear surface of the main door can be accessed; a front panel attached to the front surface of the sub door; a touch sensor arranged on the rear surface of the front panel; a position displaying part arranged on the rear surface of the front panel, and displaying the position of the touch sensor using a word or a symbol; a latch unit arranged in the main door, and selectively coupled to a hook member protruding from the rear surface of the sub door; a latch releasing unit mounted in the sub door, and having a lock releasing bar to release a locking state between the hook member and the latch unit; and a control part controlling the operation of the latch releasing unit according to the sensing signal of the touch sensor, wherein the lock releasing bar is moved by a solenoid.

Description

Refrigerator {Refrigerator}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to a refrigerator having a touch-type latch release device in a refrigerator having a double door structure.

Generally, a refrigerator discharges cold air generated by a refrigeration cycle including a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve, an evaporator, etc. to lower the temperature of the inside of the refrigerator and freeze or refrigerate food or the like.

The refrigerator generally comprises a freezing room for storing food or beverage by freezing as a storage room, and a refrigerator for storing the food or beverage at a low temperature.

The refrigerator includes a top mount type in which a freezing compartment is disposed in an upper portion of a refrigerating compartment, a bottom freezer type in which a freezing compartment is disposed in a lower portion of the refrigerating compartment, a side freezer compartment in which a freezing compartment and a refrigerating compartment are partitioned into left and right sides, And a side type (side by side type).

In recent years, the functions of refrigerators have been diversified in their original function of storing foods in refrigeration or freezing. That is, a dispenser is installed on the door of the refrigerator to provide purified water and ice, and a display is installed on the front of the door to show and manage the state of the refrigerator.

Further, the capacity of the refrigerator tends to increase in size. In order to utilize the storage space efficiently, a door shelf or a storage case is provided on the inner side of the door to form a space for storing the stored product.

In particular, the refrigerator compartment door may include a main door that opens and closes the storage compartment, and a sub door that is rotatably mounted on the main door so as to be accessible to an auxiliary storage compartment provided inside the main door through an opening formed in the main door.

The auxiliary storage room inside the main door is also called a home bar, and the sub door may be called a home bar.

The sub door is selectively engaged with the main door by being coupled to a latch device provided on the main door.

When the user pulls the handle provided on the sub door, the sub door and the main door are opened together with being coupled to each other. Thus, the user can access the open fridge.

The engagement state of the hook member and the latch device is released by depressing the latch release button provided on the front surface of the auxiliary door.

The latch release button is configured to actuate a latch release device that releases the locked state of the latch device through the auxiliary door.

The conventional latch release button forms a through hole to the front panel of the auxiliary door and is partially protruded from the front panel, and the user is mechanically operated by pressing the button.

However, when a user presses the latch release button, a predetermined force is required, and there is a gap between the button and the through-hole, so that it is difficult to clean the foreign body if the foreign substance is caught.

In addition, since a through hole is formed in the front panel attached to the auxiliary door, it is difficult to form the through hole exactly at the position where the latch release button is inserted. At this time, there is a problem that if the dimension tolerance is increased in consideration of easiness of assembly in which the button is inserted, the gap becomes large.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator having a latch release device which is operated by a touch operation without having to form a through hole for a latch release button on a front panel attached to an auxiliary door The purpose is to provide.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a refrigerator comprising: a main body having a storage chamber therein; a main door rotatably mounted on a front side of the storage chamber to open and close the storage chamber; A sub-door mounted to the main door so as to be rotatable about the main door to open and close the auxiliary storage, a front panel attached to the front of the sub-door, a touch sensor provided on the rear surface of the front panel, A latch unit provided on the rear surface of the front panel for indicating a position of the touch sensor by letters or symbols; a latch unit provided inside the main door and selectively engaging with a hook member protruding from the back surface of the sub door; And an unlocking bar mounted on the inside of the door and moved by a solenoid, And a latch release mechanism for releasing the locked state of the value unit, in accordance with the sense signal of the touch sensor and a controller for controlling the operation of the latch release mechanism.

The refrigerator may further include an LED module mounted inside the auxiliary door and disposed adjacent to the position indicator.

Preferably, the front panel is made of tempered glass and the position indicator is deposited on the rear surface of the front panel with dark ink, except for the characters or symbols of the position indicator.

Preferably, the touch sensor has a through hole corresponding to the position of the position display part, and the light of the LED module passes through the through hole and is incident on the position display part.

Preferably, the solenoid is mounted in a mounting case having a through hole formed on the front and rear surfaces thereof so that the unlocking bar can pass therethrough, and the LED module is mounted in a groove formed on one side of the front surface of the mounting case.

The main door preferably has a hook member slot in which the hook member is selectively inserted into a cover covering the latch device.

Preferably, the main door has a release bar insertion hole for inserting an end of the lock release bar into a cover covering the latch device.

The latch device includes a push bar elastically pressed by the unlocking bar, a stopper elastically pivotally moved by the push bar, and a latching groove in which an end portion of the stopper is selectively inserted is formed at one side, And a latch cam that is rotatably mounted on the other side of the engaging groove.

Preferably, the touch sensor is a non-contact type sensor that detects a change in capacitance.

Wherein the LED module and the touch sensor are respectively connected to a circuit board provided adjacent thereto and a wire of the circuit board is connected to the main body through a hinge portion between the sub door and the main door and a hinge portion between the main door and the main body, And is connected to a control unit.

According to the refrigerator of the present invention described above, there is no need to form a through hole in the front panel of the door, and the front panel can completely cover the front surface of the door including the latch release device, No gap is formed.

Further, since the latch release device is electrically operated by the touch of the user, the latch release device can be easily and conveniently operated without pressing the button.

1 is a front view of a refrigerator according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which the auxiliary door is opened in the refrigerator of FIG. 1;
3 is a perspective view showing a coupling structure of the latch release device.
Fig. 4 is an exploded perspective view of Fig. 3 taken in another direction.
5 is a schematic cross-sectional view schematically showing the configuration of a refrigerator of the present invention.
6 to 8 are partial cross-sectional views showing the operation of the latch release device, the latch device, and the hook member.

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

FIG. 1 is a front view of a refrigerator according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which the auxiliary door is opened in the refrigerator of FIG.

The illustrated refrigerator is a bottom freezer type refrigerator in which a refrigerator is provided at an upper portion of the main body 10 and a freezer is provided at a lower portion thereof.

The present invention is not limited to this type of refrigerator, and the present invention can be applied to a refrigerator provided with a door for opening and closing the storage room of the refrigerator.

In the illustrated embodiment, the left refrigerator compartment door 20 and the right refrigerator compartment door are rotatably mounted as a door for opening and closing the refrigerator compartment.

2, the right refrigerating chamber door includes a main door 40 for opening and closing the right side of the refrigerating chamber, and a sub door 30 rotatably mounted on the main door 40. As shown in FIG.

An opening is formed in a central portion of the main door 40 and an auxiliary storage room 45 is provided at the rear of the main door 40. The sub door 30 opens and closes the auxiliary storage room 45. [

The refrigerator compartment door may include a main door and a sub door, but may be rotatably mounted on the main door and the sub door with a width corresponding to the width of the main body 10 without being divided into left and right sides.

The door for opening and closing the freezing chamber also includes a left freezing chamber door 50 and a right freezing chamber door 60. The freezer compartment door may also be provided with a drawer-type door to which one door can be pivotably mounted or which can be pulled back and forth.

Concave portions (22, 32) for the door handle portion are formed below the refrigerating chamber doors (20, 30), respectively.

Handle grooves 55 and 65 are formed on the lower surfaces of the recesses 22 and 32, that is, on the upper surfaces of the freezing chamber doors 50 and 60, and the handle grooves 35 and 35 are formed on the lower surfaces of the refrigerating chamber doors 20 and 30, respectively. , And the left side is not shown).

The handles of the door may be coupled to the front surface of the door, but it is preferable that the handle is not exposed to the front as in the illustrated embodiment for a clean appearance.

As shown in Fig. 1, a position indicator 100 described as "PUSH " is shown on the front side of the sub door 30. The position display unit 100 informs the user of the position of the touch-type button for selectively releasing the connection since the right-side refrigerator door is composed of the main door and the auxiliary door as described later.

A hook member 170 coupled to a latch device 180 (see Figs. 5 and 6) mounted in the main door 40 is provided on the surface of the sub door 30 opposite to the position display portion 100 And is fixed to protrude.

As shown in FIG. 2, the hook member 170 may be formed in a " C "shape. When the latch member 180 is inserted and engaged with the latch device 180, when the sub door 30 is pulled, ) Are pivoted together and opened.

A release bar 155 constituting a latch releasing device 150 (see FIG. 3), which is a device for releasing the engagement or unlocking state of the latch device 180 and the hook member 170, is formed on the hook member 170 Respectively.

The latch release device 150 is mounted inside the sub door 30 as described later.

A cover 190, which covers the latch device 180, is mounted on the left side of the main door 40.

The cover 190 is formed with a release bar insertion hole 195 into which the release bar 155 is inserted and a hook member insertion hole 197 into which the hook member 170 is inserted.

4 and 5 are views showing the inside of the sub door 30, in which the front and rear panels of the sub door 30 and the parts therebetween are shown. Here, FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the components of FIG. 4 in an exploded manner, FIG. 4 is a perspective view seen from the left rear, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view from the right front.

A front panel 110 is attached to the front surface of the sub door 30, and the front panel 110 can be attached to the front surface of the frame forming the door.

Generally, the door includes an outer case forming the front surface, an inner line forming the rear surface, and a heat insulating material filled in a space therebetween. Further, the side surface and the upper and lower surfaces of the door may be equipped with a deco member.

Thus, the front panel 110 may be attached to the front surface of the outer case mainly made of a metal plate. In FIGS. 3 and 4, the outcases, the inner liners, and the heat insulating material are omitted, and only a part of the front panel 110 is shown.

The front panel 110 may be made of a transparent glass panel, and may be formed of tempered glass because it forms the front surface of the door.

A printing layer 115 (see FIG. 3) may be formed on the back surface of the front panel 110 by painting a paint of a predetermined color.

The printing layer 115 may be formed by vacuum evaporation of ink or metal having a predetermined color without forming a paint.

On the rear surface of the front panel 110, a touch sensor 120 is provided. The touch sensor 120 may be mounted closely to the back surface of the front panel 110, or may be mounted at a predetermined distance.

The touch sensor 120 generates a signal when the user touches the front surface of the front panel 110 with a finger or the like to operate the latch release device.

In addition, a position indicator 100 is provided on the rear surface of the front panel 110 to indicate the position of the touch sensor 120 by a user.

The position display unit 100 may be formed by forming characters or symbols on the print layer 115 formed on the back surface of the front panel 110. [

The position display unit 100 may be formed such that a portion where the printing layer 115 is not formed is a letter or symbol.

A mounting case 140 in which the latch release device 150 is mounted may be provided at the rear of the touch sensor 120.

The mounting case 140 may have a rectangular parallelepiped shape and may be spaced apart from the bottom panel 110 by a predetermined distance.

The mounting case 140 may be mounted in close contact with a cover member 160 mounted to cover the opening formed in the inner liner forming the back surface of the auxiliary door 30.

The cover member 160 is formed with a through hole through which the unlocking bar 155 of the latch releasing device 150 can pass.

6, the latch release device 150 preferably includes a solenoid that moves the unlocking bar 155 by a magnetic force when a current flows.

The latch release device 150 is assembled in such a manner that a cylinder in which a wire is wound is passed through the unlocking bar 155 in the longitudinal direction thereof.

The mounting case 140 has a through hole through which the end of the unlocking bar 155 protrudes from the front and rear surfaces of the cylinder.

The latch release device 150 is mounted on the upper portion of the mounting case 140 and a pair of fastening members 172 for fastening the hook member 170 may be disposed on the lower portion thereof.

That is, the hook member 170 may be fastened by a pair of fastening members 172 through the cover member 160 at the back surface of the cover member 160.

To this end, a pair of fastening portions to be fastened to the pair of fastening members 172 may be formed at the rear of the hook member 170.

The cover member 160 is provided with a through hole into which a pair of fastening members 172 can be inserted and a pair of fastening portions of the hook member 170 are inserted A pair of through-holes may be formed.

The mounting case 140 may further include an LED module 130 disposed on a front upper corner of the mounting case 140 so as to correspond to or at least adjacent to the position of the position indicator 100.

The LED module 130 illuminates the position indicator 100 so that the user can see the position of the touch sensor 120 at a position corresponding thereto or at least adjacent thereto.

When the LED module 130 is provided, the position indicator 100 is expressed as a portion in which the characters or symbols are not printed in the print layer 115, and the LED module 130 displays the non- So that the position display unit 100 is highlighted.

In this case, since the LED module 130 mainly emits bright light, the printing layer 115 is preferably made of dark ink, and is applied to the back surface of the front panel 110 by vacuum evaporation Is more preferable.

According to the vacuum vapor deposition, a source made of ink or metal can be applied very uniformly, and the front panel 110 can feel like a mirror when made of tempered glass.

The touch sensor 120 may be disposed at a position corresponding to the position of the position display unit 100. In this case, a rectangular through- It is preferable that a ball is formed.

The LED module 130 may emit the position indicator 100 through a through hole of the touch sensor 120. [

5 is a schematic cross-sectional view schematically showing a configuration of a refrigerator of the present invention.

5 shows a main door 40 rotatably mounted on the right side of the front surface of the refrigerator main body 10 by means of a hinge 41 and a main door 40 rotatably mounted on the main door 40 by a hinge part 31. [ And schematically shows the door 30 and its internal structure.

First, a control unit 200 for controlling the operation of the latch release device 150 is provided at one side of the main body 10.

The control unit 200 can perform general temperature control according to the operation of the refrigeration cycle of the refrigerator and selectively operate the latch release device 150 according to the detection signal of the touch sensor 120 .

When the LED module 130 is provided, the LED module 130 receives the sensing signal of the touch sensor 120 and transmits the sensed signal to the controller 200 and operates the LED module 130 and the latch release device 150 And may further include a circuit board 145 (PCB) for supplying power for the power supply.

At this time, the controller 200 is electrically connected to the circuit board 145 by electric wires, and the electric wires are preferably wired through the two hinge parts 31 and 41.

Since the sub door 30 and the main door 40 are moving objects, the electric wires can be efficiently connected by wiring through the two hinge parts 31 and 41 to which the pivot shafts are connected.

The LED module 130 and the touch sensor 120 may be directly connected to the controller 200 through the electric wire. However, it is preferable that the circuit board 145 is separately provided for the wire connection and the signal transmission / Which is more preferable in terms of accuracy.

The configuration of the present invention will be roughly summarized again with reference to Fig.

A front panel 110 made of transparent tempered glass is attached to the front surface of the auxiliary door 30 and a printing layer 115 is formed on the back surface of the front panel 110.

In the middle of the print layer 115, a portion that is not printed with characters or symbols is formed to form the position indicator 100.

A touch sensor 120 is disposed immediately behind the position display unit 100 and a penetrating portion is formed in the middle of the touch sensor 120. An LED module 130 disposed adjacent to the touch sensor 120 illuminates the position display unit 100 through the penetrating unit .

The LED module 130 may be disposed at an upper end of the mounting case 140 and the latch release device 150 may be mounted at an upper portion of the mounting case 140.

The unlocking bar 155 of the latch releasing device 150 protrudes slightly from the rear surface of the auxiliary door 30.

A fastening member 172 (see FIG. 4) for fastening and fixing a hook member 170, which is installed to protrude from the rear surface of the auxiliary door 30, is disposed at an inner lower portion of the mounting case 140.

When the auxiliary door 30 is closed to the main door 40, the end of the hook member 170 is inserted into the latch device 180 to be locked.

When the user touches the position display unit 100 and the touch sensor 120 senses this, the unlocking bar 155 further protrudes to release the locked state of the latch device 180. [

Then, when the user pulls the auxiliary door 30 in this state, the hook member 170 is separated from the main door 40 and is opened.

The structure of the latch release device and the latch device will be described in detail with reference to Fig.

The latch device 180 includes a push bar 182 elastically pressed by the unlocking bar 155, a stopper 184 elastically rotated by the push bar, And a latch cam 186 rotatably mounted on the other side thereof with an engaging groove formed at one side thereof and engaged with the hook member.

2, the latch device 180 may further include a cover 190 mounted inside the main door 40 and covering an opening formed in the front surface of the main door 40 .

The cover 190 is formed with a hook member slot 197 into which a hook member 170 mounted to protrude from the back surface of the auxiliary door 30 is inserted, 155 are inserted into the releasing bar insertion hole 195. As shown in Fig.

The push bar 182 is selectively pushed and pushed by the unlocking bar 155.

6, the front end of the unlocking bar 155 is shown in contact with the rear end surface of the push bar 182, but may be spaced apart by a predetermined distance.

The push bar 182 is provided with an elastic member 132 for retracting and restoring the pushing force of the unlocking bar 155 when the pushing force of the unlocking bar 155 is removed.

The stopper 184 is rotatably mounted on one side of the pivot shaft, and the intermediate portion is mounted to be selectively pushed by the push bar 182.

The latch cam 186 has a latching groove 187 on one side thereof for selectively engaging the end of the stopper 184 and a latching groove 188 on the other side for engaging the hook member 170, As shown in FIG.

The latch cam 186 is rotatably mounted at a predetermined angle in a case surrounding the latch device 180.

In FIG. 6, a latching groove 187 is formed on the left side of the latch cam 186 so that the bent end of the stopper 184 is inserted and engaged.

Further, a coupling groove 188 selectively engaging with the hook member 170 is formed on the lower side of the latch cam 186.

6, the touch sensor 120 is disposed at the front of the latch release device 150 on the rear surface of the front panel 110 of the auxiliary door 30. As shown in FIG.

Finally, the operation of the refrigerator of the present invention will be described with reference to Figs.

6, the hook member 170 engages with the latch cam 186 in a state where both the auxiliary door 30 and the main door 40 are closed. At this time, since the latch cam 186 is locked so as not to be pivotable by the stopper 184, the hook member 170 can not escape from the latch cam 186.

Accordingly, when the user pulls the handle provided under the auxiliary door 30 in this state, the auxiliary door 30 and the main door 40 are opened in a combined state.

That is, the main door 40 is not provided with a handle, but the main door 40 is coupled to the auxiliary door 30, so that the main door 40 can be pulled out together with the auxiliary door 30 I can open it.

7, when the user touches the position indicator 100 (see FIG. 5) near the touch sensor 120, the solenoid type latch release device 150 is operated by the control unit 200 So that the release bar 155 is advanced to push the rear end surface of the push bar 182 forward.

The front end of the push bar 182 pushes the stopper 184 to pivot so that the end of the stopper 184 comes out of the latch groove 187 of the latch cam 186, 186 can be rotated counterclockwise.

7, the front end portion of the hook member 170 pushes the side surface of the coupling groove 188 of the latch cam 186, so that the latch cam 186 does not rotate by itself.

8, when the user pulls the auxiliary door 30 open, the latch cam 186, which can be rotated, is rotated clockwise by a predetermined angle, so that the hook member 170 is rotated by the latch cam 186 Out of the coupling groove 188 of the engaging portion 188. [

Then, the auxiliary door 30, to which the hook member 170 is fixed, is opened while the main door 40 is closed to the main body 10.

When the user again closes the auxiliary door 30, the hook member 170 pushes the coupling groove 188 of the latch cam 186 to rotate.

Then, the end of the stopper 184 is caught by the latching groove 187 of the latch cam 186 and locked.

According to the present invention, there is no need to form a through hole in the front panel of the door, and the front panel can completely cover the front surface of the door including the latch release device, Do not.

Further, since the latch release device is electrically operated by the touch of the user, the latch release device can be easily and conveniently operated without pressing the button.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is clearly understood that the same is by way of illustration and example only and is not to be taken by way of limitation, Changes will be possible.

10: Body
20: Left fridge door
30: Right main door of refrigerator room
40: Right side sub door of refrigerator compartment
50: Left freezer door
60: Right freezer door
100: Position indicator
110: front panel
115: Printed layer
120: touch sensor
130: LED module
140: Mounting case
150: latch release device
155: Unlocking bar
160: cover member
170: hook member
180: latch device
182: Push bar
184: Stopper
186: latch cam
187:
188: Coupling groove
190: cover
195: Release bar insertion ball
197: hook member slot
200:
210: Wires

Claims (10)

A main body having a storage room inside,
A main door rotatably mounted on a front side of the storage chamber to open and close the storage chamber,
A sub door rotatably mounted on the main door so as to be accessible to an auxiliary storage room provided on a rear surface of the main door and opening / closing the auxiliary storage room;
A front panel attached to a front surface of the sub door,
A touch sensor provided on a rear surface of the front panel,
A position display unit provided on the back surface of the front panel and indicating the position of the touch sensor by letters or symbols;
A latch device provided inside the main door and selectively engaged with a hook member protruding from a rear surface of the sub door;
A latch release device mounted inside the sub door and having a lock release bar moved by a solenoid to release the lock state of the hook member and the latch device;
And a control unit for controlling the operation of the latch release device according to a detection signal of the touch sensor. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the refrigerator further comprises an LED module mounted inside the auxiliary door and disposed adjacent to the position indicator. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the front panel is made of tempered glass,
Wherein the position indicator is deposited on the rear surface of the front panel with the ink of dark color except for the characters or symbols of the position indicator. The method of claim 3,
Wherein the touch sensor includes a through hole corresponding to a position of the position display unit,
And the light of the LED module passes through the through hole and is incident on the position indicator. The method of claim 3,
Wherein the solenoid is mounted inside a mounting case having a through hole formed in front and rear surfaces thereof so that the unlocking bar can pass therethrough,
Wherein the LED module is mounted in a groove formed at a front side of the mounting case. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the main door is formed with a hook member slot through which the hook member is selectively inserted into a cover covering the latch device. The method according to claim 6,
Wherein the main door has a release bar insertion hole for inserting an end of the release bar into a cover covering the latch device. 8. The method of claim 7,
The latch device includes:
A push bar resiliently pushed by the unlocking bar,
A stopper elastically rotated by the push bar,
And a latch cam rotatably mounted on the other side of the latch groove, wherein the latch groove is formed at one side of the stopper and the engaging groove is engaged with the hook member. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the touch sensor is a non-contact type sensor for sensing a change in capacitance. 10. The method of claim 9,
The LED module and the touch sensor are respectively connected to circuit boards provided adjacent thereto,
Wherein the electric wire of the circuit board is connected to a control unit provided on the main body through a hinge part between the sub door and the main door and a hinge part between the main door and the main body.

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