KR20220152519A - refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a refrigerator that is capable of enabling a user to easily introduce or remove goods into or from the refrigerator. More specifically, the present invention relates to a refrigerator that is capable of enabling a drawer for receiving goods to be more conveniently used. According to an embodiment of the present invention, provided is a refrigerator comprising: a cabinet having a storage space formed therein; a door hinged to the cabinet to be able to rotate so as to open and close the storage space; a first sensor for detecting the rotating angle of the door; a goods keeping member arranged in the storage chamber and starting linear motion from a first position to a second position if the door rotates by equal to or greater than a set rotating angle; a motor for providing a driving force for allowing the goods keeping member to perform linear motion; a second sensor for detecting the position of the goods keeping member, which is moving linearly; and a motor control part for controlling the motor so that the goods keeping member can move linearly toward the first position when the first sensor detects that the door rotates by equal to or smaller than the set rotating angle after the second sensor detects that the goods keeping member starts linear motion.

Description

refrigerator {refrigerator}

The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and relates to a refrigerator in which a user can easily take in/out stored items. More specifically, the present invention relates to a refrigerator in which a drawer accommodating stored items can be easily used.

In general, a refrigerator is a device that freezes or refrigerates food by discharging cool air generated by a refrigeration cycle including a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve, an evaporator, and the like to lower the internal temperature of the refrigerator.

Refrigerators generally include a freezing compartment for freezing and storing food or beverages as a storage compartment, and a refrigerating compartment for storing the food or beverages at a low temperature.

Refrigerators are of the top mount type where the freezer compartment is located above the refrigerator compartment, the bottom freezer type where the freezer compartment is located below the refrigerator compartment, and the side-by-side type where the freezer compartment and the refrigerator compartment are divided into left and right sides. (Side By Side Type). In this case, doors are provided in each of the freezing chamber and the refrigerating chamber, and the freezing chamber or the refrigerating chamber 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 is also a refrigerator in which the freezing compartment and the refrigerating compartment are accessed through a single door. Most of these refrigerators are small, and a freezing compartment is generally provided in a predetermined space inside the refrigerating compartment.

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

In general, the refrigerating chamber and the freezing chamber are provided with shelves on which stored items are placed or storage boxes containing stored items. The storage box is generally provided to form an independent storage space inside the storage compartment. That is, a storage box may be provided to store vegetables or fruits independently of other storage objects or to store meat, fish, or the like independently of other storage objects.

In recent years, the capacity of refrigerators has tended to increase. Therefore, since the front-to-rear width of the storage compartment, such as the refrigerator compartment or the freezer compartment, is increased, it is not easy to withdraw the stored goods stored deep inside. Accordingly, storage boxes are mostly 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 these drawer-type storage boxes are provided in the lower region of the refrigerator to enhance user convenience.

In addition, recently, a home-bar, an ice maker, a shelf, or a door box are installed on the back of a refrigerator door, so 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 freezing chamber or refrigerating chamber, and the door forms a separate storage space or performs additional functions such as generating and supplying ice or cold water. For this reason, the distance at which the rear surface of the door is drawn into the refrigerating chamber or the freezing chamber is getting longer. Therefore, the rear surface of the door and the front end of the shelf or storage box provided inside the refrigerating or freezing compartment may 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 apart from the front of the main body of the refrigerator by a predetermined distance. That is, the front end of the shelf or storage box may be further spaced apart from the rear of the freezing chamber or the refrigerating chamber. Therefore, when the storage box is provided in the form of a drawer, it may be difficult for the user to grab and withdraw the front end of the storage box. In other words, the user may have difficulty in withdrawing the storage box after inserting his/her hand deeper into the storage compartment. In particular, when the storage box is located at the bottom of the refrigerator, it is inconvenient to stretch out and withdraw the storage box from a crouching position.

This inconvenience can be easily understood by imagining that when the user opens the door to withdraw the storage box, the front end of the storage box (ie, the handle of the storage box) is located deep in the storage compartment instead of directly in front of the user.

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

However, with this type of drawer, it is not easy to couple the drawer to the rail. Particularly, in a state in which heavy items are stored in the drawer, it is not easy for the user to fit the roller to the rail while holding the drawer.

Also, if necessary, the drawer may be used after the entire drawer is separated from the refrigerator, instead of withdrawing the drawer and then storing or taking out the stored items. In this case, it would be cumbersome to separate the rail connecting parts from the rails and reconnect them. Therefore, unless there are special circumstances, it can be said that most users use the drawer without separating it even though they know the necessity of separating the drawer.

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

According to one embodiment of the present invention, it is intended to provide a refrigerator in which a drawer provided in a storage compartment is automatically drawn forward by a predetermined length when a user opens the 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 one embodiment of the present invention, it is intended to provide a refrigerator in which a user does not need to apply additional force other than force to open a door by automatically moving a drawer from an initial position to an operating position through an electric driving unit.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, it is intended to provide a refrigerator in which a drawer can automatically return from an operating position to an initial position when a user closes a door of the refrigerator. That is, an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator capable of reducing a user's effort to withdraw a drawer from an initial position to an operating position and at the same time reducing a user's effort to withdraw a drawer from an operating position to an 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 is automatically drawn in by the elastic restoring force of a spring.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, it is intended to provide a refrigerator capable of significantly reducing interference between automatically moving drawers when a door is opened or closed through a sensor that very accurately detects a door opening (closing) angle. That is, when a door opening (closing) angle at which interference between a door and a drawer is minimized is set, a refrigerator capable of detecting door opening (closing) very accurately at the set angle is provided.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, it is intended to provide a door open detection sensor that can flexibly respond even when a preset door open angle is changed according to a product model, and a refrigerator including the same.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, it is intended to provide a refrigerator that can be easily applied to conventional refrigerators and can detect when door open detection and door close detection are at the same angle through a single sensor.

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

According to one embodiment of the present invention, it is intended to provide a refrigerator capable of moving a plurality of drawers substantially simultaneously from an initial position to an operating position through a single electric driving unit.

An object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator capable of automatically pulling in and out of a drawer with reliability and durability. In particular, an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator capable of minimizing damage to an electric driving unit due to overload or long-term repetitive use of the electric driving unit.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a refrigerator capable of easily assembling components related to these components, such as an automatically withdrawn drawer and an electric drive unit for automatically withdrawing the drawer, and at the same time, easily repaired when necessary. want to provide

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator in which a plurality of drawers are integrally and automatically withdrawn and easy to manufacture and maintain.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, it is intended to provide a refrigerator in which a drawer can be easily connected to and separated from a rail supporting the drawer.

Through an embodiment of the present invention, it is intended to provide a refrigerator capable of easily separating and combining only a basket accommodating stored goods in a drawer. That is, it is intended to provide a refrigerator capable of easily separating and recombining only the basket while maintaining the connection between the rail and the rail connecting portion of the drawer.

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

According to one embodiment of the present invention, it is intended to provide a control method of a refrigerator capable of minimizing a load on a motor and flexibly responding to various use environments of a drawer.

In order to achieve the above object, according to one embodiment of the present invention, a cabinet provided with a storage compartment; 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 forward by a predetermined distance when the opening of the door is sensed; a drawer holder elastically deformed when the drawer moves from the initial position to the manipulation position and providing elastic restoring force so that the drawer moves from the manipulation position to the initial position; an electric driving unit that moves the drawer from the initial position to an operating position and elastically deforms the drawer holder; In addition, a refrigerator including a rail provided to allow the drawer to move back and forth with respect to the storage compartment may be provided.

Preferably, the drawer holder includes a hanging member selectively connected to the drawer, and a spring elastically deformed or elastically restored according to a 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. In addition, when the force pushing the drawer is removed while the hook member is connected to the drawer, the drawer may be moved backward by elastic restoration of the spring. Accordingly, forward movement (withdrawal) of the drawer is automatically performed by driving the electric drive unit, and backward movement (retracting) of the drawer is automatically performed by the elastic force of the drawer holder.

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

The drawer holder may include a housing having a slot for accommodating the spring and guiding movement of the hanging member. 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 protrude in a horizontal direction with respect to the housing and be selectively connected to the drawer.

The electric driver 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 manipulation position by driving the motor assembly.

The moving frame includes a transmission member that transmits force to the drawer, and the transmission member pushes the drawer so that the drawer can be moved from the initial position to the manipulation position.

The motor drive unit may include a motor assembly and a transmission member that is moved forward and backward by driving the motor assembly, and the transmission member may be provided to move the hooking member of the drawer forward through the hooking member. Therefore, automatic withdrawal and automatic withdrawal are possible through one holding member provided in the drawer.

The hanging member protrudes from the housing of the drawer holder and is connected to the hanging member of the drawer, and the transmission member may be provided to push the hanging member in a direction perpendicular to the projecting direction of the hanging member.

Preferably, a seating portion is formed on one side of the hanging member to be seated in contact with the transmission member. Through this, it is possible to stably transmit 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 is preferably disconnected. That is, the transmission member is provided to push the hook member, but is not provided to pull it.

In order to achieve the above object, according to one embodiment of the present invention, a cabinet provided with a storage compartment; a door rotatably provided in the cabinet to open and close the storage compartment; a sensor that detects the opening of the door; a drawer provided in the storage compartment and including a holding member so as to move from an initial position forward to an operation position spaced apart by a predetermined distance when opening of the door is sensed; a drawer holder including a holding member selectively connected to the holding member and a spring that is elastically deformed or elastically restored by movement of the holding member; an electric driving unit including a transmission member that pushes the hook member to move the drawer from the initial position to an operation position and a motor assembly that electrically moves the transmission member; In addition, a refrigerator including a rail provided to allow the drawer to move back and forth with respect to the storage compartment may be provided.

It is preferable that the connection between the catching member and the catching 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 manipulation position, the connection between the catching member and the catching member is released, so that the drawer can be manually withdrawn. That is, when the connection between the catching member and the catching 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 operating position to the initial position, it is preferable that the electric driving unit is 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 hooking member moves the hooking member rearward so that the drawer can be returned from the operating position to the initial position.

Preferably, the drawer holder includes a housing in which a slot is formed to accommodate the spring and guide the movement of the hanging member.

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

Preferably, the transfer member is positioned between the housing and the catching member, and is provided to push the catching member forward from the rear of the catching member.

The drawer is provided with a plurality of up and down, the transmission member is provided in each of the plurality of drawers, the electric drive unit is provided to integrally move the plurality of transmission members by driving the motor assembly May contain moving frames.

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

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

Preferably, the rotation shaft of the door is formed as a vertical shaft so that the door rotates left and right to open and close, and is spaced apart from the left or right side of the cabinet toward the front of the cabinet.

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

The reed switch is preferably provided on a hinge cover that forms a rotation axis of the door and is formed horizontally with respect to the ground.

The magnet is preferably provided such that a horizontal distance from the reed switch increases as the opening angle of the door increases, passing through a vertical upper part of the reed switch.

Preferably, the opening or closing of the door is sensed by switching the contacts of the reed switch. And, it is preferable that the contact change is performed at the same door opening angle. The door opening angle may be set to approximately 90 degrees. When the door is opened to an angle of 90 degrees, the contact of the reed switch is switched so that the opening of the door can be sensed. After that, the door may be further opened. When the door is closed at an angle of more than 90 degrees while the door is opened at an angle of more than 90 degrees, the contact point of the reed switch is switched so that closing of the door can be sensed.

Preferably, the magnet 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.

The magnet may include a horizontal magnet provided so that a longitudinal direction is parallel to the front surface of the cabinet and a vertical magnet provided substantially perpendicular to the horizontal magnet in a longitudinal direction based on a closed state of the door.

The magnet is a bar magnet, and preferably has a longer length than the height of the magnet in a mounted state.

The reed switch may be provided to have a rectangular shape having a horizontal side and a vertical side. Further, it is preferable that the length of the horizontal side of the reed switch is greater than the length of the vertical side. Preferably, the lengths of the horizontal magnet and the vertical magnet are greater than the horizontal sides of the reed switch.

When the opening angle of the door is 90 degrees, it is preferable that the angle between the horizontal magnet and the horizontal side of the reed switch is substantially 90 degrees.

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

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

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

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

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

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

In order to achieve the above object, according to one embodiment of the present invention, a cabinet provided with a storage compartment; 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 supporting the drawer so as to be movable back and forth with respect to the storage compartment, wherein the drawer includes: a basket accommodating storage; In addition, a refrigerator may include a drawer frame including a basket seating portion on which the basket is seated and a rail coupling portion seated on the rail and coupled to the rail. Accordingly, the basket can be easily attached to and detached from the drawer frame. In addition, the drawer frame may be easily detachably attached to the rail through the rail coupling part.

Preferably, the basket is seated on the basket seat in a vertical downward direction and coupled to the drawer frame, and the basket is disengaged from the drawer frame while moving vertically upward.

An opening may be formed at 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 in the seating portion, and the lower basket and the upper basket may be integrally formed.

Preferably, the rail coupling portion is provided to extend forward and backward from both left and right sides of the drawer frame, and the upper basket has a wider left and right width than the lower basket so as to cover the rail coupling portion from an upper portion. Through this, it is possible to prevent the rail and the rail coupling part from being visually exposed to the user.

Preferably, the rail includes a movable 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 portion is seated while surrounding the movable rail.

It is preferable that a hooking portion is formed at the rear of the movable rail to restrict rearward movement and upper movement of the rail coupling portion by catching a rear end of the rail coupling portion.

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

An elastic protrusion may be provided at a front end of the movable rail, and a mounting hole into which the elastic protrusion is elastically restored after being elastically deformed may be formed at a front end of the rail coupling part.

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

That is, after the front end of the rail coupling portion is positioned higher than the rear portion, the rear end of the rail coupling portion may be first inserted into the locking portion. 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 part may be moved downward. When the front of the rail coupling part is moved downward, the elastic protrusion is inserted into the mounting hole. As a result, the left and right front and back support points of the rail coupling part may be formed. Therefore, the rail coupling part can be coupled to the rail very easily. Conversely, the user may press the elastic projections located on the left and right respectively. Then, while pressing the elastic protrusion, it is possible to lift the front of the rail coupling part upward. Through this, the coupling between the front of the rail coupling part and the rail is released. Thereafter, the user may pull the rail coupling portion forward and then lift the entire rail coupling portion upward. As a result, the rail coupling part may be completely separated from the rail.

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

Preferably, the movable rails are provided on both sides of the drawer, and the drawer frame is fixed to the movable rail through four support points on the front, rear, left, and right sides by the elastic protrusion and the hooking portion.

Preferably, the rail includes a fixed rail provided below the movable rail and fixed in the storage compartment, and the movable rail is slidable with respect to the fixed rail.

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

Specifically, the basket covers the upper part of the rail and the rail coupling part, and the drawer decoration covers the front part.

In order to achieve the above object, according to one embodiment of the present invention, a cabinet provided with a storage compartment; a door rotatably provided in the cabinet to open and close the storage compartment; a drawer provided in the storage compartment to be movable back and forth and including a drawer frame provided with a basket accommodating stored items and a rail coupling part; And a rail coupled to the rail coupling portion to support the drawer so as to be movable back and forth with respect to the storage compartment, wherein the rail coupling portion is formed in a channel shape so as to be seated from the top to the bottom of the rail and surround the rail, A locking portion into which the rear end of the rail coupling portion 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 portion is formed at the front of the rail. have.

Preferably, the rail includes a movable rail and a fixed rail slidably supporting the movable rail at a lower portion of the movable rail, and the rail coupling part is coupled to the movable rail.

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

Preferably, 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 attached to the mounting hole or easily separated from the mounting hole, the elastic protrusion is preferably formed in a round shape.

The rail preferably includes a rail bracket for fixing the fixing rail to the side wall of the storage compartment.

The rail bracket preferably includes a front rail bracket and a rear rail bracket respectively provided at a predetermined distance apart from each other in front and behind the fixed rail. Thus, the rail can be stably supported. Through this, the drawer can also be stably supported.

The drawer frame is provided with a hooking member protruding toward the sidewall of the storage compartment, and a transmission member protruding toward the drawer frame from the sidewall of the storage compartment to push the hooking member from the rear of the hooking member. It can be. That is, the transmission member may be provided to move forward and backward.

An electric driving unit may be provided to move the locking member through the movement of the transmission member to move the drawer from an initial position forward to a manipulation position separated by a predetermined distance. That is, the transmission member may be moved back and forth by driving the electric drive unit.

The forward and backward movement of the transfer 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 holding member are provided to move between the front rail bracket and the rear rail bracket in a section between the initial position and the manipulation position of the drawer.

In order to achieve the above object, according to one embodiment of the present invention, a cabinet provided with a storage compartment; a door rotatably provided in the cabinet to open and close the storage compartment; a sensor that detects the opening of the door; a drawer provided in the storage compartment to be movable back and forth and including a basket accommodating stored items, a rail coupling part, and a drawer frame provided with a holding member protruding toward 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, and supported toward a sidewall of the storage compartment through a front rail bracket and a rear rail bracket; and a transmission member protruding from a sidewall of the storage compartment toward the drawer frame, and when the opening of the door is sensed, the transmission member moves the holding member to move the drawer forward from an initial position. and an electric driving unit for moving the drawer to an operating position spaced apart by a predetermined distance, and the transfer member is configured to avoid interference between the front rail bracket and the rear rail bracket, in a section between the initial position of the drawer and the operating position. In, a refrigerator characterized in that it is provided to be moved between the front rail bracket and the rear rail bracket may be provided.

In order to achieve the above object, according to one embodiment of the present invention, a cabinet provided with a storage compartment; a door rotatably provided in the cabinet to open and close the storage compartment; a drawer provided in the storage compartment and including a holding member; a sensor that detects the opening of the door; Further, a refrigerator may include a moving assembly coupled to the drawer to support the drawer so as 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 side wall; a motor assembly mounted on an inner surface of the support frame facing the side wall; a rail mounted on an 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 be moved back and forth by driving the motor assembly in a space between the sidewall and the support frame, and passing through the support frame to push the holding member from the rear. may contain frames. Accordingly, the support frame, the motor assembly, the rail, and the entire moving frame may be integrally and detachably provided on the sidewall through the support frame.

The sidewall is a partition wall that partitions the storage chamber into left and right sides, and the moving assembly may be mounted on at least one of a left side or a right side of the sidewall.

It is preferable that a penetrating portion through which at least a portion of the motor assembly passes is formed in the barrier rib.

When the moving assemblies are mounted on the left and right sides of the bulkhead, it is preferable that the motor assembly on one side and the motor assembly on the other side of the penetrating part pass through the penetrating part and are disposed vertically. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the barrier rib from increasing in thickness due to the motor assembly. This means that it is possible to prevent a reduction in storage space due to an increase in the thickness of the bulkhead.

It is preferable that the support frame is provided to cover the penetrating portion as it is coupled to the partition wall.

An opening for extending an electric wire through the inside of the barrier rib may be formed in the barrier rib.

It is preferable that a wire penetration part for extending the wire to the motor assembly is formed in the barrier rib, and a connection part or wire coupling part for connecting the wire to the motor assembly is provided at an end of the wire.

Therefore, after the motor assembly is connected through the wire coupling part, the moving assembly may be integrally coupled to the side wall or the bulkhead. Conversely, after the moving assembly is integrally separated from the sidewall or the bulkhead, the wiring of the motor assembly may be separated through the wire coupler. Thereafter, the moving assembly may be completely separated from the side wall or the bulkhead.

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 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 thickness of the entire bulkhead or an increase in the volume of the entire support frame protruding into the storage compartment. This means that the reduction of the space of the storage compartment can be minimized.

A plurality of drawers are provided vertically, a plurality of rails are provided vertically 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 a slit formed in the front and rear direction is formed in the support frame to guide the movement of the transmission member, and the transmission member is provided to pass through 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 pulled out and provides an elastic restoring force to the drawer when the drawer is pulled in, and the drawer holder is mounted on an outer surface of the support frame. It is desirable to be

The drawer holder may include a housing having a slot formed in a longitudinal direction and having a spring; It is preferable to include a hanging member that moves along the slot, causes elastic deformation and elastic restoration of the spring, and is selectively connected to the drawer.

The drawer may include a basket for accommodating storage; And it is preferable to include a rail coupling part formed in a channel shape so as to be seated from the top to the bottom of the rail and surround the rail.

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

Preferably, the drawer includes a drawer frame having a basket seating portion on which the basket is seated and the rail coupling portion.

Preferably, the holding member protrudes from the drawer frame toward the side wall of the storage compartment.

In order to achieve the above object, according to one embodiment of the present invention, a cabinet provided with a storage compartment; a door rotatably provided in the cabinet to open and close the storage compartment; a drawer provided in the storage compartment and including a holding member; a sensor that detects the opening of the door; and a moving assembly coupled to the drawer to support the drawer so as 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 side wall and having slits formed in the front and rear; a motor assembly mounted on an inner surface of the support frame facing the side wall; a rail mounted on an outer surface of the support frame to support the drawer so as to be movable back and forth; and a moving frame including a transmission member mounted on the support frame so as to be moved back and forth by driving the motor assembly in a space between the sidewall and the support frame, and passing through the slit to push the holding member from the rear. A refrigerator including a may be provided.

It is preferable that a wire penetration part for extending the wire to the motor assembly is formed in the barrier rib, and a connection part for connecting the wire to the motor assembly is provided at an end of the wire.

In order to achieve the above object, according to an embodiment of the present invention, a drawer provided to be movable back and forth in a storage compartment provided in a cabinet and a motor, and pushing the drawer by driving the motor to initialize the drawer A control method of a refrigerator including a transfer member that automatically withdraws the drawer from a position to an operating position, the method comprising: determining a condition for automatically withdrawing the drawer in a standby state; a withdrawal step of pulling out the drawer to the manipulation position by moving the transmission member forward by driving the motor in one direction when the condition is satisfied in the determination step; a stop step of stopping the withdrawal of the drawer by maintaining the one-way driving of the motor after the withdrawing step; In addition, a control method of a refrigerator may include a returning step of returning the transfer member to the rear by driving the motor in a reverse direction after the stopping step.

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, the automatic retracting of the drawer may be prevented. 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 to the manipulation position.

When power is applied to the refrigerator, 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 is preferably included. That is, it is preferable that an initializing step is performed. This is because the transfer member may be located at a different location from the initial location when the refrigerator is provided to the user.

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

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

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

In the withdrawing step, it is preferable that the motor is 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 BLDC (Brushless DC) motor, and in the drawing step, a signal (FG, Frequency Generator) generated during rotation of the motor is calculated, and the duty ratio for driving the motor is changed according to the calculated FG. control is desirable. The calculation of the FG is preferably performed at predetermined time intervals. For example, it may be performed every 100 ms (milliseconds). And, it is preferable to control the duty ratio as the calculated FG increases.

During the withdrawing step, when the calculated FG is smaller than an obstacle FG corresponding to an obstacle obstructing the withdrawing of the drawer, it is preferable that the stopping step is not performed and the returning step is performed.

In the withdrawing step, when a signal is generated from a first hall sensor that detects the initial position or the motor is driven until the predetermined time is reached, a notification step for notifying an operation abnormality is preferably performed. .

Preferably, the stopping step is performed for a predetermined time at 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 driving of the motor for a predetermined period of 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 that detects the initial position or until a predetermined time is reached, so that the driving of the motor is stopped.

In the returning 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 for notifying an abnormal operation is performed.

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

The refrigerator includes a door that opens and closes the storage compartment and a sensor that detects the opening of the door when the opening angle of the door is a predetermined opening angle, and a condition for automatically withdrawing the drawer is that the door is opened through the sensor. It is preferred 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 is in close contact with the cabinet.

It is preferable that the conditions for automatically withdrawing the drawer further include door open detection through the door switch.

During the withdrawal step or stop step, when the closing of the door is detected through the sensor, an emergency return step of stopping the withdrawal step or stopping step and driving the motor in the reverse direction to return the transfer member to the rear is performed this is preferable

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

Features of each of the foregoing embodiments may be implemented in combination in other embodiments.

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

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a refrigerator can be provided in which a drawer does not need to be applied with additional force other than the force to open the door by automatically moving the drawer from the initial position to the operating position through the electric driving unit. .

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

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

According to one embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a door open detection sensor that can flexibly respond even when a predetermined door open angle is changed according to a product model, and a refrigerator including the same.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, it is intended to provide a refrigerator that can be easily applied to conventional refrigerators and can detect when door open detection and door close detection are at the same angle through a single sensor.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a component for automatically withdrawing a drawer is not exposed to the inside of a storage compartment, so that an electric drive unit can be protected, and a refrigerator having a convenient and beautiful interior design of the storage compartment can be provided. have.

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

According to one embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a refrigerator capable of automatically pulling in and out of a drawer with reliability and durability. In particular, it is possible to provide a refrigerator capable of minimizing damage to the electric driving unit due to overload or long-term repetitive use of the driving unit.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a refrigerator capable of easily assembling components related to these components, such as an automatically withdrawn drawer and an electric drive unit for automatically withdrawing the drawer, and at the same time, easily repaired when necessary. can provide.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a refrigerator in which a plurality of drawers are integrally and automatically withdrawn and easy to manufacture and maintain.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a refrigerator in which the drawer can be easily connected to and separated from a rail supporting the drawer.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a refrigerator capable of easily separating and combining only a basket accommodating stored goods in a 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 connecting portion of the drawer.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a refrigerator capable of minimizing visible exposure of rails to users.

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

1 shows 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;
4 shows another embodiment of the sensor shown in FIG. 2 and a mounting state of the sensor;
5 shows an exploded view of the side wall and the moving assembly shown in FIG. 2;
6 shows a state in which a rail and a drawer holder are mounted on a support frame in the moving assembly shown in FIG. 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 operating positions of the motor assembly and the moving frame in the moving assembly shown in Figure 5;
9 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a connection portion between a drawer and a moving assembly;
10 shows a side view of the connection part of the drawer, in particular the drawer frame, and the moving assembly;
11 shows the connection relationship between the drawer and the drawer holder according to the withdrawal (retraction) distance of the drawer;
12 shows another embodiment of a moving assembly;
FIG. 13 shows the positions and connection relationships of the drawer's hooking member, the drawer holder's hanging member, and the transmission member in the operating position in the embodiment shown in FIG. 12;
FIG. 14 shows the positions and connection relationships of the holding member, the hanging member, and the transmission member in a state in which the drawer is further drawn out from the operating position in the embodiment shown in FIG. 12;
15 shows a drawer applicable to one embodiment of the present invention;
16 shows a rail applicable to one embodiment of the present invention,
17 shows how 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 for each step in the control method applicable to one 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 view of a refrigerator 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. An example of a four-door refrigerator in which a refrigerating compartment 11 is provided at the top and freezing compartments 12 and 13 are provided at the bottom is shown. For convenience, the left and right doors of the upper refrigerator compartment are omitted, and the left door of the lower freezer compartment is omitted, so that only the right door 20 of the lower freezer compartment is shown. Of course, this embodiment can be applied not only to this type of refrigerator but also to side-by-side type refrigerators. That is, this embodiment can be applied to any refrigerator equipped with a door that opens and closes the storage compartment and a drawer that moves back and forth in the storage compartment.

The refrigerator includes a cabinet 10 provided with 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 correspondingly.

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

The storage compartments 11, 12, and 13, particularly the freezer compartments 12 and 13, may be provided with a drawer 30 including a basket 31 accommodating stored items. A plurality of drawers 30 may be provided vertically. FIG. 1 shows an example in which three drawers 30a, 30b, and 30c are provided in a right freezer and a left freezer respectively. Of course, this embodiment may be applied not only to the freezer compartment but also to a case in which a drawer is provided in the refrigerating 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.

The present embodiment is intended to provide a refrigerator in which the drawer 30 can move automatically for the user's convenience in association 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, the drawer 30 provided in the right freezer compartment 13 can move automatically. Of course, this automatic movement of the drawer may be applied to either one of the freezing compartments 12 and 13, or to both. In addition, it may be applied to a refrigerating chamber other than a freezing chamber.

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

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

In other words, the drawer 30 in the state in which the door 20 is closed is located in the initial position, and in the state in which the door 20 is open, the drawer 30 is located in the operating 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 them. In order to eliminate interference between the door 20 and, in particular, the drawer 30 and the basket 25 provided in the door, the drawer is retracted to the initial position when the door 20 is closed. When the user opens the door 20 to withdraw stored goods, the drawer 30 is moved 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 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 referred to as a drawer position in a state in which the drawer is substantially moved to the inside of the storage compartment to the maximum, and the manipulation position may be referred to as a position spaced forward by a predetermined distance from the initial position. In this operating position, the user does not have to insert his/her hand deep into the storage compartment to hold the handle 35, so the drawer 30 can be operated very conveniently. Meanwhile, the manipulation position may also be referred to as a stand-by 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 when the door 20 is opened, it is preferable that the drawer 30, particularly the front end or the handle 35 of the drawer, be positioned behind the opening 17. That is, it is still preferable that the drawer 30 is located inside the storage compartment. This is because the user's opening of the door 20 may not necessarily mean the use or withdrawal of 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, drawing out the drawer 30, which is not to be drawn out, to the outside of the storage compartment only causes loss of cold air.

As will be described later, embodiments of the present invention can 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 unnecessary movement of the drawer, thereby reducing loss of cold air and energy. In addition, it is possible to provide a refrigerator in which interference between a drawer and a door can be minimized.

In addition, when the door is opened, the cold air in the storage compartment is basically lost. In addition, as the drawer is drawn out, the cool air inside the basket of the drawer is also lost. That is, as the drawing length of the drawer increases, the loss of cool air inside the basket accelerates. In particular, when the drawer is drawn more forward than the opening, the loss of cool air can 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.

For example, the manipulation position may be referred to as a position moved about 120 mm forward from the initial position. Of course, the distance between the operating position and the initial position may be set differently according to the shape of the refrigerator, the position of the drawer, the distance 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 manipulation 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 leaving the opening.

The present embodiment relates to a refrigerator in which a drawer provided inside 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. Therefore, the refrigerator according to the present embodiment includes an electric drive unit (150, see FIG. 5) for moving the drawer, and a sensor (40, see FIG. 3) for detecting a driving condition of the electric drive unit. 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 The lower 30 is moved from the initial position to the operating position.

The door 20 may be referred to as a door that is opened and closed by rotating substantially based on a vertical axis as a swing type door. That is, if a state in which the door 20 completely blocks the opening 17 is defined as an angle of 0 degrees, the door 20 may be opened by rotating more than 90 degrees.

Here, even when the door 20 slightly deviate from the opening 17, it can be said that the door is open 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 open. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 2 , it can be said that the door 20 is opened when the close contact between the gasket 22 provided on the rear surface of the door 20 and the cabinet 10 is released. Therefore, loss of cold air may inevitably occur in this state.

A door switch to be described later may be provided to detect whether the door 20 and the cabinet 10 are in close contact. The door switch may be provided to interlock with the operation of a lighting device provided inside the storage compartment. That is, when it is determined that 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 door 20 and the cabinet 10 are brought into close contact 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 small opening angle. In general, such a door switch may be formed to have a structure that mechanically swings 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, opening of the door in this embodiment can be said to be based on the withdrawal of the drawer as described above. That is, when the user opens the door 20 on the premise that the drawer is drawn out and used, the drawer is preferably moved to an operating 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 withdrawing the drawer is relatively greater than the opening angle of the door sensed by the door switch.

For example, when the user intends to take out only the storage stored 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 is preferable that the drawer continues to be in the initial position. Of course, the door switch may be referred to as a state in which it is determined that the door is opened.

When a user intends to withdraw and use the drawer, the user generally knows from experience that the door should be opened at least 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 side of the door before the drawer is completely drawn out. In order for the drawer to be substantially completely withdrawn without interfering with the door, it is common for the door to be opened 100 degrees or more, for example.

Therefore, it is preferable that the opening angle of the door for the automatic movement of the drawer is substantially 80 degrees or more, more preferably about 90 degrees. That is, it is preferable to detect the opening of the door at this angle and drive the electric drive unit. This is to take into consideration that a certain amount of time is required for the drawer to move to the manipulation position. That is, the angle at which the opening of the door is detected is preferably smaller than the opening angle of the door at which interference between the drawer and the door is completely excluded. Of course, it is preferable that the angle at which the door opening is sensed and the automatic movement of the drawer starts is 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 the automatic movement of the drawer may be an angle that does not interfere with the rear basket 25 of the door in a state in which the drawer is drawn out to an operating position. As shown in FIG. 2 , the basket 25 may protrude in a direction perpendicular to the rear surface of the door. Accordingly, the basket 25 is positioned outside the opening 17 when the door is opened 90 degrees. 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, interference between the drawer 30 and the basket 25 may occur when the drawer is further drawn out while the door is opened 90 degrees. 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 preset door opening angle for the door 20 to withdraw 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 varies, the intensity of magnetic force applied to the reed switch varies. 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 a positional relationship between the reed switch 41 and the magnet 42 in one embodiment of the sensor 40. Specifically, FIG. 3 shows a state in which the door 20 is opened at an angle of 90 degrees. That is, a state in which the door 20 is opened by rotating 90 degrees with respect to the hinge cover 45 positioned near the leg 2 fixed to the ground is shown. 3 is a view from the ground toward the top.

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 deco 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 point is formed and a component that transmits a door open signal or a door close 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 on the basis of the hinge axis 23, that is, the rotational axis of the door, the vertical 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 changes, the horizontal distance between the reed switch 41 and the magnet 42 changes. That is, the magnet 42 rotates with the same radius with respect to the hinge axis 23, and the horizontal distance with 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 moves away from the reed switch after maximally approaching the reed switch. 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 90 degrees, the contact point of the reed switch 41 may be changed. Such contact change of the reed switch 41 may be referred to as generation of a door opening on signal. That is, when the door is opened to a predetermined angle, it is possible to detect the opening of the door. In other words, in the section between the closed state of the door 20 and less than the opening angle (for example, 90 degrees), 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 and the contact point of the reed switch 41 is changed.

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

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

As described above, when the door opens and reaches the door opening angle, the magnetic force of the magnet 42 does not affect the reed switch 41 . That is, the critical point is exceeded. Conversely, this means that the magnetic force of the magnet 42 affects the reed switch 41 when the door is closed in an open state exceeding the door opening angle and reaches the door opening angle. Accordingly, a door opening angle for detecting door opening and a door closing angle for detecting door closing may be set to be the same. In addition, the opening and closing of the door may be sensed through the same angle through one sensor 40 .

In other words, the sensor 40 may perform door open detection and door close detection through the same angle. For example, after door opening is detected at the same angle, detection of the next same angle may be referred to as door closing detection. In addition, the same angle after door closing detection may be referred to as door opening 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 drawn in, the drawer is automatically drawn in advance before the door interferes with the drawer.

However, in the case of using one magnet 42 as shown in FIG. 3, there may be a problem in that a preset door opening angle varies for each product. For example, when the door opening angle is set to 90 degrees and one magnet 42 and a reed switch 41 are mounted, a door opening angle deviation 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 detection deviation may occur for each product. This deviation may be caused by various causes, such as magnetic force deviation of the magnet 42 and mounting deviation between the magnet 42 and the lease switch 41 .

In addition, when using one magnet 42, 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 is desirable for a specific model, but an opening angle of 85 degrees may be desirable for another specific model.

Therefore, it can be said that it is desirable to provide a sensor 40 that can reduce the deviation from the preset door opening angle and at the same time flexibly change the door opening angle. 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 previous embodiment. However, in this embodiment, unlike the above-described embodiment, a plurality of magnets may be provided.

Also in this embodiment, the reed switch may be located on the hinge cover 45, and a plurality of magnets 42 may be provided on the cap deco 24 of the door 20. The cap deco 24 may be referred to as a configuration for forming the lower surface of the door 20 . Therefore, the magnet 42 is located 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 . Further, the door 20, particularly the cap deco 24, opens and closes with a predetermined upper and lower gap at the top of the hinge cover 45 based on the hinge axis 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 surface of the door 20 or the front surface 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 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 . Also, the vertical magnet 42b may be positioned parallel to the vertical side of the reed switch 41 . A horizontal side of the reed switch may 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 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 in a form elongated left and right at the rear of the reed switch 41 . Also, the vertical magnet 42b may be positioned in a form elongated back and forth on the left or right side of the reed switch. That is, the two magnets 42a and 42b may be positioned to be spaced apart from each other and 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 provide effective magnetic force to the reed switch 41 at the same time.

Also, a distance between the horizontal magnet 42a and the hinge shaft 23 is smaller than a 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. Also, 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 horizontal magnet 42a has a relatively large overlapping area with the reed switch 41 .

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 has an auxiliary effect on the reed switch 41. going crazy

Assuming that the strength of the magnetic force is in inverse proportion 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 period, a very large change in magnetic force strength may occur. For this reason, it is very difficult to accurately set a critical point, that is, a door opening angle at which the magnetic force is not affected at a location affected by the magnetic force. In other words, when only one magnet, for example, the horizontal magnet 42a is provided, it is difficult to set the critical point because a rapid change in magnetic strength occurs before and after the critical point.

In this embodiment, the change in magnetic force intensity progresses gently up to the critical point through the vertical magnet 42b, and then the change in magnetic force intensity occurs rapidly after the critical point. That is, since the vertical magnet 42b continuously provides auxiliary magnetic force up to the critical point, a rapid change in magnetic force up to the critical point can be limited.

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

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

When the horizontal magnet 42a is moved backward, the distance between the horizontal magnet 42a and the hinge shaft 23 decreases. In other words, the distance between the horizontal magnet 42a and the reed switch 41 becomes small based on the criterion shown in FIG. 4 (ie, when the door is opened 90 degrees). Accordingly, the door 20 should be further opened in order to eliminate the effect of the magnetic force of the horizontal magnet 42a on the reed switch 41 . That is, the horizontal magnet 42a may be horizontally moved closer to the hinge shaft 23 in order to preset the door opening angle to exceed 90 degrees.

Conversely, the horizontal magnet 42a can be moved forward. That is, it can be horizontally moved away from the hinge axis 23. In this case, the distance between the horizontal magnet 42a and the reed switch 41 increases. Accordingly, the influence of the horizontal magnet 42a may be excluded when the door opening angle is less than 90 degrees.

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

Meanwhile, in the above-described embodiment of the sensor 40, an example in which a reed switch is provided under a magnet has been described. However, on the contrary, a reed switch may be provided above the magnet. For example, this is because a magnet is provided on the door decoration forming the upper surface of the door 40, and a reed switch can 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 varies as the opening angle of the door changes.

Through this embodiment, it is possible to sense the opening and closing of the door simply and accurately at a preset door opening angle using a relatively 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, the position of any one of the plurality of magnets can be changed and applied flexibly.

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 operating position. Therefore, a structure for supporting the drawer 30 to be movable and a structure or components for automatically moving the drawer 30 are required. Hereinafter, the moving assembly 100 for supporting and moving the drawer will be described in detail. Hereafter, specific configurations of the drawer associated with the moving assembly 100 will be described in detail.

FIG. 5 shows a moving assembly 100 that can be coupled to the sidewall of the freezer compartment of the refrigerator shown in FIG. 1 . Specifically, the partition wall 16, which is one of the side walls of the freezing chamber, and the moving assembly 100 positioned on the left and right sides of the partition wall 16 of the freezing chamber are shown. Of course, this is the case when the freezing chambers are provided on the left and right sides of the freezing chamber partition wall 16, and when there is one freezing chamber, the partition wall 16 may be the left insulating wall (left side wall) or the right insulating wall (right side wall) of the freezing chamber. . Also, when the freezing chambers are provided on the left and right sides of the bulkhead 16, the moving assembly 100 may be provided only in one freezing chamber instead of both 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 freezing chambers shown in FIG. 1 are divided, mounting the moving assembly 100 on the left or right insulating wall is very disadvantageous in terms of thermal insulation performance. In the case of maintaining the thickness of the conventional insulation wall, there is a concern that the internal space of the storage compartment of the moving assembly 100 becomes very small. Therefore, it is preferable to mount the moving assembly 100 on the freezing compartment partition wall 16 of the side walls of the freezing compartment, where thermal insulation performance is not given priority.

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

Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the moving assemblies 100 are mounted on the left and right sides of the side walls forming the storage chambers, particularly the left and right partition walls 16 dividing the left and right storage chambers, will be described in detail.

The moving assembly 100 performs a function of supporting the drawer 30 to be movable back and forth. In addition, structures in which the drawer 30 can be automatically withdrawn are formed. In addition, structures into which the drawer 30 can be automatically drawn may be formed.

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 equipped with various components such as an electric driving unit, and the moving assembly 100 is installed as one assembly on one side wall of the freezing chamber through the support frame 110, especially 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 the side wall of the storage compartment or separated from the side wall. Therefore, manufacturing can be very simple, and subsequent maintenance can 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 bulkhead 16. . Conversely, the drawer 30 may be coupled to the rail 120 after all moving assemblies are formed and mounted on the bulkhead 16 . 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 to be movable back and forth in the storage compartment through the rail 120 . The drawer 30 may be moved while sliding forward and backward through the rail 120 .

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

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

The predetermined space, the isolation space or the electric drive unit mounting space 130 is provided between the inner surface 112 and the partition wall 16 of the support frame 110, and components mounted on the inner surface 112 are the storage compartments. not exposed to the inside. On the other hand, components mounted on the outer surface 111 of the support frame 110 may be exposed to the inside of 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 drive 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 within the predetermined space 130 . Therefore, the electric driving unit 150 is not substantially exposed to the inside of the storage compartment. 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 barrier rib 16, it is preferable that the electric drive unit 150 is also separated from the barrier rib 16.

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

The moving frame 170 may be moved forward and backward by driving the motor assembly 160 . Here, the forward and backward movement may be referred to as the same direction as the forward and backward movement of the drawer 30 . That is, the moving frame 170 may be moved 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 on the support frame 110 . For example, the moving frame 170 may be mounted on an inner surface of the support frame 110 to be movable back and forth. Therefore, since the entire moving frame 170 is substantially located in the predetermined space 130, the entire moving frame 170 and the movement of the moving frame 170 cannot be seen from inside the storage compartment. However, as will be described later, the movement of the moving frame 170 must be transmitted to the drawer 30 provided inside the storage compartment. Therefore, it is preferable that a configuration for transmitting force, for example, a transmission member to be described later, be exposed to the outer surface of the support frame 110.

Therefore, the moving frame 170 can be said to have a structure that transfers 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 barrier rib 16 . The through-portion 16a may be formed so that the motor assembly 160 passes therethrough. The motor assembly 160 may have a left and right width preset based on the standard shown in FIG. 5 . Therefore, when the motor assembly 160 is located in the predetermined space 130 and isolated from the storage compartment, there is a concern that the left and right widths of the partition wall 16 or the left and right widths of the support frame 110 may be excessively increased. This can be said to narrow the internal space of the storage compartment. 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 motor assembly on the left (motor assembly for moving the drawer of the left freezer) passes through the through portion 16a. Through it, it can be located in a predetermined space 130 on the right side. Conversely, a part of the motor assembly on the right side (a motor assembly for moving the drawer of the right freezer compartment) may pass through the through portion 16a and be positioned within the predetermined space 130 on the left side. Also, the two motor assemblies 150 may be positioned side by side up and down. That is, the two motor assemblies 150 may be positioned side by side so that a part of the left and right widths overlaps. Through this, it is possible to minimize the effect of the thickness due to the moving assembly compared to the case where the two motor assemblies 150 are positioned side by side.

Here, the through portion 16a may be formed to correspond to the outer shape of the motor assembly 150 . Therefore, the motor assembly 150 may be molded to the through portion 16a to be fixed and supported. In addition, when motor assemblies are provided on the left and right sides of the barrier rib 16, the penetrating portion 16a may be vertically long. 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 disposed vertically 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. Therefore, a wire supplying electrical energy must be connected to the motor assembly 150 . That is, a wire must be connected from a power supply device (not shown) of the refrigerator to the motor assembly 150.

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

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

The wire coupling portion 16e is positioned within the predetermined space 130 described above. Therefore, before mounting the moving assembly 100 on the partition wall 14, first, the motor assembly 150 is connected through the wire coupling part 16e. Also, 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 separated from the bulkhead 16 by removing screws. Thereafter, the moving assembly 100 may be completely separated from the bulkhead 16 by removing the wiring between the electric wire coupling part 16e and the motor assembly 100 . That is, the structural and electrical connection with the bulkhead 16 can be eliminated.

Therefore, through the structure of the partition wall 16, the structure of the moving assembly 100, and the connection structure of wires through the partition wall, coupling, separation, and wiring of the moving assembly 100 can be performed very easily. .

As described above, motor assembly 100 includes motor 162 . In general, motors are formed in a cylindrical shape. A rotation axis direction of the motor may be perpendicular to the barrier rib 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, a circular motor avoidance groove 116 may be formed according to the shape of the motor. Also, the motor avoidance groove 116 may accommodate at least a portion of the motor. Therefore, only the portion corresponding to the motor can be expanded without increasing 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 extension portion.

Based on the right support frame, the motor avoidance groove 116 protrudes to the right. There is a concern that 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 at a corresponding position between the rail 120 and the rail 120.

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

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 rails, it is possible to minimize the reduction of the storage compartment space due to the overall expansion of the predetermined space 130 described above.

If the left and right widths of the entire motor assembly 100 are further increased in consideration of the size of the motor, for example, when 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 rails, the internal space of the storage compartment will inevitably be reduced.

Hereinafter, a structure for supporting the drawer and applying force to the drawer will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 6 . 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 supported to be movable back and forth through the rail 120 . Generally, a user draws out or withdraws the drawer 30 while pulling or pushing the drawer 30 . At this time, it can be generally said that the rail 120 is 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 , in particular, the motor assembly 160 may be mounted on the inner surface 112 of the support frame 110 . Here, the inner surface 112 may be referred to as a surface facing the side wall or partition wall 16 . Therefore, a structure for transferring the force generated on the inner surface 112 of the support frame to the outer surface 111 of the support frame is required.

To this end, it is preferable that a slit 113 is formed in the support frame 110 . That is, it is preferable that a slit penetrating the support frame 110 is formed. Movement of the moving frame 170 can be transmitted to the drawer 30 through the slit 113 .

Specifically, the moving frame 170 may include a transmission member 171 that transmits force to the drawer 30 . The transmission member 171 may be provided to pass through the slit 113 . That is, substantially the whole of the moving frame 170 moves on the inner surface 112 of the support frame, but a part of the moving frame, that is, the transmission member 171 penetrates the slit 113 to support the support. It is preferable to move in the outer surface 111 portion of the frame. Accordingly, the transmission member 171 moves back and forth along the slit 113.

The transmission member 171 serves to transmit the power 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, the drawer 30 can be moved automatically without the user manually manipulating the drawer.

Meanwhile, a drawer holder 180 may be mounted to the support frame 110 along with the rail 120 . Specifically, one drawer 30 may be provided with a pair of rails 120, one slit 113, and one drawer holder 180 as a set. 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 elastic restoring force to the drawer 30 . In particular, when the drawer 30 is drawn out, it is elastically deformed, and when the drawer 30 is drawn in, it may provide elastic restoring force to the drawer 30 . That is, as described above, the pull-out of the drawer may be automatically performed by the electric driving unit, and the draw-in of the drawer may be automatically performed 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 at the initial position of the drawer viewed from the inner surface 112 of the support frame 110, and FIG. 8 shows the moving assembly 100 at the operating position of the drawer on the support frame. This is a view from the inner surface 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 the electric drive 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 a power component such as a motor 162 and a gear 162a may be accommodated in the housing 161. Therefore, since the housing 161 is fixed to the support frame 110, the motor assembly 160 can be stably supported by the support frame. As described above, due to the shape of the motor 162, the housing 161 corresponding to the motor 162 may be formed to protrude more than other parts, which is in the motor avoidance groove 116 described above. can be settled.

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 connecting member 163 . The connecting member 163 may be provided between the motor assembly, in particular, the housing 161 of 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 so that the withdrawal distance from the motor assembly 160, particularly the housing 161, is different. That is, the drawing distance of the connecting member 163 can 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 moves the moving frame 170 as a result of driving the connecting member 163 so that the withdrawal distance thereof is variable.

One side of the connecting member 163 is fixed to be movable with respect to the motor assembly 160, and the other side is preferably 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 portion 174 may be formed in the moving frame 170 , and the moving frame 170 and the connecting member 163 are coupled through the connecting member coupling portion 174 . Therefore, the movement of the connecting member 163 can be transferred to the movement of the moving frame 170 .

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

Accordingly, the withdrawal distance of the connection member may be increased or decreased according to 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 driving 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, all of the plurality of drawers are preferably moved from an initial position to an operation position. Preferably, the movement of the plurality of drawers is performed collectively. Accordingly, the moving frame 170 may be provided to transmit power to not only one drawer but also a plurality of drawers.

In order to transmit force to a plurality of vertically arranged drawers, 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 arranged vertically on one moving frame 170 . One delivery 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 three drawers arranged vertically. That is, it means that the three drawers can be simultaneously moved from the initial position to the manipulation position through the movement of the single connecting member 163. Through this, it is possible to simultaneously move a plurality of drawers through one motor assembly 150, one connection member 163, and one moving frame 170. That is, despite having only one electric driving unit 150 interlocked with one door 20, it is possible to easily move a plurality of drawers. Therefore, the configuration can be simple, and it becomes possible to implement easy and convenient control logic.

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

As described above, the moving frame 170 may be provided to move a plurality of drawers 30 . Therefore, 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 parts 172 are provided at the upper and lower portions of the moving frame 170, respectively. One pair of sliding support parts 172 may be formed on the upper part and one pair on the lower part of the moving frame 170 . Accordingly, the moving frame 170 can be moved with four support points in the up, down, left, and right directions. Through this, it is possible to prevent the moving frame from being distorted when the moving frame 100 moves forward and backward.

Left and right widths may be expanded to form the support part 172 on the upper and lower portions of the moving frame 170 . A transmission member 171 may be formed in this extended portion. On the other hand, such an extended portion may not be formed in the portion of the transmission member formed in the middle. Therefore, a problem in that the transfer member 171 formed in the middle may be separated from the moving frame 170 when used for a long time may occur. That is, there is a risk that the connecting portion between the transmission member 171 and the moving frame 170 is damaged. This is because the transmission member 171 may be formed in a protruding form 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 problem, 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 applied, 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 in 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. And, the sliding support part 172 may be formed to surround the guide bar 114 . Accordingly, the sliding support part 172 can slide back and forth while covering the guide bar 114 .

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

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

Due to the location of the motor assembly 160, the connecting member 163 pushes or pulls the upper or lower portion of the moving frame 170 instead of the upper and lower central portions. Therefore, basically, the connecting member 163 has no choice but to apply force to distort the moving frame. In order to minimize the application of force to the eccentric portion of the moving assembly 170 rather than the upper and lower central portions, the connecting member 163 includes an extension portion 164. The extension part 164 may be formed to extend upward or downward from an end of the connecting member 163 (ie, an end connected to the moving frame). Preferably, the extension part 164 is formed to pass through the upper and lower center of the moving assembly 170 further. That is, the extension part 164 shown in FIG. 7 further extends from the lower part of the upper and lower center of the moving assembly 170 to the upper part, and in the case of the extension part on the opposite side, it further extends from the upper part to the lower part of the upper and lower part of the center of the moving assembly 170. It is desirable to do so. Through this, even if the vertical center of the connecting member 163 and the vertical center of the moving frame do not match, the distortion of the moving frame 170 can be minimized. Also, 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 connecting member coupling parts 174 may be provided so that force and movement displacement applied through the connecting member 163 are uniformly transmitted to the entire top and bottom of the moving frame 170 .

As described above, a slit 113 is formed in the support frame 110 . The number of 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 long 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 . Based on the refrigerator, the transmission member 171 moves forward and backward along the slit 113 . Since the transfer 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 transmission member 171 may be coupled to the drawer 30 or may come into contact with the drawer 30 . The transfer member 171 is connected to the drawer and can directly apply force to the drawer 30 .

As shown in FIG. 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 positioned on the left side. In other words, it is located more deeply into the storage compartment of the refrigerator.

When it is determined through the sensor 40 that the door 20 is open, 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 relatively increase. That is, the connecting member 163 pushes the moving frame 170 to move the moving frame 170 forward. At this time, the transmission member 171 of the moving frame 170 pushes the drawer 30 to move the drawer 30 to the operating position. In other words, the appearance of the moving assembly 100 at the initial position shown in FIG. 7 changes to the appearance of the moving assembly 100 at the operating position shown in FIG. 7 . In other words, the connecting member 163 and the moving frame 170 shown in FIG. 7 can be said to be located at the initial position, and the connecting member 163 and the moving frame 170 shown in FIG. 8 are located at the operating position. can be said to be On the other hand, the relative position change of the support frame 110 and the housing 161 of the motor assembly does not occur. Therefore, it can be said that the moving frame 170 is provided to be movable back and forth between the initial position and the manipulation position by driving the motor assembly 160 . In addition, the moving frame 170 may be connected to the drawer to apply force to the drawer in a direction in which the drawer is drawn from the initial position to the manipulation position.

As will be described later, the connection between the drawer 30 and the moving frame, particularly the transmission member 171, may be referred to as jamming, and release of such a connection may be referred to as jamming release. In particular, it is preferable that the connection between the moving frame 170 and the drawer 30 is disconnected when the moving frame 170 is moved from the manipulation position to the initial position. That is, it is preferable that the jamming release is performed. For this reason, when the moving frame 170 is moved from the manipulation position to the initial position, it is preferable not to apply force to the drawer 30 . In other words, movement of the drawer 30 from the initial position to the operating position is performed by driving the electric driving unit 150, but movement from the operating position to the initial position is driven by the driving of the electric driving unit 150. It is desirable to be independent of . Details on this will be described later.

Hereinafter, the 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 where the drawer 30 is connected to the moving assembly 100.

The drawer 30 may include a basket 31 accommodating stored objects 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 . Preferably, the basket 31 and the drawer frame 32 are integrally movable. 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 transmission 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 can 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 into the movement of the drawer 30.

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

As described above, the moving frame 170 can be moved forward from the initial position to the manipulation position. The movement of the moving frame 170 is converted into a movement of the drawer 30 from the initial position to the manipulation position. Also, the movement of the moving frame 170 from the initial position to the manipulation 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 manipulation position by pushing the drawer 30 .

To this end, the first holding member 33 is preferably located in front of the transmission member 171. Also, when both the moving frame 170 and the drawer 30 are in their initial positions, it is preferable that they contact each other. Therefore, as the transmission member 171 moves from the initial position to the manipulation position, the first holding member 33 can be continuously pushed. Due to this, the drawer 30 can also be moved from the initial position to the manipulation position.

Conversely, when the drawer 30 is in an operating position, the transmission member 171 may return to an initial position. That is, at this time, the connection or jamming between the transmission member 171 and the first holding member 33 is released. Accordingly, the drawer 30 maintains the operating position, and the transmission member 171, particularly the moving frame 170, can return to its initial position.

As described above, the initial position of the drawer 30 may be referred to as a state in which the drawer 30 is still located inside the storage compartment. Therefore, when using the drawer 30, the user opens the door 20 and pulls the drawer 30 so that at least a portion of the drawer 30 is drawn out of the storage compartment. Therefore, the maximum withdrawing position of the drawer 30 can be defined. That is, the maximum withdrawal position may be referred to as a position in which the drawer 30 is maximally drawn forward in a state in which the drawer 30 is supported by the rail 120 . This 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 can be movably supported between an initial position and a maximum withdrawal position through the rail 120 . As described above, the drawer 30 can be automatically moved from the initial position to the manipulation position by the driving of the electric driving unit 150 .

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

When the door 20 is opened, the drawer 30 can be automatically moved to an operating position so that the user can easily withdraw the drawer 30 . When the user uses the drawer 30, the drawer can be further withdrawn manually from the manipulation position. In addition, when the use of the drawer 30 is finished, the drawer 30 may be manually drawn in. For example, the user can manually draw the drawer 30 to the manipulation position or to the vicinity of the manipulation position. Of course, it will also be possible to manually pull the drawer 30 to the initial position.

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

Meanwhile, when the drawer 30 is drawn out to an operating position, the motor assembly 160 may operate to move the connecting member 163 to an initial position. Therefore, the drawing in of the drawer 30 can always be performed manually.

For example, the user may directly push and draw the drawer 30 from the maximum withdrawal position to the initial position. In addition, after the user directly pushes and draws the drawer 30 from the maximum withdrawal position to the operating position, the drawer 30 can be drawn in to the initial position by closing the door 20 . 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 closes. Therefore, when the user manually closes the door 20, the user has to close the door by applying more force than pulling in the drawer.

In the above, the mechanism between the drawer 30 and the moving assembly 100 has been basically described in terms of the automatic withdrawal of the drawer 30 . However, it is desirable to minimize the effort of the user not only when withdrawing the drawer 30 but also when retracting the drawer 30 .

In this embodiment, in order to provide user convenience when the drawer 30 is drawn in, a refrigerator into which the drawer 30 can be automatically drawn may be provided. In particular, it is possible to provide a refrigerator in which the drawer 30 can be automatically retracted from an operating position or a position near the operating position to the initial position. That is, in the same way that the automatic withdrawal of the drawer 30 does not require the user's force, the automatic withdrawal of the drawer 30 does not require the user's force. In addition, it is possible to prevent the door basket on the back side of the door 20 from applying an impact to the drawer, and the user does not need to apply force to draw in the drawer other than 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 a lower portion of the slit 113 based on the slit 113 , and the drawer holder 180 may be mounted on an upper portion of the slit 113 .

The drawer holder 180 may be provided to provide elastic restoring force to the drawer 30 when the drawer 30 returns to the initial position from the manipulation position or a position near the manipulation position. The drawer 30 may automatically return to an 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 hold the drawer selectively.

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, a second holding member 34 may be provided in the drawer. That is, a second holding member 34 connected to the hanging member 181 of the drawer holder 180 may be provided separately from the first holding member 33 connected to the transmission member 171 of the moving frame.

The second holding member 34 may be provided above the first holding member 33 . Specifically, the second holding member 34 may be formed to protrude from the drawer frame 32 toward the support frame 110 .

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

When the drawer 30 is withdrawn in the elastic section, a spring (not shown) provided in the drawer holder 180 is elastically deformed. Also, when the drawer 30 is pulled in 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 drive unit 150 . That is, it is drawn out to the operating position. As the drawer 30 is drawn out, the second catching member 34 provided in the drawer 30 pushes the catching member 181 . The hanging member 181 moves forward together with the second holding member 34, and thus the spring can be elastically deformed. For example, the spring may be tensioned. The elastic restoring force generated at this time allows the drawer 30 to be drawn in automatically.

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

Therefore, while the transmission member 171 is provided only to push the first holding member 33, the hanging member 181 is pulled by the second holding member 34 and the second holding member 34 is pulled. 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 pulled out, and the second locking member 34 is pulled when the drawer 30 is pulled in. will pull In other words, it is preferable that the hanging member 181 and the second holding member 34 are always connected to each other when the drawer 30 is pulled in and out in the elastic section. Therefore, when the drawer is pulled in, automatic pull-in, not manual pull-in, is enabled, so that the user can operate the drawer very conveniently. Of course, it is preferable that the automatic drawing-in of the drawer 30 is performed from the operation position or the vicinity of the operation position to the initial position, rather than the section from the maximum withdrawal position to the initial position.

Hereinafter, referring to FIG. 10 , an automatic drawing-in mechanism of the drawer by the drawer holder 180 will be described in detail.

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

10 shows an example in which the elastic section starts further forward than the initial position and ends further forward than the manipulation position.

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

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

In FIG. 10, for convenience, it is shown that one hook member 181 is positioned at the elastic start position and the manipulation position, respectively. And, for convenience, it is shown that one transmission member 181 is positioned at the initial position and the manipulation position, respectively. It can be seen that the transmission member 181 is biased to the left side of the slit 113 in the initial position and is biased to the right side of the slit 113 in the operating position.

When the second catching member 34 moves forward from the initial position and reaches the elastic starting position, the second catching member 34 is connected to the catching member 181 . The elastic start position may be preset between the initial position and the manipulation position, which is determined by the shape of the slots 183 and 184 formed in the housing 182 of the drawer holder 180 and the hanging member 181. It can be performed 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 start position may be set to be 30 mm away from the initial position forward.

Since the engagement between the second catching member 34 and the catching 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. Further, as the drawer reaches the elastic starting position and is further drawn out, the hanging member 181 moves forward to elastically deform the spring. In addition, when the drawer moves further forward and reaches the manipulation position, the elastic displacement is further increased. That is, the hook member 181 shown on the right side of FIG. 10 is in a state where the second locking member 34 is caught, and the drawer 30 is in an operating position.

As shown, it can be seen that at the operating position of the drawer 20, the drawer holder 180 applies force to draw the drawer 30 in. Therefore, in this embodiment, the operation of the electric driving unit 150 can be controlled to maintain (for example, clockwise driving) at the operating position. That is, when the door 20 is open, it is preferable that the operating state of the electric drive unit 150 is always maintained to push the drawer 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 can be controlled to maintain its operating position. Of course, as will be described later, when the closing of the door 20 is sensed, the motor assembly 160 can be reverse driven (for example, 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 at the operating position of the drawer 30 may cause an overload of the electric driving unit 150 . This is because the motor is idle because the connecting member 163 cannot move forward anymore. Therefore, after moving the drawer 30 to the operating position, the electric driving unit 150 maintains the operation for a predetermined time, and then returns the moving frame 170 to the initial position by reverse driving. 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, after moving the moving frame 170 to the operating position, the electric driving unit 150 may be controlled to be reverse driven after maintaining the operating position for about 5 seconds.

As described above, it is preferable that the automatic withdrawal of the drawer 20 by the electric driving unit 150 is from the initial position to the manipulation position. Therefore, the withdrawal from the operating position to the maximum withdrawal position can be performed manually. That is, the user can directly pull the drawer 20 and withdraw it.

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

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

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

When the coupling between the hook 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 obstructed by the drawer holder 180. there will be

According to this embodiment, as described above, the moving frame 170 can maintain its operating position in the open state of the door. Accordingly, in a state in which the door is open, the user can withdraw the drawer and then manually pull the drawer 30 to the manipulation position.

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

Unlike the above, the elastic start position and the initial position may be the same. However, in this case, an impact may be applied to the drawer 30 when the drawer 30 returns to the initial position. In this case, since the elastic displacement of the spring is relatively large (ie, the elastic range is large), the elastic restoring force of the spring may decrease over time.

Therefore, by setting the elastic start position to be spaced forward from the initial position, the initial return speed of the drawer can be relatively fast and the final return speed can be relatively slow. Here, the difference in return speed can be said to be 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 drawer's initial return speed is slower than the door's closing speed, an impact may be applied to the drawer by the door. Conversely, if the end return speed is high, 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.

Meanwhile, the second catching member 34 is connected to the hook member 181 at the elastic starting position when the drawer 30 is withdrawn, and conversely, at the elastic starting position when the drawer 30 is pulled in. The connection between the second catching member 34 and the catching member 181 is released. This may 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 so that the hook member 181 can rotate at the elastic starting position. If the hook member 181 in the above-described first inclined slot is rotated counterclockwise to be disconnected, the hook member 181 in the second inclined slot 186 is rotated clockwise to be disconnected. can do.

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

1) With the door closed, multiple drawers are in their initial position.

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

3) The user can further withdraw the drawer manually from the drawer's operating position.

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 closes, the door pushes the drawer so that the drawer can return to its initial position.

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

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, when the door is opened, the drawer can be automatically withdrawn to an operating position where the user can easily withdraw the drawer. As the door is closed in the operating position, the door may push the drawer to be drawn into the initial position, and the drawer may be automatically drawn into the initial position by using an elastic restoring force.

Hereinafter, steps of withdrawing and withdrawing the drawer will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 11 . FIG. 11 sequentially shows connection and disconnection with the drawer holder 180 according to the position change of the drawer 30 .

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

When a door open signal is generated, the electric driving unit operates to move the drawer to the operating position. 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 manipulation position. This position may be referred to as an elastic start position as described above.

From the initial position to the elastic start position, reaction force does not act except for the substantially negligible frictional force of the rail 120 . That is, no force obstructing the withdrawal of the drawer is generated. Therefore, overload of the electric driving unit may be prevented in advance during initial operation of the electric driving unit. Also, the spring of the drawer holder 180 is elastically deformed from the elastic starting position. The elastic start position may be set to a position spaced 30 mm forward from the initial position, for example.

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.

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

In the above-described embodiment, it has been described that the manipulation position is a position between FIGS. 10(c) and 10(d). Therefore, the user must manually withdraw the drawer from the operating position to the elastic end position, and at this time, the user must overcome the elastic restoring force of the drawer holder spring for a very short distance. The user can 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, the drawer can be manually drawn in to the operating position. At this operating position, the drawer holder 180 and the drawer are reconnected.

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

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 FIGS. 10(b) and 10(a), the elastic restoring force is released. Therefore, at this time, the drawer can be returned to the initial position by inertial force.

In the above, an embodiment for automatic withdrawal of a drawer and an embodiment for automatic withdrawal of a 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, referring to FIG. 12, another embodiment capable of implementing automatic withdrawal and automatic withdrawal of a drawer through a single holding member will be described in detail. A basic mechanism or configuration may be applied similarly or identically to the above-described embodiment. Therefore, features different from those of the foregoing 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 similarly in this embodiment. 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 so that the hook member 181 protrudes sideways instead of downward or upward. In other words, the hanging member 181 may protrude toward the drawer 20 .

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

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

Specifically, the transmission member 171 provided on 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 hooking member 181 connected to the hooking member 36 to push the hooking member 36 as a result. 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 toward the drawer.

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

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

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 transmission member 171 of the moving frame 170 may be provided to move forward and backward 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 three drawers arranged vertically, three transmission members 171 should also be provided. At this time, the two transmission members 171 may be provided at the upper and lower ends of the moving frame 170 . And, the intermediate transmission member 171 may be formed through the slit 175 . Specifically, it may be formed through the slit 177 formed in the middle. That is, the portion where the slit is not formed in the slit 177 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 manual withdrawal 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 portion 38 and a rail coupling portion 37 coupled to the rail 120 .

The basket is seated on the basket seating portion 38 so that the basket 31 can be coupled to the drawer frame 32 . In particular, the basket 31 may be seated on the basket seating portion 38 vertically downward and coupled to the drawer frame. Conversely, the basket 31 may be disengaged from the drawer frame while moving vertically upward. Accordingly, coupling and separation of 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. Also, 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. Also, the upper basket 31a and the lower basket 31b may be integrally formed.

The rail coupling part 37 may be provided to extend forward and backward from both left and right sides of the drawer frame 32 . It is preferable that the rail coupling part 37 and the rail are hidden from the user's field of view as much as possible.

To this end, it is preferable that the upper basket has a larger left and right width than the lower basket so as to cover the rail coupling part 37 from the upper portion. Also, the drawer frame 32 may include a drawer decor 39 . The drawer decor may be provided in front of the drawer frame 32 . In particular, the drawer deco 39 may be provided to extend left and right from the lower front portion of the basket 31 . That is, it may be provided to cover the rail coupling part 37 at the front of the drawer 30 .

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

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

A holding member 34 coupled to the drawer holder is provided for automatic insertion. Therefore, when automatic retraction is not required, the engaging member 34 may be omitted. Therefore, unlike the case where the hooking member 33 is formed integrally with the drawer frame 32, the hooking 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 so as to be movable back and forth. Accordingly, it is preferable that the rail 120 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 with the movable rail 121 .

Specifically, the rail coupling part 37 may be formed to have a channel-shaped cross section so as to be seated while surrounding the movable rail 121 . That is, it is preferable that the rail coupling part 37 rests on the movable rail 121 and is coupled thereto.

A hooking part 125 may be formed at the rear end of the movable rail 121 . The hooking part 125 may be formed such that the rear end of the rail coupling part 37 is inserted. Therefore, when the rail coupling part 37 is inserted into the hooking portion 125, rearward movement and upward movement of the rail coupling portion 37 may be restricted.

An elastic protrusion 128 may be formed at the front end of the movable rail 121 . Also, a mounting hole 37a into which the elastic protrusion 128 is inserted may be formed at a front end of the rail coupling part 37 .

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

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

Specifically, the elastic protrusion support portion 126b may be formed horizontally, and the elastic protrusion 128 may be formed to be bent vertically downward from the elastic protrusion support portion 126b. Accordingly, the elastic protrusion may be elastically deformed in a direction in which an angle with respect to the elastic protrusion support part 126b decreases. That is, it may be elastically deformed toward the center of the left and right sides 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 movable 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 support 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 spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance. The aforementioned 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 manipulation position of the transmission member 171 is located between the front rail bracket and the rear rail bracket. Therefore, the transfer 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, a coupling structure between 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, as shown in FIG. 17, the user sets the drawer frame 32 with the front side of the drawer up and the rear side of the drawer down. can be moved backwards. At this time, the rear end of the rail coupling part 37 is inserted into the hooking part 125 provided on the rail and caught.

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

After that, in the state shown in FIG. 17, the user can lower the front of the drawer frame 32 downward. At this time, the elastic projection 128 is elastically deformed in the direction of the left and right center of the drawer, and when the rail coupling part 37 is completely seated on the movable rail 121, the elastic projection 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 movable 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 movable rail 121 by the hooking part 125 and the elastic protrusion 128 .

Meanwhile, 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 holding member 33 and the holding 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 rear rail bracket 124 is located biasedly.

When the drawer 30 is moved to the operating position, the holding member 33 and the holding member mounting portion 34a move forward, and may be positioned close to the front rail bracket 123 . Therefore, 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 operating position and the initial position of the drawer 30. It is desirable to be

Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 19, the relationship between control components that can be applied to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

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

A 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 controller 160 . The motor 162 may be driven in a forward and reverse direction. For example, the transmission member 171 described above may be moved forward by forward (clockwise) driving. Conversely, the transmission member 171 may be moved backward by reverse driving.

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

As described above, the motor assembly 160 may include a connecting member 163 that moves forward and backward. The maximum protruding length of the connecting member 163 corresponds to the operating position of the transmission member, and the minimum protruding length of the connecting member 163 corresponds to the initial position of the transmission 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 connecting member 163 in the motor assembly 160 is at a position corresponding to the initial position of the drawer or a position corresponding to the manipulation position. That is, the motor assembly 160 may include two hall sensors 166 and 167 .

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 , the motor assembly 160 may include a magnet 168 . The magnet 168 may be provided to move inside the housing 161 according to the movement of the connecting member 163 . Therefore, when the first hall sensor 166 recognizes the magnet 168, it can be seen that the transfer member is in an initial position. In addition, when the second hall sensor 167 recognizes the magnet 168, it can be seen that the transmission member is in an operating 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 the control method to be described later.

The motor controller 165 basically operates the motor 162 when door opening is sensed through the sensor 40 . Here, the sensor 40 may be referred to as a sensor that detects the opening of the door at a predetermined opening angle (for example, a 90-degree opening angle). That is, when the sensor 40 detects that the door is opened 90 degrees, for example, the motor control unit 165 operates the motor 162 to withdraw the drawer from the initial position to the operating position.

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

Meanwhile, a 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 refrigerators. When the door switch 50 senses the opening of the door, the lighting device 60 for illuminating the storage compartment may be operated. Here, the door switch 50 may be referred to as a configuration provided separately from the sensor 40 . That is, it can be said that it is basically a configuration provided only for controlling the lighting device 60 . For example, the door switch 50 may operate the lighting device 60 by determining that the door is opened at a relatively small opening angle. Basically, it can be said to be a configuration capable of detecting a state in which close contact between a door and a cabinet is released as a door open.

As described above, door open detection through the sensor 40 should occur on the premise of door open detection through the door switch 50 . This is because door open detection through the door switch 50 is performed at a very small opening angle, and door open detection through the sensor 40 is performed at an opening angle of about 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, with reference to FIG. 20, the initial step (S10) will be described in detail. The initial stage may be referred to as a stage in which the motor 162 is initially driven when power is applied to the refrigerator. That is, the motor 162 is initially driven to move the transfer member to the initial position, thereby initializing 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 its initial position. The driving direction of the motor at this time may be, for example, counterclockwise. Hereinafter, description will be made on the premise that the transmission member moves backward when the driving direction of the motor is counterclockwise and moves forward when the driving direction is clockwise.

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

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

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

Here, it is normal that the on signal of the second hall sensor 167 is generated at the operating position of the transmitting member 171, not at the initial position. Therefore, the generation of the on signal of the second hall sensor 167 in the initial step S10 can be said to indicate that an abnormality has occurred in the entire electric drawer system including the hall sensors.

In addition, when the motor operates for a predetermined period of time or more, it can be said that an abnormality has occurred in the entire electric drawer system as described above. This is because no load by the drawer is applied to the motor 162 when the transfer 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 notifying step (S100), whether or not an error is determined again (S110), and at this time, it is possible to determine in which drawer the error occurred. That is, when electric drawers are installed in both freezer compartments, it is determined whether the left drawer has an error or the right drawer has an error. In case of an error in the electric drawer, a step of displaying the error (S120) may be performed. At this time, an error code may be displayed through the display.

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

As shown in FIG. 22 , in the standby state ( S200 ), determination steps ( S210 and S220 ) of determining conditions for automatically withdrawing the drawer may be performed. A condition for automatically withdrawing the drawer may be the sensor 40 detecting the opening of the door. 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 opening of the door is sensed through the sensor 40.

Meanwhile, as described above, door open detection through the sensor 40 is premised on door open detection through the door switch 50 . Accordingly, when door opening through the door switch 50 is detected (S200), the withdrawal step (S300) may be performed.

In addition, when the door opening is detected through the sensor 40 and the door opening is not detected through the door switch 50, it is determined whether the sensor 40 has an error (S230) and a corresponding error can be displayed on the display. have. After this, it may be switched to a standby state (S200).

In the withdrawing step (S300), the motor 162 should operate to push the drawer 30 forward. Therefore, a relatively large load is applied to the motor 162 in the drawing step. In particular, when there are many items stored in the drawer 30, a greater load is applied. Therefore, in the drawing step (S300), it is preferable to control so that a large output is generated from the motor according to the load. That is, it is preferable to control the duty ratio to increase as the load increases.

Specifically, the fetching step (S300) may include a step (S310) of calculating a signal (FG, frequency generator) generated when the motor rotates. FG may be calculated every predetermined time, for example, 100 ms (milliseconds).

The drawing-out step (S300) may include a motor drawing-out driving step (S320) of driving the motor clockwise by varying the 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 predetermined duty ratio under each load condition.

For example, when the calculated FG is 0 to 50, the motor may be driven with a duty ratio of 180. And, when the calculated FG is 51 to 100, the motor can be driven with a duty ratio of 200. As the calculated FG increases, the duty ratio increases. 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 larger the load is determined, and the motor output is increased.

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

Meanwhile, during the pull-out and drive step of the motor (S320), a failure preventing the pull-out of the drawer may occur. That is, the movable rail 121 may not be moved due to a very heavy object blocking the front of the drawer or foreign matter entering the rail 120 . Therefore, in this case, when the motor is continuously driven clockwise, 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 does not continue and the return step (S500) is performed.

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

The obstacle determination step (S350) may be performed during the motor driving step, 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 FG calculation up to the third, for example, may be excluded from obstacle determination. This is because a relatively large load may be generated on the motor due to the initial static friction force in the pull-out and driving phase of the motor. Accordingly, the obstacle determination step (S350) is performed from a predetermined number of times, which may be performed until the pull-out driving step (S320) of the motor is completed.

When the FG calculated in the determination step (S350) is greater than the predetermined obstacle FG, it is determined that there is no obstacle, and the motor drawing-and-driving step may continue. However, when the calculated FG is equal to or smaller than the predetermined obstacle FG, it may be determined that an obstacle exists. That is, it may be determined that the motor is not normally driven due to an overload of the motor due to an obstacle. Accordingly, when it is determined that an obstacle exists, driving of the motor is terminated 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, an error determination step (S340) may be performed. It may be determined whether or not the predetermined time, for example, 3 seconds or more was taken until the pull-out operation of the motor was terminated. The predetermined time may also be referred to as the maximum allowable time, and if it takes more than 3 seconds, it may be determined as an error. In addition, even when the first hall sensor 166 generates an on signal, it can be determined as an error. When the motor take-out driving step (S340) ends, that is, the pull-out step (S300) is finished, the stop step (S400) may be performed.

As shown in FIG. 24, the stopping step (S400) is not a step of stopping the driving of the motor. That is, it may be referred to as a step of stopping the withdrawal of the drawer. In other words, the pull-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 manipulation position through the second hall sensor 167, and the forward movement of the transmission member is stopped. do. That is, the step of stopping the forward movement of the transmission member may be referred to as the stopping step (S400).

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

In the stopping step (S400), the motor may be controlled to drive (S420) with the minimum duty ratio that can be applied to the motor. That is, in driving a motor related to the automatic withdrawal of the drawer, the motor may be controlled to operate with the smallest duty ratio among duty ratios applied to the motor. This is to prevent the drawer from being automatically drawn in before the user operates the drawer by 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, a return step (S500) may be performed.

In the stopping step (S400), the user may push the drawer 30 in the drawing-in 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 FG (S410) may be performed even in the stop step (S400). Then, a step of determining whether the user has pushed the drawer in the retracting direction through the calculated FG (S440) may be performed. For example, when the calculated FG is smaller than a predetermined FG, it may be determined that the user pushed the drawer.

In this case, it is preferable that the determination step (S440) is performed after a predetermined number of FG calculations have elapsed.

As described above, the stop step (S400) may normally be performed for, for example, 3 seconds. Then, the motor may be driven so that the transmission member 171 returns to its initial position. This may be referred to as a return step (S500). In the returning 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.

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

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

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

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

Here, it is preferable that the duty ratio in the returning step (S500) is greater than the duty ratio in the initial step (S10). However, when the FG detected 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 obstacles are substantially excluded from forward driving or reverse driving of the motor. Therefore, even if a relatively small duty ratio is applied, the transfer member can be smoothly restored.

Meanwhile, when the door is rapidly closed, the drawer in the operating position may collide with the basket of the door. Therefore, it is preferable that the step of emergency return of the drawer is performed. For example, if the door is rapidly closed while the drawer is being withdrawn, the drawer and the door may collide with each other as the door is closed while the drawer is being withdrawn.

Therefore, in this case, it is highly desirable that control logic for returning the drawer urgently is performed.

That is, it is preferable that the step of making the drawer urgently return (S700) is performed during the above-described withdrawal step (S300) and stop step (S400). Of course, this emergency return step need not be performed when the drawer is located in the initial position.

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

As described above, the emergency return condition may be that a withdrawal step or a stopping step is satisfied, 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 be performed in the same manner as the return step. That is, it may include driving the motor counterclockwise (S720), stopping the motor (S740), and determining an error (S750). Of course, if it is determined as an error, a 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 also preferable to drive the motor counterclockwise after stopping the driving of the motor for a predetermined time, for example, 10 ms.

Through the above 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 reset 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 (19)

cabinets in which storage spaces are formed;
a door rotatably hinged to the cabinet to open and close the storage space;
a first sensor for detecting a rotation angle of the door;
a storage member disposed in the storage compartment and starting a linear movement from a first position to a second position when the door is rotated more than a set rotation angle;
a motor providing a driving force for linear movement of the storage member;
a second sensor for detecting a position of the storage member moving in a straight line; and
When the first sensor detects that the door is rotated less than a set rotation angle in a state where the second sensor detects the start of linear movement of the storage storage member, the storage storage member returns to the first position. A refrigerator comprising a motor control unit for controlling the motor to move linearly toward According to claim 1,
Further comprising a door switch for detecting whether the door and the cabinet are in close contact,
The start of the linear movement of the storage member,
The refrigerator is performed in a state in which the first sensor detects rotation of the door at or above a set rotation angle after the door switch detects the opening of the door. According to claim 1,
Wherein the motor control unit displays a sensor error when the door switch does not detect the opening of the door in a state in which the first sensor detects rotation of the door beyond a set rotation angle. According to claim 1,
The motor control unit,
The refrigerator operates as an emergency return condition when the first sensor detects that the door rotates less than a set rotation angle in a state in which the second sensor detects the start of the linear movement of the stored storage member. According to claim 1,
The second sensor,
A third sensor for sensing the first position, and
A refrigerator comprising a fourth sensor for sensing the second position. According to claim 5,
The motor control unit,
The refrigerator confirms, through the third sensor, that the motor is controlled so that the storage member moves linearly toward the first position. According to claim 6,
The motor control unit,
The refrigerator, wherein an error is displayed if the third sensor does not detect the first position within a predetermined time after the motor drives the stored storage member to linearly move toward the first position. According to claim 5,
The motor control unit,
The refrigerator does not determine the emergency return condition in a state in which the third sensor detects the first position. According to claim 5,
The motor control unit,
The refrigerator controls the motor so that the storage member moves linearly toward the first position when the third sensor does not detect the first position in an initial operating state. According to claim 5,
The motor control unit,
The refrigerator displays an error when the fourth sensor detects the second position while the third sensor detects the first position. According to claim 1,
The motor control unit,
A refrigerator in which a duty ratio is increased as a signal generated when the motor rotates increases. According to claim 1,
Further comprising a transmission member that moves linearly to transmit the driving force of the motor between the storage storage members,
Wherein the second sensor detects the position of the stored storage member through the transmission member, the refrigerator. According to claim 1,
The first sensor,
A reed switch provided to switch a contact point at a critical point according to a change in magnetic force; and
A refrigerator comprising a plurality of magnets varying horizontal angles with respect to the reed switch. According to claim 1,
Wherein the second sensor includes a plurality of hall sensors. 15. The method of claim 14,
Further comprising a magnet that moves linearly with the storage member,
The second sensor,
A refrigerator that detects the position of the stored storage member through a sensor signal recognized by the magnet among the plurality of hall sensors. According to claim 15,
Further comprising a connecting member that is connected between the motor and the storage member and moves just before,
Wherein the magnet is installed on the connecting member. According to claim 15,
Further comprising a housing accommodating the motor,
The second sensor includes a third sensor installed in the housing to detect the first position and a fourth sensor to detect the second position. According to claim 1,
Wherein the storage member includes a drawer. According to claim 1,
The second position is a position spaced forward by a predetermined distance from the first position in the storage space.

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