Refrigerator

Abstract

 Disclosed is a refrigerator, comprising a refrigerator body (1) forming a cooling compartment; a door (3) detachably coupled to the refrigerator body; a guide part (10, 32, 12, 31, 11) guiding the door to slide along a surface of the door between a position before the door is coupled to close a part of the cooling compartment and a position after the door is coupled to close the whole part of the cooling compartment; and a fixing (14, 2, 15) part provided in the guide part, fixing the guide part to the refrigerator body at the position after the door is coupled. Thus, the present invention provides a refrigerator having a structure of coupling a door to and detaching the door from a refrigerator body in an easy manner.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly but not exclusively to, a refrigerator having an improved structure of coupling a door to a refrigerator body.

[0002] Conventionally a refrigerator comprises a cabinet 101 forming a cooling compartment (not shown) and a door 103 disposed in front of the cooling compartment, opening and closing the cooling compartment, as illustrated in FIG. 5. The door 103 is supported by hinge devices 110, 107 and 113 to thereby allow the door 103 to be rotatably moved to the cabinet 101.

[0003] Each of the hinge devices 110, 107 and 103 comprises a hinge bracket 110, one side portion of which is fixed to the cabinet and the other side portion of which is positioned on the door 103, a hinge shaft 113 provided in the hinge bracket 110 and a hinge hole 107 formed on the door 103, rotatably receiving the hinge shaft 113. On the hinge devices 110, 107 and 113 is positioned a hinge cover 120 covering the hinge devices 110, 107 and 113. With this configuration, the door 103 can be rotated to the cabinet 101 based on the hinge shaft 113.

[0004] In such a conventional refrigerator, one side portion of the hinge bracket 110 is fixed onto the top face of the cabinet 101 by a plurality of screws 115 engaged with engaging holes formed on the refrigerator body through screw holes of the hinge bracket 110.

[0005] When the door is coupled to the cabinet 101 in this manner, a plurality of screws 115 need to be used for fixation of the hinge bracket 110, and thus, the coupling process of the door by screw engagement has been complicated. Conversely, when the door is detached from the cabinet 101, the plurality of screws with which the hinge bracket 110 is fixed onto the cabinet all need to be released, which is problematic.

[0006] Accordingly, it is an aim of embodiments of the present invention to provide a refrigerator having a structure for coupling a door to, and detaching the door from, a refrigerator body in an easy manner.

[0007] Additional aspects and/or advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

[0008] According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a refrigerator, comprising a refrigerator body forming a cooling compartment; a door detachably coupled to the refrigerator body; a guide part guiding the door to slide along a surface of the door between a position before the door is coupled to close a part of the cooling compartment and a position after the door is coupled to close the whole part of the cooling compartment; and a fixing part provided in the guide part, fixing the guide part to the refrigerator body at the position after the door is coupled.

[0009] Preferably, the guide part includes a supporting bracket, one side of which is coupled to the refrigerator body and the other side of which is coupled to the door, a coupling shaft provided in any one of the refrigerator body and the supporting bracket, and an elongated guide hole formed on the other one thereof and receiving the coupling shaft to guide the coupling shaft.

[0010] Preferably, the guide part further includes a supporting shaft provided in any one of the refrigerator body and the supporting bracket, and a supporting hole formed on the other one thereof and rotatably receiving the supporting shaft.

[0011] Preferably, the elongated guide hole includes a fist section receiving the coupling shaft at the position before the door is coupled, a second section receiving the coupling shaft at the position after the door is coupled, and a connection section connecting the first section and the second section.

[0012] Preferably, the fixing part includes a screw hole formed in the supporting bracket, an engaging hole provided in the refrigerator body and communicating with the screw hole at the position after the door is coupled, and an engaging member engaged with the engaging hole through the screw hole.

[0013] Preferably, the refrigerator further comprises a hinge device rotatably supporting the door to the refrigerator body at the position after the door is coupled, wherein the hinge device includes: a hinge shaft formed in any one of the supporting bracket and the door; and a shaft receiving hole formed in the other one thereof and rotatably receiving the hinge shaft.

[0014] For a better understanding of the invention, and to show how embodiments of the same may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a prospective view of a refrigerator according to the present invention;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are exploded perspective views of enlarging a portion on which a door supporting part is installed in the refrigerator of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4a is a diagram illustrating a state before a door is coupled to the refrigerator;

FIG. 4b is a diagram illustrating a state after a door has been coupled to the refrigerator; and

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of enlarging a portion on which a hinge device is installed in the conventional refrigerator.

[0015] Hereinafter, an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0016] As illustrated in FIG. 1, a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises a refrigerator body 1 including a pair of cooling compartments (not shown) in the left and the right thereof, a pair of doors positioned in front of the pair of cooling compartments, opening and closing the cooling compartments, and a pair of door supporting parts (to be described later) supporting the pair of doors 3 to the refrigerator body 1.

[0017] The pair of door supporting parts have the same configuration, and thus, only the door supporting part in the right will be described with reference to FIG. 2.

[0018] The door supporting part comprises a coupling means (to be described later) with which the door 3 is coupled to the refrigerator body as illustrated in FIG. 1, hinge devices 7 and 13 supporting the door 3 coupled to the refrigerator body 1 and a cover member 20 covering the coupling means and the hinge devices 7 and 13.

[0019] The coupling means comprises a guide part (10, 32, 12, 31 and 11) guiding the door 3 to slide along a surface of the door 3 between a position before the door 3 is coupled as illustrated in FIG. 4a and a position after the door 3 has been coupled as illustrated in FIG. 4b and a fixing part (14, 2 and 15) fixing the guide part (10, 32, 12, 31 and 11) to the refrigerator body 1 at the position after the door 3 has been coupled as illustrated in FIG. 4b.

[0020] The guide part (10, 32, 12, 31 and 11) includes a supporting bracket 10, one side of which is coupled to the refrigerator body 1 and the other side of which is coupled to the door 3, a coupling shaft 32 provided in the refrigerator body, an elongated guide hole 12 formed on the supporting bracket 10, guiding the coupling shaft 32, a supporting shaft 31 provided in the refrigerator body 1, and a supporting hole 11 formed on the supporting bracket, receiving the supporting shaft in a rotatable manner.

[0021] The coupling shaft 32 is fixed onto the refrigerator body so as to allow the head portion thereof to be exposedly displaced on the top face of the refrigerator body 1.

[0022] The coupling shaft 32 is movably received in the elongated guide hole 12, comprising a first section 12a receiving the coupling shaft 32 at the position before the door is coupled as illustrated in FIG. 4a, a second section 12b receiving the coupling shaft 32 at the position after the door has been coupled as illustrated in FIG. 4b, and a connection section 12c connecting the first section 12a and the second section 12b.

[0023] The supporting shaft 31 is fixed onto the refrigerator body with a space whereby it is separated from the coupling shaft 32, and its head part is exposedly positioned on the top face of the refrigerator body 1.

[0024] The supporting hole 11 is formed by penetrating through the supporting bracket 10 with a space whereby it is separated from the elongated guide hole 12, receiving the supporting shaft 31 in a rotatable manner.

[0025] The fixing part (14, 2 and 15) includes a screw hole 14 formed on the supporting bracket 10, an engaging hole 2 provided in the refrigerator body 1, communicating with the screw hole 14 at the position after the door has been coupled as illustrated in FIG. 4b, and a screw 15, as an engaging member, engaged with the engaging hole 2 through the screw hole 14.

[0026] The screw 15 is inserted into the screw hole 14 of the supporting bracket 10 to be engaged with the engaging hole 2 of the refrigerator body 1, to thereby allow the supporting bracket 10 to be coupled to the top face of the refrigerator body 1.

[0027] The hinge devices 7 and 13 rotatably support the door 3 to the refrigerator body 1 at the position after the door has been coupled.

[0028] The hinge device comprises a hinge shaft 13 extended downward from the bottom face of the supporting bracket 10 and a shaft receiving hole 7 formed on the top face of the door 3, rotatably receiving the hinge shaft 13. Accordingly, the door 3 is rotatable to the refrigerator body 1 based on the hinge shaft 13 at the position after the door has been complicated as illustrated in FIG. 4b.

[0029] Hereinbelow, a method of coupling the door 3 to the refrigerator body 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4a and 4b.

[0030] As illustrated in FIG. 4a, the supporting shaft 31 of the refrigerator body 1 is inserted into the supporting hole 11 of the supporting bracket 10 and the coupling shaft 32 of the refrigerator body 1 is inserted into the first section 12a of the elongated guide hole 12.

[0031] As illustrated in FIG. 4b, the door 3 is displaced out of position to the refrigerator body 1, to thereby allow the hinge shaft 13 of the supporting bracket 10 to be inserted into the shaft receiving hole 7 of the door 3 at the state when a part of the cooling compartment is closed.

[0032] Then, when the door 3 is pushed in the direction of A in FIG. 4a along a surface of the door 3, the coupling shaft 32 is deviated from the first section 12a of the elongated guide hole 12 to move along the connection section 12c and be finally received in the second section 12b.

[0033] Under this state, the screw 15 is inserted into the screw hole 14 of the supporting bracket 10 to finally be coupled to the coupling hole 2 of the refrigerator body 1, thereby allowing the bracket not to move to the refrigerator body 1.

[0034] As illustrated in FIG. 4b, as the door 3 is positioned in front of the refrigerator body 1, it reaches the position where the door closes the whole cooling compartment of the refrigerator body 1. Under the condition, the door is rotatable to the refrigerator body 1 based on the hinge shaft 13.

[0035] Converse to this, when the supporting bracket 10, the refrigerator body 1 and the door 3 coupled with one another are disassembled after the screw 15 is released and the door is pushed conversely to the A direction of FIG. 4a along a surface the door 3, the door can be detached from the refrigerator body 1 in an easy manner.

[0036] In a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention, there are provided the guide part (10, 32, 12, 31 and 11) guiding the door to slide along a surface of the door 3 between the positions before and after coupling the door and the fixing part (14, 2 and 15) fixing the guide parts to the refrigerator body 1 at the position after the door 3 has been coupled. With this configuration, the door 3 can be easily assembled to and disassembled from the refrigerator body 1.

[0037] The exemplary embodiment of the present invention described above has been described with reference to a refrigerator having a pair of cooling compartments in the left and the right. However, the present invention may be applied to a refrigerator having a pair of cooling compartments vertically.

[0038] Further, in the exemplary embodiment of the present invention described above, a coupling shaft 32 is provided in the refrigerator body 1 and an elongated guide hole 12 is formed on a supporting bracket 10. However, conversely the coupling shaft may be provided in the supporting bracket and the elongated guide hole may be provided in the refrigerator body.

[0039] Also, in the exemplary embodiment of the present invention described above, a supporting shaft 31 is provided in a refrigerator body 1 and a supporting hole 11 is provided in a supporting bracket 10. However, the supporting bracket 31 may be provided in the supporting bracket and the supporting hole may be provided in the refrigerator body.

[0040] In addition, in the exemplary embodiment of the present invention described above, a hinge shaft is provided in a supporting bracket 10 and a shaft receiving hole 7 is provided in a door 3. However, the hinge shaft may be provided in the door and the shaft receiving hole may be provided in the supporting bracket.

[0041] As described above, there is provided a refrigerator wherein a door is coupled to and detached from the door from a refrigerator body in an easy manner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0042] Attention is directed to all papers and documents which are filed concurrently with or previous to this specification in connection with this application and which are open to public inspection with this specification, and the contents of all such papers and documents are incorporated herein by reference.

[0043] All of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), and/or all of the steps of any method or process so disclosed, may be combined in any combination, except combinations where at least some of such features and/or steps are mutually exclusive.

[0044] Each feature disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings) may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.

[0045] The invention is not restricted to the details of the foregoing embodiment(s). The invention extends to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), or to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the steps of any method or process so disclosed.

Claims

1. A refrigerator, comprising:

a refrigerator body (1) forming a cooling compartment;

a door (3) detachably coupled to the refrigerator body;

a guide part (10, 32, 12, 31, 11) guiding the door to slide along a surface of the door between a position before the door is coupled to close a part of the cooling compartment and a position after the door is coupled to close the whole part of the cooling compartment; and

a fixing part (14, 2, 15)provided in the guide part, fixing the guide part to the refrigerator body at the position after the door is coupled.

2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the guide part includes a supporting bracket (10), one side of which is coupled to the refrigerator body and the other side of which is coupled to the door, a coupling shaft (32) provided in any one of the refrigerator body and the supporting bracket, and an elongated guide hole (12) formed on the other one thereof and receiving the coupling shaft to guide the coupling shaft.

3. The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein the guide part further includes a supporting shaft provided in any one of the refrigerator body and the supporting bracket, and a supporting hole (11) formed on the other one thereof and rotatably receiving the supporting shaft.

4. The refrigerator according to any preceding claim, wherein the elongated guide hole (12) includes a fist section (12a) for receiving the coupling shaft at the position before the door is coupled, a second section (12b) for receiving the coupling shaft at the position after the door is coupled, and a connection section (12c) for connecting the first section and the second section.

5. The refrigerator according to claim 4, wherein the fixing part includes a screw hole (14) formed in the supporting bracket (10), an engaging hole (2) provided in the refrigerator body and communicating with the screw hole at the position after the door is coupled, and an engaging member (15) engaged with the engaging hole through the screw hole.

6. The refrigerator according to claim 5, further comprising a hinge device rotatably supporting the door to the refrigerator body at the position after the door is coupled,
wherein the hinge device includes:

a hinge shaft (13) formed in any one of the supporting bracket (10) and the door (3); and

a shaft receiving hole (7) formed in the other one thereof and rotatably receiving the hinge shaft.

7. The refrigerator according to any of claims 2-6, wherein the elongated guide hole (12) includes a fist section (12a) for receiving the coupling shaft (32) at the position before the door is coupled, a second section (12b) for receiving the coupling shaft at the position after the door is coupled, and a connection section (12c) for connecting the first section and the second section.

8. The refrigerator according to claim 7, wherein the fixing part includes a screw hole (14) formed in the supporting bracket (10), an engaging hole (2) provided in the refrigerator body and communicating with the screw hole at the position after the door is coupled, and an engaging member (15) engaged with the engaging hole through the screw hole.

9. The refrigerator according to claim 8, further comprising a hinge device rotatably supporting the door to the refrigerator body at the position after the door is coupled,
wherein the hinge device includes:

a hinge shaft (13) formed in any one of the supporting bracket (10) and the door (3); and

a shaft receiving hole (7) formed in the other one thereof and rotatably receiving the hinge shaft.

Drawing