REFRIGERATOR

Abstract

 Proposed is a refrigerator. The refrigerator may include a cabinet (100) having a storage space (121), and a machine room (201) disposed below the storage space (121). The machine room (201) may include a compressor (610), a condenser (620), and a heat dissipation fan (611) to implement a cooling system, and have an inlet (225a) and an outlet (225b) formed on a front surface thereof. In addition, the compressor (610) and the heat dissipation fan (611) are disposed at the rear of the machine room (201), and the compressor (610) may be disposed in a space partitioned from a space in which the condenser (620) is disposed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to refrigerator. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a refrigerator in which a machine room module in which a compressor and a condenser are installed is installed on a lower part of the refrigerator.

Background Art

[0002] Generally, a refrigerator is a home appliance which can store food at a low temperature in an internal storage space which is covered by a door. To this end, the refrigerator is configured to store food in an optimal state by cooling the inside of a storage space by using cold air generated through heat exchange with a refrigerant circulating in a refrigeration cycle.

[0003] Recently, a refrigerator is gradually becoming multifunctional according to changes in diet and the trend of product enhancement, and a refrigerator equipped with various structures and convenience devices for user convenience and efficient use of internal space has been released. Particularly, a refrigerator suitable for storage according to the type of alcoholic beverage due to the increase of consumption and preferences of alcoholic beverages such as wine and champagne, and a refrigerator for storing aged foods such as kimchi for a long time are being developed.

[0004] In addition, recently, the exterior of a refrigerator is designed to harmonize with furniture in the space for installing the refrigerator. For example, a built-in refrigerator is attracting attention in terms of interior design since an exposed part thereof is minimized. This serves to assist an existing refrigerator such that frequently used foods can be stored inside kitchen furniture, thereby improving the convenience of use.

[0005] However, in the case of such a built-in refrigerator, the remaining parts of the refrigerator except for the front surface of the refrigerator are often blocked, so an efficient air flow is difficult. Accordingly, various technologies are being developed to facilitate the flow of air for cooling a condenser and a compressor installed inside a machine room of the refrigerator. Among the various technologies, there are technologies in which an inlet through which air is introduced into the machine room and an outlet through which the internal air of the machine room is discharged to the outside are all disposed on the front of the refrigerator.

[0006] For examples concerning these, there are Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2017-141975 (prior art 1), Korean Patent Application Publication No. 2011-0019076 (prior art 2), US Patent No. US 5,881,567 (prior art 3), and Japanese Patent No. 5033563 (prior art 4), etc.

[0007] However, in prior art 1, a cooling fan is in close contact with one side of a condenser and thus the size of the cooling fan is limited to the height of the surroundings of the condenser, and a compressor and the condenser are disposed to partially overlap each other in width directions thereof, and thus air may not efficiently flow to the compressor. In addition, in prior art 2, a condenser and a cooling fan are installed in upright directions and the entire height of the machine room increases, and in prior art 3, a cooling fan is disposed behind a condenser and a compressor and the cooling fan is located far away from an inlet, so efficient introduction of air is difficult. In prior art 4, a condenser is installed in an upright direction, and the height of the machine room increases, and an air flow path connected to the compressor is not clearly defined, so an efficient air flow is difficult.

[0008] That is, in prior arts 1 to 4, due to the installation directions or overall height of the condenser and the cooling fan, the machine room has a limit to be miniaturized, or an air flow path inside the machine room is not clearly defined, so the flow of air by the cooling fan is not efficient. Particularly, in a small refrigerator having a limited size, the amount of air introduced into or discharged out of the machine room is unavoidably decreased.

[0009] Of course, reducing the size of the condenser or a heat dissipation fan allows the volume of the machine room to be decreased, but in this case, heat dissipation performance decreases, and consequently, the efficiency of a refrigeration cycle decreases.

[0010] Particularly, a built-in type refrigerator may be used even in a kitchen island, which has been widely applied recently, and island-type kitchen furniture, which is a workbench independent of a sink, has high convenience but has a low overall height, so the built-in type refrigerator is difficult to be applied to the island-type kitchen furniture.

[0011] In addition, a small refrigerator disposed on a floor has a limited height, and thus increasing the volume of the machine room of the refrigerator causes the volume of storage space to be unavoidably decreased.

Disclosure

Technical Problem

[0012] The present disclosure has been made to solve the above problems occurring in the prior art, and the present disclosure is intended to propose a refrigerator in which a condenser, a compressor, a heat dissipation fan are efficiently disposed inside a machine room such that the overall volume of the machine room can be reduced and heat dissipation performance of the condenser and the compressor can be secured.

[0013] The present disclosure is further intended to propose a refrigerator in which even without reducing the size (a diameter) of the heat dissipation fan, the overall volume of the machine room is reduced such that a storage space of the refrigerator can be secured relatively larger.

[0014] The present disclosure is still further intended to propose a refrigerator in which the amount of air introduced into and discharged from space of the machine room can be effectively increased even in a small refrigerator having a low height.

[0015] The present disclosure is still further intended to propose a refrigerator in which condensers are distributed at various positions inside the refrigerator so as to increase heat dissipation performance.

[0016] The present disclosure is still further intended to propose a refrigerator in which a control module and a door opening device are installed inside the machine room so as to decrease the overall size of the refrigerator.

[0017] The present disclosure is still further intended to propose a refrigerator in which parts constituting the machine room are arranged to maximize the volume of the storage space.

Technical Solution

[0018] In order to accomplish the above objectives, according to an aspect of the present disclosure, a refrigerator of the present disclosure may include a cabinet having a storage space, and a machine room disposed under the storage space. The machine room may include a compressor, a condenser, and a heat dissipation fan so as to implement a cooling system, and may have an inlet and an outlet formed on a front surface of the machine room. Furthermore, the compressor and the heat dissipation fan may be disposed at the rear of the machine room. The compressor may be disposed in space partitioned from space in which the condenser is disposed.

[0019] In this case, the heat dissipation fan may be disposed at the rear of the machine room relative to the inlet, and the compressor may be disposed at the rear of the machine room relative to the outlet. Accordingly, the compressor and the heat dissipation fan may be installed inside the machine room so as to be located far away from the inlet/outlet. Accordingly, parts taller than other parts may be clustered in the rear of the machine room, and remaining parts may be installed in the front thereof, so the height of the front of the machine room may be decreased.

[0020] Additionally, the condenser may be installed in the machine room such the condenser is adjacent to the inlet to face the inlet. In this case, the compressor may be disposed in space partitioned from space in which the condenser is installed in the machine room, and may be installed at a position closer to a rear plate than the condenser. Accordingly, air introduced through the inlet may effectively dissipate heat of the condenser, and the compressor being high in height may be installed to be spaced apart from the condenser, so the height of the front of the machine room may be decreased.

[0021] In addition, the compressor and the heat dissipation fan may be disposed side by side along a direction parallel with the rear plate. When the compressor and the heat dissipation fan are disposed in parallel with the rear plate, the heat dissipation fan may be made at least as high as the compressor, and accordingly, an air flow through the heat dissipation fan may be further facilitated.

[0022] Furthermore, the heat dissipation fan may be spaced apart from the side plate of a machine room frame, and an air flow space connected to the inlet may be defined between the heat dissipation fan and the side plate, and the heat dissipation fan may be installed to face the side plate. Accordingly, the air flow space may be secured from the inlet to the heat dissipation fan.

[0023] Additionally, a separation wall may be installed in the machine room such that an end of the separation wall extends between the inlet and the outlet, and may divide the inside of the machine room into two sides. The opposite end of the separation wall may be connected to the heat dissipation fan, and the heat dissipation fan may block space between the separation wall and the rear plate. Accordingly, the inside of the machine room may be divided by the separation wall such that an introduction path through which outside air is introduced and a discharge path through which air passing through the inside of the machine room is discharged are separated from each other. Air may flow along a predetermined path inside the machine room, that is, along the sequence of the condenser, the heat dissipation fan, and the compressor, so air circulation may be facilitated.

[0024] In addition, an introduction space of the machine room defined between the inlet and the heat dissipation fan may be blocked by the bottom plate, side plate, and rear plate of the machine room frame. Simultaneously, in a discharge space of the machine room defined between the heat dissipation fan and the outlet, at least a portion of the bottom plate, side plate, and rear plate may be open, so the discharge space may communicate with the outside. Accordingly, the initial introduction of outside air may be limited to a specific direction (the condenser), but after the outside air dissipates heat of the condenser and the compressor, the outside air may be discharged in various directions, so heat dissipation performance of the machine room may be increased.

[0025] In addition, a defrost water tray may be installed on the bottom of the machine room between the inlet and the heat dissipation fan, and a flow guide surface may be formed on the defrost water tray by inclining toward the heat dissipation fan. Accordingly, a dead space may be prevented from being formed between the lower end of the heat dissipation fan and the defrost water tray, so a flow space may be sufficiently secured.

[0026] Furthermore, a control module may be installed in space between the compressor and the outlet in the machine room. The control module may be spaced apart upward from the bottom surface of the machine room, and thus an air flow path may be formed between the lower surface of the control module and the bottom surface of the machine room. Accordingly, in the machine room, the control module as well as devices for the implementation of a refrigerant cycle and may be installed and thus space utilization rate may be increased. In this case, the control module may be installed at a position close to the entrance of the machine room, and thus may be removed from the front of the machine room.

[0027] In addition, the machine room frame may include the bottom plate on which the compressor, the condenser, and the separation wall are provided, wherein the bottom plate may include an additional inlet through which outside air is introduced by passing through the introduction space defined by the separation wall, and an additional outlet through which air of the machine room is discharged by passing through the discharge space defined by the separation wall. Accordingly, even in a small refrigerator having a low height, in addition to the amount of air introduced/discharged from a front cover thereof into/out of the machine room, the amount of air introduced or discharged additionally may be secured.

[0028] Furthermore, a reinforcement part may be formed on the bottom plate by extending in a direction intersecting with the separation wall. The reinforcement part may be disposed between the additional inlet and the additional outlet. Such a reinforcement part may prevent the bottom plate from sagging downward due to the weight of parts installed in the machine room.

[0029] In addition, the machine room frame may be provided with a pair of side parts coupled to the bottom plate and the side plate constituting the machine room frame. Each of the side parts may be configured to be open in a lower surface thereof such that a support module supporting the machine room frame is provided inside the side part. Such a support module may allow the horizontality of the refrigerator to be adjusted.

[0030] Furthermore, the open upper surface of the machine room may be covered by a cover plate having a plate shape, and the cover plate may be provided with a compressor cover receiving the upper end of the compressor. The compressor cover may be located at a position corresponding to the upper surface of the compressor and may protrude more than the upper surface of the cover plate. Accordingly, the heights of parts other than the compressor may be minimized to decrease space occupied by the machine room.

[0031] In addition, an open cut part may be formed in the rear end of the cover plate such that the upper end of the compressor is exposed to the outside of the cover plate, and the compressor cover may be disposed to cover the cut part.

[0032] Additionally, the compressor cover may be open in a rear surface thereof, and the open rear surface may be covered by a rear plate constituting the rear surface of the machine room. Accordingly, in a state in which the rear plate is removed from the machine room, the rear surface of the machine room may be sufficiently exposed to the outside, so the mounting and service work of the compressor and a control valve may be facilitated.

Advantageous Effects

[0033] The refrigerator of the present disclosure described above has the following effects.

[0034] Although the refrigerator of the present disclosure has a sealed structure, the refrigerator may be configured such that air can be introduced and discharged through the front surface of the machine room, and thus air circulation may be facilitated although the refrigerator is installed in narrow and small space in a built-in method, thereby improving the cooling performance and efficiency of the refrigerator.

[0035] In addition, according to the present disclosure, the compressor and the heat dissipation fan may be installed on the inner side of the machine room located far away from the inlet/outlet. That is, parts taller than other parts may be clustered in the rear of the machine room, and remaining parts may be installed in the front thereof, and thus the height of the front of the machine room may be decreased, and the storage space of the refrigerator may be increased by the decreased height of the front of the machine room. Accordingly, the space utilization rate of the refrigerator may be improved.

[0036] Furthermore, according to the present disclosure, the compressor and the condenser may be disposed in divided spaces, respectively, and the heat dissipation fan may be installed to be located between the compressor and the condenser such that the compressor and the condenser are blocked from each other. Accordingly, the impact of heat of high-temperature generated by the compressor on the condenser may be reduced, and the heat dissipation of the condenser may be more effectively performed.

[0037] Particularly, according to the present disclosure, the heat dissipation fan installed between the compressor and the condenser may function as a kind of partitioning wall, and thus the heat of the compressor may be more effectively prevented from being transferred to the condenser, thereby improving the cooling efficiency of the condenser and the energy efficiency of the refrigerator.

[0038] In addition, according to the present disclosure, the compressor and the heat dissipation fan having high heights may be disposed side by side to overlap each other in at least a portion thereof in a direction orthogonal to each of the open directions of the inlet and the outlet, that is, along a left-to-right direction in the rear of the machine room. Accordingly, a heat dissipation fan as high as the height of the compressor may be installed, and accordingly, heat dissipation of the inside of the machine room may be more effectively performed.

[0039] Particularly, according to the present disclosure, the heat dissipation fan may face the compressor such that the extending direction of a rotating shaft thereof is directed to the compressor, and thus the heat dissipation fan having a sufficiently large diameter in correspondence to the size of the compressor may be installed in the machine room, thereby improving heat dissipation performance of both the condenser and the compressor.

[0040] Additionally, according to the present disclosure, the inlet of the machine room may be wider than the outlet. The area of the inlet may be secured as large as possible so as to more facilitate the cooling of the condenser adjacent to the inlet, and the side of the outlet after passing through a section in which the condenser is installed may be formed to be relatively wide again. Accordingly, without interfering with the installation of the compressor and the heat dissipation fan, the heat dissipation function of the condenser may be performed as effectively as possible.

[0041] Particularly, in order to cool the condenser which is more important in increasing the efficiency of a refrigeration cycle, the condenser may be installed close to the inlet, and the left-to-right width of the inlet may be larger than the left-to-right with of the condenser, so the condenser may meet a sufficiently large amount of outside air to dissipate heat.

[0042] Meanwhile, according to the present disclosure, the inside of the machine room may be divided by the separation wall such that the introduction path through which outside air is introduced and the discharge path through which air passing through the inside of the machine room is discharged are separated from each other. Accordingly, according to the present disclosure, air may flow along a predetermined path in the machine room, that is, through the condenser, the heat dissipation fan, and the compressor, so air circulation may be facilitated.

[0043] In addition, according to the present disclosure, the heat dissipation fan may be installed to be connected to the separation wall. Accordingly, the heat dissipation fan may be a kind of separation wall. Accordingly, air may flow to the compressor only through the heat dissipation fan. Particularly, air may be moved to the compressor by the heat dissipation fan, so high-temperature heat generated by the compressor may be more reliably prevented from affecting the condenser.

[0044] In addition, according to the present disclosure, the inner space of the machine room defined between the inlet and the heat dissipation fan may be blocked and thus introduced air may flow through the condenser only toward the heat dissipation fan, but the inner space of the machine room defined between the heat dissipation fan and the outlet may be open in the bottom, side surface, or rear surface thereof and thus may communicate with the outside. Accordingly, the initial introduction of outside air may be limited to a specific direction (toward the condenser), but after the outside air dissipates heat of the condenser and the compressor, the outside air may be discharged in various directions, thereby further improving heat dissipation performance of the machine room.

[0045] Furthermore, according to the present disclosure, the condenser may include a main condenser installed inside the machine room, and a side condensing tube mounted in the side surface of the cabinet along the side surface. By assisting the main condenser, the side condensing tube, which assists the main condenser, and the main condenser may condense refrigerant, thereby making the size of the main condenser relatively small and reducing the size of a machine room module.

[0046] In addition, the side condensing tube may be mounted in the side surface of the cabinet so as to increase temperature of the side surface of the refrigerator, and accordingly, it is possible to prevent the formation of dew on the outer surface of the refrigerator due to temperature difference between the inside and outside of the refrigerator.

[0047] At the same time, an inclined surface (the flow guide surface) may be formed on a part of the defrost water tray adjacent to the lower end of the heat dissipation fan by inclining downward toward the heat dissipation fan, and thus a dead space may be prevented from being formed between the lower end of the heat dissipation fan and the defrost water tray, and a flow space may be sufficiently secured. Accordingly, air introduction by the heat dissipation fan may be efficiently performed even in the side of the lower end of the heat dissipation fan.

[0048] In addition, in the machine room, the control module as well as devices for implementing a refrigerant cycle may be installed, and thus space utilization rate may be increased. In this case, the control module may be installed at a position close to the entrance of the machine room and thus may be removed forward from the machine room. Accordingly, for maintenance of the control module, the rear of the refrigerator may not be required to be opened, and the control module may be removed from the front of the refrigerator to be repaired or replaced, thereby improving the maintainability of the control module.

[0049] In addition, the additional inlet and the additional outlet may be formed in the bottom plate constituting a machine room frame, and thus even in a small refrigerator having low height, in addition to the amount of air introduced/discharged from the front cover thereof into/out of the machine room, the amount of air introduced or discharged additionally may be secured.

[0050] The reinforcement part may be provided on the bottom plate of the refrigerator of the present disclosure by intersecting with the separation wall dividing the space of the machine room into an introduction space and a discharge space. Accordingly, the bottom plate may be prevented from sagging downward due to parts installed inside the machine room.

[0051] Furthermore, in the refrigerator of the present disclosure, a rear leveling part provided on a rear of the refrigerator may be adjusted by a power transmission part, so an operator may easily level a refrigerator body even from the front.

[0052] In addition, the cover plate may cover the open upper surface of the machine room and may not interfere with other parts provided inside the machine room due to a bent structure of the cover plate. Particularly, among parts of the machine room, a part corresponding to the compressor having the highest shape may be covered by the compressor cover formed separately, thereby preventing the defining of unnecessary space inside the machine room and having a dense structure.

Description of Drawings

[0053] 

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the exterior of a refrigerator including a machine room module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which a door assembly is opened in the refrigerator of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the exploded state of parts of the refrigerator including the machine room module according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the exploded state of parts of a cabinet constituting the refrigerator including the machine room module according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line I-I' of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating parts for implementing a refrigeration cycle of the refrigerator including the machine room module according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating the machine room module according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a top plan view illustrating the machine room module according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a side view illustrating the machine room module according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a front view illustrating the machine room module according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 is a bottom view illustrating the machine room module according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view illustrating only a defrost water tray among parts constituting the machine room module according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which a condenser and a heat dissipation fan are installed in the defrost water tray of the machine room module according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 14 is a sectional view taken along line II-II' of FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 is a side view illustrating a state in which the condenser is fixed to a condenser fixing part of the defrost water tray of the machine room module according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view illustrating the exploded state of a machine room module constituting the refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view illustrating a state of the refrigerator according to the embodiment of FIG. 16 when viewed from a lower side thereof.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view illustrating a bottom plate constituting the refrigerator of the present disclosure.

FIG. 19 is an enlarged view illustrated by enlarging an A part of FIG. 17.

FIG. 20 is a cross sectional view of a rear leveling part of FIG. 19.

FIG. 21 is a vertical sectional view of the rear leveling part of FIG. 19.

FIG. 22 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the coupling structure of a machine room frame to a cover plate.

FIG. 23 is a perspective view illustrating the coupled state of the machine room frame to the cover plate when viewed from the rear side.

FIG. 24 is a rear view of the coupled state of the machine room frame to the cover plate.

FIG. 25 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a state in which the cover plate, a compressor cover, and a main control valve are exploded when viewed from below.

FIG. 26 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a state in which the cover plate, the compressor cover, and the main control valve are exploded when viewed from above.

FIG. 27 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the coupling structure of the compressor cover to the main control valve.

FIG. 28 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which an evaporator constituting the refrigerator of the present disclosure is installed on a cooling compartment.

FIG. 29 is a perspective view illustrating the configuration of the evaporator constituting the refrigerator of the present disclosure and a grille plate assembled with the evaporator.

FIG. 30 is a sectional view illustrating the internal configuration of the cooling compartment including the evaporator constituting the refrigerator of the present disclosure according to the embodiment.

FIG. 31 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which a control module is removed from the refrigerator including the machine room module of the present disclosure.

FIG. 32 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which the control module is installed in the machine room module of the present disclosure.

FIG. 33 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which the control module of FIG. 32 is removed to the outside.

FIG. 34 is a bottom view illustrating a state in which a door opening device constituting the refrigerator is installed on the cover plate according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 35 is a bottom view illustrated by enlarging the configuration of the door opening device constituting the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 36 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which the door opening device constituting the refrigerator is removed from the cover plate according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 37 is a conceptual diagram indicating the flow of refrigerant in the refrigerator of the present disclosure.

FIG. 38 is a sectional view illustrating the flow of air inside the cooling compartment including the evaporator constituting the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 39 is a top plan view illustrating the flow of air inside the machine room module of the present disclosure.

Mode for Invention

[0054] Hereinafter, some embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to exemplary drawings. In adding reference numerals to parts in each drawing, it should be noted that the same parts are assigned the same reference numerals as much as possible even though they are indicated in different drawings. Furthermore, in describing the embodiments of the present disclosure, when it is determined that a detailed description of a related known configuration or function interferes with an understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0055] An embodiment of a refrigerator of the present disclosure (hereinafter, referred to as "a refrigerator") will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. For reference, a built-in type refrigerator to which a machine room module is applied has been described as an example below, but the machine room module of the present disclosure may be applied to various devices having a machine room module to which a refrigeration cycle is applied such as a general refrigerator, a wine refrigerator, a kimchi refrigerator, a beverage store device, or a plant cultivation device.

[0056] The refrigerator including a machine room assembly of the present disclosure may largely include a cabinet 100, the machine room module, beds 300a to 300d, a barrier 400, and grille fan assemblies 500a and 500b. Among these, the beds 300a to 300d, the barrier 400, and the grille fan assemblies 500a and 500b may be installed in the cabinet 100, and a door assembly 130 may be assembled with the front surface of the cabinet 100. Additionally, the machine room module may be assembled with the lower side of the cabinet 100.

[0057] Referring to FIG. 1, the cabinet 100 may constitute the exterior of the refrigerator, and as illustrated in the drawing, may be configured to have a low overall height. The refrigerator according to the embodiment is a built-in type refrigerator installed inside an island table, etc., and has a lower height than a general refrigerator. Accordingly, the refrigerator may have a small internal capacity and a small space in which each part can be installed. Accordingly, in order to utilize a small and low installation space, parts are required to be effectively arranged. To this end, in the embodiment, parts including the compressor 610 are effectively disposed, and a control module 700 is installed inside the machine room module. Such a structure will be described below.

[0058] The cabinet 100 may be configured as a casing having an open front surface, and may include multiple parts. The cabinet 100 may largely include an outer casing 110 constituting an outer wall surface thereof, and an inner casing 120 constituting an inner wall surface thereof. As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the front surface of the cabinet 100 may be open, and may be selectively covered by the door assembly 130. When the door assembly 130 is opened, a storage space 121 may be open forward.

[0059] In FIG. 4, parts constituting the cabinet 100 are illustrated by being exploded. As illustrated in the drawing, the outer casing 110 may have an approximately hexahedral shape open forward, rearward, and downward, and the inner casing 120 may be installed inside the outer casing 110 to be spaced apart from the outer casing 110. Additionally, a back plate 115 may be assembled with the rear surface of the outer casing 110, a front frame 118 may be assembled with the front surface of the outer casing 110, and a cover plate 250 may be assembled with the lower surface of the outer casing 110.

[0060] While each of the back plate 115, the front frame 118, and the cover plate 250 is assembled with the outer casing 110 a state in which the inner casing 120 is located inside the outer casing 110, a foam insulation material (not shown) may be filled in space between the inner casing 120 and the outer casing 110. In this case, a filling hole 116 may be formed through the back plate 115, and the foam insulation material may be injected into the space through the filling hole 116.

[0061] Accordingly, when the foam insulation material is filled in the space between the outer casing 110 and the inner casing 120, a portion of a wire harness (not shown) to be described below, a side condensing tube L4 and L6 (see FIG. 6), and a front condensing tube L8 may be mounted in a foam layer. Accordingly, a portion of the wire harness and a side condenser may be fixed naturally in the process of filling the foam insulation material.

[0062] The storage space 121 may be present in the cabinet 100. The storage space 121 is space in which food is stored, and the storage space 121 may be divided into multiple compartments by the beds 300a to 300d. A guide rail 122 may be provided on the inner wall surface of the storage space 121, and the beds 300a to 300d may be configured to move forward/rearward under the guidance of the guide rail 122 such that the beds can be taken out from or taken in the storage space 121 in a drawer type.

[0063] Referring to FIG. 5, the multiple beds 300 may be provided in an upper storage space 121b and a lower storage space 121a partitioned from each other. Each of the beds 300 may be configured to transversely divide the inside of the storage space 121, and may provide a surface on which food can be seated. The bed 300 may be formed of multiple sticks or rods, and thus may have multiple open spaces defined such that cold air can pass through the spaces in a vertical direction. Additionally, the bed 300 may be configured to seat a bottle or a can thereon.

[0064] The bed 300 may include multiple beds provided in the upper storage space 121b and the lower storage space 121a, and the multiple beds may be disposed up and down. Furthermore, the bed 300 may be configured to be withdrawn from the inside of the storage space 121. To this end, the guide rail 122 may be provided on each of the opposite side surfaces of the inner casing 120. The guide rail 122 may be connected to each of the opposite side surfaces of the bed 300 and may be mounted such that the bed 300 can be withdrawn.

[0065] In addition, the upper grille fan assembly 500b and the lower grille fan assembly 500a may be provided in the upper storage space 121b and the lower storage space 121a, respectively, so as to cover an upper evaporator 630b and a lower evaporator 630a, respectively.

[0066] The evaporator 630a or 630b may be received into the recessed rear surface of the inner casing 120, and may include the upper evaporator 630b and the lower evaporator 630a. The upper evaporator 630b and the lower evaporator 630a may be provided in the upper storage space 121b and the lower storage space 121a, respectively.

[0067] An avoidance part 123 may be provided on the bottom surface of the storage space 121. The avoidance part 123 is a part protruding upward from the bottom surface of the storage space 121. The avoidance part 123 is intended to avoid interference with the compressor 610 of the machine room module to be described below. Due to the avoidance part 123, a portion of the bottom of the storage space 121 may have a stepped space.

[0068] The door assembly 130 may be provided on the front surface of the cabinet 100. Such a door assembly 130 is intended to open and close the storage space 121 of the cabinet 100. In the embodiment, the door assembly 130 may be configured to be opened and closed by rotating. More precisely, the door assembly 130 may be in close contact with the front frame 118 of the cabinet 100 so as to cover the storage space 121, or may be moved away from the front frame 118 by rotating so as to open the storage space 121.

[0069] That is, due to the door assembly 130 described above, the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present disclosure may have the sealed storage space 121. Particularly, the sealed storage space 121 may store food while maintaining a predetermined temperature without loss of cold air due to the grille fan assemblies 500a and 500b and an air conditioning module 600. In the embodiment, at least a portion of the door assembly 130 may be made to have the structure of a transparent see-through window 142 such that the storage space 121 can be checked from the outside.

[0070] In this case, the see-through window 142 is preferably made of a material through which the inside of the storage space can be seen, and for example, may be formed of glass. When the see-through window 142 is formed of glass, a protective film (not shown) may be attached to the glass. In this case, the protective film is preferably made of a light blocking (partially blocking) film which minimizes penetrating of light in the storage space 121 into a room. Of course, instead of the protective fi, the see-through window 142 may be formed to have a dark color and may be configured to minimize light penetration into the room.

[0071] Next, the machine room module will be described. A machine room frame 200 constituting the frame of the machine room module is provided to constitute the lower structure of the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. The air conditioning module 600 to be described below may be installed in the machine room frame 200, and the cabinet 100 described above may be coupled to the upper part of the machine room frame 200.

[0072] As illustrated in FIG. 1, such a machine room frame 200 may be installed on the lower side of the outer casing 110, and as illustrated in FIG. 3, may have the shape of an approximately rectangular frame. In the embodiment, the machine room frame 200 may be open in an upper part thereof and may have a machine room 201 therein, and at least a portion of the air conditioning module 600 may be installed therein. Here, the machine room 201 is space separated from the storage space 121, and the machine room frame 200 may be a portion of the cabinet 100, or may be assembled with the cabinet 100.

[0073] Referring to FIG. 7, the machine room frame 200 may include a bottom plate 211 constituting a bottom thereof, a side plate 212 constituting each of opposite side wall surfaces thereof, and a rear plate 213 constituting a rear surface thereof. Furthermore, the cover plate 250 (see FIG. 3) may be coupled to the upper part of the machine room frame 200 so as to cover the machine room 201 provided inside the machine room frame. In the embodiment, the cover plate 250 may be assembled with the lower side of the cabinet 100 and thus may be considered as a portion of the cabinet 100. However, the cover plate 250 may constitute the upper part of the machine room frame 200 and thus may be considered as a portion of the machine room frame 200.

[0074] Heat dissipation holes 211' and 214 may be formed in the machine room frame 200. The heat dissipation holes 211' and 214 are parts, except for a front cover 220 of the front surface of the machine room frame to be described below, which connect the inner space of the machine room frame 200 with the outside. As illustrated in FIG. 7, the heat dissipation hole 214 may be formed in the rear plate 213, and as illustrated in FIG. 11 which is a bottom view, the heat dissipation hole 211' may be formed even in the bottom plate 211. Additionally, although not shown, the heat dissipation hole may be formed in the side plate 212.

[0075] In this case, there is no heat dissipation hole in the inner space (an introduction space I) of the machine room 201 defined between the inlet 225a and a heat dissipation fan 611 to be described below. That is, the introduction space I defined between the inlet 225a and the heat dissipation fan 611 is blocked by the bottom plate 211, side plate 212, and rear plate 213 of the machine room frame 200.

[0076] Unlike this, in the inner space (a discharge space O) of the machine room 201 defined between the heat dissipation fan 611 and an outlet 225b, at least a portion of the bottom plate 211, the side plate 212, and the rear plate 213 of the discharge space may be open through the heat dissipation holes 211' and 214 to the outside, so the discharge space may communicate with the outside. Referring to FIG. 11, it can be seen that the heat dissipation hole is formed in the bottom plate 211, and there is no heat dissipation hole around the introduction space I of the inlet of the front surface of the machine room frame 200, but the heat dissipation holes 211' and 214 are present around the discharge space O.

[0077] According to such a structure, the introduction space I which is the inner space of the machine room 201 defined between the inlet 225a and the heat dissipation fan 611 may be blocked, and thus introduced outside air may be moved through a main condenser 620 only to the heat dissipation fan 611, but in the discharge space O of the machine room 201 defined between the heat dissipation fan 611 and the outlet 225b, a portion of the bottom, the side surface, and rear surface thereof may be open through the heat dissipation holes 211' and 214 to the outside, so the discharge space O may be connected to the outside. Accordingly, initial introduction of outside air is limited to a specific direction, that is, to the main condenser 620, but after the outside air dissipates heat of the main condenser 620 and the compressor 610, the outside air may be discharged in various directions, so heat dissipation performance of the machine room may be increased.

[0078] Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, in the embodiment, the inlet 225a may be wider than the outlet 225b. However, the introduction space I of the machine room 201 connected to the inlet 225a may be defined to have a narrow width by a separation wall 230 installed to partition the machine room 201 at an area after an area in which the main condenser 620 is installed.

[0079] That is, the inlet 225a may be widened to increase the amount of initially introduced air, and accordingly, the main condenser 620 may be effectively cooled. In addition, an area of the introduction space I after an area for cooling the main condenser 620 may be decreased such that remaining space can be used as space for installing the compressor 610, a heat dissipation fan 611, and the control module 700.

[0080] Referring to FIG. 10, a protection plate 213', a portion of which protrudes more upward, may be provided on the rear plate 213. The protection plate 213' may be formed to be higher than the compressor 610 and may function to protect the compressor 610.

[0081] Meanwhile, the machine room frame 200 and the inner casing 120 may be disposed to be spaced apart from each other, and the side plates 212 and the rear plate 213 of the machine room frame 200 may be configured to be connected to the opposite side surfaces and rear surface of the outer casing 110, respectively.

[0082] The machine room 201 (see FIG. 7) may be present in the machine room frame 200. The machine room 201 is an empty space which is a kind of installation space, and may have a portion of a device constituting the air conditioning module 600 installed therein. The machine room 201 is a separate space independent of the storage space 121 described above, and provides space in which the air conditioning module 600 is installed and operates.

[0083] Although not shown, the inner casing 120 and the machine room frame 200 may be configured as one part. In this case, a separate partitioning wall may be provided between the storage space 121 and the machine room 201 such that the storage space 121 and the machine room 201 can be separated from each other.

[0084] The front cover 220 may be provided on the open front surface of the machine room frame 200 which is the front of the machine room 201. The front cover 220 may function to guide the flow of air introduced into the machine room 201 from the outside thereof or air discharged to the outside of the machine room 201 from the inside thereof, and to cover the open front surface of the machine room 201. Accordingly, the front cover 220 may be considered as a front cover of the machine room 201.

[0085] In addition, the inlet 225a and the outlet 225b may be formed in the front cover 220 described above. In this case, the inlet 225a and the outlet 225b may be provided at positions separated from each other by the separation wall 230 to be described later. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, when viewed from the front side, the inlet 225a is provided at the left side and the outlet 225b is provided at the right, but the inlet 225a may be provided at the right side and the outlet 225b may be provided at the left side. For reference, referring to FIG. 6 in which the front cover 220 is removed from the machine room frame 200, the inlet of the introduction space I and the outlet of the discharge space O are exposed to the entrance of the front surface of the machine room frame 200.

[0086] Referring to FIG. 8, the main condenser 620 and a defrost water tray 240 are installed in the introduction space I of the machine room frame 200, and the compressor 610 and the control module 700 are installed in the discharge space O. Additionally, the heat dissipation fan 611 is present between the introduction space I and the discharge space O. The heat dissipation fan 611 may function as a kind of partitioning wall, and more precisely, may divide the inner space of the machine room 201, together with the separation wall 230.

[0087] Looking at the separation wall 230, the separation wall 230 which divides the machine room 201 into two spaces is provided in the machine room frame 200. That is, a flow path through which air is introduced into the machine room 201 and a flow path through which air is discharged may be separated from each other by the separation wall 230. The flow path through which air is introduced into the machine room 201 may start from the inlet 225a of the front cover 220, and the flow path through which air is discharged from the inside of the machine room 201 may end at the outlet 225b of the front cover 220.

[0088] In addition, the left and right spaces of the inside of the machine room 201 separated from each other by the separation wall 230 may be connected to each other at the rear of the machine room 201, that is, at a position close to the rear plate 213. That is, the rear end portion of the separation wall 230 may be configured to be spaced apart from the rear plate 213 so as not to reach the rear plate 213, so a part at which the left and right spaces are connected to each other may be generated. Of course, although not shown, the rear end portion of the separation wall 230 may be in contact with the rear plate 213, and may have an opening (not shown) formed therein such that the inner opposite sides of the machine room 201 communicate with each other.

[0089] In addition, the rear end portion of the separation wall 230 may be spaced apart from the rear plate 213 so as not to reach the rear plate 213, and the heat dissipation fan 611 may be installed in the part at which the left and right spaces are connected to each other, so the heat dissipation fan 611 may be a portion of a kind of separation wall 230. Of course, the heat dissipation fan 611 may be open, and thus the introduction space I and the discharge space O may be connected to each other relative to the heat dissipation fan 611, but when the heat dissipation fan 611 operates, air may flow from the introduction space I to the discharge space O, so it is difficult that air flows in a direction opposite to the direction of the air flow. Accordingly, the heat of the compressor 610 may be effectively prevented from being transmitted to the main condenser 620, so the cooling efficiency of the main condenser 620 and the operating efficiency of the refrigerator may be increased.

[0090] The separation wall 230 may be formed in a straight line, but may be formed to have an inclined or bent structure. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the separation wall 230 is configured to have a bent structure. That is, a portion of the separation wall 230 may be formed to be bent, so space in which the main condenser 620 to be described later is installed may be secured as much as possible.

[0091] The separation wall 230 may include a first wall 231 extending toward the inside of the machine room 201 between the inlet 225a and the outlet 225b, and a second wall 232 extending from the first wall 231 in an inclined direction. In FIGS. 6 to 8, although the first wall 231 is not seen due to the control module 700, the second wall 232 is illustrated. In FIG. 9, the first wall 231 is illustrated, and as illustrated in FIG. 9, the main condenser 620 is disposed in space divided by the first wall 231.

[0092] Referring to FIG. 11 which is the bottom view of the machine room frame 200, the installation positions of the first wall 231, the second wall 232 extending from the first wall 231 in an inclining direction, and the heat dissipation fan 611 connected to the second wall 232 can be seen. As illustrated in the drawing, the first wall 231, the second wall 232, and the heat dissipation fan 611 may be continuously connected to each other, and may constitute one separation wall. Of course, the second wall 232 and the heat dissipation fan 611 may have a predetermined interval therebetween, but may be disposed very close to each other, and thus the escaping of air to the interval therebetween may be minimized.

[0093] Referring to FIG. 9, the height H3 of the first wall 231 may be greater than or equal to the height of the main condenser 620. Additionally, the second wall 232 may be connected from an end of the first wall 231 to an end of the heat dissipation fan 611 to be described below. Accordingly, the second wall 232 may prevent introduced air from flowing directly toward the compressor 610 without passing through the heat dissipation fan 611. Such first wall 231 and second wall 232 may be configured as one part or as separate parts.

[0094] The defrost water tray 240 may be provided in the machine room 201 of the machine room frame 200. In this case, the defrost water tray 240 described above may be located on the bottom of a side to which air is introduced through the inlet 225a in the machine room 201, and may function to collect defrost water falling down from the evaporator 630 described later and to fix the main condenser 620 in the machine room 201.

[0095] Referring to FIG. 13, the main condenser 620 may be installed on the front of the defrost water tray 240 directed toward the inlet 225a, and an evaporation tube L2 may be installed at the bottom surface 241' of the defrost water tray 240. The evaporation tube L2 may be disposed close to the bottom surface 241' of the defrost water tray 240, and thus may function to evaporate defrost water collected in the defrost water tray 240. The evaporation tube L2 will be described again below.

[0096] In addition, the heat dissipation fan 611 may be disposed at one side of the defrost water tray 240. The heat dissipation fan 611 may not installed inside the defrost water tray 240, but may be installed at the rear of the defrost water tray 240 to be adjacent to the defrost water tray 240. The heat dissipation fan 611 may introduce air through the inlet 225a into the machine room 201, and may discharge air passing through the condenser 620 and the compressor 610 to the outlet of the front surface of the machine room, that is, the outlet 225b. The installation structure of the defrost water tray 240 and the heat dissipation fan 611 will be described again below.

[0097] Referring to FIG. 12, the frame of the defrost water tray 240 may be constituted by a tray body 241 having the shape of an approximately rectangular frame, and a defrost water space Sa and Sb may be defined inside tray body 241 by a dividing fence 242 provided along the edge of the tray body 241. The dividing fence 242 may protrude by a predetermined length from the bottom surface 241' of the tray body 241, and defrost water generated and fallen from the evaporator 630 may be collected in the defrost water space Sa and Sb.

[0098] The defrost water space Sa and Sb may have a width narrowing gradually rearward, and an inclined fence 242' may be provided at one side of the dividing fence 242 so as to decrease the width of the defrost water space Sa and Sb. The inclined fence 242' may correspond to the second wall 232 extending in an inclined direction in the separation wall 230 described above. The second wall 232 may be located to be adjacent to the inclined fence 242'. Accordingly, the inclined fence 242' may be considered to constitute a part of the separation wall, together with the second wall 232.

[0099] Accordingly, the defrost water space Sa and Sb may be decreased in width, and thus may be divided into a first defrost water space Sa having a relatively wide width and a second defrost water space Sb having a relatively narrow width. Since the heat dissipation fan 611 is installed beside the second defrost water space Sb, it may be considered that the second defrost water space Sb is configured to be relatively narrow so as to provide the installation space of the heat dissipation fan 611. However, the first defrost water space Sa may be wide by having the same width as the width of a condenser seating plate 246 on which the main condenser 620 is seated, so the defrost water space Sa and Sb may have a sufficiently large storage capacity.

[0100] Meanwhile, the dividing fence 242 may have a fixing clip 244. The fixing clip 244 may protrude from the dividing fence 242 toward the defrost water space Sa and Sb, and may have the shape of elastic tongs. The fixing clip 244 may be a part which holds and fixes a portion of a defrost water pipe 590 (see FIG. 30) transmitting defrost water generated from the evaporator 630. In the embodiment, the fixing clip 244 may include two fixing clips provided at a side of the second defrost water space Sb, and the position and number thereof may change. In the embodiment, the fixing clip 244 may be provided at the side of the second defrost water space Sb relatively close to the evaporator 630.

[0101] The condenser seating plate 246 may be provided at one side of the tray body 241. The condenser seating plate 246 may be formed to have the shape of a thin plate, and may extend further from the tray body 241 toward the inlet 225a. The condenser seating plate 246 may not have the dividing fence 242 unlike the tray body 241 and may be configured to have the same height as the height of the bottom surface 241' of the tray body 241.

[0102] A flow inclined surface 245' may be formed between the tray body 241 and the condenser seating plate 246 by inclining downward toward the condenser seating plate 246. The flow inclined surface 245' may prevent air introduced into the inlet 225a from being prevented from naturally flowing by being blocked by the dividing fence 242. To this end, the flow inclined surface 245' may be formed on the front surface of the front surface of the dividing fence 242 directed toward the condenser seating plate 246 in the dividing fence 242.

[0103] The main condenser 620 may be installed on the condenser seating plate 246. A condenser fixing part 247 may protrude on the condenser seating plate 246 and may hold and fix a portion of the side surface of the main condenser 620. The condenser fixing part 247 may include a fixing body protruding from the condenser seating plate 246, and a holding part 248 protruding from the fixing body toward the main condenser 620. The condenser fixing part 247 may include a pair of condenser fixing parts spaced apart at a predetermined interval from each other, and the main condenser 620 may be seated between the pair of condenser fixing parts 247.

[0104] Referring to FIG. 15, the main condenser 620 can be seen to be disposed between the condenser fixing parts 247. In the embodiment, a distance between the pair of condenser fixing parts 247 may correspond to the width of the main condenser 620. Accordingly, the holding part 248 may be in close contact with the side surface of the main condenser 620, and may not deform the side surface of the main condenser 620 while the main condenser 620 is fitted between the pair of condenser fixing parts 247. Particularly, in the embodiment, the surface of the holding part 248 is covered with an elastic forming part so as to prevent the surface of the main condenser 620 from being scratched.

[0105] Accordingly, the main condenser 620 may be connected directly to the defrost water tray 240 by the condenser fixing parts 247 without a separate fastener. Accordingly, parts or soldering processes for fixing the main condenser 620 may be omitted, and the condenser fixing parts 247 may securely fix the side surfaces of the main condenser 620. Particularly, although it is difficult to install the main condenser 620 inside the machine room 201 which is narrow, in the embodiment, the main condenser 620 may be fixed only by seating the main condenser 620 on the condenser seating plate 246.

[0106] Meanwhile, the defrost water tray 240 may have a flow guide surface 245. The flow guide surface 245 may be formed by inclining at least a portion of the dividing fence 242 downward toward the lower end of the heat dissipation fan 611. Referring to FIGS. 12 and 13, the dividing fence 242 of the defrost water tray 240 may protrude up to a position higher than the lower end of the heat dissipation fan 611, and the heat dissipation fan 611 may be located very close to the dividing fence 242, and thus a dead space may be defined in front of the lower end of the heat dissipation fan 611, so the flow of air may not be facilitated. However, the flow guide surface 245 may secure a flow space Sc between the lower end of the heat dissipation fan 611 and the defrost water tray 240 such that air introduction to the heat dissipation fan 611 can be more facilitated.

[0107] Referring to FIG. 14, the flow of air on the flow guide surface 245 can be seen. The flow guide surface 245 may guide the natural flow of introduced air to the heat dissipation fan 611 by using a downward inclined surface. The end part of such a flow guide surface 245 may extend up to the lower end of the heat dissipation fan 611, and the flow guide surface 245 may be formed in a section of the dividing fence 242 facing the heat dissipation fan 611.

[0108] Meanwhile, referring to FIG. 3, the rear portion of the cover plate 250 constituting the upper surface of the machine room frame 200 may protrude upward from other portions of the cover plate, and the rear portion of the inside of the machine room 201 may be configured to be higher than other portions thereof. That is, in consideration of the protruding heights of the heat dissipation fan 611 and the compressor 610 installed in the machine room 201, the rear portion of the cover plate may be configured to be higher than the other portions thereof. Particularly, in the embodiment, since the compressor 610 has the highest height, a compressor cover 280 may be provided in the cover plate 250 in correspondence to the height of the compressor 610.

[0109] The cover plate 250 may be formed of a metal material having a plate shape and may be bent to form an overall shape thereof. In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the cover plate 250 may include a first cover part 251 and a second cover part 252. In addition, the cover plate 250 may further include a compressor cover 280.

[0110] The first cover part 251 may be formed on the front half part of the cover plate 250. In addition, the first cover part 251 may constitute the lowest part of the cover plate 250, and may be formed to have a preset height H1 (see FIG. 9). The first cover part 251 may be configured to have height H1 corresponding to the height H1 of each of the condenser 620 and the separation wall 230. The height of first cover part 251 may correspond to the height of each of the side plates 212. That is, the lower surface of the first cover part 251 may be in contact with the upper surface of the condenser 620, the upper end of the separation wall, and the upper end of the side plate 212, and may constitute the front half part of the upper surface of the machine room 201.

[0111] As illustrated in FIG. 4, the first cover part 251 may include the front half part of the upper surface of the machine room 201 and may further include a portion of the rear half part of the upper surface of the machine room 201. That is, the first cover part 251 may be formed by extending from the front end of the machine room 201 to the front end of the heat dissipation fan 611.

[0112] In addition, an auto door installation part 253 in which the door opening device 900 is installed may be provided on the front end of the first cover part 251. The auto door installation part 253 may be provided on the front side of the first cover part toward the front of the cover plate 250, that is, the door assembly 130, and may be formed by protruding upward. In addition, the lower surface of the auto door installation part 253 may be open, and the center portion of the cover plate 250 corresponding to the auto door installation part 253 may be formed by being cut. In addition, a harness cover 257 of which the harness of the control module 700 is moved in and out may be provided on a side of the first cover part 251 corresponding to the control module 700.

[0113] For reference, in FIG. 2, a push rod 950 constituting a door opening device 900 is illustrated by protruding therefrom. The push rod 950 may protrude from the door opening device 900 and may push a contact part B provided on the inner surface of the door assembly 130.

[0114] Meanwhile, a vertical connection part 254 may be formed on the rear end of the first cover part 251 by extending vertically, and the upper end of the vertical connection part 254 may include the second cover part 252 extending rearward.

[0115] The vertical connection part 254 may be in contact with the front end of the heat dissipation fan 611, and may extend from a first side end of the cover plate 250 to a second side end thereof. In addition, the height H2 of the vertical connection part 254 may correspond to the height of the heat dissipation fan 611. In addition, the second cover part 252 extending rearward from the vertical connection part 254 may also be formed to have the same height H2 as the height of the vertical connection part 254.

[0116] That is, the second cover part 252 may be configured to have the height H2 corresponding to the upper end of the heat dissipation fan 611, and may protrude upward and have a stepped shape, compared to the first cover part 251.

[0117] In this case, the side plate 212 constituting the side surface of the machine room 201, and an outer plate 212a coupled to the side plate 212 and constituting the outermost side surface of the machine room 201 may be configured to have the same heights from the front of the machine room 201 to a rear thereof. In contrast, the second cover part 252 may be configured to be higher than the side plate 212 or the outer plate 212a.

[0118] In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the side surface of the outer casing 110 constituting the cabinet 100, and the surface of the outer plate 212a disposed on the outer side of the side surface of the machine room 201 may constitute a same plane continuous to each other. Through this, a unified beauty of the refrigerator may be provided.

[0119] Meanwhile, in the machine room 201, the compressor 610 may protrude upward from the discharge space O, and may have a preset height H2. In this case, the compressor 610 may be configured to have height H2 higher than the height H3 of the second cover part 252 and thus may protrude more upward than the surface of the second cover part 252.

[0120] In this case, one side of the cover plate 250 at which the compressor 610 is disposed may have an opening, and the compressor cover 280 for covering the protruding upper surface of the compressor 610 may be formed on the opening.

[0121] The compressor cover 280 may be configured to effectively receive the upper end of the compressor having a three-dimensional shape. That is, the compressor cover 280 may be recessed such that a compressor receiving space 281 for receiving the upper end of the compressor 610 is formed inside the compressor cover, and the internal upper surface of the compressor receiving space may have a preset height H4.

[0122] Accordingly, in the second cover part 252, the compressor cover 280 may be provided at a position corresponding to the upper surface of the compressor 610. In addition, the compressor cover 280 may protrude more upward from the second cover part 252.

[0123] The cover plate 250 may be provided with the harness cover 257. The harness cover 257 is a part in which the wire harness extending from the control module 700 to be described below is mounted, and may function to guide the extending direction of the wire harness. Specifically, the harness cover 257 may guide the wire harness extending upward from the control module 700 located thereunder to the rear side, that is, toward the rear plate 213.

[0124] Meanwhile, the bottom plate constituting the bottom of the machine room of the refrigerator of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 16 to 21 according to the present disclosure. For reference, the same reference numerals will be given to the same parts as in the previous embodiment and descriptions thereof will be omitted.

[0125] As illustrated in FIG. 16, unlike the previous embodiment, the front cover 220 may be configured as a grille part 225 which is one part. The grille part 225 may include multiple openings passing through the front cover 220, and may allow air to be introduced into the machine room 201 and allow the internal air of the machine room 201 to be discharged to the outside.

[0126] In addition, the front cover 220 may include an introduction part 220a and a discharge part 220b formed therein. In this case, the introduction part 220a may be wider than the discharge part 220b. However, after an area in which the condenser 620 is installed, the introduction space I of the machine room 201 connected to the introduction part 220a may be configured to have a width decreased by the separation wall 230 installed to partition the machine room 201.

[0127] The bottom plate 211 may constitute the bottom surface of the machine room 201. The rear end of the bottom plate 211 and the rear surface of the cover plate 250 may be spaced apart from each other, and the rear surface of the machine room 201 may be open. In addition, the rear surface of the machine room 201 may be covered by the rear plate 213.

[0128] The front end of the bottom plate 211 and the front surface of the cover plate 250 may be spaced apart from each other, and the front surface of the machine room 201 may be open. In addition, the front surface of the machine room 201 may be covered by the front cover 220.

[0129] In the introduction space I, the bottom plate 211 may include an additional inlet 22 vertically formed therethrough. That is, together with the amount of air introduced through the grille part 225 provided in the front cover 220, the amount of air introduced through the additional inlet 22 into the machine room 201 may be secured additionally.

[0130] The additional inlet 22 may be located at the front end of the introduction space I, that is, in front of the condenser 620. That is, the front cover may be located in front of the additional inlet 22, and the condenser 620 may be located behind the additional inlet 22.

[0131] The additional inlet 22 may extend horizontally in the introduction space I relative to the front cover 220 and may be configured to have a shape of a longitudinal hole, and may include a plurality of additional inlets formed by being spaced apart from each other in a front-to-rear direction.

[0132] The bottom plate 211 may include an additional outlet 20a or 20b formed vertically therethrough in the discharge space O. This is intended to secure an additional discharge area in correspondence to the amount of air additionally secured through the additional inlet 22.

[0133] The additional outlet 20a or 20b may include a plurality of additional outlets formed vertically through one side of the bottom plate 211. That is, in addition to the grille part 225 provided in the front cover, even through the additional outlets 20a and 20b, the internal air of the machine room 201 may be discharged to the outside, and thus a discharge area in which the internal air of the machine room 201 can be discharged to the outside may be additionally secured.

[0134] The additional outlet 20a or 20b may include a plurality of through holes formed vertically, and the through holes may be configured to be arranged in lines within a predetermined area. The additional outlets 20a and 20b may be provided in the rear end of the bottom plate 211. That is, the additional outlets 20a and 20b may be located at a side behind the additional inlet 22.

[0135] The additional outlet 20a or 20b may include a first outlet 20a provided at a position corresponding to a position at which the compressor 610 is disposed. The first outlet 20a may be located under the compressor such that the internal air of the discharge space O is efficiently discharged to the outside.

[0136] In addition, the additional outlet 20a or 20b may further include a second outlet 20b located in front of the first outlet 20a and formed vertically through the bottom plate. The second outlet 20b may be formed at the rear end part of the control module 700. Accordingly, the control module 700 may be cooled by air flowing along the discharge space O, and may be rapidly discharged through the second outlet 20b.

[0137] The second outlet 20b may be formed in front of the first outlet 20a. In addition, the second outlet 20b may be located behind a first reinforcement part 24a and a third reinforcement part 24c to be descried later and may be located in front of a second reinforcement part 24b.

[0138] The bottom plate 211 may include a reinforcement part 24 formed by crossing the introduction space I and the discharge space O so as to reinforce the rigidity of the bottom plate 211. For example, the reinforcement part 24 may be formed by extending from a first end of the bottom plate 211 to a second end of the bottom plate 211. That is, the reinforcement part 24 may extend in a horizontal direction relative to the front cover 220 and may allow the bottom plate 211 to securely support weights of the condenser 620 provided in the introduction space I and the compressor 610 provided in the discharge space O.

[0139] The machine room 201 is configured such that the condenser 620 is provided in the front side of the introduction space I, and the compressor 610 is provided in the rear side of the discharge space O, so weight applied to the bottom plate 211 may not evenly be distributed, but be unavoidably biased.

[0140] That is, the compressor 610 provided in an area in which the additional outlet 20a or 20b is formed is greater in weight than other parts installed in the machine room 201 such as the condenser 620 and the defrost water tray 240, and thus weight may be continuously biased to the bottom plate 211 of the side of the discharge space O in which the compressor 610 is located, so the bottom plate 211 may be depressed to one side. When the compressor and the condenser 620 are installed in the machine room 201, the reinforcement part may allow the bottom plate 211 to more securely support the associated parts.

[0141] The reinforcement part 24 may be depressed from an upper side to a lower side relative to the bottom plate 211, and may include a plurality of reinforcement parts formed by being spaced apart from each other. That is, the reinforcement part 24 may have a depressed structure formed on the upper surface of the bottom plate 211 and may not interfere with the compressor 610 and the condenser 620 installed horizontally.

[0142] Furthermore, for example, the reinforcement part 24 may include the first reinforcement part 24a formed at the side of the rear end part of the condenser 620 or behind the condenser. That is, the first reinforcement part 24a may be formed behind the additional inlet 22 to be spaced apart therefrom. Additionally, the first reinforcement part 24a may be formed between the additional inlet 22 and the second outlet 20b.

[0143] In addition, the reinforcement part 24 may include the second reinforcement part 24b formed at the side of the front end part of the compressor 610 or in front of the compressor 610. That is, the second reinforcement part 24b may be formed between the first outlet 20a and the second outlet 20b.

[0144] The first reinforcement part 24a and the second reinforcement part 24b may be formed in the bottom plate 211 by being spaced apart from the additional inlet 22 or the first and second outlets 20a and 20b in a front-to-rear direction so as not to interfere therewith.

[0145] Furthermore, the reinforcement part 24 may include the third reinforcement part 24c formed between the first reinforcement part 24a and the first outlet 20a. The third reinforcement part 24c may be formed between the first reinforcement part 24a and the second reinforcement part 24b. That is, the third reinforcement part may be formed between the first reinforcement part 24a and the second outlet 20b.

[0146] The reinforcement part may allow the bottom plate 211 to more securely support parts installed in the machine room 201.

[0147] A side connection part 25 may be formed on each of the opposite sides of the bottom plate 211 by bending upward and extending to be coupled to a side part 1251 to be described later. The side connection part 25 may include a plurality of through holes 25a through which fastening members pass.

[0148] A first side surface of the side part 1251 may be coupled to the bottom plate 211, and a second side surface thereof may be connected to the side plate 212. That is, the side end of the bottom plate 211 may be installed to be spaced apart from the side surface of the side plate 212, and the side part 1251 may be installed between the bottom plate 211 and the side plate 212.

[0149] The side part 1251 may be formed by bending multiple times and extending along the side end of the bottom plate 211.

[0150] The side part 1251 may be formed by extending along the side end of the bottom plate 211, and may include a first part 1251a coupled to the bottom plate 211, a second part 1251b formed by bending and extending from the first part 1251a to the outside of the machine room 201, and a third part 1251c bending and extending upward from the second part 1251b and coupled to the side plate 212.

[0151] The first part 1251a may include a plurality of through holes through which fastening members pass such that the first part can be connected to the bottom plate 211.

[0152] The second part 1251b may be formed by bending and extending to one side from the first part 1251a, and the lower part of the second part 1251b may be connected to a support module 1900 to be described later.

[0153] In addition, the center portion of the second part 1251b may include a side discharge hole 26 through which the internal air of the machine room 201 can be discharged to the outside.

[0154] It is possible to increase an area in which air can be discharged to the outside through the side discharge hole 26 in addition to the additional outlet 20a or 20b provided in the bottom plate 211. Since the introduction part 220a is formed to be wider than the discharge part 220b in the front cover 220, the introduction space I may be formed to be relatively large at the front part, and thus the amount of air introduced through the front cover 220 may be larger than the amount of discharged air. Accordingly, the side discharge hole 26 may be provided to increase the amount of discharged air.

[0155] The side discharge hole 26 may be formed vertically through the second part 1251b in a left-to-right direction thereof. Additionally, the side discharge hole 26 may include a plurality of side discharge holes formed by being spaced apart from each other in a front-to-rear direction of the second part 1251b.

[0156] The side discharge hole 26 may be formed in the side part 1251 disposed at a position adjacent to the discharge space of the bottom plate 211.

[0157] That is, as illustrated in FIG. 17, the side part 1251 may include a first side part 1253 provided at a position adjacent to the discharge space O in the opposite side ends of the bottom plate 211, and a second side part 1252 provided at a position adjacent to the introduction space I. Here, the side discharge hole 26 is preferably provided only in the first side part 1253. This is intended such that air of the discharge space O is efficiently discharged to the outside and air of the introduction space I is only introduced into the machine room 201.

[0158] The third part 1251c may be formed by bending and extending upward from a side end of the second part 1251b. The third part 1251c may be coupled to the side plate 212 by fastening members passing through the third part.

[0159] When the side part 1251 is coupled to the bottom plate 211 and the side plate 212, the third part 1251c may be in contact with the side plate 212.

[0160] In addition, the side part 1251 may further include a fourth part 1251d formed by bending and extending from the third part 1251c to the inside of the machine room 201. The fourth part 1251d may be formed to be parallel to the side end of the bottom plate 211. The fourth part 1251d may be coupled to the cover plate 250.

[0161] Hereinafter, the compressor cover 280 will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 22 to 27. As illustrated in the drawings, the second cover part 252 of the cover plate 250 may be provided with the compressor cover 280. In addition, the compressor cover 280 may secure space in which the upper end part of the compressor 610 can be received, and at the same time, may provide space in which a control valve 290 is mounted.

[0162] A cut part 255 may be formed in the rear end of the second cover part 252. The cut part 255 may be formed at the upper side of the compressor 610 by corresponding to the compressor 610. In addition, the cut part 255 may be formed to have a shape corresponding to the upper part of the compressor such that the upper part of the compressor 610 can protrude upward by passing through the cut part 255.

[0163] In addition, a coupling part bent vertically to the outside along the rear end of the second cover part 252 may be formed. The coupling part 256 may be configured to be coupled to the rear plate 213, and may be formed along the remaining rear end of the second cover part 252 except for an area in which the cut part 255 is formed.

[0164] The compressor cover 280 may be injection-formed of a plastic material. The upper surface of the compressor 610 may be configured to have a shape like a curved surface, and the compressor cover 280 may be configured to have a three-dimensional shape so as to receive the compressor 610 and the control valve 290.

[0165] That is, the three-dimensional shape of the compressor cover 280 may not be realized with the cover plate 250 having the shape of a metal plate, and thus the compressor cover 280 may be formed of a plastic material. At least a portion of the inner side surface of the compressor cover 280 may include a curved surface corresponding to the shape of the curved surface of the upper surface of the compressor 610.

[0166] The compressor cover 280 may have open shapes in lower and rear surfaces as a whole, and may have a recessed inside shape. In addition, the compressor cover 280 may be mounted to the upper surface of the second cover part 252 and may have a shape protruding upward. In this case, the open lower surface of the compressor cover may match the cut part 255. In addition, the rear surface of the compressor cover 280 may match the rear end of the cut part 255, that is, the coupling part 256.

[0167] In addition, the compressor cover 280 may include a cover body 284 protruding upward, a side edge 282 formed along the periphery of each of the opposite end surfaces of the peripheries of the cover body 284, a front edge 285 formed along the front end of the cover body 284, and a rear edge 283 formed along the rear end of the cover body 284.

[0168] A reinforcement rib 284a may be provided to have a grid shape on the upper surface of the cover body 284 by protruding upward therefrom. The rigidity of the compressor cover 280 formed of a plastic material may be reinforced by the reinforcement rib 284a. That is, foam liquid may be injected into the cabinet 100 to form an insulation material inside the cabinet 100, so even if pressure is applied to the cabinet 100, the deformation or removal of the compressor cover 280 may be prevented and a mounted state thereof may be maintained.

[0169] In addition, a body inclined part 284b which is formed slantingly may be formed on the front end of the cover body 284. The body inclined part 284b may have inclination directed upward gradually toward the rear of the cover body from the front end thereof. Accordingly, pressure applied to the compressor cover 280 may be distributed and an insulation material may be prevented from being unfilled.

[0170] Meanwhile, the compressor receiving space 281 may be defined inside the cover body 284, that is, on a lower surface thereof. The compressor receiving space 281 may be defined at a position facing the upper surface of the compressor 610. In a state in which the compressor cover 280 is mounted, the height of the compressor receiving space 281, that is, the height H4 of the cover body may be slightly higher than the upper end of the compressor 610 as illustrated in FIG. 24. The compressor receiving space 281 may be defined to have a shape corresponding to the shape of the exterior of the compressor 610, and may be defined to have a size to receive the upper surface of the compressor.

[0171] In addition, a valve receiving space 281a may be defined at a side of the compressor receiving space 281 by being further recessed laterally, and a recessed valve mounting part 286 may be formed in the rear end of the valve receiving space 281a, that is, on an edge of the rear end of the cover body 284.

[0172] The side edge 282 may be formed along each of the opposite side surfaces of the compressor cover 280, and may constitute a surface horizontal to the cover plate 250 to be in contact with each of the opposite side surfaces of the cut part 255. The side edge 282 may be in close contact with the upper surface of the cover plate 250 corresponding to the opposite sides of the cut part 255. In addition, the side edge 282 and the cover plate 250 may be securely coupled to each other by riveting, or the coupling, bonding or joining of fastening members.

[0173] In this case, a guide rib 287 may be formed downward along the open peripheral surface of the cover body 284. That is, the guide rib 287 may protrude downward along the inner side end of each of the side edge 282 and the front edge 285, and may be in contact with the end part of the cut part 255.

[0174] When the compressor cover 280 is mounted to the cover plate 250, the guide rib 287 and the cut part 255 may be in close contact with each other such that the guide rib 287 and the cut part 255 can be moved to precise coupling positions. Accordingly, the open lower surface of the cover body 284 may be coupled to the cut part 255 such that the cover body 284 and the cut part 255 are accurately maintained to match each other.

[0175] The front edge 285 may be connected to the front end of the side edge 282, and may constitute a surface horizontal to the cover plate 250 along the front end of the cover body 284. Meanwhile, the front end of the front edge 285 may bend vertically downward, and may be in close contact with the front surface of the vertical connection part 254. That is, the front edge 285 may be seated on a stepped part between the front end of the second cover part 252 and the vertical connection part 254, and may be fixedly mounted over the second cover part 252 and the vertical connection part 254 such that the compressor cover 280 can be more securely fixed to the cover plate 250.

[0176] The rear edge 283 may bend vertically from the rear surface of the cover body 284. In addition, the rear edge may be in surface contact with the rear plate 213, and may be coupled to the rear plate 213 while the rear edge and the rear plate 213 are in contact with each other. In a state in which the rear plate 213 is coupled, the rear plate 213 may cover the rear surface of the machine room 201, and may cover even the open rear surface of the compressor cover 280.

[0177] Meanwhile, the valve receiving space 281a and the valve mounting part 286 may be formed in the cover body 284. The valve receiving space 281a may be defined by protruding laterally from a side surface of the cover body 284, and may be configured as a portion of the compressor receiving space 281. That is, the open lower surface of the cover body 284 may be formed to have a recessed shape as a whole, and a main portion thereof may constitute the compressor receiving space 281 and a lateral partial space thereof may constitute the valve receiving space 281a.

[0178] In addition, the valve mounting part 286 which is stepped may be formed in the open rear end part of the valve receiving space 281a. The valve mounting part 286 may be exposed to the open rear surface of the compressor cover 280. Accordingly, in a state in which the rear surface of the machine room 201 is exposed to the outside after the removal of the rear plate 213, the valve mounting part 286 may be exposed to the rear side of the machine room, and access to the valve mounting part 286 and the mounting of the control valve 290 may be facilitated.

[0179] Meanwhile, the control valve 290 may include a valve body 291 connected to a refrigerant tube which connects the compressor 610 with the condenser 620, and a valve bracket 292 to which the valve body 291 is mounted. While the valve body 291 of the control valve 290 is first mounted to the valve bracket 292, the valve bracket 292 may be mounted to the valve mounting part 286.

[0180] The valve bracket 292 may include a bracket horizontal part 292b to which the valve body 291 is mounted by passing therethrough, a bracket vertical part 292c extending upward from the rear end of the bracket horizontal part 292b, and a bracket fixing part 292a stepped from the bracket vertical part 292c and fixedly mounted to the valve mounting part 286.

[0181] The bracket fixing part 292a may have a structure stepped rearward from the bracket vertical part 292c, and may have a shape to be seated on the stepped valve mounting part 286. In addition, the bracket horizontal part 292b may extend toward the inside of the machine room 201 opposite to the direction of the bracket fixing part 292a.

[0182] Accordingly, the bracket fixing part 292a located on the upper end of the rear of the control valve 290 may be easily fastened to the valve mounting part 286. In addition, the control valve 290 may be located inside of the valve receiving space 281a of the compressor cover 280 rather than the inside of the machine room 201, so even if the rear plate 213 is closed, the control valve 290 may not interfere with the rear plate 213.

[0183] Accordingly, in the inner space of the machine room 201, a rear half part in which the compressor 610 is provided may secure sufficient space, and particularly, the mounting of the compressor 610, the mounting of the control valve 290, and welding of a tube may be effectively performed even in the compact machine room 201.

[0184] Next, the grille plate 270 and the grille fan assembly 500 of the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 28 to 30. The grille plate 270 may be installed inside the storage space 121. The grille plate 270 may be configured as a rectangular wall body, and may be a part on which the grille fan assembly 500 is installed.

[0185] A main grille fixing end 271 may be formed on each of the left and right sides of the center of the rear surface of the grille plate 270. The main grille fixing end 271 may be formed to have a hook shape, and may be formed on each of the left and right sides of the center of the rear surface of the grille plate 270 by protruding rearward therefrom. The main grille fixing end 271 may be fixed to the inside of the storage space 121 such that the grille plate 270 can be securely fixed in the storage space 121.

[0186] Referring to FIG. 30, an air introduction hole 275 and a discharge part (not shown) may be formed in the front surface 270a of the grille plate 270. The air introduction hole 275 is a part through which air of the storage space 121 is introduced into a cooling compartment 125, and contrarily, the discharge part is a part through which air of the cooling compartment 125 is discharged to the storage space 121.

[0187] An air introduction part 272 may be formed on the lower part of the front surface 270a of the grille plate 270. The air introduction part 272 may be configured as a wall body to be long from side to side, and may protrude in a direction toward the storage space 121. That is, the air introduction part 272 may be recessed from the inner casing 120 in a direction away from an inner surface 124 (see FIG. 30) facing the grille plate 270. Accordingly, the air introduction part 272 may be away from the evaporator 630, and space may be defined between the air introduction part 272 and the evaporator 630.

[0188] In addition, the air introduction hole 275 may be disposed on the lower side of the air introduction part 272 such that water droplets can be prevented from being introduced through the front side of the grille plate 270 into the air introduction hole 275 to be described later. The air introduction part 272 may protrude toward the storage space 121 and may function to prevent water droplets generated on the front surface part of the grille plate 270 due to temperature difference from falling downward and being introduced into the air introduction hole 275.

[0189] An evasion recession part 124' may be recessed on the inner surface 124 of the inner casing 120 constituting the cabinet 100 facing the grille fan assembly 500 such that a distance between the inner surface 124 and the grille fan assembly 500 is increased. The grille fan assembly 500 may be installed to face the evasion recession part 124', and thus an air flow space may be sufficiently secured therebetween. For reference, in FIG. 28, reference numeral 124" indicates an installation recession part recessed in a part of the rear side of an accumulator 639 in the inner surface 124 of the inner casing 120.

[0190] A shroud 510 of the grille fan assembly 500 may have a guide wall body 520, and the guide wall body 520 may have a shroud fixing part 522, so the grille fan assembly 500 may be assembled with the rear surface 270b of the grille plate 270. Additionally, a grille fan member 550 may be installed in the shroud 510. Various grille fans may be applied to the grille fan member 550, but here, a grille fan of an axial flow fan type is applied.

[0191] Next, the air conditioning module 600 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to. 10. The air conditioning module 600 is a part which controls temperature of the inside of the storage space 121 of the inner casing 120. Such an air conditioning module 600 may be configured as an air conditioning device including the compressor 610, the main condenser 620, and the evaporator 630. That is, temperature of air circulating in the storage space 121 may be controlled by the above air conditioning device.

[0192] The compressor 610 and the condenser 620 may be provided in the machine room 201 inside the machine room frame 200. Here, the condenser 620 may refer to the main condenser 620. The main condenser 620 may be located at a side at which air is introduced among opposite sides formed by the separation wall 230 in the machine room frame 200, that is, in the introduction space I, and the compressor 610 may be located in the discharge space O which is a part through which air passing through the main condenser 620 passes.

[0193] Such a structure is intended such that air introduced into the machine room 201 of the machine room frame 200 can first pass through the main condenser 620. That is, when it is considered that the compressor 610 is a part that generates a large amount of heat, heat exchange efficiency may decrease when air exchanges heat with the main condenser 620 after passing through the compressor 610. Accordingly, it is preferable that air passes through the main condenser 620 before the compressor 610.

[0194] In addition, the main condenser 620 may be located to be adjacent to the inlet 225a provided in the front side of the inside of the machine room 201, and the compressor 610 may be located in the rear side (a side adjacent to the rear plate 213) of the inside of the machine room 201. Such a structure may allow the compressor 610 and the main condenser 620 to be partitioned from each other as much as possible so as to be spaced apart from each other such that the impact of high-temperature heat of the compressor 610 on the main condenser 620 can be reduced.

[0195] More precisely, the compressor 610 and the main condenser 620 may be disposed in spaces partitioned from each other, respectively, and the heat dissipation fan 611 may be disposed in the rear of the machine room 201 relative to the inlet 225a, and the compressor 610 may be disposed in the rear of the machine room 201 relative to the outlet 225b.

[0196] Furthermore, the heat dissipation fan 611 may be provided in the air introduction side of the compressor 610 so as to allow air to be introduced into and discharged out of the machine room 201 and to dissipate heat of the compressor 610. Such a heat dissipation fan 611 may function to block an air introduction side at which the main condenser 620 is located from a part in which the compressor 610 is located, so the impact of high-temperature heat of the compressor 610 on the main condenser 620 may be reduced. To this end, the heat dissipation fan 611 may be installed to be continuo8usly connected to the separation wall 230 described above.

[0197] Accordingly, the compressor 610 and the heat dissipation fan 611 may be spaced apart from the inner side of the machine room 201 so as to be installed in front of the rear plate 213. In this case, parts higher than other parts may be clustered in the rear side of the machine room 201, and remaining parts may be installed in the front side thereof, and thus the height of at least the front side of the machine room 201 may be decreased.

[0198] In addition, the storage space 121 of the refrigerator may be increased by the decreased height of the machine room 201. Referring to FIG. 3, the avoidance part 123 may be provided on the bottom surface of the storage space 121, and the compressor 610 and the heat dissipation fan 611 may be located under the avoidance part 123, and space of the front side of the avoidance part 123 may be used.

[0199] In this case, the compressor 610 and the heat dissipation fan 611 may be disposed to overlap each other in at least a portion thereof along a direction orthogonal to each of the open directions of the inlet 225a and the outlet 225b. Referring to FIG. 8, both the compressor 610 and the heat dissipation fan 611 are disposed close to the rear plate 213 and may be installed side by side in left and right directions.

[0200] In the embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 8, the compressor 610 and the heat dissipation fan 611 may be installed to face each other in front of the rear plate 213. Particularly, the extending direction of the rotating shaft of the heat dissipation fan 611 may be directed to the compressor 610, so a major part of the heat dissipation fan 611 may be in a section overlapping the compressor 610. According to such a structure, referring to FIG. 9, the heat dissipation fan 611 covers a major part of the compressor 610 when viewed from the side. Accordingly, the compressor 610 and the heat dissipation fan 611 which are large in size may be arranged on the same line inside the machine room 201, and the front side thereof may be used as the storage space 121 or as space for installing other parts.

[0201] In addition, referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, the heat dissipation fan 611 may be spaced apart from the side plate 212 of the machine room frame 200 extending along one side of the inlet 225a, and the air flow space connected to the inlet 225a may be defined between the heat dissipation fan 611 and the side plate 212. Here, referring to FIG. 8, the air flow space may be considered as the upper part of the defrost water tray 240 of the left side of the flow guide surface 245 described above.

[0202] In this case, the extending direction of the rotating shaft of the heat dissipation fan 611 may be orthogonal to the open direction of the inlet 225a. That is, the heat dissipation fan 611 may directly face the compressor 610. Accordingly, the air flow space may be relatively wide. When the heat dissipation fan 611 faces the main condenser 620 or is installed slantingly, the width of the air flow space may be unavoidably decreased, and air may not efficiently flow.

[0203] In addition, since the heat dissipation fan 611 faces the compressor 610 directly, the heat dissipation fan 611 may strongly discharge air to the compressor 610 and may effectively cool the compressor 610.

[0204] Due to the air introduction and discharge of the heat dissipation fan 611, the heat dissipation fan 611 is a very important part which performs a cooling function, and as the size of the heat dissipation fan 611 increases, cooling performance thereof may be improved. Referring to FIG. 9, in the embodiment, the heat dissipation fan 611 and the compressor 610 are arranged side by side, so the heat dissipation fan 611 having height corresponding to the maximum height of the compressor 610 may be applied. That is, the height H2 of the heat dissipation fan 611 may be the same as or smaller than the height H1 of the compressor 610.

[0205] Meanwhile, the compressor 610 may be disposed in a path to which the outlet 225b is open. Accordingly, air heated through the compressor 610 may flow directly toward the outlet 225b and may be discharged to the outside. The entirety or at least a portion of the compressor 610 may be disposed in the path to which the outlet 225b is open.

[0206] While refrigerant continuously flows through the inside of each part constituting the air conditioning module 600, a refrigeration cycle may operate. In this case, each part may be connected to multiple refrigerant tubes, and the evaporation tube L2, the side condensing tube L4 and L6, and the front condensing tube L8 to be described below may be included in the refrigerant tubes.

[0207] Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, first, the evaporation tube L2 may be installed in the defrost water tray 240, and may be located close to the bottom surface 241' of the defrost water tray 240. The evaporation tube L2 may be installed to be space apart by a predetermined distance from the bottom surface 241' of the defrost water tray 240, and may be connected in a zigzag direction to secure length as long as possible as illustrated in FIG. 6. The evaporation tube L2 may be a path which is connected through a main control valve 625 to a refrigerant discharge pipe 610a (see FIG. 8) of the compressor 610 such that high-pressure/high temperature refrigerant passes through the path. The evaporation tube L2 may be disposed close to the bottom surface 241' of the defrost water tray 240, and thus may function to evaporate defrost water collected in the defrost water tray 240. Reference numeral L1 indicates a first connection tube which connects the main control valve 625 with the evaporation tube L2.

[0208] The evaporation tube L2 may be connected to the main condenser 620, and a first side condensing tube L4 may be connected to the main condenser 620. The first side condensing tube L4 may be provided on the left surface of the cabinet 100 relative to FIG. 6, and may be provided by bending multiple times. Referring to FIG. 8, a portion of a second connection tube L3 which connects the main condenser 620 with the first side condensing tube L4 is illustrated.

[0209] The first side condensing tube L4 may be connected to a second side condensing tube L6 by a third connection tube L5 (see FIG. 6) crossing the machine room 201. The second side condensing tube L6 and the first side condensing tube L4 may be paired with each other and may have the same shapes. Referring to FIG. 6, the second side condensing tube L6 may be provided on the right surface of the cabinet 100. Of course, the second side condensing tube L6 may not be required to have the same shape as the first side condensing tube L4.

[0210] The second side condensing tube L6 may be connected to the front condensing tube L8 by a fourth connection tube L7. The front condensing tube L8 may be provided on the front surface of the cabinet 100 and may be a refrigerant tube which is bent multiple times. In FIG. 6, the front condensing tube L8 may have an approximate rectangular shape, which is a shape corresponding to the front frame 118 described above.

[0211] Each of the first side condensing tube L4, the second side condensing tube L6, and the front condensing tube L8 may, together with the main condenser 620, perform the function of condensing refrigerant, so even if a large main condenser 620 is not installed in the machine room 201 due to the small height and width of the machine room 201, this may be compensated. Accordingly, each of the first side condensing tube L4, the second side condensing tube L6, and the front condensing tube L8, together with the main condenser 620, may be considered as a part of a condenser.

[0212] In addition, each of the first side condensing tube L4, the second side condensing tube L6, and the front condensing tube L8 may be configured to cover the exterior of the cabinet 100, and thus may function as a kind of heat line which prevents the formation of dew on the surface of the cabinet 100 due to temperature difference between the inside and outside of the refrigerator.

[0213] When a foam insulation material is filled in space between the inner casing 120 and the outer casing 110 as described above, the first side condensing tube L4, the second side condensing tube L6, and the front condensing tube L8 may be inserted and fixed in the insulation material.

[0214] Meanwhile, the second side condensing tube L6 may be connected to the evaporator 630 by a fifth connection tube L9. The evaporator 630 may be disposed in the rear space of the grille fan assemblies 500a and 500b in each portion in the inner casing 120. That is, during circulation of discharging air to the inner upper side of the storage space 121 after the air is introduced into the storage space 121 from the inner lower side thereof due to the operation of the grille fan assemblies 500a and 500b, the air may exchange heat with the evaporator 630 while passing through the evaporator 630.

[0215] Such an evaporator 630 may be configured as an evaporator 630 having a plate shape, and may be stably installed in front of a rear wall surface among the inner wall surfaces of the inner casing 120 and may improve heat exchange performance in a small space. Reference numeral L10 indicates an evaporator connection tube which connects the evaporator 630 with the main control valve 625.

[0216] Although not shown, a dryer and a capillary tube may be installed between the front condensing tube L8 and the evaporator 630. In this case, a refrigerant may pass consecutively through the front condensing tube L8, the dryer, the main control valve 625, the capillary tube, and the evaporator 630. Here, the dryer may function to protect a system by removing moisture and filtering foreign mater, and the capillary tube may function to throttle as an expansion valve.

[0217] In addition, finally, a refrigerant passing through the evaporator 630 may be introduced back to a refrigerant introduction tube 610b (see FIG. 8) of the compressor 610 so as to repeat a refrigeration cycle.

[0218] Next, the evaporator 630 will be described with reference to FIGS. 28 to 30. Refrigerant being in the state of high temperature and high pressure while passing through the compressor 610 and the main condenser 620 installed in the machine room 201 may be liquid having pressure and temperature reduced by the throttling of the capillary tube, and, in this state, may be delivered to the evaporator 630. Additionally, the evaporator 630 may receive the refrigerant of the state of liquid having low temperature and low pressure and may evaporate the refrigerant into gas, and may function to lower the internal temperature of the storage space 121 by using latent heat.

[0219] The expansion valve may lower the pressure of refrigerant gas having high temperature and high pressure discharged from the main condenser 620 into liquid refrigerant gas having low temperature and lower pressure such that the refrigerant gas having high temperature and high pressure can be easily evaporated in the evaporator 630, and may control the flow rate of the refrigerant gas so as to discharge the refrigerant gas to the evaporator 630. The expansion valve for a refrigerating compartment may include the capillary tube. The capillary tube may have a relatively small diameter, and may act as a resistance to the flow of a refrigerant in a process in which the refrigerant passes through the capillary tube and may expand the refrigerant.

[0220] In the embodiment, the evaporator 630 may be installed in the cooling compartment 125, and more precisely, as illustrated in FIG. 30, may be installed in the lower part of the cooling compartment 125 formed between the inner surface 124 of the inner casing 120 and the grille plate 270. Additionally, the grille fan assembly 500 described above may be located above the evaporator 630, and may introduce the internal air of the storage space 121 through the lower side, that is, the air introduction hole 275 into the cooling compartment, and may allow the air to pass through the evaporator 630 and be discharged through the discharge part located at the upper side back into the storage space 121.

[0221] Looking at the configuration of the evaporator 630, the evaporator 630 may include a cooling tube 638 in which refrigerant flows, and cooling fins 650 through which the cooling tube 638 passes. The cooling tube 638 may be considered as a kind of long pipe, and may be connected to the capillary tube (the expansion valve) described above so as to receive a refrigerant, and may discharge a refrigerant passing through the evaporator 630 again.

[0222] To this end, the cooling tube 638 may include a pair of cooling tubes. More precisely, the cooling tube 638 may include a first cooling tube 638a and the second cooling tube 638b. Here, the first cooling tube 638a may be a part into which a refrigerant supplied from the capillary tube (the expansion valve) is introduced, and may continuously pass through fin holes 653a or 653b of the cooling fins 650 to be described below and may pass through the outermost cooling fins 650.

[0223] In addition, the second cooling tube 638b may be connected to the first cooling tube 638a and may also continuously pass through the fin holes 653a or 653b of the cooling fins 650. The first cooling tube 638a and the second cooling tube 638b may be connected to each other by changing directions from the outside of a cooling fin 650 disposed at the outermost position among the multiple cooling fins 650. That is, the first cooling tube 638a and the second cooling tube 638b may not be configured as separate parts, but may be continuously connected to each other as one tube and may be considered to change a direction thereof in the middle of the one tube.

[0224] The accumulator 639 may be installed in the center of the second cooling tube 638b. A refrigerant which has absorbed surrounding heat by passing through the second cooling tube 638b may be delivered to the accumulator 639. The accumulator 639 may separate a liquid refrigerant which is not vaporized from the delivered refrigerant such that the liquid refrigerant is not transferred to the compressor 610.

[0225] Looking at the configuration of the cooling fins 650, the cooling fins 650 may be configured in a row in the rear of the storage space 121, that is, inside the cooling compartment 125. The multiple cooling fins 650 may be disposed side by side to constitute the evaporator 630. These cooling fins 650 may not be configured in multiple rows by having different heights. In the embodiment, the multiple cooling fins 650 may be configured only in one row to enable the miniaturization of the refrigerator. Furthermore, in the embodiment, since the refrigerator is a refrigerator for storing alcoholic beverages such as wine, the refrigerator may not be required to have a freezing function and may have the narrow range of refrigeration set temperature, so cooling fins 650 configured in multiple rows may not be required. Of course, unlike this, the cooling fins 650 may be configured in two rows or more.

[0226] Each of the cooling fins 650 may be made to have the shape of thin metal plate. The cooling fin may include multiple cooling fins to facilitate heat exchange with ambient air. Additionally, the cooling fins 650 may be spaced apart from each other such that air flows therebetween.

[0227] The fin hole 653a or 653b (see FIG. 30) may be formed in the cooling fins 650, and the fin hole 653a or 653b may include a pair of fin holes such that the first cooling tube 638a and the second cooling tube 638b constituting the cooling tube 638 pass through the fin holes, respectively. More precisely, the fin holes 653a and 653b may be disposed on the cooling fins 650 in a vertical direction. As a result, the cooling tube 638 may be arranged in two rows while passing through the upper and lower parts of each of the cooling fins 650, respectively.

[0228] Unlike this, at least three fin holes 653a or 653b may be formed in each of the cooling fins 650, and the cooling tube 638 may pass through the fin holes 653a or 653b in a zigzag fashion. Alternatively, only one fin hole 653a or 653b may be formed in each of the cooling fins 650. In this case, when the cooling tube 638 returns to the opposite direction after passing through the one fin hole 653a, the cooling tube 638 may not pass through the fin hole. In this case, the cooling fins 650 may be rotated, so it is preferable that at least two fin holes 653a or 653b are provided. Additionally, two fin holes 653a and 653b are generally formed in each of the cooling fins 650, so existing cooling fins 650 may be used.

[0229] In the embodiment, each of the cooling fins 650 may be installed in an upright direction. That is, the cooling fin 650 may be disposed in an upright direction such that a height thereof is larger than a width thereof. Here, the width of the cooling fin 650 indicates a left-to-right length, and the height of the cooling fin 650 indicates a vertical length relative to FIG. 30. In this case, a left-to-right width occupied by the cooling fins 650 in the cooling compartment 125 may be small, compared to cooling fins 650 installed in a lying state. Accordingly, the entire left-to-right width of the cooling compartment 125 may be decreased, and contrarily, the storage space 121 may be further increased.

[0230] In the embodiment, the cooling fin 650 stands vertically along the direction of gravity, but is not necessarily limited thereto. The cooling fin 650 may be erected to be inclined so as to have a predetermined angle. Of course, when considering the left-to-right width of the cooling compartment 125, it is more preferable that the cooling fin 650 stands vertically as illustrated in FIG. 30.

[0231] The fin hole 653a or 653b may be formed in each of the cooling fins 650. In the embodiment, the fin holes 653a or 653b may include a pair of upper fin holes 653a and lower fin holes 653b. These upper fin holes 653a and lower fin holes 653b may be formed in the cooling fins 650 by having different heights, and the one cooling tube 638 may pass through the pair of fin holes 653a and 653b.

[0232] In this case, in the multiple cooling fins 650, the fin holes 653a and 653b of one cooling fin and fin holes 653a and 653b of other cooling fins 650 adjacent thereto may be disposed side by side to have the same heights. Accordingly, the one cooling tube 638 may continuously pass through the fin holes 653a and 653b having the same heights, and the cooling tube 638 passing through the fin hole 653a or 653b of a cooling fin 650 located at the outermost side may change a direction thereof and may pass through another fin hole 653a or 653b located at a different height to extend.

[0233] For example, the first cooling tube 638a of the cooling tube 638 may continuously pass through the upper fin holes 653a, and then may change a direction thereof at a position adjacent to the fin hole 653a or 653b of the cooling fin 650 located at the outermost side to be the second cooling tube 638b, and may pass through the lower fin holes 653b. In this case, the first cooling tube 638a and the second cooling tube 638b may be connected to each other at a position adjacent to the cooling fin 650 located at the outermost side by a joining part 660 bent in an approximately U shape.

[0234] Accordingly, the first cooling tube 638a and the second cooling tube 638b may be located at different heights and may pass through the cooling fins 650. Accordingly, the cooling fins 650 may maintain a stable standing state without rotating arbitrarily. That is, the cooling tube 638 may constitute a kind of structure of fixing the evaporator 630 together with an evaporator holder 640 to be described below.

[0235] In this case, the first cooling tube 638a may pass through the upper fin holes 653a, and the second cooling tube 638b may pass through the lower fin holes 653b. In this case, the cooling tube 638 may first pass through the upper side of each of the cooling fins 650 which is relative low in temperature, and then may pass through the lower side thereof. Accordingly, it is possible to effectively reduce the occurrence of frost in the lower part of the cooling fin 650 which is relatively more in contact with high-humidity air delivered from the storage space 121.

[0236] Meanwhile, second cooling fins 652 of a section of the evaporator 630 may be disposed to have a larger interval therebetween than an interval between first cooling fins 651 of another section. Referring to FIG. 28, among the multiple cooling fins 650 constituting the evaporator 630, the second cooling fins 652 connected to the first part of the first cooling tube 638a may be disposed to have a wider interval therebetween. This is intended to widen an interval between the second cooling fins 652 of a section in which residual ice or defrost water mainly falls such that the residual ice or defrost water can flow downward.

[0237] Meanwhile, the evaporator holder 640 may be provided on each of the opposite ends of the evaporator 630. The evaporator holder 640 may stand in the same direction as the cooling fin 650 and may fix the evaporator 630 to the inner surface 124 of the inner casing 120.

[0238] Specifically, the frame of the evaporator holder 640 may be constituted by a holder body standing in parallel to the cooling fin 650. The holder body may have an approximately thin plate shape and may be made of a metal material. The holder body may stand side by side with the cooling fin 650, and may have a larger area than the cooling fin 650. Accordingly, the evaporator holders 640 may protect the cooling fins 650 on the left and right side surfaces of the evaporator 630, respectively.

[0239] The holder body may include a rigidity reinforcement rib 642. The rigidity reinforcement rib 642 may be formed by bending from the holder body. The rigidity reinforcement rib 642 of the evaporator holder 640 may extend along the longitudinal direction of the evaporator holder 640. That is, the rigidity reinforcement rib 642 may be provided along a relatively long part and may reinforce the rigidity of the evaporator holder 640. The evaporator holder 640 may be made of a thin plate and thus may be easily deformed or bent by an external force. Such a rigidity reinforcement rib 642 may prevent the evaporator holder 640 from being bent.

[0240] In this case, the rigidity reinforcement rib 642 of the evaporator holder 640 may extend on each of the opposite ends of the evaporator holder 640 along a longitudinal direction of the evaporator holder 640 in which the evaporator holder 640 stands. That is, the rigidity reinforcement ribs 642 may extend in parallel to each other on the opposite ends of the evaporator holder 640, and may be formed in the standing direction of the evaporator holder 640. Through such a structure, the durability of the evaporator holder 640 may be further increased.

[0241] The evaporator holder 640 may include a pair of evaporator holders formed on the opposite sides of the evaporator 630, respectively, and the pair of evaporator holders may have the same structures. As illustrated in FIG. 29, the pair of evaporator holders 640 may have the same heights, and the protruding directions of the rigidity reinforcement ribs 642 thereof may be the same. Accordingly, a distance between the pair of rigidity reinforcement ribs 642 may be larger than the width of the cooling fin 650, so the evaporator holder 640 and the cooling fin 650 may not interfere with each other. Furthermore, the pair of evaporator holders 640 may have the same shapes, and parts and process for manufacturing the evaporator holder 640 may be unified.

[0242] The holder body may include a fixing hook 645. The fixing hook 645 is a part protruding in a hook shape, and extends from the holder body and is hooked and fixed to the inner casing 120 of the cabinet 100. As illustrated in FIG. 28, the inner surface 124 of the inner casing 120 may have a fixing groove part 129 to which the fixing hook 645 is hooked, and the fixing hook 645 may be hooked to the fixing groove part 129.

[0243] Meanwhile, referring to FIG. 30, the air introduction part 272 through which air of the storage space 121 is introduced may be provided in a lower part of the grille plate 270 on which the grille fan assembly 500 is installed. The air introduction part 272 may be configured to have a height to overlap the cooling fin 650 of the evaporator 630 in at least a portion of the air introduction part.

[0244] In this case, the air introduction part 272 may protrude in a direction toward the storage space 121 to be away from the evaporator 630, that is, in a direction away from the inner surface 124 of the inner casing 120, so an empty space may naturally be defined between the air introduction part 272 and the evaporator 630. Accordingly, air may be efficiently introduced through the air introduction hole 275 formed in the air introduction part 272.

[0245] Particularly, the air introduction hole 275 of the air introduction part 272 may be formed slantingly toward the cooling fins 650. More precisely, the air introduction hole 275 may be inclined upward to face the cooling fins 650, so air of the storage space 121 may be accurately supplied toward the evaporator 630.

[0246] In addition, in the inner casing 120, the inner surface 124 facing the grille fan assembly 500 may have the evasion recession part 124' formed by being recessed therefrom so as to be away from the grille fan assembly 500, and the evaporator 630 may be installed under the evasion recession part 124'. Accordingly, air may efficiently flow consecutively through the air introduction hole 275, the evaporator 630, the evasion recession part 124', and the grille fan assembly 500.

[0247] Next, the control module 700 will be described with reference to FIGS. 31 to 33. The control module 700 may be installed in the machine room 201. The control module 700 is intended to control various functions of the refrigerator, and may control various functions such as the temperature control of the storage space 121, communication, and the display of information through a display module 800. Such a control module 700 may be installed inside the machine room 201 to save the inner space of the cabinet 100.

[0248] Looking at the installation structure of the control module 700 prior to the description of the control module 700, in the embodiment, the control module 700 may be installed on the lower surface of the cover plate 250. A casing guide 260 may be provided on the lower surface of the cover plate 250 in a direction parallel to the open direction of the outlet 225b such that the control module 700 can be moved inside and outside of the outlet 225b along the casing guide 260. In FIG. 31, a state in which the control module 700 is completely removed to the outside of the machine room 201 is illustrated. Unlike this, the casing guide 260 may be installed at the side of the inlet 225a in parallel to the open direction of the inlet 225a, but is preferably installed at the side of the outlet 225b so as not to prevent the flow of air introduced into the inlet 225a.

[0249] Referring to FIG. 33, the casing guide 260 may include a pair of casing guides provided by being spaced apart from each other such that the casing guides are coupled to the opposite side surfaces of the control module 700 and extend in parallel to each other. The control module 700 may be assembled slidably between the pair of casing guides 260. Relative to the drawing, in the pair of casing guides 260, a left casing guide 260 is identified as a first rail 260a, and a right casing guide 260 is identified as a second rail 260b.

[0250] In this case, the first rail 260a may be installed on the lower surface of the cover plate 250 covering the upper part of the machine room frame 200, and the second rail 260b may be installed on the lower surface of the cover plate 250 in a direction parallel to the first rail 260a. That is, in FIGS. 32 and 33, the first rail 260a and the second rail 260b are illustrated independently, but in reality, the first rail 260a and the second rail 260b are installed on the lower surface of the cover plate 250. However, the cover plate 250 is omitted from the drawings such that the first rail 260a and the second rail 260b are seen clearly.

[0251] Looking at the structure of the first rail 260a, the first rail 260a may include a first fixed frame 262 and the first guide frame 264. The first fixed frame 262 is a part fixed to the lower surface of the cover plate 250 such that the first rail 260a can be securely fixed to the cover plate 250. Additionally, a first guide channel H1 to which a portion of the side surface of the control module 700 is fitted may be formed in the first guide frame 264. The first fixed frame 262 and the first guide frame 264 may be connected orthogonally to each other to have an approximate "L" shape. Of course, the first guide frame 264 may also be fixed to the lower surface of the cover plate 250 by a fastener.

[0252] Looking at an enlarged part of FIG. 33, the first guide channel H1 is formed in the first guide frame 264. The first guide channel H1 may be open in a front thereof such that an edge of a side surface of a receiving casing 710 constituting the control module 700 can be fitted into the first guide channel H1. In the first guide frame 264, an upper surface part 264a, a side surface part 264b, and a lower end fixing part 264c are connected to each other to have a "U" shape, and the first guide channel H1 is defined therebetween.

[0253] Meanwhile, looking at the structure of the second rail 260b, the second rail 260b may include a second fixed frame 265 and a second guide frame 267 like the first rail 260a. The second fixed frame 265 is a part fixed to the lower surface of the cover plate 250 such that the second rail 260b can be securely fixed to the cover plate 250. Additionally, a second guide channel H2 to which a portion of the side surface of the control module 700 is fitted may be formed in the second guide frame 267. The second fixed frame 265 and the second guide frame 267 may be connected orthogonally to each other to have an approximate "L" shape. Of course, the second guide frame 267 may also be fixed to the lower surface of the cover plate 250 by a fastener.

[0254] Looking at the enlarged part of FIG. 33, the second guide channel H2 may be formed in the second guide frame 267. The second guide channel H2 may be formed to face the first guide channel H1 and may be open in a front thereof such that an edge of a side surface of the receiving casing 710 constituting the control module 700 can be fitted into the second guide channel H2. In the second guide frame 267, an upper surface part 267a, a side surface part 267b, and a lower end fixing part 267c are connected to each other to have a "U" shape, and the first guide channel H1 is defined therebetween.

[0255] Accordingly, in the embodiment, the casing guides 260 may be configured as two rails separated from each other, and may be assembled independently of each other. Accordingly, errors occurring during the manufacturing process of the casing guides 260 may be compensated to some extent during an installation process thereof.

[0256] The first fixed frame 262 and the second fixed frame 265 may be located at complementary positions to each other, so the first rail 260a and the second rail 260b may form a rectangular shape as a whole. Of course, alternatively, the first rail 260a and the second rail 260b may be connected to each other, and the casing guide 260 may be configured as one part. Alternatively, at least one of the first rail 260a and the second rail 260b of the casing guide 260 may be made to be integrated with the lower surface of the cover plate 250.

[0257] Looking at the control module 700, the opposite side surfaces of the control module 700 may be assembled slidably with the first rail 260a and the second rail 260b, respectively. Additionally, as illustrated in FIG. 31, when the front cover 220 of the machine room frame 200 is removed from the front surface of the machine room frame 200, the front part of the control module 700 may be exposed to the front side of the machine room frame 200. In FIG. 2, S indicates a part in which the control module 700 is installed.

[0258] Accordingly, in the embodiment, the control module 700 may be installed in the machine room 201, and may be disposed to be adjacent to the front surface of the machine room 201 so as to face the inlet 225a or the outlet 225b. More precisely, the control module 700 may be installed in the upper part of the machine room 201 adjacent to the outlet 225b, and when the control module 700 is installed in the machine room 201, the discharge space O may be defined between the lower surface of the control module 700 and the bottom surface of the machine room frame 200. Accordingly, the control module 700 may be installed at a position close to the entrance of the machine room 201 and thus may be removed forward from the machine room 201.

[0259] Particularly, for maintenance of the control module 700, the rear of the refrigerator may not be required to be opened, and the control module 700 may be removed from the front of the refrigerator to be repaired or replaced, and when the machine room module of the present disclosure is applied to a built-in refrigerator, the repair or replacement work may be performed in front of the refrigerator without taking the entirety of the refrigerator out of an installation place thereof.

[0260] While the control module 700 faces the upper surface of the machine room frame 200 corresponding to the ceiling of the machine room 201, that is, the lower surface of the cover plate 250, the control module 700 may be installed parallel to the upper surface of the machine room frame 200. In other words, as illustrated in FIG. 31, the control module 700 may be installed inside the machine room 201 while in a lying state. Accordingly, in a horizontal lying state, a main control board constituting the control module 700 may be stored inside the receiving casing 710, which is a kind of drawer structure, and thus may be stably stored therein even if the main control board is not fastened with a separate fastener. Of course, the main control board may be fastened to the receiving casing 710 by using a separate fastener such as a bolt.

[0261] Accordingly, since the control module 700 is installed on the cover plate 250 covering the upper part of the machine room 201, vibration generated by a device such as the compressor 610 installed on the bottom surface of the machine room 201 may be prevented from being transmitted directly to the control module 700. In order to enhance such a function, separate damper (not shown) may be installed between the casing guide 260 and the control module 700, or between the casing guide 260 and the cover plate 250.

[0262] In addition, since the control module 700 is received in the machine room 201 horizontally by lying in the width direction of the machine room 201 rather than the height direction thereof, at least a left-to-right installation interval of the control module corresponding to the width direction of the outlet 225b may be secured. Accordingly, the area of the main control board constituting the control module 700 may be sufficiently increased. Referring to FIG. 8, it can be seen that the control module 700 occupies most of a remaining area except for an installed part of the compressor 610 at the side of the outlet 225b.

[0263] As for the detailed structure of such a control module 700, the control module 700 may include the receiving casing 710 and the main control board (not shown). The receiving casing 710 may be assembled removably with the upper part of the machine room 201, that is, with the casing guide 260, and may have a receiving space 701 in the center of the receiving casing 710. Referring to FIG. 32, the receiving casing 710 may have an approximately rectangular frame structure and be open upward such that the receiving space 701 is exposed.

[0264] The receiving casing 710 may have a width smaller than or equal to the width of the outlet 225b such that the receiving casing 710 can be moved inside and outside of the outlet 225b. In addition, to avoid excessively reducing the height of the outlet 225b, it is preferable that the receiving casing 710 has height less than a half of the height of the outlet 225b which is removed.

[0265] Referring to FIG. 32, the receiving casing 710 may be provided with a protection wall 712 and 713. The protection wall 712 and 713 may protrude along the edge of the receiving casing 710 so as to cover the receiving space 701, and the height of the protection wall 712 and 713 may be the height of the receiving casing 710.

[0266] The protection wall 712 and 713 may include a rear wall 712 directed toward the inside of the machine room 201 and a front wall 713 directed toward the outside of the machine room, and a guide end 715 may be provided along each of the side surfaces of the machine room. The guide end 715 may be a part assembled with the casing guide 260 and may extend long along the side surface of the receiving casing 710 such that the guide end 715 is fitted to each of the first guide channel H1 and the second guide channel H2 of the casing guide 260.

[0267] Of course, a structure in which the receiving casing 710 is assembled inside the machine room 201 is not necessarily limited to this structure. For example, the receiving casing 710 may not be assembled with the machine room 201 by sliding in a front-to-rear direction relative to the front surface of the machine room 201, but a fixing structure in which after the receiving casing 710 is inserted into the machine room 201, the receiving casing 710 may be pushed in a direction orthogonal to an inserting direction of the receiving casing 710 to be fixed may be applied to the machine room 201.

[0268] The guide end 715 may be provided on an upper end of the side surface of the receiving casing 710 closest to the lower surface of the cover plate 250 covering the machine room 201. That is, the guide end 715 may be provided along the upper end of the side surface of the receiving casing 710, and may protrude outward from the upper end of the side surface. Since the guide end 715 is provided on the upper end of the side surface, the receiving casing 710 may be installed to be in close contact with the lower surface of the cover plate 250. In this case, without a separate cover, the upper surface of the receiving space 701 may be covered by the cover plate 250, and introduction of foreign matter into the receiving space 701 may be prevented.

[0269] A partitioning wall 720 may be provided inside the protection wall 712 and 713 of the receiving casing 710. The receiving space 701 in which the main control board is received may be defined in the center of the receiving casing 710 of the control module 700, and the partitioning wall 720 may partition the receiving space 701. More precisely, the partitioning wall 720 may define a wire connection space 702 outside of the receiving space 701 by surrounding the receiving space 701. That is, the wire connection space 702 may be defined between the partitioning wall 720 and the protection walls 712 and 713.

[0270] The wire harness (not shown) connected to the main control board may be seated on the wire connection space 702. The wire connection space 702 may be space independent of the receiving space 701, and thus the wire harness may be easily organized therein. Particularly, inside the small machine room 201, multiple strands of wire harnesses may be twisted or interfere with peripheral parts including a part of the main control board, but may be organized through the wire connection space 702. In the embodiment, the wire connection space 702 may have an approximately "L"-shaped path, and alternatively, the wire connection space 702 may be defined so as to surround the entirety of the outside of the receiving space 701.

[0271] Accordingly, the partitioning wall 720, together with the protection walls 712 and 713, may act as a kind of double wall. Accordingly, the partitioning wall 720 may filer out foreign matter being introduced into the main control board.

[0272] A connection hole 712' may be formed through the rear of the receiving casing 710 of the control module 700 directed toward the inside of the machine room 201. The connection hole 712' may allow a portion of the wire harnesses connected to the control module 700 to extend to the outside of the receiving casing 710. In the embodiment, the connection hole 712' may be formed through the rear of the wire connection space 702.

[0273] Continuously, the door opening device 900 will be described with reference to FIGS. 34 to 36. First, the door opening device 900 may be installed in an installation space 253 recessed from the lower side of the cabinet 100 toward the storage space 121. Here, the installation space 253 may have a shape formed by recessing a portion of the lower part of the cabinet 100. In the embodiment, the installation space 253 may be defined in the cover plate 250.

[0274] That is, the cover plate 250 may be installed between the upper part of the machine room frame and the lower part of the cabinet 100 so as to cover the machine room 201, and the door opening device 900 may be received in the installation space 253 recessed from the lower surface 251 of the cover plate 250 toward the lower part of the cabinet 100.

[0275] In this case, the cover plate 250 may be spaced apart from the inner casing 120 so as to define a foam space therebetween, so a foam material may be filled on the cover plate and an insulation part may be formed. Accordingly, the installation space 253 may be recessed toward the space of the insulation part, and may not interfere with other parts. Additionally, the periphery of the cover plate 250 surrounding the door opening device 900 may be filled with the insulation part, and this insulation part may function as a sound insulator which blocks the operation noise of a motor/gear generated by the door opening device 900.

[0276] Referring to FIG. 34, the installation space 253 may be defined inside a part recessed from the cover plate 250 toward the bottom of the inner casing. The installation space 253 may be located at the center portion of the cover plate 250. A lower surface of the installation space 253 directed toward the machine room and a front surface thereof directed toward the door assembly are open.

[0277] That is, the installation space 253 may be considered as a space connected to the machine room 201, and accordingly, when the machine room module is removed from the refrigerator, the installation space 253 and the door opening device 900 installed in the installation space 253 may be exposed to the outside, so the maintenance of the door opening device 900 may be easily performed. FIG. 34 illustrates the side of the bottom of the refrigerator by removing the machine room module of the refrigerator, and the installation space 253 and the door opening device 900 installed in the installation space 253 are exposed to the outside.

[0278] In addition, the front surface of the installation space 253 directed toward the door assembly 130 may be open, and referring to FIG. 36, the front entrance 253' of the installation space 253 is exposed to the outside. In this case, the front surface of the installation space 253 may be covered by the front frame 118 constituting the cabinet 100, and the front frame 118 may have a rod entry/exit hole 119 for the push rod 950 which protrudes from the door opening device 900.

[0279] Accordingly, the front surface of the installation space 253 may be covered by the front frame 118, and only a part of the front frame through which the push rod 950 enters and exits may be drilled in the form of a hole. Accordingly, in a state in which the push rod 950 of the door opening device 900 does not protrude yet, a rod cap 952 of the push rod 950 may block the rod entry/exit hole 119 such that foreign matter can be prevented from being introduced into the installation space.

[0280] Now, the structure of the door opening device 900 will be described with reference to FIG. 36. The door opening device 900 may be installed in a device casing 901 constituting the exterior of the door opening device. In the device casing 901, a part close to the door assembly 130 may be narrow in width, but a part located at the inner side of the cover plate 250 may be relatively wide in width. This is according to the arrangement of a drive motor 910 and a gear assembly 920 installed in the device casing 901, which will be described again below.

[0281] The device casing 901 may be installed at the center of the cover plate 250, and more precisely, the rod entry/exit hole 119 through which the push rod 950 protrudes is preferably located on the center line of the cover plate 250. For reference, in FIG. 34, A indicates the center line of the cover plate 250.

[0282] Referring to FIG. 36, the device casing 901 may have height corresponding to the installation space 253, and may have a thin and wide plate structure. The device casing 901 may be composed of multiple parts. For example, an upper casing (not shown) and a lower casing may constitute the exteriors of the upper and lower parts of the door opening device 900, respectively. In addition, the upper casing and the lower casing may be coupled to each other to provide space in which the drive motor 910 and the gear assembly 920 can be arranged. In the drawing, the upper casing is omitted such that the drive motor 910 and the gear assembly 920 are exposed to the outside. Of course, the upper casing may be omitted, and only the lower casing may constitute the device casing 901.

[0283] Multiple installation rings 905 may be provided on the outer side of the device casing 901. Each of the installation ring 905 may be inserted into a ring mounting depression 904 depressed on the edge of the device casing 901. The installation ring 905 may support the lower casing such that the lower casing is seated on the ring mounting depression 904 of the device casing 901 and may be formed of a silicon material. Accordingly, vibration generated during the operation of the door opening device 900 may be reduced and thus noise may be prevented.

[0284] The drive motor 910 may be installed on the device casing 901. The drive motor 910 may be mounted to the lower surface of the device casing 901. The drive motor 910 may use a BLDC type motor capable of performing both forward and reverse rotations. The drive motor 910 may count frequency generating (FG) signals by using a BLDC type motor such that the speed of the drive motor 910 can be variably controlled.

[0285] Accordingly, by controlling the speed of the drive motor during the operation of the door opening device 900, the impact of the door assembly 130 may be alleviated when the door assembly 130 is opened and closed. Furthermore, in an emergency situation, the push rod 950 may be rapidly restored. The drive motor 910 may be mounted to the lower surface of the lower casing, and the rotating shaft of the drive motor 910 may pass through the inside of the lower casing.

[0286] The drive motor 910 may be installed in the device casing 901, and a pinion gear 911 of the drive motor 910 may protrude to be rotated by the drive motor 910. In addition, the pinion gear 911 may be engaged with the gear assembly 920 to rotate the gear assembly 920. Specifically, multiple gears may be disposed on the device casing 901 to be engaged with each other. The multiple gears may include reduction gears 921 and 923 and spacer gears 925 and 927. Here, the reduction gears 921 and 923 may function to reduce the rotational speed of the drive motor 910 through gear ratios, and the spacer gears 925 and 927 may be connected to and engaged with the reduction gears 921 and 923 and may function to fill empty space between the push rod 950 and the reduction gears 921 and 923.

[0287] A first reduction gear 921 may be connected to a second reduction gear 923, and the second reduction gear 923 may be connected to the spacer gears 925 and 927. Like general reduction gears 921 and 923, each of the reduction gears 921 and 923 may have a structure in which input and output sides thereof are arranged in two upper and lower steps, respectively, and the input and output sides thereof may be in contact with a neighboring gear such that the speed of the drive motor can be reduced.

[0288] Through the combination of these multiple reduction gears 921 and 923, the number of rotations thereof may be adjusted, and a force transmitted to the push rod 950 may be controlled by adjusting the number of rotations. Of course, the number of the reduction gears 921 and 923 may be adjusted as needed. In the embodiment, the reduction gears 921 and 923 may include a total of two reduction gears, but may include at least three reduction gears. Reference numerals 921' and 923' indicate the rotating shafts of the first reduction gear 921 and the second reduction gear 923, respectively.

[0289] A first spacer gear 925 may be disposed on the second reduction gear 923, and the first spacer gear 925 and the push rod 950 may be connected to each other by a second spacer gear 927. Each of the spacer gears 925 and 927 may have a shape of a general spur gear and may simply transmit the force of the second reduction gear 923 to the push rod 950, and may adjust a contact distance with the push rod 950 such that the maximum exiting distance of the push rod 950 can be secured. To this end, the spacer gears 925 and 927 may include a plurality of gears having different sizes.

[0290] In addition, the position of a contact point between the spacer gears 925 and 927 for transmitting power to the push rod 950 and the push rod 950 is preferably arranged in the exiting direction of the push rod 950 as much as possible, and is required to be located at a position close to the rear surface of the door assembly 130. To this end, the spacer gears 925 and 927 may be disposed between the second reduction gear 923 and the push rod 950. Reference numeral 925' and FIG. 927' indicate the rotating shafts of the first spacer gear 925 and the second spacer gear 927, respectively.

[0291] Specifically, the reduction gears 921 and 923 and the spacer gears 925 and 927 constituting the gear assembly 920 of the door opening device 900 may be disposed in different directions. Referring to FIGS. 35 and 36, a direction X in which the multiple reduction gears 921 and 923 extend from the drive motor 910 of the door opening device 900 and a direction Y in which the multiple spacer gears 925 and 927 extend from the reduction gears 921 and 923 may be different from each other.

[0292] In the embodiment, the direction X in which the multiple reduction gears 921 and 923 constituting the gear assembly 920 of the door opening device 900 extend from the drive motor 910 of the door opening device are approximately orthogonal to a direction in which the push rod 950 of the door opening device enters and exits, and the direction Y in which the multiple spacer gears 925 and 927 extend from the reduction gears 921 and 923 is parallel to the direction in which the push rod 950 enters and exits.

[0293] Accordingly, when the extending direction Y of the spacer gears 925 and 927 is parallel to the entering/exiting direction of the push rod 950, a contact point at which the second spacer gear 927 is engaged with the push rod 950 may be close to the rod entry/exit hole 119 as much as possible, and accordingly, the maximum exiting distance of the push rod 950 may be secured. Simultaneously, the reduction gears 921 and 923 and the spacer gears 925 and 927 may be arranged in different directions, and thus the gear assembly 920 may be prevented from extending long only in one direction and excessively increasing the overall length of the door opening device 900.

[0294] The push rod 950 may push the rear surface of the door assembly 130 to open the door assembly 130. In addition, the push rod 950 may be mounted inside the device casing 901, and may have a rack gear formed on an outer surface thereof so as to operate in engagement with the second spacer gear 927. Accordingly, due to the rotation of the spacer gears 925 and 927, the rack gear may pass through the rod entry/exit hole 119 and protrude to the outside. Due to the position of the second spacer gear 927, at least a half of the rack gear may be moved to the outside of the device casing 901 when the push rod 950 is operated by the second spacer gear 927.

[0295] In the embodiment, the push rod 950 may have an arc shape having a predetermined curvature. Accordingly, even when the door assembly 130 is rotated, the push rod 950 may be maintained to be in contact with a predetermined point of the rear surface of the door assembly 130, more precisely, with the contact jaw B. Accordingly, even when the door assembly 130 is rotated, the push rod 950 may open the door assembly 130 by pushing one point of the door assembly 130 without slipping.

[0296] The rod cap 952 may be provided in the front end of the push rod 950. The rod cap 952 may be made of an elastic material such as silicone or rubber and may be in contact with the door assembly 130 to prevent noise and improve traction during the contact of the push rod 950 with the door assembly 130 such that the pushing force of the push rod 950 can be effectively transmitted to the door assembly 130.

[0297] In the embodiment, the front surface of the rod cap 952 directed toward the rear surface of the door assembly 130 may be wider than the end of the push rod 950, and thus may more stably push the surface B' of the contact jaw B. The rod cap 952 may have an approximately rectangular front surface.

[0298] In this case, in the embodiment, such a control module 700 may be located close to the door opening device 900. The control module 700 may be installed on the lower surface 251 of the cover plate 250 and may be electrically connected to the door opening device 900. That is, the control module 700 may be installed on the lower surface 251 of the cover plate 250 and may be located in the machine room when the cabinet 100 and the machine room frame are coupled to each other, so the control module 700 may be disposed very close to the door opening device 900.

[0299] More specifically, the control module 700 may be located toward the side surface of the machine room so as to be adjacent to the outlet of the machine room, and the door opening device 900 may be located at a higher position from the bottom of the machine room than the control module 700. This is because although the control module 700 is installed on the lower surface 251 of the cover plate 250, the door opening device 900 is installed in the installation space 253 recessed from the cover plate 250 toward the lower surface of the cabinet 100. Of course, due to such a height difference, the possibility of interference of the control module 700 with the door opening device 900 may be more decreased.

[0300] Finally, the support module 1900 will be described in detail. FIG. 19 is an enlarged view illustrated by enlarging an A part of FIG. 17. In addition, FIG. 20 is a cross sectional view of a rear leveling part of FIG. 19. In addition, FIG. 21 is a vertical sectional view of the rear leveling part of FIG. 19.

[0301] The refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present disclosure may include the support module 1900 provided at the lower side of the side part 1251. The support module 1900 may be provided inside the side part 1251. In addition, the support module 1900 may be configured to support the refrigerator and may be configured to allow the horizontality of the refrigerator 1 to be adjusted.

[0302] For example, the support module 1900 may include a power transmission part 1920 and the rear leveling part 1910. The power transmission part 1920 may be rotated by manipulation by a user and may be connected to the rear leveling part 1910 so as to operate in cooperation therewith. The rear leveling part 1910 may be configured to be movable in a vertical direction such that the horizontality of the cabinet can be adjusted. In addition, the rear leveling part 1910 may be configured to be moved in a vertical direction by the manipulation of the power transmission part 1920. In addition, as required, the support module 1900 may further include a front leveling part 1930.

[0303] More specifically, the power transmission part 1920 may be provided inside the side part 1251, and may be formed in a shaft shape extending in a front-to-rear direction. In addition, the power transmission part 1920 may include a handle part 1922 mounted rotatably to the side part 1251, and a first gear part 1924 provided at the rear half part of the handle part 1922 and rotating together with the handle part 1922, the first gear part 1924 being geared with the rear leveling part 1910.

[0304] The first gear part 1924 may rotate in engagement with a second gear part 1914 to be described later. For example, the first gear part 1924 may be formed in the shape of a worm gear, and the second gear part 1914 may be formed in the shape of a spur gear, so the first gear part 1924 and the second gear part 1914 may be configured to transmit rotational force therebetween even in a state intersecting with each other.

[0305] That is, the rotating shaft of the first gear part 1924 and the rotating shaft of the second gear part 1914 may be disposed in directions intersecting with each other, and thus when a user rotates the handle part 1922 in front of the refrigerator, the second gear part 1914 may be rotated to vertically move the rear leveling part 1910.

[0306] The rear leveling part 1910 may include the support part 1912 in contact with a floor surface on which the refrigerator is installed, a leveling part rotating shaft 1918 extending upward from the center part of the support part 1912, and the second gear part 1914 allowing the leveling part rotating shaft 1918 to pass therethrough and configured to rotate together with the leveling part rotating shaft 1918.

[0307] The support part 1912 is a circular plate with a predetermined thickness, and may be configured to be in contact with the floor surface on which the refrigerator is installed. In addition, the leveling part rotating shaft 1918 may be disposed on the center of the upper surface of the support part 1912.

[0308] The leveling part rotating shaft 1918 may be the rotating shaft of the support part 1912, and may be formed by extending vertically long to pass through a receiving member 1919 to be described later. In addition, a threaded part may be formed on the outer circumferential surface of the leveling part rotating shaft 1918. The threaded part may be screwed to the inner circumferential surface of the receiving member 1919. Accordingly, when the leveling part rotating shaft 1918 rotates, the leveling part rotating shaft 1918 and the support part 1912 may be moved vertically along the receiving member 1919.

[0309] In addition, the second gear part 1914 may be mounted to the leveling part rotating shaft 1918 such that the leveling part rotating shaft 1918 passes through the second gear part 1914. While the second gear part 1914 is received inside the receiving member 1919, the second gear part 1914 may rotate, and may be configured to move vertically along the leveling part rotating shaft 1918. In addition, the second gear part 1914 and the leveling part rotating shaft 1918 may have flat surfaces in contact with each other such that a rotational force is transmitted between the second gear part 1914 and the leveling part rotating shaft 1918, so the second gear part 1914 may transmit a rotational force to the leveling part rotating shaft 1918 while moving vertically along the leveling part rotating shaft 1918.

[0310] Accordingly, when the second gear part 1914 is rotated by the first gear part 1924, the second gear part 1914 may rotate the leveling part rotating shaft 1918, and may move vertically along the leveling part rotating shaft 1918.

[0311] The receiving member 1919 may include a gear receiving part 1919a and a rotating shaft receiving part 1919b. The gear receiving part 1919a may be configured to receive the second gear part 1914, and while the second gear part 1914 is received in the gear receiving part 1919a, the second gear part 1914 may rotate. In addition, the first gear part 1924 may be received in a side of the gear receiving part 1919a. That is, in the gear receiving part 1919a, the first gear part 1924 and the second gear part 1914 may be maintained to be engaged with each other, and accordingly, a rotational force generated by the manipulation of the handle part may be effectively transmitted to the rear leveling part.

[0312] In addition, the rotating shaft receiving part 1919b may extend upward from the upper surface of the gear receiving part 1919a, and may be configured such that the leveling part rotating shaft 1918 passes through the rotating shaft receiving part 1919b. In addition, a thread may be formed on the inner side of the gear receiving part 1919a, and may be screwed to the threaded part of the leveling part rotating shaft. Accordingly, when the leveling part rotating shaft rotates, the leveling part rotating shaft may move vertically along the gear receiving part.

[0313] In addition, the rear leveling part 1910 may further include a fixing bracket 1915 such that the support part 1912 and the receiving member 1919 can be fixed to the side part. The fixing bracket 1915 may have a rectangular frame shape having an open upper surface. The upper surface of the fixing bracket 1915 may include an extension surface bending and extending in a front-to-rear direction. A connection hole may be formed in each of the opposite sides of the extension surface such that the extension surface can be coupled to the side part 1251 by using a fastening member.

[0314] In addition, the lower surface of the fixing bracket 1915 may include a through hole such that the support part 1912 can pass downward through the lower surface of the fixing bracket 1915. One side of the front surface of the fixing bracket 1915 may include a through hole 1915a formed therethrough in a front-to-rear direction such that the power transmission part 1920 can pass through the through hole 1915a. That is, the first gear part 1924 of the power transmission part 1920 may be inserted into the fixing bracket 1915 through the through hole 1915a of the front surface thereof and may be fixed in a state in which the first gear part 1924 is engaged with the second gear part 1914. Additionally, the receiving member 1919 may be provided inside the fixing bracket 1915.

[0315] Accordingly, to adjust the rear leveling part 1910 when leveling the refrigerator, the power transmission part may be held and rotated by a hand in front of the refrigerator without lifting the end part of the refrigerator so as to simply adjust the height and horizontality of the refrigerator.

[0316] Additionally, the support module 1900 may include the front leveling part 1930 which is provided on the front of the side part 1251 and adjusts the horizontality of the cabinet by rotating to move vertically.

[0317] Referring to FIG. 16, while a refrigerator body is supported on a floor, the front leveling part 1930 may adjust the height and horizontality of the refrigerator body.

[0318] For example, the front leveling part 1930 may include a head 1932 supported on the foundation, and a screw bolt 1934 protruding upward from the head 1932 and fastened heightadjustably to the side part 1251. A threaded part may be formed on the outer circumferential surface of the screw bolt 1934, and as the height of the screw bolt fastened to the side part 1251 changes, the height and horizontality of the refrigerator body may be adjusted.

[0319] The front leveling part 1930 may further include a front fixing bracket 1936 such that the front leveling part 1930 is inserted into and fixed to the side part 1251.

[0320] Furthermore, the support module 1900 may include a roller assembly 1940 which is provided between the front leveling part 1930 and the rear leveling part 1910 and facilitates the movement of the cabinet 100.

[0321] The roller assembly 1940 may be provided on the lower surface of the refrigerator body and may allow the refrigerator body which is relatively heavy to be moved more easily and stably.

[0322] The roller assembly 1940 may include a roller 1942, a rotating shaft 1944, and a roller bracket 1946. The roller 1942 may roll in contact with the floor surface such that the refrigerator can be moved, and may use a general wheel.

[0323] The center part of the roller 1942 may be penetrated laterally by the rotating shaft 1944 formed in a round bar shape, and the rotating shaft 1944 may be the center of rotation of the roller.

[0324] In addition, the roller bracket 1946 may be mounted to the roller such that the roller can roll, and may be formed in a shape having an open lower surface so as to cover the roller from the upper side. Accordingly, the roller may be received in the roller bracket 1946, and the rotating shaft 1944 passing through the roller may pass through and mounted to the opposite side surfaces of the roller bracket 1946.

[0325] Next, the operation of the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in more detail.

[0326] First, when the door assembly 130 is closed with food stored in the storage space 121, the storage space 121 is a sealed space. In this state, when the operation of the air conditioning module 600 starts, the temperature control function of the refrigerator starts. That is, the heat dissipation fan 611, the compressor 610, the main condenser 620, and the evaporator 630 constituting the air conditioning module 600 may operate and perform an air conditioning operation.

[0327] Referring to FIG. 37, a refrigerant of high temperature and high temperature compressed by the compressor 610 may pass through the evaporation tube L2. (the direction of an arrow ①) The evaporation tube L2 may be installed in the defrost water tray 240 and may be connected in a zigzag direction to secure length as long as possible as illustrated in FIG. 37. The evaporation tube L2 may be connected through the main control valve 625 to the refrigerant discharge pipe 610a (see FIG. 8) of the compressor 610 to be a path through which the refrigerant of high pressure/high temperature passes, and may be disposed close to the bottom surface 241' of the defrost water tray 240, and may function to evaporate defrost water accumulated in the defrost water tray 240.

[0328] Continuously, a refrigerant may be delivered to the main condenser 620 and condensed. (see ②) The main condenser 620 may be disposed close to the entrance of the introduction space I, and after the refrigerant is condensed, the refrigerant may be delivered to the expansion valve (the capillary tube).

[0329] In the embodiment, the first side condensing tube L4 may be connected to the main condenser 620, and thus a refrigerant may first pass through the first side condensing tube L4.(the direction of an arrow ③) In addition, the first side condensing tube L4 may be connected to the second side condensing tube L6 by the third connection tube L5 crossing the machine room 201, and thus a refrigerant may be condensed while passing through the second side condensing tube L6.(the direction of an arrow ④) Accordingly, according to the present disclosure, since there are the side condensing tubes L5 and L6, the side condensing tubes L5 and L6 may condense a refrigerant by assisting the main condenser 620, and thus the size of the main condenser 620 may be decreased relatively.

[0330] In addition, the side condensing tube L5 and L6 may be mounted in the side surface of the cabinet 100 so as to increase the temperature of the side surface of the refrigerator, and accordingly, it is possible to prevent the formation of dew on the outer surface of the refrigerator due to temperature difference between the inside and outside of the refrigerator.

[0331] Meanwhile, the second side condensing tube L6 may be connected to the front condensing tube L8 by the fourth connection tube L7, so refrigerant may be condensed even in the process of passing through the front condensing tube L8(the direction of arrow ⑥). Accordingly, in the embodiment, each of the first side condensing tube L4, the second side condensing tube L6, and the front condensing tube L8 may function to condense refrigerant, together with the main condenser 620, and thus although a large main condenser 620 is not installed in the machine room 201 due to low height and narrowness of the machine room 201, this may be compensated.

[0332] Refrigerant passing through the front condensing tube L8 may be delivered through the fifth connection tube L9 to the expansion valve, and refrigerant having decreased pressure and temperature in the expansion valve may be delivered to the evaporator 630. Although not shown, the dryer and the capillary tube may be installed between the front condensing tube L8 and the evaporator 630, and a refrigerant may pass consecutively through the front condensing tube L8, the dryer, the main control valve 625, the capillary tube, and the evaporator 630. Here, the dryer may function to protect a system by removing moisture and filtering foreign matter, and the capillary tube may function to throttle.

[0333] Meanwhile, the evaporator 630 may be disposed in space behind the grille fan assemblies 500a and 500b in each part in the inner casing 120. That is, during a circulation in which air is discharged to the upper side of the associated storage space 121 after the air is sucked from the internal lower side of the storage space 121 due to the operation of the grille fan assemblies 500a and 500b, the air may exchange heat with the evaporator 630 while passing therethrough.

[0334] FIG. 38 illustrates a heat exchange process by the evaporator 630. First, the cooling compartment 125 partitioned from the storage space 121 may be provided behind the storage space 121 (a left space relative to FIG. 38), and the evaporator 630 may be installed in the cooling compartment 125. In addition, the grille fan assembly 500 may be installed inside the cooling compartment 125 located above the evaporator 630 and may introduce air delivered from the storage space 121 through the evaporator 630 and may discharge the air back into the storage space 121.

[0335] More specifically, when the grille fan assembly 500 operates, the grille fan assembly 500 may introduce air from the lower side of the evaporator 630. That is, the internal air of the storage space 121 may be introduced through the air introduction hole 275 present in the air introduction part 272 of the grille plate 270 (the direction of an arrow ①), and may flow upward through the evaporator 630 (the direction of an arrow ②).

[0336] Here, in order to be away from the evaporator 630, the air introduction part 272 may protrude in a direction toward the storage space 121, that is, in a direction away from the inner surface 124 of the inner casing 120, so an empty space may be naturally defined between the air introduction part 272 and the evaporator 630. Accordingly, air may be efficiently introduced through the air introduction hole 275 present in the air introduction part 272.

[0337] In this case, air having high temperature and high pressure passing through the cooling tube 638 of the evaporator 630 may be changed into air having low temperature and low pressure by being cooled by the cooling tube 638. Particularly, air present in the lower portion of the cooling tube 638 may have a flow rate increased while passing through the cooling fins 650, and as the flow rate increases, the pressure of air may be decreased. Accordingly, air passing through the cooling fins 650 may have pressure lower than the pressure of air before passing through the cooling fins 650.

[0338] In addition, this cooled air may be discharged into the storage space 121 by the grille fan assembly 500. (the direction of an arrow ③) In this process, to increase a distance between the inner surface 124 of the inner casing 120 facing the grille fan assembly 500 and the grille fan assembly 500, the evasion recession part 124' may be recessed on the inner surface 124, and the evaporator 630 may be installed under the evasion recession part 124'. Accordingly, air may efficiently flow consecutively through the air introduction hole 275, the evaporator 630, the evasion recession part 124', and the grille fan assembly 500.

[0339] Meanwhile, in such a cooling process by the evaporator 630, defrost water may be generated, and when the defrost water freezes, the defrost water may become defrost ice. The generated defrost water may flow downward along the direction of gravity and flow downward through the defrost water collector 126 located on the lower side of the inner surface 124 of the inner casing 120. Additionally, the defrost water may be collected in the defrost water tray 240 provided in the machine room 201 through the defrost water pipe 590.

[0340] Such an evaporator 630 may be configured as a plate-shaped evaporator 630, and may be stably installed on the front of a rear wall surface of the inner wall surface of the inner casing 120, and may realize the improvement of heat exchange performance in a narrow space. For reference, In FIG. 37, reference numeral L10 indicates the evaporator connection tube which connects the evaporator 630 with the main control valve 625.

[0341] In addition, finally, a refrigerant passing through the evaporator 630 may be introduced back into the refrigerant introduction tube 610b (see FIG. 8) of the compressor 610 to repeat a refrigeration cycle.

[0342] Meanwhile, in FIG. 39, an air flow inside the machine room 201 is illustrated. In the process of the flow of refrigerant described above, the temperature of the machine room 201 may rise. Particularly, the temperatures of the compressor 610 and the main condenser 620 may greatly rise, and in the embodiment, this temperature rise may be suppressed through an air flow inside the machine room 201.

[0343] Specifically, first, when the heat dissipation fan 611 operates, the heat dissipation fan 611 may introduce outside air into the introduction space. Here, when air of the outside (a place in which the refrigerator is installed) is introduced through the front cover 220 into the introduction space I (the direction of arrow ①), the air may immediately meet the main condenser 620. Particularly, in the embodiment, the inlet 225a which is the entrance of the introduction space I may be wider than the outlet 225b which is the exit of the discharge space O. That is, the inlet 225a may be widened to increase the amount of air introduced initially, and accordingly, the main condenser 620 may be effectively cooled.

[0344] In this case, since the introduction space I is blocked except for the inlet 225a, introduced air may flow through the main condenser 620 only toward the heat dissipation fan 611. Accordingly, the main condenser 620 may be more effectively cooled.

[0345] In addition, the introduced air may evaporate a portion of defrost water while passing over the defrost water tray 240 (the direction of arrow ②). In this case, the introduced air may be guided by the separation wall 230. That is, the introduced air may not flow to the discharge space O including the compressor 610, but may be guided to the heat dissipation fan 611 along the separation wall 230. In this case, the heat dissipation fan 611 may be installed on the rear end portion of the separation wall 230, and the heat dissipation fan 611 may be a part of a kind of separation wall 230.

[0346] After the introduced air passes through the heat dissipation fan 611 (the direction of arrow ③), the air may be discharged to the compressor 610 facing the heat dissipation fan 611 and may cool the compressor 610. Since the heat dissipation fan 611 is open, the introduction space I and the discharge space O may be connected to each other relative to the heat dissipation fan 611, but when the heat dissipation fan 611 operates, air may flow from the introduction space I to the discharge space O, so it is difficult that the air flows in a direction opposite to the direction of the air flow. Accordingly, the heat of the compressor 610 may be effectively prevented from being transferred to the main condenser 620.

[0347] In this case, the flow guide surface 245 may be present between the defrost water tray 240 and the heat dissipation fan 611, and thus may prevent the heat dissipation fan 611 from decreasing efficiency by being covered by the defrost water tray 240. That is, introduced air may be naturally guided toward the heat dissipation fan 611 through the downward inclined surface of the flow guide surface 245. Such a flow guide surface 245 may prevent the formation of dead space, in which the flow of air is prevented or a vortex is generated, between the defrost water tray 240 and the heat dissipation fan 611.

[0348] Air passing through the compressor 610 may pass through the discharge space O (the direction of arrow ④). In this case, since the control module 700 is located the upper side of the discharge space O, the discharge space O may be defined between the lower surface of the control module 700 and the bottom surface of the machine room frame 200, and the air passing through the compressor may pass through this part. In FIG. 39, a part in which air passes through the lower side of the control module 700 is indicated by a dotted line.

[0349] Finally, air which completes cooling may be discharged through the outlet 225b to the outside (the direction of arrow ⑤). Accordingly, in the embodiment, introduced air may flow only along a predetermined path, so it is possible to perform effective cooling. Particularly, since the introduction space I is blocked except for the inlet 225a, outside air may flow through the main condenser 620 only toward the heat dissipation fan 611, but after completing cooling, may be discharged in various directions.

[0350] That is, the bottom of the discharge space O of the machine room 201 defined between the heat dissipation fan 611 and the outlet 225b may be connected to the outside since a portion of the bottom, side surface, and rear surface of the discharge space is open to the outside through the heat dissipation holes 211' or 214, (see FIGS. 7 and 11). Accordingly, the initial introduction of outside air may be limited to a specific direction, that is, to the main condenser 620, but after the outside air dissipates heat of the main condenser 620 and the compressor 610, the outside air may be discharged in various directions, so the heat dissipation performance of the machine room may be improved.

[0351] The above description is only to illustrate the technical idea of the present disclosure, but those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains will be able to make various modifications and variations without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention. Accordingly, the embodiments disclosed in the present disclosure is not intended to limit the technical spirit of the present disclosure, but to explain it, and the scope of the technical spirit of the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments. The scope of protection of the present disclosure should be interpreted by the scope of the claims below, and all technical spirits within the scope equivalent thereto should be interpreted as being included in the scope of the claims of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A refrigerator comprising:

a cabinet having a storage space and a door assembly configured to open and close the storage space, and

a machine room disposed under the storage space and comprising a compressor, a condenser, and a heat dissipation fan for implementing a cooling system, the machine room having an inlet and an outlet formed on a front surface thereof,

wherein the compressor and the condenser are disposed respectively in spaces partitioned from each other, and the heat dissipation fan is disposed in a rear portion of the machine room relative to the inlet, and the compressor is disposed in a rear portion of the machine room relative to the outlet.

2. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein a lower surface of the cabinet is constituted by a cover plate, and the cover plate is disposed on an upper part of the machine room.

3. The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein the cover plate comprises a first cover part and a second cover part, wherein the second cover part disposed above the compressor and the heat dissipation fan is configured to be higher than the first cover part disposed above the inlet and the outlet.

4. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the inlet is configured to have an area larger than an area of the outlet.

5. The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein the machine room is disposed removably on a lower part of the cabinet.

6. The refrigerator of claim 3, wherein an outer plate constituting a side surface of the machine room is configured to have the same height from a front of the machine room to a rear thereof, and the second cover part is configured to be higher than the outer plate.

7. The refrigerator of claim 6, wherein a surface of an outer plate disposed on an outer side of a side surface of the cabinet and a surface of the outer plate disposed on an outer side of the side surface of the machine room constitute a same plane continuous to each other.

8. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the condenser is disposed to face the inlet.

9. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the heat dissipation fan and a side surface of the machine room are spaced apart from each other so as to define an air flow space therebetween, and the heat dissipation fan is disposed to face the side surface of the machine room.

10. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein a separation wall is disposed between an introduction space of the machine room connected to the inlet and a discharge space of the machine room connected to the outlet such that an inside of the machine room is divided into opposite sides, the separation wall comprising a first wall and a second wall connected to each other.

11. The refrigerator of claim 10, wherein the first wall is disposed between the inlet and the outlet, the second wall is connected to the heat dissipation fan, and the heat dissipation fan is disposed between the second wall and a rear surface of the machine room.

12. The refrigerator of claim 10, wherein a cover plate comprises: a first cover part extending rearward from a front end of the machine room by having the same height; a second cover part extending rearward from a rear end of the first cover part and having a height higher than the height of the first cover part; and a vertical connection part which is located between the first cover part and the second cover part and vertically connects the first cover part with the second cover part,
wherein the first cover part has the same height as a height of each of the separation wall and the condenser.

13. The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein a cut part open to expose an upper end of the compressor to the outside is formed in a rear end of the cover plate, and a compressor cover is provided in the cover plate so as to cover the cut part.

14. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein an introduction space of the machine room is blocked by a bottom plate, a side plate, and a rear plate constituting the machine room, and a discharge space of the machine room has an additional outlet formed by opening at least a portion of the bottom plate, the side plate, and the rear plate such that the discharge space communicates with the outside.

15. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein a defrost water tray is disposed on a bottom of the machine room corresponding to a position between the inlet and the heat dissipation fan, and a flow guide surface is formed on the defrost water tray by inclining toward the heat dissipation fan.

16. The refrigerator of claim 14, wherein the discharge space is provided with a control module, and the additional outlet is formed at a position corresponding to at least a portion of areas of the compressor and the control module.

17. The refrigerator of claim 14, wherein the bottom plate has a reinforcement part formed by extending in a direction intersecting with a separation wall, wherein the reinforcement part is disposed between the additional outlet and an additional inlet.

18. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein a side condensing tube is connected to the condenser and is disposed along a side surface of the cabinet, the side condensing tube being disposed between an outer casing and an inner casing constituting the cabinet.

19. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the machine room is provided with a pair of side parts coupled to a bottom plate and a side plate constituting the machine room, wherein each of the side parts is configured to be open in a lower surface thereof such that a support module supporting the machine room is provided inside the side part.

20. The refrigerator of claim 19, wherein the support module comprises a power transmission part extending from a front end of the side part along the inside of the side part, and a rear leveling part which is coupled to a rear end of the power transmission part and adjusts a horizontality of the refrigerator.

Drawing