Refrigerator

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10072888-B2
Application number	US-201514803248-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 20, 2015
Priority date	Aug 18, 2014
Publication date	Sep 11, 2018
Grant date	Sep 11, 2018

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a refrigerator having a body having a storage compartment; a door to open or close the storage compartment; a cover plate disposed at an inside the storage compartment; a cooling space formed in between the cover plate and an upper wall of the body; an evaporator provided at the cooling space to generate cool air; a blower fan provided at the cooling space to forcedly circulate the cool air generated at the evaporator; a cool air supplying hole formed at the cover plate to supply the cool air of the cooling space to the storage compartment; and a cool air collecting hole formed at the cover plate to collect the cool air heated at the storage compartment to the cooling space, and a rear wall of the storage compartment of the refrigerator may be evenly leveled and usefulness of space may be increased.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A refrigerator, comprising:
a body having a storage compartment;
a door configured to open and to close the storage compartment;
a cover plate disposed at an inside of the storage compartment;
a cooling space formed in the body between the cover plate and a ceiling of the body;
a motor in the cooling space;
an evaporator disposed at an inside of the cooling space and configured to generate cool air;
a blower fan disposed at the inside of the cooling space and configured to forcedly circulate the cool air generated by the evaporator;
an ice maker disposed at the inside of the cooling space and configured to generate ice;
an ice bucket disposed at the door and configured to store the ice generated by the ice maker at the inside of the cooling space, the ice bucket including a stirrer couplable to the motor in the cooling space and configured to stir the ice stored in the ice bucket;
a cool air supplying hole formed in the cover plate and configured to supply the cool air of the cooling space to the storage compartment; and
a cool air collecting hole formed at the cover plate and configured to collect the cool air heated at the storage compartment to the cooling space.

2. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein:
the cool air supplying hole is provided at a front of the evaporator.

3. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein:
the cool air collecting hole is provided at a rear of the evaporator.

4. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein:
the ice maker is provided at a front of the evaporator.

5. The refrigerator of claim 1 , further comprising:
an ice bucket cooling air supplying hole formed at the cover plate to supply the cool air of the cooling space to the ice bucket.

6. The refrigerator of claim 5 , wherein:
the ice bucket cooling air supplying hole is provided at the front of the evaporator.

7. The refrigerator of claim 1 , further comprising:
a cool air collecting duct configured to communicate the cooling space with the ice bucket to collect the cool air heated at the ice bucket to the cooling space.

8. The refrigerator of claim 7 , wherein:
an entry of the cool air collecting duct is provided at the front of the evaporator, and an exit of the cool air collecting duct is provided at a rear of the evaporator.

9. The refrigerator of claim 1 , further comprising:
a defrosting heater provided near the evaporator in the cooling space and configured to remove frost generated at the evaporator.

10. The refrigerator of claim 1 , further comprising:
a drain plate provided below the evaporator in the cooling space and configured to collect defrost water generated at the evaporator.

11. The refrigerator of claim 10 , wherein:
the drain plate is downwardly inclined toward a rear wall of the body and configured to guide the collected defrost water toward the rear wall of the body.

12. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein:
a refrigerant inlet pipe of the evaporator and a refrigerant outlet pipe of the evaporator each are positioned at a front of the evaporator.

13. The refrigerator of claim 4 , further comprising:
a water supplying system provided at the cooling space to supply water to the ice maker or to supply water to a dispenser of the door.

14. The refrigerator of claim 13 , wherein:
the water supplying system comprises a filter configured to filter the water supplied from an outside water supplying source.

15. The refrigerator of claim 13 , wherein:
the water supplying system comprises a water tank configured to cool water by cool air of the cooling space.

16. The refrigerator of claim 15 , wherein:
the water supplying system comprises a valve configured to divide the water supplied from the outside water supplying source to the water tank and the ice maker.

17. A refrigerator, comprising:
a body having a storage compartment;
a door configured to open and to close the storage compartment;
a cover plate disposed at an inside of the storage compartment;
a cooling space formed in the body between the cover plate and a ceiling of the body;
an evaporator disposed at an inside of the cooling space and configured to generate cool air;
a blower fan disposed at the inside of the cooling space and configured to forcedly circulate the cool air generated by the evaporator;
an ice maker disposed at the inside of the cooling space at a front of the evaporator and configured to generate ice;
an ice bucket disposed at the door and configured to store the ice generated by the ice maker at the inside of the cooling space;
a cool air supplying hole formed in the cover plate and configured to supply the cool air of the cooling space to the storage compartment;
a cool air collecting hole formed at the cover plate and configured to collect the cool air heated at the storage compartment to the cooling space; and
a water supplying system provided at the cooling space and configured to supply water to the ice maker or to supply water to a dispenser of the door and including a filter configured to filter the water supplied from an outside water supplying source,
wherein the filter is mountably and detachably provided through the cover plate.

18. The refrigerator of claim 17 , wherein:
the cover plate comprises a filter mounting hole to mount and dismount the filter therethrough, and a filter cover configured to open or to close the filter mounting hole.

19. A refrigerator, comprising:
a body having a storage compartment;
a door configured to open and to close the storage compartment;
a cover plate disposed at an inside of the storage compartment;
a cooling space formed in between the cover plate and a ceiling of the body;
a motor in the cooling space;
an evaporator disposed at an inside of the cooling space and configured to generate cool air;
a blower fan disposed at the inside of the cooling space and configured to forcedly circulate the cool air generated at the evaporator;
an ice maker disposed at the inside of the cooling space and configured to generate ice;
an ice bucket disposed at the door to store the ice generated by the ice maker at the inside of the cooling space, the ice bucket including a stirrer couplable to the motor in the cooling space and configured to stir the ice stored in the ice bucket; and
a water supplying system disposed at the inside of the cooling space and configured to supply water to the ice maker or to supply water to a dispenser of the door.

20. The refrigerator of claim 19 , wherein:
a portion of the cool air of the cooling space cools the water supplying system of the cooling space while circulating inside the cooling space, and the remaining portion of the cool air of the cooling space is collected to the cooling space after cooling the storage compartment while supplied to the storage compartment.

21. The refrigerator of claim 20 , wherein:
a portion of the cool air of the cooling space cools the water supplying system of the cooling space while circulating inside the cooling space, another portion of the cool air of the cooling space is collected to the cooling space after cooling the storage compartment while supplied to the storage compartment, and the remaining portion of the cool air of the cooling space is collected to the cooling space after cooling the ice bucket while supplied to the ice bucket.

22. A refrigerator, comprising:
a body having a storage compartment;
a door configured to open and to close the storage compartment;
a cover plate dispo

Assignees

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Jeong Jin
• Son Bong Su
• Jang Do Yun
• Cho Yeon Woo

Classifications

• F25D2317/062

  along the inside of doors · CPC title

• F25D2317/0665

  from the top · CPC title

• F25D11/00

  Self-contained movable devices, e.g. domestic refrigerators · CPC title

• F25D21/14

  Collecting or removing condensed and defrost water; Drip trays · CPC title

• F25D2323/02

  Details of doors or covers not otherwise covered · CPC title