Refrigerator

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10429120-B2
Application number	US-201615749264-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 8, 2016
Priority date	Dec 11, 2015
Publication date	Oct 1, 2019
Grant date	Oct 1, 2019

Abstract

Disclosed is a refrigerator including a cabinet, a storage compartment provided in the cabinet to form a single space in which a storage item is stored, a single door for opening or closing the space formed by the storage compartment, a first cold air supply duct and a second cold air supply duct provided respectively on left and right sides of the single storage compartment, the first cold air supply duct and the second cold air supply duct supplying different amounts of cold air, and a storage unit for being pushed into or pulled from the storage compartment in a front-and-rear direction along with the door.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A refrigerator comprising:
a cabinet;
a storage compartment provided in the cabinet to form a single space in which a storage item is stored;
a single door for opening or closing the space formed by the storage compartment;
a first cold air supply duct and a second cold air supply duct provided respectively on left and right sides of the single storage compartment, the first cold air supply duct and the second cold air supply duct supplying different amounts of cold air; and
a storage unit for being pushed into or pulled from the storage compartment in a front-and-rear direction along with the door, the storage unit includes:
a first storage unit provided on the left side;
a second storage unit provided on the right side;
an insulator located between the first storage unit and the second storage unit for separating the first storage unit and the second storage unit from each other;
a first cover for opening or closing an opening formed in an upper side of the first storage unit; and
a second cover for opening or closing an opening formed in an upper side of the second storage unit, the second cover being movable separately from the first cover,
wherein the first storage unit and the second storage unit are maintained at different temperatures.

2. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the storage compartment defines therein the single space, to which the cold air supplied from the first cold air supply duct and the second cold air supply duct moves.

3. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the insulator has a greater thickness than a thickness of a wall of the first storage unit or the second storage unit.

4. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the storage compartment includes an insulating partition located below the insulator.

5. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the storage compartment includes a gasket located above the insulator.

6. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the insulator is provided with a first protruding piece on a surface thereof facing the door, and
wherein the first protruding piece extends toward the door so as to prevent movement of air between the left side and the right side within the storage compartment.

7. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the insulator is provided with a second protruding piece on a surface thereof facing an inside of the storage compartment, and
wherein the second protruding piece extends toward the inside of the storage compartment so as to prevent movement of air between the left side and the right side within the storage compartment.

8. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the first cold air supply duct and the second cold air supply duct are located on an upper side of the storage compartment so as to discharge the cold air downward.

9. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the storage compartment is provided in a rear surface thereof with a discharge opening for discharging air inside the storage compartment to an outside.

10. The refrigerator according to claim 9 , wherein the discharge opening is located at a center in a left-and-right length of the rear surface.

11. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the storage compartment includes a guide rib formed on a bottom surface thereof so as to extend a long length in a front-and-rear direction of the storage compartment.

12. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the storage compartment is provided in a ceiling wall thereof with a through-hole,
wherein the storage compartment includes a gasket located above the insulator, and
wherein the storage compartment is provided on an exterior of the ceiling wall with a fixing member that fixes the gasket through the through-hole.

13. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the door and the first storage unit define a first space therebetween so that the cold air discharged from the first cold air supply duct passes through the first space.

14. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the door and the second storage unit define a second space therebetween so that the cold air discharged from the second cold air supply duct passes through the second space.

15. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the first storage unit and the second storage unit are located so as to be spaced apart from a bottom surface of the storage compartment.

16. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the storage compartment is provided in a bottom thereof with a first heater located below the first storage unit and a second heater located below the second storage unit.

17. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the door includes a front portion located at a front side of the cabinet, and an upper surface portion horizontally extending from one end of the front portion, and
wherein the upper surface portion is provided with a display unit for providing information related to the storage compartment.

18. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein any one of the first storage unit and the first cover includes a magnet, and a remaining one thereof includes a member affected by magnetic attraction of the magnet.

19. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the first cold air supply duct and the second cold air supply duct are connected to a duct unit, into which cold air is introduced from an evaporator, and
wherein the duct unit is provided with a first damper and a second damper, which selectively open or close the first cold air supply duct and the second cold air supply duct respectively.

20. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a first heater located below the first storage unit; and
a second heater located below the second storage unit,
wherein, when a difference between set temperatures of the first storage unit and the second storage unit is increased, an operation factor of the heater that is operated is increased compared to a case where the set temperatures of the first storage unit and the second storage unit are the same.

Assignees

• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Han Tackwon
• Han Junsoo

Classifications

• F25D17/065 Primary

  with compartments at different temperatures · CPC title

• F25D2317/061

  through special compartments · CPC title

• F25D23/069

  Cooling space dividing partitions · CPC title

• F25D2317/067

  characterised by air ducts · CPC title

• F25D25/025

  Drawers · CPC title