Refrigerator

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10458695-B2
Application number	US-201716069348-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 13, 2017
Priority date	Jan 14, 2016
Publication date	Oct 29, 2019
Grant date	Oct 29, 2019

Abstract

The present invention provides a refrigerator comprising a cabinet having a storage chamber; an inner case forming the exterior of the storage chamber; a first door pivotally provided to the cabinet and opening and closing one side of the storage chamber; a second door having a pillar rotated so as to come into contact with the first door, pivotally provided to the cabinet, and opening and closing the other side of the storage chamber; and a driving member provided at a lower end of the second door so as to move together with the second door, and operating the pillar so as to fold or unfold the pillar, wherein the pillar has a first catching protrusion and a second catching protrusion, which are selectively caught by the driving member.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A refrigerator comprising:
a cabinet;
an inner case that is located in the cabinet and that defines a storage chamber;
a first door rotatably coupled to the cabinet and configured to open and close a first side of the storage chamber;
a second door rotatably coupled to the cabinet and configured to open and close a second side of the storage chamber, the second door comprising a pillar that is configured to rotate relative to the second door and that is configured to contact the first door based on the first and second doors being closed and the pillar being oriented in an unfolded state;
a driving member that is located at a lower end of the second door, that is configured to move together with the second door, and that is configured to rotate the pillar toward the second door to a folded state or away from the second door to the unfolded state,
wherein the pillar comprises a first protrusion and a second protrusion that are configured to selectively couple to the driving member, and
wherein the pillar is positioned spaced apart from an upper wall and a lower wall of the inner case without contacting the inner case in a state in which the second door closes the second side of the storage chamber.

2. The refrigerator of claim 1 , further comprising:
a first door switch configured to sense whether the first door opens or closes the first side of the storage chamber;
a second door switch configured to sense whether the second door opens or closes the second side of the storage chamber,
wherein the driving member is configured to rotate the pillar from the unfolded state to the folded state based on at least one of the first door switch sensing the first door being oriented in a position that opens the first side or the second door switch sensing the second door being oriented in a position that opens the second side.

3. The refrigerator of claim 1 , further comprising:
a first door switch configured to sense whether the first door opens or closes the first side of the storage chamber; and
a second door switch configured to sense whether the second door opens or closes the second side of the storage chamber,
wherein the driving member is configured to rotate the pillar from the folded state to the unfolded state based on both of the first door switch sensing the first door being oriented in a position that opens the first side and the second door switch sensing the second door being in a position that opens the second side.

4. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the first protrusion and the second protrusion are arranged at the pillar at different heights with respect to the lower wall of the inner case.

5. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the driving member comprises:
a first link configured to selectively contact the first protrusion; and
a second link configured to selectively contact the second protrusion.

6. The refrigerator of claim 5 , wherein the first link and the second link are located at different heights from each other with respect to the lower wall of the inner case.

7. The refrigerator of claim 6 , wherein the driving member comprises:
a motor configured to rotate in a forward direction and a reverse direction; and
a transmission unit configured to transmit rotation of the motor to the first link and the second link.

8. The refrigerator of claim 7 , wherein the transmission unit comprises:
a first gear configured to receive rotation force from the motor;
a second gear configured to engage with the first gear; and
a third gear configured to rotate together with the second gear in a direction that is equal to a rotation direction of the second gear.

9. The refrigerator of claim 8 , wherein the second gear comprises a first extension configured to selectively contact the first link, and
wherein the third gear comprises a second extension configured to selectively contact the second link.

10. The refrigerator of claim 8 , further comprising a worm gear configured to transmit rotation of the motor to the first gear,
wherein a rotation axis of the motor is perpendicular to a rotation axis of the first gear.

11. The refrigerator of claim 5 , wherein the driving member comprises a case that defines an exterior of the driving member, the case comprising:
a first projection and a second projection;
a first elastic member that connects the first projection to the first link; and
a second elastic member that connects the second projection to the second link.

12. The refrigerator of claim 11 , wherein the case defines a through-hole that allows the
first link and the second link to contact the pillar via the through-hole.

13. The refrigerator of claim 1 , further comprising a sensor configured to sense rotation of the pillar.

14. The refrigerator of claim 13 , wherein the driving member is configured to, based on the sensor sensing that the pillar has rotated outside of a preset state, repeat driving of the pillar toward the preset state.

15. The refrigerator of claim 1 , further comprising a basket located vertically above the driving member.

16. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the pillar is located at a side surface of the second door that faces toward the first door, and
wherein the driving member is configured to rotate the pillar toward the side surface from the unfolded state to the folded state or away from the side surface from the folded state to the unfolded state.

17. The refrigerator of claim 5 , wherein the pillar is configured to:
rotate toward the second door from the unfolded state to the folded state based on the first link contacting the first protrusion; and
rotate away from the second door from the folded state to the unfolded state based on the second link contacting the second protrusion.

18. The refrigerator of claim 6 , wherein the first protrusion protrudes from a first position at the pillar corresponding to a height of the first link with respect to the lower wall of the inner case,
wherein the second protrusion protrudes from a second position at the pillar corresponding to a height of the second link with respect to the lower wall of the inner case, and
wherein the first position is located vertically above the second position.

19. The refrigerator of claim 8 , wherein the second gear is configured to, based on rotation of the first gear, rotate about an axis by an angle in the rotation direction, and
wherein the third gear is configured to, based on rotation of the second gear, rotate about the axis by the angle in the rotation direction together with the second gear.

20. The refrigerator of claim 14 , wherein the sensor is located at a side surface of the second door that faces toward the first door, and
wherein the sensor is configured to sense rotation of the pillar based on the pillar covering at least a portion of the sensor.

Assignees

• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Kim Hyunbum
• Lee Younseok
• Lee Heejun
• Gwon Seongwon

Classifications

• F25D2323/021

  French doors · CPC title

• F25D2700/02

  Sensors detecting door opening · CPC title

• F25D23/02 Primary

  Doors; Covers (F25D23/08 takes precedence {locks or fastenings E05B65/0042}) · CPC title

• E06B7/18

  by means of movable edgings, e.g. draught sealings additionally used for bolting {, e.g. by spring force or with operating lever} · CPC title

• F25D23/028 Primary

  Details · CPC title