Refrigerator and transparent panel assembly for refrigerator

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11300353-B2
Application number	US-202015930827-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 13, 2020
Priority date	Jan 23, 2017
Publication date	Apr 12, 2022
Grant date	Apr 12, 2022

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a refrigerator and a transparent panel assembly for a refrigerator. The transparent panel assembly for a refrigerator comprises: a front panel defining at least a part of a front appearance of a refrigerator door and made of a glass material; a rear panel defining at least a part of a rear appearance of the refrigerator door and made of a transparent material; and an intermediate member connected between the front panel and the rear panel and made of a transparent plastic member, wherein the intermediate member comprises: an edge portion having both ends connected to a screening area formed at peripheries of the front panel and the rear panel; and a partition portion formed to cross an inner surface of the edge portion to partition a gap between the front panel and the rear panel to thereby form a sealed insulation layer.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A transparent panel assembly for a refrigerator door, comprising:
a front panel that defines at least a part of a front appearance of the refrigerator door and that is made of a transparent material;
a rear panel that defines at least a part of a rear appearance of the refrigerator door and that is made of a transparent material; and
an intermediate member that is disposed between the front panel and the rear panel and that is made of an injection-molded transparent plastic material,
wherein the intermediate member comprises:
an edge portion that extends along a periphery of the rear panel, that extends to the front panel, and that connects the front panel and the rear panel to each other, and
a partition portion that has a periphery surrounded by the edge portion and that partitions a space defined between the front panel and the rear panel into a front insulation space facing the front panel and a rear insulation space facing the rear panel.

2. The transparent panel assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the injection-molded transparent plastic material of the intermediate member comprises polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) that is injection-molded.

3. The transparent panel assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the transparent material of the rear panel comprises a same material as the injection-molded transparent plastic material of the intermediate member.

4. The transparent panel assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the transparent material of the rear panel comprises glass.

5. The transparent panel assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the transparent material of the front panel comprises glass.

6. The transparent panel assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the partition portion comprises an insulation coating layer that is made of a metal material and that is sputtered on a surface of the partition portion.

7. The transparent panel assembly according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a moisture absorbent case that is mounted on the partition portion between the front panel and the rear panel, that accommodates a moisture absorbent, and that defines a mounting groove,
wherein the partition portion comprises a mounting protrusion that protrudes from each of a top surface of the partition portion and a bottom surface of the partition portion, the mounting protrusion being inserted into the mounting groove of the moisture absorbent case.

8. The transparent panel assembly according to claim 1 , wherein an area of the front panel is greater than each of an area of the intermediate member and an area of the rear panel, and
wherein the edge portion comprises a front portion that is bent laterally outward from a front end of the edge portion and that is attached to the front panel by an adhesive.

9. The transparent panel assembly according to claim 8 , wherein an outer circumference of the front panel protrudes laterally outward relative to a lateral end of the front portion of the edge portion.

10. The transparent panel assembly according to claim 8 , wherein the edge portion further comprises a stepped portion that is defined at a rear end of the edge portion and that is coupled to the periphery of the rear panel.

11. The transparent panel assembly according to claim 10 , wherein the rear end of the edge portion extends to a position corresponding to a rear surface of the rear panel.

12. The transparent panel assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the edge portion comprises a stepped portion that is disposed at a rear end of the edge portion and that seats a periphery of the rear panel in a state in which the stepped portion and the periphery of the rear panel are spaced apart from each other, and
wherein the stepped portion and the periphery of the rear panel are coupled by a UV adhesive that is injected into a space between the stepped portion and the rear panel and cured by ultraviolet light.

13. The transparent panel assembly according to claim 1 , wherein an area of the front panel is equal to an area of the rear panel, and
wherein the edge portion comprises:
a first stepped portion that is stepped from a front end of the edge portion and that seats a periphery of the front panel; and
a second stepped portion that is stepped from a rear end of the edge portion and that seats the periphery of the rear panel.

14. The transparent panel assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the partition portion is one of a plurality of partition portions that extend across the edge portion and that define a plurality of spaces between the front panel and the rear panel, the plurality of spaces being spaced apart from one another by one interval in a front-rear direction.

15. The transparent panel assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the front panel comprises a front screening area that is defined at a periphery of the front panel and that covers a front end of the edge portion coupled to the front panel, and
wherein the rear panel comprises a rear screening area that is defined at the periphery of the rear panel and that covers a rear end of the edge portion coupled to the rear panel.

16. A refrigerator, comprising:
a cabinet that defines a storage space therein;
a door configured to open and close at least a portion of the storage space; and
a transparent panel assembly comprising:
a front panel that defines at least a part of a front appearance of the door and that is made of a transparent material,
a rear panel that defines at least a part of a rear appearance of the door and that is made of a transparent material, and
an intermediate member that is disposed between the front panel and the rear panel and that is made by injection molding of an injection-molded transparent plastic material,

wherein the intermediate member comprises:
an edge portion that extends along a periphery of the rear panel, that extends to the front panel, and that connects the front panel and the rear panel to each other, and
a partition portion that has a periphery surrounded by the edge portion and that partitions a space between the front panel and the rear panel into a plurality of insulation spaces, the plurality of insulation space being partitioned in a front-rear direction.

17. The refrigerator according to claim 16 , further comprising a door light disposed in the door and configured to illuminate a rear space of the door.

18. The refrigerator according to claim 16 , wherein the door comprises:
a main door that is configured to open and close at least the portion of the storage space and that defines an opening that communicates with a door storage space; and
a sub-door rotatably mounted on a front surface of the main door and configured to open and close the opening of the main door, the sub-door defining at least a portion of the front appearance of the door, and
wherein the transparent panel assembly is mounted on the sub-door and configured to allow the door storage space to be visible from an outside of the door through the transparent panel assembly.

19. The refrigerator according to claim 16 , wherein the door comprises:
a main door that is configured to open and close at least the portion of the storage space and that defines an opening that communicates with a door storage space; and
a sub-door rotatably mounted inside the opening of the main door and configured to open and close the opening of the main door, the sub-door defining at least a portion of the front appearance of the door, and
wherein the transparent panel assembly is mounted on the sub-door and configured to allow

Assignees

• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Choi Seungjin
• Ha Jaehoon

Classifications

• F25D23/04 Primary

  with special compartments, e.g. butter conditioners · CPC title

• F25D23/028 Primary

  Details · CPC title

• F25D27/00

  Lighting arrangements (in general F21) · CPC title

• F25D23/12

  Arrangements of compartments additional to cooling compartments; Combinations of refrigerators with other equipment, e.g. stove · CPC title

• F25D23/064

  formed by moulding, e.g. moulding in situ · CPC title