Refrigerator

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11408662-B2
Application number	US-201916509191-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 11, 2019
Priority date	Sep 11, 2015
Publication date	Aug 9, 2022
Grant date	Aug 9, 2022

Abstract

A refrigerator including a refrigerator main body having a refrigerating chamber therein, a cold air passage duct provided within the refrigerator main body and having a cold air passage therein to discharge the cold air into the refrigerating chamber, a control case attached to one surface of the cold air discharge duct and having a cold air discharge opening through which the cold air is discharged, and a knob provided between the cold air passage duct and the control case and attached to the control case to be reciprocally movable in one direction, the knob opening and closing at least part of the cold air discharge opening.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A refrigerator comprising:
a main body having a refrigerating chamber therein;
a cold air passage duct disposed within the main body, the cold air passage duct including a cold air passage to discharge cold air into the refrigerating chamber;
a control case attached at one surface of the cold air passage duct, the control case including a cold air discharge opening through which the cold air is discharged; and
a knob provided between the cold air passage duct and the control case, the knob being reciprocally movable in one direction to open and close at least a part of the cold air discharge opening,
wherein the control case comprises a pressing protrusion to press against a lower end portion of the knob, the pressing protrusion provided below the cold air discharge opening and protruding toward the cold air passage duct,
wherein the knob comprises a flow rate adjusting portion to adjust an opening and closing amount of the cold air discharge opening in response to being pressed by the pressing protrusion, wherein the flow rate adjusting portion comprises:
a plurality of protrusions disposed at the lower end portion of the knob that are spaced apart from one another by a preset distance, and
a slot cut off to enable an elastic transformation of the lower end portion of the knob when the protrusions are pressed by the pressing protrusion,
wherein the pressing protrusion is disposed to be inserted inside the slot cut off so as to press against the plurality of protrusions.

2. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the control case further comprises a knob coupling portion formed between a first side and a second side of the cold air discharge opening, and the knob coupling portion configured to slidably guide movement of the knob.

3. The refrigerator of claim 2 , wherein the knob comprises:
a stopping portion that is bent from an upper end portion of the knob toward the control case so as to be slidably stopped in the knob coupling portion; and
a knob handle that protrudes from the stopping portion toward a front side, the knob handle being disposed at a front side of the control case.

4. The refrigerator of claim 3 , wherein the stopping portion is bent toward the knob coupling portion, whereby the knob is slidably coupled to the knob coupling portion.

5. The refrigerator of claim 2 , wherein the knob include a bent portion having an upper side formed in a bent shape.

6. The refrigerator of claim 2 , wherein the knob comprises a cut portion, the cut portion formed by cutting off at least part of an upper portion of the knob, whereby the cut portion is communicably coupled with the cold air discharge opening such that the cold air is discharged by opening at least part of one of the first side or the second side of the cold air discharge opening.

7. The refrigerator of claim 2 , wherein the knob coupling portion is spaced apart from an upper portion of the cold air discharge opening by a predetermined distance, wherein the knob is slidably coupled to the control case.

8. The refrigerator of claim 2 , wherein the cold air discharge opening is disposed at each of both sides of the knob coupling portion, and both the first and second sides of the cold air discharge opening are configured to discharge the cold air therethrough such that one of the first and second cold air discharge openings is open while the other of the first and second cold air discharge openings is open in response to at least part of the other of the first and second cold air discharge opening communicating with the cut portion.

9. The refrigerator of claim 8 , wherein the first and second cold air discharge openings have the same area in a state of being opened and closed by the knob thereby allowing cold air to be uniformly supplied into the refrigerating chamber through the first and second cold air discharge openings.

10. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of protrusions protrude upward from a lower side within the slot cut off to elastically transform the lower end portion of the knob in a downward direction in a state in which one of the plurality of protrusions is pressed by the pressing protrusion.

11. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of protrusions protrude downward from the lower end portion of the knob to elastically transform the lower end portion of the knob in an upward direction in a state in which one of the plurality of protrusions is pressed by the pressing protrusion.

Assignees

• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Lee Sunghun
• Nam Yoonseong

Classifications

• F25D25/025

  Drawers · CPC title

• F25D17/045 Primary

  Air flow control arrangements · CPC title

• F25D2317/061

  through special compartments · CPC title

• F25D17/065

  with compartments at different temperatures · CPC title

• F25D29/005

  Mounting of control devices · CPC title