Refrigerator

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11428458-B2
Application number	US-201916979024-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 6, 2019
Priority date	Mar 8, 2018
Publication date	Aug 30, 2022
Grant date	Aug 30, 2022

Abstract

A refrigerator includes a cabinet and a door. The cabinet includes an inner case provided with a storage compartment and a middle plate covering an upper surface of the inner case. The door is disposed on a front portion of the cabinet to open and close the storage compartment, and the cabinet further includes a cabinet cover which is attachably and detachably coupled to an upper side of the middle plate to cover an upper surface of the cabinet.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A refrigerator comprising:
a cabinet comprising an inner case that defines a storage compartment therein, and a middle plate that covers an upper surface of the inner case; and
a door disposed on a front portion of the cabinet and configured to open and close at least a portion of the storage compartment,
wherein the cabinet further comprises:
a cabinet cover that is coupled to an upper side of the middle plate and that defines an upper surface of the cabinet, the cabinet cover comprising a plurality of planks of wood that are arranged in parallel to one another and that are glued to one another, and
a plurality of reinforcing brackets that are made of a metallic material, that are coupled to a lower surface of the cabinet cover, and that extend in parallel to one another, and

wherein the cabinet cover defines a plurality of mounting recesses that are recessed from the lower surface of the cabinet cover, each of the plurality of mounting recess being configured to receive a reinforcing bracket among the plurality of reinforcing brackets,
wherein the cabinet cover further comprises a plurality of cover fixing portions that are disposed on the lower surface of the cabinet cover and that are fixed to the middle plate, and
wherein each of the plurality of cover fixing portions comprises:
a first cylindrical portion having a first side contacting the lower surface of the cabinet cover, and a second side protruding downward from the cabinet cover toward the middle plate, and
a second cylindrical portion that extends from the second side of the first cylindrical portion and that has a diameter larger than a diameter of the first cylindrical portion.

2. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the reinforcing bracket among the plurality of reinforcing brackets has a bar shape, and
wherein a length of one of the plurality of mounting recesses is longer than a length of the reinforcing bracket among the plurality of reinforcing brackets.

3. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the reinforcing bracket among the plurality of reinforcing brackets extends in parallel to an arrangement direction of the plurality of planks of wood.

4. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the reinforcing bracket among the plurality of reinforcing brackets defines a hole at a surface facing the lower surface of the cabinet cover, the hole having an elongated shape that extends along a longitudinal direction of the reinforcing bracket among the plurality of reinforcing brackets.

5. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the cabinet cover further defines a plurality of slits that are recessed from the lower surface of the cabinet cover and that extend in parallel to one another.

6. The refrigerator of claim 5 , wherein each of the plurality of slits extends in a direction orthogonal to the reinforcing bracket.

7. The refrigerator of claim 5 , wherein each of the plurality of slits is spaced apart from an interface between two of the plurality of planks of wood and extends parallel to the interface.

8. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the cabinet cover further defines a recess that is recessed from the lower surface of the cabinet cover and that receives the first side of the first cylindrical portion of one of the plurality of cover fixing portions.

9. The refrigerator of claim 1 , further comprising a fastening member that passes through one of the plurality of cover fixing portions and that is fixed to the cabinet cover.

10. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the middle plate defines a cover fixing hole that receives one of the plurality of cover fixing portions.

11. The refrigerator of claim 10 , wherein the cover fixing hole comprises:
a first hole having a size that is greater than or equal to a size of the second cylindrical portion of the one of the plurality of cover fixing portions; and
a second hole that extends from the first hole, the second hole having a size that is less than the size of the second cylindrical portion and that is greater than or equal to a size of the first cylindrical portion of the one of the plurality of cover fixing portions.

12. The refrigerator of claim 11 , wherein the second cylindrical portion is coupled to the middle plate through the second hole.

13. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the first cylindrical portion is disposed vertically between the lower surface of the cabinet cover and the upper side of the middle plate, and
wherein the second cylindrical portion is disposed at a lower surface of the middle plate.

14. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of reinforcing brackets has a bar shape, and
wherein the plurality of reinforcing brackets extend parallel to a side of the cabinet cover.

15. The refrigerator of claim 14 , wherein each of the plurality of reinforcing brackets is arranged across the plurality of planks of wood.

16. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of reinforcing brackets defines a plurality of holes at a surface facing the lower surface of the cabinet cover, each of the plurality of holes having an elongated shape that extends along a longitudinal direction of the reinforcing bracket.

17. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the middle plate further covers a rear surface of the inner case.

18. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of planks of wood extends in a first direction,
wherein each of the plurality of reinforcing brackets has a bar shape that extends in a second direction across the first direction, and
wherein the plurality of reinforcing brackets have different lengths in the second direction.

Assignees

• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Park Kihyun
• Lim Kiyoung
• Yoo Daehyun

Classifications

• F25D23/021

  Sliding doors · CPC title

• F25D23/067

  Supporting elements · CPC title

• F25D2400/08

  Refrigerator tables · CPC title

• F25D2400/18

  Aesthetic features · CPC title

• F25D23/066 Primary

  Liners · CPC title