Refrigerator

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11614268-B2
Application number	US-202016814046-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 10, 2020
Priority date	Dec 12, 2016
Publication date	Mar 28, 2023
Grant date	Mar 28, 2023

Abstract

A refrigerator includes a door with a transparent display assembly that includes a front panel defining at least a portion of a front surface of the door, a touch sensor disposed on a rear surface of the front panel to recognize touch manipulation, a rear panel defining at least a portion of a rear surface of the door, an insulation coating layer provided on a surface of the rear panel by a metal oxide to block heat from the outside, an outer spacer disposed between the front panel and the rear panel to provide a sealed space between the front panel and the rear panel, a display disposed in the sealed space, a light guide plate spaced apart from the display to brighten up the display, and a spacer supporting the light guide plate and maintaining a distance between the display and the light guide plate.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A refrigerator comprising:
a cabinet defining a storage space;
a control unit mounted on the cabinet;
a door configured to open and close the cabinet and having a see-through part in which a transparent display assembly is provided, the transparent display assembly including:
a front panel;
a rear panel spaced apart from the front panel;
an outer spacer provided between the front panel and the rear panel to provide a sealed space defined by the front panel, the rear panel and the outer spacer, and having a gas injection hole;
a display provided within the sealed space; and
a sealant coated on an outer surface of the outer spacer;
an insulation material positioned outside the sealed space and configured to surround the sealant in order to fix the transparent display assembly on the door;

a flexible flat cable extending from the display and passing through the sealant, the flexible flat cable extending along the outer surface of the outer spacer between the sealant and the insulation material; and
a printed circuit board (PCB) mounted on the door and connected with the flexible flat cable, the PCB being connected to the control unit by another cable.

2. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the insulation material is configured to surround a circumferential surface of the transparent display assembly, and
wherein the insulation material contacts the sealant.

3. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , further comprising an upper cap deco coupled to upper ends of the door,
wherein the PCB is positioned in a space between an upper end of the transparent display assembly and the upper cap deco.

4. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , further comprising a PCB mounting part positioned vertically above the transparent display assembly and on which the PCB is mounted,
wherein another insulation material is positioned at a front side of the PCB mounting part.

5. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the door includes an outer plate defining an outer appearance of the door, and a door liner coupled to the outer plate, and
wherein the outer plate, the door liner, and the transparent display assembly provide a space in which a foaming solution is filled when the insulation material is molded in the door such that the sealant comes into direct contact with the foaming solution.

6. The refrigerator according to claim 5 , wherein the outer plate has a plate opening, and
wherein the refrigerator further comprises an inner frame mounted on a circumference of the plate opening of the outer plate to support the transparent display assembly.

7. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the front panel is made of a transparent material, and
wherein the transparent display assembly is changed from one of transparent, opaque, or display states to another of the transparent, opaque, or display states based on an input through the transparent display assembly.

8. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the outer spacer has a rectangular frame, and
wherein the gas injection hole is configured to penetrate through a side of the outer spacer.

9. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the sealant is configured to cover the gas injection hole and has a portion through which the flexible flat cable passes.

10. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the flexible flat cable passes between the first spacer and the rear panel, or between the first spacer and the front panel.

11. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the flexible flat cable is located adjacent to and extends along a side surface of the transparent display assembly.

12. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the flexible flat cable includes a plurality of flat cables, and
wherein a number of the other cable connecting the PCB to the control unit is less than a number of the plurality of flat cables.

13. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , further comprising a circuit board provided within the sealed space,
wherein the flexible flat cable connects the circuit board to the PCB.

14. The refrigerator according to claim 13 , further comprising:
a light guide plate positioned at a rear side of the display; and
a first spacer configured to support the display and to maintain a distance between the display and a light guide plate,
wherein the circuit board is provided in a space between the outer spacer and the first spacer and comes into contact with an inner surface of the outer spacer.

15. The refrigerator according to claim 14 , further comprising a first insulation space provided between the front panel and the light guide plate, and into which gas introduced through the gas injection hole is introduced, the first insulation space being configured to fluidly connect with the sealed space.

16. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a back light;
a light guide plate spaced apart from the display and configured to guide light emitted from the back light toward the display; and
an insulation panel provided between the light guide plate and the rear panel.

17. The refrigerator according to claim 16 , further comprising a second spacer provided on a rear surface of the insulation panel, the second spacer being configured to separate the insulation panel from the rear panel,
wherein the light guide plate, the second spacer and the insulation panel define another sealed space provided within the sealed space.

18. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the rear panel includes an insulation coating layer to provide insulation between the sealed space and the storage space of the cabinet.

19. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a touch sensor provided at the front panel;
a back light; and
another flexible flat cable that is connected to at least one of the touch sensor or the back light and extends to the PCB.

20. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the door includes a main door having a door opening, and a sub door configured to open and close the door opening, and
wherein the transparent display assembly is provided at the sub door.

Assignees

• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Lee Sangmyung
• Kwon Hyuk
• Kim Junghwan

Classifications

• F21V2200/20

  of light guides of a generally planar shape · CPC title

• B29L2031/7622

  Refrigerators · CPC title

• B29L2031/724

  Doors · CPC title

• F25D2400/36

  Visual displays · CPC title

• F25D2323/021

  French doors · CPC title