Refrigerator

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11725873-B2
Application number	US-202217686781-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 4, 2022
Priority date	Oct 31, 2014
Publication date	Aug 15, 2023
Grant date	Aug 15, 2023

Abstract

A refrigerator with a drawer provided in a storage compartment formed on a cabinet and which accommodates stored goods, the drawer being movably supported by a drawer guide disposed in the storage compartment. A frame which is movable in the front/back directions by a frame guide, and a door opening and closing the storage compartment may be connected with the frame by a link. The frame may have a base part which is disposed on the lower side of the drawer and is connected with the link. The side plate includes a vertical part which is vertical with respect to the base part. A cross section formed by horizontally cutting the vertical part may be formed so as to be elongated along the moving direction of the drawer. The vertical part may be connected with the drawer so as to enable the drawer to move integrally with the frame.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A refrigerator comprising:
a cabinet that has an opening and that defines a storage compartment;
a door hinged to the cabinet and configured to open and close at least a portion of the opening;
a cantilever mounted on a rear wall of the storage compartment;
a shelf supported on the cantilever and configured to move forward toward the opening of the cabinet and rearward toward the rear wall of the storage compartment;
a side plate supported on a side wall of the storage compartment and configured to move forward toward the opening of the cabinet and rearward toward the rear wall of the storage compartment;
an interlocking unit that connects the shelf to the side plate;
a horizontal plate that is connected to the side plate, that is supported on a bottom wall of the storage compartment, and that is configured to move forward toward the opening of the cabinet and rearward toward the rear wall of the storage compartment; and
a link that connects the horizontal plate to the door, the link being configured to, based on the door being moved to an open position, cause the shelf to move forward toward the opening of the cabinet.

2. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the cabinet comprises an inner cabinet that defines the storage compartment and an outer cabinet disposed outside of the inner cabinet;
wherein the side wall of the storage compartment is a side wall of the inner cabinet; and
wherein the side plate comprises a vertical part disposed between the side wall of the inner cabinet and the outer cabinet.

3. The refrigerator according to claim 2 , further comprising a frame guide slit in the side wall of the inner cabinet that extends horizontally in a front-rear direction of the storage compartment,
wherein the side plate comprises a horizontal part that connects the horizontal plate and the vertical part through the frame guide slit.

4. The refrigerator according to claim 3 , further comprising an interlocking guide slit in the side wall of the inner cabinet that is located above the frame guide slit and that extends parallel to the frame guide slit,
wherein the interlock unit connects the shelf to the vertical part through the interlocking guide slit to lock the shelf with the horizontal plate.

5. The refrigerator according to claim 4 , wherein
the vertical part includes a protrusion fastening hole, and
the interlocking unit comprises a connection protrusion that is disposed on the shelf, the connection protrusion being inserted into or separated from the protrusion fastening hole through the interlocking guide slit depending on a position of the connection protrusion.

6. The refrigerator according to claim 5 :
wherein the connection protrusion is inserted into the protrusion fastening hole based on the connection protrusion being moved toward the side wall of the inner cabinet, and
wherein the connection protrusion is separated from the protrusion fastening hole based on the connection protrusion being moved away from the side wall of the inner cabinet.

7. The refrigerator according to claim 5 :
wherein the shelf comprises multiple shelf sections that arranged as separate shelves in a vertical direction, and
wherein the protrusion fastening hole comprises multiple protrusion fastening holes located at heights corresponding to each of the multiple shelf sections.

8. The refrigerator according to claim 4 :
wherein the shelf includes a protrusion fastening hole, and
wherein the interlocking unit comprises a connection protrusion that is disposed on the vertical part, the connection protrusion being inserted into or separated from the protrusion fastening hole through the interlocking guide slit depending on a position of the connection protrusion.

9. The refrigerator according to claim 4 , wherein the interlocking unit comprises:
a connection mount that protrudes from the vertical part toward the shelf and that is inserted into the interlocking guide slit;
a middle interlocking member that is disposed between the side wall of the inner cabinet and the shelf and that is coupled to the connection mount; and
a slide interlocking member that is located on the shelf, the slide interlocking member being coupled to or separated from the middle interlocking member depending on a position of the slide interlocking member.

10. The refrigerator according to claim 9 , wherein the middle interlocking member has a coupling groove and the connection mount is inserted into which the coupling groove.

11. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , further comprising a frame guide disposed between the storage compartment and the horizontal plate, the frame guide being configured to support the horizontal plate and enable the horizontal plate to move forward and rearward.

12. The refrigerator according to claim 11 , wherein the frame guide comprises:
a stationary rail that is fixed on the side wall of the storage compartment and that extends longitudinally in a front-rear direction of the storage compartment; and
a moving rail that is fixed to the horizontal plate and that is configured to slide along the fixed rail.

13. The refrigerator according to claim 11 , wherein the frame guide is a first frame guide and the refrigerator further comprises a second frame guide that is spaced apart from the first frame guide and that extends longitudinally in a front-rear direction of the storage compartment parallel to the first frame guide.

14. The refrigerator according to claim 1 :
wherein the link has a front end that is connected to the door and that is configured to rotate with respect to the door; and
wherein the link has a rear end that is connected to the horizontal plate and that is configured to rotate with respect to the horizontal plate.

15. The refrigerator according to claim 14 , wherein the link comprises:
a first bent section that extends from the front end and that is bent convexly in a direction away from a turning axis of the door with respect to the cabinet; and
a second bent section that is located between the first bent section and the rear end and that is bent convexly in a direction opposite the first bent section.

16. The refrigerator according to claim 14 , wherein the rear end of the link is connected to a bottom surface of the horizontal plate.

Assignees

• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Yu Seonil
• Kwon Hongsik
• Heo Junyi

Classifications

• F25D25/02 Primary

  by shelves · CPC title

• F25D23/06

  Walls (F25D23/08 takes precedence; containers with thermal insulation B65D81/38) · CPC title

• F25D23/02 Primary

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

• F25D23/00

  General constructional features (F25D21/00 takes precedence) · CPC title

• F25D27/00

  Lighting arrangements (in general F21) · CPC title