Refrigerator

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11774165-B2
Application number	US-202117368032-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 6, 2021
Priority date	Aug 18, 2020
Publication date	Oct 3, 2023
Grant date	Oct 3, 2023

Abstract

A refrigerator includes a cabinet, a mounting bracket disposed at a top surface of the cabinet, a door configured to rotate relative to the cabinet, a hinge cover that is disposed at the top surface of the cabinet and covers the mounting bracket, a hinge including a door bracket disposed at the door, a hinge bracket disposed at the mounting bracket, and a plurality of links that connect the door bracket to the hinge bracket, a guide device having a first side disposed at the door and a second side that passes through a cover opening at a front surface of the hinge cover and is disposed inside the hinge cover, and an electric wire or a water pipe disposed along an inside of the guide device.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A refrigerator comprising:
a cabinet that defines a storage space;
a mounting bracket disposed at a top surface of the cabinet;
a door configured to rotate relative to the cabinet to thereby open and close at least a portion of the storage space, the door comprising a hinge mounting portion and a guide device mounting portion that are disposed at a top surface of the door;
a hinge cover that is disposed at the top surface of the cabinet and covers the mounting bracket, the hinge cover defining a cover opening at a front surface thereof facing the door;
a hinge comprising a door bracket disposed at the hinge mounting portion, a hinge bracket disposed at the mounting bracket, and a plurality of links that connect the door bracket to the hinge bracket;
a guide device having a first side that is disposed at the guide device mounting portion and a second side that passes through the cover opening and is disposed inside the hinge cover; and
an electric wire or a water pipe that is disposed along an inside of the guide device,
wherein the hinge mounting portion and the guide device mounting portion define steps that are spaced apart from the cabinet, and
wherein the hinge mounting portion is disposed closer to the cabinet than the guide device mounting portion.

2. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the guide device mounting portion is recessed downward from the top surface of the door, and the hinge mounting portion is further recessed downward from the guide device mounting portion.

3. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the hinge and the guide device are configured to be covered by a front surface of the door based on the door being closed.

4. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the door comprises:
an outer case that defines a front surface of the door;
a door liner that defines a rear surface of the door;
a cap decor that defines at least one of the top surface of the door or a bottom surface of the door; and
an insulator provided in a space defined by the outer case, the door liner, and the cap decor, and
wherein the hinge mounting portion and the guide device mounting portion are disposed at a top surface of the cap decor.

5. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the hinge and the guide device pass through the cover opening.

6. The refrigerator according to claim 5 , wherein the guide device passes through an upper portion of the cover opening, and
wherein the hinge is disposed vertically below the guide device and passes through a lower portion of the cover opening.

7. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the mounting bracket comprises:
a horizontal portion fixed to the top surface of the cabinet; and
a vertical portion that extends from an end of the horizontal portion and is exposed through the cover opening, and
wherein the hinge is detachably coupled to the vertical portion of the mounting bracket.

8. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the guide device mounting portion defines a door hole to which the guide device is rotatably coupled, the door hole guiding the electric wire or the water pipe into the door.

9. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the hinge cover comprises a rotation mounting portion that is disposed inside the hinge cover and rotatably supports an end of the guide device, the end of the guide device being connected to the rotation mounting portion and configured to rotate relative to the hinge cover based on the door being opened and closed.

10. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the hinge cover comprises a slide accommodation portion disposed inside the hinge cover and configured to accommodate the guide device, and
wherein the guide device is configured to be withdrawn from and inserted into the slide accommodation portion based on the door being opened and closed, respectively.

11. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the guide device comprises an electric wire guide comprising a pair of guide links that are rotatably connected to each other, the pair of guide links comprising:
a first guide link connected to the cabinet, and
a second guide link connected to the guide device mounting portion and configured to rotate relative to at least one of the guide device mounting portion or the first guide link based on rotation of the hinge.

12. The refrigerator according to claim 11 , wherein the guide device further comprises a guide bush that passes through the top surface of the door and is inserted into the door, the guide bush being rotatably connected to an end of the second guide link and defining a draw-in path of the electric wire into the door.

13. The refrigerator according to claim 11 , wherein each of the pair of guide links comprises:
an electric wire accommodation portion that extends in a longitudinal direction and accommodates the electric wire, the electric wire accommodation portion having an open surface; and
a plurality of protrusions that are alternately arranged along upper and lower ends of the open surface of the electric wire accommodation portion and configured to restrict the electric wire from being separated from the electric wire accommodation portion.

14. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the guide device comprises a pipe guide that extends from the guide device mounting portion to an inside of the hinge cover, the pipe guide defining a space that accommodates the water pipe, and
wherein the pipe guide is configured to be withdrawn from and inserted into the hinge cover based on the door being opened and closed, respectively.

15. The refrigerator according to claim 14 , wherein the pipe guide comprises:
a slide guide that extends to the inside of the hinge cover and passes through the cover opening, the slide guide being configured to linearly move forward toward the door and backward into the inside of the hinge cover; and
a rotation guide configured to rotate relative to the slide guide and the guide device mounting portion, the rotation guide having a first end rotatably connected to a front end of the slide guide and a second end rotatably connected to the guide device mounting portion.

16. A refrigerator comprising:
a cabinet that defines a storage space;
a mounting bracket disposed at a top surface of the cabinet;
a door configured to rotate relative to the cabinet to thereby open and close at least a portion of the storage space, the door comprising a hinge mounting portion and a guide device mounting portion that are disposed at a top surface of the door;
a hinge cover that is disposed at the top surface of the cabinet and covers the mounting bracket, the hinge cover defining a cover opening at a front surface thereof facing the door;
a hinge comprising a door bracket disposed at the hinge mounting portion, a hinge bracket disposed at the mounting bracket, and a plurality of links that connect the door bracket to the hinge bracket;
a guide device having a first side that is disposed at the guide device mounting portion and a second side that passes through the cover opening and is disposed inside the hinge cover; and
an electric wire or a water pipe that is disposed along an inside of the guide device,
wherein the guide device comprises:
an electric wire guide that accommodates the electric wire along an inside thereof, the electric wire guide comprising a plurality of guide links that are rotatably connected to one another and configured to rotate relative to one another based on the door being opened and closed, and
a pipe guide that accommodates the wat

Assignees

• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Oh Changseok

Classifications

• F25D23/028 Primary

  Details · CPC title

• F25D11/00 Primary

  Self-contained movable devices, e.g. domestic refrigerators · CPC title

• E05D11/0054

  Covers, e.g. for protection · CPC title

• E05D11/0081

  for transmitting energy, e.g. electrical cable routing · CPC title

• F25D11/02

  with cooling compartments at different temperatures · CPC title