Refrigerator

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12305909-B2
Application number	US-202318104421-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 1, 2023
Priority date	Dec 12, 2016
Publication date	May 20, 2025
Grant date	May 20, 2025

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 lighting module controlled by the control unit and configured to illuminate the storage space; and
a door configured to open and close the storage space, the door including:
a door liner defining a rear surface of the door; and
a panel assembly through which a user sees the storage space when the lighting module is turned on,

wherein the panel assembly includes:
a front panel made of a glass;
a rear panel spaced apart from the front panel and made of a glass, a length of the front panel in a lateral direction being greater than a length of the rear panel in the lateral direction:
a spacer provided between the front panel and the rear panel and having a gas injection hole in which a gas is injected into a sealed space, the sealed space being defined by the front panel, the rear panel and the spacer; and
a sealant coated on an outer surface of the spacer and configured to shield the gas injection hole of the spacer,
wherein the door liner includes a front part adhering to a circumference of the front panel, a side part defining a circumference of a side surface of the door and a rear part defining a circumference of the rear surface of the door and having a groove in which a gasket is mounted,
wherein the refrigerator further comprises a foaming solution injected into a space defined by the front part, the side part and the rear part of the door liner and the panel assembly such that the foaming solution is molded to an insulation material, the insulation material contacting the sealant and the door liner and configured to surround an outer surface of the sealant to fix the panel assembly on the door, and
wherein the door liner further includes a liner protrusion that extends from the rear part towards a rear side of the rear panel, and the lighting module is mounted in a space defined by the rear panel and the liner protrusion.

2. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a display provided within the sealed space;
a flexible flat cable coupled to the display and passing through the sealant, the flexible flat cable extending along the outer surface of the 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.

3. The refrigerator according to claim 1 ,
wherein the panel assembly further comprises a display and a back light, and is configured to be in one of a plurality of states, the plurality of states comprising:
a transparent mode state in which the lighting module is turned on to allow the inner space of the refrigerator to be visible through the panel assembly, the display being configured to not operate based on the panel assembly being in the transparent mode state,
an opaque mode state in which the lighting module is turned off to allow the inner space of the refrigerator invisible through the panel assembly, the display being configured to not operate based on the panel assembly being in the opaque mode state, and
a display mode state in which the lighting module is turned off and the back light is turned on, the display being configured to, based on the panel assembly being in the display mode state, operate and output a screen through the panel assembly.

4. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a display provided within the sealed space;
a light guide plate provided between the display and the rear panel; and
an inner spacer provided within the sealed space, the inner spacer being provided between the front panel and the light guide plate.

5. The refrigerator according to claim 4 ,
wherein the inner spacer includes another gas injection hole through which the gas injected through the gas injection hole passes.

6. The refrigerator according to claim 5 , further comprising an insulation layer in which the gas is received,
wherein the insulation layer includes:
a first insulation layer formed in a first space defined by the front panel, the inner spacer, and the light guide plate and in which the gas is introduced; and
a second insulation layer formed in a second space defined by the light guide plate, the rear panel, and an additional inner spacer and in which the gas is introduced.

7. The refrigerator according to claim 1 ,
wherein the liner protrusion including first and second sides on which a pair of lighting modules are mounted.

8. The refrigerator according to claim 1 ,
further comprising an additional lighting module provided in the storage space and a door lighting module provided in the door.

9. The refrigerator according to claim 1 ,
wherein the storage space includes an upper storage space and a lower storage space,
wherein the door includes a left door and a right door to open and close the upper storage space, the right door including a main door having a door opening and a sub door to open and close the door opening, and
wherein the panel assembly is mounted on the sub door.

10. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a first adhesion member that attaches the spacer to the front panel; and
a second adhesion member that attaches an assembly of the spacer and the front panel to the rear panel.

11. The refrigerator according to claim 10 ,
wherein the gas injection hole is positioned closer to the second adhesion members than to the first adhesion member.

12. The refrigerator according to claim 1 ,
wherein the spacer contains a moisture absorbent material, and the outer surface of the spacer is sealed by the sealant.

13. The refrigerator according to claim 12 ,
wherein the spacer is made of an aluminum material and has a plurality of punched holes, and
wherein the moisture absorbent material is received in the spacer.

14. The refrigerator according to claim 13 ,
wherein the spacer includes a rectangular frame including a top, a bottom, and a pair of side walls, and
wherein the spacer includes a cavity formed in the top or the bottom of the rectangular frame to receive the moisture absorbent material, and the plurality of punched holes are formed in at least one of the pair of side walls.

15. The refrigerator according to claim 1 ,
wherein the spacer includes a discharge hole through which air in the sealed space is discharged when the gas is injected into the sealed space through the gas injection hole.

16. The refrigerator according to claim 15 ,
wherein the spacer includes a pair of side frames that are opposed to each other, and
wherein the gas injection hole is formed in a first one of the pair of side frames, and the discharge hole is formed in a second one of the pair of side frames.

17. The refrigerator according to claim 16 ,
wherein the spacer further includes a top, a bottom and an edge that meets one of the top or the bottom and one of the pair of side frames, and
wherein the gas injection hole or the discharge hole is positioned closer to the edge than a center of the one of the pair of side frames.

18. The refrigerator according to claim 1 ,
wherein the gas includes argon gas.

19. The refrigerator according to claim 16 , wherein the rear part of the door liner includes a step to contact an outer end of the rear panel, and the liner protrusion extends from the step of the rear part.

Assignees

• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Lee Sangmyung
• Kwon Hyuk
• Kim Junghwan

Classifications

• F25D27/005

  combined with control means · CPC title

• F25D11/00

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

• A47F3/0434

  Glass or transparent panels · CPC title

• C09K2323/03

  Viewing layer characterised by chemical composition · CPC title

• C09K2323/00

  Functional layers of liquid crystal optical display excluding electroactive liquid crystal layer characterised by chemical composition · CPC title