Refrigerator and dispenser for refrigerator

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9285159-B2
Application number	US-98623511-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 7, 2011
Priority date	Jan 18, 2010
Publication date	Mar 15, 2016
Grant date	Mar 15, 2016

Abstract

There are provided a refrigerator and a dispenser for the refrigerator. A light emitting unit is provided to emit light toward manipulation member of the dispenser so that the dispenser can be conveniently used and have a better aesthetic appearance.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A refrigerator, comprising:
a cabinet providing a storage space;
a door configured to open or close the storage space; and
a dispenser disposed at a front surface of the door and configured to dispense water or ice, the dispenser including:
a dispenser case defining a recess to accommodate a container configured to receive water or ice and having a mounting part;
a manipulation member disposed in the dispenser case and including:
a paddle configured to rotate, based on being pushed by a container, from a first position to a second position to cause water or ice to be dispensed into the container, the second position being spaced in a rearward direction apart from the first position; and
a transmission part transparently or semi-transparently formed in the paddle in a shape of a pattern or a character;
a first light emitting unit disposed in the mounting part of the dispenser case, the first light emitting unit being located behind the transmission part of the paddle and on a same horizontal plane of a portion of the transmission part to emit light towards the transmission part of the paddle;
a second light emitting unit disposed at an upper position in the dispenser case and configured to illuminate the recess of the dispenser case; and
a control unit electrically connected to the first and second light emitting units, and configured to selectively turn on or off the first and second light emitting units based on a position of the paddle, wherein the control unit is further configured to:
determine that the paddle is in the first position; and
based on a determination that the paddle is in the first position, control the second light emitting unit to be turned off and the first light emitting unit to be turned on such that a portion of the light from the first light emitting unit is transmitted through the transmission part to show the pattern or the character.

2. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the first light emitting unit comprises:
a light emitting unit case disposed in the dispenser case;
an L.E.D. module disposed in the light emitting unit case and comprising an L.E.D.; and a light emitting unit cover configured to cover an opened side of the light emitting unit case and to transmit light emitted from the L.E.D.

3. The refrigerator of claim 2 , wherein the light emitting unit cover comprises a protrusion configured to accommodate an end part of the L.E.D. and to disperse light emitted from the L.E.D.

4. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the control unit is further configured to:
determine that the paddle is in the second position; and
control the second light emitting unit is configured to be turned on and the first light emitting unit is configured to be turned off by the control unit based on the paddle being in the second position.

5. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the paddle is configured to downwardly extend a predetermined length to completely shield the first light emitting unit and is spaced in a frontward direction apart from the first light emitting unit.

6. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the paddle further includes a reflection part provided on a rear surface and configured to reflect the light emitted from the first light emitting unit.

7. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the manipulation member further includes a manipulation lever rotatably coupled to an upper end of the paddle and configured to turn on or off a switch that generates an operation signal for supplying water or ice.

8. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the transmission part is transparently formed in the paddle.

9. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the transmission part is semi-transparently formed in the paddle.

10. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein
the transmission part is formed in the paddle in the shape of the pattern, and
based on the determination that the paddle is in the first position, the portion of the light from the first light emitting unit is transmitted through the transmission part to show the pattern.

11. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein
the transmission part is formed in the paddle in the shape of the character, and
based on the determination that the paddle is in the first position, the portion of the light from the first light emitting unit is transmitted through the transmission part to show the character.

Assignees

• Kim Pansoo
• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Kim Pansoo

Classifications

• F25D2327/001

  Lighting arrangements on the external side of the refrigerator, freezer or cooling box · CPC title

• F25D23/126 Primary

  Water cooler · CPC title

• F25D27/00

  Lighting arrangements (in general F21) · CPC title

• H05B47/115

  by determining the presence or movement of objects or living beings · CPC title