Refrigerator and display unit of refrigerator

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9702621-B2
Application number	US-201614988652-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 5, 2016
Priority date	Jan 5, 2015
Publication date	Jul 11, 2017
Grant date	Jul 11, 2017

Abstract

Disclosed herein are a refrigerator and a display unit of the refrigerator, in which a sealing member is disposed between a display installation part and a displaying part of a display unit, and thus moisture is prevented from penetrating into the display unit. The refrigerator includes a door assembly which opens and closes an opened front surface of a storage compartment and including an opening provided at a front surface thereof, and a display unit, wherein the display unit includes a display installation part that is inside the door assembly to correspond to the opening and at which a display is installed, a displaying part which is disposed at a front surface of the display installation part and exposed to an outside through the opening, and a sealing member which seals between the display installation part and the displaying part and prevents moisture from penetrating into the display unit.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A refrigerator comprising:
a main body;
a storage compartment inside the main body so that a front surface thereof is opened;
a door assembly rotatably coupled to the main body to open and close the opened front surface of the storage compartment and including an opening provided at a front surface thereof; and
a display unit provided at the door assembly,
wherein the display unit comprises:
a display installation part that is inside the door assembly to correspond to the opening and at which a display is installed, wherein the display installation part comprises a protruding rib,
a displaying part that is disposed at a front surface of the display installation part and exposed to an outside through the opening, wherein the displaying part comprises a seating groove that corresponds to the protruding rib, and
a sealing member that is seated in the seating groove and configured to:
seal between the display installation part and the displaying part, and
prevent moisture from penetrating into the display unit,

wherein when the display installation part and the displaying part are coupled to a coupling portion, the protruding rib is configured to press the sealing member while being inserted into the seating groove, and the sealing member is configured to seal between the protruding rib and the seating groove.

2. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the door assembly comprises a door plate that forms a front surface and side surfaces of the door plate and a rear plate that forms a rear surface of the door plate, and an insulation material is filled between the door plate and the rear plate.

3. The refrigerator according to claim 2 , wherein the opening is provided at a front surface of the door plate, and the coupling portion that is bent toward an inside of the door plate and to which the display installation part and the displaying part are coupled is provided at an edge of the opening.

4. The refrigerator according to claim 3 , wherein the display installation part comprises a plurality of coupling ribs that is coupled to the coupling portion, and a close contact portion that is in close contact with a rear surface of the door plate and is configured to prevent the insulation material from penetrating into the display installation part.

5. The refrigerator according to claim 4 , wherein the plurality of coupling ribs are provided at both sides of the display installation part, and a plurality of first coupling holes to which the plurality of coupling ribs are coupled are provided at both side surfaces of the coupling portion.

6. The refrigerator according to claim 5 , wherein the displaying part further comprises a plurality of coupling hooks that are coupled to the coupling portion.

7. The refrigerator according to claim 6 , wherein the coupling hook comprises a first coupling hook that is provided at each of upper and lower portions of the displaying part and a plurality of second coupling hooks that are provided at both side surfaces of the displaying part.

8. The refrigerator according to claim 7 , wherein the first coupling hook is coupled to upper and lower portions of the coupling portion, and a plurality of second coupling holes to which the second coupling hooks are coupled are provided at both side surfaces of the coupling portion.

9. A display unit that is provided in combination with a door assembly for opening and closing a storage compartment of a refrigerator, comprising:
a display installation part provided inside the door assembly and at which a display is installed, wherein the display installation part comprises a protruding rib;
a displaying part disposed at a front surface of the display installation part to be exposed to a front surface of the door assembly, wherein the displaying part comprises a seating groove that corresponds to the protruding rib; and
a sealing member that is seated in the seating groove and configured to:
seal between the display installation part and the displaying part and
prevent moisture from penetrating into the display unit,

wherein when the display installation part and the displaying part are coupled to a coupling portion, the protruding rib is configured to press the sealing member while being inserted into the seating groove, and the sealing member is configured to seal between the protruding rib and the seating groove.

10. The display unit according to claim 9 , wherein the door assembly comprises a door plate that comprises a front plate including an opening and a side plate that is bent backward from the front surface, and a rear plate that forms a rear surface of the door plate, and the display installation part and the displaying part are coupled to the coupling portion provided at an edge of the opening.

11. The display unit according to claim 10 , wherein the display installation part comprises a plurality of coupling ribs that are coupled to the coupling portion and a close contact portion that is in close contact with a rear surface of the front plate and is configured to prevent an insulation material filled in the door assembly from penetrating into the display installation part.

12. The display unit according to claim 11 , wherein the plurality of coupling ribs are provided at both sides of the display installation part, and a plurality of first coupling holes to which the plurality of coupling ribs are coupled are provided at both side surfaces of the coupling portion.

13. The display unit according to claim 12 , wherein the displaying part comprises a plurality of coupling hooks that are exposed to an outside through the opening and coupled to the coupling portion.

14. The display unit according to claim 13 , wherein the coupling hook comprises a first coupling hook that is provided at each of upper and lower portions of the displaying part and a plurality of second coupling hooks that are provided at both side surfaces of the displaying part.

15. The display unit according to claim 14 , wherein the first coupling hook is coupled to upper and lower portions of the coupling portion, and a plurality of second coupling holes to which the second coupling hooks are coupled are provided at both side surfaces of the coupling portion.

Assignees

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Cho Woo Chul
• Lee Sang Cheol
• Park Jong Sun
• Lee Sang-Jin
• Jung Sang Gyu

Classifications

• F25D29/005 Primary

  Mounting of control devices · CPC title

• F25D23/028 Primary

  Details · CPC title

• F25D23/062

  defining a cabinet · CPC title

• F25D2400/361

  Interactive visual displays · CPC title

• F25D25/02

  by shelves · CPC title