Refrigerator

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9982936-B2
Application number	US-201715423004-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 2, 2017
Priority date	Jan 7, 2014
Publication date	May 29, 2018
Grant date	May 29, 2018

Abstract

Provided is a refrigerator which allows a pivoting bar to pivot to seal a gap between a pair of doors regardless of whether the door at which the pivoting bar is not installed between the pair of doors is open or closed. The refrigerator includes a guide device which induces the pivoting bar to pivot. Here, the guide device includes a rack that is moved forward and backward linearly depending on opening and closing of the second door and includes a second magnet built therein, a pinion gear engaged with the rack and pivoting when the rack is moved linearly, and a guide unit which includes a guide groove guiding a guide protrusion and is engaged with the pinion gear to move linearly in a direction opposite to that of the rack to allow the pivoting bar to pivot when the pinion gear pivots.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A refrigerator comprising:
a body;
a storage compartment provided in the body;
a first door and a second door rotatably coupled to the body to open or close a front side of the storage compartment;
a rotating bar coupled to the first door and rotatable between a parallel position in which the rotating bar is approximately parallel to a width of the first door and a perpendicular position in which the rotating bar is approximately perpendicular to the width of the first door, the rotating bar including a guide protrusion which is moveable upward or downward; and
a guide device provided at the body to guide the rotating bar, wherein the guide device comprises:
a moveable member configured to move forward or backward depending on opening or closing of the second door; and
a guide unit configured to move away from the front side of the storage compartment while the moveable member moves forward, and to move toward the front side of the storage compartment while the moveable member moves backward, and to come in contact with the guide protrusion,

wherein the rotating bar and the guide device are provided in such a way that the guide unit of the guide device comes into contact with the guide protrusion of the rotating bar, as the second door is being closed and the movable member is moving backward while the first door is closed with the rotating bar in the parallel position, and
wherein the guide protrusion is configured to move downward when the guide unit comes into contact with the guide protrusion and to move upward to be seated at the guide unit and when the second door is closed.

2. The refrigerator of claim 1 , further comprising:
a first container and a second container disposed in the storage compartment corresponding to the first door and the second door, respectively, and
wherein the rotating bar is configured to rotate to the perpendicular position so as not to interfere with withdrawal of the second container from the storage compartment while when only the second door is opened.

3. The refrigerator of claim 1 , further comprising:
a protruding portion provided on an upper rear side of the second door to move the moveable member forward or backward, and
wherein the protruding portion is configured to use a magnetic force to move the moveable member forward when the second door is being opened.

4. The refrigerator of claim 3 , wherein the moveable member includes a contact portion to come in contact with the protruding portion, and
the contact portion includes a magnet that operates to provide the magnetic force so that the moveable member is moved by the protruding portion forward or backward when the second door is being opened or closed, respectively.

5. The refrigerator of claim 3 , wherein the guide device further comprises a base having a guide hole along which the moveable member moves forward or backward,
the protruding portion is positioned below the guide hole and faces the contact portion when the second door is closed.

6. The refrigerator of claim 3 , wherein a magnet is provided in the protruding portion.

7. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein when the first door is closed with the rotating bar in the parallel position, the guide unit moves away from the front side of the storage compartment by the rotating bar and the moveable member moves forward, and
when the second door is closed after the first door is closed, the moveable member moves backward and the guide unit moves toward the front side of the storage compartment.

8. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the guide protrusion is provided on a top of the rotating bar, and
the guide unit includes a guide groove provided to guide the guide protrusion when the rotating bar rotates between the parallel position and the perpendicular position.

9. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the rotating bar further includes a spring configured to provide an elastic force to the guide protrusion so that the guide protrusion moves upward.

10. The refrigerator of claim 9 , wherein the spring is provided below the guide protrusion in the rotating bar.

11. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the guide protrusion includes an incline, and
when the guide unit moves toward the front side of the storage compartment, the guide unit comes into contact with the incline of the guide protrusion.

Assignees

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Yoon Seok Jun
• Song Young Jae
• Yang Seung Yong
• Moon Sung Sik
• Jeon Ho June
• Jeong Kyung Han

Classifications

• F25D11/02

  with cooling compartments at different temperatures · CPC title

• F25D2323/021

  French doors · CPC title

• E06B7/18

  by means of movable edgings, e.g. draught sealings additionally used for bolting {, e.g. by spring force or with operating lever} · CPC title

• F25D23/02 Primary

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

• F25D23/028 Primary

  Details · CPC title