Display Unit Installing Structure for Refrigerator

• US 20070290588A1
• Filed: 12/23/2005
• Published: 12/20/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/24/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Woo, Ki-cheol, Kim, Jin-Hyun, Oh, Seung-Jin, Lee, Soo-Beom, Lee, Ik-Kyu
• Granted Patent: US 7,967,404 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 312/401
• CPC Class Codes: F16M 11/04 Means for attachment of apparatus; Means allowing adjustment of the apparatus relatively to the stand
• CPC Class Codes: F16M 11/2092 comprising means allowing depth adjustment, i.e. forward-backward translation of the head relatively to the undercarriage
• CPC Class Codes: F16M 13/02 for supporting on, or attaching to, an object, e.g. tree, gate, window-frame, cycle
• CPC Class Codes: F16M 2200/041 for balancing rotational movement of the head
• CPC Class Codes: F16M 2200/063 Parallelogram arms
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 2400/18 Aesthetic features
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 2400/361 Interactive visual displays
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 29/005 Mounting of control devices

Abstract

The present invention relates to a display unit installing structure for a refrigerator. The present invention comprises an accommodating unit which is formed by depressing a portion on a front surface of a door and in which a display unit for displaying a variety of information thereon and inputting operating signals are retractably installed; a link mechanism for guiding accommodation and withdrawal of the display unit and tiltably supporting the display unit withdrawn from the accommodating unit at a predetermined angle; and a locking means for preventing the display unit from being inadvertently escaping from the accommodating unit. According to the present invention, there is an advantage in that the display unit can be retractably installed on the front surface of the refrigerator door.

Claims

1. A display unit installing structure for a refrigerator, comprising:

an accommodating unit which is formed by depressing a portion on a front surface of a door and in which a display unit for displaying a variety of information thereon and inputting operating signals are retractably installed;

a link mechanism for guiding accommodation and withdrawal of the display unit and tiltably supporting the display unit withdrawn from the accommodating unit at a predetermined angle; and

a locking means for preventing the display unit from being inadvertently escaping from the accommodating unit.

2. The display unit installing structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the locking means includes:

at least one locking protrusion provided on one of the accommodating unit and the display unit; and

at least one locking groove provided on the other of the accommodating unit and display unit such that the locking protrusion is selectively inserted in the locking groove as the display unit is received in or withdrawn from the accommodating unit.

3. The display unit installing structure as claimed in claim 2, wherein the locking protrusion is shaped as a taper of which diameter is decreased from a base toward a tip end thereof, and the locking groove is shaped as a taper corresponding to the shape of the locking protrusion.

4. The display unit installing structure as claimed in claim 3, wherein the locking protrusion and groove are protruded from a bottom surface of the accommodating unit and depressed into a rear surface of the display unit, respectively, in accordance with a trajectory along which the display unit is received into or withdrawn from the accommodating unit by means of the link mechanism.

5. The display unit installing structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the locking means includes a magnet provided at one of the accommodating unit and the display unit to come into close contact with the other of the accommodating unit and the display unit, which are made of metal, due to a magnetic force when the display unit is received in the accommodating unit.

6. The display unit installing structure as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a guide means for guiding the display unit to be received in the accommodating unit.

7. The display unit installing structure as claimed in claim 6, wherein the guide means includes at least one pair of guide ribs which are provided on opposite side surfaces of the accommodating unit and brought into close contact with side surfaces of the display unit received in the accommodating unit to support the display unit thereon.

8. The display unit installing structure as claimed in claim 7, wherein the guide rib is formed by protruding a portion of the side surface of the accommodating unit in an opposite direction, and a guide surface inclined to be flared outwardly is provided at an outer end of the guide rib to guide the accommodation and withdrawal of the display unit.

9. The display unit installing structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the link mechanism includes at least one link member of which both ends are pivotally connected to a bottom surface of the accommodating unit and a rear surface of the display unit, respectively.

10. The display unit installing structure as claimed in claim 9, wherein the link member is composed of first and second link members arranged in parallel with each other in a vertical or horizontal direction.

11. The display unit installing structure as claimed in claim 10, wherein each of the first and second link members is a multi-point linkage.

12. The display unit installing structure as claimed in claim 11, wherein both ends of the link member are pivotally connected to a front surface of a bracket detachably installed at the bottom surface of the accommodating unit and a rear surface of a mounting plate fixed to the rear surface of the display unit, respectively.

13. The display unit installing structure as claimed in claim 12, wherein at least one pair of fastening slots are formed on the bottom surface of the accommodating unit to be parallel with and spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance, and fastening and locking pieces are formed on the rear surface of the bracket to be inserted in the fastening slots, respectively.

14. The display unit installing structure as claimed in claim 13, wherein the fastening piece is formed such that it extends perpendicular to the rear surface of the bracket corresponding to one pair of the fastening slots and a tip portion thereof is then bent to be inclined upward at a predetermined angle, and the locking piece is formed such that it extends perpendicular to the rear surface of the bracket corresponding to the other pair of the fastening slots.

15. The display unit installing structure as claimed in claim 14, wherein at least one positioning protrusion is provided on one of the bottom surface of the accommodating unit or the rear surface of the bracket, and at least one positioning hole is formed in the other of the bottom surface of the accommodating unit or the rear surface of the bracket such that the positioning protrusion can be fitted into the positioning hole only when the bracket is correctly positioned while the bracket is installed on the bottom surface of the accommodating unit.

16. The display unit installing structure as claimed in claim 10, further comprising a coil spring of which both ends are fixed to the bottom surface of the accommodating unit and the rear surface of the display unit, respectively, and which is maximally stretched at a middle point between a state where the display unit is received and a state where the display unit is fully withdrawn.

17. The display unit installing structure as claimed in claim 10, further comprising a coil spring of which both ends are fixed to one end of the first link member corresponding to one of the bottom surface of the accommodating unit and the rear surface of the display unit and to one end of the second link member corresponding to the other of the bottom surface of the accommodating unit and the rear surface of the display unit, respectively, and which is maximally stretched at a middle point between a state where the display unit is received and a state where the display unit is fully withdrawn.

18. The display unit installing structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the accommodating unit is defined by a recess member provided on the front surface of the door.

19. The display unit installing structure as claimed in claim 18, further comprising a connector capable of tiltably connecting the display unit with respect to the link mechanism.

20. The display unit installing structure as claimed in claim 19, wherein a handle gripped when a user withdraws the display unit from the accommodating unit is provided on a bottom surface of the display unit.

21. A display unit installing structure for a refrigerator, comprising:

an accommodating unit which is formed by depressing a portion on a front surface of a door and in which a display unit for displaying a variety of information thereon and inputting operating signals are retractably installed;

a link mechanism for guiding accommodation and withdrawal of the display unit and pivotally supporting the display unit withdrawn from the accommodating unit in a horizontal direction, the link mechanism including at least one pair of first link members of which one end is pivotally connected to the accommodating unit and at least one pair of second link members of which both ends are pivotally connected to a point on a top or bottom surface of the display unit and the other end of the first link member, respectively; and

a locking means provided on one side of the accommodating unit and one corresponding side of the display unit to prevent the display unit from being inadvertently escaping from the accommodating unit.

23. The display unit installing structure as claimed in claim 21, wherein a rear surface of the display unit is made of the same material as the front surface of the door.

24. The display unit installing structure as claimed in claim 21, wherein a white board capable of making a note or erasing the note is provided on a rear surface of the display unit.

25. The display unit installing structure as claimed in claim 21, wherein a memo board is provided on a rear surface of the display unit and comprises a base plate formed on the rear surface of the display unit to correspond to the surface shape of the display unit, a film with a rear surface thereof brought into close contact with a front surface of the base plate to allow a user to make a note thereon, and an eraser lever for erasing the note by separating the film from the base plate.

26. The display unit installing structure as claimed in claim 21, wherein the locking means comprises a stopper movably installed on one of side surfaces of the accommodating unit and display unit in a direction perpendicular to a direction in which the display unit is received in the accommodating unit, a stopping groove formed on the other of the side surfaces of the accommodating unit and display unit to allow the stopper to be selectively inserted therein, and an elastic member for imparting an elastic force to the stopper in a direction in which the stopper is inserted in the stopping groove.

27. The display unit installing structure as claimed in claim 26, wherein a tip end of the stopper is shaped as a spherical surface such that the stopper does not hinder the display unit from being received in the accommodating unit.

28. The display unit installing structure as claimed in claim 21, wherein the locking means comprises:

an operating lever installed to penetrate the front surface of the door such that a portion of the lever protrudes forward from the door to be movable in a vertical or horizontal direction;

a catching protrusion provided on one end of the operating lever such that at least a portion of the catching protrusion is positioned within the accommodating unit;

a catching groove formed at a side surface of the display unit such that the catching protrusion can be selectively inserted in the catching groove by moving the operating lever in a state where the display unit is received in the accommodating unit; and

an elastic member for imparting an elastic force to the catching protrusion in a direction in which the catching protrusion is inserted in the catching groove.

29. The display unit installing structure as claimed in claim 28, wherein an inclined guide surface is provided on a tip end of the catching protrusion such that the catching protrusion does not hinder the display unit from being received in the accommodating unit.

30. The display unit installing structure as claimed in claim 21, wherein a seating groove is formed on a top and/or bottom surface of the display unit by depressing a portion of a rear end on the top and/or bottom surface in an upward or downward direction, the seating groove is pivotally connected to an end of the link member, and the link mechanism is seated in the seating groove in a state where the display unit is received in the accommodating unit.

22. A display unit installing structure for a refrigerator, comprising:

an accommodating unit which is formed by depressing a portion on a front surface of a door and in which a display unit for displaying a variety of information thereon and inputting operating signals are retractably installed;

a link mechanism for guiding accommodation and withdrawal of the display unit and pivotally supporting the display unit withdrawn from the accommodating unit in a horizontal direction, the link mechanism including at least one pair of link members of which one end is pivotally connected to the accommodating unit while being movable in a horizontal direction and the other end is pivotally connected to a point on a top or bottom surface of the display unit; and

a locking means provided on one side of the accommodating unit and one corresponding side of the display unit to prevent the display unit from being inadvertently escaping from the accommodating unit.