REFRIGERATOR

• US 20110146331A1
• Filed: 12/21/2010
• Published: 06/23/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: MOON, Gi Yong, CHOI, Dae Jin
• Application Number:
  US12/973,994
• Publication Number:
  US 20110146331A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 62/407
• CPC Class Codes: F25C 1/04 by using stationary moulds
• CPC Class Codes: F25C 2400/10 Refrigerator units
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 21/04 Preventing the formation of frost or condensate
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 23/087 Sealing strips
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 2317/061 through special compartments
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 2317/062 along the inside of doors
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 2317/0664 from the side
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 2317/0666 from the freezer
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 2317/067 characterised by air ducts

Abstract

A refrigerator is provided. The refrigerator includes a cabinet, a refrigerator compartment door, a freezer compartment door, an ice compartment, a dispenser, a cabinet duct disposed in an inner wall of the refrigerator compartment. The cabinet duct allows cool air for making ice to flow therein, and has a cabinet duct opening that opens toward an inside of the refrigerator compartment and that is disposed longitudinally in a vertical direction. The refrigerator also includes an ice compartment duct having an ice compartment duct opening that is configured to communicate with the cabinet duct when the refrigerator compartment door is oriented in a closed position and that is defined longitudinally in a vertical direction. The ice compartment duct is disposed in a sidewall of the ice compartment.

Claims

1. A refrigerator comprising:

a cabinet comprising a refrigerator compartment and a freezer compartment;

a refrigerator compartment door configured to open and close at least a portion of the refrigerator compartment;

a freezer compartment door configured to open and close at least a portion of the freezer compartment;

an ice compartment in which an insulation space is defined in the refrigerator compartment door, the ice compartment comprising an ice maker configured to make ice;

a dispenser through which ice made within the ice compartment is dispensed, the dispenser being disposed in the refrigerator compartment door;

a cabinet duct disposed in an inner wall of the refrigerator compartment and configured to guide cool air, the cabinet duct having a cabinet duct opening that opens toward an inside of the refrigerator compartment and that is disposed longitudinally in a vertical direction; and

an ice compartment duct having an ice compartment duct opening that is configured to communicate with the cabinet duct when the refrigerator compartment door is oriented in a closed position and that is defined longitudinally in a vertical direction, the ice compartment duct being disposed in a sidewall of the ice compartment.

2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, further comprising a gasket that is disposed on a circumference of the ice compartment duct opening and that is configured to reduce leakage of cool air between the cabinet duct and the ice compartment duct.

3. The refrigerator according to claim 1, further comprising a duct cover disposed on the cabinet duct opening and providing a passage through which cool air flows in and out of the cabinet duct.

4. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the cabinet duct comprises:

a cabinet supply duct configured to guide, to the ice compartment, cool air from within a heat-exchange chamber comprising an evaporator; and

a cabinet recovery duct configured to guide, to the freezer compartment, cool air discharged from the ice compartment.

5. The refrigerator according to claim 4, further comprising a cool air inlet disposed at a lower end of the cabinet supply duct and oriented longitudinally in a vertical direction, and

a cool air outlet disposed at a lower end of the cabinet recovery duct and oriented longitudinally in a horizontal direction.

6. The refrigerator according to claim 5, wherein the cool air inlet communicates with the heat-exchange chamber comprising the evaporator, and

the cool air outlet communicates with the freezer compartment.

7. The refrigerator according to claim 4, wherein the cabinet duct comprises a barrier that is disposed along a center of an inside of the cabinet duct and that partitions the cabinet duct into the cabinet supply duct and the cabinet recovery duct.

8. The refrigerator according to claim 4, wherein the cabinet supply duct and the cabinet recovery duct comprise cabinet duct guide parts that are inclined or rounded to guide movement of cool air at ends of the cabinet supply duct and the cabinet recovery duct.

9. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the ice compartment duct has an ice compartment inner opening exposed toward an inside of the ice compartment and having a vertical length less than that of the ice compartment duct opening.

10. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the ice compartment duct has a horizontal width gradually increasing from the ice compartment duct opening of an outside of the ice compartment to an ice compartment inner opening exposed toward an inside of the ice compartment.

11. The refrigerator according to claim 10, wherein the ice compartment duct opening and the ice compartment inner opening have the same area as each other.

12. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the ice compartment duct comprises an ice compartment duct guide part that is inclined or rounded to guide a direction of cool air guided by the ice compartment duct.

13. The refrigerator according to claim 1, further comprising heaters disposed around an inlet and outlet of the cabinet duct,

wherein the heaters are disposed in a region except a front end of the cabinet duct opening.

14. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the cabinet duct opening has a vertical length greater than that of the ice maker.

15. The refrigerator according to claim 3, further comprising a plurality of grills horizontally disposed in an opened cover hole of the duct cover.

16. The refrigerator according to claim 15, wherein a gasket contacts an outer circumference of the opened cover hole of the duct cover.

17. The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein the gasket further comprises a plurality of reinforcement ribs disposed in a horizontal direction to allow gasket holes of a central portion of the gasket to maintain intervals therebetween.

18. The refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein the duct cover comprises a cover coupling part passing through an inner case defining an inner sidewall of the refrigerator compartment and restricted within the ice compartment duct opening.

19. The refrigerator according to claim 2, further comprising a fixing member that is disposed on a sidewall of the ice compartment, that sequentially passes through the gasket and door liners defining the ice compartment, and that is fixed to the ice compartment duct.

20. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein, in the refrigerator compartment door, a portion at which the ice compartment is defined has a thickness less than that of a portion disposed below the ice compartment.