U.S. patent application number 13/529431 was filed with the patent office on 2012-10-11 for refrigerator with auxiliary basket.
This patent application is currently assigned to Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Jae Myung HAN, Jae Hoon Lim.
Application Number | 20120255322 13/529431 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39705495 |
Filed Date | 2012-10-11 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120255322 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
HAN; Jae Myung ; et
al. |
October 11, 2012 |
REFRIGERATOR WITH AUXILIARY BASKET
Abstract
A refrigerator includes a main body partitioned by a horizontal
partition wall to have an upper cooling chamber and a lower
freezing chamber; a cool air generating device generating cool air
in the main body; a storage basket accommodated within the freezing
chamber and including a receiving groove to receive a product in a
standing state, the storage basket being moveable integrally with a
freezer door; an auxiliary basket disposed above the storage basket
and including an insertion groove to receive a top portion of the
pizza box product in the standing state; and a bracket having a
first side detachably coupled to the door and a second side
rotatably coupled to the auxiliary storage unit. The door has at
least first and second fixing members. The first side of the
bracket has at least one fixing groove adapted to receive the first
fixing member of the door.
Inventors: |
HAN; Jae Myung; (US)
; Lim; Jae Hoon; (Suwon-si, KR) |
Assignee: |
Samsung Electronics Co.,
Ltd.
Suwon-Si
KR
|
Family ID: |
39705495 |
Appl. No.: |
13/529431 |
Filed: |
June 21, 2012 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
11984214 |
Nov 14, 2007 |
8220886 |
|
|
13529431 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
62/441 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F25D 2331/804 20130101;
F25D 25/025 20130101; F25D 2331/809 20130101; F25D 23/021 20130101;
F25D 23/067 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
62/441 |
International
Class: |
F25D 11/02 20060101
F25D011/02 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Feb 21, 2007 |
KR |
10-2007-0017465 |
Jun 26, 2007 |
KR |
10-2007-0063159 |
Claims
1. A refrigerator, comprising: a main body partitioned by a
horizontal partition wall to have an upper cooling chamber and a
lower freezing chamber; a cool air generating device generating
cool air in the main body; a storage basket accommodated within a
portion of the freezing chamber and including a receiving groove to
receive a bottom portion of a pizza box product in a standing
state, the storage basket being moveable integrally with a freezer
door; an auxiliary basket disposed above the storage basket and
including an insertion groove to receive a top portion of the pizza
box product in the standing state; and a bracket having a first
side detachably coupled to the door and a second side rotatably
coupled to the auxiliary storage unit, wherein the door has at
least first and second fixing members, the first side of the
bracket has at least one fixing groove adapted to receive the first
fixing member of the door, the second fixing member extends
approximately perpendicular to the first fixing member, and the
auxiliary basket is coupled to a rear side of the freezer door and
integrally movable with the freezer door.
2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, further comprising an
opening/closing member coupled to the auxiliary basket
opening/closing the insertion groove such that when the
opening/closing member is in a closed state, a product-holding
surface is created.
3. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the bracket
includes a hook member, the first fixing member has an inclined
surface, the first fixing member being received into the first
groove at the inclined surface, and the hook member affixing to a
lower portion of the first fixing member and attaching the bracket
to the door.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.
No. 11/984,214, filed Nov. 14, 2007, which claims the benefit of
Korean Patent Application No. 2007-0017465, filed on Feb. 21, 2007
and No. 2007-0063159, filed on Jun. 26, 2007 in the Korean
Intellectual Property Office, the disclosures of which are
incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND
[0002] 1. Field
[0003] The present disclosure relates to a refrigerator, and more
particularly to a refrigerator capable of efficiently storing a
product, such as a pizza box, which has a large width and a small
thickness.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] A refrigerator includes a cooling chamber to store various
food products and beverages to cool them, a freezing chamber to
store frozen food products, such as meat, fish and ice cream to
freeze them, and a cool air generating device to supply cool air to
the cooling chamber and the freezing chamber. A shelf or a storage
basket is installed in the cooling chamber and the freezing chamber
to support various chilled or frozen food products put thereon. The
cool air generating device includes an evaporator to cool the
surrounding air and a fan to forcibly blow the cooled air. The cool
air generating device supplies cool air to the freezing chamber and
the cooling chamber to cool the freezing chamber and the cooling
chamber.
[0006] Generally, refrigerators for home use may be classified into
a general type refrigerator, a side-by-side type refrigerator, a
hybrid refrigerator, etc. according to the arrangement of the
cooling chamber and the freezing chamber, and a door installation
structure. One of the most commonly used general type refrigerator
includes a freezing chamber disposed at an upper portion and a
cooling chamber disposed under the freezing chamber. The general
type refrigerator further includes a freezing chamber door and a
cooling chamber door which are respectively arranged at upper and
lower sides of the refrigerator.
[0007] The side-by-side type refrigerator includes a freezing
chamber and a cooling chamber respectively disposed in left and
right compartments of the refrigerator. The side-by-side type
refrigerator further includes a freezing chamber door and a cooling
chamber door disposed on left and right sides of the refrigerator.
An ice maker to make ice may be disposed in the freezing chamber,
and a dispenser may be disposed in the freezing chamber door to
discharge the ice made in the ice maker such that the ice can be
easily taken outside the freezing chamber door. The side-by-side
type refrigerator is appropriate for a large-capacity refrigerator
including a large-capacity freezing chamber and a large-capacity
cooling chamber.
[0008] The hybrid refrigerator includes a freezing chamber disposed
at a lower portion and a cooling chamber disposed on the freezing
chamber. The freezing chamber is opened or closed by a drawer-type
door. The cooling chamber is opened or closed by a pair of cooling
chamber doors arranged on left and right sides of the refrigerator.
In the hybrid refrigerator, the ice maker is disposed in the
cooling chamber and the dispenser is disposed in the cooling
chamber door. Accordingly, the hybrid refrigerator has an advantage
in that water supplied into the ice maker is not frozen compared to
the side-by-side type refrigerator including the ice maker disposed
in the freezing chamber.
[0009] Korean Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2005-117536
discloses an example of the hybrid refrigerator. The hybrid
refrigerator disclosed in the Publication includes a cooling
chamber disposed at an upper portion of a refrigerator main body,
and a freezing chamber disposed under the cooling chamber. Further,
the cooling chamber is opened or closed by a pair of cooling
chamber doors, and the freezing chamber is opened or closed by a
drawer-type door.
[0010] However, the conventional refrigerator does not include a
separate space capable of storing a product, such as a pizza box,
having a large width and a small thickness in the freezing chamber.
Thus, conventionally, the product such as a pizza box is stored on
the bottom of the freezing chamber. In this case, however, if
another product is put on the product such as a pizza box, it
causes inconvenience when the product such as a pizza box is taken
out again. Further, if another product is stored to be separated
from the product such as a pizza box, a space above the product
such as a pizza box cannot be used, thereby causing a problem such
as a reduction in space efficiency.
[0011] As described above, if there is no space for a product with
a large width and a small thickness, it is inconvenient to store
such a product. Even though the product does not have a large
volume, it occupies a large space in the storage chamber.
SUMMARY
[0012] The present embodiment has been made in order to solve the
above problems. It is an aspect of the embodiment to provide a
refrigerator capable of efficiently and easily storing a product,
such as a pizza box, having a large width and a small
thickness.
[0013] Further, it is another aspect of the embodiment to provide a
refrigerator capable of efficiently using a space of a receiving
device to receive a product.
[0014] Additional aspects and/or advantages will be set forth in
part in the description which follows and, in part, will be
apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the
disclosure.
[0015] The foregoing and/or other aspects are achieved by providing
a refrigerator including: a refrigerator main body having a storage
space; a door installed at the refrigerator main body to open and
close the storage space; and a receiving device including a storage
basket which is accommodated in the storage space and has a storage
chamber to store a product, and an auxiliary basket which is
installed to be spaced from a bottom of the storage basket and has
an insertion groove defined therein to receive a thin product such
that the thin product is stored in the storage chamber in a
standing state.
[0016] An opening/closing member is installed at the auxiliary
basket to open and close the insertion groove.
[0017] The opening/closing member may be hinge-coupled to the
auxiliary basket.
[0018] The refrigerator according to the present disclosure further
includes a fixing part which fixes the opening/closing member in a
state in which the opening/closing member closes the insertion
groove. Further, the fixing part may include a fixing hole defined
within one of the auxiliary basket and the opening/closing member,
and a fixing protrusion disposed on the other one of the auxiliary
basket and the opening/closing member to be pressed and inserted
into the fixing hole.
[0019] The auxiliary basket may be detachably installed in the
storage basket.
[0020] The refrigerator may further include split brackets
detachably installed in the storage basket to support the auxiliary
basket. The auxiliary basket may be rotatably coupled to the split
brackets to be inclined at a specified angle.
[0021] At least one coupling member may be protrudingly formed on
one of the storage basket and the split brackets, and at least one
coupling groove may be formed on the other of the storage basket
and the split brackets to be coupled with the coupling member.
[0022] A receiving groove may be formed on the bottom of the
storage basket to receive a lower portion of the thin product which
stands in the storage basket.
[0023] The auxiliary basket has a storage space which stores a
product.
[0024] The receiving device may be installed at the door.
[0025] The auxiliary basket is detachably installed at the
door.
[0026] The foregoing and/or other aspects are achieved by providing
a refrigerator, including: a main body including at least one
storage chamber; a cool air generating device generating cool air
in the main body; a storage basket accommodated within a portion of
the storage chamber and including a receiving groove to receive a
bottom portion of a product; and an auxiliary basket disposed at an
upper portion of the storage basket and including an insertion
groove to receive a top portion of the product.
[0027] The auxiliary basket may be detachably coupled to the
storage basket. The refrigerator may include a split bracket
detachably coupled to the storage basket and the auxiliary basket.
The split bracket may include at least one groove and at least one
hook member, and the storage basket may include at least one fixing
member having an inclined surface, the fixing member being received
into the at least one groove at the inclined surface, the hook
member affixing to a lower portion of the fixing member and
attaching the split bracket to the storage basket.
[0028] The refrigerator may include a door coupled to the storage
basket, and the auxiliary basket may be detachably coupled to the
door. The refrigerator may include a split bracket detachably
coupled to the door and the auxiliary basket. The split bracket may
include at least one groove and at least one hook member, and the
storage basket may include at least one fixing member having an
inclined surface, the fixing member being received into the at
least one groove at the inclined surface, the hook member affixing
to a lower portion of the fixing member and attaching the split
bracket to the door.
[0029] The refrigerator may include an opening/closing member
coupled to the auxiliary basket opening/closing the insertion
groove such that when the opening/closing member is in a closed
state, a product-holding surface is created.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0030] These and/or other aspects and advantages of the embodiments
will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the
following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with
the accompanying drawings, of which:
[0031] FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a
refrigerator according to an embodiment;
[0032] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing
a receiving device of the refrigerator according to the
embodiment;
[0033] FIG. 3 is a perspective view schematically showing split
brackets of the receiving device shown in FIG. 2;
[0034] FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view showing a state in
which the split brackets shown in FIG. 3 are coupled to a door;
[0035] FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing
an auxiliary basket of the receiving device shown in FIG. 2;
[0036] FIGS. 6A and 6B are side cross-sectional views for
explaining a function of the auxiliary basket shown in FIG. 5;
[0037] FIGS. 7 and 8 are a perspective view and a side
cross-sectional view, respectively, in which a thin product is
received in the receiving device shown in FIG. 2; and
[0038] FIG. 9 is a perspective view schematically showing another
type of receiving device.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
[0039] Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments,
examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings,
wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.
The embodiments are described below to explain the present
disclosure by referring to the figures.
[0040] Hereinafter, a refrigerator according to embodiments will be
described in detail with reference to the accompanying
drawings.
[0041] As shown in FIG. 1, the refrigerator according to a first
embodiment includes a refrigerator main body 10 having storage
spaces, such as a cooling chamber (not shown) and a freezing
chamber 11 which store products, a pair of hinged doors 12 which
opens and closes the cooling chamber disposed at an upper portion
of the refrigerator main body 10, a drawer type door 13 which opens
and closes the freezing chamber 11 disposed at a lower portion of
the refrigerator main body 10, and a receiving device 20 installed
at the drawer type door 13. In addition, a cool air generator (not
shown) which generates cool air and various electric and electronic
devices (not shown) are installed in the refrigerator main body
10.
[0042] Since other configurations except the receiving device 20
are the same as the conventional configurations, the detailed
description thereof is omitted.
[0043] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the receiving device 20 is
coupled to the drawer type door 13 which is slidably installed at a
lower portion of the refrigerator main body 10 to be received in
the freezing chamber 11. The drawer type door 13 has a handle 14.
The receiving device 20 includes a storage basket 30 having a
storage chamber 31 and an auxiliary basket 40 disposed at an upper
portion of the storage basket 30.
[0044] A receiving groove 33 is formed on a bottom 32 of the
storage basket 30 to receive a lower portion of a product, such as
a pizza box B (see FIG. 7), which has a large width and a small
thickness. The receiving groove 33 is formed at a front portion of
the storage basket 30 close to the drawer type door 13.
[0045] The auxiliary basket 40 supports a product stood in the
storage basket 30 so as to stand and store a product, such as the
pizza box B, which has a large width and a small thickness in the
storage basket 30. The auxiliary basket 40 is installed on a pair
of split brackets 21 disposed at opposite inner sides of the drawer
type door 13 to be inclined at a specified angle (e.g., 30 degrees)
such that the auxiliary basket 40 is positioned at an upper portion
of the storage basket 30. Support shafts 48 are protrudingly formed
at opposite end portions on the left and right sides of the
auxiliary basket 40. An insertion hole 22 is formed on each of the
split brackets 21 such that each of the support shafts 48 is
rotatably inserted into the insertion hole 22.
[0046] The split brackets 21 are detachably coupled to opposite
side portions of the drawer type door 13. First coupling members
15, second coupling members 16 and fixing members 17 are
respectively protrudingly formed at the opposite sides of the
drawer type door 13, and first coupling grooves 23, second coupling
grooves 24 and fixing grooves 25 are respectively formed on the
split brackets 21 such that the split brackets 21 can be detachably
coupled to the drawer type door 13. The first coupling members 15
are inserted into the first coupling grooves 23. The second
coupling members 16 are inserted into the second coupling grooves
24. The fixing members 17 are inserted into the fixing grooves 25.
Further, an inclined surface 17a, which is inclined from top to
bottom, is provided on each of the fixing members 17. A hook member
26 is provided at a lower portion of each of the fixing grooves 25
to prevent the fixing members 17 from being separated from the
fixing grooves 25 when the fixing members 17 are inserted into the
fixing grooves 25.
[0047] The split brackets 21 are coupled to the drawer type door 13
from top to bottom and are separated from the drawer type door 13
from bottom to top. When the split brackets 21 are coupled to the
drawer type door 13 from top to bottom, the first coupling members
15 are slid into the first coupling grooves 23, the second coupling
members 16 are slid into the second coupling grooves 24, and the
surface of the fixing members 17 are slid into the fixing grooves
25. Further, when the surface of the fixing members 17 are inserted
into the fixing grooves 25, the hook member 26 becomes in close
contact with a lower end portion of the fixing member 17.
Accordingly, since the lower end portion of the fixing member 17 is
hooked by the hook member 26, the fixing member 17 cannot be easily
separated from each fixing groove 25. When a user pulls the split
brackets 21 upward, the fixing members 17 can be separated from the
fixing grooves 25.
[0048] As described above, since both the auxiliary basket 40 and a
pair of the split brackets, 21 can be separated from the drawer
type door 13, it is possible to enlarge a storage space of the
storage basket 30 by separating the auxiliary basket 40 from the
drawer type door 13 according to a user's circumstances.
[0049] In the coupling structure of the drawer type door 13 and the
split brackets 21 capable of being separated from the drawer type
door 13, the first and the second coupling members 15 and 16 and
the fixing members 17 may be disposed on the split brackets 21, and
the first and the second coupling grooves 23 and 24 and the fixing
grooves 25 may be disposed on the drawer type door 13.
[0050] As shown in FIG. 5, the auxiliary basket 40 includes a frame
41 having a rectangular storage space 40a therein, and an
opening/closing member 50 of a rectangular plate shape which is
installed in the storage space 40a and able to be rotated by a
specified angle (e.g., 90 degrees).
[0051] An upper bottom 42, which includes an insertion groove 43
that is defined by an opening in the upper bottom 42 having a
specified size, and a lower bottom 44 disposed under the upper
bottom 42 to have a height difference with respect to the upper
bottom 42 are provided in the frame 41. Through holes 42a are
formed on the upper bottom 42 to allow the flow of cool air. A pair
of shaft supporting members 47 is installed on the lower bottom 44.
The opening/closing member 50 is installed at the shaft supporting
members 47 to be able to be rotated by a specified angle (e.g., 90
degrees). A pair of hinge shafts 52 is disposed at one end portion
51 of the opening/closing member 50 supported by the shaft
supporting members 47, and the hinge shafts 52 are rotatably
coupled to the shaft supporting members 47. A handle portion 55 is
disposed at the other end portion 53 of the opening/closing member
50 to facilitate the user's operation of the opening/closing member
50.
[0052] As shown in FIG. 6A, a fixing part 49 is disposed on the
auxiliary basket 40 to fix the position of the opening/closing
member 50 in a state in which the opening/closing member 50 closes
the insertion groove 43. The fixing part 49 includes a pair of
fixing holes 45 disposed on the upper bottom 42 of the frame 41 and
a pair of fixing protrusions 54 disposed on the other end portion
53 of the opening/closing member 50 to be pressed and inserted into
the fixing holes 45, respectively. As the fixing protrusions 54 of
the opening/closing member 50 are pressed and inserted into the
fixing holes 45, the opening/closing member 50 is fixed to cover
the insertion groove 43. Since the upper bottom 42 of the frame 41
and the opening/closing member 50 form the bottom of the storage
space 40a, a small-sized product P can be stored in the storage
space 40a. Also, through holes 50a are formed on the
opening/closing member 50 to allow the flow of cool air.
[0053] Boss portions 46 are protrudingly formed at a lower portion
of the frame 41 to correspond to the fixing holes 45. The fixing
holes 45 are formed in the center of the boss portions 46 to
receive the fixing protrusions 54 of the opening/closing member 50.
Accordingly, the opening/closing member 50 can be stably fixed to
the frame 41.
[0054] Further, the boss portions 46 have a function of reinforcing
the upper bottom 42 of the frame 41. When the fixing protrusions 54
are inserted into or separated from the fixing holes 45, an impact
is applied to the upper bottom 42 of the frame 41. In this case,
since a portion around the fixing holes 45 is thicker than a
portion not surrounding the fixing holes 45 due to the presence of
the boss portions 46, the upper bottom 42 is not easily deformed or
damaged due to an impact.
[0055] In order to store a thin product, such as the pizza box B,
in the storage basket 30, as shown in FIG. 6B, the product P is
removed from the storage space 40a, and the other end portion 53 of
the opening/closing member 50 is pulled while holding the handle
portion 55 of the opening/closing member 50, thereby opening the
insertion groove 43.
[0056] Hereinafter, a function of the receiving device 20 of the
refrigerator according to the embodiment will be described in
detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0057] When the pizza box B having a large width and a small
thickness is stored in the storage basket 30, the opening/closing
member 50 is pulled while holding the handle portion 55 disposed on
the opening/closing member 50 of the auxiliary basket 40, thereby
opening the insertion groove 43 of the auxiliary basket 40. Then,
as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the opening/closing member 50 Of the
auxiliary basket 40 is completely rotated and, then the pizza box B
in a standing state is inserted into the insertion groove 43.
[0058] When the pizza box B is inserted into the insertion groove
43, the pizza box B can be easily inserted into the insertion
groove 43 by leaning the auxiliary basket 40 backward. The pizza
box B inserted into the insertion groove 43 of the auxiliary basket
40 has a lower portion which is received in the receiving groove 33
of the storage basket 30 and an upper portion which is supported by
the auxiliary basket 40. Accordingly, the pizza box B is stored in
the storage basket 30 in a standing state. Even though the storage
basket 30 moves with the drawer type door 13, the pizza box B does
not fall down.
[0059] As described above, since the pizza box B having a large
width and a small thickness can be stored in a standing state using
the auxiliary basket 40, it is possible to efficiently use a space
of the storage chamber 31 of the storage basket 30 compared to a
conventional refrigerator in which the pizza box B is stored in the
storage basket 30 while the box B is laid down.
[0060] Further, after the pizza box B is taken out, the
opening/closing member 50 of the auxiliary basket 40 is returned to
its original position and fixed to the upper bottom 42.
Accordingly, a small-sized product P (see FIG. 6A) can be stored in
the auxiliary basket 40.
[0061] Meanwhile, since the auxiliary basket 40 can be separated
from the drawer type door 13, it is possible to extensively use the
storage chamber 31 of the storage basket 30 by separating the
auxiliary basket 40 from the drawer type door 13.
[0062] Meanwhile, FIG. 9 shows an example in which an auxiliary
basket 40' is detachably installed in the storage basket 30. In
this case, a pair of split brackets 21' is detachably coupled to
the storage basket 30 instead of being detachably coupled to the
drawer door 13 itself. The coupling grooves 24 (see FIG. 4) and the
fixing grooves 25 (see FIG. 4) may be disposed on the split
brackets 21', and the coupling members 16 and the fixing members 17
which are respectively inserted into the'coupling grooves 24 (see
FIG. 4) and the fixing grooves 25 (see FIG. 4) may be disposed at
the opposite sides of the storage basket 30 such that the split
brackets 21' are detachably coupled to the storage basket 30 in the
same manner as in the above embodiment. The coupling structure
capable of detachably coupling the split brackets 21' to the
storage basket 30 may be formed using various well-known
methods.
[0063] Meanwhile, although the receiving device 20 according to the
present embodiments is accommodated in the freezing chamber 11, the
receiving device 20 according to the present embodiments may be
installed in the cooling chamber.
[0064] As described above, according to the present embodiments, a
product having a large width and a small thickness can be stored in
a standing state, thereby conveniently storing a product such as a
pizza box.
[0065] Further, according to the present embodiments, it is
possible to efficiently use a space of the receiving device for
receiving a product.
[0066] Although embodiments have been shown and described, it would
be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made
in these embodiments without departing from the principles and
spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the
claims and their equivalents.
* * * * *