Refrigerator And Drawer Assembly Thereof

Abstract

A refrigerator includes a refrigerator main body; and a drawer guide assembly configured to guide movement of a drawer relative to the refrigerator main body. The drawer guide assembly include a first rail coupled to a side engagement portion of the drawer and operable to transfer a load of the drawer in a downward direction, and a second rail coupled to a sidewall of the refrigerator main body and configured to guide movement of the first rail. The second rail is configured to reduce impact between the drawer and the refrigerator main body responsive to drawer movement relative to the refrigerator main body.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application is based on and claims priority from Korean Patent Application No. 10-2016-0045085, filed on Apr. 12, 2016, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference for all purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates to refrigerators, and more particularly, to storage drawer assemblies in refrigerators.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] Generally speaking, a refrigerator is an appliance that can store objects at a low temperature, e.g., in a frozen state or a refrigerated state.

[0004] The storage space in the refrigerator is cooled by circulation of cold air which can be continuously generated through heat exchange in a refrigeration cycle between air and refrigerant. For example, the refrigeration cycle includes compression, condensation, expansion and evaporation.

[0005] A main body of the refrigerator may have a rectangular parallel-piped shape with an open front surface. Typically, the main body encloses a refrigeration compartment or compartment and a freezer compartment, each with its own door. The refrigerator may include a plurality of drawers, shelves, vegetable compartments and the like for sorting and storing different types of items.

[0006] In a conventional refrigerator, storage drawers can be drawn out and pushed back through sliding rail mechanisms. Sometimes a user needs perform maintenance on a drawer, e.g., for cleaning or repair. Unfortunately, it is usually difficult to separate a drawer from such a sliding rail mechanism, thus making drawer maintenance difficult to perform.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a drawer guide assembly for a refrigerator that allows easy installation and removal of a storage drawer in the refrigerator.

[0008] In accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure, a refrigerator includes a refrigerator main body and a drawer guide assembly configured to guide movement of a drawer relative to the refrigerator main body. The drawer guide assembly includes: a first rail coupled to a side engagement portion of the drawer and operable to transfer a load of the drawer in a downward direction; and a second rail coupled to a sidewall of the refrigerator main body and configured to guide movement of the first rail, where the second rail is configured to reduce impact between the drawer and the refrigerator main body responsive to drawer movement relative to the refrigerator main body.

[0009] The first rail may include a first end fitted to a first end portion of the drawer and a second end fixed to a second end portion of the drawer.

[0010] The drawer may include an engaging hole at an end surface, and wherein the engaging hole is configured to receive the first end of the first rail.

[0011] The first rail may include an engaging member fitted to the first end portion of the drawer. The engaging member may include a supporting hook projecting in an upward direction from the first end of the first rail, and an engaging hook extending in a horizontal direction from the supporting hook and fixed to the first end portion of the drawer.

[0012] The refrigerator main body may include a freezer compartment and a refrigeration compartment, and the drawer guide assembly may be disposed inside the freezer compartment.

[0013] The second rail may include a guide rail. The guide rail may include a first end portion configured to support the first rail, a second end portion fixed to a sidewall of the refrigerator main body via a supporter, and a supporting bracket fixed to the supporter and operable to support a lower portion of the guide rail.

[0014] The second rail may include a damping unit disposed at both end portions of the guide rail. The damping unit may be configured to reduce impact due to the movement of the drawer.

[0015] The second rail may further include a push-open unit disposed at an end portion of the guide rail and configured to release the drawer from a locked position when the drawer is subject to a push-in force.

[0016] Embodiments of the present disclosure advantageously allow a drawer to be coupled to the rail in a vertical manner. The rail can be assembled with and disassembled from the drawer without requiring special tools, and the drawers can be easily drawn out and pushed back.

[0017] Further, embodiments of the present disclosure enable the load of the drawer to be supported in a vertical direction. In this fashion, the load of the drawer can be stably and uniformly distributed when the drawer moves in and out from the refrigerator.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] FIG. 1 illustrates a side cross section of an exemplary refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0019] FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of an exemplary drawer guide assembly of the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0020] FIG. 3 illustrates the drawer guide assembly viewed from the A-A line of FIG. 2.

[0021] FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of the exemplary drawer guide assembly in a state that a supporter is removed.

[0022] FIG. 5 illustrates a partial cutout view of an exemplary drawer of the refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] Hereinafter, configurations and operations of embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following description is one of various patentable aspects of the disclosure and may form a part of the detailed description of the disclosure. However, in describing the disclosure, detailed descriptions of known configurations or functions may be omitted to not obscure the disclosure.

[0024] The disclosure may be variously modified and may include various embodiments. Specific embodiments will be exemplarily illustrated in the drawings and described in the detailed description of the embodiments. However, it should be understood that they are not intended to limit the disclosure to specific embodiments but rather to cover all modifications, similarities, and alternatives which are included in the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

[0025] The terms used herein, including ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" may be used to describe, and not to limit, various components. The terms simply distinguish the components from one another. When it is said that a component is "coupled" or "linked" to another component, it should be understood that the former component may be directly coupled or linked to the latter component or a third component may be interposed between the two components. Specific terms used in the present application are used simply to describe specific embodiments without limiting the disclosure. An expression used in the singular encompasses the expression of the plural, unless it has a clearly different meaning in the context.

[0026] FIG. 1 illustrates a side cross section of an exemplary refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of an exemplary drawer guide assembly of the refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 3 illustrates the drawer guide assembly viewed from A-A line of FIG. 2. FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of the exemplary drawer guide assembly in a state that a supporter is removed according to the embodiment. FIG. 5 illustrates a partial cutout view of an exemplary drawer of the refrigerator according to the embodiment.

[0027] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the exemplary refrigerator includes a rail and a drawer 50 can be coupled to, and decoupled from, the rail in a vertical manner and in a convenient fashion. The drawer 50 has a damping function and a push-open function.

[0028] In this example, the refrigerator is a bottom freezer type refrigerator in which a freezer compartment 11 is located at a lower part of the refrigerator. However, it will be appreciated that the present disclosure is not limited thereto and may be applied to various types of refrigerators.

[0029] The refrigerator may include a refrigerator main body 10 forming the exterior of the refrigerator, doors, a cold air generating unit 30 for generating cold air, and a drawer guide assembly 100 for supporting and guiding movement of the drawer 60 in and out from the refrigerator main body 10.

[0030] More specifically, the refrigerator main body 10 includes the freezer compartment 11 and the refrigeration compartment 12 which are separated by a barrier wall. For example, the freezer compartment 11 that includes the drawer guide assembly 100 may be located at a lower portion of the refrigerator main body 10, and the refrigeration compartment 12 may be located at an upper portion of the refrigerator main body 10. The freezer compartment 11 and the refrigeration compartment 12 are covered by the doors.

[0031] The doors may include a refrigeration compartment door and a freezer compartment door. When the freezer compartment 11 is closed, its door seals a periphery of a lower front surface of the refrigerator main body 10. When the refrigeration compartment is closed, its door seals a periphery of an upper front surface of the refrigerator main body 10.

[0032] The cold air generation unit 30 can generate cold air for cooling the freezer compartment 11 and the refrigeration compartment 12. For example, the cold air generation unit 30 may include a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve, and an evaporator coil. Air becomes cold through heat exchange with a refrigerant which goes through the refrigeration cycle of compression, condensation, expansion and evaporation. The refrigerant circulates through the compressor, the condenser, the expansion valve and the evaporator coil. Accordingly, the refrigerator interior can be cooled by the cold air supplied from the cold air generation unit 30.

[0033] The drawer guide assembly 100 may include a pair of first rails 110 assembled to side engagement portions 51 of the drawer 50 and a pair of second rails 120 installed at sidewalls of the refrigerator main body 10. The second rails 120 can guide the movement of the first rails 110. The side engagement portions 51 of the drawer 50 are grooves recessed at lower portions of both sides of the drawer 50. Therefore, the load of the drawer 50 (including the items stored therein) can be transferred to the second rails 120 through the first rails 110.

[0034] The first rail 110 of the drawer guide assembly 100 has a movable rail structure extending along the front-back direction of the refrigerator. The first rail 110 may have a "f"-shaped vertical cross section and can be supported by a second rail 120. The first rail 110 can guide the drawer 60 in and out while sliding along the second rail 120.

[0035] The first rail 110 can be easily coupled to and decoupled from the drawer 50. For example, to couple the first rail 110 to the drawer 50, a front end of the first rail 110 can be fixed to a front end portion of the drawer 50 by using a screw while a rear end of the first rail 110 is fitted to a rear end portion of the drawer 50. To decouple the first rail 110 from the drawer 50, the front end of the first rail 110 can be separated from the front end portion of the drawer 50 by unscrewing the screw. The rear end of the first rail 110 can then be separated from the rear end portion of the drawer 50.

[0036] An engaging member 111 may be disposed at the rear end of the first rail 11 and can be engaged with the rear end portion (e.g., an engaging hole 52) of the drawer 50. The engaging member 111 may include a supporting hook 111a projecting in an upward direction from one end of the first rail 110 and an engaging hook 111b extending in a horizontal direction from the supporting hook 111a. The engaging hook 111b can be coupled to (e.g., fixed to) one end portion of the drawer 50.

[0037] Thus, to couple the drawer 50 with the first rail 110, the front end of the first rail 110 is fixed to a screw hole 53 of the drawer 50 by the screw while the engaging hook 111b of the engaging member 111 is fitted to the engaging hole 52 of the drawer 50. This process is advantageously easy to employ and convenient compared with the conventional art. By performing the reverse process, the first rail 110 can be quickly and conveniently separated from the drawer 50.

[0038] The second rail 120 has a supporting rail structure extending in the front-back direction of the refrigerator. The second rail 120 can be fixed to the sidewall of the refrigerator main body 10 via a supporter 130. To allow the first rail 110 to be supported by one side of a guide rail 122 of the second rail 120, the other side of the guide rail 122 is fixed to the upper portion of the supporter by a plurality of screws.

[0039] The second rail 120 is configured to damp the impact between the drawer 50 and the refrigerator main body 10 when the drawer 50 is pushed in or drawn out by a user. For example, the second rail 120 may also provide a push-open function that allows the drawer 50 to slide out when the drawer 50 is pushed by a user.

[0040] The second rail 120 may include: a guide rail 122 having a ".orgate."-shaped vertical cross section and fixed to an upper portion of the supporter 130; a supporting bracket 123 for supporting the lower portion of the guide rail 122 while being fixed to a lower portion of the supporter 130 by screws; a damping unit 125 provided at both end portions of the guide rail 122 to reduce impact generated when the drawer moves relative to the refrigerator (damping function); and a push-open unit 124 disposed at a front end portion of the guide rail 122.

[0041] The damping unit 125 may include a buffer member such as a buffer spring or the like. The damping unit 125 can reduce the impact between the drawer 50 and the refrigerator main body 10, e.g., especially when the drawer 50 is completely pushed inside the refrigerator main body 10 or fully pulled out from the refrigerator main body 10. Such a damping unit 125 can be implemented in any suitable configuration that is well known in the art. The detailed description thereof is omitted herein for brevity.

[0042] The push-open unit 124 may be installed at the rear end portion of the guide rail 122. When the drawer 50 is fully pushed inside the refrigerator main body 10, the position of the drawer 50 can be locked. However, when the drawer 50 is pushed by a user, the drawer 50 is released from the locked state so that the drawer 50 can be drawn out or slide out automatically. The push-open unit 124 that can provide a push-open function may be implemented in any suitable configuration that is well known in the art. The detailed description thereof is omitted herein for brevity. For example, the push-open unit 124 utilizes spring tension.

[0043] Therefore, according to embodiments of the present disclosure, a sliding rail is coupled to a drawer in a vertical manner. This provides the advantages that the drawer can be assembled with, or separated from, the rail by a user without requiring special tools. The configuration also allows the drawer to be pulled out and pushed back with little effect from a user. Further, since the load of the drawer is supported in the vertical direction, the load of the drawer can be stably and uniformly distributed even when the drawer moves along the rail.

[0044] From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that various embodiments of the present disclosure have been described herein for purposes of illustration, and that various modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. The exemplary embodiments disclosed in the specification of the present disclosure do not limit the present disclosure. The scope of the present disclosure will be interpreted by the claims below, and it will be construed that all techniques within the scope equivalent thereto belong to the scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A refrigerator comprising: a refrigerator main body; and a drawer guide assembly configured to guide movement of a drawer relative to the refrigerator main body, wherein the drawer guide assembly comprises: a first rail coupled to a side engagement portion of the drawer and operable to transfer a load of the drawer in a downward direction; and a second rail coupled to a sidewall of the refrigerator main body and configured to guide movement of the first rail, where the second rail is configured to reduce impact between the drawer and the refrigerator main body responsive to drawer movement relative to the refrigerator main body.

2. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the first rail comprises a first end fitted to a first end portion of the drawer and a second end fixed to a second end portion of the drawer.

3. The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein the drawer comprises an engaging hole at an end surface, and wherein the engaging hole is configured to receive the first end of the first rail.

4. The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein the first rail comprises an engaging member fitted to the first end portion of the drawer, wherein the engaging member comprises: a supporting hook projecting in an upward direction from the first end of the first rail; and an engaging hook extending in a horizontal direction from the supporting hook and fixed to the first end portion of the drawer.

5. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the refrigerator main body comprises a freezer compartment and a refrigeration compartment, and wherein the drawer guide assembly is disposed inside the freezer compartment.

6. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the second rail comprises a guide rail, the guide rail comprising: a first end portion configured to support the first rail; and a second end portion fixed to a sidewall of the refrigerator main body via a supporter; and a supporting bracket fixed to the supporter and operable to support a lower portion of the guide rail.

7. The refrigerator of claim 6, wherein the second rail comprises: a damping unit disposed at both end portions of the guide rail, wherein the damping unit is configured to reduce impact due to the movement of the drawer.

8. The refrigerator of claim 6, wherein the second rail further comprises: a push-open unit disposed at an end portion of the guide rail and configured to release the drawer from a locked position when the drawer is subject to a push-in force.

9. A refrigerator comprising: a refrigerator main body; a drawer configured to contain items therein; and a drawer guide assembly configured to guide movement of the drawer relative to the refrigerator main body, wherein the drawer guide assembly comprises: a first rail assembled to a side engagement portion of the drawer and operable to transfer a load of the drawer in a downward direction, wherein the first rail comprises: a first end coupled to a first end portion of the drawer; and a second end coupled to a second end portion of the drawer; and a second rail disposed at a sidewall of the refrigerator main body and configured to guide movement of the first rail, wherein the second rail is configured to release the drawer from a locked position when the drawer is subject to a push-in force.

10. A drawer guide assembly for a refrigerator having a main body, the drawer guide assembly comprising: a first rail configured to be coupled to a side engagement portion of a drawer and operable to transfer a load of the drawer in a downward direction, wherein the first rail comprises: a first end configured to be coupled to a first end portion of the drawer; and a second end configured to be coupled to a second end portion of the drawer; and a second rail configured to be disposed at a sidewall of the main body of the refrigerator and configured to guide movement of the first rail, wherein the second rail is configured to enable the drawer to move outward from the refrigerator main body when the drawer is subject to a push-in force.

11. The drawer guide assembly of claim 10, wherein the first rail comprises an engaging member coupled to one end portion of the drawer, and wherein the engaging member comprises: a supporting hook projecting upward from the first end of the first rail; and an engaging hook extending in a horizontal direction from the supporting hook and coupled to the first end portion of the drawer.

12. The drawer guide assembly of claim 10, wherein the second rail comprises a guide rail, the guide rail comprising: a first end portion configured to support the first rail; and a second end portion operable to be fixed to a sidewall of the refrigerator main body via a supporter; and a supporting bracket fixed to the supporter to support a lower portion of the guide rail.

13. The drawer guide assembly of claim 12, wherein the second rail comprises a damping unit disposed at both end portions of the guide rail, wherein the damping unit is configured to reduce impact between the drawer and the refrigerator main body responsive to the drawer being drawn out or pushed in.

14. The drawer guide assembly of claim 12, wherein the second rail comprises a push-open unit disposed at an end portion of the guide rail and configured to lock a position of the drawer when the drawer is inside the refrigerator main body.

15. The drawer guide assembly of claim 14, wherein the push-open unit is configured to release the drawer from a locked position when the drawer is subject to a push-in force.