Refrigerator having locking device for ice bucket and method for installing locking device for ice bucket

Abstract

There is provided a refrigerator having a locking device for an ice bucket and a method for installing a locking device for an ice bucket. A refrigerator having a locking device for an ice bucket, comprising: a main body; a storage space within the main body; an ice space configured to be disposed inside the main body, and partitioned from the storage space, and having a front opening; an ice bucket comprising an ice storage part which stores ice generated within the ice space; and a cover member which is disposed in front of the ice storage part to cover a front of the ice space and configured to be slidably installed in the ice space; and a locking device configured to lock the ice bucket within the ice space to prevent the ice bucket from being drawn out of the ice space by itself.

Claims

1. A refrigerator, comprising: a main body; a storage space within the main body; an ice space disposed inside the main body, and partitioned from the storage space, and having a front opening; an ice bucket comprising: an ice storage part configured to store ice generated within the ice space; and a cover member which is disposed in front of the ice storage part to cover a front of the ice space and configured to be slidably installed in the ice space; and a locking device configured to lock the ice bucket within the ice space to prevent the ice bucket from being drawn out of the ice space by itself, wherein the locking device comprises: a projection configured to protrude from an inner side of the ice space toward the ice bucket; a receiving part depression in at least any one of an upper portion and a lower portion of the ice bucket; an elastic module part comprising a frame which is installed in the receiving part depression and an elastic piece which has a fixed end fixed to the frame and a free end opposite the fixed end, wherein the elastic piece is configured to provide an elastic force; a locking flap coupled to the elastic module part, and configured to receive the elastic force from the elastic piece, and comprising a projecting part which is locked to the projection by the elastic force; and a cover part configured to cover a portion of the locking flap and comprising an opening through which the projecting part extends; wherein the elastic piece includes: a wave part extending from the fixed end and having a substantially wave shape, in which a protrusion and a depression are alternately provided at a predetermined length from the fixed end, to increase the elastic force, and a plane part flatly extending from the wave part to the free end and configured to push a portion of the projecting part of the locking flap toward the projection.

2. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein a side of the receiving part comprises a coupling groove configured for separably coupling the elastic module part and wherein the frame comprises a hook part configured to be inserted into the coupling groove.

3. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the projecting part is coupled with a hinge part allowing the locking flap to rotate under the elastic force.

4. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the cover part is separably coupled with the elastic module part.

5. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the locking device is disposed at one of the upper portion and the lower portion of the ice bucket and wherein an opposing side of the ice bucket comprises a first locking hook extending from the ice space and a second locking hook extending from the ice bucket and configured to be locked to the first locking hook.

6. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the locking device includes: a first locking device disposed in the upper portion of the ice bucket; and a second locking device disposed at the lower portion of the ice bucket.

7. A method for installing a locking device for an ice bucket, the method comprising: forming a receiving part depression in at least any one of an upper portion and a lower portion of the ice bucket disposed in the refrigerator; molding an elastic module part comprising a frame and an elastic piece having a fixed end fixed to the frame and a free end opposite the fixed end; molding a locking flap comprising a projecting part projecting from one side of the locking flap; molding a cover part which covers a portion of the locking flap and comprises an opening through which the projecting part extends; coupling the cover part with the elastic module part by disposing the locking flap between the cover part and the elastic module part, wherein a free end side of the elastic piece contacts a surface of the projecting part and the projecting part is inserted into the opening; installing the elastic module part, wherein the cover part and the locking flap are coupled, into the receiving part depression; and installing a projection protruding from an inner side of an ice space of the refrigerator toward the ice bucket to lock the projecting part thereto; wherein the elastic piece is molded to have i) a wave part extending from the fixed end and bent in a wave shape, in which a protrusion and a depression are alternately provided at a predetermined length from the fixed end, to increase the elastic force, and ii) a plane part flatly extending from the wave part to the free end and configured to push a portion of the projecting part of the locking flap toward the projection.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the locking flap is molded to rotate due to the elastic force, wherein an end opposite the projecting part is integrally formed with a hinge part.

9. An apparatus, comprising: an ice bucket comprising an ice storage portion configured to store ice and configured to be slidably installed in a refrigerator; and a locking device configured to lock the ice bucket, wherein the locking device includes: a projection configured to protrude from an inner side of the refrigerator toward the ice bucket; a receiving portion in at least any one of an upper portion and a lower portion of the ice bucket; an elastic module portion comprising a frame which is installed in the receiving portion and an elastic piece that has a fixed end fixed to the ice bucket and a free end opposite to the fixed end, wherein the elastic piece is configured to provide an elastic force; a locking flap coupled to the elastic module portion, and configured to be applied with the elastic force from the elastic piece, and comprising a projecting part which is locked to the projection by the elastic force; and a cover part comprising an opening through which the projecting part extends; wherein the elastic piece includes: a wave part extending from the fixed end and having a substantially wave shape, in which a protrusion and a depression are alternately provided in a predetermined length from the fixed end, to increase the elastic force, and a plane part flatly extending from the wave part to the free end and configured to push a portion of the projecting part of the locking flap toward the projection.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein a side of the receiving portion comprises a coupling groove configured for separably coupling the elastic module portion and wherein the frame comprises a hook part configured to be inserted into the coupling groove.

11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the projecting part is coupled with a hinge allowing the locking flap to rotate in response to the elastic force.

12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the cover part is separably coupled with the elastic module portion.

13. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the locking device is disposed at one of the upper portion and the lower portion of the ice bucket and wherein an opposing side of the ice bucket comprises: a first locking hook extending from the refrigerator; and a second locking hook extending from the ice bucket configured to be locked to the first locking hook.

14. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the locking device includes: a first locking device disposed in the upper portion of the ice bucket; and a second locking device is disposed at the lower portion of the ice bucket.

15. The apparatus of claim 9, further comprising another locking device.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of embodiments given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 is a front view of an exemplary refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention;

(3) FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view of the refrigerator of FIG. 1;

(4) FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating an ice bucket that is drawn out from an ice space of the refrigerator illustrated in FIG. 1;

(5) FIG. 4 is an exploded view illustrating an exemplary locking device for an ice bucket according to an embodiment of the present invention;

(6) FIG. 5 is a side cross-sectional view illustrating a locking state of the locking device for the ice bucket according to an embodiment of the present invention;

(7) FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary locking device of the ice bucket, according to an embodiment of the present invention, installed at one of an upper portion and a lower portion of the ice bucket; and

(8) FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a locking device of the ice bucket, according to an embodiment of the present invention, installed at both the upper portion and the lower portion of the ice bucket.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

(9) Hereinafter, constructions and actions according to embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following description is one of aspects of the present invention which may be claimed as a patent and may form a portion of the detailed technologies of the present invention.

(10) However, in describing the embodiments of the present invention, a detailed description of well-known constructions or functions will be omitted to make the present invention clear.

(11) The present invention may be variously changed and include various embodiments, so that specific embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and will be described in detail below. However, it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments, but includes all modifications, equivalents, and substitutions included in the spirit and the scope of the present invention.

(12) Terms including an ordinal number such as first, second, etc., can be used to describe various components, but the components are not to be construed as being limited to the terms. The terms are only used to distinguish one component from another component.

(13) Terms used in the present application are used only in order to describe specific embodiments rather than limiting the present invention. Singular forms are intended to include plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms comprises or have used in this application, specify the presence of stated features, numerals, steps, operations, components, parts, or a combination thereof, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, numerals, steps, operations, components, parts, or a combination thereof.

(14) Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(15) FIG. 1 is a front view of an exemplary refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention and FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view of the refrigerator of FIG. 1.

(16) Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a refrigerator 1 having a locking device 100 for an ice bucket 40 according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a main body 10, a storage space 20, an ice space 30, the ice bucket 40, and the locking device 100.

(17) The description that an embodiment of the present invention includes the components listed above does not mean that the present invention does not include only the above components but means that the present invention can include these components and that the present invention may include other components (for example, technologies widely known with respect to refrigerators). However, the detailed description of known technologies will be omitted if it is deemed that such description would make the description of the present invention unnecessarily vague.

(18) The main body 10 forms the appearance and supporting structure of the refrigerator 1 and may provide a space in which the components listed above and other components used in the operation of the refrigerator 1 may be formed or installed therein.

(19) The storage space 20 is formed inside the main body 10 and has a front surface opening. The storage space 20 may be partitioned into a refrigerating space and a freezing space by a partition wall.

(20) The front surface of the storage space 20 may be opened and closed by a pair of doors 21 which rotate and are hinge-coupled with the main body 10. The door 21 may be provided with a dispenser 50 which may extract ice generated in the ice space 30 from the outside without opening the door 21.

(21) The dispenser 50 may include an extraction space 51 which may allow ice to be dispensed, a lever 52 which may select whether to extract ice, and a chute 53 which guides ice discharged through an ice discharge port 40a of the ice bucket 40 to the extraction space 51.

(22) Further, the ice space 30 may be disposed inside the main body 10 and partitioned from the storage space 20. The ice space 30 may be formed to have a front opening. The ice space 30 may be disposed at one side of the storage space 20 and may be partitioned from the storage space 20 by a wall of the ice space.

(23) The ice space 30 may be provided with an ice assembly to generate ice, the ice assembly may be of any well-known design and therefore a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

(24) Further, the ice bucket 40 may be slidably installed in the ice space 30 to open and close the ice space 30. The ice bucket 40 may include an ice storage part 41 which stores ice generated in the ice space 30 and a cover member 42 which is disposed in front of the ice storage part 41 to cover the front of the ice space 30.

(25) Further, the locking device 100 may lock the ice bucket 40 to the ice space 30 to prevent the ice bucket 40 from being drawn out of the ice space 30 by itself. When the ice bucket 40 is locked to the ice space 30 by the locking device 100, the ice bucket 40 may not be drawn out from the ice space 30 by itself as long as a user does not apply an external force and may be kept in a locking state.

(26) Hereinafter, the locking device 100 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5.

(27) FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating an ice bucket that is drawn out from the ice space of the refrigerator illustrated in FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is an exploded view illustrating the locking device for the ice bucket according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a side cross-sectional view illustrating the locking state of the locking device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

(28) Referring to FIGS. 3 to 5, the locking device 100 may include a projection 110 formed inside the ice space 30, a receiving part 120 formed in the ice bucket 40, an elastic module part 130, a locking flap 140, and a cover part 150.

(29) As illustrated in FIG. 5, the projection 110 may project from an inner wall of the ice space 30 toward the ice bucket 40.

(30) In one embodiment, when the projection 110 is installed on a ceiling 30a of the ice space 30, the projection 110 may be disposed to project downward from a position contacting the cover member 42 of the ice bucket 40. Further, when the projection 110 is installed on a floor of the ice space 30, the projection 110 may be disposed to project upward from a position contacting the cover member 42 of the ice bucket 40 or the ice storage part 41.

(31) As illustrated in FIG. 4, the receiving part 120 may be a depression formed in at least one of the upper portion and the lower portion of the ice bucket 40.

(32) The receiving part 120 is formed to be depressed from a surface of the ice bucket 40 to a predetermined depth so that the elastic module part 130, the locking flap 140, and the cover part 150 may be installed, and thus may receive other components described above.

(33) Further, the elastic module part 130 is separately manufactured with a size corresponding to the receiving part 120 and thus may be installed in the receiving part 120. The elastic module part 130 may include a frame 131 and an elastic piece 132.

(34) The frame 131 forms an outer portion of the elastic module part 130 and is formed at a size corresponding to the receiving part 120, and thus may be installed in the receiving part 120.

(35) The elastic module part 130 may be separably coupled with the receiving part 120. To this end, as illustrated in FIG. 5, one side of the receiving part 120 is provided with a predetermined coupling groove 121 and the frame 131 may be provided with a hook part 131a which is inserted into the coupling groove 121.

(36) The elastic piece 132 is a component configured to provide an elastic force and one end of the elastic piece 132 is fixed to the frame 131 and the other end is free from (e.g., not connected to) the frame 131 and therefore may be formed in a free end state.

(37) In this case, as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, the elastic piece 132 may include a wave part 132a and a plane part 132b.

(38) The wave part 132a has a structure to increase the elastic force of the elastic piece 132 and the wave part 132a may be bent in a wave shape with a predetermined length from one point fixed to the frame 131 with the other point toward the free end.

(39) The wave part 132a has a structure in which protrusions and depressions are repeated, and as a result, its ability to provide elastic force may be increased and is less likely to be deformed or destroyed even though substantial force is applied to the wave part 132a. Further, the plane part 132b is flatly formed from the wave part 132a toward the free end and thus may contact the locking flap 140 to provide an elastic force.

(40) Further, the locking flap 140 is disposed to contact the elastic module part 130 so that it receives the elastic force from the elastic piece 132. The locking flap 140 may generally be formed with a flat side and another side thereof may be disposed with a projecting part 141 projecting to a predetermined height on one side thereof to be locked to the projection 110 by the elastic force from the elastic piece 132.

(41) An end portion opposite the projecting part 141 of the locking flap 140 may be integrally formed with a hinge part 142 so that the projecting part 141 is locked to the projection 110 while the locking flap 140 rotates by the elastic force applied by the elastic piece 132.

(42) Therefore, when the elastic force is exerted from the elastic piece 132 (for example, the plane part 132b of the elastic piece 132), the projecting part 141 is locked into the projection 110 while moving in the same direction as the elastic force, with the locking flap 140 rotating based on the hinge part 142. Here, the hinge part 142 of the locking flap 140 may be inserted into an inner side of the frame 131 of the elastic module part 130.

(43) Further, the cover part 150 covers the locking flap 140 and may be disposed with an opening part 151 through which the projecting part 141 extends. The projecting part 141 penetrates through the cover part 150 through the opening part 151 to be locked to the projection 110. The cover part 150 may be separably coupled with the elastic module part 130 and a portion of the cover part 150 may cover a portion of the locking flap 140 and a portion of the inside of the elastic module part 130.

(44) As illustrated in FIG. 6, the locking device 100 is installed at one of the upper portion and the lower portion of the ice bucket 40. One of the upper portion and the lower portion of the ice bucket 40 may include a first locking hook 11 extending from the ice space 30. A second locking hook 12 may extend from the ice bucket 40 to be locked to the first locking hook 11.

(45) FIG. 6 illustrates that the upper portion of the ice bucket 40 is disposed with the locking device 100 and the lower portion of the ice bucket 40, at which the locking device 100 is not installed, may be disposed with the first locking hook 11 and the second locking hook 12 to lock between the ice space 30 and the ice bucket 40. In another embodiment, the lower portion of the ice bucket 40 is disposed with the locking device 100 and the upper portion of the ice bucket 40 may be provided with the first locking hook 11 and the second locking hook 12 to lock between the ice space 30 and the ice bucket 40.

(46) Moreover, as illustrated in FIG. 7, the locking device 100 may also be installed both at the upper portion and the lower portion of the ice bucket 40.

(47) Hereinafter, a method for installing a locking device 100 for an ice bucket 40 according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described and a detailed description thereof will cite the foregoing description.

(48) According to the method for installing a locking device 100 for an ice bucket 40, the receiving part 120 may be formed as a depression in at least any one of the upper portion and the lower portion of the ice bucket 40 which is disposed in the refrigerator 1.

(49) Further, as described above, the elastic module part 130 includes the frame 131 and the elastic piece 132 which may be injection-molded. The elastic piece 132 in the elastic module part 130 may be manufactured so that one end is fixed to the frame 131 and the other end is in a free state.

(50) The elastic piece 132 may be molded to have a wave part 132a bent in a wave shape, with a predetermined length from a point fixed to the frame 131 toward the free end to increase the elastic force, and a plane part 132b flatly formed from the wave part 132a toward the free end.

(51) Further, the locking flap 140 may be provided separately from the elastic module part 130. The locking flap 140 may be injection-molded so that the projecting part 141 projects on one side to the locking flap 140. The locking flap 140 may be molded to rotate due to the elastic force and the other end opposite the projecting part 141 is integrally formed with the hinge part 142.

(52) Further, the separate cover part 150 may be disposed thereon. The cover part 150 covers a portion of the locking flap 140 and may be molded to have the opening part 151 through which the projecting part 141 protrudes.

(53) As such, the receiving part 120 is formed and, after the elastic module part 130, the locking flap 140, and the cover part 150 are molded, the free end of the elastic piece 132 contacts a surface of the projecting part 141, and the locking flap 140 is disposed between the cover part 150 and the elastic module part 130 so that the projecting part 141 is inserted into the opening part 151. As a result, the cover part 150 and the elastic module part 130 may be coupled to each other.

(54) The elastic module part 130, with which the cover part 150 and the locking flap 140 are coupled, is disposed in the receiving part 120 formed in the ice bucket 40. The projection 110 is installed at the inner side of the ice space 30 of the refrigerator 1 so that the projecting part 141 is locked with the projection 110. Therefore, when the projection 110 projects toward the ice bucket 40, the installation of the locking device 100 is complete.

(55) According to the embodiment of the present invention, the user may advantageously draw out the ice bucket with one hand to increase the convenience of the ice bucket and the structure may be simplified to save material cost and improve durability.

(56) Further, the elastic force may be provided without using the spring of the metal material and therefore the same elastic force is maintained even after long-term use, thereby increasing the reliability of products.

(57) While the embodiments of the present invention have been described with respect to the preferred embodiments, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments. It will be understood that a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains may substitute and change components without any limitation and these substitutions and changes also belong to the scope of the present invention.