Refrigerator

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application Nos. 2008-0075990, filed on Aug. 4, 2008, and 2008-0120560, field on Dec. 1, 2008, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly to a refrigerator, in which the structure of a home bar door is improved to increase an assembling efficiency.

2. Description of the Related Art

In general, a refrigerator includes a plurality of storage chambers to store foods in a cold or frozen state, and one surface of each of the storage chambers is opened to remove or place foods out of or into each of the storage chambers therethrough.

The opened surface of the storage chamber is opened and closed by a door covering the overall area of the opened surface.

Recently, a home bar to prevent the leakage of cold air due to the frequent opening and closing of the door and allow a user to easily remove or place food, such as a beverage, which is comparatively frequently used, is provided on a refrigerator door.

The home bar includes an opening formed through the door to communicate with the inside of a storage chamber, and a home bar door provided on the opening and opened and closed separately from the door. Therefore, the home bar door is opened and closed under the condition that the door of the storage chamber of the refrigerator is closed, so as to allow a user to put or take food within the home bar door into or out of the inside of the home bar.

A front panel is connected to one surface of the home bar door to form the outer surface of the refrigerator, and a connection line, along which the front panel is connected to the home bar door, is exposed to the outside of the home bar door, thus spoiling the external appearance of the home bar door.

SUMMARY

Therefore, it is an aspect of the present invention to provide a refrigerator, in which the structure of a home bar door is improved to increase an assembling efficiency and improve an external appearance.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator, in which the number of parts of a home bar door is decreased to reduce the cost of materials.

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 invention.

The foregoing and/or other aspects are achieved by providing a refrigerator including a refrigerator door; a home bar storage compartment defined by the refrigerator door; and a home bar door to open and close the home bar storage compartment, wherein the home bar door includes a case provided with an opening formed through a front surface thereof, a foaming agent to fill the inside of the case through the opening, and a front panel provided on the front surface of the case and attached directly to the foaming agent.

The case may include a body, and the frame part forming the opening of the front surface of the body.

The front panel may have a plate shape, and be attached to the frame part of the case.

A double-sided tape may be attached to the frame part; and the inside of the case may be filled with the foaming agent, and thus the front panel may be attached to the case by the double-sided tape and the foaming agent.

The front panel may be made of tempered glass.

The foregoing and/or other aspects are also achieved by providing a refrigerator including a home bar storage compartment provided within the door; a home bar door to open and close the home bar storage compartment, the home bar door including a case including a front opening formed by the frame part, and a front panel provided on a front surface of the case; a foaming agent; and a double-sided tape attached to the frame part, the inside of the case being filled with the foaming agent, the front panel being attached directly to the case by the double-sided tape and the foaming agent.

The foregoing and/or other aspects are also achieved by providing a refrigerator including: a door; a home bar storage compartment provided within the door; and a home bar door to open and close the home bar storage compartment, the home bar door including a case provided with an opened front surface, and a front panel provided on the front surface of the case, the case including a connection member to connect the front panel to the case.

The connection member may include a body inserted into the case, and a connection surface provided at the edge of the front surface of the body.

The front panel may have a plate shape, and be attached to the connection surface of the connection member.

The front panel may be made of tempered glass.

At least one assembly hole may be formed on the side surfaces of the body of the connection member so as to assemble the connection member with the case; and at least one assembly protrusion corresponding to the at least one assembly hole may be formed on the inner surface of the case.

A double-sided tape may be attached to the connection surface; the inside of the case may be filled with a foaming agent; and the rear surface of the front panel may be attached to the connection surface by the double-sided tape and the foaming agent.

The foregoing and/or other aspects are also achieved by providing a refrigerator including a home bar storage compartment provided within a door, and a home bar door to open and close the home bar storage compartment, wherein the home bar door includes a case provided with an opened front surface, a front panel provided on the front surface of the case, a connection member provided with an opening formed through the center thereof and a connection surface formed at the edge thereof, and provided on the case to be connected to the front panel, and a foaming agent filling the inside of the connection member; and the front panel is attached directly to the foaming agent through the opening of the connection member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and/or other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically illustrating a refrigerator in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal-sectional view schematically illustrating a home bar of the refrigerator in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view schematically illustrating a home bar door in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view schematically illustrating the home bar door in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal-sectional view schematically illustrating a home bar door in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view schematically illustrating the home bar door in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the present invention, 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 invention by referring to the annexed drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, a refrigerator in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention includes a main body 10 provided with inner storage chambers including a freezing chamber and a refrigerating chamber, which are divided from each other, a freezing chamber door 11a installed to open and close the freezing chamber, and a refrigerating chamber door 11b installed to open and close the refrigerating chamber. Here, both the freezing chamber. door 11a and the refrigerating chamber door 11b are respectively referred to as refrigerator doors 11.

One side of the refrigerator door 11 is hinged to the front surface of the main body 10, and a handle 12 is formed on the front surface of the refrigerator door 11 such that a user can pull the handle 12 and thus rotate the refrigerator door 11 to open the storage chamber.

A home bar 20 is provided at the central portion of the refrigerator door 11 such that the user can put a beverage bottle or can into the home bar 20 without opening the refrigerator door 11.

The home bar 20 is provided so as to minimize a loss of cold air, which may be leaked to the outside when the refrigerator door 11 is opened, and reduce the power consumption of the refrigerator.

The home bar 20 in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention includes a home bar storage compartment 21 formed within the refrigerator door 11 and provided with a rack 13 to store foods, such as beverages and alcoholic beverages, which frequently come in and out, and a home bar door 30 provided to open and close an opening 11c formed through the door 11 so as to allow the rack 13 to be communicated with the outside.

The home bar door 30 includes a case 40, and a front panel 60 installed on the front surface of the case 40 and exposed to the outside from the front surface of the refrigerator.

The front panel 60 having a plate shape is made of glass, tempered glass, or plastic resin. The front panel 60 is made of a material in a color, which matches well with the color and design of the refrigerator door 11.

The case 40 of the home bar door 30 includes a body 40b having a hexahedral structure provided with an opening 40c formed through the front surface thereof, and a frame part 40a forming the front opening 40c through the front surface of the main body 40b.

Ends of a hinge shaft 41 are protruded from both lower ends of the body 40b, and are respectively hinged to hinge grooves (not shown) such that the home bar door 30 can be rotated upward and downward around the hinge shaft 41 to close and open the opening 11c of the door 11.

Therefore, the home bar door 30 is rotated upward and downward around the hinge shaft 41, and thus is closed and opened.

The case 40 is integrally formed by injection molding so as not to spoil the external appearance of the home bar door 30 due to the formation of an assembly line at the edge of the case 40. Here, the hinge shaft 41 is formed integrally with the case 40 by injection molding.

The inside of the body 40b of the case 40 is filled with a foaming agent 80 to insulate the body 40b from heat through the front opening 40c.

The foaming agent 80 filling the inside of the body 40b of the case 40 contacts directly the front panel 60, and thus the front panel 60 is firmly fixed to the case 40 by the foaming agent 80.

One surface of a double-sided tape 70 is attached to the frame part 40a of the case 40 and then the front panel 60 is attached to the other surface of the double-sided tape 70 of the frame part 40a. Thereby, the rear surface of the front panel 60 is more firmly fixed to the case 40 by the foaming agent 80 filling the inside of the body 40b and the double-sided tape 70.

Further, a connection portion between the case 40 and the front panel 60 of the home bar door 30 is not seen, and thus the external appearance of the home bar door 30 is improved.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a home bar door 30′ of a refrigerator in accordance with second embodiment of the present invention includes a case 40′, a front panel 60′ installed on the front surface of the case 40′ and exposed to the outside through the front surface of the refrigerator, and a connection member 50′ provided in the case 40′ to fix the front panel 60′.

The front panel 60′ having a plate shape is made of glass, tempered glass, or plastic resin. The front panel 60′ is made of a material in a shape, which matches well with the color and design of the refrigerator door 11.

The case 40′ of the home bar door 30′ has a hexahedral structure provided with an opened front surface, and ends of a hinge shaft 41′ are protruded from both lower ends of the case 40′.

The case 40′ is integrally formed by injection molding so as not to spoil the external appearance of the home bar door 30′ due to the formation of an assembly line at the edge of the case 40′. Here, the hinge shaft 41′ is formed integrally with the case 40′ by injection molding.

The ends of the hinge shaft 41′ of the case 40′ are respectively hinged to hinge grooves (not shown) formed at an opening 11c′ of the door 11 such that the home bar door 30′ can be rotated upward and downward around the hinge shaft 41′ to close and open the opening 11c′.

A plurality of assembly protrusions 43′ is formed on both inner side surfaces of the case 40′. The assembly protrusions 43′ are formed at corresponding positions of both inner side surfaces of the case 40′, and are separated from each other by designated intervals.

The connection member 50′ is inserted into the case 40′, and includes a body 51′ provided with assembly holes 53′, into which the assembly protrusions 43′ of the case 40′ are inserted, and a connection surface 54′, to which the front panel 60, which will be described later, is attached.

The assembly holes 53′ of the body 51′ are formed at positions corresponding to the assembly protrusions 43′ of the case 40′, and are connected with the assembly protrusions 43′ of the case 40′, thereby preventing the connection member 50′ from being separated from the inside of the case 40′.

The connection surface 54′ of the connection member 50′ is formed at the edge of the front surface of the body 51′, and is provided with an opening 50a′ formed through the center of the connection surface 54′ such that a foaming agent 80′ fills the inside of the connection member 50′ through the opening 50a′.

A support part 52′ is protruded from one side of the connection surface 54′, and is supported by a support 42′ formed at one side of the front surface of the case 40′, thus preventing a height difference caused by the assembly between the case 40′ and the connection member 50′.

The front panel 60′ having a plate shape corresponding to the case 40′ is attached to the connection surface 54′ of the connection member 50′. Here, the front panel 60 is fixed by attaching one surface of a double-sided tape 70′ to the connection surface 54′ of the connection member 50′ and attaching the front panel 60′ to the other surface of the double-sided tape 70′ of the connection surface 54′.

Further, the rear surface of the front panel 60′ contacts directly the foaming agent 80′ filling the connection member 50′ through the opening 50a′, and thus the front panel 60 is firmly fixed by the foaming agent 80′.

In the home bar door 30′ in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention, the connection member 50′ is inserted into the case 40′ such that the assembly protrusions 43′ of the case 40′ are connected with the assembly holes 53′ of the connection member 50′.

The support part 52′ of the connection member 50′ is connected to the support 42′ of the case 40′, and thus the connection member 50′ is firmly fixed to the inside of the case 40′.

The rear surface of the front panel 60′ is fixed by the double sided tape 70′ attached to the connection surface 54′ of the connection member 50′.

Further, as the foaming agent 80′ filling the inside of the connection member 50′ is solidified, the front panel 60′, the rear surface of which contacts directly the foaming agent 80′, is fixed also. Thus, the front panel 60′ is more firmly fixed by the double-sided tape 70′ on the connection surface 54′ and the foaming agent 80′.

Since the front panel 60′ is attached to the overall front surface of the case 40′, an assembly line is not formed at the edge of the home bar door 30′, and thus the external appearance of the home bar door 30′ is improved.

Further, the connection member 50′ inserted into the case 40′, formed by injection molding, and the front panel 60′ attached to the front surface of the connection member 50′ prevent the leakage of the foaming agent 80′ to the outside of the case 40′.

Although a few 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.