Refrigerator

The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2024-0037553, filed on Mar. 19, 2024, in the Republic of Korea, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

The present disclosure relates to a refrigerator.

In general, a refrigerator is a home appliance that can store food at low temperatures in an internal storage space that is shielded by a door. To this end, the refrigerator is configured to cool the inside of the storage space by using cold air generated through heat exchange with a refrigerant that circulates a refrigeration cycle, thereby allowing the stored food to be stored in an optimal condition.

Recently, refrigerators are becoming larger and more multifunctional in line with the changing eating habits and the trend toward higher quality products, and refrigerators equipped with various structures and convenient devices for the convenience of users and efficient use of internal space are being released.

Typically, a refrigerator may be equipped with an ice maker that automatically makes and stores ice. In addition, an automatic ice maker that automatically supplies water to make ice is widely used.

To supply water to an automatic ice maker, a piping for the water supply is essential, and a heater is required to prevent freezing in the piping directed toward the ice maker placed inside the freezing compartment.

If the length of such pipes becomes longer, there is a problem that residual water is more likely to occur, which can cause freezing, and there is also a problem that the pipe assembly is not good.

In addition, as the length of the pipe increases, the area required for the heater to prevent freezing also increases, which leads to an increase in power consumption.

An object of an embodiment of the present disclosure is to provide a refrigerator that reduces the length of a pipe supplying water from a water supply device to an ice maker.

An object of an embodiment of the present disclosure is to provide a refrigerator that improves power consumption by minimizing the capacity of a heater that heats a water supply pipe.

An object of an embodiment of the present disclosure is to provide a refrigerator that improves the assembly workability of components for supplying water to an ice maker.

A refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a cabinet divided into a refrigerating compartment on the upper side and a freezing compartment on the lower side by a barrier; a refrigerating compartment door and a freezing compartment door for opening and closing the refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment; a water supply device provided in the refrigerating compartment and mounted on a lower surface of the barrier; an ice maker provided in the freezing compartment and mounted on an upper surface of the barrier; and a water supply pipe provided in the barrier and guiding water from the water supply device to the ice maker, in which the water supply device and the ice maker may be disposed so that at least a part overlaps each other, and the water supply pipe may pass through the barrier between the water supply device and the ice maker in a vertical direction.

The barrier may include an inner case filled with insulation material therein; an upper bracket mounted on the inner case and forming the upper surface of the barrier, to which the water supply device is connected; and a lower bracket mounted on the inner case and forming the lower surface of the barrier, to which the ice maker is mounted, and the water supply pipe may be connected to the upper bracket and the lower bracket inside the inner case.

The refrigerator may further include a support part connecting the upper bracket and the lower bracket and maintaining a gap between the upper bracket and the lower bracket.

The water supply device may include a connection pipe extending from the water supply device to the upper bracket to supply water; and a connector provided at an end part of the connection pipe and mounted on the upper bracket to communicate with the water supply pipe.

An inner diameter of the water supply pipe may be formed larger than an inner diameter of the connection pipe.

The water supply pipe may include an upper part connected to the upper bracket and extending downward; a lower part disposed in a staggered position from the upper part and extending to be connected to the lower bracket; and a connection part connecting the upper part and the lower part, and both ends of the connection part may be formed in a round shape.

The lower part may further extend toward the water supply part of the ice maker by penetrating the upper bracket, and an end part of the lower part may be formed to be inclined or rounded.

A connector mounting part may be formed on the upper bracket, which communicates with an upper end of the water supply pipe and is coupled with the connector.

The connector may include a connector body communicating with the water supply pipe; a connector coupling part formed on the connector body and fastened to the connector mounting part; and a fitting part communicating with the connector body and into which the connection pipe is inserted.

A plurality of coupling holes may be formed along a circumference of the connector body in the connector mounting part, and the connector coupling part may be formed in a hook shape that is inserted into the coupling hole at a position corresponding to the coupling hole.

The connector body may be opened downward and the fitting part is opened to a side intersecting the connector body.

The connection pipe may be disposed along the upper surface of the barrier, and the barrier may be equipped with the upper bracket exposed upward and a connector cover shielding the connection pipe and the water supply pipe.

A pair of ice makers may be disposed on the lower bracket, and a pair of water supply pipes, a pair of connection pipes, and a pair of connectors may be provided to correspond to the ice maker, so that water is capable of being supplied independently to each ice maker.

The water supply device may include a case placed in the refrigerator; and a filter placed inside the case to purify the supplied water; and the connection pipe may be connected to the filter.

The ice maker may be is provided with a pair of different ice makers, a water supply valve may be provided inside the case, the water supply valve may be connected to an input side of the ice maker output pipe connected to the filter, and a pair of connection pipes supplying water to the pair of ice makers may be connected to an output side.

The refrigerator may further include a machine compartment provided at a lower part of the freezing compartment, in which a compressor and a condenser are disposed; a water valve provided in the machine compartment, which opens and closes a water flow path supplied from an external water source; and a dispenser provided in the door, which extracts purified water, in which a pipe on the dispenser side connected to the dispenser may be branched inside the case.

A connection pipe holder for guiding the connection pipe may be provided at a lower end of the case.

The case may extend from a front to a rear of the refrigerating compartment and may be disposed on one side wall of both left and right sides of the refrigerating compartment, the connection pipe holder may be formed on a lower end of the side of the case, and the connection pipe may be guided from a position spaced from the rear to the front of the refrigerating compartment.

The ice maker may include a water supply cup that guides water to the ice tray, the water supply cup may be disposed in the middle of the ice tray in a front and rear direction, and the water supply pipe may be disposed above the water supply cup.

The water supply device may include a tank body in which water is stored; and a tank cover opening and closing the tank body and in which water is injected.

The following effects can be expected from the refrigerator according to the proposed embodiment.

In a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the length of the water supply pipe from the water supply device to the ice maker can be minimized by vertically supplying water to the water supply device and the ice maker through a water supply pipe penetrating the barrier, which shortens the overall length of the water path and simplifies the water path disposition.

In addition, since the length of the flow path is shortened, the size and capacity of the heater to prevent freezing of the flow path can be reduced. Therefore, there is an advantage of reducing the overall power consumption.

In addition, the water supply device includes a connection pipe and a connector, and since the connector has a detachable structure to the upper bracket connected to the water supply pipe, the overall pipe assembly workability is improved, thereby enhancing productivity.

Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments in which the idea of the present disclosure is presented, and other regressive disclosures or other embodiments included within the scope of the idea of the present disclosure can be easily proposed by adding, changing, deleting, or the like other components.

Also, in describing components of embodiments of the present disclosure, terms such as first, second, A, B, (a), (b), or the like may be used. These terms are only intended to distinguish the components from other components, and the nature, order, or sequence of the components is not limited by the terms. When it is described that a component is “connected,” “coupled,” or “accessed” to another component, it should be understood that the component may be directly connected or accessed to the other component, but another component may also be “connected,” “coupled,” or “accessed” between each component.

Before the explanation, the direction is defined. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the direction toward the front surface of the door as illustrated incan be defined as a front direction, the direction toward the cabinet based on the front surface of the door can be defined as a rear direction, the direction toward the floor surface on which the refrigerator is installed can be defined as a lower surface, and the direction away from the floor surface can be defined as a upper direction. In addition, when talking about a direction that is not defined, the direction can be defined and explained based on each drawing.

In addition, below, a number of embodiments of the present disclosure are described, and the configurations of each embodiment may be combined or substituted in whole or in part.

is a front view illustrating a refrigerator according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure, andis a front view illustrating a state where the door of the refrigerator opens.

As illustrated, a refrigeratoraccording to the first embodiment of the present disclosure includes a cabinetin which a storage space is formed and a doorfor opening and closing the storage space.

The cabinetmay include an outer caseforming an outer surface, and an inner caseforming the storage space on the inside of the outer case. In addition, an insulation materialmay be filled between the outer caseand the inner case.

The storage space can be divided by a barrierin the vertical direction. The barriercan form an outer appearance including an upper surface and a lower surface by an inner case, and the inside thereof can be filled with an insulation material. Of course, the barriercan also be installed in the storage space in a separately molded state.

A refrigerating compartmentmay be formed at the upper part and a freezing compartmentmay be formed at the lower part, by the barrier. The refrigerating compartmentand the freezing compartmentmay maintain a set temperature by supplying cold air generated from the evaporator,. For example, the evaporators,may be provided in the refrigerating compartmentand the freezing compartment, respectively, and by driving the blower fan, cold air may be supplied to the refrigerating compartmentand the freezing compartment, thereby enabling independent cooling, respectively. Of course, the evaporatormay be provided only in the freezing compartment.

A plurality of storage membersfor storing food may be placed in the refrigerating compartmentand freezing compartment. For example, the storage membersmay be drawers and shelves.

A water supply devicemay be provided on the lower surface of the refrigerating compartment, that is, the upper surface of the barrier. The water supply devicemay be configured to supply water to an ice makeror a dispenserand purify the water supplied. The water supply devicemay be in contact with one of the left and right walls of the refrigerating compartment. For example, a drawer-shaped storage membermay be provided on the lower part of the refrigerating compartment, and the water supply devicemay be disposed to fill the space between the storage memberand the wall. In addition, the front surface of the water supply device, that is, the case cover, may be exposed forward. Therefore, a user can easily access the inside of the casethrough the case cover.

In addition, an ice makermay be provided on the upper surface of the freezing compartment, that is, the lower surface of the barrier. The ice makermay be configured to make ice with water supplied from the water supply device. The ice makermay be located on one side corresponding to the position of the water supply deviceamong the left and right sides. For example, the water supply deviceand the ice makermay be located on the right side of the cabinet(as viewed in). In other words, the water supply deviceand the ice makermay be disposed in the vertical direction based on the barrier, and may be disposed so as to overlap at least a part thereof. Therefore, the water supply deviceand the ice makermay be disposed close to each other in a short path, and the water supply flow path may be configured to be shortened.

Meanwhile, the ice makermay have various structures and configurations. In addition, a plurality of ice makersmay be disposed in parallel. For example, the ice makermay include a first ice makerthat makes small cube-shaped ice and a second ice makerthat makes large spherical ice.

In addition, a first ice binmay be provided below the first ice makerin which ice separated from the first ice makeris stored. In addition, a second ice binmay be provided below the second ice makerin which ice separated from the second ice makeris stored.

Meanwhile, the cabinetmay be provided with a machine compartmentequipped with a compressor, a condenser, and a condenser fan at the lower part. The machine compartmentmay be disposed at the edges of the lower surface and the rear surface of the cabinetand may be opened toward the rear. The opened rear surface of the cabinetmay be shielded by a machine compartment cover. A number of holes are formed in the machine compartment coverso that air for heat dissipation of the internal structure of the machine compartmentmay enter and exit.