REFRIGERATOR

Abstract

The present invention relates to a refrigerator and, more specifically, to a refrigerator comprising: a main body having a refrigerator compartment and a freezer compartment formed therein; an ice making compartment delimited as a separate thermal insulation space inside the refrigerator compartment, the ice making compartment having an ice maker and an ice storage bucket; and a door for opening/closing at least a part of the refrigerator compartment, the door having a dispenser installed thereon such that same communicates with the ice making compartment. The ice making compartment has an ice discharge port formed therein. The dispenser comprises: an ice transfer duct configured to communicate with the ice discharge port when the door is closed; and a gasket positioned on the periphery of the entrance of the ice transfer duct such that, when the door is closed, the upper end thereof contacts the periphery of the ice discharge port. The periphery of the ice outlet of the ice making compartment is formed to slope downwards as same extends from the front side toward the rear side. The upper end of the gasket is also formed to slope downwards as same extends from the front side toward the rear side. The above configuration improves the degree of sealing between the dispenser of the door and the ice storage bucket of the ice making compartment, and ensures that the door is opened/closed smoothly.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly to a refrigerator for improving a sealing force between a dispenser of a door and an ice storage bucket of an ice making compartment and smoothly opening and closing the door.

BACKGROUND ART

In general, a refrigerator is a home appliance for storing food in a refrigerated or frozen state in a storage compartment opened and closed by a door. The refrigerator generally includes a refrigerator compartment for storing food in a refrigerated state at a low temperature and a freezer compartment for freezing and storing food in a frozen state.

The refrigerator may additionally include an ice making compartment that makes and stores ice for the convenience of a user. A technology of the refrigerator provided with the ice making compartment is disclosed in patent document 1 (Korean Patent No. 10-0674573).

Refrigerators that have been recently released have a tendency to provide a refrigerator compartment, that is used relatively more frequently than a freezer compartment, at an upper part of a main body and to provide the freezer compartment, that is used relatively less than the refrigerator compartment, at a lower part of the main body. In particular, French door refrigerators, in which a refrigerator compartment is opened and closed by two pivot doors that are respectively hinged and coupled to the left and right sides of a main body and are arranged side by side from left to right, and a freezer compartment is opened and closed by a drawer door slidably installed, have been recently in the spotlight.

If the refrigerator includes an ice making compartment inside the refrigerator compartment for convenience, the ice making compartment may include an ice maker and an ice storage bucket to which ice made by the ice maker is transferred. The ice storage bucket can be taken into and out of the ice making compartment. The pivot door may be provided with a dispenser including an ice transfer duct and a gasket for sealing. Thus, when the pivot door is closed, ice stored in the ice storage bucket may be directly transferred to the ice transfer duct. Therefore, ice stored in the ice making compartment can be taken out of the refrigerator through an outlet port without opening the pivot door.

In the related art refrigerator, when the pivot door is closed, the gasket and an ice discharge port of the ice maker contacting each other are formed side by side in front and back, that is, so as not to incline to one side, and the gasket has a constant thickness. Hence, when the pivot door is closed, there were problems that the gasket and the ice discharge port are caught in each other, or the pivot door does not close well due to the catching, or a sealing force is reduced due to poor adhesion between the gasket and the ice storage bucket.

PRIOR ART DOCUMENT

• (Patent Document 1) Korean Patent No. 10-0674573

DISCLOSURE

Technical Problem

An object of the present disclosure is to address the above-described and other problems. Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a refrigerator capable of smoothly opening and closing a door provided with a dispenser connected to an ice making compartment and improving a sealing force between the door and an ice storage bucket of the ice making compartment.

Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a refrigerator.

Technical Solution

In order to achieve the above-described and other objects, in one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a refrigerator comprising a main body provided with a refrigerator compartment and a freezer compartment; an ice making compartment formed in the main body as a separate thermal insulation space from the refrigerator compartment, the ice making compartment including an ice maker; and a door configured to open and close the ice making compartment and the refrigerator compartment, the door including a dispenser communicating with the ice making compartment, wherein the ice making compartment is provided with an ice discharge port from which an ice made by the ice maker is discharged, wherein the dispenser is provided with an ice transfer duct communicating with the ice discharge port, wherein a gasket is installed at a perimeter of the ice transfer duct, and an upper surface of the gasket contacts a lower surface of the ice discharge port, and wherein the lower surface of the ice discharge port and the upper surface of the gasket are formed to be inclined downward as they go from a front side to a rear side.

A separation distance in an up-down direction between the perimeter of the ice transfer duct and a perimeter of the ice discharge port decreases as it goes from the front side to the rear side. A thickness of the gasket positioned at the perimeter of the ice transfer duct decreases as it goes from the front side to the rear side.

The gasket includes a case contact portion having an upper end in close contact with a gasket contact portion and extending to an outside, a reduction portion connected to a lower end of the case contact portion and extending downwardly, and a coupling portion connected to a lower end of the reduction portion and coupled to the ice transfer duct. A thickness of the reduction portion decreases as it goes from the front side to the rear side.

Advantageous Effects

A refrigerator according to the present disclosure has the following effects.

The present disclosure can smoothly open and close a pivot door since a thickness of a gasket decreases as it goes to the rear side, and a gasket contact portion contacting the gasket is inclined as it goes to the rear side when the pivot door is closed.

The present disclosure can also improve a sealing force between a gasket and a gasket contact portion when a pivot door is closed since an upper surface of the gasket and a lower surface of the gasket contact portion are disposed to be inclined downwardly and to be opposite to each other as they go to the rear side

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator applied to the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an ice transfer duct and a compartment in a state where a pivot door of a refrigerator illustrated in FIG. 1 is opened.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating an ice transfer duct and a case contact portion of a first pivot door illustrated in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating an ice discharge port and a gasket contact portion when viewed from a lower side of a compartment illustrated in FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 illustrates a compartment.

FIG. 6 illustrates a part of a compartment illustrated in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 illustrates a part of a compartment when viewed in a different direction from a direction illustrated in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an ice storage bucket installed in a compartment.

FIG. 9a is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state where a first pivot door is closed as illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 9b is an enlarged view of a portion indicated in FIG. 9a.

FIG. 9c is a cross-sectional view while a first pivot door is being closed.

FIG. 10 illustrates a partition of storage spaces of a main body of a refrigerator.

MODE FOR INVENTION

In embodiments of the present disclosure to be described below, reference for the same structure and components as those of a related art is made to the related art, and a detailed description thereof is omitted.

The technical terms disclosed herein are used to merely refer to a specific embodiment and does not intend to limit the present disclosure. A singular expression used in embodiments can include a plural expression as long as it does not have an apparently different meaning in context. In the present disclosure, terms “include” and “comprise” should be understood to be intended to designate that illustrated features, areas, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts and/or combinations thereof are present and not to preclude the existence of one or more different features, areas, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts and/or combinations thereof, or the possibility of the addition thereof.

When any component is described as “being connected” or “being coupled” to other component, this should be understood to mean that another component may exist between them, although any component may be directly connected or coupled to the other component.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator applied to the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an ice transfer duct and a compartment 600 in a state where a pivot door of a refrigerator 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 is opened. FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating an ice transfer duct 331 and a case contact portion 383 of a first pivot door illustrated in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating an ice discharge port 6113 and a gasket contact portion 6119 when viewed from a lower side of the compartment 600 illustrated in FIG. 2. FIG. 5 illustrates the compartment 600. FIG. 6 illustrates a part of the compartment 600 illustrated in FIG. 5. FIG. 7 illustrates a part of the compartment 600 when viewed in a different direction from a direction illustrated in FIG. 6. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an ice storage bucket 800 installed in the compartment 600. FIG. 9a is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state where a first pivot door 310 is closed as illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 9b is an enlarged view of a portion indicated in FIG. 9a. FIG. 9c is a cross-sectional view while the first pivot door 310 is being closed. FIG. 10 illustrates a partition of storage spaces 11 and 12 and an ice making compartment 60 of a main body of a refrigerator.

For reference, as illustrated in FIG. 9a, a cooling unit for supplying a cool air to the ice making compartment 60 is separately present outside the ice making compartment 60.

FIG. 9a illustrates a circulation of cool air in the ice making compartment 60 by arrows.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, a main body 10 is configured to form an appearance of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The main body 10 is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped box shape. The main body 10 includes an outer case 100, an inner case 200, a refrigerator compartment 11 provided at an upper part, a freezer compartment 12 provided at a lower side of the refrigerator compartment 11, and an ice making compartment 60 formed as an independent space.

The outer case 100 is configured to form an appearance of the main body 10, i.e., substantially form the appearance of the refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The outer case 100 is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape with an opened front and a space formed therein.

The inner case 200 is coupled to the outer case 100 by being accommodated and assembled in an inner space of the outer case 100. The inner case 200 is coupled to the outer case 100 while providing a space portion 102 between the outer case 100 and the inner case 200 so that various wires can be accommodated and a thermal insulation material 110 to be described later can be injected and foamed.

The inner case 200 has an opened front, and the refrigerator compartment 11 and the refrigerator compartment 11 can be selectively shielded by doors 300 and 400, respectively.

The refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a main body 10 including a refrigerator compartment 11, a freezer compartment 12, and a special compartment 13; an ice making compartment 60 formed in the main body 10 as a separate thermal insulation space from the refrigerator compartment 11, the freezer compartment 12, and the special compartment 13, the ice making compartment 60 including an ice maker 700; and a door 310 that opens and closes the refrigerator compartment 11 and is provided with a dispenser 330 communicating with the ice making compartment 60. The ice making compartment 60 is provided with an ice discharge port 6113 from which ice made by the ice maker 700 is discharged, and the dispenser 330 is provided with an ice transfer duct 331 communicating with the ice discharge port 6113. A gasket 332 is formed along a perimeter of the ice transfer duct 331, and an upper surface of the gasket 332 contacts a lower surface of the ice discharge port 6113. The lower surface of the ice discharge port 6113 and the upper surface of the gasket 332 are formed to be inclined downward as they go from a front side to a rear side.

The refrigerator compartment 11 and the ice making compartment 60 are simultaneously formed as independent spaces by foaming.

The freezer compartment 12 may be formed as an independent space at the same time as the refrigerator compartment 11 and the ice making compartment 60 by foaming.

The refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is configured such that the refrigerator compartment 11, the freezer compartment 12, and the special compartment 13 are partitioned from each other in an up-down direction by a partition wall.

The partition wall is provided through integral injection and foamed integrally, but may be composed of a separate thermal insulation wall and assembled.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a pivot door 300 is formed at a front surface of the refrigerator compartment 11.

The pivot door 300 includes a first pivot door 310 and a second pivot door 320. As a left upper end and a left lower end of the first pivot door 310 are respectively hinge-coupled to a left upper end and a left central part of the main body 10, and the first pivot door 310 pivots clockwise or counterclockwise, the first pivot door 310 opens and closes an opened front left part of the refrigerator compartment 11. As a right upper end and a right lower end of the second pivot door 320 are respectively hinge-coupled to a right upper end and a right central part of the main body 10, and the second pivot door 320 pivots counterclockwise or clockwise, the second pivot door 320 opens and closes an opened front right part of the refrigerator compartment 11. That is, the first pivot door 310 and the second pivot door 320 are respectively installed on the left and right sides of the main body 10 and are disposed side by side in the left-right direction.

The first pivot door 310 includes a first door outer case 310a forming an appearance of the first pivot door 310 and a first door inner case 310b coupled to a rear end of the first door outer case 310a.

The pivot door 300 is provided with the dispenser 330.

The dispenser 330 is configured such that water stored in a water supply tank (not shown) or ice stored in the ice making compartment 60 can be taken out of the refrigerator through an outlet port without opening the pivot door 300 in a state in which the pivot door 300 is closed. In the present embodiment, the dispenser 330 is provided in the first pivot door 310 installed on the left side of the main body 10.

Specifically, the dispenser 330 may be provided with an operation unit 333 such as a button, a lever, and the like. The user may take out the water stored in the water supply tank (not shown) or the ice stored in the ice making compartment 60 through the dispenser 330 by manipulating the operation unit 333, if necessary or desired.

The dispenser 330 includes an ice transfer duct 331 that is formed at the first pivot door 310 in the up-down direction, and a lower end of the ice transfer duct 331 communicates with the outlet port. When the first pivot door 310 is closed as illustrated in FIG. 9a, an upper end of the ice transfer duct 331 communicates with the ice making compartment 60, and thus the outlet port of the dispenser 330 and the ice making compartment 60 communicate with each other. Hence, even when the first pivot door 310 is closed, the ice stored in the ice making compartment 60 can be taken out of the refrigerator through the outlet port of the dispenser 330.

The ice transfer duct 331 includes an ice inlet pipe 330a supporting the gasket 332

The ice inlet pipe 330a is partially spaced apart from and coupled to the ice transfer duct 331 so that the ice inlet pipe 330a can support a coupling portion 389 to be described later.

The ice inlet pipe 330a includes an upper end flange 3301 inserted into the coupling portion 389 to be described later, and a tube-shaped body 3303 extending to a lower side of the upper end flange 3301.

The upper end flange 3301 is an upper end perimeter of the ice transfer duct 331.

The gasket 332 is formed along the upper end perimeter of the ice transfer duct 331, i.e., at the upper flange 3301 and can maintain airtightness between the ice making compartment 60 and the refrigerator compartment 11 when the ice transfer duct 331 and the ice making compartment 60 communicate with each other.

The gasket 332 is formed to have a decreasing inclination as an upper end of the gasket 332 goes from a front side 332a to a rear side 332b. Detailed configuration of the gasket 332 is described later.

More specifically, the gasket 332 is entirely formed in an obliquely inclined shape so that a front end of the upper end is positioned higher than a rear end of the upper end.

The gasket 332 is formed to have a gradually decreasing inclination as it goes from the entire perimeter of the upper end to the outside of the center of the gasket 332.

A compartment 600 provided separately may be assembled at an upper corner of one side of the inner case 200.

The inner case 200 includes the compartment 600.

Unlike the present embodiment, the inner case 200 may be integrally formed with the compartment 600 through injection.

The compartment 600 may be a wall that serves as a right thermal insulation wall and a lower thermal insulation wall for forming the ice making compartment 60.

Configuration such as the ice maker 700 making ice and an ice storage bucket 800 storing the ice made by the ice maker 700 is accommodated inside the compartment 600.

FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate partial configuration of the compartment 600. The compartment 600 includes a first lower plate 611, a first side plate 612 extending upward over an entire right end of the first lower plate 611, a first coupling plate 613 extending to the left over a part of an upper end of the first side plate 612, a first front plate 614 that has a rectangular shape and is formed such that a lower end and a right end of the first front plate 614 are respectively formed integrally at an entire front end of the first lower plate 611 and an entire front end of the first side plate 612, and a first rear plate 615 formed integrally over rear ends of the first lower plate 611, the first side plate 612, and the first coupling plate 613.

The first front plate 614 includes a first opening 6141 penetrated in the front-rear direction so that the ice storage bucket 800 to be described later can be taken into and out of the ice making compartment 60.

The first lower plate 611 is configured to form the bottom of the compartment 600. The first lower plate 611 is formed to extend in the front-rear direction.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, the first lower plate 611 includes an inclination plate 6111 having an inclination θ1 that is inclined downward as a front side goes from the front to the rear. A rear side of the inclination plate 6111 is formed as a horizontal plate 6112.

An ice discharge port 6113 penetrated in the up-down direction is formed on the front side of the first lower plate 611, i.e., the inclination plate 6111 to be spaced apart from a front surface of the first front plate 614 to be described later.

The ice discharge port 6113 is a hole from which ice made by the ice maker 700 and stored in the ice storage bucket 800 is discharged. The ice discharge port 6113 is provided at the lower part of the compartment 600 to be spaced apart from the rear side of an ice making compartment door 810 to be described later.

As the ice discharge port 6113 is provided at the lower part of the compartment 600, a joint portion between the ice making compartment door 810 and the compartment 600, i.e., a detachable portion for opening and closing between the ice making compartment door 810 and the compartment 600 is positioned to be spaced apart from the ice discharge port 6113 at the front side of the ice discharge port 6113. Hence, a loss of cool air on a movement path of ice stored in the ice storage bucket 800 can be minimized.

A gasket contact portion 6119 convexly protruding downward is formed at a perimeter of a lower end of the ice discharge port 6113.

The gasket contact portion 6119 is formed on a lower surface of the compartment 600, i.e., on a lower surface of the inclination plate 6111 of the first lower plate 611. The gasket contact portion 6119 is formed in a ring shape along the perimeter of the lower end of the ice discharge port 6113.

The gasket contact portion 6119 is inclined to have a decreasing inclination as it goes from the front to the rear.

The gasket contact portion 6119 is a portion that is in close contact with the gasket 332 provided at the upper end of the ice transfer duct 331 formed in the dispenser 330. The gasket contact portion 6119 intensively applies a pressure to the gasket 332 to increase a sealing force and prevent a loss of cool air.

A separation distance in the up-down direction between the perimeter of the ice transfer duct 331 and the perimeter of the ice discharge port 6113 decreases as it goes from the front side to the rear side. A thickness of the gasket 332 positioned at the perimeter of the ice transfer duct 331 decreases as it goes from the front side 332a to the rear side 332b.

Specifically, based on the ice discharge port 6113, a separation distance in the up-down direction between the front side of the ice transfer duct 331 and the gasket contact portion 6119 is greater than a separation distance in the up-down direction between the rear side of the ice transfer duct 331 and the gasket contact portion 6119. Thus, the thickness of the gasket 332 needs to decrease as it goes from the front side to the rear side, in order to perform the sealing between the ice discharge port 6113 and the ice transfer duct 331. That is, the gasket 332 needs to be inclined so that it has a decreasing inclination as the upper end of the gasket 332 goes from the front side 332a to the rear side.

Hence, the gasket contact portion 6119 smoothly pressurizes the entire perimeter of the upper end of the gasket 332 along the inclination formed in the gasket 332 when the first pivot door 310 closes the main body 10, and at the same time, is in close contact with the entire perimeter of the upper end of the gasket 332, thereby maintaining airtightness between the ice making compartment 60 and the refrigerator compartment 11.

Since the gasket 332 and the gasket contact portion 6119 smoothly contact each other along the inclination formed in the gasket 332 when the first pivot door 310 closes the main body 10, twisting or pushing of the gasket 332 can be prevented without adding a separate lubricating material to the gasket 332.

When the ice making compartment 60 is formed by the compartment 600, an entrance wall 630 and an installation wall 640 may be further included in addition to the compartment 600.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the entrance wall 630 is coupled to a front part of the compartment 600.

The entrance wall 630 is configured to form an entrance portion of the ice making compartment 60. The entrance wall 630 is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape as a whole and includes a second opening 6301 that is penetrated in the front-rear direction in a central portion.

An ice guide portion 6319 protruding downward is formed on a front lower plate of the entrance wall 630.

A lower end of the ice guide portion 6319 is formed to have the same inclination as the inclination plate 6111 of the first lower plate 611.

As an inside of the ice guide portion 6319 is formed to be penetrated in the up-down direction, an upper end of the ice guide portion 6319 communicates with the second opening 6301, and the lower end of the ice guide portion 6319 communicates with the ice discharge port 6113.

When the entrance wall 630 is coupled to the compartment 600, the lower end of the ice guide portion 6319 is inserted into the ice discharge port 6113 of the compartment 600.

A shape of the gasket 332 is described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 9b and 9c.

The gasket 332 includes an inner peripheral portion 381 forming a passage through which ice passing through the ice discharge port 6113 first passes among the gaskets 332, a case contact portion 383 that is connected to the outside of the inner peripheral portion 381, has an upper end in close contact with the gasket contact portion 6119, and extends to the outside, a first part 385 that is connected to a lower end of the case contact portion 383 and extends to the inside, a reduction portion 387 that is connected to a lower end of the first part 385 and extends downwardly, and a coupling portion 389 that is connected to a lower end of the reduction portion 387 and is coupled to the ice inlet pipe 330a.

The inner peripheral portion 381 is formed to have a long length in the up-down direction and has a shape with a lower end rolled outward. Thus, ice can easily fall to the lower side without being caught in the inside of the case contact portion 383 of the gasket 382.

The inside of the case contact portion 383 is connected to an upper end of the inner peripheral portion 381, and the case contact portion 383 is formed to be inclined downward as it goes to the outside.

The outside of the first part 385 is connected to the lower end of the case contact portion 383, and the first part 385 extends to the inside.

The first part 385 is formed to have a substantially long length in the front-rear direction.

Since a thickness of the front side of the gasket 332 is greater than a thickness of the rear side of the gasket 332, the front side of the first part 385 is inclined downward as it goes from the front to the rear, and the rear side of the first part 385 has a shape close to being parallel to the front-rear direction as it goes from the front to the rear.

A thickness t1 of the front side 332a of the gasket 332 is greater than a thickness of the rear side 332b of the gasket 332 by the reduction portion 387. Specifically, the gasket 332 has a gradually decreasing thickness as it goes from the front side 332a to the rear side 332b.

Hence, the upper surface of the gasket 332 has a shape corresponding to the inclination plate 6111 that is inclined downwardly.

Accordingly, when the first pivot door 310 is opened and closed by moving in a direction of the arrow, a lower surface of the gasket contact portion 6119 formed on the inclination plate 6111 is disposed to correspond to the upper end of the gasket 332, i.e., an upper end of the case contact portion 383. Hence, changes in the thickness of the gasket 332 enable the smooth opening and closing of the first pivot door 310. Further, since the gasket 332 contacts the gasket contact portion 6119 and is pressed downward, the sealing force between the gasket 332 and the gasket contact portion 6119 is improved.

Based on the left side, i.e., the front side of FIG. 9b, the reduction portion 387 includes a first reduction portion 3871 that has an upper end connected to the lower end of the first part 385 and is disposed to elongate in the up-down direction, a wrinkle portion that has an upper end connected to a lower end of the first reduction portion 3871 and forms a wrinkle in at least a part of the reduction portion 387, and a fourth reduction portion 3874 that has an upper end connected to a lower end of the wrinkle portion and is disposed to elongate in the up-down direction.

The wrinkle portion includes a second reduction portion 3872 that has an upper end connected to the lower end of the first reduction portion 3871 and is inclined inwardly downwardly as it goes from the upper side to the lower side, and a third reduction portion 3873 that has an upper end connected to a lower end of the lower second reduction portion 3872 and a lower end connected to the fourth reduction portion 3874 and is inclined outwardly downwardly as it goes from the upper side to the lower side.

In this instance, the first reduction portion 3871 and the fourth reduction portion 3874 are vertically arranged substantially parallel to each other.

The second reduction portion 3872 and the third reduction portion 3873 are formed to be inclined in different directions. The second reduction portion 3872 and the third reduction portion 3873 form wrinkles in the gasket and can reduce a load applied by the gasket contact portion 6119 when the first pivot door 310 is closed.

A front thickness and a rear thickness of the gasket 332 are different from each other. Specifically, since the front thickness of the gasket 332 is greater than the rear thickness of the gasket 332, the reduction portion 387 has a decreasing thickness as it goes from the front to the rear. Thus, as illustrated in the right side of FIG. 9b, it can be seen that a shape of the rear side of the reduction portion 387 is almost absent. In this instance, it can be seen that the rear side of the gasket 332 has the shape in which there is no reduction portion 387 and the first part 385 and the coupling portion 389 are connected.

An insertion space into which the upper flange 3301 of the ice inlet pipe 330a is inserted is formed in an inner peripheral surface of the coupling portion 389.

Specifically, the coupling portion 389 includes, based on the position, a coupling upper piece 3891 connected to the fourth reduction portion 3874 or the first part 385, a coupling peripheral piece 3893 that is connected to the outside of the coupling upper piece 3891 and extends downward, and a coupling lower piece 3895 that is connected to a lower side of the coupling peripheral piece 3893 and is supported on the first door inner case 310b.

The coupling upper piece 3891 and the coupling lower piece 3895 are formed to extend back and forth.

The coupling peripheral piece 3893 is formed to extend up and down.

The coupling upper piece 3891 contacts an upper surface of the upper end flange 3301, the coupling peripheral piece 3893 contacts an outer perimeter of the upper end flange 3301, and the coupling lower piece 3895 contacts a lower surface of the upper end flange 3301.

The first part 385 is connected to the outside rather than the center of the coupling upper piece 3891.

Specifically, a portion of the coupling upper piece 3891 connected to the first part 385 is approximately ⅓ of a front-rear length of the coupling upper piece 3891 from the outside.

A front-rear length of the coupling lower piece 3895 is less than the front-rear length of the coupling upper piece 3891.

A front-rear length of the coupling portion 389 is less than a front-rear length of the case contact portion 383.

An outer end of the coupling portion 389 is disposed more inward than an outer end of the case contact portion 383.

The above-described shape of the gasket 332 is merely an example, and the gasket 332 can have various shapes other than the shapes described in the present disclosure.

The ice storage bucket 800 may be installed below the ice making compartment 60.

Referring to FIG. 9a, the ice storage bucket 800 is disposed below the ice maker 700 and is provided to be taken into and out of the ice making compartment 60.

The ice storage bucket 800 may include the ice making compartment door 810, an ice crushing portion 820, a bucket portion 830, and an auger 840.

The ice making compartment door 810 is configured to selectively open and close the opened front surface of the ice making compartment 60 by being detaching from a front surface of the compartment 600.

When the ice storage bucket 800 is taken out of the ice making compartment 60, the ice making compartment door 810 is spaced apart from the front surface of the compartment 600 to open the front surface of the ice making compartment 60. When the ice storage bucket 800 is completely taken into the ice making compartment 60, the ice making compartment door 810 is in close contact with the front surface of the compartment 600 to close the front surface of the ice making compartment 60.

A handle 811 that the user can grip is provided in the ice storage bucket 800.

The ice crushing portion 820 may be coupled to the rear surface of the ice making compartment door 810.

The ice crushing portion 820 is configured to crush ice to be discharged according to a user's selection. The ice crushing portion 820 is provided at the rear surface of the ice making compartment door 810 to protrude rearward. A front lower part of the ice crushing portion 820 is opened, and the ice crushing portion 820 communicates with the ice discharge port 6113.

The ice crushing portion 820 is disposed between the ice making compartment door 810 and the bucket portion 830 to connect the ice making compartment door 810 and the bucket unit 830.

A plurality of crushers 821 is provided in the ice crushing portion 820 and is configured to crush ice by rotating together with a rotation of the auger 840 to be described later.

The plurality of crushers 821 is provided in the ice crushing portion 820 and is configured to crush ice while rotating.

A support member 822 is formed at a lower part of the crusher 821.

The support member 822 is disposed at the lower part of the crusher 821 and is configured to support ice to be crushed so that the crusher 821 can crush the ice.

An operating shaft 823 is connected to the support member 822.

When the support member 822 supports ice, the ice is crushed by the crusher 821 and then may be taken out to the dispenser 330 through the ice discharge port 6113. When the support member 822 does not support ice, the ice as it is may be taken out to the dispenser 330 through the ice discharge port 6113.

The bucket portion 830 is coupled to the rear of the ice crushing portion 820.

The bucket portion 830 is a container in which ice made by the ice maker 700 is stored. The bucket portion 830 is formed to elongate in the front-rear direction, and an ice storage space 831 with an opened upper part is provided in the bucket portion 830.

The auger 840 is provided in the bucket portion 830.

The auger 840 is configured to transfer ice stored in the ice storage space 831 of the bucket portion 830 to the ice discharge port 6113 and is rotatably provided in the ice storage space 831.

The ice making compartment door 810, the ice crushing portion 820, and the bucket portion 830 are coupled to each other as described above, and move together according to the opening and closing of the ice making compartment door 810. Therefore, it is possible to take the ice storage bucket 800 into and out of the ice making compartment 60 as a whole.

Although the embodiments have been described with reference to a number of illustrative embodiments thereof, numerous other modifications and embodiments may be devised by those skilled in the art that will fall within the scope of the principles of the present disclosure. In particular, various variations and modifications are possible in the component parts and/or arrangements of the subject combination arrangement within the scope of the disclosure, the drawings and the appended claims.

DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

** Description of main reference numerals **
10: refrigerator                 60: ice making compartment
300: pivot door                  332: gasket
383: case contact portion        387: reduction portion
600: compartment                 6113: ice discharge port
6119: gasket contact portion     700: ice maker
800: ice storage bucket
t1: thickness of gasket front side t2: thickness of gasket rear side

Claims

1. A refrigerator comprising: a main body provided with a refrigerator compartment and a freezer compartment;an ice making compartment formed in the main body as a separate thermal insulation space from the refrigerator compartment, the ice making compartment including an ice maker; anda door configured to open and close the ice making compartment and the refrigerator compartment, the door including a dispenser communicating with the ice making compartment,wherein the ice making compartment is provided with an ice discharge port from which an ice made by the ice maker is discharged,wherein the dispenser is provided with an ice transfer duct communicating with the ice discharge port,wherein a gasket is installed at a perimeter of the ice transfer duct, and an upper surface of the gasket contacts a lower surface of the ice discharge port, andwherein the lower surface of the ice discharge port and the upper surface of the gasket are formed to be inclined downward as they go from a front side to a rear side.

2. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein a separation distance in an up-down direction between the perimeter of the ice transfer duct and a perimeter of the ice discharge port decreases as it goes from the front side to the rear side, and wherein a thickness of the gasket positioned at the perimeter of the ice transfer duct decreases as it goes from the front side to the rear side.

3. The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein the gasket includes: a case contact portion having an upper end in close contact with a gasket contact portion and extending to an outside;a reduction portion connected to a lower end of the case contact portion and extending downwardly; anda coupling portion connected to a lower end of the reduction portion and coupled to the ice transfer duct,wherein a thickness of the reduction portion decreases as it goes from the front side to the rear side.

4. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the refrigerator compartment and the ice making compartment are simultaneously formed as independent spaces by foaming.

5. The refrigerator of claim 4, wherein the freezer compartment is formed as an independent space by foaming at the same time as the refrigerator compartment and the ice making compartment.