Refrigerator

Abstract

According to the present invention, the front-facing side of the inner walls of a storage chamber has a stepped portion formed at the end thereof, to at least partially accommodate a door liner of a door. A reed switch is provided inside a wall surface of the stepped portion, and a magnet is provided inside a wall surface of the door liner, the wall surfaces facing each other in the front-rear direction. Accordingly, a distance between the magnet and the reed switch can be minimized.

Description

refrigerator

[0001] The present invention relates to a refrigerator having a structure for detecting the closing of a door.

[0002] Generally, a refrigerator is a home appliance that utilizes cold air to store items for long periods of time. Such refrigerators provide at least one storage compartment for storing items, each of which is configured to be opened and closed by a door.

[0003] When the above door is opened, the lighting provided inside the storage compartment is controlled to illuminate or the operation of the refrigerator is temporarily stopped.

[0004] That is, when the door is opened, the light illuminates the inside of the storage compartment, allowing the user to accurately identify the type and location of stored items inside the storage compartment, and the refrigerator operation is temporarily paused to reduce power consumption.

[0005] To control the lighting or operation of such lighting, the refrigerator is provided with a sensing device for sensing whether the door is open or closed. The sensing device may include a switch operated by physical force or a sensor for detecting proximity.

[0006] Additionally, the installation location of the sensing device is different depending on the type of door.

[0007] For example, a sensing device applied to a door having a structure that opens and closes a storage room while rotating, such as in Publication Utility Model No. 20-1988-0010634 (prior document 1), Publication Patent No. 10-2010-0085247 (prior document 2), and Publication Patent No. 10-2021-0156160 (prior document 3), is located at the front side of the storage room.

[0008] On the other hand, the sensing device applied to a door having a structure that operates in a drawer-like manner, such as in Patent Publication No. 10-2022-0014601 (prior document 4) and Patent Publication No. 10-2022-0051602 (prior document 5), is located at the rear side of the storage room, such as the rear of the drawer and the rear wall inside the storage room.

[0009] Accordingly, in the past, the structure of the inner wall of the refrigerator's storage compartment (structure of the inner case) had to be different depending on the type of door.

[0010] That is, in the past, inner cases could not be shared depending on the type of door and had to be designed differently.

[0011] In addition, in the case of a conventional rotary door, as in Fig. 1 of prior art document 1, a magnet is provided on one side wall (the wall facing the side wall inside the storage compartment) inside the door liner protruding from the storage compartment side wall of the door, and a reed switch is provided on the front side wall inside the storage compartment. Accordingly, when the door is closed, the reed switch is positioned to face the magnet and detect the magnet.

[0012] However, the arrangement structure of the sensing device according to the conventional technology described above has a disadvantage in that the door liner must protrude sufficiently, making it difficult to maximize the space inside the storage room.

[0013] In particular, in the case of a structure in which a drawer is installed within a storage room, if the door is not sufficiently opened, the drawer may collide with the door liner and interfere with the door when being pulled out. Due to this problem, the longer the protruding length of the door liner, the greater the door opening angle must be secured, which is a disadvantage.

[0014] In addition, in the case of a structure in which magnets and reed switches are provided on the side walls within the door liner and the side walls within the storage compartment (inner case) as described above, the door liner is formed so that a sufficient distance is secured between them to prevent them from colliding with each other during the rotational movement of the door due to the protruding length of the door liner.

[0015] Accordingly, there was a limit to making the distance between the reed switch and the magnet as close as possible in the past, and as a result, a high-performance (expensive) reed switch had to be used, which inevitably increased the overall manufacturing cost.

[0016] Meanwhile, in the case of prior art document 2, it is suggested that the reed switch is provided in the bulkhead that divides the upper and lower storage rooms.

[0017] However, the above-mentioned prior art document 2 also has the same problem as the above-mentioned prior art document 1. That is, because there was a limit to making the distance between the reed switch and the magnet as close as possible, an expensive reed switch had to be used.

[0018] Additionally, in the case of prior art document 3, the reed switch and magnet are provided in a hinge assembly provided on the upper side of the refrigerator.

[0019] However, the structure of installing a sensing device in the above hinge assembly has a disadvantage in that it can only be applied to the upper door and is difficult to apply to the lower door.

[0020] The present invention has been devised to solve various problems of the above-mentioned prior art, and the purpose of the present invention is to provide a new type of refrigerator in which an inner case to which a rotary door or a drawer-type door can be commonly applied is provided by improving the installation structure of a sensing device.

[0021] In addition, an object of the present invention is to provide a new type of refrigerator that can improve sensing accuracy even with the application of a relatively inexpensive reed switch by making the separation distance between the magnet and the reed switch as close as possible.

[0022] In addition, an object of the present invention is to provide a new type of refrigerator that can minimize interference during drawer operation by minimizing the protruding height of a door liner formed on a door.

[0023] According to the refrigerator of the present invention for achieving the above-mentioned purpose, the reed switch and the magnet can be positioned facing each other in the front-back direction within the storage compartment so as to minimize the distance between them.

[0024] According to the refrigerator of the present invention, a step is formed at the front end of the inner wall of the storage compartment to accommodate at least a portion of the door liner of the door, and a reed switch and a magnet may be provided inside the wall facing the step and the door liner in the front-back direction, respectively.

[0025] According to the refrigerator of the present invention, a door liner may be formed to protrude around the inner perimeter of the door so as to surround the front perimeter within the storage compartment.

[0026] According to the refrigerator of the present invention, a sensing device may be provided to detect whether the door is open or closed.

[0027] According to the refrigerator of the present invention, the sensing device may include a reed switch provided in the cabinet and a magnet provided in the door.

[0028] According to the refrigerator of the present invention, the reed switch and the magnet of the sensing device can be positioned to face each other in the front-back direction within the storage compartment when the door is closed.

[0029] According to the refrigerator of the present invention, the reed switch may be provided at a portion facing the end of the door liner protruding into the storage compartment when the door is closed.

[0030] According to the refrigerator of the present invention, a recessed sill may be formed at the front end of the inner wall of the storage compartment of the cabinet so that at least a portion of the door liner of the door is recessed.

[0031] According to the refrigerator of the present invention, the reed switch may be provided within the recessed jaw.

[0032] According to the refrigerator of the present invention, the reed switch may be provided at a position facing the end face of the door liner in the protruding direction inside the recess.

[0033] According to the refrigerator of the present invention, the magnet may be provided at an end of the door liner on the protruding side of the door liner inside the door liner.

[0034] According to the refrigerator of the present invention, a protrusion protruding in the same direction as the door liner may be formed on the inner surface of the door.

[0035] According to the refrigerator of the present invention, the magnet may be provided within the protrusion.

[0036] According to the refrigerator of the present invention, a recessed portion may be formed at the front end of the inner wall of the storage compartment of the cabinet to accommodate the protrusion of the door.

[0037] According to the refrigerator of the present invention, the magnet may be located at the end of the protrusion in the protrusion direction inside the protrusion.

[0038] According to the refrigerator of the present invention, the reed switch may be provided at a position facing the protruding end of the protruding part inside the inlet portion.

[0039] According to the refrigerator of the present invention, the reed switch of the sensing device may be provided on a partition wall dividing the storage compartment into upper and lower or left and right sides.

[0040] According to the refrigerator of the present invention, a recessed portion for receiving a portion of a door is formed on the bottom surface of the bulkhead, and a reed switch may be provided at an end of the recessed portion facing the door.

[0041] According to the refrigerator of the present invention, the door liner of the door can be formed so that at least a portion thereof is received within the recessed portion.

[0042] According to the refrigerator of the present invention, the magnet may be provided at an end of the door liner in a protruding direction inside the door liner.

[0043] According to the refrigerator of the present invention, a protrusion in which a reed switch is embedded can be formed protrudingly on the bottom surface of the bulkhead so as to face a part of the door.

[0044] According to the refrigerator of the present invention, the protrusion can be positioned to face the protrusion-side end of the door liner forming the door.

[0045] According to the refrigerator of the present invention, the reed switch may be provided at a position adjacent to the end of the door liner in the protruding direction inside the protruding portion.

[0046] According to the refrigerator of the present invention, a drawer may be provided in the storage compartment and installed to be selectively withdrawn from the storage compartment.

[0047] According to the refrigerator of the present invention, the reed switch of the sensing device may be positioned further forward than the front of the drawer when the drawer is fully stored in the storage compartment.

[0048] As described above, the refrigerator of the present invention minimizes the distance between the reed switch and magnet forming the sensing device by positioning them so that they face each other in the forward and backward direction of the storage compartment. This improves the accuracy of sensing whether the door is open or closed when using the same reed switch. In particular, accurate sensing is possible even with relatively inexpensive reed switches.

[0049] Furthermore, the refrigerator of the present invention can minimize the protrusion height of the door liner formed on the door by improving the arrangement of the sensing device. This allows the maximum opening angle of the door to be reduced even in refrigerators with drawers.

[0050] In addition, since the refrigerator of the present invention can provide a reed switch at the same sensing position regardless of whether it is a rotary door or a drawer-type door, an inner case that can be commonly applied regardless of the type of door can be provided.

[0051] Figure 1 is a front view of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0052] Figure 2 is a side view of the internal state of the storage compartment of the refrigerator of the embodiment of the present invention with the door open.

[0053] Figure 3 is a side view of the internal state of the storage compartment of the refrigerator of the embodiment of the present invention with the door open and the drawer pulled out.

[0054] Figure 4 is a perspective view showing the internal state of the storage compartment of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention with the door open.

[0055] Figure 5 is a plan view showing the internal state of a storage compartment of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention with the door closed.

[0056] Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the “A” portion of Figure 5 in detail.

[0057] Figure 7 is a plan view showing the internal state of a storage compartment of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention with the door open.

[0058] Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view showing the “B” portion of Figure 7 in detail.

[0059] Figure 9 is a state diagram showing the inner surface of a door of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0060] Figures 10 and 11 are diagrams showing the arrangement of the reed switch and magnet for the sensing device of the second type of the present invention as viewed from the plane direction of the refrigerator.

[0061] Figure 12 is a diagram showing the arrangement of the reed switch and magnet for the sensing device of the third type of the present invention as viewed from the plane direction of the refrigerator.

[0062] Figures 13 and 14 are side views of the refrigerator showing the arrangement of the reed switch and magnet for the sensing device of the fourth type of the present invention.

[0063] Figure 15 is a side view of the refrigerator showing the arrangement of the reed switch and magnet for the sensing device of the fifth type of the present invention.

[0064] Embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to exemplary drawings. When designating components in each drawing, it should be noted that, where possible, identical components are given identical reference numerals, even if they appear in different drawings.

[0065] In addition, when describing an embodiment of the present invention, if a detailed description of a related known configuration or function is judged to hinder understanding of the embodiment of the present invention, the detailed description is omitted.

[0066] Additionally, terms such as first, second, A, B, (a), (b), etc. may be used to describe components of embodiments of the present invention. These terms are only intended to distinguish the components from other components, and the nature, order, or sequence of the components are not limited by the terms. When it is described that a component is "connected," "coupled," or "connected" to another component, it should be understood that the component may be directly connected or connected to the other component, but another component may also be "connected," "coupled," or "connected" between each component.

[0067] First, the refrigerator according to the present invention includes a cabinet (100) that provides a storage compartment, a door (200) that opens and closes the storage compartment, and a sensing device that detects whether the door (200) is opened or closed.

[0068] In particular, the refrigerator of the present invention has an improved structure for the arrangement of the sensing device in a structure in which the opening and closing of the door (200) can be detected by the sensing device.

[0069] By improving the arrangement of these sensing devices, the storage compartment of the cabinet (100) can be provided with the same structure regardless of whether it is a rotary door or a drawer-type door. In other words, the manufacturing cost can be reduced through the common use of the inner case (120).

[0070] The refrigerator of this embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail for each component with reference to FIGS. 1 to 15 as follows.

[0071] Here, Fig. 1 is a front view of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention, and Figs. 2 and 3 are side views of the internal state of a storage compartment of the refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0072] In addition, Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the lower part with the door open, and Fig. 5 is a plan view showing the internal state of the storage compartment of the refrigerator of the embodiment of the present invention with the door closed.

[0073] As shown in these drawings, the refrigerator of the present invention includes a cabinet (100).

[0074] The above cabinet (100) forms the exterior and interior of the refrigerator. That is, the cabinet (100) may be formed by an outer case (110) forming the exterior and an inner case (120) forming the interior.

[0075] The inner case (120) above provides a storage space inside and is formed in a box-shaped structure with an open front.

[0076] The inner case (120) above may be provided in two or more pluralities. For example, the inner case (120) may be provided in multiples vertically or horizontally.

[0077] When the inner cases (120) are provided in multiple numbers, a partition wall (130) may be provided between each inner case (120). That is, each inner case (120) may be maintained in its original position by the partition wall (130) and each storage room may be provided separately.

[0078] Of course, the above-mentioned bulkhead (130) may be formed to divide the space (storage room) within the inner case (120) left and right or up and down while being provided within one inner case (120).

[0079] The space between the outer case (110) and the inner case (120) may be formed to have an insulating space. The insulating space may be provided with an insulating material, such as a foam insulating material or a vacuum insulating material. Of course, the insulating space may also be provided as a simple empty space.

[0080] Next, the refrigerator of the present invention includes a door (200).

[0081] The above door (200) selectively opens and closes the storage room provided by the inner case (120) of the above cabinet (100).

[0082] The above door (200) can be formed as a rotary structure that opens and closes the storage room by rotating around a hinge axis (not shown).

[0083] As illustrated in FIGS. 2 to 9, a door liner (210) is formed to protrude around the inner surface of the door (the surface facing the storage compartment when the door is closed) so as to surround the front surface of the storage compartment (the front inner surface of the inner case). That is, the door liner (210) prevents cold air inside the storage compartment from flowing directly into the gap between the door (200) and the front surface of the cabinet (100), thereby reducing cold air leakage.

[0084] Of course, the temperature rise due to heat conduction may be reduced by increasing the heat conduction length between the inside of the storage compartment and the outside of the door (200) due to the above door liner (210).

[0085] Next, the refrigerator of the present invention includes a sensing device.

[0086] The above sensing device is provided to detect whether the door (200) is open or closed. That is, control can be performed to selectively provide lighting inside the storage compartment or selectively stop operation of the refrigerator depending on whether the door (200) is open or closed as detected by the sensing device.

[0087] These sensing devices can be provided in a variety of forms.

[0088] As an example, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, the sensing device may be composed of a reed switch (310) and a magnet (320).

[0089] The above sensing device may be provided at a position where the cabinet (100) and the door (200) are adjacent to each other while facing each other.

[0090] For example, a reed switch (310) may be provided in the cabinet (100), and a magnet (320) may be provided in the door (200). As a result, the magnet (320) may be positioned adjacent to or apart from the reed switch (310) depending on the opening or closing of the door (200), thereby accurately recognizing the opening or closing of the door (200).

[0091] Meanwhile, it is suggested that the reed switch (310) and magnet (320) of the sensing device are positioned facing each other in the front-back direction at the front side of the storage room when the door (200) is closed.

[0092] In the past, in consideration of the operation of the door (200), the reed switch (310) and the magnet (320) were arranged in the left and right directions (both directions when viewed from the front) at the front side of the storage room, and this structure inevitably had to have a large distance between them in consideration of the operation of the door (200).

[0093] In contrast, if the reed switch (310) and the magnet (320) are positioned to face each other in the front-back direction within the storage room as in the embodiment of the present invention, the design can be made to minimize the distance between them without causing interference during the operation of the door (200). This makes it possible to use a reed switch with relatively lower performance compared to the prior art, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost.

[0094] As a form of making the reed switch (310) and magnet (320) face each other in the front-back direction within the storage room, an indentation (121) may be formed on one side of the inner case (120) forming the cabinet (100) so that the door liner (210) of the door (200) may be indented. For example, the indentation (121) may be formed on the front end of one of the two side walls of the inner case (120).

[0095] In this case, the reed switch (310) may be provided within the inlet ridge (121), and the magnet (320) may be provided within the door liner (210).

[0096] More specifically, the reed switch (310) may be provided on the inner surface of a wall (front wall) (121a) facing the protruding end surface (protruding wall surface) of the door liner (210) among the recessed jaws (121), and the magnet (320) may be provided on the end surface facing the front wall (121a) within the door liner (210). Accordingly, the reed switch (310) and the magnet (320) may be positioned adjacent to each other while facing each other in the front-back direction.

[0097] In particular, the reed switch (310) may be positioned to detect a magnetic force toward the end face of the door liner (210). The magnet (320) may be positioned so that a portion having a wider area at the end face of the door liner (210) faces a wall facing the end face of the door liner (210) in the protruding direction among the indentations (121). This allows the reed switch (310) to detect the magnet (320) within the door liner (210) more accurately.

[0098] The installation positions of the above reed switch (310) and magnet (320) can be provided in various ways.

[0099] As an example, the sensing device may be positioned adjacent to the upper door cap cover (top surface of the door, not shown) or the upper hinge door (not shown), such as at “a” or “c” in the attached drawing 3.

[0100] As another example, the sensing device may be positioned adjacent to the lower door cap cover (bottom of the door, not shown) or the lower hinge door (not shown), as in the “b” portion of the attached drawing 3.

[0101] That is, it may be desirable for the reed switch (310) and magnet (320) to be provided so as to avoid areas where the drawer (400) is drawn out, such as the “a” area, the “b” area, and the “c” area.

[0102] An installation hole (122) for installation or maintenance of the reed switch (310) may be formed in the inner case (120) of the cabinet (100). At this time, the installation hole (122) may be opened and closed with a cover (123).

[0103] As illustrated in FIG. 4, the installation hole (122) and cover (123) may be provided on the side wall of the inner case (120). In particular, the installation hole (122) and cover (123) may be positioned adjacent to the indentation (121), and preferably adjacent to the reed switch (310). Of course, as indicated by the dotted line in FIG. 4, the cover (123) may be positioned to be spaced apart from the reed switch (310).

[0104] In addition, a supporter housing (124) for determining the position of the reed switch (310) may be provided on the inner surface of the inner case (120) of the cabinet (100) (the wall facing the outer case). That is, the reed switch (310) can maintain its position without being affected by the foam insulation (omitted from the drawing) foamed between the inner case (120) and the outer case (110) by the supporter housing (124).

[0105] Meanwhile, the above-mentioned recess (121) may be recessed to a depth (left-right length of the storage room, left-right width length of the door liner) that allows the door liner (210) to be completely recessed, but may also be recessed to a depth that allows at least a portion of the door liner (210) to be recessed.

[0106] According to the refrigerator of the present invention configured as described above, when the door (200) is closed, a door liner (210) formed to protrude along the inner periphery of the door (200) is accommodated within a recessed protrusion (121) formed in the inner case (120) of the cabinet (100).

[0107] In this case, the magnet (320) provided inside the protruding end of the door liner (210) is closest to the reed switch (310) provided inside the front side (the surface positioned to face the protruding side of the door liner) of the indentation (121) and faces each other.

[0108] In this way, whether the door (200) is closed can be accurately sensed, and based on this sensing information, the lighting in the storage room or the operation of the refrigerator can be controlled.

[0109] On the other hand, when a drawer (400) is provided within the storage room, the recessed jaw (121) formed along the front end portion within the inner case (120) may be formed to be positioned further forward than the front of the drawer (400). That is, the structure of the recessed jaw (121) allows the reed switch (310) to be positioned further forward than the front of the drawer (400).

[0110] This can prevent the door liner (210) from interfering with the front of the drawer (400) when the door (200) is closed.

[0111] As described above, the refrigerator of the present invention can improve the sensing accuracy of whether the door (200) is open or closed by minimizing the distance between the reed switch (310) and the magnet (320) through improvements in the arrangement of the sensing device. That is, since the reed switch (310) and the magnet (320) are arranged to face each other in the front direction of the storage compartment at the front side of the storage compartment, the distance between them can be minimized, thereby improving the sensing accuracy.

[0112] Meanwhile, the refrigerator of the present invention can be configured in a different form from the aforementioned one form (first form) so that the reed switch (310) and the magnet (320) forming the sensing device can face each other in the front-back direction within the storage compartment.

[0113] For example, the arrangement relationship of a reed switch (310) and a magnet (320) according to another form (second form) of the present invention is illustrated in the attached FIGS. 10 and 11.

[0114] According to the second embodiment of the present invention, a first protrusion (125) that protrudes further than other portions toward the door (200) may be formed on the front of the inner case (120). In this case, the reed switch (310) may be provided at an end portion of the first protrusion (125) facing the door (200).

[0115] In addition, the portion of the door liner (210) of the door (200) that faces the first protrusion (125) may be lower in height than other portions, or a first recessed portion (211) into which the first protrusion (125) is recessed may be formed. The magnet (320) may be provided in a portion of the interior of the first recessed portion (211) that faces the direction in which the first protrusion (125) protrudes.

[0116] That is, when the closing operation of the door (200) is performed, the first protrusion (125) of the inner case (120) is adjacent to the first inlet (211) of the door (200), and the reed switch (310) located within the first protrusion (125) can accurately sense the magnet (320) located within the first inlet (211).

[0117] In particular, the second form of the present invention described above can be formed without the door liner (210) as in FIG. 10, or the overall height of the door liner (210) can be lowered by the depth of the first inlet portion (211) as in FIG. 11. Accordingly, in the case of a refrigerator model in which a drawer (400) is provided in a storage compartment, the interference in operation caused by the door liner (210) can be reduced when the drawer (400) is pulled out forward and backward. That is, since the height of the door liner (210) can be lowered, the maximum opening angle of the door (200) for pulling out the drawer (400) can be reduced, thereby improving the freedom of operation of the door (200).

[0118] Next, the attached Figure 12 illustrates the arrangement relationship of a reed switch (310) and a magnet (320) according to another form (third form) of the present invention.

[0119] According to the third aspect of the present invention, a second protrusion (220) protruding in the same direction as the door liner (210) may be formed on the inner surface of the door (200). The second protrusion (220) may be formed separately from the door liner (210) to protrude from the inner surface of the door (200) in the same direction as the door liner (210). Preferably, the second protrusion (220) may be formed to be located outside the door liner (210) among the inner periphery of the door (200).

[0120] In addition, a second recessed portion (126) may be formed on the front end of the inner wall surface (inner wall surface of the storage room) of the inner case (120) of the cabinet (100) to accommodate the second protrusion (220). The second recessed portion (126) is formed to accommodate the second protrusion (220) when the door (200) is closed.

[0121] In the case of the third form of the present invention, the reed switch (310) is provided at the end within the second protrusion (220), and the magnet (320) can be provided within the wall surface facing the end in the protruding direction of the second protrusion (220) within the second inlet (126) when the door (200) is closed.

[0122] Next, the attached drawings 13 and 14 illustrate the arrangement relationship of a reed switch (310) and a magnet (320) according to another form (fourth form) of the present invention.

[0123] According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the reed switch (310) may be provided on the upper surface within the storage chamber. That is, the reed switch (310) may be provided on the upper wall within the inner case (120).

[0124] The interior of the inner case (120) can be divided into an upper storage room and a lower storage room by a partition wall (130). In this case, the reed switch (310) can be provided on the bottom surface of the partition wall (130).

[0125] For example, the reed switch (310) may be provided so as to be recessed upward from the upper surface within the storage room (inner case or bulkhead) or to be provided so as to be protruded downward from the upper surface within the storage room.

[0126] As an example, as illustrated in FIG. 13, a third recessed portion (127) is formed on the upper surface (bottom surface of the upper wall of the inner case) within the storage room to accommodate the door liner (210) of the door (200), and the reed switch (310) may be provided on the side facing the door liner (210) on the protruding side of the door liner (210) within the third recessed portion (127).

[0127] The third inlet portion (127) may be formed to accommodate all of the door liner (210) positioned on the upper circumference of the inner surface of the door (200). Alternatively, the third inlet portion (127) may be formed to accommodate only a portion of the door liner (210) on the inner surface of the door (200).

[0128] As another example, as illustrated in FIG. 14, a third protrusion (128) in which a reed switch (310) is embedded may be formed to protrude on the upper surface of the storage room so as to face the door liner (210) of the door (200).

[0129] Here, the third protrusion (128) is positioned to face the protruding end of the door liner (210) forming the door (200), and the reed switch (310) can be provided at a position adjacent to the protruding end of the door liner (210) within the third protrusion (128).

[0130] In addition, the magnet (320) may be provided at the protruding end of the door liner (210).

[0131] As another example, as illustrated in FIG. 15, the magnet (320) forming the sensing device (300) may be provided on the outer surface of the door liner (210).

[0132] That is, by providing the magnet (320) on the outer surface of the door liner (210), the distance from the reed switch (310) can be reduced by the thickness of the door liner (210). This can further improve sensing precision.

[0133] If the magnet (320) is exposed to the outside, the aesthetic appeal may be deteriorated due to detachment or external exposure. To prevent this, a groove (212) may be formed on the outer surface of the door liner (210) to accommodate the magnet (320), and the magnet (320) may be installed to be accommodated within the groove (212). The exposed surface of the magnet (320) may be covered using a sticker (321) or the like that is thinner than the thickness of the door liner (210).

[0134] Although not shown, the embodiment in which the magnet (320) is provided on the outer surface of the door liner (210) can also be applied to the embodiment according to the shape of FIG. 6, the embodiment according to the shape of FIG. 11, the embodiment according to the shape of FIG. 12, and the embodiment according to the shape of FIG. 13.

[0135] Meanwhile, although not shown, the door (200) in the refrigerator of the present invention may be formed as a drawer-type structure that is connected to the front of a drawer (400) that is installed to be able to move back and forth within the storage compartment.

[0136] In addition, although not shown, the refrigerator of the present invention may be provided with a reed switch (310) at an end within the door liner (210) and a magnet (320) may be placed at the front within a recessed protrusion (121) formed in the inner case (120), unlike each of the embodiments described above.

[0137]

[0138] In this way, the refrigerator of the present invention can be modified for various implementations.

[0139] Although all components constituting the embodiments of the present invention have been described above as being combined or operating in combination, the present invention is not necessarily limited to these embodiments. That is, within the scope of the present invention, all components may be selectively combined and operated one or more times. In addition, terms such as "include," "comprise," or "have" described above, unless specifically stated to the contrary, mean that the corresponding component may be present, and therefore should be interpreted as including other components rather than excluding other components. All terms, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as generally understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains, unless otherwise defined. Commonly used terms, such as terms defined in a dictionary, should be interpreted as being consistent with the contextual meaning of the related technology, and shall not be interpreted in an ideal or excessively formal sense, unless explicitly defined in the present invention.

[0140] The above description is merely an illustrative illustration of the technical idea of ​​the present invention, and those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications and variations can be made without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention are intended to illustrate rather than limit the technical idea of ​​the present invention, and the scope of the technical idea of ​​the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. The scope of protection of the present invention should be interpreted by the following claims, and all technical ideas within a scope equivalent thereto should be interpreted as being included in the scope of the rights of the present invention.

Claims

1. A cabinet having an inner case that provides storage space inside while the front is open; A door that selectively closes the open front of the inner case, and has a door liner formed protruding into the storage compartment while wrapping around the inner perimeter of the inner surface of the inner case; A sensing device for detecting whether the door is open or closed; The above sensing device includes a reed switch and a magnet, A refrigerator in which the above reed switch and magnet are positioned to face each other in the front-back direction within the storage compartment when the door is closed.

2. In paragraph 1, The above reed switch is provided in the inner case, and the above magnet is provided in the door. A refrigerator in which the above reed switch is positioned so as to face the wall surface of the door liner protruding into the storage compartment when the door is closed.

3. In paragraph 1, The above reed switch is provided in the inner case, and the above magnet is provided in the door. A recessed jaw is formed on the inner surface of the inner case so that at least a portion of the door liner is recessed, The above reed switch is provided in the refrigerator within the above jaw.

4. In paragraph 3, A refrigerator in which the above reed switch is provided at a position facing the wall surface of the protruding direction of the door liner inside the above recessed jaw.

5. In paragraph 3, A refrigerator in which the above magnet is provided at the end of the protruding direction inside the above door liner.

6. In paragraph 1, The above reed switch is provided in the inner case, and the above magnet is provided in the door. On the inner surface of the above door, a protrusion is formed that protrudes in the same direction as the door liner, The above magnet is provided in the above protrusion.

7. In paragraph 6, A refrigerator in which an indentation is formed on the inner wall surface of the inner case to accommodate the protrusion of the door.

8. In paragraph 7, The above magnet is located at the end of the protrusion direction inside the above protrusion, The above reed switch is provided in a refrigerator at a position facing the protruding end of the protrusion part inside the above inlet part.

9. In paragraph 1, The storage compartment within the inner case is provided as a partition divided into upper and lower compartments by a partition wall, A refrigerator in which the reed switch of the above sensing device is provided on the bulkhead and the magnet is provided on the door.

10. In paragraph 9, A recessed portion is formed on the bottom surface of the above bulkhead to accommodate a portion of the above door, A refrigerator in which the above reed switch is provided at the end of the inside of the above inlet portion facing the door.

11. In paragraph 10, The door liner of the above door is formed so that at least a portion thereof is received within the inlet portion, A refrigerator in which the above magnet is provided at the end of the protruding direction of the door liner inside the door liner.

12. In paragraph 9, A refrigerator in which a protrusion is formed on the bottom surface of the above bulkhead so as to face a part of the above door and in which a reed switch is embedded.

13. In paragraph 12, A refrigerator in which the above protrusion is positioned so as to face the protruding end of the door liner forming the door.

14. In paragraph 13, A refrigerator in which the above reed switch is provided at a position adjacent to the end of the door liner in the protruding direction inside the above protruding portion.

15. In paragraph 1, The above reed switch is provided in the inner case, and the above magnet is provided in the door. A drawer is provided in the storage room within the inner case and is selectively withdrawn from the storage room. A refrigerator characterized in that the reed switch of the above sensing device is installed so as to be positioned further forward than the front of the drawer when the drawer is fully stored in the storage compartment.

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