JPH10132456A - Efrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a refrigerator which dispenses with an unsanitary water supply passage whose cleaning can not be made due to the adhesion of fur, etc. SOLUTION: In a refrigerator possessing a refrigerator body 12 equipped with a cold-storage room, a cold-storage door 1 for opening and closing the cold-storage room, a cold water tank 3 for reserving water to be cooled with cold within the coldstorage room 1, and a water supply means for supplying the water within the cold water tank 3 to a member to be supplied with water, the water supply means consists of water supply plug 4 equipped with a cock 5, and the refrigerator door 1 is provided with an opening 8 and a small door 2 to open and close the opening 8, and the water supply plug 4 is provided integrally at the bottom of the cold water tank 3, being arranged in the position corresponding to the opening 8.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly to a refrigerator capable of extracting cold water from a cold water tank without opening and closing the refrigerator door from a cold water tank disposed inside the refrigerator door. is there.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventional refrigerators of this type include, for example, a refrigerator disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 50-19262 and a refrigerator disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 50-37270.

In the refrigerator disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 50-19262, cold water is pumped by a water supply pump from a cold water tank mounted inside a refrigerator compartment door, and the cold water is pumped on a table provided in front of the refrigerator compartment door. The water from the cold water tank is supplied by a water supply pump,
The container is guided to a water supply port via a water pipe, and water is supplied to the container from the water supply port.

In the refrigerator disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 50-37270, a valve is provided at the bottom of a chilled water tank mounted inside a refrigerator compartment door, and a lever / guide conduit is used to take out chilled water from the chilled water tank. By operating from the outside, the projection on the lever / guide conduit side pushes up the push rod for valve opening and closing, and water from the cold water tank is taken out through the lever / guide conduit to the outlet provided on the front of the refrigerator compartment door. The water is supplied to the provided water supply port, and water is supplied to the container from the water supply port.

Conventionally, in general, a water supply pump is used as described above, and a valve is provided at the bottom of a cold water tank, the valve is opened by operating a lever, and cold water is guided to a water supply port on the front of a refrigerator door.

[0006]

However, all of the above-mentioned conventional refrigerators have the following problems.

[0007] First, the water supply path from the cold water tank is built into the refrigerator compartment door, and cleaning is not easy due to adhesion of water deposits, and there is a hygiene problem.

In addition, the refrigerator door requires a space for a water supply device including a water supply path and a cold water tank, and furthermore, a placing table and an outlet for receiving cold water in a container such as a cup are formed by recessing the refrigerator compartment door inward. Therefore, there were problems such as limiting the effective internal volume of the refrigerator compartment.

Furthermore, a large number of parts are required as a water supply device, and it is necessary to incorporate reliability assurance such as water leakage prevention into the manufacturing process, which has been a factor in increasing the cost of products.

[0010] In addition, the remaining amount of water in the cold water tank is not clear at the time of removing the cold water, and is noticed only when the water stops flowing out, for example, by operating the lever. I couldn't always figure out.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide a refrigerator that does not require a water supply path which is a problem in hygiene.

[0012]

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a refrigerator according to the present invention, comprising: a refrigerator main body having a refrigerator compartment; a refrigerator compartment door for opening and closing the refrigerator compartment; A refrigerator provided with a cold water tank that is provided inside the room door and stores water to be cooled by cold air in the refrigerator compartment, and a water supply unit that supplies water to the member to be supplied with water in the cold water tank; Consists of a hydrant with a cock,
The refrigerator door is provided with an opening and a water supply door that opens and closes the opening, and the water tap is provided integrally with a lower portion of the cold water tank and disposed at a position corresponding to the opening. Is what you do.

Further, the refrigerator according to claim 2 of the present invention,
The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the water tap is protruded from the opening, and a concave portion is provided on an inner surface of the water supply door to cover the water tap.

Further, a refrigerator according to a third aspect of the present invention is the refrigerator according to the second aspect, wherein the cold water tank is disposed at the opening.

In addition, the refrigerator according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the refrigerator according to the third aspect, wherein the inclined surface is inclined on the bottom surface of the opening such that the water supply door side is lower than the refrigerator compartment side. And the cold water tank is arranged to be inclined to the opening.

In addition, a refrigerator according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is the refrigerator according to the third aspect, wherein the cold water tank is made of transparent or translucent.

According to the above construction, in the refrigerator according to the first aspect of the present invention, the water supply means comprises a water tap provided with a cock, and the refrigerator door is provided with an opening and a water supply door for opening and closing the opening. Since the water tap is provided integrally with the lower part of the cold water tank and arranged at a position corresponding to the opening, when taking out the water in the cold water tank to the member to be supplied,
By opening the water supply door and opening the cock of the water tap, the water in the cold water tank can be taken out directly to the water supply member.

Further, the refrigerator according to claim 2 of the present invention comprises:
2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the water tap is protruded from the opening, and a concave portion is provided on the inner surface of the water supply door to cover the water tap. The space provided in the refrigerator compartment door for taking out the garbage can be eliminated.

Furthermore, in the refrigerator according to a third aspect of the present invention, in the refrigerator according to the second aspect, the chilled water tank is disposed at the opening, so that the chilled water flows into the refrigerator compartment door. The protrusion amount of the tank can be reduced.

In addition, in the refrigerator according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the refrigerator according to the third aspect, an inclined surface is provided on the bottom surface of the opening so that the water supply door side is lower than the refrigerator compartment side. Is provided and the chilled water tank is arranged to be inclined at the opening, so that the amount of residual water that cannot be taken out of the chilled water tank can be minimized.

In addition, the refrigerator according to claim 5 of the present invention is the refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein the cold water tank is made of transparent or translucent, so that when the water supply door is opened, the cold water tank is opened. The water level of the remaining water in the interior can be easily checked.

[0022]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a front view of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which a refrigerator compartment door of the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention is opened. 3 is a sectional view of a refrigerator door of the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention, showing a state in which a water supply door is closed,
FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the refrigerator compartment door of the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention, showing a state in which a water supply door is opened.

The refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a refrigerator main body 12 having a refrigerator compartment 11 and a refrigerator compartment door 1 for opening and closing the refrigerator compartment 11. And a tank shelf 6 for allowing the chilled water tank 3 to be inserted through the opening 8.
Are provided.

On the front surface of the refrigerator compartment door 1, a small door (water supply door) 2 having heat insulating properties and covering the opening 8 is attached by a hinge 10 so as to be openable and closable.

The chilled water tank 3 has a cock 5 at the lower front.
A water tap 4 provided with a water tap is provided. By operating the cock 5, the water tap 4 can take out cold water in the cold water tank 3 to a member to be supplied such as a glass. This can eliminate the need for a conventional water supply path, thus improving hygiene.

The top of the cold water tank 3 is provided with a replenishing water port 9 for cleaning the inner surface of the cold water tank 3 and for refilling the cold water tank 3 with water. The mouth cap 7 is detachably fixed by, for example, a screw type.

In this embodiment, a part of the chilled water tank 3 is disposed in the opening 8, so that the amount of the chilled water tank 3 protruding inside the refrigerator compartment door 1 can be reduced. As a result, the effective internal volume of the refrigerator compartment 11 can be increased.

Further, the bottom surface of the opening 8 (the surface on which the tank shelf 6 is arranged) is an inclined surface which is inclined so that the side of the small door 2 is lower than the side of the refrigerator compartment 11. The portion 8 is disposed so as to be inclined upward and rearward, whereby the amount of residual water that cannot be taken out of the cold water tank 3 is minimized.

Further, the water tap 4 when the cold water tank 3 is mounted on the tank shelf 6 is located at a position protruding from the front surface of the refrigerator compartment door 1.
The space for the cup for receiving the cold water from the inside of the refrigerator or the like can be secured without recessing the refrigerator compartment door 1 (providing a conventional outlet).

In addition, the cold water tank 3 is made of a transparent or translucent material so that the level of the cold water stored inside can be determined from the appearance.

Next, the operation procedure of the refrigerator according to the present embodiment will be described. (1) Open the refrigerator compartment door 1 and remove the cold water tank 3 from the tank shelf 6. (2) The supply port cap 7 of the cold water tank 3 is removed, tap water or the like is supplied from the supply port 9, and then the supply port cap 7 is attached again. (3) The full cold water tank 3 is mounted on the tank shelf 6 inside the refrigerator compartment door 1. (4) The water in the cold water tank 3 is cooled by the low temperature in the refrigerator compartment 11 and becomes cold water. (5) With the refrigerator compartment door 1 kept closed, the small door 2 is opened, a cup is placed under the water tap 4, and the cock 5 of the water tap 4 is opened to take out cold water into the cup. (6) When the glass is full, close the cock 5 and set the small door 2
Close.

Thereafter, the steps (5) and (6) are repeated whenever cold water is required. At this time, when it is determined that the level of the chilled water in the chilled water tank 3 has been reduced from the appearance and that it is necessary to make up the water, additional water is supplied to the chilled water tank 3 in (1) to (3) above. .

[0034]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention,
According to the refrigerator described above, the water supply means comprises a water tap provided with a cock, a refrigerator door is provided with an opening and a water supply door for opening and closing the opening, and a water tap is provided integrally with a lower portion of the cold water tank. Since the configuration is arranged at a position corresponding to the opening, when taking out the water in the cold water tank to the member to be supplied, by opening the water supply door and opening the cock of the water tap, the inside of the cold water tank. Water can be taken out directly to the member to be supplied. Therefore, the conventional water supply path can be dispensed with, and the sanitary aspect can be improved.

According to the refrigerator of the second aspect of the present invention, in the refrigerator of the first aspect, the water tap is protruded from the opening, and a concave portion for covering the water tap is provided on the inner surface of the water supply door. With this configuration, it is possible to eliminate the need for the space provided in the refrigerator compartment door for taking out water from the cold water tank to the water-supplied member as in the related art.

Further, according to the refrigerator of the third aspect of the present invention, in the refrigerator of the second aspect, the chilled water tank is disposed at the opening, so that the chilled water tank is disposed inside the refrigerator compartment door. The projecting amount of the cold water tank can be reduced. Therefore, the effective internal volume of the refrigerator compartment can be increased.

In addition, according to the refrigerator of the fourth aspect of the present invention, in the refrigerator of the third aspect, the water supply door side is inclined with respect to the refrigerator compartment side at the bottom of the opening. Since the inclined surface is provided and the cold water tank is arranged to be inclined at the opening, the amount of residual water that cannot be taken out of the cold water tank can be reduced as much as possible. Therefore, the number of times of supplying water to the cold water tank can be reduced.

[0038] In addition, according to the refrigerator of the fifth aspect of the present invention, in the refrigerator of the third aspect, the cold water tank is made of transparent or translucent, so that when the water supply door is opened, the cold water tank is opened. The level of the remaining water in the cold water tank can be easily checked. Thereby, the user can always grasp the remaining water amount in the cold water tank, and can supply water into the cold water tank based on the remaining water amount. Therefore, it is possible to take out cold water when the user wants to drink cold water, and it is ensured that there is no cold water in the cold water tank and the user cannot drink cold water when the user wants to drink cold water. Can be prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which a refrigerator door of the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention is opened.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a refrigerator door of the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a refrigerator door of the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Refrigerator door 2 Small door 3 Cold water tank 4 Water tap 5 Cock 6 Tank shelf 7 Supply port cap 8 Opening 9 Supply port 10 Hinge 11 Cold room 12 Refrigerator body

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A refrigerator body having a refrigerator compartment, a refrigerator compartment door for opening and closing the refrigerator compartment, and a cold water tank disposed inside the refrigerator compartment door for storing water cooled by cold air in the refrigerator compartment. And a water supply means for supplying water in the cold water tank to the water supply member, wherein the water supply means comprises a water tap provided with a cock, and opens and closes an opening in the refrigerator door and the opening. Provide a water supply door,
The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the water tap is provided integrally with a lower portion of the cold water tank and is disposed at a position corresponding to the opening. 2. The water tap is protruded from the opening,
The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein a concave portion that covers the water tap is provided on an inner surface of the water supply door. 3. The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein the cold water tank is provided at the opening. 4. An inclined surface is provided on the bottom surface of the opening so that the water supply door side is lower than the refrigerator compartment side, and the cold water tank is arranged to be inclined to the opening. The refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein: 5. The refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein the cold water tank is made of transparent or translucent.