A refrigerator is provided in which a communication pad is installed in one of the doors to open and close storage spaces formed in a refrigerator main body. The communication pad is detachably installed in a seating space of the door. While an upper end of the communication pad is seated in the sea
A refrigerator is provided in which a communication pad is installed in one of the doors to open and close storage spaces formed in a refrigerator main body. The communication pad is detachably installed in a seating space of the door. While an upper end of the communication pad is seated in the seating space by an upper clamp, a lower end of the communication pad is seated in the seating space by a lower clamp. The upper clamp and the lower clamp are installed in the seating space through hinge assemblies. The hinge assemblies are configured so that the upper and lower clamps rotate only by a force of a predetermined value or higher. With such structure, die communication pad may be securely mounted to and easily dismounted from the door.
대표청구항▼
The invention claimed is: 1. A refrigerator, comprising: a seating space including an open front face provided at one side of a door; a communication pad detachably seated in the seating space; a pair of clamps provided at upper and lower ends of the seating space, the clamps rotating pivotably in
The invention claimed is: 1. A refrigerator, comprising: a seating space including an open front face provided at one side of a door; a communication pad detachably seated in the seating space; a pair of clamps provided at upper and lower ends of the seating space, the clamps rotating pivotably in forward and backward directions and supporting the communication pad in the seating space by enclosing upper and lower ends of the communication pad; and a pair of hinge assemblies that fix the pair of clamps in the seating space, respectively, and cause the pair of clamps to rotate when a force of a predetermined value or higher is applied to the pair of clamps, wherein in a process of mounting and dismounting the communication pad to and from the seating space, the pair of clamps are simultaneously pivoted in opposite directions with respect to each other by the communication pad. 2. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 1, wherein front ends of the pair of clamps are provided with catching portions, respectively, that support upper and lower ends of a front surface of the communication pad, wherein portions opposite to the respective catching portions are provided with supporting portions, respectively, that support upper and lower ends of a rear surface of the communication pad, and wherein the catching portions and the supporting portions form insertion grooves in which the upper and lower ends of the communication pad are seated, respectively. 3. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 2, wherein the supporting portions of the clamps are formed to be relatively longer than the catching portions, and thus, come into contact with the rear surface of the communication pad when the communication pad is mounted and dismounted. 4. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 2, wherein the pair of hinge assemblies are configured so that respective hinge members with ends connected to the pair of clamps and the door are rotatably connected to hinge shafts, the hinge members rotating relative to the hinge shafts when the force of the predetermined value or higher is applied to the hinge members. 5. A refrigerator, comprising: a seating space including an open front face formed at one side of a door; a communication pad detachably seated in the seating space; at least one clamp provided at an upper end of the seating space, the at least one clamp pivoting in forward and backward directions by means of at least one hinge assembly and supporting the communication pad in the seating space by enclosing an upper end of the communication pad; at least one holder provided at a lower end of the seating space that supports a lower end of the communication pad by receiving the communication pad inserted thereinto; and at least one locking device that prevents the communication pad from being dismounted from the seating space. 6. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 5, wherein a front end of the at least one clamp and the at least one holder are provided with catching portions, respectively, that support upper and lower ends of a front surface of the communication pad, wherein portions opposite to the catching portions are each provided with a supporting portion, the supporting portions supporting upper and lower ends of a rear surface of the communication pad, respectively, and wherein the catching portions and the supporting portions form insertion grooves, in which the upper and lower ends of the communication pad are seated, respectively. 7. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 6, wherein the supporting portion of the at least one clamp is formed to be relatively longer than the catching portion of the at least one clamp, and comes into contact with the rear surface of the communication pad when the communication pad is mounted and dismounted. 8. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 6, wherein the door is a home-bar door provided in a door that opens and closes a storage space in a refrigerator main body, the home-bar door being installed so that an upper end thereof is vertically pivotable on a lower end thereof. 9. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 8, wherein the at least one locking device comprises: a locking bar provided at a rear surface of the at least one clamp, protruding rearward, and having a catching groove at a front end of the locking bar; a slot formed in the home-bar door inclined at a predetermined angle, the front end of the locking bar being selectively inserted into the slot; and a locking ball installed to move along the slot and prevent the at least one clamp from rotating by allowing the locking ball to move according to the rotational angle of the home-bar door and to be seated in the catching groove. 10. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 9, wherein the locking bar is inclined toward a rear portion of the home-bar door at a predetermined angle, and the slot is inclined toward a front portion of the home-bar door at a predetermined angle. 11. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 5, wherein the at least one locking device comprises: a housing including an installation space therein; a stopper including a protruding portion formed in an end of a catching portions, the catching portion being installed in the installation space and preventing the at least one clamp from operating by allowing the protruding portion to selectively protrude out of the housing and to be positioned on a rotational trace of the at least one clamp; an elastic member installed in the installation space of the housing that exerts an elastic force in a direction of protrusion of the protruding portion of the stopper out of the housing; and an operating knob installed to be exposed out of the door, connected to the stopper, and operated by a user to actuate the stopper. 12. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 11, wherein the door is a home-bar door that is provided in a door that opens and closes a storage space in a refrigerator main body, the home-bar door being installed so that an upper end thereof is vertically pivotable on a lower end thereof. 13. A refrigerator, comprising: a seating space with an open front face formed at one side of a door; a communication pad detachably seated in the seating space; an upper holder provided at an upper end of the seating space that supports an upper end of the communication pad by enclosing the upper end of the communication pad; and a lower holder provided at a lower end of the seating space that supports a lower end of the communication pad by enclosing the lower end of the communication pad, wherein at least one of the upper and lower holders is installed to be vertically movable in a height direction of the communication pad. 14. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 13, wherein the upper holder is supported by an elastic member, and wherein the elastic member exerts an elastic force in a direction of the upper end of the communication pad. 15. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 14, wherein the elastic member is provided between a ceiling of the seating space and an upper surface of the upper holder and is covered with a cover. 16. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: a fixing device that fixes the communication pad mounted in the seating space to the seating space; a password input portion configured to receive a password to release the fixing device; a password recognition portion that stores a previously registered password and compares the password received through the password input portion with the previously registered password; and a release operating portion that releases the fixing device if the password recognition portion determines that the registered password and the received password are identical to each other. 17. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 16, wherein the fixing device comprises a solenoid with a plunger capable of moving inward and outward. 18. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 16, wherein the fixing device comprises a magnet switch that selectively generates a magnetic force by switching power on or off. 19. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: a radio call signal generator provided in a main body side including the door that generates a radio call signal in response to a user's input; a radio call signal receiver provided in the communication pad that receives the radio call signal; a ring tone generator provided in the communication pad that generates a ring tone when the radio call signal is received in the radio call signal receiver; and a speaker provided in the communication pad that outputs the ring tone generated in the ring tone generator. 20. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a connector installed in the seating space to be exposed and including a plurality of terminals, wherein all of the plurality of terminals except one are provided with a switch, and the switch is turned on by allowing a connector provided in the communication pad to be inserted in the connector installed in the seating space, thereby effecting an electrical connection between the door and the communication pad. 21. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 20, wherein the terminal without the switch includes an end connected to a switch and another end selectively connected to one of the plurality of terminals of the connector provided in the communication pad.
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이 특허에 인용된 특허 (7)
Silverbrook, Kia; Lapstun, Paul, Apparatus for interaction with a network computer system.
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