Ice dispenser for a refrigerator with a delay mechanism having a foldable catch
원문보기
IPC분류정보
국가/구분
United States(US) Patent
등록
국제특허분류(IPC7판)
F25C-005/18
B65B-059/00
G05G-005/00
F25C-001/22
F25D-023/00
출원번호
UP-0808268
(2007-06-07)
등록번호
US-7673469
(2010-04-21)
우선권정보
KR-10-2006-0085229(2006-09-05)
발명자
/ 주소
Park, Kyong Bae
Cho, Nam Soo
Lee, Dong Hoon
출원인 / 주소
LG Electronics Inc.
대리인 / 주소
Ked & Associates LLP
인용정보
피인용 횟수 :
3인용 특허 :
14
초록▼
A refrigerator with an ice dispenser includes a spiral type time delay unit for controlling the opening and closing of an ice duct. A duct cap opens and closes an ice duct formed in the refrigerator. A rotating shaft of the time delay unit is operably connected to the duct cap. Foldaway catching mem
A refrigerator with an ice dispenser includes a spiral type time delay unit for controlling the opening and closing of an ice duct. A duct cap opens and closes an ice duct formed in the refrigerator. A rotating shaft of the time delay unit is operably connected to the duct cap. Foldaway catching members on a rotating shaft intersect with a threaded cylindrical body. The catching members fold back to allow a quick opening of the ice duct. The catching members then interact with the threaded cylindrical body as the ice duct closes to delay the closing process.
대표청구항▼
What is claimed is: 1. A refrigerator, comprising: a main body; an ice dispenser mounted on the main body and having an ice duct for dispensing ice; a duct cap that moves between an open position and a closed position to open and close the ice duct; and a delay unit that delays movement of the duct
What is claimed is: 1. A refrigerator, comprising: a main body; an ice dispenser mounted on the main body and having an ice duct for dispensing ice; a duct cap that moves between an open position and a closed position to open and close the ice duct; and a delay unit that delays movement of the duct cap between the open and closed positions for a predetermined period of time, wherein the delay unit comprises: a hollow, elongated body having screw threads on an inner surface; a shaft mounted within the hollow body, wherein the shaft is operably coupled to the duct cap such that the shaft moves into and out of the hollow body as the duct cap moves between the open and closed positions; and folding catch members mounted on the shaft, wherein the folding catch members move between a folded position where they are folded back against the shaft and a deployed position where they extend out from the shaft. 2. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein when the duct cap opens and the shaft is moving into the hollow body, the folding catch members assume the folded position so that the shaft can move easily and quickly into the hollow body, thereby allowing the duct cap to quickly and easily open. 3. The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein when the duct cap closes and the shaft is moving out of the hollow body, the folding catch members assume the deployed position. 4. The refrigerator of claim 3, wherein when the shaft is moving out of the hollow body, and the folding catch members are in the deployed position, the folding catch members interact with the screw threads to cause the shaft to rotate. 5. The refrigerator of claim 4, wherein the interaction between the folding catch members and the screw threads causes the shaft to move slowly out of the hollow body, thereby causing the duct cover to move slowly from the open to the closed position. 6. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the folding catch members are attached to the shaft by hinges that allow the folding catch members to rotate between the folded and deployed positions. 7. The refrigerator of claim 6, wherein the hinges include stoppers that hold the folding catch members in the deployed position. 8. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein when the shaft is moving into the hollow body, contact between the folding catch members and the screw threads causes the folding catch members to move to the folded position. 9. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the folding catch members are biased towards the deployed position. 10. The refrigerator of claim 1, further comprising: a lever that is operably coupled to the duct cap, wherein the lever can be operated by the user to move the duct cap to the open position; and a spring that is operably coupled to the duct cap and that biases the duct cap towards the closed position. 11. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the duct cap is rotatably mounted on the ice dispenser such that it rotates between the open and closed positions. 12. A refrigerator, comprising: a main body; an ice dispenser mounted on the main body and having an ice duct for dispensing ice; a duct cap that moves between an open position and a closed position to open and close the ice duct; and a delay unit that delays movement of the duct cap between the open and closed positions for a predetermined period of time, wherein the delay unit comprises: a hollow, elongated body having screw threads on an inner surface: a shaft mounted within the hollow body, wherein the shaft is operably coupled to the duct cap such that the shaft moves into and out of the hollow body as the duct cap moves between the open and closed positions; folding catch members mounted on the shaft, wherein the folding catch members move between a folded position where they are folded back against the shaft and a deployed position where they extend out from the shaft; a lever that is operably coupled to the duct cap, wherein the lever can be operated by the user to move the duct cap to the open position; and a spring that is operably coupled to the duct cap and that biases the duct cap towards the closed position, wherein the shaft is coupled to the lever such that when a user pushes the lever, the shaft moves into the hollow body. 13. A refrigerator, comprising: a main body; an ice dispenser mounted on the main body and having an ice duct; a duct cap that is rotatably mounted on the ice dispenser and that moves between open and closed positions that open and close the ice duct; and a delay unit that is operably coupled to the duct cap and that acts to delay a closing operation of the duct cap, wherein the delay unit includes a screw mechanism to provide the delay, the screw mechanism comprising: a hollow cylindrical body having internal threads; and a shaft that moves into and out of the hollow cylindrical body as the duct cap moves between the open and closed positions, wherein folding catch members are mounted on the shaft and wherein the folding catch members are movable between folded positions adjacent the shaft and deployed positions where the catch members extend out away from the shaft. 14. The refrigerator of claim 13, wherein when the shaft is moving in a first direction within the hollow body, the threads cause the folding catch members to move to the folded position. 15. The refrigerator of claim 14, wherein when the shaft is moving in a second direction within the hollow body, the folding catch members assume the deployed position and interact with the threads to cause the shaft to rotate. 16. The refrigerator of claim 15, wherein the folding catch members are biased towards the deployed position. 17. The refrigerator of claim 13, wherein the folding catch members are hinged to the shaft. 18. A refrigerator comprising: an ice duct for conveying ice to outside the refrigerator; a duct cap for opening and closing the ice duct; an opening and closing unit connected to the duct cap to open and close the duct cap; and a spiral time delay unit having folding catch members connected to the opening and closing unit, wherein the catch members rotate along a threaded member to delay closing of the duct cap, wherein the catch members move between a folded position where they are folded back against the shaft and a deployed position where they extend out from the shaft.
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