Refrigerator with selective airflow passage between the icemaker and the ice making evaporator

Abstract

Disclosed is a refrigerator having an ice making apparatus installed at a cooling chamber door that opens/closes a cooling chamber. The refrigerator includes a body having a cooling chamber therein, a cooling chamber door to open/close the cooling chamber, and an ice making apparatus installed in the cooling chamber door to make ice. An ice making evaporator is provided in the ice making apparatus to independently supply the ice making apparatus with cooling air and an ice making evaporator chamber, in which an ice making evaporator is installed, is provided adjacent to the cooling chamber door while being partitioned from the cooling chamber.

1 . A refrigerator comprising:
 a body which forms an external appearance of the refrigerator;   an inner shell defining a freezer compartment and a refrigerator compartment disposed above the freezer compartment;   an insulation disposed between the inner shell and the body;   a refrigerator door to open and close the refrigerator compartment;   a freezer door to open and close the freezer compartment;   an evaporator to supply cold air;   a compressor to compress refrigerant which is supplied to the evaporator;   a cold-air-receiving chamber unit provided at a rear section of the refrigerator door;   a cold-air-supplying chamber unit provided at a ceiling section of the refrigerator compartment,   an ice storage disposed in the cold-air-receiving chamber unit to store ice; and   a dispenser to dispense the ice from the ice storage without opening the refrigerator door,   wherein the cold-air-supplying chamber unit supplies the cold air received from the evaporator to the cold-air-receiving chamber unit, when the refrigerator door is in a closed position,   wherein the cold-air-supplying chamber unit is adapted to automatically prohibit the cold air received from the evaporator from flowing out of the cold-air-supplying chamber unit when the refrigerator door is opened.   
     
     
         2 . The refrigerator as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the cold-air-receiving chamber unit includes a first wall having a first opening, and the cold-air-supplying chamber unit includes a second wall extending downward from the ceiling section of the refrigerator, a second opening formed through the second wall which is positioned to coincide with the first opening of the cold-air-receiving chamber unit when the refrigerator door is in the closed position to provide an air passageway through which the cold air from the cold-air-supplying chamber unit is supplied to the cold-air-receiving chamber unit,
 wherein the first opening is formed between a top edge and a bottom edge of the first wall and the second opening is formed between a top edge and a bottom edge of the second wall such that the first and second walls define adjacent planes when the refrigerator door is in the closed position.   
     
     
         3 . The refrigerator as claimed in  claim 2 , further comprising:
 a damper movably installed at the second opening to automatically close the second opening when the refrigerator door is in an open position and to automatically open the second opening when the refrigerator door is in the closed position,   wherein the damper is pivotably mounted to rotate about a horizontal axis that is substantially perpendicular to a rotational axis of the refrigerator door, the horizontal axis of the damper being positioned at an upper region of the second opening such that a free end of the damper moves in an upward direction to automatically open the second opening when the refrigerator door moves from the open position to the closed position and the free end of the damper moves in a downward direction to automatically close the second opening when the refrigerator door moves from the closed position to the open position.   
     
     
         4 . The refrigerator as claimed in  claim 3 , wherein the first opening is substantially rectangular shaped and the first wall completely surrounds all sides of the rectangular shaped first opening, and the second opening is substantially rectangular shaped and the second wall completely surrounds all sides of the rectangular shaped second opening. 
     
     
         5 . The refrigerator as claimed in  claim 3 , further comprising an ice making apparatus disposed in the cold-air-receiving chamber unit to make the ice. 
     
     
         6 . The refrigerator as claimed in  claim 3 , wherein the evaporator comprises an ice making evaporator disposed in the cold-air-supplying chamber unit. 
     
     
         7 . The refrigerator as claimed in  claim 3 , further comprising a protruding member extending from the first opening to prohibit air leakage between the first opening and the second opening when the refrigerator door is in the closed position. 
     
     
         8 . The refrigerator as claimed in  claim 7 , wherein the protruding member comprises a connection tube that enters the second opening when the refrigerator door is in the closed position. 
     
     
         9 . The refrigerator as claimed in  claim 3 , wherein a width of the cold-air-receiving chamber unit is substantially the same as a width of the cold-air-supplying chamber unit. 
     
     
         10 . The refrigerator as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the cold-air-receiving chamber unit includes a first wall having a first opening, and the cold-air-supplying chamber unit includes a second wall extending downward from the ceiling section of the refrigerator and a second opening formed through the second wall which is positioned to coincide with the first opening of the cold-air-receiving chamber unit when the refrigerator door is in the closed position. 
     
     
         11 . The refrigerator as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the first opening is formed between a top edge and a bottom edge of the first wall and the second opening is formed between a top edge and a bottom edge of the second wall such that the first and second walls define adjacent planes when the refrigerator door is in the closed position.