Refrigerator

Abstract

The present invention relates to a refrigerator and, in particular, to a refrigerator comprising: a main body comprising an outer case having an opening in a rear wall thereof, and an inner case provided in the outer case and providing an ice-making compartment and a refrigerator compartment in the upper portion thereof and a freezer compartment in the lower portion thereof; an evaporator case provided between the outer case and the inner case, and having a cold air outlet and a cold air inlet which are in communication with the ice-making compartment, and an installation space in communication with the opening; an evaporator installed, via the opening, into a rear portion of the installation space to provide cold air to the ice-making compartment; and a guide unit installed, via the opening, into the front portion of the installation space to guide cold air to circulate between the ice-making compartment and the installation space, wherein the guide unit is fixed to the evaporator case. Through installation of the compactly configured guide unit in the evaporator case, the guide unit can accurately guide cold air to circulate between the ice-making compartment and the installation space, an inlet guide channel is easy to maintain and repair, and an outlet guide channel and the inlet guide channel are provided in a single guide unit itself, so that channels for cold air circulation can be formed in a compact manner.

1 . A refrigerator comprising:
 a main body including an outer case having an opening in a rear wall and an inner case provided inside the outer case, wherein an upper part of the inner case provides an ice making compartment and a refrigerator compartment, and a lower part of the inner case provides a freezer compartment;   an evaporator case provided between the outer case and the inner case, the evaporator case including a cold air discharge port and a cold air intake port, each of which communicates with the ice making compartment, the evaporator case having an installation space communicating with the opening;   an evaporator installed at a rear side inside the installation space through the opening and configured to provide a cold air to the ice making compartment; and   a guide portion installed at a front side inside the installation space through the opening and configured to guide a cold air circulation between the ice making compartment and the installation space, wherein the guide portion is fixed to the evaporator case.   
     
     
         2 . The refrigerator of  claim 1 , wherein a discharge guide passage of which one end communicates with the cold air discharge port is formed at an upper part of the guide portion, and
 wherein an intake guide passage of which one end communicates with the cold air intake port is formed at a lower part of the guide portion.   
     
     
         3 . The refrigerator of  claim 2 , wherein the guide portion includes:
 a first guide body; and   a second guide body matched with or separable from the first guide body.   
     
     
         4 . The refrigerator of  claim 3 , wherein the intake guide passage is constructed by coupling a first intake guide passage formed on the first guide body and a second intake guide passage formed on the second guide body. 
     
     
         5 . The refrigerator of  claim 4 , further comprising:
 a conductive plate coupled to a rear surface of the first guide body,   wherein a guide fastening portion is formed at the evaporator case,   wherein a fastening insertion hole is formed in the first guide body,   wherein a screw insertion hole is formed in the conductive plate, and   wherein as a fastening member inserted into the screw insertion hole is fastened to the guide fastening portion inserted into the fastening insertion hole, the evaporator case and the guide portion are fixed to each other.   
     
     
         6 . The refrigerator of  claim 5 , wherein the first guide body and the second guide body are formed of Styrofoam material, and guide the cold air and at the same time serve as a thermal insulation wall. 
     
     
         7 . The refrigerator of  claim 2 , wherein other end of the discharge guide passage is positioned at an upper front of the evaporator, and
 wherein other end of the intake guide passage is positioned at a lower front of the evaporator.   
     
     
         8 . The refrigerator of  claim 7 , wherein the discharge guide passage guides the cold air generated by passing from a lower end to an upper end of the evaporator to the cold air discharge port and allows the cold air to be discharged to the ice making compartment, and
 wherein the discharge guide passage guides the cold air sucked through the cold air intake port in the ice making compartment to the lower end of the evaporator installed in the installation space.   
     
     
         9 . The refrigerator of  claim 8 , wherein the intake guide passage has a decreasing inclination as it goes from a front to a rear. 
     
     
         10 . The refrigerator of  claim 7 , wherein the guide portion is formed of Styrofoam material.