| Inner liner of refrigerator and mold for forming the same -> Monitor Keywords |
|
|
  Inner liner of refrigerator and mold for forming the sameUSPTO Application #: 20070001563Title: Inner liner of refrigerator and mold for forming the same Abstract: An inner liner of a refrigerator may include: the inner liner positioned inside an outer liner to define an inner space for a storage compartment and molded by attaching a plate to an outer surface of a mold via vacuum adsorption, wherein an edge of the inner liner is provided with a reinforcing part to prevent the edge from being deformed when injecting a heat insulating foam, the reinforcing part being integrally formed with the inner liner. (end of abstract)
Agent: Blank Rome LLP - Washington, DC, US Inventors: Sang Sul Park, Jea Houng You, Byoung Won Jung, Soon Chel Song USPTO Applicaton #: 20070001563 - Class: 312406000 (USPTO) The Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070001563. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. .sctn. 119 to Korean Patent Application No. 2005-0059523, filed Jul. 4, 2005, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and, more particularly, to an inner liner of a refrigerator and a mold for forming the same. [0004] 2. Description of the Related Art [0005] Generally, a refrigerator includes cooling cycle components to refrigerate and freeze food stored in storage compartments. The refrigerator includes a body which is open at a front side and has the storage compartments defined therein, and doors which are provided at the front side of the body to open or close the storage compartments. [0006] The body includes an outer liner forming an outer side of the refrigerator, an inner liner inside the outer liner to define an inner space which forms the storage compartments, and a heat insulating foam filled between the inner and outer liners for heat insulation of the storage compartments. [0007] The inner liner is typically produced by a vacuum molding method, by which a plastic plate is attached to an outer surface of a mold via vacuum adsorption. For example, Korean Patent Laid-open Publication No. 1998-014846 describes an inner liner of a refrigeration produced by such a vacuum molding method. The inner liner of the refrigerator is formed to have a cabinet shape with its inner space defining a storage compartment by attaching a heated plastic plate to an outer surface of a mold configured to have an inner shape of the storage compartment via vacuum adsorption. [0008] However, according to this method, an edge 1 formed between plural faces is excessively stretched in comparison to other parts, as shown in FIG. 1(a), during molding of the inner liner. As a result, the edge 1 is significantly thinner than the other parts. When injecting a heat insulating foam into a gap between the inner and outer liners, the edge 1 cannot withstand an injection pressure of the heat insulating foam, and is deformed. Deformation of the inner liner is significant particularly around the edge 1 of an outer periphery, which is formed by three faces and thus is more significantly stretched, in comparison to edges which are formed by two faces. [0009] According to the conventional technique, to prevent deformation of the edge I of the inner liner, a plastic reinforcing sheet 1a is attached to an outer surface of the edge 1 of the inner liner to thicken the edge 1 after molding the inner liner, as shown in FIG. 1(b). However, in this case, addition of the reinforcing sheet 1a increases both material costs and the number of required procedures. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0010] In light of the above-described difficulties, the present invention provides an inner liner of a refrigerator, which includes: the inner liner positioned inside an outer liner to define an inner space for a storage compartment and molded by attaching a plate to an outer surface of a mold via vacuum adsorption, wherein an edge of the inner liner is provided with a reinforcing part to prevent the edge from being deformed when injecting a heat insulating foam, the reinforcing part being integrally formed with the inner liner. [0011] Another non-limiting aspect of the present invention provides a refrigerator that includes: a body; an outer liner configured to form an outer surface of the body; an inner liner configured to form an inner surface of the body; and means for preventing deformation of the inner liner. [0012] Yet another aspect of the present invention provides a refrigerator, including: a body; an outer liner configured to form an outer surface of the body; an inner liner configured to form an inner surface of the body; and means for preventing deformation of the inner liner. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0013] These and/or other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: [0014] FIG. 1(a) is a cross-sectional view illustrating an edge of an inner liner of a refrigerator, and FIG. 1(b) is a perspective view illustrating a reinforcing sheet attached to an outer surface of the edge of the inner liner; [0015] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the configuration of a body of a refrigerator in accordance with a non-limiting aspect of the present invention; [0016] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating the refrigerator in accordance with a non-limiting aspect of the present invention; [0017] FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of Part A shown in FIG. 2; [0018] FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating the configuration of a mold for forming an inner liner in accordance with a non-limiting aspect of the present invention; [0019] FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of Part B shown in FIG. 4; [0020] FIGS. 7(a) to 7(d) are views illustrating the steps of forming the inner liner of the refrigerator in accordance with a non-limiting aspect of the present invention; Continue reading... Full patent description for Inner liner of refrigerator and mold for forming the same Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Inner liner of refrigerator and mold for forming the same patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Inner liner of refrigerator and mold for forming the same or other areas of interest. ### Previous Patent Application: Self closing device for a slide and slide having this Next Patent Application: Flat display device Industry Class: Supports: cabinet structure ### FreshPatents.com Support Thank you for viewing the Inner liner of refrigerator and mold for forming the same patent info. IP-related news and info Results in 0.84719 seconds Other interesting Feshpatents.com categories: Canon USA , Celera Genomics , Cephalon, Inc. , Cingular Wireless , Clorox , Colgate-Palmolive , Corning , Cymer , |
||
