# US 11,306,964 B2 · Refrigerator

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- Number: US 11,306,964 B2
- Document ID: US11306964B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/278,809
- Filed: 2019-08-20
- Published: 2022-02-03
- Granted: 2022-04-19
- Earliest claimed: 2018-10-02
- Assignees: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
- Applicants: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
- Inventors: Ji Yong Park; Yong Man Seo; Myoung Jin Jang
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11306964B2

## CPC

- F25D 23/062: {defining a cabinet}
- A47B 88/975: in the form of repositionable partition walls
- F25D 23/069: {Cooling space dividing partitions}
- F25D 25/025: {Drawers}
- A47B 2210/175: Refrigerators or freezers
- F25D: REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR (refrigerated showcases A47F3/04; thermally-insulated vessels for domestic use A47J41/00; refrigerated vehicles, see the appropriate subclasses of classes B60 - B64; containers with thermal insulation in general B65D81/38; heat-transfer, heat-exchange or heat-storage materials, e.g. refrigerants, or materials for the production of heat or cold by chemical reactions other than by combustion C09K5/00; thermally-insulated vessels for liquefied or solidified gases F17C; air-conditioning or air-humidification F24F; refrigeration machines, plants, or systems F25B; cooling of instruments or comparable apparatus without refrigeration G12B)
- A47B: TABLES; DESKS; OFFICE FURNITURE; CABINETS; DRAWERS; GENERAL DETAILS OF FURNITURE (furniture jointing F16B)

## Abstract

Disclosed is a refrigerator having an improved structure to improve space utilization of a storage container. Provided is a refrigerator including a refrigerator including: a main body; a storage chamber provided inside the main body and having an open front surface; a door provided to open and close the open front surface of the storage chamber; and a storage container having a storage space and provided to be withdrawn in the storage chamber, wherein the storage container may include a plurality of guide rails installed to face each other on an inner wall of the storage container; and a divider provided to be movable along the plurality of guide rails to divide the storage space into a plurality of storage spaces.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A refrigerator comprising:
a main body;
a storage chamber provided inside the main body and having an open front surface;
a door provided to open and close the open front surface of the storage chamber; and
a storage container having a storage space and provided to be withdrawn in the storage chamber
wherein the storage container includes:
a plurality of guide rails installed to face each other on an inner wall of the storage container; and
a divider provided to be movable along the plurality of guide rails to divide the storage space into a plurality of storage spaces,
wherein the divider includes:
an operating unit;
a divider shaft having both ends movable along the plurality of guide rails;
a cam gear coupled to the divider shaft and rotating together with the divider shaft; and
an interference member configured to move in conjunction with the operating unit to selectively interfere with the cam gear.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the interference member is coupled to the divider shaft to be movable according to the operation of the operating unit.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the interference member includes teeth provided to engage with the cam gear.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the divider further includes a divider body extending in a longitudinal direction of the divider shaft and having an arm movably coupled to the plurality of guide rails.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The refrigerator of claim 4, wherein the operating unit is coupled to the divider body to move in the vertical direction of the storage container.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The refrigerator of claim 5, wherein the operating unit includes:
a pressing portion provided to be exposed to the outside; and
a push portion configured to extend from the pressing portion toward a lower side of the storage container and push the interference member to interfere with the cam gear when the operating unit is pressed toward the lower side of the storage container.

### Claim 7 (depends on 5)

The refrigerator of claim 5, wherein the divider further includes an elastic member configured to move the interference member away from the cam gear when the operating unit moves upward of the storage container, and
wherein the elastic member is disposed between the divider body and the interference member.

### Claim 8 (depends on 5)

The refrigerator of claim 5, wherein the divider further includes a latch fixedly coupled to the divider body, and
wherein the operating unit includes: a pressing portion provided to be exposed to the outside; and a protrusion formed to protrude from the pressing portion to be coupled to the latch.

### Claim 9 (depends on 5)

The refrigerator of claim 5, wherein the operating unit includes:
a pressing portion provided to be exposed to the outside;
an extension portion formed to extend from the pressing portion toward a lower side of the storage container, and
an elastic body disposed between the extension portion and the divider body to be elastically deformable according to the movement of the operating unit.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the plurality of guide rails includes a rack gear, and
wherein the divider further includes pinion gears coupled to both ends of the divider shaft to guide the movement of the divider through interaction with the rack gear.

### Claim 11 (depends on 4)

The refrigerator of claim 4, wherein the operating unit is provided to be slidable in the longitudinal direction of the divider shaft.

### Claim 12 (depends on 11)

The refrigerator of claim 11, wherein one end of the interference member is coupled to the divider shaft, and an other end of the interference member is coupled to the operating unit.

### Claim 13 (depends on 11)

The refrigerator of claim 11, wherein the divider further includes a divider cover disposed outside the divider body to cover the divider body and having an incision cut in the longitudinal direction of the divider shaft.

### Claim 14 (depends on 13)

The refrigerator of claim 13, wherein the operating unit includes:
an operating unit casing slidably coupled to the divider body, and
a plurality of protrusions configured to move integrally with the operating unit casing by being constrained by the incision.

### Claim 15 (depends on 14)

The refrigerator of claim 14, wherein the operating unit further includes an elastic body installed on the divider body to be positioned between the plurality of protrusions adjacent to each other, and provided to be convexly bent in the same direction as the sliding direction of the operating unit by interaction with the plurality of protrusions.