# US 12,181,188 B2 · Refrigerator for drinks > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,181,188 B2 - Document ID: US12181188B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/193,735 - Filed: 2021-03-05 - Published: 2021-09-09 - Granted: 2024-12-31 - Earliest claimed: 2020-03-06 - Assignees: LG Electronics Inc. - Applicants: LG Electronics Inc. - Inventors: Dae Woong Kim; Hee Su Yang; Min Kyu Oh; Su Young Lee; Ja Yoen Kim; Hwa Yun Choi - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12181188B2 ## CPC - F25B 21/02: using Peltier effect; using Nernst-Ettinghausen effect - F25B 21/04: reversible - B67D 1/0869: {using solid state elements, e.g. Peltier cells} - F25D 31/002: {Liquid coolers, e.g. beverage cooler (receptacle coolers F25D31/006)} - F25D 31/007: {Bottles or cans} - B67D 2210/00031: Housing - F25B 2321/023: Mounting details thereof - F25B 2321/0251: by a gas - F25B: REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS - B67D: DISPENSING, DELIVERING OR TRANSFERRING LIQUIDS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR (cleaning pipes or tubes or systems of pipes or tubes B08B9/02; emptying or filling of bottles, jars, cans, casks, barrels, or similar containers, not otherwise provided for B67C; water supply E03; pipe systems F17D; domestic hot-water supply systems F24D; measuring volume, volume flow, mass flow or liquid level, metering by volume G01F; coin-freed or like apparatus G07F) - 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) ## Abstract A refrigerator for drinks is provided. The refrigerator has an open hole that is open upward to allow a drink container to be inserted in an erect state in a cabinet through the open hole. An insertion guide connected to the open hole is disposed in the cabinet and the width of the insertion guide changes in a height direction. Accordingly, a drink container is guided by the insertion guide when being inserted into or taken out of the refrigerator for drinks. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A refrigerator, comprising: a cabinet configured to store a drink container therein, the cabinet having a top with an opening through which the drink container is insertable; a dispenser nozzle disposed to be at least partially exposed outside the cabinet, the dispenser nozzle being configured to supply the drink in the drink container to outside the cabinet; a door located at the cabinet, the door being configured to open and close the opening of the cabinet; an insertion guide located in the cabinet, the insertion guide communicating with the opening of the cabinet, the insertion guide having a width that changes in a height direction of the cabinet; and a cooler located in the cabinet, wherein the cabinet further includes a mount space in which a display, a front panel, or a circuit board is located, wherein the insertion guide is configured to surround an opening of the drink container, wherein at least a portion of the dispenser nozzle overlaps the insertion guide and the mount space at a same height in the height direction of the cabinet, respectively, wherein the mount space is between the rear of the insertion guide and the front of the dispenser nozzle, wherein a guide space is formed inside the insertion guide to connect the opening and the storage compartment, and wherein the surface of the insertion guide defines a portion of the mount space partitioned from the guide space. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein, in at least a portion of the insertion guide, the width of the insertion guide gradually increases towards the opening of the cabinet in the height direction of the cabinet. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the refrigerator further comprises a forward panel, and wherein the insertion guide is configured to guide the drink container inserted through the opening of the cabinet toward the forward panel. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The refrigerator of claim 3, wherein the refrigerator further comprises an inner case located in the cabinet, the inner case defining at least a portion of a storage compartment configured to store the drink container therein, and wherein the insertion guide forms an inlet of the storage compartment. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein an inner case is located in the cabinet, the inner case including: a pair of sides; a bottom connected to the pair of sides; and the insertion guide connected to the pair of sides or the bottom, the insertion guide being in communication with the opening of the cabinet, and a cooling guide coupled between the bottom and the insertion guide. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The refrigerator of claim 5, wherein the cooling guide is connected to the insertion guide to define a continuous surface extending from the insertion guide to the bottom. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the insertion guide has an expansion to define an inlet of the insertion guide, the expansion being inclined such that the inlet of the insertion guide widens from a lower portion of the insertion guide to an upper portion of the insertion guide. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The refrigerator of claim 7, wherein the expansion is inclined such that the inlet widens toward sides of the cabinet at left and right sides of the insertion guide and toward a rear plate of the cabinet behind the insertion guide. ### Claim 9 (depends on 7) The refrigerator of claim 7, further comprising an insulating portion provided at an exterior of the expansion. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein a front of the insertion guide and an inner surface of the cabinet are spaced apart from each other to define the mount space. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the top of the cabinet includes an upper cover defining the opening of the cabinet, and wherein the refrigerator further comprises a cover assembly configured to surround an opening of the drink container, the cover assembly being couplable to the upper cover of the cabinet to selectively cover and uncover the opening of the cabinet or an inlet of the insertion guide. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the insertion guide is provided in plurality, and wherein a partition wall is located between adjacent insertion guides. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the dispenser nozzle includes a connection pipe connected to an inside of the cabinet, a portion of the connection pipe overlapping the insertion guide in the height direction of the cabinet. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the refrigerator includes a cooling guide in the cabinet, the cooling guide being located between the drink container and the cooler, and wherein a lower end of the dispenser nozzle is located at a height that is the same as or higher than a height of the cooling guide. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the cabinet further includes an insulating panel defining a front surface of the cabinet, at least a portion of the insulating panel being transparent, and wherein the dispenser nozzle protrudes from the insulating panel. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The refrigerator of claim 15, wherein the insulating panel includes: a panel frame having a first surface facing the insertion guide and a second surface opposite the first surface; a first panel fixed to the first surface of the panel frame; and a second panel fixed to the second surface of the panel frame to be spaced apart from the first panel, the second panel defining the front surface of the cabinet, the second panel being arranged such that a portion of the second panel does not overlap the first panel, and wherein the dispenser nozzle is connected to an inside of the cabinet through the portion of the second panel that does not overlap the first panel. ### Claim 17 (depends on 1) The refrigerator of claim 1, further comprising a bed protruding toward the opening from a bottom of the cabinet, the bed including: an elevation body being movable up and down relative to the bottom of the cabinet; and an elastic member elastically supporting the elevation body on the bottom of the cabinet. ### Claim 18 (depends on 1) The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the insertion guide is a single, one-piece member.