System and method for driving a drawer in a refrigerator
AssigneeLG Electronics Inc.
InventorsOk Sun YU, Yong Hwan Eom, Hyoun Jeong Shin
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system and method for driving a drawer of a refrigerator and a refrigerator employing this system is provided. This system and method allows for the automatic opening and closing of multiple drawers of a refrigerator either sequentially or simultaneously. The system automatically closes a first drawer after a second drawer has been opened to reduce the loss of cooling air and to preserve freshness of items stored in the refrigerator.
Claims20
A method of controlling an operation of a drawer in a refrigerator having a plurality of drawers positioned in at least one storage compartment, the method comprising:
- moving a first drawer in a first direction and stopping the first drawer after the first drawer has moved a first predetermined distance;
- moving a second drawer in the first direction;
- and
- automatically moving the first drawer in a second direction, the second direction being an opposite direction of the first direction.
A drawer driving system for a refrigerator having a plurality of drawers respectively positioned in at least one storage compartment, the system comprising:
- an input unit to select at least one drawer from a plurality of drawers for movement in a first direction;
- a drive motor that generates a driving force to move the selected drawer in the first direction;
- and
- a controller that controls operation of the drive motor based on a selection on the input unit.
A method of selecting at least one drawer from a plurality of drawers provided in a refrigerator, the method comprising:
- selecting a first drawer;
- automatically moving the first drawer in a first direction to a first prescribed distance based on the selection of the first drawer;
- selecting a second drawer;
- automatically moving the first drawer in a second direction based on the selection of the second drawer, the second direction being opposite to the first direction;
- and
- automatically moving the second drawer in the first direction to a second prescribed distance.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.