Refrigerator and door for the same

Abstract

A door for a refrigerator having a reduced number of constituent elements, resulting in reduction in material and processing costs as well as manufacturing time is provided. The door may include a reinforced glass panel defining a front surface, a pair of lateral frames to support the reinforced glass panel, a rear panel defining a rear surface, a pair of caps including upper and lower caps, and a foam charged into an interior space of the door to couple the reinforced glass panel, lateral frames, rear panel and caps to one another. Each lateral frame comes into contact with two surfaces including a lateral surface and a rear surface of the reinforced glass panel to support the reinforced glass panel. Also, each lateral frame may be formed via extrusion molding of PVC synthetic resin and is painted via liquid painting.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A refrigerator comprising:
 a main body;   a storage compartment defined in the main body; and   a door pivotally rotatably mounted to the main body to open or close a front side of the storage compartment,   wherein the door includes:   a reinforced glass panel defining a front surface of the door;   a pair of lateral frames to support the reinforced glass panel;   a rear panel defining a rear surface of the door;   a pair of caps including an upper cap and a lower cap; and   a foam charged into an interior space of the door to couple the reinforced glass panel, the pair of lateral frames, the rear panel, and the pair of caps to one another,   wherein each of the pair of lateral frames comes into contact with two surfaces including a lateral surface and a rear surface of the reinforced glass panel to support the reinforced glass panel, and   wherein each of the pair of lateral frames is formed via extrusion molding of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) synthetic resin and is painted via liquid painting.   
     
     
         2 . The refrigerator according to  claim 1 , wherein the pair of lateral frames is subjected to natural drying after completion of painting. 
     
     
         3 . The refrigerator according to  claim 1 , wherein each of the pair of lateral frames includes a first support portion coming into contact with the lateral surface of the reinforced glass panel and a second support portion coming into contact with the rear surface of the reinforced glass panel. 
     
     
         4 . The refrigerator according to  claim 3 , wherein the first support portion includes a first support surface coming into contact with the lateral surface of the reinforced glass panel, and the second support portion includes a second support surface coming into contact with the rear surface of the reinforced glass panel. 
     
     
         5 . The refrigerator according to  claim 4 , wherein the first support surface and the second support surface are flat. 
     
     
         6 . The refrigerator according to  claim 3 , wherein the first support portion protrudes farther forward than the second support portion. 
     
     
         7 . The refrigerator according to  claim 6 , wherein the first support portion protrudes farther than the second support portion at least by a length of the lateral surface of the reinforced glass panel, to prevent the lateral surface of the reinforced glass panel from being exposed to the outside. 
     
     
         8 . The refrigerator according to  claim 1 , wherein each of the pair of lateral frames takes the form of a single part. 
     
     
         9 . A refrigerator comprising:
 a main body;   a storage compartment defined in the main body; and   a door pivotally rotatably mounted to the main body to open or close a front side of the storage compartment,   wherein the door includes:   a reinforced glass panel defining a front surface of the door;   a pair of lateral frames to support the reinforced glass panel;   a rear panel defining a rear surface of the door;   a pair of caps including an upper cap and a lower cap; and   a foam charged into an interior space of the door to couple the reinforced glass panel, the pair of lateral frames, the rear panel, and the pair of caps to one another, and   wherein each of the pair of lateral frames is formed into a single part via extrusion molding of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) synthetic resin.   
     
     
         10 . The refrigerator according to  claim 9 , wherein each of the pair of lateral frames is painted via liquid painting. 
     
     
         11 . The refrigerator according to  claim 10 , wherein each of the pair of lateral frames is subjected to natural drying after completion of painting. 
     
     
         12 . A method of manufacturing a door for a refrigerator, the method comprising:
 preparing a reinforced glass panel, a rear panel, and a pair of caps;   preparing a pair of lateral frames to support the reinforced glass panel;   provisionally fixing the reinforced glass panel, the pair of lateral frames, the rear panel, and the pair of caps; and   foaming an insulating material into an interior space of the door to fix the reinforced glass panel, the pair of lateral frames, the rear panel, and the pair of caps,   wherein the preparation of the pair of lateral frames includes:   forming a pair of extruded lateral frame articles via extrusion molding of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) synthetic resin;   painting the pair of extruded lateral frame articles via liquid painting; and   drying the pair of painted lateral frames via natural drying.   
     
     
         13 . A refrigerator comprising:
 a main body;   a storage compartment defined in the main body; and   a door pivotally rotatably mounted to the main body to open or close a front side of the storage compartment,   wherein the door includes:   a reinforced glass panel defining a front surface of the door;   a rear panel defining a rear surface of the door;   an upper cap and a lower cap respectively defining an upper surface and a lower surface of the door;   a pair of lateral frames defining both lateral surfaces of the door;   an interior space defined by the reinforced glass panel, the rear panel, the upper cap, the lower cap, and the pair of lateral frames; and   an insulating foam charged into an interior space of the door to couple the reinforced glass panel, the rear panel, the upper cap, the lower cap, and the pair of lateral frames to one another, and   wherein each lateral frame includes a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plate formed via extrusion molding of PVC, a decorative film attached to a surface of the PVC plate to improve the outer appearance of the PVC plate without painting the PVC plate, and an adhesive material to attach the PVC plate and the decorative film to each other.   
     
     
         14 . The refrigerator according to  claim 13 , wherein the decorative film is formed of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP). 
     
     
         15 . The refrigerator according to  claim 13 , wherein the decorative film has a hair line pattern. 
     
     
         16 . A method of manufacturing a door for a refrigerator, the method comprising:
 preparing a reinforced glass panel defining a front surface of the door, a rear panel defining a rear surface of the door, an upper cap and a lower cap respectively defining an upper surface and a lower surface of the door, and a pair of lateral frames defining both lateral surfaces of the door;   provisionally fixing the reinforced glass panel, the rear panel, the upper cap, the lower cap, and the pair of lateral frames; and   foaming an insulating material into an interior space of the door defined by the reinforced glass panel, the rear panel, the upper cap, the lower cap, and the pair of lateral frames;   wherein the preparation of each lateral frame includes:   forming a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plate via extrusion molding of PVC resin; and   attaching a decorative film to a surface of the PVC plate.   
     
     
         17 . The manufacturing method according to  claim 16 , wherein the formation of the PVC plate via extrusion molding of PVC resin and the attachment of the decorative film to the surface of the PVC plate are successively implemented. 
     
     
         18 . The manufacturing method according to  claim 16 , wherein the attachment of the decorative film to the surface of the PVC plate includes introducing the PVC plate and the decorative film to a wrapping roller.