Refrigerator including door open module

Abstract

In a refrigerator according to the present invention, since the door open module disposed on the side surface of the storage compartment can move the drawer assembly forward and rearward by pushing and pulling the drawer assembly disposed on the side surface of the storage compartment, the drawer assembly can be pulled in or out without the gear rack or pinion gear of the door open module being directly fastened to the drawer assembly.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A refrigerator comprising:
 a cabinet including one or more storage compartments;   a drawer assembly including a door unit for opening and closing a front surface of the storage compartment and a storage unit accommodated within the storage compartment;   a rail assembly that guides movement of the drawer assembly in a front-rear direction; and   a door open module that is disposed on a side surface of the storage compartment, pushes and moves the drawer assembly forward, and pulls and moves the drawer assembly rearward.   
     
     
         2 . The refrigerator of  claim 1 , further comprising a bracket member that is fastened to the rail assembly and supports one side and the other side of the storage unit,
 the door open module pushes the bracket member to push the drawer assembly forward and pulls the bracket member to pull the drawer assembly rearward.   
     
     
         3 . The refrigerator of  claim 2 , wherein the bracket member further includes:
 a first bracket member and a second bracket member that are fastened to the rail assembly and are respectively disposed on both sides of the storage unit; and   a bracket extension bar extending in a left-right direction of the storage compartment so that one side and the other side are connected to the first bracket member and the second bracket member, respectively, and   the door open module pushes or pulls the bracket extension bar.   
     
     
         4 . The refrigerator of  claim 3 , further comprising a pair of storage compartment connecting members that fix the rail assembly to both side surfaces of the storage compartment, respectively, and each including an adjustment gear rack,
 wherein the bracket member further includes an adjustment unit extending in the left-right direction of the storage compartment so that one side and the other side are connected to the first bracket member and the second bracket member, respectively, and   the adjustment unit includes an adjustment pinion gear meshed with the adjustment gear rack.   
     
     
         5 . The refrigerator of  claim 2 , wherein the rail assembly includes a plurality of rail units which are extendable and retractable in length, depending on the forward and rearward movement of the bracket member. 
     
     
         6 . The refrigerator of  claim 2 , wherein the door open module includes:
 one or more multi-stage rack-and-pinion assemblies;   one or more driving assemblies that drive the rack-and-pinion assemblies; and   a locking assembly configured to engage with and disengage from the bracket member.   
     
     
         7 . The refrigerator of  claim 6 , further comprising a machine compartment disposed behind the storage compartment,
 wherein the multi-stage rack-and-pinion assembly includes two or more gear racks.   
     
     
         8 . The refrigerator of  claim 6 , wherein a pressing part is disposed on a rear surface of the door unit, and
 when the door open module moves the drawer assembly forward in a state in which the drawer assembly completely moves rearward,   the rack-and-pinion assembly pushes the pressing part to release the contact between the door unit and the cabinet.   
     
     
         9 . The refrigerator of  claim 8 , wherein the pressing part is fastened to a front end portion of the bracket member. 
     
     
         10 . The refrigerator of  claim 6 , wherein the door open module further includes one or more pushing members that are disposed at a rear of the storage unit and push the bracket member to move the drawer assembly forward. 
     
     
         11 . The refrigerator of  claim 6 , wherein the locking assembly is provided with a hook member configured to engage with the bracket member when the drawer assembly moves forward or rearward and to disengage from the bracket member in a state in which the drawer assembly completely moves rearward. 
     
     
         12 . The refrigerator of  claim 6 , wherein the rack-and-pinion assembly includes a first rack-and-pinion assembly and a second rack-and-pinion assembly that are respectively disposed on one side and the other side of the storage compartment, and
 the driving assembly includes a first driving assembly and a second driving assembly that drive the first rack-and-pinion assembly and the second rack-and-pinion assembly, respectively.   
     
     
         13 . The refrigerator of  claim 12 , wherein the locking assembly includes a locking assembly extension bar extending in the left-right direction of the storage compartment so that one side and the other side are connected to the first rack-and-pinion assembly and the second rack-and-pinion assembly, respectively, and
 the locking assembly extension bar synchronizes the operation of the first rack-and-pinion assembly and the second rack-and-pinion assembly.   
     
     
         14 . The refrigerator of  claim 1 , wherein the drawer assembly is movable along the rail assembly in the front-rear direction by driving the door open module in an automatic door open mode, and
 the drawer assembly is movable along the rail assembly in the front-rear direction by a user in a state in which the door open module is not driven in a manual open mode.   
     
     
         15 . The refrigerator of  claim 1 , wherein the rail assembly supports the storage unit so that a clearance space is formed between a lower surface of the storage unit and a lower inner surface of the storage compartment, and
 the clearance space is maintained when the drawer assembly moves forward and rearward.   
     
     
         16 . A refrigerator comprising:
 a cabinet including one or more storage compartments;   a storage unit disposed within the storage compartment;   a rail assembly that guides movement of the storage unit; and   a door open module that is disengaged from the rail assembly, disposed on a side surface of the storage compartment, and moves the storage unit in a front-rear direction.   
     
     
         17 . The refrigerator of  claim 16 , wherein the door open module is driven by a rack-and-pinion driving method by including a plurality of gear racks and a plurality of pinion gears, and
 a rotational axis of the pinion gear extends in a left-right direction of the storage compartment.   
     
     
         18 . The refrigerator of  claim 16 , further comprising a bracket member that is fastened to the rail assembly and supports one side and the other side of the storage unit,
 the door open module pushes the bracket member to move the storage unit forward and pulls the bracket member to move the storage unit rearward.   
     
     
         19 . The refrigerator of  claim 18 , wherein the bracket member and the door open module are disengaged in a state in which the storage unit is completely stored in the storage compartment. 
     
     
         20 . The refrigerator of  claim 18 , wherein the bracket member and the door open module are engaged in a state in which the storage unit is spaced a predetermined distance from a rear surface of the storage compartment.