Refrigerator including door open module

Abstract

In a refrigerator according to the present invention, since a locking assembly may be disengaged from a drawer assembly to store elastic energy and engaged with the drawer assembly by releasing the stored elastic energy, a door open module and the drawer assembly can be easily engaged and disengaged using only an operating mechanism using the storage and release of the elastic energy.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A refrigerator comprising:
 a cabinet including one or more storage compartments;   a drawer assembly including a door unit configured to open and close a front surface of the storage compartment and a storage unit accommodated within the storage compartment; and   a door open module which is disposed on a lower inner surface of the storage compartment, disengages from or engages with the door, and includes a hook member, wherein the hook member disengages from or engages with the storage unit while rotating about a rotational center axis along a circular trajectory.   
     
     
         2 . The refrigerator of  claim 1 , wherein the door open module includes:
 a hook member fixing portion;   an elastic member configured to provide an elastic force to the hook member; and   a fastening pin extending in a direction of one axis to fasten the hook member and the elastic member to the hook member fixing portion.   
     
     
         3 . The refrigerator of  claim 1 , wherein the drawer assembly slides in a front-rear direction, and the rotational center axis extends in a left-right direction so as to intersect the front-rear direction. 
     
     
         4 . The refrigerator of  claim 1 , further comprising: a hook catch member including a catch portion spaced a predetermined distance from a rear surface of the storage unit; and a slot formed between the rear surface of the storage unit and the catch portion,
 wherein the hook member includes a hook head portion and a hook tail portion, respectively, disposed at one side and the other side with respect to the rotational center axis, and   whereby the hook tail portion contacts the rear surface of the storage compartment, and the hook member rotates in a first direction about the rotational center axis, thereby disengaging the hook member from the storage unit.   
     
     
         5 . The refrigerator of  claim 4 , wherein a tail bent portion bent inward from the hook member is formed at an end of the hook tail portion, and
 in a state in which the hook member disengages from the storage unit, the tail bent portion and the rear surface of the storage compartment are inclined in the same direction.   
     
     
         6 . The refrigerator of  claim 5 , wherein a corner of the tail bent portion is formed to have a curved surface. 
     
     
         7 . The refrigerator of  claim 4 , wherein, as the hook tail portion is released from the contact with the rear surface of the storage compartment, the hook member rotates about the rotational center axis in a second direction, and the hook member engages with the storage unit. 
     
     
         8 . The refrigerator of  claim 7 , wherein a head bent portion bent inward from the hook member is formed at an end of the hook head portion, and
 when the hook member engages the catch portion, the hook head portion comes into surface contact with the catch portion, and the head bent portion extends outward from the catch portion.   
     
     
         9 . The refrigerator of  claim 4 , wherein the catch portion is disposed to overlap the rotational center axis in the front-rear direction, and
 an extension line perpendicular to a contact surface of the catch portion that contacts the hook head portion extends forward past the rotational center axis.   
     
     
         10 . The refrigerator of  claim 4 , wherein a maximum rotational radius of the hook member, which rotates about the rotational center axis, is smaller than a shortest distance from the rotational center axis to the rear surface of the storage compartment. 
     
     
         11 . A refrigerator comprising:
 a cabinet including one or more storage compartments;   a drawer assembly including a door unit configured to open and close a front surface of the storage compartment and a storage unit accommodated within the storage compartment; and   a door open module disposed on a lower inner surface of the storage compartment,   wherein the door open module includes a locking assembly disengaged from the storage unit to store elastic energy and engaged with the storage unit by releasing the stored elastic energy.   
     
     
         12 . The refrigerator of  claim 11 , wherein the locking assembly includes a hook member configured to disengage from or engage with the storage unit, and an elastic member configured to store and release the elastic energy. 
     
     
         13 . The refrigerator of  claim 12 , wherein the elastic member is a torsion spring. 
     
     
         14 . The refrigerator of  claim 12 , wherein, when the hook member rotates about a rotational center axis in a first direction, the elastic member stores the elastic energy, and when the hook member rotates about the rotational center axis in a second direction, the elastic member releases the elastic energy. 
     
     
         15 . The refrigerator of  claim 12 , wherein the hook member is disengaged from the storage unit by coming into contact with the rear surface of the storage compartment. 
     
     
         16 . The refrigerator of  claim 12 , wherein, in a closed state of the drawer assembly, the hook member disengages from the storage unit. 
     
     
         17 . The refrigerator of  claim 12 , wherein the hook member is engaged with the storage unit by releasing the contact with the rear surface of the storage compartment. 
     
     
         18 . The refrigerator of  claim 12 , wherein the door open module can operate in a manual open mode or an automatic open mode. 
     
     
         19 . The refrigerator of  claim 18 , wherein the hook member disengages from the storage unit in the manual open mode, and
 the hook member engages with the storage unit in the automatic open mode.   
     
     
         20 . The refrigerator of  claim 18 , wherein the door open module includes a multi-stage rack-and-pinion assembly and a driving module configured to drive the rack-and-pinion assembly, in the automatic open mode, the driving module is driven so that the drawer assembly is pushed forward by the rack-and-pinion assembly to move forward and pulled rearward by the locking assembly to move rearward, and
 in the manual open mode, the driving module is not driven.