AU2020382671B2

AU2020382671B2 - Refrigerator

Info

Publication number: AU2020382671B2
Application number: AU2020382671A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Seung Eon Lim; Seong Jin Na; Seung Jin Oh; Jin Ho Son; Chang Woan Yang
Original assignee: LG Electronics Inc
Current assignee: LG Electronics Inc
Priority date: 2019-11-13
Filing date: 2020-11-13
Publication date: 2024-05-16
Anticipated expiration: 2040-11-13
Also published as: EP4060262A1; US20220397336A1; WO2021096300A1; EP4060262A4; AU2020382671A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a refrigerator. The present invention may comprise: a cabinet (100) having a storage space (121); and a machine room (201) disposed below the storage space (121). The machine room (201) may include a compressor (610), a condenser (620), and a heat dissipation fan (611) to implement a cooling system, and have an inlet (220a) and an outlet (220b) formed on the front side thereof. In addition, the compressor (610) and the heat dissipation fan (611) are disposed at the rear of the machine room (201), and the compressor (610) may be disposed in a space partitioned from a space in which the condenser (620) is disposed. At this time, the heat dissipation fan (611) may be disposed at the rear of the machine room (201) on the basis of the inlet (220a), and the compressor (610) may be disposed at the rear of the machine room (201) on the basis of the outlet (220b).

Description

REFRIGERATOR

Technical Field

[1] The present disclosure relates generally to

refrigerator. More particularly, the present disclosure

relates to a refrigerator in which a machine room module in

which a compressor and a condenser are installed is

installed on a lower part of the refrigerator.

Background

[2] Generally, a refrigerator is a home appliance which

can store food at a low temperature in an internal storage

space which is covered by a door. To this end, the

refrigerator is configured to store food in an optimal state

by cooling the inside of a storage space by using cold air

generated through heat exchange with a refrigerant

circulating in a refrigeration cycle.

[3] Recently, a refrigerator is gradually becoming

multifunctional according to changes in diet and the trend

of product enhancement, and a refrigerator equipped with

various structures and convenience devices for user

convenience and efficient use of internal space has been

released. Particularly, a refrigerator suitable for storage

according to the type of alcoholic beverage due to the increase of consumption and preferences of alcoholic beverages such as wine and champagne, and a refrigerator for storing aged foods such as kimchi for a long time are being developed.

[4] In addition, recently, the exterior of a refrigerator

is designed to harmonize with furniture in the space for

installing the refrigerator. For example, a built-in

refrigerator is attracting attention in terms of interior

design since an exposed part thereof is minimized. This

serves to assist an existing refrigerator such that

frequently used foods can be stored inside kitchen

furniture, thereby improving the convenience of use.

[5] However, in the case of such a built-in refrigerator,

the remaining parts of the refrigerator except for the front

surface of the refrigerator are often blocked, so an

efficient air flow is difficult. Accordingly, various

technologies are being developed to facilitate the flow of

air for cooling a condenser and a compressor installed

inside a machine room of the refrigerator. Among the

various technologies, there are technologies in which an

inlet through which air is introduced into the machine room

and an outlet through which the internal air of the machine

room is discharged to the outside are all disposed on the

front of the refrigerator.

[6] For examples concerning these, there are Japanese

Patent Application Publication No. 2017-141975 (prior art 1)

, Korean Patent Application Publication No. 2011-0019076 (prior

art 2), US Patent No. US 5,881,567 (prior art 3), and

Japanese Patent No. 5033563 (prior art 4), etc.

[7] However, in prior art 1, a cooling fan is in close

contact with one side of a condenser and thus the size of

the cooling fan is limited to the height of the surroundings

of the condenser, and a compressor and the condenser are

disposed to partially overlap each other in width directions

thereof, and thus air may not efficiently flow to the

compressor. In addition, in prior art 2, a condenser and a

cooling fan are installed in upright directions and the

entire height of the machine room increases, and in prior

art 3, a cooling fan is disposed behind a condenser and a

compressor and the cooling fan is located far away from an

inlet, so efficient introduction of air is difficult. In

prior art 4, a condenser is installed in an upright

direction, and the height of the machine room increases, and

an air flow path connected to the compressor is not clearly

defined, so an efficient air flow is difficult.

[8] That is, in prior arts 1 to 4, due to the installation

directions or overall height of the condenser and the

cooling fan, the machine room has a limit to be

miniaturized, or an air flow path inside the machine room is not clearly defined, so the flow of air by the cooling fan is not efficient. Particularly, in a small refrigerator having a limited size, the amount of air introduced into or discharged out of the machine room is unavoidably decreased.

[9] Of course, reducing the size of the condenser or a

heat dissipation fan allows the volume of the machine room

to be decreased, but in this case, heat dissipation

performance decreases, and consequently, the efficiency of a

refrigeration cycle decreases.

[10] Particularly, a built-in type refrigerator may be used

even in a kitchen island, which has been widely applied

recently, and island-type kitchen furniture, which is a

workbench independent of a sink, has high convenience but

has a low overall height, so the built-in type refrigerator

is difficult to be applied to the island-type kitchen

furniture.

[11] In addition, a small refrigerator disposed on a floor

has a limited height, and thus increasing the volume of the

machine room of the refrigerator causes the volume of

storage space to be unavoidably decreased.

[12] It is desired to address or ameliorate one or more

disadvantages or limitations associated with the prior art,

provide a refrigerator, or to at least provide the public

with a useful alternative.

Sumary

[13] According to a first aspect, the present disclosure

may broadly provide a refrigerator in which a condenser, a

compressor, a heat dissipation fan are efficiently disposed

inside a machine room such that the overall volume of the

machine room can be reduced and heat dissipation performance

of the condenser and the compressor can be secured.

[14] According to another aspect, the present disclosure

may broadly provide a refrigerator in which even without

reducing the size (a diameter) of the heat dissipation fan,

the overall volume of the machine room is reduced such that

a storage space of the refrigerator can be secured

relatively larger.

[15] According to another aspect, the present disclosure

may broadly provide a refrigerator in which the amount of

air introduced into and discharged from space of the machine

room can be effectively increased even in a small

refrigerator having a low height.

[16] According to another aspect, the present disclosure

may broadly provide a refrigerator in which condensers are

distributed at various positions inside the refrigerator so

as to increase heat dissipation performance.

[17] According to another aspect, the present disclosure

may broadly provide a refrigerator in which a control module and a door opening device are installed inside the machine room so as to decrease the overall size of the refrigerator.

[18] According to another aspect, the present disclosure

may broadly provide refrigerator in which parts constituting

the machine room are arranged to maximize the volume of the

storage space.

[19] According to another aspect, the present disclosure

may broadly provide a refrigerator comprising a cabinet

having a storage space, and a machine room disposed under

the storage space. The machine room may comprise a

compressor, a condenser, and a heat dissipation fan so as to

implement a cooling system, and may have an inlet and an

outlet formed on a front surface of the machine room.

Furthermore, the compressor and the heat dissipation fan may

be disposed at the rear of the machine room. The compressor

may be disposed in space partitioned from space in which the

condenser is disposed.

[20] According to another aspect, the present disclosure

may broadly provide a refrigerator comprising: a cabinet

having a storage space and a door assembly configured to

open and close the storage space, and a machine room

disposed under the storage space and comprising a

compressor, a condenser, and a heat dissipation fan for

implementing a cooling system, the machine room having an

inlet and an outlet formed on a front surface thereof, wherein the compressor and the condenser are disposed respectively in spaces partitioned from each other, and the heat dissipation fan is disposed in a rear portion of the machine room relative to the inlet, and the compressor is disposed in a rear portion of the machine room relative to the outlet, wherein a defrost water tray is disposed on a bottom of the machine room corresponding to a position between the inlet and the heat dissipation fan, wherein the defrost water tray extends to the opposite side of the compressor with the heat dissipation fan in between, and wherein a portion of the defrost water tray extends to a position facing the heat dissipation fan.

[20a] A lower surface of the cabinet may be constituted by a

cover plate. The cover plate may be disposed on an upper

part of the machine room.

[20b] The cover plate may comprise a first cover part and a

second cover part. The second cover part may be disposed

above the compressor and the heat dissipation fan, and may

be configured to be higher than the first cover part which

may be disposed above the inlet and the outlet.

[20c] The inlet may be configured to have an area larger

than an area of the outlet.

[20d] The machine room may be disposed removably on a lower

part of the cabinet.

[20e] An outer plate constituting a side surface of the

machine room is configured to have the same height from a

front of the machine room to a rear thereof, and the second

cover part is configured to be higher than the outer plate.

[20f] A surface of an outer plate disposed on an outer side

of a side surface of the cabinet and a surface of the outer

plate disposed on an outer side of the side surface of the

machine room are arranged adjacent to each other in the same

notional plane.

[20g] The condenser may be disposed to face the inlet.

[20h] The heat dissipation fan and a side surface of the

machine room may be spaced apart from each other so as to

define an air flow space therebetween. The heat dissipation

fan may be disposed to face the side surface of the machine

room.

[20i] A separation wall may be disposed between an

introduction space of the machine room connected to the

inlet and a discharge space of the machine room connected to

the outlet such that an inside of the machine room is

divided into opposite sides. The separation wall may

comprise a first wall and a second wall connected to each

other.

[20j] The first wall may be disposed between the inlet and

the outlet. The second wall may be connected to the heat

dissipation fan. The heat dissipation fan may be disposed between the second wall and a rear surface of the machine room.

[20k] A cover plate may comprise: a first cover part

extending rearward from a front end of the machine room at a

constant height; a second cover part extending rearward from

a rear end of the first cover part and having a height

higher than the height of the first cover part; and a

vertical connection part which is located between the first

cover part and the second cover part and vertically connects

the first cover part with the second cover part. The first

cover part may have the same height as a height of each of

the separation wall and the condenser.

[201] A cut part open to expose an upper end of the

compressor to the outside may be formed in a rear end of the

cover plate. A compressor cover may be provided in the cover

plate so as to cover the cut part.

[20m] An introduction space of the machine room may be

confined by a bottom plate, a side plate, and a rear plate

constituting the machine room. A discharge space of the

machine room may have an additional outlet formed by

openings at least in a portion of the bottom plate, in the

side plate, and in the rear plate such that the discharge

space communicates with the outside.

[20n] A flow guide surface is formed on the defrost water

tray and inclines toward the heat dissipation fan.

[20o] The discharge space may be provided with a control

module. The additional outlet may be formed at a position

corresponding to at least a portion of areas of the

compressor and the control module.

[20p] The bottom plate may have a reinforcement part

extending in a direction intersecting with a separation

wall. The reinforcement part may be disposed between the

additional outlet and an additional inlet.

[20q] A side condensing tube may be connected to the

condenser and may be disposed along a side surface of the

cabinet. The side condensing tube may be disposed between an

outer casing and an inner casing constituting the cabinet.

[20r] The machine room may be provided with a pair of side

parts coupled to a bottom plate and a side plate

constituting the machine room. Each of the side parts may be

configured to provide an opening in a lower surface thereof

such that a support module supporting the machine room is

provided inside the side part.

[20s] The support module may comprise a power transmission

part extending from a front end of the side part along the

inside of the side part, and a rear leveling part which is

coupled to a rear end of the power transmission part and

adjusts a horizontality of the refrigerator.

[21] The heat dissipation fan may be disposed at the rear

of the machine room relative to the inlet, and the compressor may be disposed at the rear of the machine room relative to the outlet. Accordingly, the compressor and the heat dissipation fan may be installed inside the machine room so as to be located far away from the inlet/outlet.

Accordingly, parts taller than other parts may be clustered

in the rear of the machine room, and remaining parts may be

installed in the front thereof, so the height of the front

of the machine room may be decreased.

[22] Additionally, the condenser may be installed in the

machine room such the condenser is adjacent to the inlet to

face the inlet. In this case, the compressor may be

disposed in space partitioned from space in which the

condenser is installed in the machine room, and may be

installed at a position closer to a rear plate than the

condenser. Accordingly, air introduced through the inlet

may effectively dissipate heat of the condenser, and the

compressor being high in height may be installed to be

spaced apart from the condenser, so the height of the front

of the machine room may be decreased.

[23] In addition, the compressor and the heat dissipation

fan may be disposed side by side along a direction parallel

with the rear plate. When the compressor and the heat

dissipation fan are disposed in parallel with the rear

plate, the heat dissipation fan may be made at least as high as the compressor, and accordingly, an air flow through the heat dissipation fan may be further facilitated.

[24] Furthermore, the heat dissipation fan may be spaced

apart from the side plate of a machine room frame, and an

air flow space connected to the inlet may be defined between

the heat dissipation fan and the side plate, and the heat

dissipation fan may be installed to face the side plate.

Accordingly, the air flow space may be secured from the

inlet to the heat dissipation fan.

[25] Additionally, a separation wall may be installed in

the machine room such that an end of the separation wall

extends between the inlet and the outlet, and may divide the

inside of the machine room into two sides. The opposite end

of the separation wall may be connected to the heat

dissipation fan, and the heat dissipation fan may block

space between the separation wall and the rear plate.

Accordingly, the inside of the machine room may be divided

by the separation wall such that an introduction path

through which outside air is introduced and a discharge path

through which air passing through the inside of the machine

room is discharged are separated from each other. Air may

flow along a predetermined path inside the machine room,

that is, along the sequence of the condenser, the heat

dissipation fan, and the compressor, so air circulation may

be facilitated.

[26] In addition, an introduction space of the machine room

defined between the inlet and the heat dissipation fan may

be blocked by the bottom plate, side plate, and rear plate

of the machine room frame. Simultaneously, in a discharge

space of the machine room defined between the heat

dissipation fan and the outlet, at least a portion of the

bottom plate, side plate, and rear plate may be open, so the

discharge space may communicate with the outside.

Accordingly, the initial introduction of outside air may be

limited to a specific direction (the condenser), but after

the outside air dissipates heat of the condenser and the

compressor, the outside air may be discharged in various

directions, so heat dissipation performance of the machine

room may be increased.

[27] In addition, a defrost water tray may be installed on

the bottom of the machine room between the inlet and the

heat dissipation fan, and a flow guide surface may be formed

on the defrost water tray by inclining toward the heat

dissipation fan. Accordingly, a dead space may be prevented

from being formed between the lower end of the heat

dissipation fan and the defrost water tray, so a flow space

may be sufficiently secured.

[28] Furthermore, a control module may be installed in

space between the compressor and the outlet in the machine

room. The control module may be spaced apart upward from the bottom surface of the machine room, and thus an air flow path may be formed between the lower surface of the control module and the bottom surface of the machine room.

Accordingly, in the machine room, the control module as well

as devices for the implementation of a refrigerant cycle and

may be installed and thus space utilization rate may be

increased. In this case, the control module may be

installed at a position close to the entrance of the machine

room, and thus may be removed from the front of the machine

room.

[29] In addition, the machine room frame may comprise the

bottom plate on which the compressor, the condenser, and the

separation wall are provided, wherein the bottom plate may

comprise an additional inlet through which outside air is

introduced by passing through the introduction space defined

by the separation wall, and an additional outlet through

which air of the machine room is discharged by passing

through the discharge space defined by the separation wall.

Accordingly, even in a small refrigerator having a low

height, in addition to the amount of air

introduced/discharged from a front cover thereof into/out of

the machine room, the amount of air introduced or discharged

additionally may be secured.

[30] Furthermore, a reinforcement part may be formed on the

bottom plate by extending in a direction intersecting with the separation wall. The reinforcement part may be disposed between the additional inlet and the additional outlet.

Such a reinforcement part may prevent the bottom plate from

sagging downward due to the weight of parts installed in the

machine room.

[31] In addition, the machine room frame may be provided

with a pair of side parts coupled to the bottom plate and

the side plate constituting the machine room frame. Each of

the side parts may be configured to be open in a lower

surface thereof such that a support module supporting the

machine room frame is provided inside the side part. Such a

support module may allow the horizontality of the

refrigerator to be adjusted.

[32] Furthermore, the open upper surface of the machine

room may be covered by a cover plate having a plate shape,

and the cover plate may be provided with a compressor cover

receiving the upper end of the compressor. The compressor

cover may be located at a position corresponding to the

upper surface of the compressor and may protrude more than

the upper surface of the cover plate. Accordingly, the

heights of parts other than the compressor may be minimized

to decrease space occupied by the machine room.

[33] In addition, an open cut part may be formed in the

rear end of the cover plate such that the upper end of the compressor is exposed to the outside of the cover plate, and the compressor cover may be disposed to cover the cut part.

[34] Additionally, the compressor cover may be open in a

rear surface thereof, and the open rear surface may be

covered by a rear plate constituting the rear surface of the

machine room. Accordingly, in a state in which the rear

plate is removed from the machine room, the rear surface of

the machine room may be sufficiently exposed to the outside,

so the mounting and service work of the compressor and a

control valve may be facilitated.

[35] The refrigerator of the present disclosure described

above may have the following effects.

[36] Although the refrigerator of the present disclosure

has a sealed structure, the refrigerator may be configured

such that air can be introduced and discharged through the

front surface of the machine room, and thus air circulation

may be facilitated although the refrigerator is installed in

narrow and small space in a built-in method, thereby

improving the cooling performance and efficiency of the

refrigerator.

[37] In addition, according to the present disclosure, the

compressor and the heat dissipation fan may be installed on

the inner side of the machine room located far away from the

inlet/outlet. That is, parts taller than other parts may be

clustered in the rear of the machine room, and remaining parts may be installed in the front thereof, and thus the height of the front of the machine room may be decreased, and the storage space of the refrigerator may be increased by the decreased height of the front of the machine room.

Accordingly, the space utilization rate of the refrigerator

may be improved.

[38] Furthermore, according to the present disclosure, the

compressor and the condenser may be disposed in divided

spaces, respectively, and the heat dissipation fan may be

installed to be located between the compressor and the

condenser such that the compressor and the condenser are

blocked from each other. Accordingly, the impact of heat of

high-temperature generated by the compressor on the

condenser may be reduced, and the heat dissipation of the

condenser may be more effectively performed.

[39] Particularly, according to the present disclosure, the

heat dissipation fan installed between the compressor and

the condenser may function as a kind of partitioning wall,

and thus the heat of the compressor may be more effectively

prevented from being transferred to the condenser, thereby

improving the cooling efficiency of the condenser and the

energy efficiency of the refrigerator.

[40] In addition, according to the present disclosure, the

compressor and the heat dissipation fan having high heights

may be disposed side by side to overlap each other in at least a portion thereof in a direction orthogonal to each of the open directions of the inlet and the outlet, that is, along a left-to-right direction in the rear of the machine room. Accordingly, a heat dissipation fan as high as the height of the compressor may be installed, and accordingly, heat dissipation of the inside of the machine room may be more effectively performed.

[41] Particularly, according to the present disclosure, the

heat dissipation fan may face the compressor such that the

extending direction of a rotating shaft thereof is directed

to the compressor, and thus the heat dissipation fan having

a sufficiently large diameter in correspondence to the size

of the compressor may be installed in the machine room,

thereby improving heat dissipation performance of both the

condenser and the compressor.

[42] Additionally, according to the present disclosure, the

inlet of the machine room may be wider than the outlet. The

area of the inlet may be secured as large as possible so as

to more facilitate the cooling of the condenser adjacent to

the inlet, and the side of the outlet after passing through

a section in which the condenser is installed may be formed

to be relatively wide again. Accordingly, without

interfering with the installation of the compressor and the

heat dissipation fan, the heat dissipation function of the

condenser may be performed as effectively as possible.

[43] Particularly, in order to cool the condenser which is

more important in increasing the efficiency of a

refrigeration cycle, the condenser may be installed close to

the inlet, and the left-to-right width of the inlet may be

larger than the left-to-right with of the condenser, so the

condenser may meet a sufficiently large amount of outside

air to dissipate heat.

[44] Meanwhile, according to the present disclosure, the

inside of the machine room may be divided by the separation

wall such that the introduction path through which outside

air is introduced and the discharge path through which air

passing through the inside of the machine room is discharged

are separated from each other. Accordingly, according to

the present disclosure, air may flow along a predetermined

path in the machine room, that is, through the condenser,

the heat dissipation fan, and the compressor, so air

circulation may be facilitated.

[45] In addition, according to the present disclosure, the

heat dissipation fan may be installed to be connected to the

separation wall. Accordingly, the heat dissipation fan may

be a kind of separation wall. Accordingly, air may flow to

the compressor only through the heat dissipation fan.

Particularly, air may be moved to the compressor by the heat

dissipation fan, so high-temperature heat generated by the compressor may be more reliably prevented from affecting the condenser.

[46] In addition, according to the present disclosure, the

inner space of the machine room defined between the inlet

and the heat dissipation fan may be blocked and thus

introduced air may flow through the condenser only toward

the heat dissipation fan, but the inner space of the machine

room defined between the heat dissipation fan and the outlet

may be open in the bottom, side surface, or rear surface

thereof and thus may communicate with the outside.

Accordingly, the initial introduction of outside air may be

limited to a specific direction (toward the condenser), but

after the outside air dissipates heat of the condenser and

the compressor, the outside air may be discharged in various

directions, thereby further improving heat dissipation

performance of the machine room.

[47] Furthermore, according to the present disclosure, the

condenser may comprise a main condenser installed inside the

machine room, and a side condensing tube mounted in the side

surface of the cabinet along the side surface. By assisting

the main condenser, the side condensing tube, which assists

the main condenser, and the main condenser may condense

refrigerant, thereby making the size of the main condenser

relatively small and reducing the size of a machine room

module.

[48] In addition, the side condensing tube may be mounted

in the side surface of the cabinet so as to increase

temperature of the side surface of the refrigerator, and

accordingly, it is possible to prevent the formation of dew

on the outer surface of the refrigerator due to temperature

difference between the inside and outside of the

refrigerator.

[49] At the same time, an inclined surface (the flow guide

surface) may be formed on a part of the defrost water tray

adjacent to the lower end of the heat dissipation fan by

inclining downward toward the heat dissipation fan, and thus

a dead space may be prevented from being formed between the

lower end of the heat dissipation fan and the defrost water

tray, and a flow space may be sufficiently secured.

Accordingly, air introduction by the heat dissipation fan

may be efficiently performed even in the side of the lower

end of the heat dissipation fan.

[50] In addition, in the machine room, the control module

as well as devices for implementing a refrigerant cycle may

be installed, and thus space utilization rate may be

increased. In this case, the control module may be

installed at a position close to the entrance of the machine

room and thus may be removed forward from the machine room.

Accordingly, for maintenance of the control module, the rear

of the refrigerator may not be required to be opened, and the control module may be removed from the front of the refrigerator to be repaired or replaced, thereby improving the maintainability of the control module.

[51] In addition, the additional inlet and the additional

outlet may be formed in the bottom plate constituting a

machine room frame, and thus even in a small refrigerator

having low height, in addition to the amount of air

introduced/discharged from the front cover thereof into/out

of the machine room, the amount of air introduced or

discharged additionally may be secured.

[52] The reinforcement part may be provided on the bottom

plate of the refrigerator of the present disclosure by

intersecting with the separation wall dividing the space of

the machine room into an introduction space and a discharge

space. Accordingly, the bottom plate may be prevented from

sagging downward due to parts installed inside the machine

room.

[53] Furthermore, in the refrigerator of the present

disclosure, a rear leveling part provided on a rear of the

refrigerator may be adjusted by a power transmission part,

so an operator may easily level a refrigerator body even

from the front.

[54] In addition, the cover plate may cover the open upper

surface of the machine room and may not interfere with other

parts provided inside the machine room due to a bent structure of the cover plate. Particularly, among parts of the machine room, a part corresponding to the compressor having the highest shape may be covered by the compressor cover formed separately, thereby preventing the defining of unnecessary space inside the machine room and having a dense structure.

[55] The term "comprising" as used in the specification and

claims means "consisting at least in part of." When

interpreting each statement in this specification that

includes the term "comprising," features other than that or

those prefaced by the term may also be present. Related

terms "comprise" and "comprises" are to be interpreted in

the same manner.

[56] The reference in this specification to any prior

publication (or information derived from it), or to any

matter which is known, is not, and should not be taken as,

an acknowledgement or admission or any form of suggestion

that that prior publication (or information derived from it)

or known matter forms part of the common general knowledge

in the field of endeavour to which this specification

relates.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[57] FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the exterior

of a refrigerator comprising a machine room module according

to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[58] FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a state in

which a door assembly is opened in the refrigerator of FIG.

1.

[59] FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the exploded

state of parts of the refrigerator comprising the machine

room module according to the present disclosure.

[60] FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the exploded

state of parts of a cabinet constituting the refrigerator

comprising the machine room module according to the present

disclosure.

[61] FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line I-I' of

FIG. 1.

[62] FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating parts for

implementing a refrigeration cycle of the refrigerator

comprising the machine room module according to the

embodiment of the present disclosure.

[63] FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating the machine

room module according to the embodiment of the present

disclosure.

[64] FIG. 8 is a top plan view illustrating the machine

room module according to the embodiment of the present

disclosure.

[65] FIG. 9 is a side view illustrating the machine room

module according to the embodiment of the present

disclosure.

[66] FIG. 10 is a front view illustrating the machine room

module according to the embodiment of the present

disclosure.

[67] FIG. 11 is a bottom view illustrating the machine room

module according to the embodiment of the present

disclosure.

[68] FIG. 12 is a perspective view illustrating only a

defrost water tray among parts constituting the machine room

module according to the present disclosure.

[69] FIG. 13 is a perspective view illustrating a state in

which a condenser and a heat dissipation fan are installed

in the defrost water tray of the machine room module

according to the present disclosure.

[70] FIG. 14 is a sectional view taken along line II-II' of

FIG. 13.

[71] FIG. 15 is a side view illustrating a state in which

the condenser is fixed to a condenser fixing part of the

defrost water tray of the machine room module according to

the present disclosure.

[72] FIG. 16 is a perspective view illustrating the

exploded state of a machine room module constituting the refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[73] FIG. 17 is a perspective view illustrating a state of

the refrigerator according to the embodiment of FIG. 16 when

viewed from a lower side thereof.

[74] FIG. 18 is a perspective view illustrating a bottom

plate constituting the refrigerator of the present

disclosure.

[75] FIG. 19 is an enlarged view illustrated by enlarging

an A part of FIG. 17.

[76] FIG. 20 is a cross sectional view of a rear leveling

part of FIG. 19.

[77] FIG. 21 is a vertical sectional view of the rear

leveling part of FIG. 19.

[78] FIG. 22 is an exploded perspective view illustrating

the coupling structure of a machine room frame to a cover

plate.

[79] FIG. 23 is a perspective view illustrating the coupled

state of the machine room frame to the cover plate when

viewed from the rear side.

[80] FIG. 24 is a rear view of the coupled state of the

machine room frame to the cover plate.

[81] FIG. 25 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a

state in which the cover plate, a compressor cover, and a

main control valve are exploded when viewed from below.

[82] FIG. 26 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a

state in which the cover plate, the compressor cover, and

the main control valve are exploded when viewed from above.

[83] FIG. 27 is an exploded perspective view illustrating

the coupling structure of the compressor cover to the main

control valve.

[84] FIG. 28 is a perspective view illustrating a state in

which an evaporator constituting the refrigerator of the

present disclosure is installed on a cooling compartment.

[85] FIG. 29 is a perspective view illustrating the

configuration of the evaporator constituting the

refrigerator of the present disclosure and a grille plate

assembled with the evaporator.

[86] FIG. 30 is a sectional view illustrating the internal

configuration of the cooling compartment comprising the

evaporator constituting the refrigerator of the present

disclosure according to the embodiment.

[87] FIG. 31 is a perspective view illustrating a state in

which a control module is removed from the refrigerator

comprising the machine room module of the present

disclosure.

[88] FIG. 32 is a perspective view illustrating a state in

which the control module is installed in the machine room

module of the present disclosure.

[89] FIG. 33 is a perspective view illustrating a state in

which the control module of FIG. 32 is removed to the

outside.

[90] FIG. 34 is a bottom view illustrating a state in which

a door opening device constituting the refrigerator is

installed on the cover plate according to the embodiment of

the present disclosure.

[91] FIG. 35 is a bottom view illustrated by enlarging the

configuration of the door opening device constituting the

refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present

disclosure.

[92] FIG. 36 is a perspective view illustrating a state in

which the door opening device constituting the refrigerator

is removed from the cover plate according to the embodiment

of the present disclosure.

[93] FIG. 37 is a conceptual diagram indicating the flow of

refrigerant in the refrigerator of the present disclosure.

[94] FIG. 38 is a sectional view illustrating the flow of

air inside the cooling compartment comprising the evaporator

constituting the refrigerator according to the embodiment of

the present disclosure.

[95] FIG. 39 is a top plan view illustrating the flow of

air inside the machine room module of the present

disclosure.

Detailed Description

[96] Hereinafter, some embodiments of the present

disclosure will be described in detail with reference to

exemplary drawings. In adding reference numerals to parts

in each drawing, it should be noted that the same parts are

assigned the same reference numerals as much as possible

even though they are indicated in different drawings.

Furthermore, in describing the embodiments of the present

disclosure, when it is determined that a detailed

description of a related known configuration or function

interferes with an understanding of the embodiments of the

present disclosure, a detailed description thereof will be

omitted.

[97] An embodiment of a refrigerator of the present

disclosure (hereinafter, referred to as "a refrigerator")

will be described with reference to the accompanying

drawings. For reference, a built-in type refrigerator to

which a machine room module is applied has been described as

an example below, but the machine room module of the present

disclosure may be applied to various devices having a

machine room module to which a refrigeration cycle is

applied such as a general refrigerator, a wine refrigerator,

a kimchi refrigerator, a beverage store device, or a plant

cultivation device.

[98] The refrigerator comprising a machine room assembly of

the present disclosure may largely comprise a cabinet 100,

the machine room module, beds 300a to 300d, a barrier 400,

and grille fan assemblies 500a and 500b. Among these, the

beds 300a to 300d, the barrier 400, and the grille fan

assemblies 500a and 500b may be installed in the cabinet

100, and a door assembly 130 may be assembled with the front

surface of the cabinet 100. Additionally, the machine room

module may be assembled with the lower side of the cabinet

100.

[99] Referring to FIG. 1, the cabinet 100 may constitute

the exterior of the refrigerator, and as illustrated in the

drawing, may be configured to have a low overall height.

The refrigerator according to the embodiment is a built-in

type refrigerator installed inside an island table, etc.,

and has a lower height than a general refrigerator.

Accordingly, the refrigerator may have a small internal

capacity and a small space in which each part can be

installed. Accordingly, in order to utilize a small and low

installation space, parts are required to be effectively

arranged. To this end, in the embodiment, parts comprising

the compressor 610 are effectively disposed, and a control

module 700 is installed inside the machine room module.

Such a structure will be described below.

[100] The cabinet 100 may be configured as a casing having

an open front surface, and may comprise multiple parts. The

cabinet 100 may largely comprise an outer casing 110

constituting an outer wall surface thereof, and an inner

casing 120 constituting an inner wall surface thereof. As

illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the front surface of the

cabinet 100 may be open, and may be selectively covered by

the door assembly 130. When the door assembly 130 is

opened, a storage space 121 may be open forward.

[101] In FIG. 4, parts constituting the cabinet 100 are

illustrated by being exploded. As illustrated in the

drawing, the outer casing 110 may have an approximately

hexahedral shape open forward, rearward, and downward, and

the inner casing 120 may be installed inside the outer

casing 110 to be spaced apart from the outer casing 110.

Additionally, a back plate 115 may be assembled with the

rear surface of the outer casing 110, a front frame 118 may

be assembled with the front surface of the outer casing 110,

and a cover plate 250 may be assembled with the lower

surface of the outer casing 110.

[102] While each of the back plate 115, the front frame 118,

and the cover plate 250 is assembled with the outer casing

110 a state in which the inner casing 120 is located inside

the outer casing 110, a foam insulation material (not shown)

may be filled in space between the inner casing 120 and the outer casing 110. In this case, a filling hole 116 may be formed through the back plate 115, and the foam insulation material may be injected into the space through the filling hole 116.

[103] Accordingly, when the foam insulation material is

filled in the space between the outer casing 110 and the

inner casing 120, a portion of a wire harness (not shown) to

be described below, a side condensing tube L4 and L6 (see

FIG. 6), and a front condensing tube L8 may be mounted in a

foam layer. Accordingly, a portion of the wire harness and

a side condenser may be fixed naturally in the process of

filling the foam insulation material.

[104] The storage space 121 may be present in the cabinet

100. The storage space 121 is space in which food is

stored, and the storage space 121 may be divided into

multiple compartments by the beds 300a to 300d. A guide

rail 122 may be provided on the inner wall surface of the

storage space 121, and the beds 300a to 300d may be

configured to move forward/rearward under the guidance of

the guide rail 122 such that the beds can be taken out from

or taken in the storage space 121 in a drawer type.

[105] Referring to FIG. 5, the multiple beds 300 may be

provided in an upper storage space 121b and a lower storage

space 121a partitioned from each other. Each of the beds

300 may be configured to transversely divide the inside of the storage space 121, and may provide a surface on which food can be seated. The bed 300 may be formed of multiple sticks or rods, and thus may have multiple open spaces defined such that cold air can pass through the spaces in a vertical direction. Additionally, the bed 300 may be configured to seat a bottle or a can thereon.

[106] The bed 300 may comprise multiple beds provided in the

upper storage space 121b and the lower storage space 121a,

and the multiple beds may be disposed up and down.

Furthermore, the bed 300 may be configured to be withdrawn

from the inside of the storage space 121. To this end, the

guide rail 122 may be provided on each of the opposite side

surfaces of the inner casing 120. The guide rail 122 may be

connected to each of the opposite side surfaces of the bed

300 and may be mounted such that the bed 300 can be

withdrawn.

[107] In addition, the upper grille fan assembly 500b and

the lower grille fan assembly 500a may be provided in the

upper storage space 121b and the lower storage space 121a,

respectively, so as to cover an upper evaporator 630b and a

lower evaporator 630a, respectively.

[108] The evaporator 630a or 630b may be received into the

recessed rear surface of the inner casing 120, and may

comprise the upper evaporator 630b and the lower evaporator

630a. The upper evaporator 630b and the lower evaporator

630a may be provided in the upper storage space 121b and the

lower storage space 121a, respectively.

[109] An avoidance part 123 may be provided on the bottom

surface of the storage space 121. The avoidance part 123 is

a part protruding upward from the bottom surface of the

storage space 121. The avoidance part 123 is intended to

avoid interference with the compressor 610 of the machine

room module to be described below. Due to the avoidance

part 123, a portion of the bottom of the storage space 121

may have a stepped space.

[110] The door assembly 130 may be provided on the front

surface of the cabinet 100. Such a door assembly 130 is

intended to open and close the storage space 121 of the

cabinet 100. In the embodiment, the door assembly 130 may

be configured to be opened and closed by rotating. More

precisely, the door assembly 130 may be in close contact

with the front frame 118 of the cabinet 100 so as to cover

the storage space 121, or may be moved away from the front

frame 118 by rotating so as to open the storage space 121.

[111] That is, due to the door assembly 130 described above,

the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present

disclosure may have the sealed storage space 121.

Particularly, the sealed storage space 121 may store food

while maintaining a predetermined temperature without loss

of cold air due to the grille fan assemblies 500a and 500b and an air conditioning module 600. In the embodiment, at least a portion of the door assembly 130 may be made to have the structure of a transparent see-through window 142 such that the storage space 121 can be checked from the outside.

[112] In this case, the see-through window 142 is preferably

made of a material through which the inside of the storage

space can be seen, and for example, may be formed of glass.

When the see-through window 142 is formed of glass, a

protective film (not shown) may be attached to the glass.

In this case, the protective film is preferably made of a

light blocking (partially blocking) film which minimizes

penetrating of light in the storage space 121 into a room.

Of course, instead of the protective fi, the see-through

window 142 may be formed to have a dark color and may be

configured to minimize light penetration into the room.

[113] Next, the machine room module will be described. A

machine room frame 200 constituting the frame of the machine

room module is provided to constitute the lower structure of

the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present

disclosure. The air conditioning module 600 to be described

below may be installed in the machine room frame 200, and

the cabinet 100 described above may be coupled to the upper

part of the machine room frame 200.

[114] As illustrated in FIG. 1, such a machine room frame

200 may be installed on the lower side of the outer casing

110, and as illustrated in FIG. 3, may have the shape of an

approximately rectangular frame. In the embodiment, the

machine room frame 200 may be open in an upper part thereof

and may have a machine room 201 therein, and at least a

portion of the air conditioning module 600 may be installed

therein. Here, the machine room 201 is space separated from

the storage space 121, and the machine room frame 200 may be

a portion of the cabinet 100, or may be assembled with the

cabinet 100.

[115] Referring to FIG. 7, the machine room frame 200 may

comprise a bottom plate 211 constituting a bottom thereof, a

side plate 212 constituting each of opposite side wall

surfaces thereof, and a rear plate 213 constituting a rear

surface thereof. Furthermore, the cover plate 250 (see FIG.

3) may be coupled to the upper part of the machine room

frame 200 so as to cover the machine room 201 provided

inside the machine room frame. In the embodiment, the cover

plate 250 may be assembled with the lower side of the

cabinet 100 and thus may be considered as a portion of the

cabinet 100. However, the cover plate 250 may constitute

the upper part of the machine room frame 200 and thus may be

considered as a portion of the machine room frame 200.

[116] Heat dissipation holes 211' and 214 may be formed in

the machine room frame 200. The heat dissipation holes 211'

and 214 are parts, except for a front cover 220 of the front surface of the machine room frame to be described below, which connect the inner space of the machine room frame 200 with the outside. As illustrated in FIG. 7, the heat dissipation hole 214 may be formed in the rear plate 213, and as illustrated in FIG. 11 which is a bottom view, the heat dissipation hole 211' may be formed even in the bottom plate 211. Additionally, although not shown, the heat dissipation hole may be formed in the side plate 212.

[117] In this case, there is no heat dissipation hole in the

inner space (an introduction space I) of the machine room

201 defined between the inlet 225a and a heat dissipation

fan 611 to be described below. That is, the introduction

space I defined between the inlet 225a and the heat

dissipation fan 611 is blocked by the bottom plate 211, side

plate 212, and rear plate 213 of the machine room frame 200.

[118] Unlike this, in the inner space (a discharge space 0)

of the machine room 201 defined between the heat dissipation

fan 611 and an outlet 225b, at least a portion of the bottom

plate 211, the side plate 212, and the rear plate 213 of the

discharge space may be open through the heat dissipation

holes 211' and 214 to the outside, so the discharge space

may communicate with the outside. Referring to FIG. 11, it

can be seen that the heat dissipation hole is formed in the

bottom plate 211, and there is no heat dissipation hole

around the introduction space I of the inlet of the front surface of the machine room frame 200, but the heat dissipation holes 211' and 214 are present around the discharge space 0.

[119] According to such a structure, the introduction space

I which is the inner space of the machine room 201 defined

between the inlet 225a and the heat dissipation fan 611 may

be blocked, and thus introduced outside air may be moved

through a main condenser 620 only to the heat dissipation

fan 611, but in the discharge space 0 of the machine room

201 defined between the heat dissipation fan 611 and the

outlet 225b, a portion of the bottom, the side surface, and

rear surface thereof may be open through the heat

dissipation holes 211' and 214 to the outside, so the

discharge space 0 may be connected to the outside.

Accordingly, initial introduction of outside air is limited

to a specific direction, that is, to the main condenser 620,

but after the outside air dissipates heat of the main

condenser 620 and the compressor 610, the outside air may be

discharged in various directions, so heat dissipation

performance of the machine room may be increased.

[120] Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, in the embodiment, the

inlet 225a may be wider than the outlet 225b. However, the

introduction space I of the machine room 201 connected to

the inlet 225a may be defined to have a narrow width by a

separation wall 230 installed to partition the machine room

201 at an area after an area in which the main condenser 620

is installed.

[121] That is, the inlet 225a may be widened to increase the

amount of initially introduced air, and accordingly, the

main condenser 620 may be effectively cooled. In addition,

an area of the introduction space I after an area for

cooling the main condenser 620 may be decreased such that

remaining space can be used as space for installing the

compressor 610, a heat dissipation fan 611, and the control

module 700.

[122] Referring to FIG. 10, a protection plate 213', a

portion of which protrudes more upward, may be provided on

the rear plate 213. The protection plate 213' may be formed

to be higher than the compressor 610 and may function to

protect the compressor 610.

[123] Meanwhile, the machine room frame 200 and the inner

casing 120 may be disposed to be spaced apart from each

other, and the side plates 212 and the rear plate 213 of the

machine room frame 200 may be configured to be connected to

the opposite side surfaces and rear surface of the outer

casing 110, respectively.

[124] The machine room 201 (see FIG. 7) may be present in

the machine room frame 200. The machine room 201 is an

empty space which is a kind of installation space, and may

have a portion of a device constituting the air conditioning module 600 installed therein. The machine room 201 is a separate space independent of the storage space 121 described above, and provides space in which the air conditioning module 600 is installed and operates.

[125] Although not shown, the inner casing 120 and the

machine room frame 200 may be configured as one part. In

this case, a separate partitioning wall may be provided

between the storage space 121 and the machine room 201 such

that the storage space 121 and the machine room 201 can be

separated from each other.

[126] The front cover 220 may be provided on the open front

surface of the machine room frame 200 which is the front of

the machine room 201. The front cover 220 may function to

guide the flow of air introduced into the machine room 201

from the outside thereof or air discharged to the outside of

the machine room 201 from the inside thereof, and to cover

the open front surface of the machine room 201.

Accordingly, the front cover 220 may be considered as a

front cover of the machine room 201.

[127] In addition, the inlet 225a and the outlet 225b may be

formed in the front cover 220 described above. In this

case, the inlet 225a and the outlet 225b may be provided at

positions separated from each other by the separation wall

230 to be described later. In the embodiment of the present

disclosure, when viewed from the front side, the inlet 225a is provided at the left side and the outlet 225b is provided at the right, but the inlet 225a may be provided at the right side and the outlet 225b may be provided at the left side. For reference, referring to FIG. 6 in which the front cover 220 is removed from the machine room frame 200, the inlet of the introduction space I and the outlet of the discharge space 0 are exposed to the entrance of the front surface of the machine room frame 200.

[128] Referring to FIG. 8, the main condenser 620 and a

defrost water tray 240 are installed in the introduction

space I of the machine room frame 200, and the compressor

610 and the control module 700 are installed in the

discharge space 0. Additionally, the heat dissipation fan

611 is present between the introduction space I and the

discharge space 0. The heat dissipation fan 611 may

function as a kind of partitioning wall, and more precisely,

may divide the inner space of the machine room 201, together

with the separation wall 230.

[129] Looking at the separation wall 230, the separation

wall 230 which divides the machine room 201 into two spaces

is provided in the machine room frame 200. That is, a flow

path through which air is introduced into the machine room

201 and a flow path through which air is discharged may be

separated from each other by the separation wall 230. The

flow path through which air is introduced into the machine room 201 may start from the inlet 225a of the front cover

220, and the flow path through which air is discharged from

the inside of the machine room 201 may end at the outlet

225b of the front cover 220.

[130] In addition, the left and right spaces of the inside

of the machine room 201 separated from each other by the

separation wall 230 may be connected to each other at the

rear of the machine room 201, that is, at a position close

to the rear plate 213. That is, the rear end portion of the

separation wall 230 may be configured to be spaced apart

from the rear plate 213 so as not to reach the rear plate

213, so a part at which the left and right spaces are

connected to each other may be generated. Of course,

although not shown, the rear end portion of the separation

wall 230 may be in contact with the rear plate 213, and may

have an opening (not shown) formed therein such that the

inner opposite sides of the machine room 201 communicate

with each other.

[131] In addition, the rear end portion of the separation

wall 230 may be spaced apart from the rear plate 213 so as

not to reach the rear plate 213, and the heat dissipation

fan 611 may be installed in the part at which the left and

right spaces are connected to each other, so the heat

dissipation fan 611 may be a portion of a kind of separation

wall 230. Of course, the heat dissipation fan 611 may be open, and thus the introduction space I and the discharge space 0 may be connected to each other relative to the heat dissipation fan 611, but when the heat dissipation fan 611 operates, air may flow from the introduction space I to the discharge space 0, so it is difficult that air flows in a direction opposite to the direction of the air flow.

Accordingly, the heat of the compressor 610 may be

effectively prevented from being transmitted to the main

condenser 620, so the cooling efficiency of the main

condenser 620 and the operating efficiency of the

refrigerator may be increased.

[132] The separation wall 230 may be formed in a straight

line, but may be formed to have an inclined or bent

structure. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the

separation wall 230 is configured to have a bent structure.

That is, a portion of the separation wall 230 may be formed

to be bent, so space in which the main condenser 620 to be

described later is installed may be secured as much as

possible.

[133] The separation wall 230 may comprise a first wall 231

extending toward the inside of the machine room 201 between

the inlet 225a and the outlet 225b, and a second wall 232

extending from the first wall 231 in an inclined direction.

In FIGS. 6 to 8, although the first wall 231 is not seen due

to the control module 700, the second wall 232 is illustrated. In FIG. 9, the first wall 231 is illustrated, and as illustrated in FIG. 9, the main condenser 620 is disposed in space divided by the first wall 231.

[134] Referring to FIG. 11 which is the bottom view of the

machine room frame 200, the installation positions of the

first wall 231, the second wall 232 extending from the first

wall 231 in an inclining direction, and the heat dissipation

fan 611 connected to the second wall 232 can be seen. As

illustrated in the drawing, the first wall 231, the second

wall 232, and the heat dissipation fan 611 may be

continuously connected to each other, and may constitute one

separation wall. Of course, the second wall 232 and the

heat dissipation fan 611 may have a predetermined interval

therebetween, but may be disposed very close to each other,

and thus the escaping of air to the interval therebetween

may be minimized.

[135] Referring to FIG. 9, the height H3 of the first wall

231 may be greater than or equal to the height of the main

condenser 620. Additionally, the second wall 232 may be

connected from an end of the first wall 231 to an end of the

heat dissipation fan 611 to be described below.

Accordingly, the second wall 232 may prevent introduced air

from flowing directly toward the compressor 610 without

passing through the heat dissipation fan 611. Such first wall 231 and second wall 232 may be configured as one part or as separate parts.

[136] The defrost water tray 240 may be provided in the

machine room 201 of the machine room frame 200. In this

case, the defrost water tray 240 described above may be

located on the bottom of a side to which air is introduced

through the inlet 225a in the machine room 201, and may

function to collect defrost water falling down from the

evaporator 630 described later and to fix the main condenser

620 in the machine room 201.

[137] Referring to FIG. 13, the main condenser 620 may be

installed on the front of the defrost water tray 240

directed toward the inlet 225a, and an evaporation tube L2

may be installed at the bottom surface 241' of the defrost

water tray 240. The evaporation tube L2 may be disposed

close to the bottom surface 241' of the defrost water tray

240, and thus may function to evaporate defrost water

collected in the defrost water tray 240. The evaporation

tube L2 will be described again below.

[138] In addition, the heat dissipation fan 611 may be

disposed at one side of the defrost water tray 240. The

heat dissipation fan 611 may not installed inside the

defrost water tray 240, but may be installed at the rear of

the defrost water tray 240 to be adjacent to the defrost

water tray 240. The heat dissipation fan 611 may introduce air through the inlet 225a into the machine room 201, and may discharge air passing through the condenser 620 and the compressor 610 to the outlet of the front surface of the machine room, that is, the outlet 225b. The installation structure of the defrost water tray 240 and the heat dissipation fan 611 will be described again below.

[139] Referring to FIG. 12, the frame of the defrost water

tray 240 may be constituted by a tray body 241 having the

shape of an approximately rectangular frame, and a defrost

water space Sa and Sb may be defined inside tray body 241 by

a dividing fence 242 provided along the edge of the tray

body 241. The dividing fence 242 may protrude by a

predetermined length from the bottom surface 241' of the

tray body 241, and defrost water generated and fallen from

the evaporator 630 may be collected in the defrost water

space Sa and Sb.

[140] The defrost water space Sa and Sb may have a width

narrowing gradually rearward, and an inclined fence 242' may

be provided at one side of the dividing fence 242 so as to

decrease the width of the defrost water space Sa and Sb.

The inclined fence 242' may correspond to the second wall

232 extending in an inclined direction in the separation

wall 230 described above. The second wall 232 may be

located to be adjacent to the inclined fence 242'.

Accordingly, the inclined fence 242' may be considered to constitute a part of the separation wall, together with the second wall 232.

[141] Accordingly, the defrost water space Sa and Sb may be

decreased in width, and thus may be divided into a first

defrost water space Sa having a relatively wide width and a

second defrost water space Sb having a relatively narrow

width. Since the heat dissipation fan 611 is installed

beside the second defrost water space Sb, it may be

considered that the second defrost water space Sb is

configured to be relatively narrow so as to provide the

installation space of the heat dissipation fan 611.

However, the first defrost water space Sa may be wide by

having the same width as the width of a condenser seating

plate 246 on which the main condenser 620 is seated, so the

defrost water space Sa and Sb may have a sufficiently large

storage capacity.

[142] Meanwhile, the dividing fence 242 may have a fixing

clip 244. The fixing clip 244 may protrude from the

dividing fence 242 toward the defrost water space Sa and Sb,

and may have the shape of elastic tongs. The fixing clip

244 may be a part which holds and fixes a portion of a

defrost water pipe 590 (see FIG. 30) transmitting defrost

water generated from the evaporator 630. In the embodiment,

the fixing clip 244 may comprise two fixing clips provided

at a side of the second defrost water space Sb, and the position and number thereof may change. In the embodiment, the fixing clip 244 may be provided at the side of the second defrost water space Sb relatively close to the evaporator 630.

[143] The condenser seating plate 246 may be provided at one

side of the tray body 241. The condenser seating plate 246

may be formed to have the shape of a thin plate, and may

extend further from the tray body 241 toward the inlet 225a.

The condenser seating plate 246 may not have the dividing

fence 242 unlike the tray body 241 and may be configured to

have the same height as the height of the bottom surface

241' of the tray body 241.

[144] A flow inclined surface 245' may be formed between the

tray body 241 and the condenser seating plate 246 by

inclining downward toward the condenser seating plate 246.

The flow inclined surface 245' may prevent air introduced

into the inlet 225a from being prevented from naturally

flowing by being blocked by the dividing fence 242. To this

end, the flow inclined surface 245' may be formed on the

front surface of the front surface of the dividing fence 242

directed toward the condenser seating plate 246 in the

dividing fence 242.

[145] The main condenser 620 may be installed on the

condenser seating plate 246. A condenser fixing part 247

may protrude on the condenser seating plate 246 and may hold and fix a portion of the side surface of the main condenser

620. The condenser fixing part 247 may comprise a fixing

body protruding from the condenser seating plate 246, and a

holding part 248 protruding from the fixing body toward the

main condenser 620. The condenser fixing part 247 may

comprise a pair of condenser fixing parts spaced apart at a

predetermined interval from each other, and the main

condenser 620 may be seated between the pair of condenser

fixing parts 247.

[146] Referring to FIG. 15, the main condenser 620 can be

seen to be disposed between the condenser fixing parts 247.

In the embodiment, a distance between the pair of condenser

fixing parts 247 may correspond to the width of the main

condenser 620. Accordingly, the holding part 248 may be in

close contact with the side surface of the main condenser

620, and may not deform the side surface of the main

condenser 620 while the main condenser 620 is fitted between

the pair of condenser fixing parts 247. Particularly, in the

embodiment, the surface of the holding part 248 is covered

with an elastic forming part so as to prevent the surface of

the main condenser 620 from being scratched.

[147] Accordingly, the main condenser 620 may be connected

directly to the defrost water tray 240 by the condenser

fixing parts 247 without a separate fastener. Accordingly,

parts or soldering processes for fixing the main condenser

620 may be omitted, and the condenser fixing parts 247 may

securely fix the side surfaces of the main condenser 620.

Particularly, although it is difficult to install the main

condenser 620 inside the machine room 201 which is narrow,

in the embodiment, the main condenser 620 may be fixed only

by seating the main condenser 620 on the condenser seating

plate 246.

[148] Meanwhile, the defrost water tray 240 may have a flow

guide surface 245. The flow guide surface 245 may be

formed by inclining at least a portion of the dividing fence

242 downward toward the lower end of the heat dissipation

fan 611. Referring to FIGS. 12 and 13, the dividing fence

242 of the defrost water tray 240 may protrude up to a

position higher than the lower end of the heat dissipation

fan 611, and the heat dissipation fan 611 may be located

very close to the dividing fence 242, and thus a dead space

may be defined in front of the lower end of the heat

dissipation fan 611, so the flow of air may not be

facilitated. However, the flow guide surface 245 may secure

a flow space Sc between the lower end of the heat

dissipation fan 611 and the defrost water tray 240 such that

air introduction to the heat dissipation fan 611 can be more

facilitated.

[149] Referring to FIG. 14, the flow of air on the flow

guide surface 245 can be seen. The flow guide surface 245 may guide the natural flow of introduced air to the heat dissipation fan 611 by using a downward inclined surface.

The end part of such a flow guide surface 245 may extend up

to the lower end of the heat dissipation fan 611, and the

flow guide surface 245 may be formed in a section of the

dividing fence 242 facing the heat dissipation fan 611.

[150] Meanwhile, referring to FIG. 3, the rear portion of

the cover plate 250 constituting the upper surface of the

machine room frame 200 may protrude upward from other

portions of the cover plate, and the rear portion of the

inside of the machine room 201 may be configured to be

higher than other portions thereof. That is, in

consideration of the protruding heights of the heat

dissipation fan 611 and the compressor 610 installed in the

machine room 201, the rear portion of the cover plate may be

configured to be higher than the other portions thereof.

Particularly, in the embodiment, since the compressor 610

has the highest height, a compressor cover 280 may be

provided in the cover plate 250 in correspondence to the

height of the compressor 610.

[151] The cover plate 250 may be formed of a metal material

having a plate shape and may be bent to form an overall

shape thereof. In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the

cover plate 250 may comprise a first cover part 251 and a second cover part 252. In addition, the cover plate 250 may further comprise a compressor cover 280.

[152] The first cover part 251 may be formed on the front

half part of the cover plate 250. In addition, the first

cover part 251 may constitute the lowest part of the cover

plate 250, and may be formed to have a preset height H1 (see

FIG. 9). The first cover part 251 may be configured to have

height H1 corresponding to the height H1 of each of the

condenser 620 and the separation wall 230. The height of

first cover part 251 may correspond to the height of each of

the side plates 212. That is, the lower surface of the

first cover part 251 may be in contact with the upper

surface of the condenser 620, the upper end of the

separation wall, and the upper end of the side plate 212,

and may constitute the front half part of the upper surface

of the machine room 201.

[153] As illustrated in FIG. 4, the first cover part 251 may

comprise the front half part of the upper surface of the

machine room 201 and may further comprise a portion of the

rear half part of the upper surface of the machine room 201.

That is, the first cover part 251 may be formed by extending

from the front end of the machine room 201 to the front end

of the heat dissipation fan 611.

[154] In addition, an auto door installation part 253 in

which the door opening device 900 is installed may be provided on the front end of the first cover part 251. The auto door installation part 253 may be provided on the front side of the first cover part toward the front of the cover plate 250, that is, the door assembly 130, and may be formed by protruding upward. In addition, the lower surface of the auto door installation part 253 may be open, and the center portion of the cover plate 250 corresponding to the auto door installation part 253 may be formed by being cut. In addition, a harness cover 257 of which the harness of the control module 700 is moved in and out may be provided on a side of the first cover part 251 corresponding to the control module 700.

[155] For reference, in FIG. 2, a push rod 950 constituting

a door opening device 900 is illustrated by protruding

therefrom. The push rod 950 may protrude from the door

opening device 900 and may push a contact part B provided on

the inner surface of the door assembly 130.

[156] Meanwhile, a vertical connection part 254 may be

formed on the rear end of the first cover part 251 by

extending vertically, and the upper end of the vertical

connection part 254 may comprise the second cover part 252

extending rearward.

[157] The vertical connection part 254 may be in contact

with the front end of the heat dissipation fan 611, and may

extend from a first side end of the cover plate 250 to a second side end thereof. In addition, the height H2 of the vertical connection part 254 may correspond to the height of the heat dissipation fan 611. In addition, the second cover part 252 extending rearward from the vertical connection part 254 may also be formed to have the same height H2 as the height of the vertical connection part 254.

[158] That is, the second cover part 252 may be configured

to have the height H2 corresponding to the upper end of the

heat dissipation fan 611, and may protrude upward and have a

stepped shape, compared to the first cover part 251.

[159] In this case, the side plate 212 constituting the side

surface of the machine room 201, and an outer plate 212a

coupled to the side plate 212 and constituting the outermost

side surface of the machine room 201 may be configured to

have the same heights from the front of the machine room 201

to a rear thereof. In contrast, the second cover part 252

may be configured to be higher than the side plate 212 or

the outer plate 212a.

[160] In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the side

surface of the outer casing 110 constituting the cabinet

100, and the surface of the outer plate 212a disposed on the

outer side of the side surface of the machine room 201 may

constitute a same plane continuous to each other. Through

this, a unified beauty of the refrigerator may be provided.

[161] Meanwhile, in the machine room 201, the compressor 610

may protrude upward from the discharge space 0, and may have

a preset height H2. In this case, the compressor 610 may be

configured to have height H2 higher than the height H3 of

the second cover part 252 and thus may protrude more upward

than the surface of the second cover part 252.

[162] In this case, one side of the cover plate 250 at which

the compressor 610 is disposed may have an opening, and the

compressor cover 280 for covering the protruding upper

surface of the compressor 610 may be formed on the opening.

[163] The compressor cover 280 may be configured to

effectively receive the upper end of the compressor having a

three-dimensional shape. That is, the compressor cover 280

may be recessed such that a compressor receiving space 281

for receiving the upper end of the compressor 610 is formed

inside the compressor cover, and the internal upper surface

of the compressor receiving space may have a preset height

H4.

[164] Accordingly, in the second cover part 252, the

compressor cover 280 may be provided at a position

corresponding to the upper surface of the compressor 610.

In addition, the compressor cover 280 may protrude more

upward from the second cover part 252.

[165] The cover plate 250 may be provided with the harness

cover 257. The harness cover 257 is a part in which the wire harness extending from the control module 700 to be described below is mounted, and may function to guide the extending direction of the wire harness. Specifically, the harness cover 257 may guide the wire harness extending upward from the control module 700 located thereunder to the rear side, that is, toward the rear plate 213.

[166] Meanwhile, the bottom plate constituting the bottom of

the machine room of the refrigerator of the present

disclosure will be described in detail with reference to

FIGS. 16 to 21 according to the present disclosure. For

reference, the same reference numerals will be given to the

same parts as in the previous embodiment and descriptions

thereof will be omitted.

[167] As illustrated in FIG. 16, unlike the previous

embodiment, the front cover 220 may be configured as a

grille part 225 which is one part. The grille part 225 may

comprise multiple openings passing through the front cover

220, and may allow air to be introduced into the machine

room 201 and allow the internal air of the machine room 201

to be discharged to the outside.

[168] In addition, the front cover 220 may comprise an

introduction part 220a and a discharge part 220b formed

therein. In this case, the introduction part 220a may be

wider than the discharge part 220b. However, after an area

in which the condenser 620 is installed, the introduction space I of the machine room 201 connected to the introduction part 220a may be configured to have a width decreased by the separation wall 230 installed to partition the machine room 201.

[169] The bottom plate 211 may constitute the bottom surface

of the machine room 201. The rear end of the bottom plate

211 and the rear surface of the cover plate 250 may be

spaced apart from each other, and the rear surface of the

machine room 201 may be open. In addition, the rear surface

of the machine room 201 may be covered by the rear plate

213.

[170] The front end of the bottom plate 211 and the front

surface of the cover plate 250 may be spaced apart from each

other, and the front surface of the machine room 201 may be

open. In addition, the front surface of the machine room

201 may be covered by the front cover 220.

[171] In the introduction space I, the bottom plate 211 may

comprise an additional inlet 22 vertically formed

therethrough. That is, together with the amount of air

introduced through the grille part 225 provided in the front

cover 220, the amount of air introduced through the

additional inlet 22 into the machine room 201 may be secured

additionally.

[172] The additional inlet 22 may be located at the front

end of the introduction space I, that is, in front of the condenser 620. That is, the front cover may be located in front of the additional inlet 22, and the condenser 620 may be located behind the additional inlet 22.

[173] The additional inlet 22 may extend horizontally in the

introduction space I relative to the front cover 220 and may

be configured to have a shape of a longitudinal hole, and

may comprise a plurality of additional inlets formed by

being spaced apart from each other in a front-to-rear

direction.

[174] The bottom plate 211 may comprise an additional outlet

20a or 20b formed vertically therethrough in the discharge

space 0. This is intended to secure an additional discharge

area in correspondence to the amount of air additionally

secured through the additional inlet 22.

[175] The additional outlet 20a or 20b may comprise a

plurality of additional outlets formed vertically through

one side of the bottom plate 211. That is, in addition to

the grille part 225 provided in the front cover, even

through the additional outlets 20a and 20b, the internal air

of the machine room 201 may be discharged to the outside,

and thus a discharge area in which the internal air of the

machine room 201 can be discharged to the outside may be

additionally secured.

[176] The additional outlet 20a or 20b may comprise a

plurality of through holes formed vertically, and the through holes may be configured to be arranged in lines within a predetermined area. The additional outlets 20a and

20b may be provided in the rear end of the bottom plate 211.

That is, the additional outlets 20a and 20b may be located

at a side behind the additional inlet 22.

[177] The additional outlet 20a or 20b may comprise a first

outlet 20a provided at a position corresponding to a

position at which the compressor 610 is disposed. The first

outlet 20a may be located under the compressor such that the

internal air of the discharge space 0 is efficiently

discharged to the outside.

[178] In addition, the additional outlet 20a or 20b may

further comprise a second outlet 20b located in front of the

first outlet 20a and formed vertically through the bottom

plate. The second outlet 20b may be formed at the rear end

part of the control module 700. Accordingly, the control

module 700 may be cooled by air flowing along the discharge

space 0, and may be rapidly discharged through the second

outlet 20b.

[179] The second outlet 20b may be formed in front of the

first outlet 20a. In addition, the second outlet 20b may be

located behind a first reinforcement part 24a and a third

reinforcement part 24c to be descried later and may be

located in front of a second reinforcement part 24b.

[180] The bottom plate 211 may comprise a reinforcement part

24 formed by crossing the introduction space I and the

discharge space 0 so as to reinforce the rigidity of the

bottom plate 211. For example, the reinforcement part 24

may be formed by extending from a first end of the bottom

plate 211 to a second end of the bottom plate 211. That is,

the reinforcement part 24 may extend in a horizontal

direction relative to the front cover 220 and may allow the

bottom plate 211 to securely support weights of the

condenser 620 provided in the introduction space I and the

compressor 610 provided in the discharge space 0.

[181] The machine room 201 is configured such that the

condenser 620 is provided in the front side of the

introduction space I, and the compressor 610 is provided in

the rear side of the discharge space 0, so weight applied to

the bottom plate 211 may not evenly be distributed, but be

unavoidably biased.

[182] That is, the compressor 610 provided in an area in

which the additional outlet 20a or 20b is formed is greater

in weight than other parts installed in the machine room 201

such as the condenser 620 and the defrost water tray 240,

and thus weight may be continuously biased to the bottom

plate 211 of the side of the discharge space 0 in which the

compressor 610 is located, so the bottom plate 211 may be

depressed to one side. When the compressor and the condenser 620 are installed in the machine room 201, the reinforcement part may allow the bottom plate 211 to more securely support the associated parts.

[183] The reinforcement part 24 may be depressed from an

upper side to a lower side relative to the bottom plate 211,

and may comprise a plurality of reinforcement parts formed

by being spaced apart from each other. That is, the

reinforcement part 24 may have a depressed structure formed

on the upper surface of the bottom plate 211 and may not

interfere with the compressor 610 and the condenser 620

installed horizontally.

[184] Furthermore, for example, the reinforcement part 24

may comprise the first reinforcement part 24a formed at the

side of the rear end part of the condenser 620 or behind the

condenser. That is, the first reinforcement part 24a may be

formed behind the additional inlet 22 to be spaced apart

therefrom. Additionally, the first reinforcement part 24a

may be formed between the additional inlet 22 and the second

outlet 20b.

[185] In addition, the reinforcement part 24 may comprise

the second reinforcement part 24b formed at the side of the

front end part of the compressor 610 or in front of the

compressor 610. That is, the second reinforcement part 24b

may be formed between the first outlet 20a and the second

outlet 20b.

[186] The first reinforcement part 24a and the second

reinforcement part 24b may be formed in the bottom plate 211

by being spaced apart from the additional inlet 22 or the

first and second outlets 20a and 20b in a front-to-rear

direction so as not to interfere therewith.

[187] Furthermore, the reinforcement part 24 may comprise

the third reinforcement part 24c formed between the first

reinforcement part 24a and the first outlet 20a. The third

reinforcement part 24c may be formed between the first

reinforcement part 24a and the second reinforcement part

24b. That is, the third reinforcement part may be formed

between the first reinforcement part 24a and the second

outlet 20b.

[188] The reinforcement part may allow the bottom plate 211

to more securely support parts installed in the machine room

201.

[189] A side connection part 25 may be formed on each of the

opposite sides of the bottom plate 211 by bending upward and

extending to be coupled to a side part 1251 to be described

later. The side connection part 25 may comprise a plurality

of through holes 25a through which fastening members pass.

[190] A first side surface of the side part 1251 may be

coupled to the bottom plate 211, and a second side surface

thereof may be connected to the side plate 212. That is,

the side end of the bottom plate 211 may be installed to be spaced apart from the side surface of the side plate 212, and the side part 1251 may be installed between the bottom plate 211 and the side plate 212.

[191] The side part 1251 may be formed by bending multiple

times and extending along the side end of the bottom plate

211.

[192] The side part 1251 may be formed by extending along

the side end of the bottom plate 211, and may comprise a

first part 1251a coupled to the bottom plate 211, a second

part 1251b formed by bending and extending from the first

part 1251a to the outside of the machine room 201, and a

third part 1251c bending and extending upward from the

second part 1251b and coupled to the side plate 212.

[193] The first part 1251a may comprise a plurality of

through holes through which fastening members pass such that

the first part can be connected to the bottom plate 211.

[194] The second part 1251b may be formed by bending and

extending to one side from the first part 1251a, and the

lower part of the second part 1251b may be connected to a

support module 1900 to be described later.

[195] In addition, the center portion of the second part

1251b may comprise a side discharge hole 26 through which

the internal air of the machine room 201 can be discharged

to the outside.

[196] It is possible to increase an area in which air can be

discharged to the outside through the side discharge hole 26

in addition to the additional outlet 20a or 20b provided in

the bottom plate 211. Since the introduction part 220a is

formed to be wider than the discharge part 220b in the front

cover 220, the introduction space I may be formed to be

relatively large at the front part, and thus the amount of

air introduced through the front cover 220 may be larger

than the amount of discharged air. Accordingly, the side

discharge hole 26 may be provided to increase the amount of

discharged air.

[197] The side discharge hole 26 may be formed vertically

through the second part 1251b in a left-to-right direction

thereof. Additionally, the side discharge hole 26 may

comprise a plurality of side discharge holes formed by being

spaced apart from each other in a front-to-rear direction of

the second part 1251b.

[198] The side discharge hole 26 may be formed in the side

part 1251 disposed at a position adjacent to the discharge

space of the bottom plate 211.

[199] That is, as illustrated in FIG. 17, the side part 1251

may comprise a first side part 1253 provided at a position

adjacent to the discharge space 0 in the opposite side ends

of the bottom plate 211, and a second side part 1252

provided at a position adjacent to the introduction space I.

Here, the side discharge hole 26 is preferably provided only

in the first side part 1253. This is intended such that air

of the discharge space 0 is efficiently discharged to the

outside and air of the introduction space I is only

introduced into the machine room 201.

[200] The third part 1251c may be formed by bending and

extending upward from a side end of the second part 1251b.

The third part 1251c may be coupled to the side plate 212 by

fastening members passing through the third part.

[201] When the side part 1251 is coupled to the bottom plate

211 and the side plate 212, the third part 1251c may be in

contact with the side plate 212.

[202] In addition, the side part 1251 may further comprise a

fourth part 1251d formed by bending and extending from the

third part 1251c to the inside of the machine room 201. The

fourth part 1251d may be formed to be parallel to the side

end of the bottom plate 211. The fourth part 1251d may be

coupled to the cover plate 250.

[203] Hereinafter, the compressor cover 280 will be

described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 22 to 27.

As illustrated in the drawings, the second cover part 252 of

the cover plate 250 may be provided with the compressor

cover 280. In addition, the compressor cover 280 may secure

space in which the upper end part of the compressor 610 can be received, and at the same time, may provide space in which a control valve 290 is mounted.

[204] A cut part 255 may be formed in the rear end of the

second cover part 252. The cut part 255 may be formed at

the upper side of the compressor 610 by corresponding to the

compressor 610. In addition, the cut part 255 may be formed

to have a shape corresponding to the upper part of the

compressor such that the upper part of the compressor 610

can protrude upward by passing through the cut part 255.

[205] In addition, a coupling part bent vertically to the

outside along the rear end of the second cover part 252 may

be formed. The coupling part 256 may be configured to be

coupled to the rear plate 213, and may be formed along the

remaining rear end of the second cover part 252 except for

an area in which the cut part 255 is formed.

[206] The compressor cover 280 may be injection-formed of a

plastic material. The upper surface of the compressor 610

may be configured to have a shape like a curved surface, and

the compressor cover 280 may be configured to have a three

dimensional shape so as to receive the compressor 610 and

the control valve 290.

[207] That is, the three-dimensional shape of the compressor

cover 280 may not be realized with the cover plate 250

having the shape of a metal plate, and thus the compressor

cover 280 may be formed of a plastic material. At least a portion of the inner side surface of the compressor cover

280 may comprise a curved surface corresponding to the shape

of the curved surface of the upper surface of the compressor

610.

[208] The compressor cover 280 may have open shapes in lower

and rear surfaces as a whole, and may have a recessed inside

shape. In addition, the compressor cover 280 may be mounted

to the upper surface of the second cover part 252 and may

have a shape protruding upward. In this case, the open

lower surface of the compressor cover may match the cut part

255. In addition, the rear surface of the compressor cover

280 may match the rear end of the cut part 255, that is, the

coupling part 256.

[209] In addition, the compressor cover 280 may comprise a

cover body 284 protruding upward, a side edge 282 formed

along the periphery of each of the opposite end surfaces of

the peripheries of the cover body 284, a front edge 285

formed along the front end of the cover body 284, and a rear

edge 283 formed along the rear end of the cover body 284.

[210] A reinforcement rib 284a may be provided to have a

grid shape on the upper surface of the cover body 284 by

protruding upward therefrom. The rigidity of the compressor

cover 280 formed of a plastic material may be reinforced by

the reinforcement rib 284a. That is, foam liquid may be

injected into the cabinet 100 to form an insulation material inside the cabinet 100, so even if pressure is applied to the cabinet 100, the deformation or removal of the compressor cover 280 may be prevented and a mounted state thereof may be maintained.

[211] In addition, a body inclined part 284b which is formed

slantingly may be formed on the front end of the cover body

284. The body inclined part 284b may have inclination

directed upward gradually toward the rear of the cover body

from the front end thereof. Accordingly, pressure applied

to the compressor cover 280 may be distributed and an

insulation material may be prevented from being unfilled.

[212] Meanwhile, the compressor receiving space 281 may be

defined inside the cover body 284, that is, on a lower

surface thereof. The compressor receiving space 281 may be

defined at a position facing the upper surface of the

compressor 610. In a state in which the compressor cover

280 is mounted, the height of the compressor receiving space

281, that is, the height H4 of the cover body may be

slightly higher than the upper end of the compressor 610 as

illustrated in FIG. 24. The compressor receiving space 281

may be defined to have a shape corresponding to the shape of

the exterior of the compressor 610, and may be defined to

have a size to receive the upper surface of the compressor.

[213] In addition, a valve receiving space 281a may be

defined at a side of the compressor receiving space 281 by being further recessed laterally, and a recessed valve mounting part 286 may be formed in the rear end of the valve receiving space 281a, that is, on an edge of the rear end of the cover body 284.

[214] The side edge 282 may be formed along each of the

opposite side surfaces of the compressor cover 280, and may

constitute a surface horizontal to the cover plate 250 to be

in contact with each of the opposite side surfaces of the

cut part 255. The side edge 282 may be in close contact

with the upper surface of the cover plate 250 corresponding

to the opposite sides of the cut part 255. In addition, the

side edge 282 and the cover plate 250 may be securely

coupled to each other by riveting, or the coupling, bonding

or joining of fastening members.

[215] In this case, a guide rib 287 may be formed downward

along the open peripheral surface of the cover body 284.

That is, the guide rib 287 may protrude downward along the

inner side end of each of the side edge 282 and the front

edge 285, and may be in contact with the end part of the cut

part 255.

[216] When the compressor cover 280 is mounted to the cover

plate 250, the guide rib 287 and the cut part 255 may be in

close contact with each other such that the guide rib 287

and the cut part 255 can be moved to precise coupling

positions. Accordingly, the open lower surface of the cover body 284 may be coupled to the cut part 255 such that the cover body 284 and the cut part 255 are accurately maintained to match each other.

[217] The front edge 285 may be connected to the front end

of the side edge 282, and may constitute a surface

horizontal to the cover plate 250 along the front end of the

cover body 284. Meanwhile, the front end of the front edge

285 may bend vertically downward, and may be in close

contact with the front surface of the vertical connection

part 254. That is, the front edge 285 may be seated on a

stepped part between the front end of the second cover part

252 and the vertical connection part 254, and may be fixedly

mounted over the second cover part 252 and the vertical

connection part 254 such that the compressor cover 280 can

be more securely fixed to the cover plate 250.

[218] The rear edge 283 may bend vertically from the rear

surface of the cover body 284. In addition, the rear edge

may be in surface contact with the rear plate 213, and may

be coupled to the rear plate 213 while the rear edge and the

rear plate 213 are in contact with each other. In a state

in which the rear plate 213 is coupled, the rear plate 213

may cover the rear surface of the machine room 201, and may

cover even the open rear surface of the compressor cover

280.

[219] Meanwhile, the valve receiving space 281a and the

valve mounting part 286 may be formed in the cover body 284.

The valve receiving space 281a may be defined by protruding

laterally from a side surface of the cover body 284, and may

be configured as a portion of the compressor receiving space

281. That is, the open lower surface of the cover body 284

may be formed to have a recessed shape as a whole, and a

main portion thereof may constitute the compressor receiving

space 281 and a lateral partial space thereof may constitute

the valve receiving space 281a.

[220] In addition, the valve mounting part 286 which is

stepped may be formed in the open rear end part of the valve

receiving space 281a. The valve mounting part 286 may be

exposed to the open rear surface of the compressor cover

280. Accordingly, in a state in which the rear surface of

the machine room 201 is exposed to the outside after the

removal of the rear plate 213, the valve mounting part 286

may be exposed to the rear side of the machine room, and

access to the valve mounting part 286 and the mounting of

the control valve 290 may be facilitated.

[221] Meanwhile, the control valve 290 may comprise a valve

body 291 connected to a refrigerant tube which connects the

compressor 610 with the condenser 620, and a valve bracket

292 to which the valve body 291 is mounted. While the valve

body 291 of the control valve 290 is first mounted to the valve bracket 292, the valve bracket 292 may be mounted to the valve mounting part 286.

[222] The valve bracket 292 may comprise a bracket

horizontal part 292b to which the valve body 291 is mounted

by passing therethrough, a bracket vertical part 292c

extending upward from the rear end of the bracket horizontal

part 292b, and a bracket fixing part 292a stepped from the

bracket vertical part 292c and fixedly mounted to the valve

mounting part 286.

[223] The bracket fixing part 292a may have a structure

stepped rearward from the bracket vertical part 292c, and

may have a shape to be seated on the stepped valve mounting

part 286. In addition, the bracket horizontal part 292b may

extend toward the inside of the machine room 201 opposite to

the direction of the bracket fixing part 292a.

[224] Accordingly, the bracket fixing part 292a located on

the upper end of the rear of the control valve 290 may be

easily fastened to the valve mounting part 286. In

addition, the control valve 290 may be located inside of the

valve receiving space 281a of the compressor cover 280

rather than the inside of the machine room 201, so even if

the rear plate 213 is closed, the control valve 290 may not

interfere with the rear plate 213.

[225] Accordingly, in the inner space of the machine room

201, a rear half part in which the compressor 610 is provided may secure sufficient space, and particularly, the mounting of the compressor 610, the mounting of the control valve 290, and welding of a tube may be effectively performed even in the compact machine room 201.

[226] Next, the grille plate 270 and the grille fan assembly

500 of the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the

present disclosure will be described in detail with

reference to FIGS. 28 to 30. The grille plate 270 may be

installed inside the storage space 121. The grille plate

270 may be configured as a rectangular wall body, and may be

a part on which the grille fan assembly 500 is installed.

[227] A main grille fixing end 271 may be formed on each of

the left and right sides of the center of the rear surface

of the grille plate 270. The main grille fixing end 271 may

be formed to have a hook shape, and may be formed on each of

the left and right sides of the center of the rear surface

of the grille plate 270 by protruding rearward therefrom.

The main grille fixing end 271 may be fixed to the inside of

the storage space 121 such that the grille plate 270 can be

securely fixed in the storage space 121.

[228] Referring to FIG. 30, an air introduction hole 275 and

a discharge part (not shown) may be formed in the front

surface 270a of the grille plate 270. The air introduction

hole 275 is a part through which air of the storage space

121 is introduced into a cooling compartment 125, and contrarily, the discharge part is a part through which air of the cooling compartment 125 is discharged to the storage space 121.

[229] An air introduction part 272 may be formed on the

lower part of the front surface 270a of the grille plate

270. The air introduction part 272 may be configured as a

wall body to be long from side to side, and may protrude in

a direction toward the storage space 121. That is, the air

introduction part 272 may be recessed from the inner casing

120 in a direction away from an inner surface 124 (see FIG.

30) facing the grille plate 270. Accordingly, the air

introduction part 272 may be away from the evaporator 630,

and space may be defined between the air introduction part

272 and the evaporator 630.

[230] In addition, the air introduction hole 275 may be

disposed on the lower side of the air introduction part 272

such that water droplets can be prevented from being

introduced through the front side of the grille plate 270

into the air introduction hole 275 to be described later.

The air introduction part 272 may protrude toward the

storage space 121 and may function to prevent water droplets

generated on the front surface part of the grille plate 270

due to temperature difference from falling downward and

being introduced into the air introduction hole 275.

[231] An evasion recession part 124' may be recessed on the

inner surface 124 of the inner casing 120 constituting the

cabinet 100 facing the grille fan assembly 500 such that a

distance between the inner surface 124 and the grille fan

assembly 500 is increased. The grille fan assembly 500 may

be installed to face the evasion recession part 124', and

thus an air flow space may be sufficiently secured

therebetween. For reference, in FIG. 28, reference numeral

124'' indicates an installation recession part recessed in a

part of the rear side of an accumulator 639 in the inner

surface 124 of the inner casing 120.

[232] A shroud 510 of the grille fan assembly 500 may have a

guide wall body 520, and the guide wall body 520 may have a

shroud fixing part 522, so the grille fan assembly 500 may

be assembled with the rear surface 270b of the grille plate

270. Additionally, a grille fan member 550 may be installed

in the shroud 510. Various grille fans may be applied to

the grille fan member 550, but here, a grille fan of an

axial flow fan type is applied.

[233] Next, the air conditioning module 600 will be

described with reference to FIGS. 6 to. 10. The air

conditioning module 600 is a part which controls temperature

of the inside of the storage space 121 of the inner casing

120. Such an air conditioning module 600 may be configured

as an air conditioning device comprising the compressor 610, the main condenser 620, and the evaporator 630. That is, temperature of air circulating in the storage space 121 may be controlled by the above air conditioning device.

[234] The compressor 610 and the condenser 620 may be

provided in the machine room 201 inside the machine room

frame 200. Here, the condenser 620 may refer to the main

condenser 620. The main condenser 620 may be located at a

side at which air is introduced among opposite sides formed

by the separation wall 230 in the machine room frame 200,

that is, in the introduction space I, and the compressor 610

may be located in the discharge space 0 which is a part

through which air passing through the main condenser 620

passes.

[235] Such a structure is intended such that air introduced

into the machine room 201 of the machine room frame 200 can

first pass through the main condenser 620. That is, when it

is considered that the compressor 610 is a part that

generates a large amount of heat, heat exchange efficiency

may decrease when air exchanges heat with the main condenser

620 after passing through the compressor 610. Accordingly,

it is preferable that air passes through the main condenser

620 before the compressor 610.

[236] In addition, the main condenser 620 may be located to

be adjacent to the inlet 225a provided in the front side of

the inside of the machine room 201, and the compressor 610 may be located in the rear side (a side adjacent to the rear plate 213) of the inside of the machine room 201. Such a structure may allow the compressor 610 and the main condenser 620 to be partitioned from each other as much as possible so as to be spaced apart from each other such that the impact of high-temperature heat of the compressor 610 on the main condenser 620 can be reduced.

[237] More precisely, the compressor 610 and the main

condenser 620 may be disposed in spaces partitioned from

each other, respectively, and the heat dissipation fan 611

may be disposed in the rear of the machine room 201 relative

to the inlet 225a, and the compressor 610 may be disposed in

the rear of the machine room 201 relative to the outlet

225b.

[238] Furthermore, the heat dissipation fan 611 may be

provided in the air introduction side of the compressor 610

so as to allow air to be introduced into and discharged out

of the machine room 201 and to dissipate heat of the

compressor 610. Such a heat dissipation fan 611 may

function to block an air introduction side at which the main

condenser 620 is located from a part in which the compressor

610 is located, so the impact of high-temperature heat of

the compressor 610 on the main condenser 620 may be reduced.

To this end, the heat dissipation fan 611 may be installed to be continuo8usly connected to the separation wall 230 described above.

[239] Accordingly, the compressor 610 and the heat

dissipation fan 611 may be spaced apart from the inner side

of the machine room 201 so as to be installed in front of

the rear plate 213. In this case, parts higher than other

parts may be clustered in the rear side of the machine room

201, and remaining parts may be installed in the front side

thereof, and thus the height of at least the front side of

the machine room 201 may be decreased.

[240] In addition, the storage space 121 of the refrigerator

may be increased by the decreased height of the machine room

201. Referring to FIG. 3, the avoidance part 123 may be

provided on the bottom surface of the storage space 121, and

the compressor 610 and the heat dissipation fan 611 may be

located under the avoidance part 123, and space of the front

side of the avoidance part 123 may be used.

[241] In this case, the compressor 610 and the heat

dissipation fan 611 may be disposed to overlap each other in

at least a portion thereof along a direction orthogonal to

each of the open directions of the inlet 225a and the outlet

225b. Referring to FIG. 8, both the compressor 610 and the

heat dissipation fan 611 are disposed close to the rear

plate 213 and may be installed side by side in left and

right directions.

[242] In the embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 8, the

compressor 610 and the heat dissipation fan 611 may be

installed to face each other in front of the rear plate 213.

Particularly, the extending direction of the rotating shaft

of the heat dissipation fan 611 may be directed to the

compressor 610, so a major part of the heat dissipation fan

611 may be in a section overlapping the compressor 610.

According to such a structure, referring to FIG. 9, the heat

dissipation fan 611 covers a major part of the compressor

610 when viewed from the side. Accordingly, the compressor

610 and the heat dissipation fan 611 which are large in size

may be arranged on the same line inside the machine room

201, and the front side thereof may be used as the storage

space 121 or as space for installing other parts.

[243] In addition, referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, the heat

dissipation fan 611 may be spaced apart from the side plate

212 of the machine room frame 200 extending along one side

of the inlet 225a, and the air flow space connected to the

inlet 225a may be defined between the heat dissipation fan

611 and the side plate 212. Here, referring to FIG. 8, the

air flow space may be considered as the upper part of the

defrost water tray 240 of the left side of the flow guide

surface 245 described above.

[244] In this case, the extending direction of the rotating

shaft of the heat dissipation fan 611 may be orthogonal to the open direction of the inlet 225a. That is, the heat dissipation fan 611 may directly face the compressor 610.

Accordingly, the air flow space may be relatively wide.

When the heat dissipation fan 611 faces the main condenser

620 or is installed slantingly, the width of the air flow

space may be unavoidably decreased, and air may not

efficiently flow.

[245] In addition, since the heat dissipation fan 611 faces

the compressor 610 directly, the heat dissipation fan 611

may strongly discharge air to the compressor 610 and may

effectively cool the compressor 610.

[246] Due to the air introduction and discharge of the heat

dissipation fan 611, the heat dissipation fan 611 is a very

important part which performs a cooling function, and as the

size of the heat dissipation fan 611 increases, cooling

performance thereof may be improved. Referring to FIG. 9,

in the embodiment, the heat dissipation fan 611 and the

compressor 610 are arranged side by side, so the heat

dissipation fan 611 having height corresponding to the

maximum height of the compressor 610 may be applied. That

is, the height H2 of the heat dissipation fan 611 may be the

same as or smaller than the height H1 of the compressor 610.

[247] Meanwhile, the compressor 610 may be disposed in a

path to which the outlet 225b is open. Accordingly, air

heated through the compressor 610 may flow directly toward the outlet 225b and may be discharged to the outside. The entirety or at least a portion of the compressor 610 may be disposed in the path to which the outlet 225b is open.

[248] While refrigerant continuously flows through the

inside of each part constituting the air conditioning module

600, a refrigeration cycle may operate. In this case, each

part may be connected to multiple refrigerant tubes, and the

evaporation tube L2, the side condensing tube L4 and L6, and

the front condensing tube L8 to be described below may be

included in the refrigerant tubes.

[249] Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, first, the evaporation

tube L2 may be installed in the defrost water tray 240, and

may be located close to the bottom surface 241' of the

defrost water tray 240. The evaporation tube L2 may be

installed to be space apart by a predetermined distance from

the bottom surface 241' of the defrost water tray 240, and

may be connected in a zigzag direction to secure length as

long as possible as illustrated in FIG. 6. The evaporation

tube L2 may be a path which is connected through a main

control valve 625 to a refrigerant discharge pipe 610a (see

FIG. 8) of the compressor 610 such that high-pressure/high

temperature refrigerant passes through the path. The

evaporation tube L2 may be disposed close to the bottom

surface 241' of the defrost water tray 240, and thus may

function to evaporate defrost water collected in the defrost water tray 240. Reference numeral Li indicates a first connection tube which connects the main control valve 625 with the evaporation tube L2.

[250] The evaporation tube L2 may be connected to the main

condenser 620, and a first side condensing tube L4 may be

connected to the main condenser 620. The first side

condensing tube L4 may be provided on the left surface of

the cabinet 100 relative to FIG. 6, and may be provided by

bending multiple times. Referring to FIG. 8, a portion of a

second connection tube L3 which connects the main condenser

620 with the first side condensing tube L4 is illustrated.

[251] The first side condensing tube L4 may be connected to

a second side condensing tube L6 by a third connection tube

L5 (see FIG. 6) crossing the machine room 201. The second

side condensing tube L6 and the first side condensing tube

L4 may be paired with each other and may have the same

shapes. Referring to FIG. 6, the second side condensing

tube L6 may be provided on the right surface of the cabinet

100. Of course, the second side condensing tube L6 may not

be required to have the same shape as the first side

condensing tube L4.

[252] The second side condensing tube L6 may be connected to

the front condensing tube L8 by a fourth connection tube L7.

The front condensing tube L8 may be provided on the front

surface of the cabinet 100 and may be a refrigerant tube which is bent multiple times. In FIG. 6, the front condensing tube L8 may have an approximate rectangular shape, which is a shape corresponding to the front frame 118 described above.

[253] Each of the first side condensing tube L4, the second

side condensing tube L6, and the front condensing tube L8

may, together with the main condenser 620, perform the

function of condensing refrigerant, so even if a large main

condenser 620 is not installed in the machine room 201 due

to the small height and width of the machine room 201, this

may be compensated. Accordingly, each of the first side

condensing tube L4, the second side condensing tube L6, and

the front condensing tube L8, together with the main

condenser 620, may be considered as a part of a condenser.

[254] In addition, each of the first side condensing tube

L4, the second side condensing tube L6, and the front

condensing tube L8 may be configured to cover the exterior

of the cabinet 100, and thus may function as a kind of heat

line which prevents the formation of dew on the surface of

the cabinet 100 due to temperature difference between the

inside and outside of the refrigerator.

[255] When a foam insulation material is filled in space

between the inner casing 120 and the outer casing 110 as

described above, the first side condensing tube L4, the

second side condensing tube L6, and the front condensing tube L8 may be inserted and fixed in the insulation material.

[256] Meanwhile, the second side condensing tube L6 may be

connected to the evaporator 630 by a fifth connection tube

L9. The evaporator 630 may be disposed in the rear space of

the grille fan assemblies 500a and 500b in each portion in

the inner casing 120. That is, during circulation of

discharging air to the inner upper side of the storage space

121 after the air is introduced into the storage space 121

from the inner lower side thereof due to the operation of

the grille fan assemblies 500a and 500b, the air may

exchange heat with the evaporator 630 while passing through

the evaporator 630.

[257] Such an evaporator 630 may be configured as an

evaporator 630 having a plate shape, and may be stably

installed in front of a rear wall surface among the inner

wall surfaces of the inner casing 120 and may improve heat

exchange performance in a small space. Reference numeral

L10 indicates an evaporator connection tube which connects

the evaporator 630 with the main control valve 625.

[258] Although not shown, a dryer and a capillary tube may

be installed between the front condensing tube L8 and the

evaporator 630. In this case, a refrigerant may pass

consecutively through the front condensing tube L8, the

dryer, the main control valve 625, the capillary tube, and the evaporator 630. Here, the dryer may function to protect a system by removing moisture and filtering foreign mater, and the capillary tube may function to throttle as an expansion valve.

[259] In addition, finally, a refrigerant passing through

the evaporator 630 may be introduced back to a refrigerant

introduction tube 610b (see FIG. 8) of the compressor 610 so

as to repeat a refrigeration cycle.

[260] Next, the evaporator 630 will be described with

reference to FIGS. 28 to 30. Refrigerant being in the state

of high temperature and high pressure while passing through

the compressor 610 and the main condenser 620 installed in

the machine room 201 may be liquid having pressure and

temperature reduced by the throttling of the capillary tube,

and, in this state, may be delivered to the evaporator 630.

Additionally, the evaporator 630 may receive the refrigerant

of the state of liquid having low temperature and low

pressure and may evaporate the refrigerant into gas, and may

function to lower the internal temperature of the storage

space 121 by using latent heat.

[261] The expansion valve may lower the pressure of

refrigerant gas having high temperature and high pressure

discharged from the main condenser 620 into liquid

refrigerant gas having low temperature and lower pressure

such that the refrigerant gas having high temperature and high pressure can be easily evaporated in the evaporator

630, and may control the flow rate of the refrigerant gas so

as to discharge the refrigerant gas to the evaporator 630.

The expansion valve for a refrigerating compartment may

comprise the capillary tube. The capillary tube may have a

relatively small diameter, and may act as a resistance to

the flow of a refrigerant in a process in which the

refrigerant passes through the capillary tube and may expand

the refrigerant.

[262] In the embodiment, the evaporator 630 may be installed

in the cooling compartment 125, and more precisely, as

illustrated in FIG. 30, may be installed in the lower part

of the cooling compartment 125 formed between the inner

surface 124 of the inner casing 120 and the grille plate

270. Additionally, the grille fan assembly 500 described

above may be located above the evaporator 630, and may

introduce the internal air of the storage space 121 through

the lower side, that is, the air introduction hole 275 into

the cooling compartment, and may allow the air to pass

through the evaporator 630 and be discharged through the

discharge part located at the upper side back into the

storage space 121.

[263] Looking at the configuration of the evaporator 630,

the evaporator 630 may comprise a cooling tube 638 in which

refrigerant flows, and cooling fins 650 through which the cooling tube 638 passes. The cooling tube 638 may be considered as a kind of long pipe, and may be connected to the capillary tube (the expansion valve) described above so as to receive a refrigerant, and may discharge a refrigerant passing through the evaporator 630 again.

[264] To this end, the cooling tube 638 may comprise a pair

of cooling tubes. More precisely, the cooling tube 638 may

comprise a first cooling tube 638a and the second cooling

tube 638b. Here, the first cooling tube 638a may be a part

into which a refrigerant supplied from the capillary tube

(the expansion valve) is introduced, and may continuously

pass through fin holes 653a or 653b of the cooling fins 650

to be described below and may pass through the outermost

cooling fins 650.

[265] In addition, the second cooling tube 638b may be

connected to the first cooling tube 638a and may also

continuously pass through the fin holes 653a or 653b of the

cooling fins 650. The first cooling tube 638a and the

second cooling tube 638b may be connected to each other by

changing directions from the outside of a cooling fin 650

disposed at the outermost position among the multiple

cooling fins 650. That is, the first cooling tube 638a and

the second cooling tube 638b may not be configured as

separate parts, but may be continuously connected to each other as one tube and may be considered to change a direction thereof in the middle of the one tube.

[266] The accumulator 639 may be installed in the center of

the second cooling tube 638b. A refrigerant which has

absorbed surrounding heat by passing through the second

cooling tube 638b may be delivered to the accumulator 639.

The accumulator 639 may separate a liquid refrigerant which

is not vaporized from the delivered refrigerant such that

the liquid refrigerant is not transferred to the compressor

610.

[267] Looking at the configuration of the cooling fins 650,

the cooling fins 650 may be configured in a row in the rear

of the storage space 121, that is, inside the cooling

compartment 125. The multiple cooling fins 650 may be

disposed side by side to constitute the evaporator 630.

These cooling fins 650 may not be configured in multiple

rows by having different heights. In the embodiment, the

multiple cooling fins 650 may be configured only in one row

to enable the miniaturization of the refrigerator.

Furthermore, in the embodiment, since the refrigerator is a

refrigerator for storing alcoholic beverages such as wine,

the refrigerator may not be required to have a freezing

function and may have the narrow range of refrigeration set

temperature, so cooling fins 650 configured in multiple rows may not be required. Of course, unlike this, the cooling fins 650 may be configured in two rows or more.

[268] Each of the cooling fins 650 may be made to have the

shape of thin metal plate. The cooling fin may comprise

multiple cooling fins to facilitate heat exchange with

ambient air. Additionally, the cooling fins 650 may be

spaced apart from each other such that air flows

therebetween.

[269] The fin hole 653a or 653b (see FIG. 30) may be formed

in the cooling fins 650, and the fin hole 653a or 653b may

comprise a pair of fin holes such that the first cooling

tube 638a and the second cooling tube 638b constituting the

cooling tube 638 pass through the fin holes, respectively.

More precisely, the fin holes 653a and 653b may be disposed

on the cooling fins 650 in a vertical direction. As a

result, the cooling tube 638 may be arranged in two rows

while passing through the upper and lower parts of each of

the cooling fins 650, respectively.

[270] Unlike this, at least three fin holes 653a or 653b may

be formed in each of the cooling fins 650, and the cooling

tube 638 may pass through the fin holes 653a or 653b in a

zigzag fashion. Alternatively, only one fin hole 653a or

653b may be formed in each of the cooling fins 650. In this

case, when the cooling tube 638 returns to the opposite

direction after passing through the one fin hole 653a, the cooling tube 638 may not pass through the fin hole. In this case, the cooling fins 650 may be rotated, so it is preferable that at least two fin holes 653a or 653b are provided. Additionally, two fin holes 653a and 653b are generally formed in each of the cooling fins 650, so existing cooling fins 650 may be used.

[271] In the embodiment, each of the cooling fins 650 may be

installed in an upright direction. That is, the cooling fin

650 may be disposed in an upright direction such that a

height thereof is larger than a width thereof. Here, the

width of the cooling fin 650 indicates a left-to-right

length, and the height of the cooling fin 650 indicates a

vertical length relative to FIG. 30. In this case, a left

to-right width occupied by the cooling fins 650 in the

cooling compartment 125 may be small, compared to cooling

fins 650 installed in a lying state. Accordingly, the

entire left-to-right width of the cooling compartment 125

may be decreased, and contrarily, the storage space 121 may

be further increased.

[272] In the embodiment, the cooling fin 650 stands

vertically along the direction of gravity, but is not

necessarily limited thereto. The cooling fin 650 may be

erected to be inclined so as to have a predetermined angle.

Of course, when considering the left-to-right width of the cooling compartment 125, it is more preferable that the cooling fin 650 stands vertically as illustrated in FIG. 30.

[273] The fin hole 653a or 653b may be formed in each of the

cooling fins 650. In the embodiment, the fin holes 653a or

653b may comprise a pair of upper fin holes 653a and lower

fin holes 653b. These upper fin holes 653a and lower fin

holes 653b may be formed in the cooling fins 650 by having

different heights, and the one cooling tube 638 may pass

through the pair of fin holes 653a and 653b.

[274] In this case, in the multiple cooling fins 650, the

fin holes 653a and 653b of one cooling fin and fin holes

653a and 653b of other cooling fins 650 adjacent thereto may

be disposed side by side to have the same heights.

Accordingly, the one cooling tube 638 may continuously pass

through the fin holes 653a and 653b having the same heights,

and the cooling tube 638 passing through the fin hole 653a

or 653b of a cooling fin 650 located at the outermost side

may change a direction thereof and may pass through another

fin hole 653a or 653b located at a different height to

extend.

[275] For example, the first cooling tube 638a of the

cooling tube 638 may continuously pass through the upper fin

holes 653a, and then may change a direction thereof at a

position adjacent to the fin hole 653a or 653b of the

cooling fin 650 located at the outermost side to be the second cooling tube 638b, and may pass through the lower fin holes 653b. In this case, the first cooling tube 638a and the second cooling tube 638b may be connected to each other at a position adjacent to the cooling fin 650 located at the outermost side by a joining part 660 bent in an approximately U shape.

[276] Accordingly, the first cooling tube 638a and the

second cooling tube 638b may be located at different heights

and may pass through the cooling fins 650. Accordingly, the

cooling fins 650 may maintain a stable standing state

without rotating arbitrarily. That is, the cooling tube 638

may constitute a kind of structure of fixing the evaporator

630 together with an evaporator holder 640 to be described

below.

[277] In this case, the first cooling tube 638a may pass

through the upper fin holes 653a, and the second cooling

tube 638b may pass through the lower fin holes 653b. In

this case, the cooling tube 638 may first pass through the

upper side of each of the cooling fins 650 which is relative

low in temperature, and then may pass through the lower side

thereof. Accordingly, it is possible to effectively reduce

the occurrence of frost in the lower part of the cooling fin

650 which is relatively more in contact with high-humidity

air delivered from the storage space 121.

[278] Meanwhile, second cooling fins 652 of a section of the

evaporator 630 may be disposed to have a larger interval

therebetween than an interval between first cooling fins 651

of another section. Referring to FIG. 28, among the

multiple cooling fins 650 constituting the evaporator 630,

the second cooling fins 652 connected to the first part of

the first cooling tube 638a may be disposed to have a wider

interval therebetween. This is intended to widen an

interval between the second cooling fins 652 of a section in

which residual ice or defrost water mainly falls such that

the residual ice or defrost water can flow downward.

[279] Meanwhile, the evaporator holder 640 may be provided

on each of the opposite ends of the evaporator 630. The

evaporator holder 640 may stand in the same direction as the

cooling fin 650 and may fix the evaporator 630 to the inner

surface 124 of the inner casing 120.

[280] Specifically, the frame of the evaporator holder 640

may be constituted by a holder body standing in parallel to

the cooling fin 650. The holder body may have an

approximately thin plate shape and may be made of a metal

material. The holder body may stand side by side with the

cooling fin 650, and may have a larger area than the cooling

fin 650. Accordingly, the evaporator holders 640 may

protect the cooling fins 650 on the left and right side

surfaces of the evaporator 630, respectively.

[281] The holder body may comprise a rigidity reinforcement

rib 642. The rigidity reinforcement rib 642 may be formed

by bending from the holder body. The rigidity reinforcement

rib 642 of the evaporator holder 640 may extend along the

longitudinal direction of the evaporator holder 640. That

is, the rigidity reinforcement rib 642 may be provided along

a relatively long part and may reinforce the rigidity of the

evaporator holder 640. The evaporator holder 640 may be

made of a thin plate and thus may be easily deformed or bent

by an external force. Such a rigidity reinforcement rib 642

may prevent the evaporator holder 640 from being bent.

[282] In this case, the rigidity reinforcement rib 642 of

the evaporator holder 640 may extend on each of the opposite

ends of the evaporator holder 640 along a longitudinal

direction of the evaporator holder 640 in which the

evaporator holder 640 stands. That is, the rigidity

reinforcement ribs 642 may extend in parallel to each other

on the opposite ends of the evaporator holder 640, and may

be formed in the standing direction of the evaporator holder

640. Through such a structure, the durability of the

evaporator holder 640 may be further increased.

[283] The evaporator holder 640 may comprise a pair of

evaporator holders formed on the opposite sides of the

evaporator 630, respectively, and the pair of evaporator

holders may have the same structures. As illustrated in

FIG. 29, the pair of evaporator holders 640 may have the

same heights, and the protruding directions of the rigidity

reinforcement ribs 642 thereof may be the same.

Accordingly, a distance between the pair of rigidity

reinforcement ribs 642 may be larger than the width of the

cooling fin 650, so the evaporator holder 640 and the

cooling fin 650 may not interfere with each other.

Furthermore, the pair of evaporator holders 640 may have the

same shapes, and parts and process for manufacturing the

evaporator holder 640 may be unified.

[284] The holder body may comprise a fixing hook 645. The

fixing hook 645 is a part protruding in a hook shape, and

extends from the holder body and is hooked and fixed to the

inner casing 120 of the cabinet 100. As illustrated in FIG.

28, the inner surface 124 of the inner casing 120 may have a

fixing groove part 129 to which the fixing hook 645 is

hooked, and the fixing hook 645 may be hooked to the fixing

groove part 129.

[285] Meanwhile, referring to FIG. 30, the air introduction

part 272 through which air of the storage space 121 is

introduced may be provided in a lower part of the grille

plate 270 on which the grille fan assembly 500 is installed.

The air introduction part 272 may be configured to have a

height to overlap the cooling fin 650 of the evaporator 630

in at least a portion of the air introduction part.

[286] In this case, the air introduction part 272 may

protrude in a direction toward the storage space 121 to be

away from the evaporator 630, that is, in a direction away

from the inner surface 124 of the inner casing 120, so an

empty space may naturally be defined between the air

introduction part 272 and the evaporator 630. Accordingly,

air may be efficiently introduced through the air

introduction hole 275 formed in the air introduction part

272.

[287] Particularly, the air introduction hole 275 of the air

introduction part 272 may be formed slantingly toward the

cooling fins 650. More precisely, the air introduction hole

275 may be inclined upward to face the cooling fins 650, so

air of the storage space 121 may be accurately supplied

toward the evaporator 630.

[288] In addition, in the inner casing 120, the inner

surface 124 facing the grille fan assembly 500 may have the

evasion recession part 124' formed by being recessed

therefrom so as to be away from the grille fan assembly 500,

and the evaporator 630 may be installed under the evasion

recession part 124'. Accordingly, air may efficiently flow

consecutively through the air introduction hole 275, the

evaporator 630, the evasion recession part 124', and the

grille fan assembly 500.

[289] Next, the control module 700 will be described with

reference to FIGS. 31 to 33. The control module 700 may be

installed in the machine room 201. The control module 700

is intended to control various functions of the

refrigerator, and may control various functions such as the

temperature control of the storage space 121, communication,

and the display of information through a display module 800.

Such a control module 700 may be installed inside the

machine room 201 to save the inner space of the cabinet 100.

[290] Looking at the installation structure of the control

module 700 prior to the description of the control module

700, in the embodiment, the control module 700 may be

installed on the lower surface of the cover plate 250. A

casing guide 260 may be provided on the lower surface of the

cover plate 250 in a direction parallel to the open

direction of the outlet 225b such that the control module

700 can be moved inside and outside of the outlet 225b along

the casing guide 260. In FIG. 31, a state in which the

control module 700 is completely removed to the outside of

the machine room 201 is illustrated. Unlike this, the

casing guide 260 may be installed at the side of the inlet

225a in parallel to the open direction of the inlet 225a,

but is preferably installed at the side of the outlet 225b

so as not to prevent the flow of air introduced into the

inlet 225a.

[291] Referring to FIG. 33, the casing guide 260 may

comprise a pair of casing guides provided by being spaced

apart from each other such that the casing guides are

coupled to the opposite side surfaces of the control module

700 and extend in parallel to each other. The control

module 700 may be assembled slidably between the pair of

casing guides 260. Relative to the drawing, in the pair of

casing guides 260, a left casing guide 260 is identified as

a first rail 260a, and a right casing guide 260 is

identified as a second rail 260b.

[292] In this case, the first rail 260a may be installed on

the lower surface of the cover plate 250 covering the upper

part of the machine room frame 200, and the second rail 260b

may be installed on the lower surface of the cover plate 250

in a direction parallel to the first rail 260a. That is, in

FIGS. 32 and 33, the first rail 260a and the second rail

260b are illustrated independently, but in reality, the

first rail 260a and the second rail 260b are installed on

the lower surface of the cover plate 250. However, the

cover plate 250 is omitted from the drawings such that the

first rail 260a and the second rail 260b are seen clearly.

[293] Looking at the structure of the first rail 260a, the

first rail 260a may comprise a first fixed frame 262 and the

first guide frame 264. The first fixed frame 262 is a part

fixed to the lower surface of the cover plate 250 such that the first rail 260a can be securely fixed to the cover plate

250. Additionally, a first guide channel H1 to which a

portion of the side surface of the control module 700 is

fitted may be formed in the first guide frame 264. The

first fixed frame 262 and the first guide frame 264 may be

connected orthogonally to each other to have an approximate

"L" shape. Of course, the first guide frame 264 may also be

fixed to the lower surface of the cover plate 250 by a

fastener.

[294] Looking at an enlarged part of FIG. 33, the first

guide channel H1 is formed in the first guide frame 264.

The first guide channel H1 may be open in a front thereof

such that an edge of a side surface of a receiving casing

710 constituting the control module 700 can be fitted into

the first guide channel H1. In the first guide frame 264,

an upper surface part 264a, a side surface part 264b, and a

lower end fixing part 264c are connected to each other to

have a "U" shape, and the first guide channel H1 is defined

therebetween.

[295] Meanwhile, looking at the structure of the second rail

260b, the second rail 260b may comprise a second fixed frame

265 and a second guide frame 267 like the first rail 260a.

The second fixed frame 265 is a part fixed to the lower

surface of the cover plate 250 such that the second rail

260b can be securely fixed to the cover plate 250.

Additionally, a second guide channel H2 to which a portion

of the side surface of the control module 700 is fitted may

be formed in the second guide frame 267. The second fixed

frame 265 and the second guide frame 267 may be connected

orthogonally to each other to have an approximate "L" shape.

Of course, the second guide frame 267 may also be fixed to

the lower surface of the cover plate 250 by a fastener.

[296] Looking at the enlarged part of FIG. 33, the second

guide channel H2 may be formed in the second guide frame

267. The second guide channel H2 may be formed to face the

first guide channel H1 and may be open in a front thereof

such that an edge of a side surface of the receiving casing

710 constituting the control module 700 can be fitted into

the second guide channel H2. In the second guide frame 267,

an upper surface part 267a, a side surface part 267b, and a

lower end fixing part 267c are connected to each other to

have a "U" shape, and the first guide channel H1 is defined

therebetween.

[297] Accordingly, in the embodiment, the casing guides 260

may be configured as two rails separated from each other,

and may be assembled independently of each other.

Accordingly, errors occurring during the manufacturing

process of the casing guides 260 may be compensated to some

extent during an installation process thereof.

[298] The first fixed frame 262 and the second fixed frame

265 may be located at complementary positions to each other,

so the first rail 260a and the second rail 260b may form a

rectangular shape as a whole. Of course, alternatively, the

first rail 260a and the second rail 260b may be connected to

each other, and the casing guide 260 may be configured as

one part. Alternatively, at least one of the first rail

260a and the second rail 260b of the casing guide 260 may be

made to be integrated with the lower surface of the cover

plate 250.

[299] Looking at the control module 700, the opposite side

surfaces of the control module 700 may be assembled slidably

with the first rail 260a and the second rail 260b,

respectively. Additionally, as illustrated in FIG. 31, when

the front cover 220 of the machine room frame 200 is removed

from the front surface of the machine room frame 200, the

front part of the control module 700 may be exposed to the

front side of the machine room frame 200. In FIG. 2, S

indicates a part in which the control module 700 is

installed.

[300] Accordingly, in the embodiment, the control module 700

may be installed in the machine room 201, and may be

disposed to be adjacent to the front surface of the machine

room 201 so as to face the inlet 225a or the outlet 225b.

More precisely, the control module 700 may be installed in the upper part of the machine room 201 adjacent to the outlet 225b, and when the control module 700 is installed in the machine room 201, the discharge space 0 may be defined between the lower surface of the control module 700 and the bottom surface of the machine room frame 200. Accordingly, the control module 700 may be installed at a position close to the entrance of the machine room 201 and thus may be removed forward from the machine room 201.

[301] Particularly, for maintenance of the control module

700, the rear of the refrigerator may not be required to be

opened, and the control module 700 may be removed from the

front of the refrigerator to be repaired or replaced, and

when the machine room module of the present disclosure is

applied to a built-in refrigerator, the repair or

replacement work may be performed in front of the

refrigerator without taking the entirety of the refrigerator

out of an installation place thereof.

[302] While the control module 700 faces the upper surface

of the machine room frame 200 corresponding to the ceiling

of the machine room 201, that is, the lower surface of the

cover plate 250, the control module 700 may be installed

parallel to the upper surface of the machine room frame 200.

In other words, as illustrated in FIG. 31, the control

module 700 may be installed inside the machine room 201

while in a lying state. Accordingly, in a horizontal lying state, a main control board constituting the control module

700 may be stored inside the receiving casing 710, which is

a kind of drawer structure, and thus may be stably stored

therein even if the main control board is not fastened with

a separate fastener. Of course, the main control board may

be fastened to the receiving casing 710 by using a separate

fastener such as a bolt.

[303] Accordingly, since the control module 700 is installed

on the cover plate 250 covering the upper part of the

machine room 201, vibration generated by a device such as

the compressor 610 installed on the bottom surface of the

machine room 201 may be prevented from being transmitted

directly to the control module 700. In order to enhance

such a function, separate damper (not shown) may be

installed between the casing guide 260 and the control

module 700, or between the casing guide 260 and the cover

plate 250.

[304] In addition, since the control module 700 is received

in the machine room 201 horizontally by lying in the width

direction of the machine room 201 rather than the height

direction thereof, at least a left-to-right installation

interval of the control module corresponding to the width

direction of the outlet 225b may be secured. Accordingly,

the area of the main control board constituting the control

module 700 may be sufficiently increased. Referring to FIG.

8, it can be seen that the control module 700 occupies most

of a remaining area except for an installed part of the

compressor 610 at the side of the outlet 225b.

[305] As for the detailed structure of such a control module

700, the control module 700 may comprise the receiving

casing 710 and the main control board (not shown). The

receiving casing 710 may be assembled removably with the

upper part of the machine room 201, that is, with the casing

guide 260, and may have a receiving space 701 in the center

of the receiving casing 710. Referring to FIG. 32, the

receiving casing 710 may have an approximately rectangular

frame structure and be open upward such that the receiving

space 701 is exposed.

[306] The receiving casing 710 may have a width smaller than

or equal to the width of the outlet 225b such that the

receiving casing 710 can be moved inside and outside of the

outlet 225b. In addition, to avoid excessively reducing the

height of the outlet 225b, it is preferable that the

receiving casing 710 has height less than a half of the

height of the outlet 225b which is removed.

[307] Referring to FIG. 32, the receiving casing 710 may be

provided with a protection wall 712 and 713. The protection

wall 712 and 713 may protrude along the edge of the

receiving casing 710 so as to cover the receiving space 701, and the height of the protection wall 712 and 713 may be the height of the receiving casing 710.

[308] The protection wall 712 and 713 may comprise a rear

wall 712 directed toward the inside of the machine room 201

and a front wall 713 directed toward the outside of the

machine room, and a guide end 715 may be provided along each

of the side surfaces of the machine room. The guide end 715

may be a part assembled with the casing guide 260 and may

extend long along the side surface of the receiving casing

710 such that the guide end 715 is fitted to each of the

first guide channel H1 and the second guide channel H2 of

the casing guide 260.

[309] Of course, a structure in which the receiving casing

710 is assembled inside the machine room 201 is not

necessarily limited to this structure. For example, the

receiving casing 710 may not be assembled with the machine

room 201 by sliding in a front-to-rear direction relative to

the front surface of the machine room 201, but a fixing

structure in which after the receiving casing 710 is

inserted into the machine room 201, the receiving casing 710

may be pushed in a direction orthogonal to an inserting

direction of the receiving casing 710 to be fixed may be

applied to the machine room 201.

[310] The guide end 715 may be provided on an upper end of

the side surface of the receiving casing 710 closest to the lower surface of the cover plate 250 covering the machine room 201. That is, the guide end 715 may be provided along the upper end of the side surface of the receiving casing

710, and may protrude outward from the upper end of the side

surface. Since the guide end 715 is provided on the upper

end of the side surface, the receiving casing 710 may be

installed to be in close contact with the lower surface of

the cover plate 250. In this case, without a separate

cover, the upper surface of the receiving space 701 may be

covered by the cover plate 250, and introduction of foreign

matter into the receiving space 701 may be prevented.

[311] A partitioning wall 720 may be provided inside the

protection wall 712 and 713 of the receiving casing 710.

The receiving space 701 in which the main control board is

received may be defined in the center of the receiving

casing 710 of the control module 700, and the partitioning

wall 720 may partition the receiving space 701. More

precisely, the partitioning wall 720 may define a wire

connection space 702 outside of the receiving space 701 by

surrounding the receiving space 701. That is, the wire

connection space 702 may be defined between the partitioning

wall 720 and the protection walls 712 and 713.

[312] The wire harness (not shown) connected to the main

control board may be seated on the wire connection space

702. The wire connection space 702 may be space independent of the receiving space 701, and thus the wire harness may be easily organized therein. Particularly, inside the small machine room 201, multiple strands of wire harnesses may be twisted or interfere with peripheral parts comprising a part of the main control board, but may be organized through the wire connection space 702. In the embodiment, the wire connection space 702 may have an approximately "L"-shaped path, and alternatively, the wire connection space 702 may be defined so as to surround the entirety of the outside of the receiving space 701.

[313] Accordingly, the partitioning wall 720, together with

the protection walls 712 and 713, may act as a kind of

double wall. Accordingly, the partitioning wall 720 may

filer out foreign matter being introduced into the main

control board.

[314] A connection hole 712' may be formed through the rear

of the receiving casing 710 of the control module 700

directed toward the inside of the machine room 201. The

connection hole 712' may allow a portion of the wire

harnesses connected to the control module 700 to extend to

the outside of the receiving casing 710. In the embodiment,

the connection hole 712' may be formed through the rear of

the wire connection space 702.

[315] Continuously, the door opening device 900 will be

described with reference to FIGS. 34 to 36. First, the door opening device 900 may be installed in an installation space

253 recessed from the lower side of the cabinet 100 toward

the storage space 121. Here, the installation space 253 may

have a shape formed by recessing a portion of the lower part

of the cabinet 100. In the embodiment, the installation

space 253 may be defined in the cover plate 250.

[316] That is, the cover plate 250 may be installed between

the upper part of the machine room frame and the lower part

of the cabinet 100 so as to cover the machine room 201, and

the door opening device 900 may be received in the

installation space 253 recessed from the lower surface 251

of the cover plate 250 toward the lower part of the cabinet

100.

[317] In this case, the cover plate 250 may be spaced apart

from the inner casing 120 so as to define a foam space

therebetween, so a foam material may be filled on the cover

plate and an insulation part may be formed. Accordingly,

the installation space 253 may be recessed toward the space

of the insulation part, and may not interfere with other

parts. Additionally, the periphery of the cover plate 250

surrounding the door opening device 900 may be filled with

the insulation part, and this insulation part may function

as a sound insulator which blocks the operation noise of a

motor/gear generated by the door opening device 900.

[318] Referring to FIG. 34, the installation space 253 may

be defined inside a part recessed from the cover plate 250

toward the bottom of the inner casing. The installation

space 253 may be located at the center portion of the cover

plate 250. A lower surface of the installation space 253

directed toward the machine room and a front surface thereof

directed toward the door assembly are open.

[319] That is, the installation space 253 may be considered

as a space connected to the machine room 201, and

accordingly, when the machine room module is removed from

the refrigerator, the installation space 253 and the door

opening device 900 installed in the installation space 253

may be exposed to the outside, so the maintenance of the

door opening device 900 may be easily performed. FIG. 34

illustrates the side of the bottom of the refrigerator by

removing the machine room module of the refrigerator, and

the installation space 253 and the door opening device 900

installed in the installation space 253 are exposed to the

outside.

[320] In addition, the front surface of the installation

space 253 directed toward the door assembly 130 may be open,

and referring to FIG. 36, the front entrance 253' of the

installation space 253 is exposed to the outside. In this

case, the front surface of the installation space 253 may be

covered by the front frame 118 constituting the cabinet 100, and the front frame 118 may have a rod entry/exit hole 119 for the push rod 950 which protrudes from the door opening device 900.

[321] Accordingly, the front surface of the installation

space 253 may be covered by the front frame 118, and only a

part of the front frame through which the push rod 950

enters and exits may be drilled in the form of a hole.

Accordingly, in a state in which the push rod 950 of the

door opening device 900 does not protrude yet, a rod cap 952

of the push rod 950 may block the rod entry/exit hole 119

such that foreign matter can be prevented from being

introduced into the installation space.

[322] Now, the structure of the door opening device 900 will

be described with reference to FIG. 36. The door opening

device 900 may be installed in a device casing 901

constituting the exterior of the door opening device. In

the device casing 901, a part close to the door assembly 130

may be narrow in width, but a part located at the inner side

of the cover plate 250 may be relatively wide in width. This

is according to the arrangement of a drive motor 910 and a

gear assembly 920 installed in the device casing 901, which

will be described again below.

[323] The device casing 901 may be installed at the center

of the cover plate 250, and more precisely, the rod

entry/exit hole 119 through which the push rod 950 protrudes is preferably located on the center line of the cover plate

250. For reference, in FIG. 34, A indicates the center line

of the cover plate 250.

[324] Referring to FIG. 36, the device casing 901 may have

height corresponding to the installation space 253, and may

have a thin and wide plate structure. The device casing 901

may be composed of multiple parts. For example, an upper

casing (not shown) and a lower casing may constitute the

exteriors of the upper and lower parts of the door opening

device 900, respectively. In addition, the upper casing and

the lower casing may be coupled to each other to provide

space in which the drive motor 910 and the gear assembly 920

can be arranged. In the drawing, the upper casing is

omitted such that the drive motor 910 and the gear assembly

920 are exposed to the outside. Of course, the upper casing

may be omitted, and only the lower casing may constitute the

device casing 901.

[325] Multiple installation rings 905 may be provided on the

outer side of the device casing 901. Each of the

installation ring 905 may be inserted into a ring mounting

depression 904 depressed on the edge of the device casing

901. The installation ring 905 may support the lower casing

such that the lower casing is seated on the ring mounting

depression 904 of the device casing 901 and may be formed of

a silicon material. Accordingly, vibration generated during the operation of the door opening device 900 may be reduced and thus noise may be prevented.

[326] The drive motor 910 may be installed on the device

casing 901. The drive motor 910 may be mounted to the lower

surface of the device casing 901. The drive motor 910 may

use a BLDC type motor capable of performing both forward and

reverse rotations. The drive motor 910 may count frequency

generating (FG) signals by using a BLDC type motor such that

the speed of the drive motor 910 can be variably controlled.

[327] Accordingly, by controlling the speed of the drive

motor during the operation of the door opening device 900,

the impact of the door assembly 130 may be alleviated when

the door assembly 130 is opened and closed. Furthermore, in

an emergency situation, the push rod 950 may be rapidly

restored. The drive motor 910 may be mounted to the lower

surface of the lower casing, and the rotating shaft of the

drive motor 910 may pass through the inside of the lower

casing.

[328] The drive motor 910 may be installed in the device

casing 901, and a pinion gear 911 of the drive motor 910 may

protrude to be rotated by the drive motor 910. In addition,

the pinion gear 911 may be engaged with the gear assembly

920 to rotate the gear assembly 920. Specifically, multiple

gears may be disposed on the device casing 901 to be engaged

with each other. The multiple gears may comprise reduction gears 921 and 923 and spacer gears 925 and 927. Here, the reduction gears 921 and 923 may function to reduce the rotational speed of the drive motor 910 through gear ratios, and the spacer gears 925 and 927 may be connected to and engaged with the reduction gears 921 and 923 and may function to fill empty space between the push rod 950 and the reduction gears 921 and 923.

[329] A first reduction gear 921 may be connected to a

second reduction gear 923, and the second reduction gear 923

may be connected to the spacer gears 925 and 927. Like

general reduction gears 921 and 923, each of the reduction

gears 921 and 923 may have a structure in which input and

output sides thereof are arranged in two upper and lower

steps, respectively, and the input and output sides thereof

may be in contact with a neighboring gear such that the

speed of the drive motor can be reduced.

[330] Through the combination of these multiple reduction

gears 921 and 923, the number of rotations thereof may be

adjusted, and a force transmitted to the push rod 950 may be

controlled by adjusting the number of rotations. Of course,

the number of the reduction gears 921 and 923 may be

adjusted as needed. In the embodiment, the reduction gears

921 and 923 may comprise a total of two reduction gears, but

may comprise at least three reduction gears. Reference

numerals 921' and 923' indicate the rotating shafts of the first reduction gear 921 and the second reduction gear 923, respectively.

[331] A first spacer gear 925 may be disposed on the second

reduction gear 923, and the first spacer gear 925 and the

push rod 950 may be connected to each other by a second

spacer gear 927. Each of the spacer gears 925 and 927 may

have a shape of a general spur gear and may simply transmit

the force of the second reduction gear 923 to the push rod

950, and may adjust a contact distance with the push rod 950

such that the maximum exiting distance of the push rod 950

can be secured. To this end, the spacer gears 925 and 927

may comprise a plurality of gears having different sizes.

[332] In addition, the position of a contact point between

the spacer gears 925 and 927 for transmitting power to the

push rod 950 and the push rod 950 is preferably arranged in

the exiting direction of the push rod 950 as much as

possible, and is required to be located at a position close

to the rear surface of the door assembly 130. To this end,

the spacer gears 925 and 927 may be disposed between the

second reduction gear 923 and the push rod 950. Reference

numeral 925' and FIG. 927' indicate the rotating shafts of

the first spacer gear 925 and the second spacer gear 927,

respectively.

[333] Specifically, the reduction gears 921 and 923 and the

spacer gears 925 and 927 constituting the gear assembly 920 of the door opening device 900 may be disposed in different directions. Referring to FIGS. 35 and 36, a direction X in which the multiple reduction gears 921 and 923 extend from the drive motor 910 of the door opening device 900 and a direction Y in which the multiple spacer gears 925 and 927 extend from the reduction gears 921 and 923 may be different from each other.

[334] In the embodiment, the direction X in which the

multiple reduction gears 921 and 923 constituting the gear

assembly 920 of the door opening device 900 extend from the

drive motor 910 of the door opening device are approximately

orthogonal to a direction in which the push rod 950 of the

door opening device enters and exits, and the direction Y in

which the multiple spacer gears 925 and 927 extend from the

reduction gears 921 and 923 is parallel to the direction in

which the push rod 950 enters and exits.

[335] Accordingly, when the extending direction Y of the

spacer gears 925 and 927 is parallel to the entering/exiting

direction of the push rod 950, a contact point at which the

second spacer gear 927 is engaged with the push rod 950 may

be close to the rod entry/exit hole 119 as much as possible,

and accordingly, the maximum exiting distance of the push

rod 950 may be secured. Simultaneously, the reduction gears

921 and 923 and the spacer gears 925 and 927 may be arranged

in different directions, and thus the gear assembly 920 may be prevented from extending long only in one direction and excessively increasing the overall length of the door opening device 900.

[336] The push rod 950 may push the rear surface of the door

assembly 130 to open the door assembly 130. In addition,

the push rod 950 may be mounted inside the device casing

901, and may have a rack gear formed on an outer surface

thereof so as to operate in engagement with the second

spacer gear 927. Accordingly, due to the rotation of the

spacer gears 925 and 927, the rack gear may pass through the

rod entry/exit hole 119 and protrude to the outside. Due to

the position of the second spacer gear 927, at least a half

of the rack gear may be moved to the outside of the device

casing 901 when the push rod 950 is operated by the second

spacer gear 927.

[337] In the embodiment, the push rod 950 may have an arc

shape having a predetermined curvature. Accordingly, even

when the door assembly 130 is rotated, the push rod 950 may

be maintained to be in contact with a predetermined point of

the rear surface of the door assembly 130, more precisely,

with the contact jaw B. Accordingly, even when the door

assembly 130 is rotated, the push rod 950 may open the door

assembly 130 by pushing one point of the door assembly 130

without slipping.

[338] The rod cap 952 may be provided in the front end of

the push rod 950. The rod cap 952 may be made of an elastic

material such as silicone or rubber and may be in contact

with the door assembly 130 to prevent noise and improve

traction during the contact of the push rod 950 with the

door assembly 130 such that the pushing force of the push

rod 950 can be effectively transmitted to the door assembly

130.

[339] In the embodiment, the front surface of the rod cap

952 directed toward the rear surface of the door assembly

130 may be wider than the end of the push rod 950, and thus

may more stably push the surface B' of the contact jaw B.

The rod cap 952 may have an approximately rectangular front

surface.

[340] In this case, in the embodiment, such a control module

700 may be located close to the door opening device 900.

The control module 700 may be installed on the lower surface

251 of the cover plate 250 and may be electrically connected

to the door opening device 900. That is, the control module

700 may be installed on the lower surface 251 of the cover

plate 250 and may be located in the machine room when the

cabinet 100 and the machine room frame are coupled to each

other, so the control module 700 may be disposed very close

to the door opening device 900.

[341] More specifically, the control module 700 may be

located toward the side surface of the machine room so as to

be adjacent to the outlet of the machine room, and the door

opening device 900 may be located at a higher position from

the bottom of the machine room than the control module 700.

This is because although the control module 700 is installed

on the lower surface 251 of the cover plate 250, the door

opening device 900 is installed in the installation space

253 recessed from the cover plate 250 toward the lower

surface of the cabinet 100. Of course, due to such a height

difference, the possibility of interference of the control

module 700 with the door opening device 900 may be more

decreased.

[342] Finally, the support module 1900 will be described in

detail. FIG. 19 is an enlarged view illustrated by

enlarging an A part of FIG. 17. In addition, FIG. 20 is a

cross sectional view of a rear leveling part of FIG. 19. In

addition, FIG. 21 is a vertical sectional view of the rear

leveling part of FIG. 19.

[343] The refrigerator according to the embodiment of the

present disclosure may comprise the support module 1900

provided at the lower side of the side part 1251. The

support module 1900 may be provided inside the side part

1251. In addition, the support module 1900 may be

configured to support the refrigerator and may be configured to allow the horizontality of the refrigerator 1 to be adjusted.

[344] For example, the support module 1900 may comprise a

power transmission part 1920 and the rear leveling part

1910. The power transmission part 1920 may be rotated by

manipulation by a user and may be connected to the rear

leveling part 1910 so as to operate in cooperation

therewith. The rear leveling part 1910 may be configured to

be movable in a vertical direction such that the

horizontality of the cabinet can be adjusted. In addition,

the rear leveling part 1910 may be configured to be moved in

a vertical direction by the manipulation of the power

transmission part 1920. In addition, as required, the

support module 1900 may further comprise a front leveling

part 1930.

[345] More specifically, the power transmission part 1920

may be provided inside the side part 1251, and may be formed

in a shaft shape extending in a front-to-rear direction. In

addition, the power transmission part 1920 may comprise a

handle part 1922 mounted rotatably to the side part 1251,

and a first gear part 1924 provided at the rear half part of

the handle part 1922 and rotating together with the handle

part 1922, the first gear part 1924 being geared with the

rear leveling part 1910.

[346] The first gear part 1924 may rotate in engagement with

a second gear part 1914 to be described later. For example,

the first gear part 1924 may be formed in the shape of a

worm gear, and the second gear part 1914 may be formed in

the shape of a spur gear, so the first gear part 1924 and

the second gear part 1914 may be configured to transmit

rotational force therebetween even in a state intersecting

with each other.

[347] That is, the rotating shaft of the first gear part

1924 and the rotating shaft of the second gear part 1914 may

be disposed in directions intersecting with each other, and

thus when a user rotates the handle part 1922 in front of

the refrigerator, the second gear part 1914 may be rotated

to vertically move the rear leveling part 1910.

[348] The rear leveling part 1910 may comprise the support

part 1912 in contact with a floor surface on which the

refrigerator is installed, a leveling part rotating shaft

1918 extending upward from the center part of the support

part 1912, and the second gear part 1914 allowing the

leveling part rotating shaft 1918 to pass therethrough and

configured to rotate together with the leveling part

rotating shaft 1918.

[349] The support part 1912 is a circular plate with a

predetermined thickness, and may be configured to be in

contact with the floor surface on which the refrigerator is installed. In addition, the leveling part rotating shaft

1918 may be disposed on the center of the upper surface of

the support part 1912.

[350] The leveling part rotating shaft 1918 may be the

rotating shaft of the support part 1912, and may be formed

by extending vertically long to pass through a receiving

member 1919 to be described later. In addition, a threaded

part may be formed on the outer circumferential surface of

the leveling part rotating shaft 1918. The threaded part

may be screwed to the inner circumferential surface of the

receiving member 1919. Accordingly, when the leveling part

rotating shaft 1918 rotates, the leveling part rotating

shaft 1918 and the support part 1912 may be moved vertically

along the receiving member 1919.

[351] In addition, the second gear part 1914 may be mounted

to the leveling part rotating shaft 1918 such that the

leveling part rotating shaft 1918 passes through the second

gear part 1914. While the second gear part 1914 is received

inside the receiving member 1919, the second gear part 1914

may rotate, and may be configured to move vertically along

the leveling part rotating shaft 1918. In addition, the

second gear part 1914 and the leveling part rotating shaft

1918 may have flat surfaces in contact with each other such

that a rotational force is transmitted between the second

gear part 1914 and the leveling part rotating shaft 1918, so the second gear part 1914 may transmit a rotational force to the leveling part rotating shaft 1918 while moving vertically along the leveling part rotating shaft 1918.

[352] Accordingly, when the second gear part 1914 is rotated

by the first gear part 1924, the second gear part 1914 may

rotate the leveling part rotating shaft 1918, and may move

vertically along the leveling part rotating shaft 1918.

[353] The receiving member 1919 may comprise a gear

receiving part 1919a and a rotating shaft receiving part

1919b. The gear receiving part 1919a may be configured to

receive the second gear part 1914, and while the second gear

part 1914 is received in the gear receiving part 1919a, the

second gear part 1914 may rotate. In addition, the first

gear part 1924 may be received in a side of the gear

receiving part 1919a. That is, in the gear receiving part

1919a, the first gear part 1924 and the second gear part

1914 may be maintained to be engaged with each other, and

accordingly, a rotational force generated by the

manipulation of the handle part may be effectively

transmitted to the rear leveling part.

[354] In addition, the rotating shaft receiving part 1919b

may extend upward from the upper surface of the gear

receiving part 1919a, and may be configured such that the

leveling part rotating shaft 1918 passes through the

rotating shaft receiving part 1919b. In addition, a thread may be formed on the inner side of the gear receiving part

1919a, and may be screwed to the threaded part of the

leveling part rotating shaft. Accordingly, when the

leveling part rotating shaft rotates, the leveling part

rotating shaft may move vertically along the gear receiving

part.

[355] In addition, the rear leveling part 1910 may further

comprise a fixing bracket 1915 such that the support part

1912 and the receiving member 1919 can be fixed to the side

part. The fixing bracket 1915 may have a rectangular frame

shape having an open upper surface. The upper surface of

the fixing bracket 1915 may comprise an extension surface

bending and extending in a front-to-rear direction. A

connection hole may be formed in each of the opposite sides

of the extension surface such that the extension surface can

be coupled to the side part 1251 by using a fastening

member.

[356] In addition, the lower surface of the fixing bracket

1915 may comprise a through hole such that the support part

1912 can pass downward through the lower surface of the

fixing bracket 1915. One side of the front surface of the

fixing bracket 1915 may comprise a through hole 1915a formed

therethrough in a front-to-rear direction such that the

power transmission part 1920 can pass through the through

hole 1915a. That is, the first gear part 1924 of the power transmission part 1920 may be inserted into the fixing bracket 1915 through the through hole 1915a of the front surface thereof and may be fixed in a state in which the first gear part 1924 is engaged with the second gear part

1914. Additionally, the receiving member 1919 may be

provided inside the fixing bracket 1915.

[357] Accordingly, to adjust the rear leveling part 1910

when leveling the refrigerator, the power transmission part

may be held and rotated by a hand in front of the

refrigerator without lifting the end part of the

refrigerator so as to simply adjust the height and

horizontality of the refrigerator.

[358] Additionally, the support module 1900 may comprise the

front leveling part 1930 which is provided on the front of

the side part 1251 and adjusts the horizontality of the

cabinet by rotating to move vertically.

[359] Referring to FIG. 16, while a refrigerator body is

supported on a floor, the front leveling part 1930 may

adjust the height and horizontality of the refrigerator

body.

[360] For example, the front leveling part 1930 may comprise

a head 1932 supported on the foundation, and a screw bolt

1934 protruding upward from the head 1932 and fastened

height-adjustably to the side part 1251. A threaded part

may be formed on the outer circumferential surface of the screw bolt 1934, and as the height of the screw bolt fastened to the side part 1251 changes, the height and horizontality of the refrigerator body may be adjusted.

[361] The front leveling part 1930 may further comprise a

front fixing bracket 1936 such that the front leveling part

1930 is inserted into and fixed to the side part 1251.

[362] Furthermore, the support module 1900 may comprise a

roller assembly 1940 which is provided between the front

leveling part 1930 and the rear leveling part 1910 and

facilitates the movement of the cabinet 100.

[363] The roller assembly 1940 may be provided on the lower

surface of the refrigerator body and may allow the

refrigerator body which is relatively heavy to be moved more

easily and stably.

[364] The roller assembly 1940 may comprise a roller 1942, a

rotating shaft 1944, and a roller bracket 1946. The roller

1942 may roll in contact with the floor surface such that

the refrigerator can be moved, and may use a general wheel.

[365] The center part of the roller 1942 may be penetrated

laterally by the rotating shaft 1944 formed in a round bar

shape, and the rotating shaft 1944 may be the center of

rotation of the roller.

[366] In addition, the roller bracket 1946 may be mounted to

the roller such that the roller can roll, and may be formed

in a shape having an open lower surface so as to cover the roller from the upper side. Accordingly, the roller may be received in the roller bracket 1946, and the rotating shaft

1944 passing through the roller may pass through and mounted

to the opposite side surfaces of the roller bracket 1946.

[367] Next, the operation of the refrigerator according to

the embodiment of the present disclosure will be described

in more detail.

[368] First, when the door assembly 130 is closed with food

stored in the storage space 121, the storage space 121 is a

sealed space. In this state, when the operation of the air

conditioning module 600 starts, the temperature control

function of the refrigerator starts. That is, the heat

dissipation fan 611, the compressor 610, the main condenser

620, and the evaporator 630 constituting the air

conditioning module 600 may operate and perform an air

conditioning operation.

[369] Referring to FIG. 37, a refrigerant of high

temperature and high temperature compressed by the

compressor 610 may pass through the evaporation tube L2.

(the direction of an arrow (1)) The evaporation tube L2 may

be installed in the defrost water tray 240 and may be

connected in a zigzag direction to secure length as long as

possible as illustrated in FIG. 37. The evaporation tube L2

may be connected through the main control valve 625 to the refrigerant discharge pipe 610a (see FIG. 8) of the compressor 610 to be a path through which the refrigerant of high pressure/high temperature passes, and may be disposed close to the bottom surface 241' of the defrost water tray

240, and may function to evaporate defrost water accumulated

in the defrost water tray 240.

[370] Continuously, a refrigerant may be delivered to the

main condenser 620 and condensed. (see @) The main

condenser 620 may be disposed close to the entrance of the

introduction space I, and after the refrigerant is

condensed, the refrigerant may be delivered to the expansion

valve (the capillary tube).

[371] In the embodiment, the first side condensing tube L4

may be connected to the main condenser 620, and thus a

refrigerant may first pass through the first side condensing

tube L4. (the direction of an arrow @) In addition, the

first side condensing tube L4 may be connected to the second

side condensing tube L6 by the third connection tube L5

crossing the machine room 201, and thus a refrigerant may be

condensed while passing through the second side condensing

tube L6.(the direction of an arrow )) Accordingly,

according to the present disclosure, since there are the

side condensing tubes L5 and L6, the side condensing tubes

L5 and L6 may condense a refrigerant by assisting the main

condenser 620, and thus the size of the main condenser 620

may be decreased relatively.

[372] In addition, the side condensing tube L5 and L6 may be

mounted in the side surface of the cabinet 100 so as to

increase the temperature of the side surface of the

refrigerator, and accordingly, it is possible to prevent the

formation of dew on the outer surface of the refrigerator

due to temperature difference between the inside and outside

of the refrigerator.

[373] Meanwhile, the second side condensing tube L6 may be

connected to the front condensing tube L8 by the fourth

connection tube L7, so refrigerant may be condensed even in

the process of passing through the front condensing tube

L8(the direction of arrow @) . Accordingly, in the

embodiment, each of the first side condensing tube L4, the

second side condensing tube L6, and the front condensing

tube L8 may function to condense refrigerant, together with

the main condenser 620, and thus although a large main

condenser 620 is not installed in the machine room 201 due

to low height and narrowness of the machine room 201, this

may be compensated.

[374] Refrigerant passing through the front condensing tube

L8 may be delivered through the fifth connection tube L9 to the expansion valve, and refrigerant having decreased pressure and temperature in the expansion valve may be delivered to the evaporator 630. Although not shown, the dryer and the capillary tube may be installed between the front condensing tube L8 and the evaporator 630, and a refrigerant may pass consecutively through the front condensing tube L8, the dryer, the main control valve 625, the capillary tube, and the evaporator 630. Here, the dryer may function to protect a system by removing moisture and filtering foreign matter, and the capillary tube may function to throttle.

[375] Meanwhile, the evaporator 630 may be disposed in space

behind the grille fan assemblies 500a and 500b in each part

in the inner casing 120. That is, during a circulation in

which air is discharged to the upper side of the associated

storage space 121 after the air is sucked from the internal

lower side of the storage space 121 due to the operation of

the grille fan assemblies 500a and 500b, the air may

exchange heat with the evaporator 630 while passing

therethrough.

[376] FIG. 38 illustrates a heat exchange process by the

evaporator 630. First, the cooling compartment 125

partitioned from the storage space 121 may be provided

behind the storage space 121 (a left space relative to FIG.

38), and the evaporator 630 may be installed in the cooling compartment 125. In addition, the grille fan assembly 500 may be installed inside the cooling compartment 125 located above the evaporator 630 and may introduce air delivered from the storage space 121 through the evaporator 630 and may discharge the air back into the storage space 121.

[377] More specifically, when the grille fan assembly 500

operates, the grille fan assembly 500 may introduce air from

the lower side of the evaporator 630. That is, the internal

air of the storage space 121 may be introduced through the

air introduction hole 275 present in the air introduction

part 272 of the grille plate 270 (the direction of an arrow

D)), and may flow upward through the evaporator 630 (the

direction of an arrow ().

[378] Here, in order to be away from the evaporator 630, the

air introduction part 272 may protrude in a direction toward

the storage space 121, that is, in a direction away from the

inner surface 124 of the inner casing 120, so an empty space

may be naturally defined between the air introduction part

272 and the evaporator 630. Accordingly, air may be

efficiently introduced through the air introduction hole 275

present in the air introduction part 272.

[379] In this case, air having high temperature and high

pressure passing through the cooling tube 638 of the

evaporator 630 may be changed into air having low temperature and low pressure by being cooled by the cooling tube 638. Particularly, air present in the lower portion of the cooling tube 638 may have a flow rate increased while passing through the cooling fins 650, and as the flow rate increases, the pressure of air may be decreased.

Accordingly, air passing through the cooling fins 650 may

have pressure lower than the pressure of air before passing

through the cooling fins 650.

[380] In addition, this cooled air may be discharged into

the storage space 121 by the grille fan assembly 500. (the

direction of an arrow (®)) In this process, to increase a

distance between the inner surface 124 of the inner casing

120 facing the grille fan assembly 500 and the grille fan

assembly 500, the evasion recession part 124' may be

recessed on the inner surface 124, and the evaporator 630

may be installed under the evasion recession part 124'.

Accordingly, air may efficiently flow consecutively through

the air introduction hole 275, the evaporator 630, the

evasion recession part 124', and the grille fan assembly

500.

[381] Meanwhile, in such a cooling process by the evaporator

630, defrost water may be generated, and when the defrost

water freezes, the defrost water may become defrost ice.

The generated defrost water may flow downward along the direction of gravity and flow downward through the defrost water collector 126 located on the lower side of the inner surface 124 of the inner casing 120. Additionally, the defrost water may be collected in the defrost water tray 240 provided in the machine room 201 through the defrost water pipe 590.

[382] Such an evaporator 630 may be configured as a plate

shaped evaporator 630, and may be stably installed on the

front of a rear wall surface of the inner wall surface of

the inner casing 120, and may realize the improvement of

heat exchange performance in a narrow space. For reference,

In FIG. 37, reference numeral L10 indicates the evaporator

connection tube which connects the evaporator 630 with the

main control valve 625.

[383] In addition, finally, a refrigerant passing through

the evaporator 630 may be introduced back into the

refrigerant introduction tube 610b (see FIG. 8) of the

compressor 610 to repeat a refrigeration cycle.

[384] Meanwhile, in FIG. 39, an air flow inside the machine

room 201 is illustrated. In the process of the flow of

refrigerant described above, the temperature of the machine

room 201 may rise. Particularly, the temperatures of the

compressor 610 and the main condenser 620 may greatly rise,

and in the embodiment, this temperature rise may be

suppressed through an air flow inside the machine room 201.

[385] Specifically, first, when the heat dissipation fan 611

operates, the heat dissipation fan 611 may introduce outside

air into the introduction space. Here, when air of the

outside (a place in which the refrigerator is installed) is

introduced through the front cover 220 into the introduction

space I (the direction of arrow C)) , the air may immediately

meet the main condenser 620. Particularly, in the

embodiment, the inlet 225a which is the entrance of the

introduction space I may be wider than the outlet 225b which

is the exit of the discharge space 0. That is, the inlet

225a may be widened to increase the amount of air introduced

initially, and accordingly, the main condenser 620 may be

effectively cooled.

[386] In this case, since the introduction space I is

blocked except for the inlet 225a, introduced air may flow

through the main condenser 620 only toward the heat

dissipation fan 611. Accordingly, the main condenser 620

may be more effectively cooled.

[387] In addition, the introduced air may evaporate a

portion of defrost water while passing over the defrost

water tray 240 (the direction of arrow 0) . In this case,

the introduced air may be guided by the separation wall 230.

That is, the introduced air may not flow to the discharge

space 0 comprising the compressor 610, but may be guided to the heat dissipation fan 611 along the separation wall 230.

In this case, the heat dissipation fan 611 may be installed

on the rear end portion of the separation wall 230, and the

heat dissipation fan 611 may be a part of a kind of

separation wall 230.

[388] After the introduced air passes through the heat

dissipation fan 611 (the direction of arrow ()), the air may

be discharged to the compressor 610 facing the heat

dissipation fan 611 and may cool the compressor 610. Since

the heat dissipation fan 611 is open, the introduction space

I and the discharge space 0 may be connected to each other

relative to the heat dissipation fan 611, but when the heat

dissipation fan 611 operates, air may flow from the

introduction space I to the discharge space 0, so it is

difficult that the air flows in a direction opposite to the

direction of the air flow. Accordingly, the heat of the

compressor 610 may be effectively prevented from being

transferred to the main condenser 620.

[389] In this case, the flow guide surface 245 may be

present between the defrost water tray 240 and the heat

dissipation fan 611, and thus may prevent the heat

dissipation fan 611 from decreasing efficiency by being

covered by the defrost water tray 240. That is, introduced

air may be naturally guided toward the heat dissipation fan

611 through the downward inclined surface of the flow guide

surface 245. Such a flow guide surface 245 may prevent the

formation of dead space, in which the flow of air is

prevented or a vortex is generated, between the defrost

water tray 240 and the heat dissipation fan 611.

[390] Air passing through the compressor 610 may pass

through the discharge space 0 (the direction of arrow @).

In this case, since the control module 700 is located the

upper side of the discharge space 0, the discharge space 0

may be defined between the lower surface of the control

module 700 and the bottom surface of the machine room frame

200, and the air passing through the compressor may pass

through this part. In FIG. 39, a part in which air passes

through the lower side of the control module 700 is

indicated by a dotted line.

[391] Finally, air which completes cooling may be discharged

through the outlet 225b to the outside (the direction of

arrow (5)) . Accordingly, in the embodiment, introduced air

may flow only along a predetermined path, so it is possible

to perform effective cooling. Particularly, since the

introduction space I is blocked except for the inlet 225a,

outside air may flow through the main condenser 620 only

toward the heat dissipation fan 611, but after completing

cooling, may be discharged in various directions.

[392] That is, the bottom of the discharge space 0 of the

machine room 201 defined between the heat dissipation fan

611 and the outlet 225b may be connected to the outside

since a portion of the bottom, side surface, and rear

surface of the discharge space is open to the outside

through the heat dissipation holes 211' or 214, (see FIGS. 7

and 11). Accordingly, the initial introduction of outside

air may be limited to a specific direction, that is, to the

main condenser 620, but after the outside air dissipates

heat of the main condenser 620 and the compressor 610, the

outside air may be discharged in various directions, so the

heat dissipation performance of the machine room may be

improved.

[393] The above description is only to illustrate the

technical idea of the present disclosure, but those skilled

in the art to which the present disclosure pertains will be

able to make various modifications and variations without

departing from the essential characteristics of the present

invention. Accordingly, the embodiments disclosed in the

present disclosure is not intended to limit the technical

spirit of the present disclosure, but to explain it, and the

scope of the technical spirit of the present disclosure is

not limited to the embodiments. The scope of protection of

the present disclosure should be interpreted by the scope of

the claims below, and all technical spirits within the scope equivalent thereto should be interpreted as being included in the scope of the claims of the present disclosure.

[394] Although embodiments have been described with reference to a number of illustrative embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

[395] Many modifications will be apparent to those skilled

in the art without departing from the scope of the present

invention as herein described with reference to the

accompanying drawings.

Claims

1. A refrigerator comprising:

a cabinet having a storage space and a door assembly

configured to open and close the storage space, and

a machine room disposed under the storage space and

comprising a compressor, a condenser, and a heat dissipation

fan for implementing a cooling system, the machine room

having an inlet and an outlet formed on a front surface

thereof,

wherein the compressor and the condenser are disposed

respectively in spaces partitioned from each other, and the

heat dissipation fan is disposed in a rear portion of the

machine room relative to the inlet, and the compressor is

disposed in a rear portion of the machine room relative to

the outlet,

wherein a defrost water tray is disposed on a bottom of

the machine room corresponding to a position between the

inlet and the heat dissipation fan,

wherein the defrost water tray extends to the opposite

side of the compressor with the heat dissipation fan in

between, and

wherein a portion of the defrost water tray extends to a

position facing the heat dissipation fan.

2. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein a lower surface

of the cabinet is constituted by a cover plate, and the cover

plate is disposed on an upper part of the machine room.

3. The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein the cover plate

comprises a first cover part and a second cover part, wherein

the second cover part is disposed above the compressor and

the heat dissipation fan, and is configured to be higher than

the first cover part which is disposed above the inlet and

the outlet.

4. The refrigerator of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein

the inlet is configured to have an area larger than an area

of the outlet.

5. The refrigerator of any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein

the machine room is disposed removably on a lower part of the

cabinet.

6. The refrigerator of any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein

an outer plate constituting a side surface of the machine

room is configured to have the same height from a front of

the machine room to a rear thereof, and the second cover part

is configured to be higher than the outer plate.

7. The refrigerator of claim 6, wherein a surface of an

outer plate disposed on an outer side of a side surface of

the cabinet and a surface of the outer plate disposed on an

outer side of the side surface of the machine room are

arranged adjacent to each other in the same notional plane

.

8. The refrigerator of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein

the condenser is disposed to face the inlet.

9. The refrigerator of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein

the heat dissipation fan and a side surface of the machine

room are spaced apart from each other so as to define an air

flow space therebetween, and the heat dissipation fan is

disposed to face the side surface of the machine room.

10. The refrigerator of any one of claims 1 to 9,

wherein a separation wall is disposed between an introduction

space of the machine room connected to the inlet and a

discharge space of the machine room connected to the outlet

such that an inside of the machine room is divided into

opposite sides, the separation wall comprising a first wall

and a second wall connected to each other.

11. The refrigerator of claim 10, wherein the first wall

is disposed between the inlet and the outlet, the second wall is connected to the heat dissipation fan, and the heat dissipation fan is disposed between the second wall and a rear surface of the machine room.

12. The refrigerator of any one of claims 10 and 11,

wherein a cover plate comprises: a first cover part extending

rearward from a front end of the machine room at a constant

height; a second cover part extending rearward from a rear

end of the first cover part and having a height higher than

the height of the first cover part; and a vertical connection

part which is located between the first cover part and the

second cover part and vertically connects the first cover

part with the second cover part,

wherein the first cover part has the same height as a

height of each of the separation wall and the condenser.

13. The refrigerator of any one of claims 2 to 12,

wherein a cut part open to expose an upper end of the

compressor to the outside is formed in a rear end of the

cover plate, and a compressor cover is provided in the cover

plate so as to cover the cut part.

14. The refrigerator of any one of claims 1 to 13,

wherein an introduction space of the machine room is confined

by a bottom plate, a side plate, and a rear plate constituting the machine room, and a discharge space of the machine room has an additional outlet formed by openings at least in a portion of the bottom plate, in the side plate, and in the rear plate such that the discharge space communicates with the outside.

15. The refrigerator of any one of claims 1 to 14,

wherein a flow guide surface is formed on the defrost water

tray and inclines toward the heat dissipation fan.

16. The refrigerator of any one of claims 14 and 15,

wherein the discharge space is provided with a control

module, and the additional outlet is formed at a position

corresponding to at least a portion of areas of the

compressor and the control module.

17. The refrigerator of any one of claims 14 to 16,

wherein the bottom plate has a reinforcement part extending

in a direction intersecting with a separation wall, wherein

the reinforcement part is disposed between the additional

outlet and an additional inlet.

18. The refrigerator of any one of claims 1 to 17,

wherein a side condensing tube is connected to the condenser

and is disposed along a side surface of the cabinet, the side condensing tube being disposed between an outer casing and an inner casing constituting the cabinet.

19. The refrigerator of any one of claims 1 to 18,

wherein the machine room is provided with a pair of side

parts coupled to a bottom plate and a side plate constituting

the machine room, wherein each of the side parts is

configured to provide an opening in a lower surface thereof

such that a support module supporting the machine room is

provided inside the side part.

20. The refrigerator of claim 19, wherein the support

module comprises a power transmission part extending from a

front end of the side part along the inside of the side part,

and a rear leveling part which is coupled to a rear end of

the power transmission part and adjusts a horizontality of

the refrigerator.