IP Library Granted Patent US 11,821,680
Granted Patent B2
US 11,821,680 · App. 17/540,033 · Granted Nov 21, 2023

Refrigerator and method of controlling the same

Inventors: Sang Min Park (Suwon-si, KR); Jun O Kwon (Seoul, KR); Jae Koog An (Gwangju, KR)
Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
F25D23/126F25D11/00F25D11/02F25D23/02F25D23/028F25D29/00F25D2323/122F25D2700/00
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,821,680
App. No.
17/540,033
Granted
Nov 21, 2023
Kind
B2
Abstract

Disclosed is a refrigerator. The refrigerator includes a body which includes a storage compartment, a door which opens and closes the storage compartment and includes a dispenser, a water tank case disposed in the door, a water tank separably mounted in the water tank case, a water level sensor configured to sense a water level inside the water tank when the water tank is mounted in the water tank case, and a water tank valve configured to guide water supplied from a water supply source to the dispenser or the water tank and to prevent water from being supplied to the water tank when the water level sensor senses that a certain amount of water is stored in the water tank.

Claims (15)

1. A refrigerator comprising:

a body including a storage compartment;

a door that opens or closes the storage compartment and comprises a dispenser;

a water tank case disposed in the door;

a water tank separably mounted in the water tank case; and

a water tank valve configured to guide water supplied from a water supply source to the dispenser or the water tank and to prevent water from being supplied to the water tank, wherein the water tank case comprises a first support provided to support a first portion of the water tank and a second support provided to support a second portion of the water tank in a direction opposite to a pivoting direction to prevent the water tank from pivoting on the first portion of the water tank supported by the first support while the door is closed with the water tank mounted on the water tank case,

wherein the second support protrudes downward from a top surface of an inside of a mounting portion, and

wherein the second support is formed to be tilted downward toward a front side of the refrigerator.

2. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the first support comprises a vertically oriented ridge provided to minimize movement of the water tank in a direction that the water tank is separated from the water tank case.

3. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the water tank case is separably mounted in the door and is configured to mount to the door via a coupler connection.

4. The refrigerator of claim 1 , further comprising:

a water level sensor configured to sense a water level inside the water tank when the water tank is mounted in the water tank case.

5. The refrigerator of claim 4 , wherein the water level sensor is configured to sense the water level inside the water tank by sensing a capacitance change according to a level of a liquid in the water tank.

6. The refrigerator of claim 1 , further comprising:

a water purifying filter disposed in a flow path between the water supply source and the water tank valve and configured to purify the water supplied from the water supply source.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Dec 1, 2021
From: PARK, SANG MIN; KWON, JUN O; AN, JAE KOOG
To: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
Reel/Frame 058261/0730 →
Priority Claims (1)
KR 10-2017-0000957 · Jan 3, 2017 · national
Continuity (3)
Continuation 16941461 · Jul 28, 2020
Continuation 15861517 · Jan 3, 2018
Related Publication 20220090852A1 · Mar 24, 2022
Cited By (1)
US 12,656,051