Generally, a refrigerator is an apparatus for freeze or refrigerate foods by maintaining a temperature of a storage area provided therein at a predetermined temperature by using a freezing cycle configured of a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve and an evaporator. Therefore, the refrigerator includes a storage area, for example, a freezer compartment and a refrigerator compartment, and its type is classified in accordance with positions of the freezer compartment and the refrigerator compartment. For example, the refrigerator may be classified into a top mount type having a freezer compartment mounted on a top of a refrigerator compartment, a bottom freezer type having a freezer compartment mounted below a refrigerator compartment, and a side by side type having freezer and refrigerator compartments arranged side by side.
The freezer compartment and the refrigerator compartment are provided inside a cabinet forming external appearance, and each of them may selectively be opened and closed by a freezer door and a refrigerator door. Some refrigerators include a user input panel provided on a door front surface. The panel may be provided to allow a user to apply a touch input thereto. This may be referred to as an interactive touch input panel. The user may select or change various functions of the refrigerator through the interactive touch input panel. Some refrigerators, particularly, a show case refrigerator used in a conveniences store may allow a user to see the inside of the refrigerator even without opening a door because the door is comprised of glass. However, since a refrigerator for home use includes an opaque freezer door and an opaque refrigerator door, it is general that the user may see the inside of the refrigerator by opening the freezer door and the refrigerator door.
In some refrigerator for home use, a user may see the inside of the refrigerator even without opening a door of the refrigerator. Therefore, cool air loss caused by frequently opening or closing the door may be avoided.
In this refrigerator, it is general that the door includes a panel assembly through which a user may see the inside of the refrigerator, and a frame assembly for supporting the panel assembly.
Meanwhile, the freezer compartment and the refrigerator compartment are provided inside a cabinet constituting external appearance of the refrigerator, and selectively opened or closed by a freezing door and a refrigerator door (hereinafter, referred to as “door for refrigerator” or “door” as a generic term. Since the refrigerator compartment or the freezer compartment are selectively sealed by the door for the refrigerator, the door should have predetermined insulation performance. To this end, a predetermined space is formed by a frame structure body constituting external appearance of the door to have a predetermined rigidity, the space is generally foamed and filled with a thermal insulator such as polyurethane to make a door. Since the frame structure body is a thin plate member, a foaming space determined by the frame structure body becomes a size of the door, that is, “upper and lower width of the door×left add right width of the door×depth of the door (front and rear direction of the door)”, and this space becomes a foaming space and a foaming path, which should be filled with a thermal insulator.
In this door, since a size of the door becomes a foaming space, and the foaming space becomes a foaming path, the foaming path is relatively great. Therefore, a foaming injection hole is arranged at a center, approximately, of a rear surface (exactly, frame structure body) of the door. The temporary assembly door is arranged horizontally to allow the front surface of the temporarily assembled door toward the ground surface during foaming of the thermal insulator, and then the foaming agent which is the thermal insulator is injected through the foaming injection hole provided at the center of the rear surface of the temporary assembly door.
Meanwhile, since the aforementioned door for a general refrigerator is opaque, a user may see the inside of the refrigerator by opening the freezer door and the refrigerator door. Recently, a refrigerator for allowing a user to see the inside thereof even without opening a door thereof has been suggested to reduce door opening or closing of thereof and thus avoid cool air loss caused by frequently opening or closing of the door.
In this refrigerator, it is general that the door includes a panel assembly comprised of glass through which the user may see the inside of the refrigerator, and a frame assembly for supporting the panel assembly. Of course, it is general that the door includes a panel assembly having a touch input assembly and a frame assembly for supporting the panel assembly.
However, in the door for the refrigerator, the foaming space and the foaming path becomes a space defined by a portion except the panel assembly from the entire door, that is, an outer edge of the frame assembly and the panel assembly. Therefore, the door has a relatively smaller foaming space and foaming path than those of a general door, a problem may occur during foaming of the thermal insulator. That is, since foaming resistance is great during foaming of the thermal insulator, a problem may occur in that the foaming space may not be fully filled with the thermal insulator. Also, the foaming agent type thermal insulator may be swollen to leak into the foaming injection hole or the panel assembly or the foaming agent may flow backward to the foaming injection hole. Therefore, a solution for solving this problem is required.
This problem of the door may occur equally or similarly to a door of a home appliance, which requires insulation, as well as a door of a refrigerator.