KR100347020B1 - Structure of ice tray of refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A structure of an ice tray of a refrigerator is provided to allow supplying water without opening the tray. CONSTITUTION: A structure includes a tray part(100) with a tray(104); a water supply pipe(110) formed in platy shape by pleating several times, installed on an upper part of the tray part, and having water dropping ports(112) supplying water to the tray; and a shelf part(120) having an inlet of the water supply pipe connected thereto to be exposed to an upper side thereof for a user to pour water therethrough, moving back and forth, and formed on the upper part of the tray part.

Description

Ice tray structure of the refrigerator

The present invention relates to the structure of the ice tray of the refrigerator, and more particularly, to improve the structure of the ice tray to facilitate the convenience of water injection for forming ice in the ice tray, and to produce high-quality ice and to efficiently use the upper space of the ice tray. The ice tray structure of the refrigerator aimed at.

In general, a top mount type is mainly used in which a freezer door and a refrigerating chamber door are installed up and down with respect to the refrigerator main body, but recently, as the refrigerator is enlarged, two doors are provided on the front of the refrigerator. There are a lot of so-called side by side refrigerators (hereinafter, referred to as double door opening and closing refrigerators), which are coupled by opening and closing with both end portions pivoting.

Next, referring to FIG. 1, a double door opening and closing refrigerator will be described. As shown, the two doors (10,20) on the front of the refrigerator are coupled by opening and closing with both ends at the center of rotation, the left side of the refrigerator body is divided into a freezer compartment (40) and the right side is a refrigerator compartment (40) In the main body of the freezing and refrigerating chambers 30 and 40, shelves 50 for storing various storage items are provided in multiple stages. In addition, a plurality of door baskets 60 are detachably provided inside the freezing compartment door 10 on the left side and the refrigerating compartment door 20 on the right side to store various necessary items.

On the other hand, the tray unit 70 is formed in the freezer compartment body 30 to form ice, and the ice storage unit 80 is installed in the lower portion of the tray unit 70 ice generated in the tray unit 70 Save it.

Next, the structure of the conventional tray unit 70 will be described with reference to FIG. 2. As shown in the drawing, the tray part 70 has a structure capable of opening and closing. The tray part 70 has an outer shape of the tray case 72, and a handle 76 is formed in front of the tray case 72. have. And the tray 74 to form ice is located in the tray case 72, the tray 74 is made of a plurality of lattice structure to make ice of a predetermined shape. On the other hand, a hinge 74a is formed on the rear outer circumferential surface of the tray 74, and the hinge 74a is inserted into the inner surface of the tray case 72 to connect the tray 74 to the tray case 72. In addition, a rib 72a is formed at one side of an inner surface of the tray case in which the hinge 74a is inserted, and is wound and connected with a spring 73 between the hinge 74a and the rib 72a and the tray 74. A protrusion 74b is formed through the front outer circumferential surface of the tray 74b so that the protrusion 74b is connected to the dial knob 76a formed on the handle 76 so that the tray 74 can move according to the operation of the dial knob 76a. It is configured to.

In addition, an arrow 74c is engraved on the upper surface of the tray 74 to indicate how much water should be put when the user puts water in the tray 74 for ice making.

Next, the process of forming ice by the ice tray unit 70 having the above structure will be described with reference to FIG. 3.

As shown, first, the user grasps the handle 76, opens the ice tray 70, and then fills the tray 74 with water up to the height of the arrow. After the designated water is filled in the tray 74, the ice tray unit 70 is pushed. After the ice is defrosted after a certain time, the user grasps the dial knob 76a formed on the front of the handle 76 and rotates it counterclockwise. According to the above operation, the tray 74 is inclined, and thus the ice deiced in the tray 74 is taken out and put into the ice storage unit 80 installed at the lower portion thereof.

After the above process is finished, the tray 74 is returned to its original state by the restoring force of the spring wound between the hinge 74a formed on the rear side of the tray 74 and the rib 72a of the tray case 72. do. The user repeats the above process until the required amount of ice is stored in the ice storage unit 80.

On the other hand, the upper portion of the ice tray unit 70 is formed in a structure in which the shelf 50 is fixed to serve as a cover of the ice tray unit 70, and also to place the goods to be stored frozen on the shelf 50 do.

The following problem occurs in the structure of the conventional ice tray described above.

When water is put in the tray for ice making, the trouble of having to grab the handle and pull out the ice tray part to pour water and push the ice tray part again is caused. As illustrated, bubbles are generated in the ice and bad ice is generated, such as clouding of the ice.

Another problem is that the shelf formed on the upper portion of the ice tray part is made of a fixed structure has a problem that the efficient use is not made according to the size of the article to be stored.

The present invention is to solve the above problems, the water can be easily supplied without opening and closing the tray when water for ice formation, and also the ice tray structure of the refrigerator to enable efficient use by improving the structure of the upper shelf tray The purpose is to provide.

1 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the refrigerator.

2 is an operation state of the operation of the conventional ice tray.

3 is a plan view of the ice tray.

4 is an illustration of bad ice.

5 is a view showing an ice tray structure according to the present invention,

(A) a side view of a spinning ice tray,

(B) or (A) A-A cross sectional view of the drawing.

6 is a plan view of a feed pipe according to the present invention.

7 is a plan view of a tray according to the present invention.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

100: ice tray 102: tray case

104: tray 104a: lattice

104b: grid passage 106: handle

106a: dial knob 110: water supply pipe

110a: water supply pipe inlet 112: drain hole

120: shelf 122: lower shelf

122a: water inlet 124: upper lathe

Ice tray structure of the refrigerator according to the present invention for achieving the above object, the tray unit is provided with an ice making container; A water supply pipe which is bent several times and is formed in a plate shape and is provided on an upper portion of the tray part and has a downfall port for supplying water to the ice making container; And the inlet of the water supply pipe is connected to be exposed to the upper surface and movable back and forth, and comprises a shelf formed on the upper portion of the tray.

The ice tray structure is installed on the shelf, it may be configured to further include an upper shelf that is adjusted up, down. Due to the above structure, there is an effect that the formation of high quality ice and the efficient use of the upper space of the tray part can be achieved.

In addition, the ice grid of the tray unit is connected to the grid passage between the grids.

The shelf is coupled to the handle of the tray portion is moved with the tray portion is made of a structure in which a water supply port is connected to the inlet of the water supply pipe.

Next, matters related to the technical configuration and effects of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings showing preferred embodiments of the present invention.

5 is a view showing the ice tray structure according to the present invention, (a) is a side view, (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A of (a). 6 is a plan view of a water supply pipe according to the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a plan view of a tray according to the present invention.

As shown, the ice tray structure according to the present invention is largely composed of a tray part 100, a water supply pipe 110, and a shelf part 120.

First, the tray unit 100 will be described. The tray unit 100 has a tray 104 that forms ice in the tray case 102 forming the appearance. A plurality of gratings 104a are formed in the tray 104 to form ice of a predetermined shape through the gratings 104a, and are connected by grating passages 104b between the gratings 104a. The grid passage 104b is formed lower than the bottom surface of the tray 104 so that when the water falls into the tray 104 through the water supply pipe 110 to be described later, the grid passage 104b passes through the grid passage 104b. Water is delivered. On the other hand, the components of the tray 100, such as the tray case 102 and the front handle 106 surrounding the tray 104 has the same structure as the conventional tray portion described above will be omitted below. .

Next, the shelf 120 will be described. The shelf part is divided into an upper shelf 124 and a lower shelf 122, and the upper shelf 124 is formed on the upper portion of the ice tray 100 described above, and its position is up and down depending on the size of the article to be placed. It is made of a structure that can be changed. That is, both sides of the upper shelf 124 is caught by the shelf supporting protrusions (not shown) formed on both side walls of the freezer compartment so that the upper shelf 124 is positioned inside the freezer compartment. Place the upper shelf 124 in position.

In addition, the lower shelf 122 serves as a cover of the tray part 100, and unlike the upper shelf 124, the lower shelf 122 is placed at a fixed position on the upper part of the tray part 100. On the other hand, the front end of the lower shelf 122 is connected to the handle 106 of the tray unit 100 described above and flows in the front-rear direction according to the operation of the tray unit 100, the front one side of the lower shelf 122 The water supply port 122a is formed at left and right sides, respectively.

The water supply pipe 110 is connected through the lower end of the water supply hole 122a so that water through the water supply hole 122a flows into the water supply pipe 110. The inlet is connected to the lower end of the water inlet 122a, the water supply pipe 110 is bent several times on the same plane to have a spiral shape and gradually inclined slightly downward from the inlet 110a side. And the entire internal volume of the feed pipe 110 is suitably formed to be as much as the amount of water supplied to the tray 104 to form ice. The water supply pipe 110 is positioned above the tray 104, and a plurality of dripping holes 112 are formed at a central portion of the water supply pipe 110, so that water through the water supply pipe 110 is formed. It falls to the tray 104 through the dripping opening 112. The downspout 112 is located vertically above the center of the tray 104, the water through the downspout 112 is dropped to the center bottom of the tray 104, the grid passage of the tray 104 ( It enters into the grating 104a through 104b.

On the other hand, the water supply port 122a formed in front of the lower shelf 122 to form a cap to block the water supply port 122a with a cap except when the water is injected through the water supply 122a through the water supply port 122a It is also possible to prevent the evaporation of water or cold air in the condensate from flowing in through the water inlet 122a.

Next will be described in more detail the ice tray structure according to the present invention through the formation of ice.

First, the user draws water through the water inlet 122a formed in the lower shelf 122 to form ice. In the above case, when the position of the upper shelf 124 is close to the lower shelf 122 and it is difficult to inject water through the water inlet 122a due to the size of the article placed on the upper shelf 124, the user may use the ice tray 100. When the handle 106 of the) is pulled slightly forward, the lower shelf 122 connected to the handle 106 moves together with the ice tray 100, so that water is easily injected through the water inlet 122a. Of course, when the cap is formed in the water inlet 122a, the cap is first opened and water is injected.

The water through the water inlet 122 is delivered into the water supply pipe 110. At this time, since the water supply pipe 110 is bent, the water is slowly transmitted along the curved path of the water supply pipe 110. As the water is slowly transmitted through the bent water supply pipe 110 as described above, the air in the water is sufficiently removed, so that bubbles are not formed inside the ice when forming ice as in the related art.

On the other hand, the total volume of the water supply pipe 110 is as much as the amount of ice formed in the tray 104, so the injection of water through the water supply port 122a is near the water supply pipe inlet 110a connected to the bottom of the water supply hole 122a. Inject until water is reached.

After the injection of the water is finished, the water supplied in the water supply pipe 110 falls down through the water drop 112 formed in the central portion of the water supply pipe 110. The dropped water falls on the center bottom surface of the tray 104 located below and flows into the lattice passage 104b formed lower than the bottom surface and is supplied into each lattice 104a to form ice.

The process in which water is supplied to each lattice 104a in the tray 104 through the feed pipe 110 to form ice is described in detail. Unlike liquids, it has a unique property of increasing volume than liquid state when it is transformed into ice solid. The water has the highest density at 4 ℃ and takes up the smallest volume at this time. As the temperature changes from 4 ℃ to 0 ℃, the density change of water becomes the largest and the volume change becomes the largest, and thus water freezes from the top. do.

Due to this property of water, the user pours water into the tray 104 and freezes it as in the prior art, so rapid freezing occurs due to the low temperature of the freezer, so that the ice is clouded. As the air is injected into the tray 104, air is not drawn out of the water, and as it is frozen, bubbles are formed inside the ice.

In the present invention, the water is dropped into the tray 104 little by little through the dripping hole 112 so that the ice is frozen from the bottom step by step, and the water density changes as the water flows through the curved shape of the feed pipe 110 As it slowly passes through the large 0 ℃ -4 ℃ section, it does not become cloudy in the formation of ice and there is no crack in the interior. As the water flows through the water supply pipe 110, the contained air is discharged to the outside so that bubbles are not formed in the ice.

After the ice is formed as described above, the user turns the dial knob 106a formed on the handle 106 to store ice in an ice storage unit (not shown) installed under the ice tray unit 100.

Next, the shelf 120 will be described. Shelf portion 120 of the present invention is composed of the upper shelf 124 and the lower shelf 122 is enabled the efficient use of the internal space. That is, in the related art, one shelf is provided to serve as a cover of the tray part, and as a product is used only on the shelf, several items having a small volume cannot be stored at once. In the present invention consists of two shelves and the lower shelf 122 is in a fixed position, the upper shelf 124 is able to adjust the position as the position of the upper shelf 124 according to the size of the stored goods Alternatively, the upper shelf 124 and the lower shelf 122 can be placed respectively.

As described above, the ice tray structure according to the present invention has the following advantages. That is, there is no hassle to open and close the tray part when water is injected for ice formation, and due to the injection of water through the water supply pipe, it is possible to form high-quality ice by preventing internal bubble generation, clouding or crack generation during ice formation. It has an effect.

Another effect is that the shelf consists of an upper shelf and a lower shelf to efficiently utilize the space inside the freezer compartment.

Claims (4)

A tray unit having an ice maker; A water supply pipe which is bent several times and is formed in a plate shape and is provided on an upper portion of the tray part and has a downfall port for supplying water to the ice making container; And The inlet of the water supply pipe is exposed to the upper surface and movable in front and rear, the ice tray structure of the refrigerator comprising a shelf formed on the upper portion of the tray. The ice tray structure of claim 1, further comprising a detachable upper shelf installed on the shelf. The ice tray structure of claim 1 or 2, wherein the ice tray of the tray unit is formed with an ice grid, and the gratings are connected by a grid passage. The ice tray structure of claim 1 or 2, wherein the shelf is coupled to a handle of the tray to move together with the tray, and a water inlet is formed to be connected to an inlet of the feed pipe.

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