KR100557763B1 - Refrigerator with ice feeding device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a refrigerator having an ice supply device, and in particular, the opening and closing member for opening and closing the outlet of the ice storage container is manually opened and closed by the user, thereby simplifying the construction of the opening and closing device as well as in the opening and closing process of the opening and closing member. It is to prevent operation noise. The refrigerator having an ice supply device according to the present invention includes an ice storage container provided with an outlet for discharging ice, and an opening / closing member rotatably installed at an outlet side of the ice storage container to adjust the opening degree of the outlet, and the opening and closing. Is installed on the outside of the ice reservoir for the rotational opening and closing of the member is to include an opening and closing control device that is operated by a manual operation of the user.

Description

Refrigerator with ice feeder {REFRIGERATOR WITH ICE FEEDING DEVICE}

1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a conventional refrigerator ice supply apparatus.

2 is a cross-sectional view showing the internal configuration of a refrigerator equipped with an ice supply device according to the present invention.

Figure 3 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the refrigerator ice supply apparatus according to the present invention.

Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of the opening and closing control device of the refrigerator ice supply apparatus according to the present invention.

5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the opening and closing member is closed through the opening and closing control device of the refrigerator ice supply apparatus according to the present invention.

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the opening and closing member open state through the opening and closing control device of the refrigerator ice supply apparatus according to the present invention.

Figure 7 is an exploded perspective view showing another embodiment of the opening and closing control device mounted on the refrigerator ice supply apparatus according to the present invention.

8 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the opening and closing member is closed through another embodiment of the opening and closing control device of the refrigerator ice supply apparatus according to the present invention.

9 is a cross-sectional view showing an opening and closing member open state through another embodiment of the opening and closing control device of the refrigerator ice supply apparatus according to the present invention.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

10: body, 11: freezer,

12: door, 30: ice feeder,

31: ice bin, 33: spiral shaft,

34: spiralwing, 35: ice grinder,

36: drive motor, 37: guide box,

38: opening and closing member, 50, 70: opening and closing control device,

51: control lever, 52: lifting projection,

41, 42: projection, 71: adjustment shaft,

72: cam.

The present invention relates to a refrigerator having an ice supply device, and more particularly, to a refrigerator having an ice supply device in which an outlet of an ice storage container is manually opened and closed.

In general, a large refrigerator includes an ice making device for producing ice and an ice storage container for storing the ice produced by the ice making device. In addition, the refrigerator is provided with an ice discharge pipe and a device for storing the ice in the door so that the user can take out the ice inside the ice container from the outside without opening the door, and inside the freezer to supply the ice of the ice container to the discharge pipe A supply device is provided.

As shown in FIG. 1, the ice supply device of the refrigerator has a spiral shaft 2 installed inside the ice storage container 1 for conveying ice, a guide tube 3 for guiding the ice, and pressurized ice. It includes a spiral blade (4) installed on the inside of the guide tube 3, the ice crusher (5) for grinding the ice guided through the spiral blade.

In addition, the ice supply device includes a drive motor 6 for rotating the spiral shaft 2 and an outlet opening and closing device for opening and closing the ice container 1 outlet 1a on which the ice crusher 5 is installed. do. The outlet opening and closing device is rotatably mounted to the opening / closing member 7 rotatably coupled to the outlet 1a of the ice storage container 1 and to the side portion of the ice storage container 1 so as to operate the opening / closing member 7. And a connecting rod 8 extending in the front-rear direction, and a solenoid installed at the rear of the ice storage container 1 adjacent to the driving motor 6 to operate the opening / closing member 7 by rotating the connecting rod 8 by a predetermined section. And a drive unit 9. This causes the eccentric portion 8a of the rear end of the connecting rod 8 to rotate while the solenoid drive device 9 moves forward and backward a predetermined section so that the connecting rod 8 is rotated so that the other eccentric portion of the connecting rod 8 is rotated. 8b is to operate the opening and closing member 7 so that the ice container outlet (1a) can be opened and closed.

However, the ice supply device of the conventional refrigerator is a solenoid driving device for the operation of the opening and closing member 7 because the drive source for operating the opening and closing member 7 is composed of a solenoid driving device 9 performing a linear reciprocating motion by receiving power. There was a problem in which crackling noises were generated whenever (9) worked.

In addition, the conventional ice supply device has a complicated configuration of the outlet opening and closing device because the solenoid drive device 9 and the opening and closing member 7 is connected through the connecting rod 8 provided outside the ice reservoir 1.

The present invention is to solve such a problem, an object of the present invention is to open and close the opening and closing member of the ice storage soil by the user to open and close manually by the user of the opening and closing device as well as the configuration of the opening and closing member It is to provide a refrigerator with an ice supply device to prevent operation noise during the opening and closing process.

Refrigerator equipped with an ice supply device according to the present invention for achieving this object, the ice storage container is provided with an outlet for discharging the ice, opening and closing rotatably installed on the outlet side of the ice reservoir to adjust the opening degree of the outlet And an opening / closing control device installed outside the ice storage container for opening and closing the opening / closing member and operated by a user's manual operation.

In addition, the opening and closing control device is one end is mounted to the outer surface of the ice reservoir and the other end is extended to the front of the ice reservoir and the control lever and the pressure of the outer surface of the opening and closing member according to the lifting operation of the control lever or It characterized in that it comprises a lifting projection protruding toward the outer surface of the opening and closing member from the control lever to open and close the opening and closing member through the pressure release operation.

In addition, the outer surface of the opening and closing member is characterized in that the protrusion provided in contact with the lifting projection.

In addition, the lifting projection is characterized in that the inclined surface is provided on the outer surface so that the lifting projection is easy to push the projection by pressing.

In addition, the ice supply device further comprises a cover for covering the front of the outlet side of the ice reservoir, the control lever of the opening and closing control device extends through the cover to the outside of the cover, the outer extending to the outside of the cover The end of the control lever is characterized in that the user is provided with a handle for operating the control lever.

In addition, the opening and closing control device is one end is rotatably coupled to the ice reservoir and the other end of the control shaft extending toward the front of the ice reservoir and the operation of pressing or releasing the outer surface of the opening and closing member in accordance with the rotation of the control shaft It characterized in that it comprises a cam eccentrically mounted on the outer surface of the control shaft to open and close the opening and closing member through.

In addition, the outer surface of the opening and closing member is characterized in that the protrusion provided in contact with the cam.

In addition, the outer surface of the ice container is characterized in that the locking portion for limiting the rotation of the cam is provided so that the rotation of the cam is limited in the state in which the cam presses the opening and closing member is maintained.

In addition, the ice supply device further comprises a cover for covering the front of the outlet side of the ice reservoir, the control shaft of the opening and closing control device extends through the cover to the outside of the cover, the adjustment extending to the outside of the cover The end of the shaft is characterized in that the user is provided with a handle for operating the adjustment shaft.

In addition, the ice supply device is a spiral shaft installed in the ice reservoir to transfer the ice toward the outlet of the ice reservoir, a drive motor installed behind the ice reservoir for driving the spiral shaft, the outlet of the ice reservoir It characterized in that it further comprises an ice grinding device installed on the side.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIG. 2, the refrigerator according to the present invention has a freezing chamber 11 which is formed vertically long in the main body 10 and whose front surface is opened, and a door which opens and closes the opened front surface of the freezing chamber 11. 12). An evaporator 13 for supplying cold air into the freezer compartment 11 is provided inside the freezer compartment 11, and a compressor 14a and a condenser (not shown) are provided in the machine compartment 14 provided below the main body 10. ) Is installed.

In addition, an automatic ice maker 15 for manufacturing ice is installed at an inner upper portion of the freezer compartment 11, and ice generated from the automatic ice maker 15 is stored at a lower portion of the automatic ice maker 15 and discharged to the outside. Ice supply device 30 is installed. In addition, inside the freezer compartment 11, a shelf 17 and a plurality of storage boxes 18 for storing frozen food are installed.

In addition, the door 12 has an ice discharge port communicating with the inside of the freezer compartment 11 and the front of the door 12 so that the user can discharge the ice inside the ice supply device 30 to the outside without opening the door 12 ( 19 is formed, the front of the door 12 is formed with an ice storage space 20 is recessed inward to facilitate receiving the ice discharged through the ice outlet (19). In addition, the ice storage space 20 is provided with an ice outlet opening and closing device 21 for opening and closing the outlet of the ice outlet 19 and operating the ice supply device 30 provided in the freezer compartment 11.

As shown in FIG. 3, the ice supply device 30 inside the freezing compartment 11 has an ice storage container having an upper portion open to accommodate ice therein and an outlet 32 for discharging the ice at the front lower side thereof. 31) and a coil-shaped spiral shaft 33 and a spiral blade 34 that are rotatably installed by being installed inside the ice container 31. In addition, the ice supply device 30 is an ice crusher 35 is installed on the outlet 32 side of the ice reservoir 31 so as to crush the discharged ice finely, and is installed on the rear side of the ice reservoir 31 is a spiral shaft ( 33), a spiral blade 34, and a drive motor 36 for operating the ice crusher 35 together.

The spiral shaft 33, the spiral blade 34, and the ice crusher 35 of the ice supply device 30 are arranged in series on the same axis in the interconnected state, and the spiral shaft ( 33) is configured to rotate together when rotated. In addition, the outer surface of the spiral blade 34 is provided with a cylindrical guide cylinder 37 surrounding the outer peripheral portion of the spiral blade 34 so that the ice conveyed toward the outlet 32 can be pressed. And the ice crusher 35 is composed of a fixed cutter (35a) fixed to the outlet 32 side, and a rotating cutter (35b) to rotate together with the spiral shaft 33, when the rotating cutter (35b) rotates the fixed cutter ( The ice is sandwiched between the 35a) and the rotational cutter 35b so that the ice can be crushed.

In addition, the ice supply device 30 is to eject the large ice that is not crushed from the ice storage container 31 or the finely crushed ice is discharged according to the degree of opening or closing the outlet 32, can be rotated to the outlet 32 side And an opening / closing control member 50 installed on the side of the opening / closing member 38 so as to open and close the opening / closing member 38 by a user's manual operation.

As shown in Figures 4 to 6, the opening and closing member 38 is provided in a circular bent structure to open or close the outlet 32 through the operation of rotating the predetermined section, the upper portion of the support pin ( 39 is rotatably coupled to the outlet 32 of the ice reservoir (31). In addition, the support pin 39 is provided with a torsion spring 40 to rotate in the direction in which the opening and closing member 38 is opened in the state that no external force is applied to the opening and closing member 38.

Opening and closing control device 50 is the control lever 51, one end of which is installed so as to elevate a predetermined section in the outer front portion of the ice reservoir 31 and the other end is extended toward the front of the ice reservoir 31, and the control lever 51 It includes a lifting projection (52) protruding toward the outer surface of the opening and closing member 38 from the control lever 51 so as to press or release the outer surface of the opening and closing member 38 in accordance with the lifting operation. At this time, the control lever 51 is in a state capable of elevating a predetermined section in the vertical direction by being coupled to the groove guide rail 53 formed in the vertical direction on the front surface of the ice storage container 31 is provided at one end. In addition, the free end of the control lever 51 extends through the cover 60 covering the front of the ice storage container 31 to the outside of the cover 60. And the end of the control lever 51 extending to the outside of the cover 60 is coupled to the handle 54 to allow the user to manually lift the control lever 51.

In addition, the outer surface of the opening and closing member 38 protrudes from the outer surface of the opening and closing member 38 so that the opening and closing member 38 can be smoothly opened and closed when the lifting projection 52 is elevated with the control lever 51. A projection 41 in contact with 52 is provided. And the outer surface of the lifting projection 52 in contact with the projection 41 is made of a plane 52a whose outer end is parallel to the advancing direction of the lifting projection 52, the lower portion is composed of the inclined surface 52b. 5 and 6, the inclined surface 52b of the lifting protrusion 52 closes the protrusion 41 of the opening / closing member 38 when the lifting protrusion 52 is lowered so that the opening and closing member 38 is closed. It pushes in a direction to make it easy to pressurize, and in the state which the lifting protrusion 52 fully lowered, the plane 52a of the lifting protrusion 52 supports the protrusion part 41 of the opening-closing member 38, and the opening-closing member 38 is supported. Is to remain closed.

The opening and closing control device 50 is to facilitate the manufacture of the device for opening and closing the outlet compared to the solenoid driving device of the conventional ice supply device is to be easy to manufacture and to reduce the manufacturing cost. In addition, by opening and closing the opening and closing member by the user's manual operation to prevent the operation noise generated from the conventional solenoid drive device.

The following describes the ice supply operation of a refrigerator equipped with such an ice supply device.

In order to obtain large uncrushed ice, the user raises the handle 54 of the control lever 51 provided on the front surface of the cover 60 of the ice supply device 30. In this case, as shown in FIG. 6, the lifting projections 52 are raised together with the control lever 51 to release the pressing of the protrusions 41 of the opening and closing member 38, and the opening and closing member 38 is the torsion spring 39. Since it rotates in the opening direction by the elasticity of the), the ice reservoir outlet 32 is completely opened.

In this state, when the user operates the ice outlet opening / closing device 21 of the front part of the door 12 to discharge the ice, the driving motor 36 behind the ice storage container 31 operates to operate the inside of the ice storage container 31. The spiral shaft 33, the spiral wing 34 is rotated, the ice is discharged toward the outlet 32 of the ice storage container (31). At this time, the outlet 32 of the ice container is discharged to the outside without being crushed because it is completely open, as shown in FIG. In this case, since the outlet 32 is completely open, the ice pressurized through the rotation cutter 35b of the ice crusher 35 is discharged through the outlet 32 without being caught between the fixed cutter 35a. This is discharged to the ice outlet 19 of the door 12 without being crushed.

When the user wants to obtain crushed ice, the user lowers the handle 54 of the control lever 51 provided on the front surface of the cover 60 of the ice supply device 30. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, the lifting projections 52 are lowered together with the control lever 51, and thus the lifting projections 52 press the protrusions 41 of the opening and closing members 38. Is closed. In addition, in the state in which the opening and closing member 38 is closed, the end plane 52a of the lifting projection 52 supports the end of the protrusion 41, so that the opening and closing member 38 is not provided unless the user raises the operating lever 51. It stays closed.

In this state, when the user operates the ice outlet opening / closing device 21 of the front part of the door 12 to discharge the ice, the driving motor 36 behind the ice storage container 31 operates to operate the inside of the ice storage container 31. The spiral shaft 33, the spiral wing 34 is rotated, the ice is discharged toward the outlet 32 of the ice storage container (31). In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, the outlet 32 of the ice container is discharged while the ice discharged is crushed because part of the ice storage container 38 is closed. That is, the discharged ice is guided toward the fixed cutter 35a of the ice crusher 35 through the opening / closing member 38 closing a part of the outlet 32 so that the ice is discharged from the fixed cutter 35a and the rotating cutter 35b. Crushed while sandwiching. The crushed ice is discharged toward the ice outlet 19 of the door 12 through the remaining opening of the outlet 32.

Figures 7 to 9 show another embodiment of the opening and closing control device provided on the outlet side of the ice supply apparatus according to the present invention. The opening and closing control device 70 is rotatably coupled to the front end of the ice storage container 31 adjacent to the opening and closing member 38 and the other end of the control shaft 71 extending toward the front of the ice storage container 31 and The cam 72 eccentrically mounted to the control shaft 71 to open and close the opening and closing member 38 by pressing or releasing the outer surface of the opening and closing member 38 according to the rotation of the control shaft 71. It includes. In addition, the adjustment shaft 71 extends to the outside of the cover 60 through the cover 60 covering the front of the outlet side of the ice reservoir 31, the end of the control 60 extends to the outside of the cover 60 the user adjusts the shaft A handle 73 for rotating and operating 70 is provided. In addition, as shown in FIG. 8, the front of the ice storage container 31 adjacent to the cam 72 is limited in rotation of the cam 72 in a state in which the cam 72 presses the opening / closing member 38. A locking portion 74 is provided to allow 38 to remain closed. In addition, a protruding portion 42 is provided on the outer surface of the opening / closing member 38 to protrude toward the cam 72 to contact the cam 72 so that the opening and closing member 38 can be smoothly opened and closed according to the rotational operation of the cam 72. do.

The opening and closing adjustment device 70, as shown in Figure 8, when the user rotates the handle 73 in the counterclockwise direction, the cam through the control shaft 71 and the cam 72 rotates in the counterclockwise direction The opening and closing member 38 is closed by pressing the protrusion 42 of the opening and closing member 38 at the maximum eccentric portion 72. In addition, in the state in which the opening and closing member 38 is closed, since the cam 72 is caught by the locking portion 42 and further rotation is restricted, the opening and closing member 38 is maintained in the closed state. Therefore, in this case, the ice discharged through the outlet 32 of the ice storage container 31 is crushed and discharged.

On the contrary, as shown in Figure 9, when the user rotates the handle 73 of the opening and closing adjustment device 70 in the clockwise direction, the cam through the operation to rotate the control shaft 71 and the cam 72 in the clockwise direction Since the minimum eccentric portion 72 of the 72 comes into contact with the protrusion 42 of the opening and closing member 38, the opening and closing member 38 is opened. Therefore, at this time, the large ice discharged through the outlet 32 of the ice container is discharged without being crushed.

As described in detail above, the refrigerator with an ice supply device according to the present invention is easy to manufacture and manufacturing cost because the opening and closing control device for opening and closing the outlet of the ice storage container is simpler than the conventional solenoid drive device of the ice supply device This has the effect of being saved.

In addition, the present invention is because the opening and closing control device for opening and closing the outlet of the ice storage container to open and close the opening and closing member by the manual operation of the user can prevent the operation noise generated from the conventional solenoid drive device can increase the consumer's reliability It works.

Claims (10)

An ice storage container provided with an outlet for discharging ice, an opening / closing member rotatably installed at an outlet side of the ice storage container to adjust the opening degree of the outlet, and installed outside the ice storage container for rotation opening and closing of the opening / closing member. Including the opening and closing control device which is operated by the user's manual operation, The opening and closing control device is to open and close the opening and closing member through an operation of pressing or releasing the outer surface of the opening and closing member according to the lifting lever of the control lever and the control lever is installed on the outer surface of the ice storage container. And a lifting projection protruding toward an outer surface of the opening and closing member. delete The method of claim 1, Refrigerator having an ice supply device on the outer surface of the opening and closing member is provided with a projection in contact with the lifting projection. The method of claim 3, The lifting projection has a refrigerator with an ice supply device, characterized in that the inclined surface is provided on the outer surface so that the lifting projection is easy to press and push the projection. The method of claim 1, The ice supply device further comprises a cover covering the front of the outlet side of the ice reservoir, the control lever of the opening and closing control device extends through the cover to the outside of the cover, the adjustment extending to the outside of the cover Refrigerator with an ice supply device, characterized in that the end of the lever is provided with a handle for the user to operate the control lever. An ice storage container provided with an outlet for discharging ice, an opening / closing member rotatably installed at an outlet side of the ice storage container to adjust the opening degree of the outlet, and installed outside the ice storage container for rotation opening and closing of the opening / closing member. Including the opening and closing control device which is operated by the user's manual operation, The opening and closing control device is one end is rotatably coupled to the ice reservoir and the other end of the control shaft extending toward the front of the ice reservoir and the operation of pressing or releasing the pressure on the outer surface of the opening and closing member according to the rotation of the control shaft. It includes a cam eccentrically mounted on the outer surface of the control shaft to open and close the opening and closing member through, The ice storage container is provided with a locking portion for limiting the rotation of the cam so that the rotation of the cam is restricted by the cam pressurizes the opening and closing member to maintain the closing of the opening and closing member, Refrigerator having an ice supply device, characterized in that the handle is provided at the end of the control shaft extending to the outside for the user to operate the control shaft. The method of claim 6, Refrigerator having an ice supply device, characterized in that the protrusion is provided on the outer surface of the opening and closing member in contact with the cam. delete delete The method of claim 1, A spiral shaft installed in the ice reservoir so as to transfer ice toward an outlet of the ice reservoir, a driving motor installed at the rear of the ice reservoir for driving the spiral shaft, and an ice grinding device installed at an outlet of the ice reservoir Refrigerator with an ice supply device characterized in that it further comprises.

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