KR100565609B1 - refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to a refrigerator having an ice making device capable of ensuring the effective space inside the freezer as much as possible, in which case the water supply of drinking water can be stably and smoothly, and a control method thereof. .

To this end, the present invention is the main body forming the appearance; A door mounted to the front of the main body so as to be opened and closed; An ice maker installed at an upper end of an inner wall of the door to ice ice and having a water supply part to receive drinking water; An ice bank installed at a bottom of the ice maker among the inner wall surfaces of the door to store the iced ice; A dispenser unit exposed to the outer wall of the door to receive and discharge ice from the ice bank; In addition, the side of the main body is mounted along one of the inner wall surface, the end of the drinking water is exposed to supply drinking water from the upper side of the ice maker into the water supply, and the other end of the drinking water is introduced into the outside of the main body Alternatively, the refrigerator is connected to a water purifier, and the like, and includes a drinking water supply pipe having a water supply valve on the pipeline.

Refrigerator, freezer door, ice maker, water valve control, door open

Description

Refrigerator {refrigerator}

1 is a perspective view showing a state in which an ice maker is installed in a conventional refrigerator

2 is a state diagram showing a correlation structure between a conventional ice maker and a dispenser unit

Figure 3 is a side cross-sectional view showing a state in which the ice maker of the conventional refrigerator is installed

4A is a side sectional view showing the structure of a first embodiment of a refrigerator having an ice making device of the present invention;

Figure 4b is a side cross-sectional view showing another example of the installation structure of the drinking water supply pipe of the structure of the first embodiment of the present invention

5 is a side sectional view showing a structure of a second embodiment of a refrigerator having an ice making device of the present invention;

Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings

100. Main unit 110. Freezer door

120. Ice suit 130. Dispenser

200. Ice maker 220. Water supply

300.Icebank 310.Auger

320. Crusher 400. Drinking water supply pipe

410. Water Supply Valve

The present invention relates to a refrigerator having an ice maker, and more particularly, to a refrigerator that enables water supply during the opening of a door for a freezer compartment even though it is configured as described above, as well as to improve the space efficiency of the freezer compartment as much as possible.

A general refrigerator ice maker plays a role of automatically providing the dispenser unit after ice making.

1 to 3 are attached to the mounting state of the above-mentioned conventional refrigerator ice maker, with reference to this will be described the structure of the conventional refrigerator ice maker.

First, the refrigerator includes a main body 10 having a freezer compartment and a refrigerating compartment and a door 11 to open and close the freezer compartment and the refrigerating compartment.

An ice maker is installed in the freezer compartment, and the door 11 has an ice chute 12 provided with ice iced by the ice maker and a lower portion of the ice chute 12. There is a dispenser 13 positioned and configured to enable the discharge of ice from the outside.

In addition, the ice maker includes a ice maker 20 for producing ice largely, and an ice bank 30 in which the manufactured ice is stored.

Here, the ice maker 20 is installed at the upper end of the freezer compartment, and the ice bank 30 is installed at the bottom of the ice maker 20.

The ice maker 20 has a body portion 21 formed in a substantially semi-cylindrical shape to form an ice making chamber, one side thereof is provided with a water supply portion 22 for guiding supply of drinking water for ice making. An ejector (not shown) is provided for taking out iced ice.

In addition, one end of the drinking water supply pipe 40 for supplying drinking water to the water supply part 22 is installed through the upper rear wall of the inside of the freezer compartment, and the other end of the drinking water supply pipe 40 may be provided outside the refrigerator. , Water purifier, etc.

At this time, the drinking water supply pipe 40 is equipped with a water supply valve 41 for the selective supply of drinking water.

In addition, the inside of the ice bank 30 is a spiral auger (auger) so that the ice stored in the ice bank 30 is provided in a state crushed toward the ice chute 12 provided in the door 11 ( 31 and a crusher 32 are provided.

At this time, the ice bank 30 has an ice outlet 33 formed at a predetermined portion of the lower surface of the ice bank 30 to open the upper surface to receive the ice dropped from the ice maker 20 and to discharge the received ice. This ice outlet 33 is positioned to correspond to the inlet end of the ice chute 12.

Therefore, when water is supplied to the ice making chamber of the ice maker 20 by the operation of the water supply valve 41, the drinking water is iced by the cold air in the freezing chamber.

When the deicing of the drinking water is completed, the ejector is driven while the ejector is driven, and the extracted ice falls to the bottom thereof and is accommodated in the ice bank 30.

At this time, if the operation of the dispenser 13 of the user is generated and the extraction of the ice is requested, the ice contained in the ice bank 30 passes through the crusher 32 by the auger 31 and then the door 11. It falls to the ice chute 12 with which it was provided, and is guided to the ice chute 12, and is provided to the dispenser part 13. As shown in FIG.

However, the above-mentioned refrigerator ice maker has a problem in that the effective space of the freezer compartment is reduced because the ice maker 20 and the ice bank 30 are provided inside the freezer compartment, thereby reducing the overall storage capacity.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems, to ensure the maximum effective space inside the freezer, in this case a refrigerator having an ice making device to ensure a stable and smooth water supply of drinking water and its control method The purpose is to provide.

According to one embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above object; A door mounted to the front of the main body so as to be opened and closed; An ice maker installed at an upper end of an inner wall of the door to ice ice and having a water supply part to receive drinking water; An ice bank installed at a bottom of the ice maker among the inner wall surfaces of the door to store the iced ice; A dispenser unit exposed to the outer wall of the door to receive and discharge ice from the ice bank; In addition, the side of the main body is mounted along one of the inner wall surface, the end of the drinking water is exposed to supply drinking water from the upper side of the ice maker into the water supply, and the other end of the drinking water is introduced into the outside of the main body Alternatively, the refrigerator is connected to a water purifier, and the like, on which a drinking water supply pipe having a water supply valve is provided.

In addition, according to another aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object; A door mounted to the front of the main body so as to be opened and closed; An ice maker installed at an upper end of an inner wall of the door to ice ice and having a water supply part to receive drinking water; An ice bank installed at a bottom of the ice maker among the inner wall surfaces of the door to store the iced ice; A dispenser unit exposed to the outer wall of the door to receive and discharge ice from the ice bank; And, the side is mounted along the inner wall surface of the door, the side of the drinking water discharged is exposed to supply drinking water from the upper side of the ice maker into the water supply, and the other end of the drinking water flows into the outside of the main body, Is connected to a water purifier, etc., on the pipe is provided with a refrigerator, characterized in that the drinking water supply pipe: is provided with a water supply valve.

In addition, the present invention to control the water supply to the refrigerator of the configuration according to each of the above-described form when the drinking water supply for performing the ice making, or when the supply of drinking water is performed to open the door provided with the ice maker. Confirming the first step; And, if it is confirmed that the door is open or open as a result of the check is provided a water supply control method comprising a second step: controlling the water supply valve to stop the supply of drinking water.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying Figures 4a, 4b and 5 will be described in detail the refrigerator according to each embodiment of the present invention.

First, the refrigerator according to the first embodiment of the present invention as shown in Figure 4a is largely the main body 100, the door, the ice maker 200, the ice bank 300, the dispenser 130, drinking water Supply pipe 400 is configured to be included.

Here, the main body 100 forms the exterior of a refrigerator, the front of which is opened, and the inside of the main body 100 has a refrigerator compartment and a freezer compartment, respectively.

In addition, the door is mounted to be opened and closed on the front of the main body, it is divided into a refrigerator compartment door (not shown) and the freezer compartment door 110, respectively.

In addition, the ice maker 200 is configured to ice ice, and is installed on the inner wall top of the freezer door 110.

At this time, the ice maker 200 is provided with a water supply unit 220 to receive drinking water.

The ice bank 300 is installed at the bottom of the ice maker 200 among the inner wall surfaces of the freezer door 110 to store the iced ice.

In the ice bank 300 as described above, an upper surface of the ice bank 300 is opened to receive the ice dropped from the ice maker 200, and an ice outlet 330 is formed at a predetermined portion of the lower surface of the ice bank 300 to discharge the received ice. The ice outlet 330 is positioned to correspond to the inlet end of the ice chute 120.

At this time, the ice bank 300 inside the spiral auger (auger) is provided so that the ice stored in the inside of the ice bank 300 is crushed toward the chute provided in the door for the freezer compartment (110) And a crusher (not shown) are provided.

In addition, the dispenser 130 is exposed to the outer wall surface of the freezer door 110 and serves to receive and discharge ice from the ice bank 300.

In addition, the drinking water supply pipe 400 is mounted along one of the inner wall surface of the main body 100, the side of the drinking water is discharged to the front side of the upper wall of the main body 100 is the upper side of the ice maker 200 The side that is exposed to supply drinking water through the side bottom surface and supplies the drinking water into the water supply unit 220 is connected to the water supply or the water purifier outside the main body 100.

At this time, the drinking water supply pipe 400 may be installed along the inside of the rear wall of the main body 100 and the inside of the upper wall of the main body 100, as shown in FIG. Likewise, it may be installed only inside the upper wall of the main body 100, and although not shown, may be installed along any of the side walls of both side walls of the main body 100.

In addition, a water supply valve 410 for opening and closing the flow path is provided on the pipeline of the drinking water supply pipe 400.

Hereinafter, the operation of the configuration according to the first embodiment of the present invention described above will be described.

First, the ice maker 200 continues the ice making operation until the ice in the ice bank 300 reaches a set amount.

This is performed by supplying drinking water to the ice making chamber of the ice maker 200 by the operation of the water supply valve 410, and continuously providing cool air in the freezing compartment to the ice making chamber.

At this time, the water supply of the drinking water by the water supply valve 410 is controlled to be performed for a certain time.

For example, if the water supply time is set to 7 seconds, the water supply valve 410 is operated to open the drinking water supply pipe only for 7 seconds.

In addition, if the drinking water supply pipe 400 is opened by the control of the water supply valve 410 in the above-described process, the drinking water is supplied from the tap water or a water purifier, and the rear wall of the main body 100 along the drinking water supply pipe 400. And water flows into the ice making chamber 220 through the discharge side of the drinking water supply pipe 400 passing through the upper wall front side bottom of the main body 100 while sequentially passing through the upper wall. do.

When the deicing of the drinking water is completed by the above-described process, the ejector ice is taken out while driving the ejector (not shown) and dropped to the bottom thereof to be accommodated in the ice bank 300.

If the extraction of the ice is requested by the user while the above-described process is performed, the ice contained in the ice bank 300 passes through the crusher by the auger and is provided on the inner wall surface of the freezer door 110. Falling to the ice chute 120, and is provided to the dispenser 130 by receiving the guidance of the ice chute 120.

However, despite the operation of the water supply valve 410 during the above-described series of processes, if the user who is not aware of this opens the freezer door 110, the water supply unit 220 of the ice maker 200 is operated. Since it is located on the inner wall surface of the freezer door 110 has a problem that the drinking water discharged through the discharge side of the drinking water supply pipe 400 is leaked into the freezer compartment or to the floor.

Accordingly, the present invention suggests that the supply of drinking water through the control of the water supply valve 400 can be selectively performed according to whether the freezing chamber door 110 is opened or closed, which will be described in detail later. As shown.

First, when a drinking water supply for performing ice making is necessary, a controller (not shown) for controlling the overall operation of the refrigerator continuously checks the opening of the freezer door 110 provided with the ice maker 200. .

In this case, the opening confirmation of the door 110 for the freezing compartment is possible by using a switch for confirming the opening of a general door, that is, a door switch (not shown).

And, if it is determined that the freezer compartment door 110 is open in the above process, the controller maintains a state in which it is forcibly blocked so that the drinking water is not supplied even though the supply cycle of the drinking water is made through the control of the water supply valve 400. Do it.

At this time, the controller continuously checks whether the freezer compartment door 110 is closed by using the door switch, and only when the freezer compartment door 110 is confirmed to be closed so that the supply of drinking water can be performed.

If the opening of the freezing compartment door 110 is confirmed while the water supply is being performed, the controller stops the counter according to the water supply time and forcibly controls the water supply valve 410 to control the drinking water supply pipe 400. ) To achieve a blocked state.

Then, if it is confirmed that the door 110 for the freezer compartment is closed, the controller controls the water supply valve 410 to achieve the drinking water supply pipe 400 is opened, and performing the counter according to the stopped water supply time Proceed.

For example, even though the water supply must be made for 7 seconds, if the freezer door 110 is opened in the state where only the water supply is made for 4 seconds and the counter stops, the controller 110 closes the freezer door 110 again. To control the water supply valve 410 to perform additional water supply for a second.

On the other hand, Figure 5 is shown the configuration of a refrigerator according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

That is, according to the second embodiment of the present invention, the ice maker 200 and the ice bank 300 are provided in the freezer door 110 in the same manner as the configuration according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Together the drinking water supply pipe 400 is presented to be mounted along the inner wall surface of the freezer door 110.

That is, in the second embodiment of the present invention, the drinking water supply pipe 400 is installed directly on the freezing chamber door 110 provided with the ice maker 200 to simplify the overall structure.

At this time, the drinking water discharged to the upper end of the drinking water supply pipe 400 is exposed through the inner wall surface of the freezer compartment door 110 to supply drinking water from the upper side of the ice maker 200 into the water supply unit 220. In addition, the lower side of the drinking water is introduced to the water or outside the main body 100, it is proposed to be connected to the water purifier.

In addition, a water supply valve 410 for opening and closing the flow path is provided on the pipeline of the drinking water supply pipe 400.

Therefore, since the ice maker 200 and the ice bank 300 are not installed in the freezer compartment of the refrigerator according to the second embodiment of the present invention, the effective space can be wider and the freezer door 110 can be opened. It has the advantage that water supply for ice making is possible during the process.

However, in the second embodiment of the present invention, although the operation of the water supply valve 410 is made, if the user who does not recognize this opens the freezer compartment door 110, the water flows into the water supply unit 220 by shaking. Not only can the drinking water leak to the outside, there is also a problem that the drinking water supplied to the ice making chamber of the ice maker 200 may overflow.

Accordingly, in the case where the freezing compartment door 110 is open or in an open state, it is preferable to stop the water supply through the drinking water supply pipe 400, which is freezing during the control process according to the first embodiment of the present invention described above. When the utility door 110 is open or in an open state, it is achieved by setting the same as a series of processes for controlling the water supply valve 410.

As described above, the refrigerator according to the present invention has an effect of ensuring the effective space inside the freezer compartment as much as possible by mounting the ice maker and the ice bank inside the freezer door.

In particular, when the freezer door is equipped with an ice maker and an ice bank, if the door is opened while the drinking water is being supplied, there is a risk of leakage of drinking water, but the control method according to the present invention Despite the opening, the leakage of drinking water can be prevented.

Claims (6)

A main body forming an appearance; A door mounted to the front of the main body so as to be opened and closed; An ice maker installed at an upper end of an inner wall of the door to ice ice and having a water supply part to receive drinking water; An ice bank installed at a bottom of the ice maker among the inner wall surfaces of the door to store the iced ice; A dispenser unit exposed to the outer wall of the door to receive and discharge ice from the ice bank; And, One side of the main body is mounted along the inside of the wall, and one end of the drinking water is exposed to supply drinking water from the upper side of the ice maker to the water supply, and the other end of the drinking water flows into the outside of the main body, The refrigerator, which is connected to a water purifier, includes a drinking water supply pipe having a water supply valve on the pipeline. The method of claim 1, The side to which the drinking water of the drinking water supply pipe is discharged Refrigerator, characterized in that exposed to penetrate through the front bottom of the front wall of the main body. The method of claim 2, The drinking water supply pipe is a refrigerator, characterized in that installed along the inner wall of any one of the rear wall, or both side walls of the main body. A main body forming an appearance; A door mounted to the front of the main body so as to be opened and closed; An ice maker installed at an upper end of an inner wall of the door to ice ice and having a water supply part to receive drinking water; An ice bank installed at a bottom of the ice maker among the inner wall surfaces of the door to store the iced ice; A dispenser unit exposed to the outer wall of the door to receive and discharge ice from the ice bank; And, Mounted along the inner wall surface of the door, the end of the drinking water is exposed to supply drinking water from the upper side of the ice maker into the water supply, and the other end of the drinking water is introduced into the water or water purifier outside the main body, etc. Is connected, the refrigerator comprises a drinking water supply pipe: the water supply valve is provided on the pipeline. A first step of confirming the opening of the door with an ice maker when a drinking water supply for performing ice making is necessary or when the drinking water is supplied; And, And a second step of controlling the water supply valve to stop the supply of drinking water if it is determined that the door is open or opened as a result of the checking. The method of claim 5, wherein When opening of the door occurs during the water supply of drinking water in each step Stopping the execution of the counter according to the water supply time; Continuously checking whether the door is closed, and if the door is closed, controlling a water supply valve to resume supply of drinking water and simultaneously performing a counter for the remaining water supply time; and further comprising a refrigerator. Control method of water supply.

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