KR100640234B1 - Ice maker assembly for refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

An ice maker assembly for a refrigerator is provided to reduce manufacturing cost by reducing the number of parts, and manufacturing time by decreasing process owing to inserting a fitting projection to a fitting groove. An ice maker assembly consists of an ice maker making ice, an ice bank receiving ice from the ice maker, a transfer motor(67) applying driving force to discharge ice from the ice bank, and a placing unit(70) fixed in a rear part of a door of a refrigerator in mounting the ice maker, the ice bank and the transfer motor. The placing unit has a placing body(71) seated in a placing space in the rear part of the door to install the ice bank, a fixing piece(75) formed in an upper part of the placing body to fix the ice maker, a motor installation part(76) having the transfer motor driving a transfer lever in the ice bank, and a fixing unit fastening the placing body in the rear part of the door.

Description

Ice maker assembly for refrigerator {Ice maker assembly for refrigerator}

1 is a side sectional view showing a main portion of a refrigerator according to the prior art;

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a motor casing installation structure in the refrigerator shown in FIG.

Figure 3 is a side cross-sectional view showing the main part of the refrigerator provided with a preferred embodiment of the refrigerator ice maker assembly according to the present invention.

4 is a perspective view showing an exploded state of the embodiment shown in FIG.

5 is a perspective view showing a state in which the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 is installed.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

50: main body 51: outer case

52: inner case 53: freezer

55: door 56: outdoor

57: door liner 58: seating space

58a: support end 58b: support end

58c: opening 58d: protrusion

59: shroud 59a: discharge port

61: heat exchange chamber 63: blowing fan

65: ice maker 67: transfer motor

70: seating hole 71: seating body

73: installation space 74: opening

75: fixed piece 76: motor mounting portion

77: hanging groove 80: cold duct

81: Euro

The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to an ice maker assembly for a refrigerator for installing a transfer motor that provides a driving force for taking out to the outside through a dispenser.

1 illustrates a main part of a refrigerator according to the prior art, and FIG. 2 illustrates a motor casing installation structure of the refrigerator illustrated in FIG. 1.

As shown therein, the inner case 12 is coupled to the inner side of the outer case 11 forming the exterior of the refrigerator body 10. The freezer compartment 13 is formed by the inner case 12, and a door 15 is provided at one side of the main body 10 to selectively open and close the freezer compartment 13. The door 15 is composed of an outdoor 16 forming its exterior and a door liner 17 coupled to the inside of the outdoor 16.

The shroud 19 is provided in the freezer compartment 13. The shroud 19 is spaced apart from the rear surface of the freezing chamber 13 by a predetermined interval, and the shroud 19 has a plurality of discharge ports 19a through which cold air is discharged into the freezing chamber 13. It is provided.

The heat exchange chamber 21 is formed by the rear end of the freezing chamber 13 and the rear surface of the shroud 19. An evaporator (not shown) is provided below the heat exchange chamber 21 to form cold air, and an upper part of the heat exchange chamber 21 is a blower fan for discharging cold air heat-exchanged by the evaporator to the freezing chamber 13. 23 is provided.

An ice maker 25 is provided at an upper portion of the freezing chamber 13 corresponding to the front of the blowing fan 23. The ice maker 25 is installed long left and right on an upper portion of the freezing chamber 13 adjacent to the shroud 19. The ice maker 25 serves to produce ice and deliver it to the ice bank 31 to be described below.

A motor casing 29 is installed at one side of the freezing compartment 13 corresponding to the lower side of the ice maker 25. The inside of the motor casing 29 is provided with a transfer motor 27 for driving the transfer lever 31a to be described below. As shown in FIG. 2, motor brackets 33 are provided on both side surfaces of the motor casing 29 to fix the motor casing 29 to the inside of the freezing compartment 13.

The motor bracket 33 is formed long in the longitudinal direction, and insertion protrusions 34 are provided at upper and lower sides of one surface of the motor bracket 33 which is in close contact with the inner case 12 corresponding to both sides of the freezing compartment 13. do. The insertion protrusions 34 are respectively inserted into insertion holes 13a formed at one side of the inner case 12.

A through hole 35 is formed in the center of the motor bracket 33 corresponding to the insertion protrusions 34. The fastening screw S1 penetrating the through hole 35 is fastened to the fastening hole 13b formed in the inner case 12, so that one side of the inner side of the inner case 12 of the motor bracket 33 is closed. It is fixed in close contact with one side.

In addition, fastening ribs 36 are provided at upper and lower ends of the motor bracket 33, respectively. The fastening ribs 36 are in close contact with upper and lower ends of the front sides of the motor casing 29, and the fastening screws 36 are fastened to the fastening ribs 36 fastening with both upper and lower ends of the front sides of the motor casing 29. Through holes (not shown) are respectively formed

An ice bank 31 is provided on the front surface of the motor casing 29. The ice bank 31 serves to transfer the ice received from the ice maker 25 to a dispenser (not shown) so that the user can take out ice from the outside. To this end, the inside of the ice bank 31 is provided with a transfer lever 31a driven by the transfer motor 27. One end of the transfer lever 31a is connected to the drive shaft of the transfer motor 27.

However, the refrigerator according to the prior art configured as described above has the following problems.

As described above, the motor bracket 33 and the fastening screw (S1) (S2) is additionally required to fix the motor casing (29) to the interior of the freezing compartment (13). Therefore, a disadvantage arises in that the number of required parts for installing the motor casing 29 is increased.

In addition, the motor casing 29 has a process of fixing the motor bracket 33 on the front surface thereof, and a process of fixing the motor bracket 33 to the inner case 12, both of which are performed in the freezing chamber ( 13) is fixed inside. Therefore, there is a disadvantage that the work of fixing the motor casing 33 becomes cumbersome.

The present invention is to solve such a conventional problem, it is an object of the present invention to provide a motor casing for a refrigerator configured to reduce the number of parts required for the installation of the motor casing.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a motor casing for a refrigerator configured to be installed more simply.

According to a feature of the present invention for achieving the above object, an ice maker for producing ice, an ice bank for receiving the ice produced by the ice maker, and a driving force for taking out the ice delivered to the ice bank to the outside It comprises a transfer motor for providing, and the seating port is fixed to the back of the refrigerator door in the state in which the ice maker and the ice bank and the transfer motor is installed.

The seating port is seated on the seating space provided on the back of the door, the seating body is formed with an installation space for the ice bank is installed; A fixing piece provided at an upper end of the seating body and fixed with an ice maker; A motor installation unit provided at one side of the seating port body and installed with a transfer motor for driving a transfer lever provided in the ice bank; And fixing means for fixing the seating body main body seated in the seating space to the rear surface of the door; It is configured to include.

The seating body is formed in a hexahedral shape of the upper surface and the front opening is provided with the installation space therein, the motor mounting portion is characterized in that provided on the opposite side of the installation space relative to the rear surface of the seating body. .

Both sides of the seating body are in close contact with the inside of the support end provided on both sides of the rear surface of the door, the bottom surface of the seating body is in close contact with the seating end provided on the back of the door corresponding to the support end. It is characterized by.

The fixing means includes a locking protrusion provided on either one of both side surfaces of the seating port body and the inner side of the support end, and a locking protrusion provided on the other of both side surfaces of the seating port body and the inner side of the support end. Characterized in that it is a home.

According to the ice maker assembly for refrigerators according to the present invention as described above, the number of parts required for fixing the ice maker assembly is reduced, and the ice maker assembly can be fixed more simply.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, a configuration of a preferred embodiment of the ice maker assembly for a refrigerator according to the present invention will be described in more detail.

3 shows a main part of a refrigerator provided with a preferred embodiment of the ice maker assembly for a refrigerator according to the present invention, and FIGS. 4 and 5 show a state in which the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 is separated / installed.

As shown in the figure, the outer case 51 forms the exterior of the refrigerator main body 50. An inner case 52 is coupled to the inside of the outer case 51, and a freezing compartment 53 is formed by the inner case 52. The freezing chamber 53 is formed in a hexahedral shape, the front of which is approximately opened, and is selectively opened and closed by a door 55 rotatably installed around one end of the main body 50.

In addition, a shroud 59 is provided in the freezing compartment 53. The shroud 59 is positioned in parallel with the rear surface of the freezing chamber 53, and a heat exchange chamber 61 is provided at a rear end of the freezing chamber 53 partitioned by the shroud 59. In addition, the shroud 59 is provided with a plurality of discharge ports 59a for discharging cold air into the freezing chamber 53.

The lower part of the heat exchange chamber 61 is provided with an evaporator (not shown) for forming cold air. And a blowing fan 63 is provided on the heat exchange chamber 61. The blowing fan 63 serves to discharge the cold air heat-correlated with the evaporator to the inside of the freezing chamber 53 through the discharge port 59a.

On the other hand, the door 55 is composed of an outdoor 56 that forms the exterior, and a door liner 57 that is coupled to the inside of the outdoor 56 to form a rear surface. 4 and 5, the rear surface of the door 55 is provided with a seating space 58 having an upper surface and a front surface opened.

Both ends of the rear surface of the door 55 are provided with support ends 58a which form both sides of the seating space 58. The support end 58a is formed by protruding a portion of the door liner 57 to the rear of the door 55 by a predetermined length, and is provided vertically on the rear surface of the door 55.

The rear end of the door 55 corresponding to the support end 58a is provided with a seating end 58b that forms a bottom surface of the seating space 58 horizontally. The seating end 58b is formed by recessing a part of the door liner 57 to the rear of the door 55 to install a dispenser (not shown), and the dispenser is disposed at one side of the seating end 58b. An opening 58c for supplying ice to the furnace is provided.

Engaging projections 58d are provided on one surface of the support end 58a corresponding to both side surfaces of the seating space 58 facing each other. The locking protrusion 58d is for fixing the seat 70 seated in the seating space 58 and protrudes by a predetermined length at positions corresponding to each other on one surface of the support end 58a facing each other. .

Meanwhile, the ice maker assembly is mounted in the seating space 58. The ice maker assembly is an ice maker 65 for producing ice, an ice bank (not shown) to which the ice produced by the ice maker 65 is delivered, and the ice delivered to the ice bank to the outside through the dispenser. It comprises a transfer motor 67 for providing a driving force for taking out, and the seat 70 is provided with the ice maker 65 and the ice bank and the transfer motor 65.

The seating body 71 of the seating hole 70 is formed in a shape corresponding to the seating space 58, that is, a hexahedral shape in which an upper surface and a front surface are opened. In the state where the seating body 71 is seated in the seating space 58, the rear surface, both sides, and the bottom surface thereof are in close contact with the inner case 52, the support end 58a, and the seating end 58b, respectively. .

In addition, an installation space 73 is provided inside the seating port body 71. The installation space 73 is for installation of the ice bank, and is formed in a hexahedral shape in which an upper surface and a front surface are opened corresponding to the shape of the seating port body 71. An opening 74 communicating with the opening 58c of the support end 58a is provided at one side of the bottom surface of the installation space 73.

In addition, the fixing piece 75 is provided on the upper rear side of the seating body 71. The fixing piece 75 is formed by extending a predetermined height upward from the center of the rear surface of the seating body 71, and the ice maker 65 is fixed to the fixing piece 75. The ice maker 65 may be fixed to the fixing piece 75 by using a separate fastener or structurally fixed by both shapes.

The lower portion of the seating body 71 is provided with a motor mounting portion 76. The motor installation unit 76 is formed by recessing a portion of the rear surface of the seating hole 70 into the installation space 73. That is, the motor installation unit 76 is provided on the opposite side of the installation space 73 relative to the rear surface of the seating port body 71.

On the other hand, the engaging grooves 77 are formed on both side surfaces of the seating port body 71, respectively. The locking projection (77d) is inserted into the locking groove (77) in the state in which the seating hole main body (71) is seated in the mounting space (58). The locking groove 77 is formed at a position corresponding to the locking protrusion 58d in a state in which the bottom surface of the seating port body 71 is in close contact with the mounting end 58b.

And again referring to Figure 3, the cold air duct 80 is provided in the ceiling of the freezing compartment 53 long in front and rear. The cold air duct 80 is for transmitting cold air to the ice maker 65, the inside of the cold air duct 80 of the cold air discharged into the freezing chamber 53 by the blowing fan 63. A predetermined flow path 81 for flowing a portion to the ice maker 65 is provided. The cold air duct 80 may be fixed to the ceiling of the freezing compartment 53 by a separate fastener such as a screw.

The rear end of the flow path 81 communicates with any one of the discharge ports 59a, and the front end of the flow path 81 is positioned adjacent to the ice maker 65. The flow path 81 is formed such that the flow cross-sectional area decreases toward the front end thereof adjacent to the ice maker 65 at the rear end thereof communicating with the discharge port 59a.

Hereinafter, a process of installing a preferred embodiment of the ice maker assembly for a refrigerator according to the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

First, as shown in FIG. 4, the ice maker assembly is positioned above the seating space 58. At this time, the seating hole 70 is the ice maker 65, the ice bank, the transfer motor 67 is installed. That is, the ice bank is installed in the installation space 73, the ice maker 65 is fixed to the fixing piece (75). In addition, the transfer motor 67 is installed in the motor installation unit 76.

Then, the seating port 70 is moved downward to be seated in the seating space 58. As described above, in the process of mounting the seating hole 70 in the seating space 58, the locking protrusion 58d is inserted into the locking groove 77. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, the seating hole 70 is fixed in a seated state in the seating space 58.

Next, a process of flowing cold air in a refrigerator equipped with a preferred embodiment of the refrigerator ice maker assembly according to the present invention will be described in detail.

First, cold air is generated by heat exchange between the refrigerant flowing in the evaporator installed in the heat exchange chamber 61 and the air surrounding the evaporator. The cold air generated as described above flows to the upper portion of the heat exchange chamber 61 by driving the blower fan 63.

The cool air flowing to the upper portion of the heat exchange chamber 61 is discharged into the freezing chamber 53 through the discharge port 59a of the shroud 59 by the continuous driving of the blower fan 63. The cold air discharged into the freezing chamber 53 cools the food stored in the freezing chamber 53.

On the other hand, a part of the cold air flowing into the freezing chamber 53 by the blower fan 63 is transferred to the flow path 81 provided in the cold air duct 80. The cold air flowing along the flow path 81 of the cold air duct 80 flows to the ice maker 65 installed on the rear surface of the door 55.

At this time, the flow path 81 is formed such that the flow cross-sectional area of the front end adjacent to the ice maker 65 is reduced compared to the rear end adjacent to the discharge port 59a. Therefore, cold air flowing through the flow path 81 may be concentrated on the ice maker 65.

The ice maker 65 manufactures ice using cold air flowing by the cold air duct 80. In this way, the ice produced by the ice maker 65 is delivered to the ice bank and is taken out through the dispenser by a transfer lever driven by the transfer motor 67.

Within the scope of the basic technical idea of the present invention, many modifications are possible to those skilled in the art, and the scope of the present invention should be interpreted based on the appended claims. will be.

According to the refrigerator ice maker assembly according to the present invention configured as described above is expected the following effects.

First, the ice maker assembly is fixed by inserting the locking protrusions provided on both sides of the seating space provided on the rear surface of the door into the locking grooves provided on both sides of the seating hole. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the number of parts required to install the ice maker assembly, it is possible to reduce the production cost of the product.

The locking protrusion is inserted into the locking groove by the operation of mounting the seating hole in the seating space. Therefore, by reducing the number of processes required for the installation of the ice maker assembly, it is possible to reduce the time required to manufacture the product.

Claims (5)

Ice maker to make ice, An ice bank receiving the ice manufactured by the ice maker, A transfer motor providing a driving force for taking out the ice delivered to the ice bank to the outside; An ice maker assembly for a refrigerator comprising a seating hole fixed to a rear surface of a refrigerator door in a state where the ice maker, an ice bank, and a transfer motor are installed. The method of claim 1, The seating mouth, A seating port body seated in a seating space provided on the rear surface of the door and having an installation space for installing an ice bank; A fixing piece provided at an upper end of the seating body and fixed with an ice maker; A motor installation unit provided at one side of the seating port body and installed with a transfer motor for driving a transfer lever provided in the ice bank; And Fixing means for fixing the seating body main body seated in the seating space to the rear surface of the door; Refrigerator ice maker assembly characterized in that comprises a. The method of claim 2, The seating sphere main body is formed in a hexahedral shape of the upper surface and the front opening is provided with the installation space therein, The motor installation unit is an ice maker assembly for a refrigerator, characterized in that provided on the opposite side of the installation space with respect to the back of the seating body. The method of claim 2 or 3, Both sides of the seating body is in close contact with the inside of the support end provided on both sides of the rear surface of the door, The bottom surface of the seating sphere body is in close contact with the seating end provided on the back of the door corresponding to the support between the ice maker assembly for the refrigerator. The method of claim 4, wherein The fixing means, A locking protrusion provided on either one of both side surfaces of the seating port body and the inner side of the support end; Ice maker assembly for a refrigerator, characterized in that the locking groove is provided on the other of the two sides of the seating port and the inner side of the support end is a locking groove is inserted.

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