KR100662445B1 - Ice maker - Google Patents

Abstract

An ice maker is provided to increase the ice making space by discharging ices by using a space secured when an ice making tray is rotated. An ice maker includes an ice making tray(110), a shaft(102), a heater(104), and a water drop preventing section. At least one ice making chamber in which an ice is frozen is formed in the ice making tray. The ice making tray is rotatably installed. The shaft rotatably supports the ice making tray. The heater separates the ices from the ice making chamber. The water drop preventing section forms a space in which water is collected on one side of the ice making tray to prevent the water flowing in the ice making chamber from dropping to the exterior of the ice making tray when the ice making tray is rotated. The water drop preventing section is formed on a side surface moving downward when the ice making tray is rotated.

Description

Ice maker {Ice maker}

1 is a perspective view showing a conventional general ice making apparatus;

2 is a schematic view showing an operation of the ice making apparatus of FIG.

3 is a schematic view showing a part of a refrigerator according to the present invention;

4 is a perspective view showing an example of an ice making apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

5 is a cross-sectional view showing an example in which the rotating shaft is provided on one side of the ice tray in the ice making apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

6 is a perspective view showing an example having two ice trays side by side in the ice making apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

7 is an exploded perspective view showing an ice tray of the ice making apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

8 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where ice is iced on the ice tray of the ice maker according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

9 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the ice tray of the ice making apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention is inclined at a predetermined angle;

10 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which ice is discharged by inclining an ice tray of the ice making apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

11 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which an ice tray of an ice making apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention is returned to an initial state;

12 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where ice is iced on an ice tray of an ice maker according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which ice is discharged due to an inclination of the ice tray of the ice making apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

14 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which an ice tray of an ice making apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention is returned to an initial state;

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view illustrating ice being iced on an ice tray of an ice maker according to a third embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

16 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which ice is discharged by inclining the ice making tray of the ice making apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention at a predetermined angle; And,

FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which an ice tray of an ice making apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention is returned to an initial state. FIG.

* Explanation of symbols on major parts of drawing *

100: ice maker 102: shaft

104: heater 106: drive device

108: water supply unit 110: ice tray

112: ice making room 114: partition plate

116 unit room 120 ice bank

122: ice 130: water fall prevention unit

132: fall prevention plate 134: space

136: Euro 138: sealing member

139: home 140: water

The present invention relates to an ice making apparatus having a simple structure and capable of separating ice from an ice making tray with a small amount of energy.

A typical refrigerator is divided into a freezer compartment and a refrigerator compartment, and the refrigerator compartment is maintained at a temperature of about 3 to 4 ° C. so that food and vegetables can be kept fresh and long, and the freezer compartment has a temperature below zero to keep meat and food frozen. Is maintained.

Recently, the refrigerator has an ice making device that automatically performs a series of processes related to ice making without user interaction, and an ice making device for conveniently obtaining ice, and a dispenser for making ice or water available outside the refrigerator. Various functions are being added to the refrigerator to make it easier to use. 1 and 2 illustrate an example of an icemaker for a refrigerator, which will be described in more detail below with reference to these drawings.

The general ice making apparatus 10 includes an ice making tray 11 forming an ice making chamber in which ice is generated, a water supply unit 12 formed at one side of the ice making tray 11, and supplying water to the ice making chamber, and the ice making tray. The heater 17 mounted on the lower surface of the 11, an ejector 14 for discharging the ice generated by the ice making tray 11 to the outside, and a driving device 13 for driving the ejector 14. And an ice bank 20 for receiving and storing the ice generated by the ice making tray 11, and a full ice detection device 15 for detecting the amount of ice filled in the ice bank 20. .

The water supply unit 12 is connected to a water supply source (not shown) outside the refrigerator, and supplies water into the ice tray 11 when the ice making is required. The ice tray 11 has a substantially semi-cylindrical cross section and has partition plates for separating the ice tray into a plurality of unit chambers so that a plurality of pieces of ice can be produced in the ice tray 11.

The heater 17 is mounted on the lower surface of the ice making tray 11 as shown in FIG. 2, and the ice is separated from the ice making tray 11 by heating the ice making tray 11 to melt the ice. Let it be.

The ejector 14 includes a rotating shaft installed to cross the center of the ice making tray 11 and a plurality of ejector pins 14a protruding vertically from the rotating shaft. Each ejector pin 14a is installed in a one-to-one correspondence in each unit chamber partitioned by the partition plates, so that the ice in each unit chamber is released from the ice making tray 11 as the ejector pin 14a rotates. Discharged.

On the side where the ice is discharged from the ice making tray 11, the slide 16 is inclined downward to the vicinity of the rotating shaft of the ejector 14. Therefore, the ice discharged from the ice making tray 11 is stored in the ice bank 20 disposed under the ice making device 10 after sliding on the slide 16.

The ice detection device 15 checks the amount of ice filled in the ice bank 20 while moving in the vertical direction by the driving device 13. If the ice bank 20 is filled with ice, the ice detection device 15 may not be sufficiently lowered, thereby detecting whether the ice bank 20 is full.

The above-mentioned general ice maker for a refrigerator requires a heater, an ejector, and a driving device for the ejector to separate the ice from the ice tray. In addition, in order to detect whether or not the ice bank is full, a full ice detection device and a driving device therefor are required. Therefore, there is a problem that many components are complicated and the production cost increases.

In addition, in a typical refrigerator ice maker, the ice detection device should rotate to detect whether the ice bank is full. Therefore, a large space for the rotation of the ice detection device should be secured next to the ice tray. Therefore, the size of the ice making tray was inevitably designed to be relatively small, thereby making it impossible to produce a large amount of ice in a short time.

In addition, a general refrigerator ice maker should sufficiently heat the ice tray using the heater before the ice in the ice tray is used to spread the ice in the ice tray. This is because the ice can be separated from the ice tray without damaging the ejector and drive. Therefore, the heater must be heated for a long time, whereby a large amount of energy is consumed. In addition, since the ice melts excessively, water is also splashed together when the ice is discharged by the ejector. Water splashed out of the ice making tray is introduced into the ice bank and binds the ice in the ice bank. Thereby, there is a problem that it is difficult to automatically discharge the ice in the ice bank to the dispenser of the refrigerator.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problem, and its object is to simplify the structure of the ice making apparatus.

Another object of the present invention is to improve the structure of the ice making apparatus so that a large amount of ice can be produced in a short time.

Another object of the present invention is to reduce the energy consumption of the ice making apparatus for ice-making.

Still another object of the present invention is to minimize the amount of thawing required for ice-feeding or to effectively prevent falling water from falling ice from the ice making apparatus.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is formed with at least one ice-making chamber for freezing ice, and the ice tray is rotatably provided; An axis for rotatably supporting the ice tray; A heater separating the ice from the ice making chamber; Provides an ice making device comprising: a water fall prevention unit for forming a space in which water flows on one side of the ice making tray to prevent water flowing in the ice making chamber from falling out of the ice making tray when the ice making tray is rotated.

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

3 schematically shows a refrigerator to which an ice making apparatus according to the present invention is applied. The refrigerator according to the present invention has at least one cooling chamber, for example, a refrigerating chamber 1 and a freezing chamber 2. The cooling chambers comprise an evaporator 4, a compressor 3, and a cooling fan 5 for supplying cool air around the evaporator 4 to the cooling chambers. The cooling chambers may be cooled by one evaporator 4 and one cooling fan 5 or may be independently cooled by a plurality of evaporators and cooling fans. The freezing chamber 2 is provided with an ice making apparatus 100 according to the present invention for making ice, and an ice bank 120 for receiving and storing ice made by the ice making apparatus 100 under the ice making apparatus 100. ) Is placed.

In the ice making apparatus 100 according to the present invention, an ice making tray is rotatable unlike a general ice making apparatus. Thus, the self-weight of the ice can be used at the time of ice, thereby reducing the energy required to separate the ice from the ice tray. The ice making apparatus 100 according to the present invention is provided with a separating device and a discharging device to help discharge of ice by the rotation of the ice tray. The separating device and the discharging device independently or in combination with heat or kinetic energy at the boundary between the ice and the ice making tray to effectively assist the discharge of ice during rotation of the ice making tray.

4 to 11, the first embodiment of the ice making apparatus of the present invention will be described.

The ice making chamber 112 which receives water to produce ice has a semi-cylindrical shape with, for example, an open top. As shown in FIG. 4, one ice tray 112 may be provided in one ice tray 109, and two ice trays 112 may be arranged in a single ice tray 110 as shown in FIG. 6. have. Of course, a plurality of the ice making chambers 112 may be provided in the ice making tray 110 or may have a shape other than a semi-cylindrical shape.

In the ice making apparatus 100 according to the present invention, there are no components, such as a conventional ice cream detecting device, which requires a large radius of rotation. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the ice tray 110 of the ice making apparatus 100 according to the present invention can make the width of the ice tray 110 much larger than that of the conventional art, so that the plurality of ice trays 112 can be arranged side by side. As a result, a large amount of ice can be produced at one time.

The ice making chamber is divided into a plurality of unit chambers 116 by a plurality of partition plates 114 protruding from the inner circumferential surface of the ice making tray 110. Accordingly, the ice making tray 110 is formed by a plurality of pieces of ice at a time. I can make it. The partition plates 114 are elongated along the direction of rotation of the ice tray 110, for example, so that the ice can be smoothly discharged when the ice tray 110 is rotated.

The conventional ice tray 110 required a slide for guiding the ice discharged by the ejector to an ice bank disposed under the ice maker. However, the ice making apparatus 100 according to the present invention rotates the ice making tray 110 to discharge the ice in the ice making tray 110 to the ice bank 120. Therefore, since the components corresponding to the conventional slides may not be provided in the ice tray 110, the structure of the ice tray 110 is simple.

One side of the ice making tray 110 is provided with a water supply unit 108 for supplying water to the ice making chamber. The water supply unit 108 is connected to an external water supply source, and supplies a predetermined amount of water to the ice making chamber 112 when ice making is required in a state where ice in the ice making tray 110 is iced.

For example, the ice tray 110 may be installed to rotate about an axis 102 disposed at the center thereof, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, or at one side thereof as shown in FIG. 5. It may be installed to rotate about the axis (102a) disposed. When the shaft 102 of the ice making tray 110 is disposed on one side of the ice making tray 110, the rotation radius of the ice making tray 110 is increased.

In order to rotate the ice tray 110, a driving device 106 is provided at one side of the ice tray 110. The driving device 106 includes a driving component (not shown) connected to a driving shaft (not shown) substantially coaxial with the shaft 102, and the ice making tray 110 is connected to the driving shaft. The driving device 106 may be configured to rotate the ice tray 110 in a forward direction and a reverse direction or continuously rotate in one direction.

In order to prevent the wires connecting the driving device 106 and the components that may be mounted on the ice making tray 110 by the rotation of the ice making tray 110, the driving device of the driving device 106 is It is preferable that the forward / reverse rotation is possible. Meanwhile, the driving device 106 may include a step motor configured to rotate the ice making tray 110 in a forward or reverse direction by a predetermined angle, for example, 180 ° or 90 °.

Meanwhile, the ice making tray 110 may be detachably connected to the driving device 106. Then, ice trays having various shapes and ice making capacities can be selectively mounted and used. Therefore, not only can the user's preference be met, but the amount of single ice making can be adjusted accordingly.

In addition, a temperature sensor (not shown) may be installed at one side of the ice making tray 110 to determine whether the ice making is completed by measuring the temperature of the ice making tray 110.

And, in the ice tray, separating means for heating the ice to be separated from the ice tray 110 is provided. In general, as the separating means, a heater for separating ice and an ice making tray using heat is applied.

The heater 104 may be mounted to be in physical contact with the ice making tray 110 or may be disposed away from the ice making tray 110 by a predetermined distance. For reference, FIGS. 4 to 6 illustrate an example in which the heater 104 is disposed to cross the bottom surface of the ice making tray 110.

In addition, although not shown in the drawing, the heater 104 may be arranged to surround one surface, for example, a bottom surface of the ice making tray 110. The heater 104 may be embedded in the ice tray 110 or may be provided on an inner surface of the ice tray 110. Furthermore, at least a part of the ice making tray 110 may be configured to perform a role of the heater by being made of a heat generating resistor when electricity is applied.

As another example, the ice making apparatus 100 may include a heat source, which is different from the heater, disposed away from the ice making tray 110. Examples of the heat source may include a light source for irradiating light to at least one of the ice and the ice making tray 110, or a magnetron for irradiating microwaves to at least one of the ice and the ice making tray.

As described above, a heat source such as a heater, a light source, or a magnetron applies at least one of the ice and the ice making tray 110 or a boundary thereof to the at least one portion of the ice and the ice making tray 110. Melt it slightly. Accordingly, when the ice tray 110 is rotated, the ice is separated from the ice tray 110 by its own weight even when the boundary surface is not thawed.

Therefore, according to the present invention, since the ice can be performed even if a small amount of energy is input than the conventional ice making device, the energy consumption can be reduced. Of course, since the amount of thawing is small, less water is generated during ice-taking, thereby effectively preventing water from falling from the ice making tray 110 to the ice bank 120 during ice-taking.

On the other hand, when a heat source such as the heater 104 is arranged to heat the ice tray 110, the ice tray 110 is gradually heated to melt the interface with the ice. However, the portion adjacent to the heat source of the interface melts quickly and much, while the portion away from the heat source melts late and less. Therefore, even if the ice making tray 110 is inverted and iced using the own weight of the ice, it is difficult to completely prevent the occurrence of excessive excessive sea ice on the interface.

Therefore, in order to effectively prevent the ice melts excessively and the water falls during the rotation of the ice tray 110, a method and time for supplying the thermal energy supplied to the interface between the ice and the ice tray 110, etc. It would be desirable to control appropriately.

To this end, the present invention proposes to apply high energy to the boundary between the ice tray 110 and the ice in a short time. For example, when a high voltage is instantaneously applied to the heater 104 that heats the ice making tray 110, the heater 104 instantly generates a high temperature and thus the ice making tray 110 also heats instantly. At least partly melts the interface between the ice and the ice tray. At this time, if the ice tray 110 is already rotated or rotates, the ice is separated from the ice tray 110 by its own weight before the boundary surface is locally excessively thawed. Therefore, it is possible to effectively prevent water from falling during the rotation of the ice tray 110 by excessive thawing of ice.

When high heat energy is applied to the interface between the ice and the ice making tray 110 in a short time, the ice may be transferred to the ice making tray 110 with a minimum amount of thawing required for the ice using the own weight of the ice as described above. Can be separated from. However, if the supply time of the thermal energy is not properly limited, the ice making tray 110 may be heated more than necessary even after the ice is discharged, resulting in excessive consumption of power and heat loss.

Therefore, it is preferable that the supply time of the thermal energy is limited to until the force by the weight of the ice exceeds the binding force of the ice making tray. In other words, even if the interface between the ice and the ice making tray 110 is not completely melted, the supply time of the thermal energy is limited until the ice is forcibly separated by its own weight.

For this purpose, the control is performed to supply the thermal energy during the optimal heat energy supply time obtained experimentally, the weight change of the ice tray 110 is detected, or whether the ice is discharged from the ice tray 110. It may be checked to control the supply time of the thermal energy.

As such, when the time for applying high thermal energy to the boundary between the ice and the ice making tray 110 in a short time is controlled, the minimum amount of thawing required for separation by the self-weight of the ice is obtained. It is possible to effectively prevent the occurrence of falling water during the rotation of the tray 110. Of course, heat loss and waste of power can also be prevented.

Even if the supply of the thermal energy is optimally controlled, ice may be somewhat melted to generate water. Then, the generated water may fall into the ice bank 120 when the ice tray 110 rotates.

Therefore, the ice making apparatus of the present invention preferably includes a fall prevention unit 130 that prevents water generated by melting ice in the ice making chamber 112 from falling out of the ice making tray 110.

When the ice making tray 110 rotates, the fall prevention unit 130 may be configured to prevent the water in the ice making chamber 112 from falling out of the ice making tray 110. It is provided to form a space where water is accumulated on one side.

7 is a view showing an ice tray to which the fall prevention unit according to the first embodiment of the ice making apparatus of the present invention is applied.

The fall prevention unit 130 according to the first embodiment of the ice making apparatus of the present invention has a substantially plate shape, and is coupled to an upper side of the ice making tray 110 to allow water to flow between the ice making chamber 112 and the ice making chamber 112. The goey may be formed of a fall prevention plate 130 forming a space 134 (see FIGS. 8 to 11).

The fall prevention plate 130 has a longitudinal direction in a direction parallel to the axis 102 of the ice making tray 110, and is mounted on an upper side of one side of the ice making tray 110 so as to be above the ice making chamber 112. It is preferred to be provided to cover slightly.

On the other hand, unlike the above, although not shown in the drawings, the fall prevention plate may be provided for each unit chamber 116 partitioned by the partition plate 114. In this case, the upper portion of each of the unit chambers 116 may be provided so as to slightly cover the upper side of the ice making chamber 112.

Therefore, a predetermined space 134 is formed between the ice making chamber 112 and the fall prevention plate 130.

The fall prevention plate 130 as described above is preferably provided on the side which is lowered when the ice tray 110 rotates.

In addition, the water fall prevention plate 130 forming a space where water is accumulated may flow down into the ice making chamber 112 when the ice making tray 110 returns to its initial position when the ice making tray 110 rotates. It is desirable to be provided so that.

In this embodiment, since the fall prevention plate 130 is formed in a plate shape, the space between the fall prevention plate 130 and the ice making chamber 112 when the ice making tray 110 returns to the initial horizontal state. The water that has been stored in may naturally flow back to the ice making chamber 112.

In addition, although not shown in the drawings, the cross section of the fall prevention plate may be formed in a concave shape upwards, based on when the ice making tray 110 is in an initial state in order to enlarge a space for storing water.

Meanwhile, a sealing member 138 made of a material such as silicon or rubber for watertight may be provided at a coupling portion of the ice making chamber 112 and the fall prevention plate 130.

In addition, it is preferable that a groove 139 for mounting the sealing member 138 is formed at a portion where the sealing member 138 of the ice making tray 110 is mounted.

The fall prevention plate 130 as described above may be formed on one side of the ice making tray 110. However, in this case, if two or more ice-making chambers 112 are formed in the ice-making tray 110, there is an ice-making chamber 112 in which no water is accumulated by the fall prevention plate 130. .

Therefore, it is necessary to move water from the ice making chamber 112 in which the water swelling space 134 is not formed to the ice making chamber 112 in which the water fall prevention plate 130 is provided so that the water swelling space 134 is formed. There is.

Therefore, it is preferable that a flow path 136 through which water flows to the adjacent ice making chamber 112 is formed in each ice making chamber 112.

When the ice tray 110 rotates, the flow path 136 allows the water generated by the thawing of ice to flow into the ice making chamber 112 provided with the fall prevention plate 130. ), The height of a portion of the wall partitioning each other may be formed lower than the height of the wall of the other side around.

On the other hand, when two or more ice-making chambers 112 are provided in the ice-making tray 110, the fall prevention plate 130 may be provided for each said ice-making chamber 112. FIG. In this case, even if the flow path 136 is not formed, falling water can be prevented.

8 to 11 are views illustrating an ice discharge process of the ice tray according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

First, FIG. 8 is a view illustrating a state in which ice is iced in the ice making chamber 112 of the ice making tray 110. In this state, the ice making tray 110 is in a horizontal state with the ground. When the ice making is completed, the ice 122 is separated from the wall of the ice making chamber 112 by using a separator such as a heater 104.

When the ice 122 is separated to some extent, as shown in FIG. 9, the ice tray 110 is rotated. At this time, the water 140 generated by melting ice while the ice tray 110 rotates is also inclined, and water in the ice making chamber 112 in which the fall prevention plate 130 is not provided is flowed through the flow path 136. It flows to the ice-making chamber 112 provided with the fall prevention plate 130.

The ice tray 110 is further rotated as shown in FIG. 10 to discharge the ice 122. At this time, the ice 122 is discharged from the ice making chamber 112 by its own weight and discharged to the outside of the ice making chamber 112, and the water 140 in the ice making chamber 112 is formed in the ice making tray 110. It is accumulated in the space 134 formed between the fall prevention plate 130 and the ice making chamber 112 without falling down to the outside.

When the discharge of the ice is completed, as shown in Figure 11, the ice tray 110 is returned to the initial position for ice making again. At this time, in order to prevent the water accumulated in the space formed between the fall prevention plate 130 and the ice making chamber 112 to fall to the outside, the ice making tray 110 is preferably rotated back to return to the initial position. .

When the ice tray 110 returns to the initial position, the water 140 accumulated in the space 134 formed between the fall prevention plate 130 and the ice making chamber 112 flows back to the ice making chamber 112. Used for ice making.

Meanwhile, when two or more ice making chambers 112 are provided in the ice making tray 110, and the fall prevention plate 130 is formed in each of the ice making chambers 112, the fall prevention plate 130 and the ice making chamber 112 are provided. ), The water accumulated in the space 134 formed between the two sides is evenly flowed into the ice making chamber 112.

Therefore, since the water 140 generated when the ice 122 is separated from the ice making chamber 112 does not fall to the outside of the ice making tray 110, the ice stored in the lower side of the ice making tray 110 is entangled with each other. Is prevented.

In addition, there is an effect that can prevent falling water without large change in the shape of the ice making tray 110.

In addition, when the ice making tray 110 returns to the initial state, the water accumulated by the fall prevention plate 130 flows back to the ice making chamber 112, thereby preventing water from freezing in a space for preventing falling water. There is an effect to prevent unnecessary waste of water.

Hereinafter, an ice making apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

The second embodiment of the ice making apparatus of the present invention is the same in many parts as the first embodiment described above. However, in the first embodiment, the space where water is accumulated is formed in the space 134 between the drip prevention plate 132 and the ice making chamber 112 in the first embodiment. It is different that the formed fall prevention member 232 is provided.

Therefore, except that the fall prevention plate 130 is changed to the fall prevention member 232, the same as the first embodiment described above, only the fall prevention member 232 will be described below.

FIG. 12 is a view showing an ice making device of the present embodiment provided with the fall prevention member 232.

As shown in the figure, the fall prevention member 232 may be provided on one side of the upper surface of the ice making tray 110.

In addition, the fall prevention member 232 is formed therein a space 234 in which water can accumulate when the ice tray 110 rotates. In addition, the space 234 is preferably provided so that the side toward the ice making chamber 112 is opened so that water can be obtained or drained.

Here, the shape of the space 234 may be made in various ways. In particular, as shown in FIG. 12, if the inside of the space 234 has a substantially circular shape concave upward, falling water can be prevented even when the ice making tray 110 is inverted to 180 °.

When the ice tray 110 returns to the initial position, the water accumulated in the space 234 of the fall prevention member 232 flows back into the ice making chamber 112 so as to flow down to the ice making chamber 112. The inner bottom of the in communication with the opened portion is preferably formed to be inclined downward.

In addition, the fall prevention member 232 is preferably provided to the outside of the movement path of the ice 122 discharged from the ice making chamber 112 so as not to interfere when the ice 122 is discharged.

Therefore, when the ice tray 110 is rotated after the ice 122 is separated from the ice making chamber 112 to some extent, the water 140 generated by melting the ice as shown in FIG. 13 is the fall prevention member 232. It will be gathered into the space 234.

As shown in FIG. 14, when the ice making tray 110 returns to the initial state after the discharge of the ice is completed, the water 140 accumulated in the space of the dripping prevention member 232 is again in the ice making room ( To 112).

Next, an ice making apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.

The ice making apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention is substantially the same in many parts as the above-described first and second embodiments.

However, in the ice making apparatus according to the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the fall prevention part forming the spaces 134 and 234 where ice melted water is attached to the ice making tray is a separate part. While the plate 132 or the fall prevention member 232 is implemented, in the present embodiment, the fall prevention groove 332 which forms a space 334 in which the water accumulates in the ice tray 110 itself as the fall prevention part is provided. It applies differently.

Accordingly, except that the fall prevention plate 130 and the fall prevention member 232 are changed to the fall prevention groove 332, the same as the above-described first and second embodiments, so that the fall prevention groove and Only the parts to be modified accordingly will be described.

First, as shown in FIG. 15, on the inner wall surface of the ice making chamber 112, the water fall preventing groove 332 having a space 334 in which the flowing water 140 may accumulate when the ice making tray 110 rotates. ).

The fall prevention groove 332 is preferably provided at an upper side than the height of the freezing ice in the ice-making chamber 112.

In addition, the fall prevention groove 332 is preferably provided such that the opening portion is directed downward, and the blocked portion is directed upward based on the initial state of the ice making tray 110.

This is to allow the water accumulated in the fall prevention groove 332 to flow back down to the ice making tray 110 when the ice making tray 110 is rotated to an initial state.

In addition, since the fall prevention groove 332 is formed inside the inner wall surface of the ice making chamber 112, it is formed outside the movement path when the ice 122 is discharged, thereby preventing the ice from moving when the ice 122 is discharged. You will not.

Therefore, when the ice tray 110 rotates after the ice 122 is separated to some extent from the ice making chamber 112, the water 140 generated by melting ice as shown in FIG. 16 is the fall prevention groove 332. Will be gathered together.

As shown in FIG. 17, when the ice tray 110 returns to its initial state after the discharge of the ice 122 is completed, the water accumulated in the drip prevention groove 332 is returned to the ice making chamber 112. Will flow down.

Therefore, it is possible to prevent the fall of water without having a separate member, the ice does not interfere with the movement of the ice 122 has an effect that the discharge is smooth.

In addition, there is no need to attach a separate member, so there is no need for a sealing member for watertightness as in the above-described embodiments, thereby reducing the production cost of the product.

Although several embodiments have been described above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be embodied in many other forms without departing from the spirit and scope thereof.

Accordingly, the described embodiments are to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive, and all embodiments within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents are included within the scope of the present invention.

As described above, the ice making apparatus of the present invention has the following effects.

First, the conventional structure had to leave a space for discharging ice on one side of the ice making apparatus for discharging the ice, but according to the ice making apparatus of the present invention, the ice is discharged using the space secured while the ice tray is rotated. Since the ice making space can be increased, the amount of ice making is improved.

Second, since the force generated by the self-weight of the ice can be used for the discharge of the ice, the operating time of the heater can be shortened, thereby saving energy.

Third, since the operating time of the heater is shortened, there is an effect to minimize the amount of ice melted by the heating of the heater, accordingly there is an effect that can minimize the falling water.

Fourth, since the water generated when the ice melts can be prevented from falling out of the ice making tray, the phenomenon of ice clumping in the ice bank provided in the lower portion of the ice making tray is prevented.

Fifth, since the water generated when the ice melts is used for ice making again without being discharged to the outside, unnecessary waste of water can be reduced.

Sixth, when the ice tray is returned to the initial position, the water accumulated in the fall prevention part comes down to the ice making chamber, so that the water does not freeze in the fall prevention part, thereby ensuring the space necessary for the fall prevention always improves reliability.

Claims (14)

At least one ice making chamber for freezing ice, the ice making tray being rotatably provided; A shaft rotatably supporting the ice tray; A heater separating the ice from the ice making chamber; An ice making device, comprising: a water fall prevention unit for forming a space in which water flows on one side of the ice making tray to prevent water flowing in the ice making chamber from falling out of the ice making tray when the ice making tray is rotated. The method of claim 1, The ice making apparatus, characterized in that the fall prevention portion is formed on the side which is lowered when the ice tray is rotated. The method of claim 1, The ice making apparatus, characterized in that the fall prevention portion is provided over one side surface of the ice tray in a direction parallel to the axis. The method of claim 1, A partition plate for partitioning the unit chambers at predetermined intervals in the longitudinal direction of the ice making chamber is formed, wherein the fall prevention unit is provided for each of the unit chambers. The method of claim 1, The ice making apparatus, characterized in that the fall prevention portion is formed outside the moving range of the ice is iced. The method of claim 1, The ice making apparatus, characterized in that the water fall preventing portion is formed so that the water accumulated in the space formed by the water fall preventing portion flows back to the ice making chamber when the ice tray is returned to the correct position. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, The ice making apparatus, characterized in that made of a fall prevention plate coupled to the upper surface of the ice making tray to form a space in which water is accumulated between the ice making chamber. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, The ice making apparatus, characterized in that the falling water prevention portion is coupled to the upper side of the ice making tray, the falling water preventing member is formed a space in which the water flowing in the ice making chamber. The method of claim 8, The bottom surface of the space formed in the fall prevention member is inclined toward the lower side so that the water flows back to the ice making chamber when the ice tray is returned to the correct position The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, The ice making apparatus, characterized in that the falling water prevention portion is formed on one side wall of the ice making chamber is a falling water prevention groove in which water flowing along the wall surface of the ice making chamber is accumulated as the ice tray is rotated. The method of claim 10, And the fall prevention groove is formed such that the opening inlet portion faces downward, so that water accumulated in the fall prevention groove flows back to the ice making chamber when the ice making tray returns to the initial position. The method of claim 1, When the plurality of ice making chambers are formed, the fall prevention portion is formed on one side of the ice making tray, and the flow path through which the water flowing in the ice making chamber communicates between the ice making chambers is formed between the ice making chambers. Ice making device. The method of claim 12, The flow path is an ice making device characterized in that the height of a portion of the wall surface that partitions each ice making chamber is formed lower than the height of the other wall surface of the ice making chamber. The method of claim 1, The ice making apparatus, characterized in that when the plurality of ice making chamber is formed, the fall prevention portion is formed on one side wall surface of each ice making chamber.

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