KR100710711B1 - Ice-maker - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an ice maker, and the technical problem to be solved is to stably fix the fuse to protect the ice maker is turned off during overcurrent without a separate member, to minimize the contact area with the fuse to prevent deformation or melting of the control box In addition, the safety of the heater is further improved.

To this end, the gist of the solution according to the present invention is a body installed in the freezer compartment, an ice making container for ice-making water supplied and installed in the interior of the body, an ice-making member installed on the top of the ice making container and extracting ice; In the ice maker comprising a heater installed at the lower end of the body for heating the ice making container for a predetermined time when taking out the ice, and a control box installed at the side of the body to control the ice member and the heater, between the control box and the body The fuse connected to the heater is fixed to the surface of the control box, at least one groove is formed, the back of the groove is characterized in that the housing coupled to the control box is pushed.

Ice maker, control box, through hole, groove, fuse, housing

Description

Ice Makers {Ice-maker}

1 is a partial cross-sectional view showing an example of a refrigerator provided with an ice maker according to the present invention.

2 is a perspective view showing an ice maker according to the present invention.

3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG.

4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 2.

5 is a perspective view of the housing of FIG. 4.

6A, 6B, and 6C are partially exploded perspective views illustrating a control box and a fuse in which the recesses of FIG. 4 are formed.

7 is a circuit diagram showing the main circuit of the ice maker according to the present invention.

<Description of Symbols for Main Parts of Drawings>

15; Ice tray 16; Control box

16a; Through 16b; Groove

16a; Through 17; Brackets

25; Heater 50; Body

60; Heater cover

70; A housing 71; spin

80; Fuse 81; Fuse wires

The present invention relates to an ice maker, and more particularly, stably supports a fuse that is turned off during overcurrent to protect the ice maker without a separate member, and minimizes contact area with the fuse to prevent deformation or melting of the control box. It relates to an ice maker that can further improve the safety of the heater.

In general, a refrigerator includes a main body provided with a refrigerating compartment and a freezing compartment, and a compressor for compressing a refrigerant and a heat exchanger for generating cold air are installed at the rear of the main body. The cold air generated by the heat exchanger is supplied to the inside of the refrigerating compartment or the freezing compartment by the fan, and the air whose temperature has risen by circulating the refrigerating compartment or the freezing compartment is supplied to the refrigerating compartment or the freezing compartment through the heat exchanger to always keep fresh food stored in the refrigerating compartment or the freezing compartment. It can be kept in a state.

Meanwhile, an ice maker provided in the refrigerator is installed in a freezer compartment to automatically supply water to the ice making container and check the ice making state, and when the ice making is completed, the ice making machine is automatically removed from the ice making container and loaded into the ice storage container. As an ice making method, ice can be obtained without a user's separate operation for the ice making operation.

In addition, such an ice maker is equipped with a heater at the bottom of the ice maker in order to easily take out ice from the ice maker after ice making. That is, the ice is to be easily separated from the ice container by operating the heater for a short time after ice making. Of course, the heater is provided with a fuse to prevent damage to the heater due to overcurrent.

The fuse is fixed and supported by a clip interposed between the control box and the ice maker body. In other words, the clip is fixed to one side of the control box, the clip is to push the fuse to the body of the ice maker to secure the fuse. Therefore, in the related art, a separate clip is required to fix such a fuse, and a worker has to work in detail so that the clip can accurately push the fuse, thereby increasing manufacturing cost and complicated assembly process. have.

In addition, the fuse flows a large current supplied to the heater, and a lot of heat is usually generated as such heat is transferred to the control box through a clip, so that a predetermined area of the control box is deformed or melted, There is also a problem of lowering reliability.

In addition, conventionally, since the fuse is installed only at one end of the heater, if the fuse itself is defective, the fuse is not blown even at the time of overcurrent, and there is a risk of ignition and fire due to overheating of the heater.

The present invention is to overcome the above-mentioned conventional problems, an object of the present invention is to stably support the fuse to protect the ice maker is turned off during overcurrent without a separate member, to minimize the contact area with the fuse deformation of the control box The present invention also provides an ice maker that prevents melting and further improves the safety of the heater.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a body installed in the freezer compartment, an ice making container for ice-making water supplied to the inside of the body, an ice-making member installed on an upper end of the ice-making container to take out ice, and In the ice maker which is installed at the lower end of the body to heat the ice container for a predetermined time when taking out the ice, and the control box is installed on the side of the body to control the ice member and the heater, between the control box and the body A fuse connected to the heater is fixed.

Here, the control box may be formed with grooves in the form of a plurality of stripes in the area in which the fuse is in contact.

The plurality of stripe recesses is a term that includes all the various forms such as a plurality of horizontal stripe forms, a plurality of longitudinal stripe forms, and a checkerboard shape.

In addition, a hole through which a fuse wire is inserted may be formed in the upper region of the groove at the same time the fuse is inserted.

In addition, two fuses may be provided at both ends of the heater.

In addition, the control box penetrates a moving motor shaft for rotating the moving member, the moving motor shaft is supported by a housing, and a predetermined area of the housing pushes the control box in an area corresponding to the fuse toward the body. It can be fixed to the control box.

In addition, the housing may be further formed with at least one protrusion to push the control box of the area corresponding to the fuse toward the body.

As described above, the ice maker according to the present invention is cut off during overcurrent so that the fuse protecting the ice maker is stably supported without a separate clip. That is, the housing is to push the control box to the body elastically, so that the fuse between the control box and the body is stably fixed. Of course, the installation work of the fuse is also completed by simply pushing the fuse between the through-holes installed in the control box and simply fixing the housing, thereby facilitating the installation work of the fuse.

In addition, the ice maker according to the present invention forms grooves in a horizontal, vertical or checkerboard shape on the surface of the control box in which the fuse is elastically in close contact, thereby minimizing the contact area between the control box and the fuse. Therefore, not only the fuse is elastically supported by the control box, but also the heat transfer rate is small, thereby preventing deformation or melting of the control box.

In addition, the ice maker according to the present invention may further improve the safety of the heater by installing fuses at both ends of the heater. That is, since two fuses are provided at both ends of the heater, overcurrent application of the heater can be efficiently prevented despite any fuse failure.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings such that those skilled in the art may easily implement the present invention.

1 is a partial cross-sectional view showing an example of a refrigerator provided with an ice maker according to the present invention. 2 is a perspective view showing an ice maker according to the present invention. Referring to these drawings, first, the structure of the ice maker and the refrigerator will be briefly described.

As shown in FIG. 1, the refrigerator includes a main body 10 and a freezing compartment 11 formed vertically long in the main body 10 and having a front surface open, and opening and closing the front and rear surfaces of the freezer compartment 11. The door 12 is installed. At this time, the door 12 is hinged to one side of the main body 10 to rotate and open and close. And the back wall of the main body 10 is provided with the evaporator 14 which produces cold air, and the compressor 30 is installed in the lower back of the main body 10. FIG. A portion of the upper wall of the freezer compartment 11 is attached with an ice maker 15 for making ice and a control box 16 coupled with the ice maker 15. A rear portion of the ice maker 15 is provided with a bracket 17 having a hole for fixing the ice maker 15 and the control box 16 coupled with the ice maker 15 to the wall.

On the other hand, the central portion of the control box 16 is connected to one end of the ice lever 18 for sensing the amount of ice accumulated in the ice storage container 21 and the other end of the ice lever 18 is formed in a separate fixing member It fits in the fixing hole. On the upper right side of the ice making container 15, a water supply member 19 is provided to send water supplied into the main body 10 back to each ice forming groove (see FIG. 2, 40) of the ice making container 15. . In addition, the temperature sensor 20 is attached to one point of the outer surface of the control box 16 coupled to the ice making container 15, the temperature sensor 20 detects the temperature change by the supplied water. Here, the temperature sensor 20 is preferably such that the majority of the case is installed lower than the opening of the ice forming groove 40. An ice storage container 21 for storing the manufactured ice is provided at the lower portion of the ice making container 15, and a water supply pipe 22 extends from the outside so that water from an external water source can be supplied to the upper portion of the ice making container 15. It is formed and at one point of the water supply pipe 22 is provided with a control valve 13 for adjusting the amount of water flowing in the water supply pipe (22). In addition, the freezer compartment 11 is provided with a shelf 23 and a plurality of storage boxes 24 for storing frozen food.

In addition, the door 12 is provided with a discharge tube 25 communicating with the inside of the freezer compartment 11 to guide the discharge of ice so that the ice inside the ice storage container 21 can be taken out without opening the door 12. In the freezer compartment 11, an ice transfer device 26 for transferring the ice of the ice storage container 21 toward the discharge tube 25 is provided. In this case, an ice storage space 27 recessed inward is formed in the front of the door 12 to receive the ice discharged into the discharge pipe 25, and the outlet of the discharge pipe 25 is formed in the storage space 27. A switch 28 for operating the conveying device 26 inside the freezing compartment 11 and a guide member 29 for preventing the scattering of the discharged ice are provided at the same time.

As shown in FIG. 2, the ice maker according to the present invention includes an ice maker 15 provided with a plurality of ice forming grooves 40. In addition, various structures to be described below, such as the ice making container 15 are installed in the body 50. As shown in the drawing, a plurality of brackets 17 having fixing holes are formed on a rear surface of the body 50 so as to attach the ice making container 15 to the wall of the main body 10 of the refrigerator. On the upper right side, a water supply member 19 for receiving water supplied from the water supply pipe 22 is installed. The water supply member 19 is open at an upper portion thereof and has an inner bottom surface lower than the upper surface thereof to stably receive water supplied from the water supply pipe 22. A portion of the bottom surface of the water supply member 19 is provided with a water supply hole 41 for supplying water to each ice forming groove 40 formed in the ice making container 15. The water supply hole 41 is connected to the ice forming groove formed on the rightmost side of the drawing among the ice forming grooves 40, so that the water received from the water supply member 19 passes through the water supply hole 41 to form the ice forming grooves 40. ) Can be supplied.

In addition, a wall surface is formed between the ice forming grooves 40 to facilitate the separation of the ice after ice generation is completed, and the center portion of the wall surface formed in each ice forming groove 40 is lower than the other parts. The water supplied to the ice forming groove on the right side can be supplied to each ice forming groove in turn.

On the other hand, as shown in the figure, the control box 16 is coupled to the left side of the ice making container 15 and the inside of the control box 15 is an ice motor (not shown) for performing an ice operation, and connected to the ice motor A control unit for controlling the operation of a variety of devices including a plurality of gears (not shown), the ice sensor (not shown) for detecting the amount of ice stored in the ice container 21, and the ice motor ( Not shown). A central portion of one surface of the control box 16 has a hole, and the moving motor shaft 42 extends to the outside, and the other end of the extended moving motor shaft 42 is pivotably connected to the lower side of the water supply member 19. do. The moving motor shaft 42 is provided with a moving member 43 installed at a position corresponding to each ice forming groove 40 to perform the moving operation. The control unit rotates the ice motor in a clockwise direction when viewed from the control box 16, and thus, a plurality of ice members 43 attached to the ice motor shaft 42 are formed in the ice forming groove 40. Each piece of ice is pumped from the bottom to the front of the ice maker. The ice delivered to the front of the ice maker is stored in the ice storage container 21 installed in the lower portion of the ice maker 15. A part of the control box 16 is provided with a snow lever 18 connected to the ice sensor to detect whether the ice container 21 is full, and the other end of the ice lever 18 is connected to the water supply member 19. It fits in the groove of the fixed member attached. Meanwhile, a temperature sensor 20 is attached to one point of the portion where the control box 16 and the ice making container 15 are coupled to each other to detect a temperature change caused by the supply of water.

3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG.

Figure 3 is a reference diagram for easy understanding of the configuration of the present invention is shown to know the connection structure between the ice making container 15 and the control box 16, the detail is shown in Figure 4 the locking step 61 ), The coupling protrusion 62, the heater 25, the through hole (16a), the locking jaw 61, the specific coupling relationship, such as the bolt 64 is omitted, except that the heater cover 60 attached to the bottom of the ice making The container 15 is installed at the lower end of the ice maker body 50 so that the heater 25 is not exposed to the outside.

4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 2, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the housing of FIG.

As shown, a fuse 80 is installed and fixed between the control box 16 and the ice maker body 50. In addition, the control box 16 is coupled to the housing 70 through which the moving motor shaft (not shown) passes. In the figure, the details of the housing 70 are fixed to the control box 16 with bolts. In addition, the protrusion 71 is formed in a region corresponding to the fuse 80 in a predetermined region of the housing 70, so that the protrusion 71 pushes the control box 16 toward the body 50. It is supposed to be. Of course, the protrusion 71 of the housing 70 pushes the control box 16 toward the body 50, thereby fixing the fuse 80 between the control box 16 and the ice maker body 50 strongly and stably. do.

6A, 6B, and 6C are partially exploded perspective views illustrating a control box and a fuse in which the recesses of FIG. 4 are formed.

As shown, through holes 16b are formed in predetermined areas of the control box 16 so that the fuses 80 and the wires 81 can be drawn in, and the fuses 80 are disposed below the through holes 16b. Is installed. Of course, the fuse 80 is located between the control box 16 and the ice maker body 50 is fixed.

In addition, the surface of the control box 16, as shown in Figure 6a, a plurality of grooves (16a) are formed in the horizontal stripe form, or as shown in Figure 6b, a plurality of longitudinal stripe form The grooves 16a may be formed, or as shown in FIG. 6C, a plurality of grooves 16a may be formed in a checkerboard shape. Of course, the plurality of grooves 16a may be formed to completely pass through the control box 16, such as through holes 16b. In addition, the fuse 80 is located above this recess 16a. Therefore, when the protrusion 71 of the housing 70 pushes the back surface of the recess 16a of the control box 16 toward the ice maker body 50, the recess 16a elastically pushes the fuse 80 to the body. It is fixed to 50. In addition, direct contact between the control box 16 and the fuse 80 is minimized by the groove 16a. Therefore, since the large current is sent to the heater 25, the heat of the fuse 80, which generates a large amount of heat, is minimized and transferred to the control box 16, thereby suppressing thermal deformation and melting of the control box 16. do. Moreover, as shown, two fuses 80 are provided. Since the fuse 80 is installed at both ends of the heater 25, even if one of the fuses 80 does not operate normally, the other fuse 80 operates to prevent overcurrent of the heater 25 and thus The reliability of the ice maker is further improved.

Here, the installation and fixing of the fuse (80) first inserts the fuse (80) through the through hole (16b) formed in the control box 16 before coupling the housing 70 to the control box 16, respectively. . Of course, the fuse (80) is located in the recess (16a) of the lower portion of the through hole (16b). In this state, the housing 70 is coupled to the control box 16 using a bolt or the like. At this time, the projection 71 of the housing 70 to press the back surface corresponding to the groove 16a formed in the control box 16. Therefore, the control box 16 is naturally pressed by the protrusions 71 of the housing 70, and close and fix the fuse 80 to the ice maker body 50. In this way, in the present invention, the fuse 80 is stably fixed by the operation of simply coupling the housing 70 to the control box 16 without a separate clip.

7 is a circuit diagram showing the main circuit of the ice maker according to the present invention.

In the figure, the circuit board 90 and the motor 92 are located inside the control box 16. Of course, the heater 25 is installed at the bottom of the ice maker 15, the temperature sensor 20 is installed inside the ice maker 15. Further, the circuit board 90 is provided with a plurality of switches 91 to control the motor 92 and the heater 25 by using the temperature information received from the temperature sensor 20.

Here, it can be seen that one fuse 80 is installed at each end of the heater 25. Of course, the two fuses 80 are installed and fixed between the control box 16 and the ice maker body 50 as described above.

In this way, in the present invention, when the fuses 80 are provided at both ends of the heater 25, even if any one of the fuses fails, the remaining fuses are operated. Therefore, when any one fuse is operated (i.e., blown off) when the overcurrent flows to the heater 25, the operation of the heater 25 is stopped, and thus it is possible to prevent ignition and fire due to the overcurrent. .

As described above, the ice maker according to the present invention is cut off during overcurrent so that the fuse protecting the ice maker is stably supported without a separate clip. That is, the housing is to push the control box to the body elastically, so that the fuse between the control box and the body is stably fixed. Of course, the installation work of the fuse is also completed by simply pushing the fuse between the through-holes installed in the control box and simply fixing the housing, thereby facilitating the installation work of the fuse.

In addition, the ice maker according to the present invention forms a plurality of grooves in a horizontal, vertical or checkerboard shape on the surface of the control box in which the fuse is elastically in close contact, thereby minimizing the contact area between the control box and the fuse. Therefore, not only the fuse is elastically supported by the control box, but also the heat transfer rate is small, thereby preventing deformation or melting of the control box.

In addition, the ice maker according to the present invention may further improve the safety of the heater by installing fuses at both ends of the heater. That is, since two fuses are provided at both ends of the heater, overcurrent application of the heater can be efficiently prevented despite any fuse failure.

What has been described above is only one embodiment for carrying out the ice maker according to the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and is not limited to the scope of the present invention as claimed in the following claims. Without departing from the scope of the present invention, those skilled in the art will have the technical spirit of the present invention to the extent that various modifications can be made.

Claims (6)

A body installed in the freezer compartment, an ice making container for ice-making water supplied to the inside of the body, an ice-making member installed at an upper end of the ice making container to take out ice, and a lower portion of the body to be fixed when taking out ice. In the ice maker consisting of a heater for heating the ice making container for a time, and a control box installed on the side of the body to control the ice member and the heater, A fuse connected to the heater is fixed between the control box and the body. The control box is an ice maker, characterized in that the groove is formed in a plurality of horizontal direction, longitudinal direction or checkerboard stripe shape in the area where the fuse is in contact. delete The ice maker according to claim 1, wherein a through hole is formed in an upper region of the groove to allow a fuse to be inserted and a fuse wire to be inserted therein. The ice maker of claim 1, wherein two fuses are provided at both ends of the heater. 5. The control box according to any one of claims 1 and 3 to 4, wherein the control box penetrates a moving motor shaft for rotating the moving member, and the moving motor shaft is supported by a housing, and a predetermined portion of the housing is supported. And an area is fixed to the control box to push the control box of the area corresponding to the fuse toward the body. 6. The ice maker of claim 5, wherein at least one protrusion is further formed in the housing to push the control box in an area corresponding to the fuse toward the body.

Images