KR100774001B1 - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

A refrigerator is provided to move ice cubes to an ice outlet by a pusher and a cam instead of using a shaft directly, thereby preventing tangling of the ice cubes. A refrigerator includes an ice making tray, an ice storing part(110) for receiving ice cubes formed in the ice making tray and having an ice outlet(113), and a pusher(150) supported in the ice storing part and capable of rocking for pushing the ice cubes to the ice outlet. A crusher(120) is mounted in the ice storing part for crushing the ice cubes, and an ice mixing part(121) mixes ice cubes stored in the ice storing part to prevent the ice cubes from sticking together. A driving part(130) has a rotary shaft(131) and a cam(132) fixed to the rotary shaft for rocking the pusher in response to rotation of the rotary shaft, wherein the rotary shaft penetrates the pusher. The pusher and the cam are disposed to the rotary shaft at predetermined inclination angles, wherein the predetermined inclination angle is 90° or less, which is larger than the angle between the rotary shaft and the cam. The cam is in point-contact with the pusher, wherein the cam is curved.

Description

Refrigerator {REFRIGERATOR}

1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator according to the present invention;

Figure 2a is a first cross-sectional view of the ice maker according to the present invention,

FIG. 2b is a plan view of the ice maker shown in FIG.

FIG. 2C is a front view of the ice maker shown in FIG. 2A,

3a is a second cross-sectional view of an ice maker according to the present invention;

3b is a plan view of the ice maker shown in FIG.

3C is a front view of the ice maker shown in FIG. 3A,

Figure 4a is a third cross-sectional view of the ice maker according to the present invention,

4b is a plan view of the ice maker shown in FIG.

4C is a front view of the ice maker shown in FIG. 4A,

Figure 5a is a fourth cross-sectional view of the ice maker according to the present invention,

5b is a plan view of the ice maker shown in FIG.

5C is a front view of the ice maker shown in FIG. 5A.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

1: refrigerator 100: ice maker

110: ice storage 113: ice discharge outlet

120: crusher 121: ice mixing unit

       130: drive unit 131: rotation axis

132: Cam 150: Pusher

151: through part 153: pusher connection part

The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to a refrigerator in which the discharge structure of the ice maker is improved to easily discharge the ice produced from the ice making tray to the outside without sticking.

In general, a refrigerator is an apparatus for freezing or refrigerating an article by supplying cold air generated by a cooling device including a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve, and an evaporator into a refrigerator. These refrigerators have recently been equipped with a dispenser that can be supplied with ice and water from the outside for the convenience of the user. A water supply unit receiving water from the outside for taking ice and water into the dispenser unit of the refrigerator, and an ice maker for ice-making water supplied from the outside.

On the other hand, such an ice maker, as disclosed in US Patent No. 5050777, an ice making tray for receiving ice and generating ice, an ice storage unit for storing ice generated from the ice making tray, and discharging the ice of the ice storage unit to the outside Contains a pusher. The pusher of the ice maker is provided with a screw-type rotating shaft to rotate the rotating shaft to transfer the ice stored in the ice storage unit to the discharge port.

However, such an ice maker has a problem that a pusher for transporting ice is provided with a rotating shaft such as a screw type, so that the pusher stops when the ice sticks to the pusher. In addition, there is a problem that the ice can not be discharged to the outside by the pusher is stopped. In addition, there is a problem that the axis of rotation for transporting ice depends on the volume of the ice storage.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator having an ice maker that can smoothly transport ice without sticking ice to the pusher for transporting ice to the discharge port.

The above object, according to the present invention, a refrigerator, an ice making tray for producing ice; An ice storage unit for receiving ice from the ice making tray and having an ice discharge port; A pusher rotatably supported in the ice reservoir to push ice into the ice discharge port; A drive unit having a rotating shaft and a cam fixed to the rotating shaft to oscillate the pusher by the rotating motion of the rotating shaft; It is achieved by a refrigerator comprising a.

Here, the rotating shaft passes through the pusher, the pusher may be formed with a through portion through which the rotating shaft passes.

The pusher and the cam may be disposed at a predetermined inclination angle with respect to the rotation shaft, and the predetermined inclination angle between the rotation shaft and the pusher is greater than a predetermined inclination angle formed by the rotation shaft and the cam.

A predetermined inclination angle formed by the rotation shaft and the pusher is characterized in that less than 90 degrees.

The cam is in point contact with the pusher, and the cam in point contact with the pusher may be curved.

Hereinafter, as an embodiment of the present invention, a refrigerator of a bottom mounted freezer (BMF) type will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

However, in addition to the BMF-type refrigerators, the present invention may be applied to refrigerators of a side by side (SBS) system and a top mounted freezer (TMF) system.

As shown in FIG. 1, the refrigerator 1 according to the present invention includes a main cabinet 2 that forms the storage compartment 3, a door 5 that opens and closes the storage compartment 3, and water supplied from the outside. Ice maker 100 for making ice.

The storage chamber 3 is partitioned up and down by the partition in the main body cabinet 2. As an example of the present invention, the storage compartment 3 includes a freezing compartment (not shown) under the main cabinet 2 and a refrigerating chamber 3 formed above the main cabinet 2. In addition, an inside of the main body cabinet 2 according to the present invention is divided from an evaporator (not shown) and an evaporator for cooling the storage compartment (3) to accommodate a compressor (not shown) and a condenser (not shown) (not shown). ) Is formed. In addition, a foaming agent is filled in the main body cabinet 2 so as to maintain heat insulation of the storage compartment 3.

As an example of this invention, the storage chamber 3 is divided up and down by a partition. That is, a freezer compartment for storing the article at a temperature below freezing point is formed in the lower part of the main cabinet 2, and a refrigerating chamber 3 for storing the article at a temperature relatively higher than the temperature of the freezer compartment is formed in the upper portion.

The door 5 opens and closes the storage compartment 3. The door 5 includes a refrigerator compartment door 9 for opening and closing the refrigerator compartment 3 and a freezer compartment door 7 for opening and closing the freezer compartment. As one example of the present invention, the refrigerating chamber door 9 is pivotally coupled to the left and right sides of the refrigerating chamber 3 so as to rotate with respect to the main cabinet 2 and open and close the refrigerating chamber 3. In addition, the freezing chamber door 7 is provided in a drawer method that draws in and out of the freezing chamber. However, the freezer door 7 may also be hinged to the main cabinet 2 so as to be rotatable with respect to the freezer compartment.

Meanwhile, as illustrated in FIGS. 2A to 5C, the ice maker 100 according to the present invention includes an ice making tray (not shown) that generates ice, and ice having an ice discharge port 113 while receiving ice from the ice making tray. It is fixed to the storage unit 110, the pusher 150 and the rotating shaft 131 and the rotating shaft 131 that is supported in the ice storage unit 110 so as to be able to push the ice discharge port 113 in a swingable manner. And a driving unit 130 having a cam 132 that swings the pusher 150 by the rotational movement of the rotation shaft 131. In addition, the ice storage unit 110 further comprises an ice mixing unit 121 for mixing the ice so that the ice does not stick to each other.

The ice making tray generates ice by receiving water from an external water supply source (not shown). The ice produced in the ice tray depends on the shape of the ice tray. For example, ice having a semicircular cross section may be produced, or an ice cube having an almost cuboid shape may be produced.

The ice maker may further include an ice making unit (not shown) which ices the ice generated in the ice making tray to the ice storage unit 110. The ice maker may include an ice heater (not shown) and an ice motor (not shown).

The ice storage unit 110 is formed with an ice storage container 111 for receiving ice from the ice making tray and an ice discharge port 113 for discharging the ice to the outside. In the ice storage unit 110, as an example of the present invention, a crusher 120 for crushing ice and an ice mixing unit 121 for mixing ice are disposed.

Here, the ice discharge port 113 includes a first ice discharge port 115 through which ice is discharged, and a second ice discharge hole 117 through which crushed ice crushed by the crusher 120 is discharged. That is, the ice discharge port 113 is to open the first ice discharge port 115 when discharging the ice transported by the pusher 150 to be described later in shape, and the first ice discharge port 115 when discharging the crushed ice. To close and operate the crusher 120 to crush the ice transported by the pusher 150 to discharge to the open second ice discharge port 117.

On the other hand, the ice mixing unit 121 is disposed under the ice tray, that is, the ice storage container 111. The ice mixing unit 121 is connected to the shaft 122, the shaft 122 is rotatably connected to the second sprocket 135 of the drive unit 130 to be described later.

As an example of the present invention, the driving unit 130 includes a rotation shaft 131, a cam 132 that is fixed to the rotation shaft 131 and oscillates the pusher 150 to be described later by the rotation movement of the rotation shaft 131, and a rotation shaft ( The rotating shaft support part 133 which supports the 131, the motor 137 which is arrange | positioned facing the rotating shaft support part 133, and transmits a driving force to the rotating shaft 131, and the 1st sprocket rotated by the motor 137 (sproket) 134, a chain 136 interconnecting the second sprocket 135 connected to the ice mixing unit 121, and the first sprocket 134 and the second sprocket 135 ).

The rotating shaft 131 is an example of the present invention and is connected to the rotating shaft support 133 through the ice storage container 111. As an example of the present invention, the crusher 120 is coupled to the rotation shaft 131. The cam 132 is connected to the rotary shaft 131 adjacent to the rotary shaft support 133 by being spaced apart from the crusher 120 with the pusher 150 to be described later. Here, the rotation shaft 131 is connected to the first sprocket 134 and the motor 137 for transmitting the driving force.

The cam 132 is connected to the rotation shaft 131 to rotate in rotation of the rotation shaft 131 and to rock the pusher 150. The cam 132 is provided as an ellipse as an example of the present invention. The cam 132 is connected to the rotating shaft 131 at a predetermined angle. Here, the cam 132 may be provided in various shapes such as triangle in addition to elliptical shape. The cam 132 draws a trajectory by the rotational movement of the rotation shaft 131 and makes point contact with the pusher 150. As described above, the cam 132 may be provided in various shapes such as a triangle, but since the cam 132 and the pusher 150 make point contact, the portion in contact with the pusher 150 is formed to be curved. desirable.

The first sprocket 134 is connected to the rotation shaft 131 receives a driving force from the motor. The second sprocket 135 is connected to the shaft 122 to which the ice mixing unit 121 is connected. Here, the first sprocket 134 and the second sprocket 135 are connected to each other by a chain 136. That is, when the motor 137 is driven, the first sprocket 134 rotates and thus the second sprocket 135 rotates together. Thus, as an example of the present invention, the cam 132, the crusher 120 and the ice mixing unit 121 to rotate simultaneously.

However, unlike the present invention, the cam 132 is connected to the rotating shaft 131 is installed only on the pusher 150 side without passing through the ice storage unit 110, the driving force to the ice mixing unit 121 and the crusher 120 Each of the motors 137 for transmitting the may be installed.

Meanwhile, as an example of the present invention, the first sprocket 134 and the second sprocket 135 connected to the rotating shaft 131 and the shaft may use a pulley (not shown), and when the pulley is used, a chain ( Alternatively, a belt (not shown) may be used.

The pusher 150 serves to transfer the ice stored in the ice storage container 111 to the ice discharge port 113 while rocking by the rotational movement of the cam 132. The pusher 150 is oscillated between the initial position and the transfer position to transfer the ice by the pressing force of the cam 132 in contact with the cam 132. Here, the portion where the cam 132 and the pusher 150 are in point contact when the transfer position is an upper point, and the portion where the cam 132 and the pusher 150 is in point contact when the initial position is the lower point ( Down point). The pusher 150 is penetrated by the rotation shaft 131 as an example of the present invention. A through part 151 is formed in the pusher 150 so that the pusher 150 may be penetrated by the rotation shaft 131. Further, since the through part 151 formed in the pusher 150 is swung by the rotation of the cam 132, the through part 151 has a predetermined width and length so as not to interfere with the rotation shaft 131 according to the swing of the pusher 150.

Here, the pusher 150, as an example of the present invention, includes a pusher connecting portion 153 connected to the bottom surface of the ice storage container 111. The pusher connecting portion 153 is preferably provided with an elastic member (not shown) that can provide an elastic force. For example, by installing an elastic member to push the pusher 150 to transport the ice, to return to the initial position. In addition, the pusher 150 itself may be manufactured as a leaf spring to return to the initial position.

The pusher 150 is an example of the present invention and has a predetermined radius of curvature. That is, the pusher 150 oscillates by varying the pressing force of the shop and the lower point where the cam 132 and the pusher 150 are in point contact by the rotational movement of the cam 132. The pusher 150 is disposed to form a predetermined inclination angle with the rotation shaft 131.

Meanwhile, the predetermined inclination angle formed by the pusher 150 and the rotation shaft 131 may be greater than the predetermined inclination angle formed by the cam 132 and the rotation shaft 131. That is, the difference between the pressing force in the shop and the lower point of the pusher 150 in contact with the cam 132 by the rotational movement of the cam 132 is to be. In addition, the pusher 150 has a predetermined inclination angle formed with the rotation shaft 131 to be less than 90 degrees so that the difference in the pressing force between the shop and the lower point by the cam 132.

With this configuration, a process of transferring ice from the ice storage unit 110 of the ice maker 100 according to the present invention to the ice discharge port 113 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2A to 5C.

First, a first operation cross-sectional view, a plan view, and a front view of the ice maker 100 illustrated in FIGS. 2A to 2C will be described.

When the pusher 150 is in the initial position, that is, the position where ice is not conveyed, the cam 132 and the pusher 150 are in point contact at the lower point. Then, when the motor 137 operates, the rotation shaft 131 starts the rotational movement.

As shown in the second operation sectional view, the plan view, and the front view of the ice maker 100 shown in FIGS. 3A to 3C, the rotation shaft 131 rotates 90 degrees counterclockwise. Then, the cam 132 fixedly connected to the rotation shaft 131 also rotates, and the portion where the cam 132 and the pusher 150 are in point contact is varied. At this time, the cam 132 presses the pusher 150 while making point contact with the pusher 150.

As shown in the third operation sectional view, the plan view, and the front view of the ice maker 100 shown in FIGS. 4A to 4C, the rotating shaft 131 is rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise in the above-described process shown in FIGS. 3A to 3C. To rotate. Then, the cam 132 also rotates together, and the portion where the cam 132 and the pusher 150 are in point contact is pushed to the pusher 150 to move the pusher 150 to the ice transfer position when the shop 134 becomes a shop. When the pusher 150 is moved to the transfer position, the ice is transferred to the ice discharge port 113.

As shown in the fourth operation sectional view, the plan view, and the front view of the ice maker 100 shown in FIGS. 5A to 5C, the rotating shaft 131 continues to rotate 90 degrees counterclockwise, and thus the cam 132 also rotates. do. Then, the pressing force of the portion where the cam 132 and the pusher 150 is in point contact is released, and the pusher 150 is moved from the transfer position to the initial position.

Thus, by using the pusher and the cam to transfer the ice to the discharge port, it can be installed regardless of the volume of the ice storage unit. In addition, since ice is not directly transferred using the shaft, the ice can be prevented from sticking and stopping. In addition, the simple structure of the pusher and the cam can transport the ice, thereby reducing the production cost.

As described above, according to the present invention, by using the pusher and the cam to transfer the ice to the discharge port, it can be installed regardless of the volume of the ice storage unit.

In addition, since ice is not directly transferred using the shaft, the ice can be prevented from sticking and stopping.

In addition, the simple structure of the pusher and the cam can transport the ice, thereby reducing the production cost.

Claims (7)

In the refrigerator, An ice making tray for producing ice; An ice storage unit for receiving ice from the ice making tray and having an ice discharge port; A pusher rotatably supported in the ice reservoir to push ice into the ice discharge port; A drive unit having a rotating shaft and a cam fixed to the rotating shaft to oscillate the pusher by the rotating motion of the rotating shaft; Refrigerator comprising a. The method of claim 1, And the rotating shaft penetrates the pusher, and the pusher has a through portion through which the rotating shaft penetrates. The method according to claim 1 or 2, And the pusher and the cam are arranged at a predetermined inclination angle on the rotation shaft. The method of claim 3, And a predetermined inclination angle formed by the rotation shaft and the pusher is greater than a predetermined inclination angle formed by the rotation shaft and the cam. The method of claim 3, And a predetermined angle of inclination between the rotating shaft and the pusher is less than 90 degrees. The method of claim 1, And the cam is in point contact with the pusher. The method of claim 6, And the cam in point contact with the pusher is curved.

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