KR101644836B1 - Water dispenser equipped - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an ice maker for integrating refrigerant supply and discharge in an integral structure, and more particularly, to an ice maker having a refrigerant supply pipe having a plurality of ice-making pins to which refrigerant gas is supplied while circulating the supplied refrigerant gas; And a refrigerant discharge pipe connected to the refrigerant supply pipe for discharging the refrigerant gas supplied to the refrigerant supply pipe, wherein the refrigerant discharge pipe is provided with an integrated structure for supplying and discharging the refrigerant stacked on the refrigerant supply pipe .

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to an ice maker for supplying and discharging refrigerant in a unitary structure (WATER DISPENSER EQUIPPED)

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to an ice maker, and more particularly, to an ice maker that realizes supply and discharge of a coolant by making an ice maker slim in an integrated structure.

In general, drinking water supply devices (including "water purifier" and "cold water heater") are generally used to treat raw water such as tap water using one or more filters and provide them to the user. Recently, Ice water purifier is provided with a function of providing the water as cold water or hot water, respectively, by heating, and an ice-making device provided in the inside of the device to provide ice with purified water.

On the other hand, the cold / hot water machine is a device for cooling or heating separately supplied mineral water or mineral water to supply the cold or hot water to the user as cold water or hot water, respectively. Recently, an ice water cooler / heater having an ice making function is known as in the case of an ice water purifier.

An ice maker for ice making function in an ice water purifier or an ice water cooler (hereinafter collectively referred to as "drinking water supply device") is divided into several methods, but the ice maker is generally located in the upper part of the cold water tank or ice making room.

That is, in Korean Patent No. 10-0729962 of the prior art document 1 of the following prior art document, there is provided a water storage tank for storing cold water for ice making in an upper portion of a cold water tank, and a water storage tank for cooling the cold water for ice- And the ice is separated from the evaporator when the ice is completed and the water receiver is rotated to send the ice to the cold water tank or the ice reservoir at the lower side.

Korean Patent Registration No. 20-0330516 of the prior art document 2 discloses an ice making machine having a ice making plate having a plurality of concave grooves opened downward at an upper portion of an ice making chamber and having an evaporator therein, And ice cubes formed in the concave grooves of the ice making plate are sprayed toward the concave grooves to separate ice from the ice making plate, and then the ice cubes are dropped downward and sent to the ice storage.

As shown in FIG. 1, the ice maker 1 disclosed in the above prior arts 1 and 2 includes a refrigerant pipe 2 of a "U" shape in which a refrigerant is supplied and circulated and then discharged, A plurality of ice-making fins (4) projecting downward in a state of being communicated with each refrigerant pipe (2) are provided in the both refrigerant pipes (2) at regular intervals.

The ice making pin 4 thus provided is immersed in the water tank 40 in which the drinking water is stored and is supplied with the refrigerant gas 3 to the outer peripheral surface of the ice making pin 4 The ice water 5 is generated as the surrounding water is cooled.

Here, the reference numeral 41 denotes a water inlet through which water purified by the water tank 40 is supplied.

However, since the refrigerant tube 2 provided in the conventional ice maker 1 is formed in a U-shape, the horizontal width of the ice-making device 1 is set to the U-width of the refrigerant tube 2 And the size and volume of the drinking water supply device to which the ice maker 1 is applied is increased.

The above description of the ice making apparatus and the drinking water supplying apparatus to which the ice making apparatus is applied is described in detail in the following prior art documents, so that detailed description thereof will be omitted.

(Prior Art Document 1) Korean Patent No. 10-0729962 (Prior art document 2) Korean Registration Practical Utility No. 20-0330516

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an ice maker that integrates refrigerant supply and discharge with an integral structure to reduce the volume of the ice maker .

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a refrigerator comprising: a refrigerant supply pipe to which a plurality of ice-making fins are supplied, the refrigerant gas being supplied and circulated; And a refrigerant discharge pipe connected to the refrigerant supply pipe and discharging the refrigerant gas supplied to the refrigerant supply pipe, wherein the refrigerant discharge pipe is stacked on the refrigerant supply pipe, and the refrigerant discharge pipe and the refrigerant supply pipe are closed The refrigerant pipe may be connected to the pipe so that the ducts of both refrigerant pipes are communicated with each other, and a hollow insertion pipe portion is formed in the refrigerant pipe, while a refrigerant pipe is inserted into the insertion pipe portion.

delete

And a finishing cap for connecting the coolant supply pipe and the coolant discharge pipe so that the coolant gas can be moved from the coolant supply pipe to the coolant discharge pipe in a state where the coolant supply pipe and the coolant discharge pipe are stacked.
The refrigerant supply pipe is formed with a hollow insertion tube portion at an upper portion thereof, and the refrigerant discharge pipe is inserted into the insertion pipe portion to discharge the refrigerant gas supplied to the refrigerant supply pipe.
Further, the refrigerant discharge pipe is inserted into the upper portion of the inside of the refrigerant supply pipe to discharge the refrigerant gas circulating the ice-making pin.
The refrigerant supply pipe is provided with a partition therein. The partition is coupled to the upper inside of the refrigerant supply pipe, and the lower end is spaced apart from the inner lower side of the ice-making pin, And the refrigerant discharge pipe is inserted into the upper portion of the inside of the refrigerant supply pipe through the partition.

According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the volume of the ice maker by providing the coolant pipe of the ice maker in a vertically stacked form, and to provide the drinking water supply It is possible to reduce the size and volume of the apparatus, thereby reducing the cost.

1 is a view of a drinking water supply device provided with a conventional ice maker.
2 is a configuration diagram of an ice maker according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of Fig. 2. Fig.
4 is a sectional view taken along the line AA in Fig.
5 is an enlarged view of a main portion of a drinking water supply device provided with an ice maker according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a configuration diagram of an ice maker according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 7 is a front sectional view of Fig. 5. Fig.
8 is a sectional view taken along line BB of Fig.
9 is an enlarged view of a main part of a drinking water supply device provided with an ice maker according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

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

Terms used in this process are terms defined in consideration of the functions of the present invention, which may vary depending on the intention or custom of the user, the operator. Therefore, definitions of these terms should be made based on the contents throughout this specification.

In addition, the following embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, but merely as exemplifications of the constituent elements set forth in the claims of the present invention, and are included in technical ideas throughout the specification of the present invention, Embodiments that include components replaceable as equivalents in the elements may be included within the scope of the present invention.

The terms "first", "second", "one side", "another side", etc. in the following embodiments are used to distinguish one element from another element, And the like. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the following description of the present invention, detailed description of related arts which may unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present invention will be omitted.

2 to 9 are views showing an ice maker according to the present invention and a drinking water supply device to which the ice maker is applied.

First, before describing the present invention, the same reference numerals are given to the same parts as those of the prior art, and redundant explanations are omitted.

2 to 4, the icemaker 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a refrigerant supply pipe 110 to which a refrigerant gas 3 (see FIG. 3) is supplied, A refrigerant discharge pipe 130 through which the refrigerant is discharged, and a finishing cap 140.

A plurality of the ice-making pins 120, which communicate with the refrigerant supply pipe 110, are formed at predetermined intervals in the same direction, and the ice-making pins 110 120 are provided so as to be immersed in water. On the other hand, a hollow insertion tube portion 122 having an outer diameter smaller than the outer diameter of the refrigerant supply pipe 110 is protruded from the upper portion of the refrigerant supply pipe 110. The insertion tube portion 122 is provided with a refrigerant discharge pipe 130 inserted therein. It is necessary to limit the outer diameter of the insertion tube portion 122 thus formed to the outer diameter of the maximum refrigerant supply pipe 110. This is because the space (width) occupied by both refrigerant pipes is limited to the width of the refrigerant supply pipe 110 .

A partition 121 for partitioning the inner spaces of the ice-making pins 120 and the refrigerant supply pipe 110 is provided in each of the ice-making pins 120. The partition 121 is coupled to the upper portion of the inside of the refrigerant supply pipe 110 and the lower end of the partition 121 is spaced apart from the lower inner surface of the ice-making pin 120 so that the refrigerant gas can circulate through the ice-making pin 120. The partition 121 is welded and fixed to the inside of the ice-making pin 120 and the inside of the refrigerant supply pipe 110.

3, the coolant gas 3 supplied to the coolant supply pipe 110 is supplied along the coolant supply pipe 110 and is supplied to one side of the ice-making pin 120 by the partition 121 And then flows to the lower portion of the ice-making pin 120. The ice-making pin 120 is then supplied to the other side of the ice-making pin 120 to pass through the partition 121, The supply path to be moved is repeated. On the other hand, the refrigerant gas 3 having such a supply path is supplied to the inner end of the ice-making pin 120, which is water-blocked by the partition 121, so as to improve the generation efficiency of the ice 5 do.

Like the refrigerant supply pipe 110, the refrigerant discharge pipe 130 is a hollow pipe having open ends at both ends thereof and is stacked in a state of being in contact with the upper part of the refrigerant supply pipe 110 on the opposite side of the ice-making pin 120, Width of the ice maker 100 can be minimized by reducing the width of the ice-making device 100 to the outer diameter of the refrigerant supply pipe 110, thereby making the ice maker 100 slimmer. In this case, the refrigerant discharge pipe 130 may be formed to have an outer diameter smaller than the outer diameter of the refrigerant supply pipe 110 and welded to the outer surface of the refrigerant supply pipe 110. However, in order to mount the refrigerant discharge pipe 130 more stably It is preferable that the refrigerant discharge pipe 130 is inserted into the insertion pipe portion 122 protruding from the refrigerant supply pipe 110, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

The finishing cap 140 is coupled to the refrigerant supply pipe 110 formed to be stacked up and down and to one end of the insertion pipe portion 122 (opposite end of the inlet to which the refrigerant gas 3 is supplied). Therefore, the refrigerant gas (3) supplied to the refrigerant supply pipe (110) is supplied to the refrigerant supply pipe (110) and the refrigerant discharge pipe (130) And can be introduced into the refrigerant discharge pipe 130 through the internal flow path of the finishing cap 140 and discharged.

The refrigerant supply pipe 110, the ice-making pin 120, the partition 121, the refrigerant discharge pipe 130, the finishing cap 140 and the like constituting the ice-making device 100 are made of copper or stainless steel Steel, aluminum, or the like, and the surface thereof may be surface treated by any one of nickel, chrome plating, electrolytic polishing, anodizing or coating, or a combination thereof. Thus, corrosion can be prevented by the surface treatment even after long use such as the refrigerant supply pipe 110, the ice making fin 120, the partition 121, the refrigerant discharge pipe 130, and the finishing cap 140.

The ice making device according to the first embodiment configured as described above can be provided in the drinking water supply device as shown in FIG.

First, the drinking water supply device is a drinking water supply device including a water purifier and a cold / hot water generator.

Such a drinking water supply device includes a filter (not shown) for purifying raw water supplied from a water supply, a purified water tank (not shown) for primarily storing water purified by the filter, A water tank 40, an ice maker 100 installed at an upper portion of the water tank 40, and an ice reservoir (not shown) for storing ice produced by the ice maker 100.

Further, the drinking water supply device of the present embodiment may include a hot water tank (not shown) for heating and storing water supplied from a purified water tank (not shown) using a heater (not shown).

The water tank 40 and the hot water tank (not shown) are provided with water intake pipes and valves for allowing the user to collect the water stored in the respective tanks, (Not shown) for taking out the ice stored in the ice storage unit.

Since the main feature of the present invention in the drinking water supply device according to the present embodiment is the structure and structure of the ice making device 100, the following description will be made in detail of the ice making device 100, and the remaining various filters, tanks, Description of the valve, ice take-out means and the like will be omitted.

5, the drinking water supply device includes a water tank 40 in which water that can be consumed is stored, and an ice making device 100 provided in the water tank 40 to generate ice 5.

The water tank 40 is a cold water tank in which purified water is introduced and stored through a plurality of filters. The water tank 40 has a water inlet 41 through which purified water flows, and an ice maker 100 Respectively.

Particularly, the ice making device 100 is provided on the water tank 40 of the drinking water supply device, and the ice making fin 120 of the coolant supply pipe 110 is provided to be submerged in the water stored in the water tank 40, Since the width of the refrigerant pipe 130 is reduced by the outer diameter of the refrigerant pipe 110 to be slim, it is possible to make the ice maker 100 slimmer, The ice making device 100 can also make the drinking water supplying device slimmer, thereby reducing the cost of the drinking water supplying device. The remaining detailed configuration of the ice maker 100 is the same as that of the ice maker 100 of the first embodiment described above, and therefore, a repetitive description thereof will be omitted.

6 to 8 show an ice maker according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The same reference numerals are given to parts that are the same as those of the prior art and the above-described embodiment, and redundant explanations are omitted.

6 to 8, the icemaker 200 according to the second embodiment of the present invention includes a refrigerant supply pipe 210 to which a refrigerant gas 3 (see FIG. 7) is supplied, And a refrigerant discharge pipe 230 through which refrigerant is discharged.

A plurality of ice-making pins 220, which communicate with the refrigerant supply pipe 210, are disposed at one side, that is, the lower side, of the refrigerant supply pipe 210, And each of the ice-making pins 220 is provided so as to be submerged in water.

A partition 221 for partitioning the inner space of the ice-making pin 220 and the refrigerant supply pipe 210 is welded and fixed to each of the ice-making pins 220. The lower portion of the partition 221 has an ice- 220, respectively. The ice-making pin 220 to which the partition 221 is welded and fixed is inserted into the refrigerant supply pipe 210 and is welded and fixed. At this time, the upper end of the partition 221 is welded and fixed to the inner upper surface of the refrigerant supply pipe 210.

Accordingly, the refrigerant gas 3 supplied to the refrigerant supply pipe 210 circulates the refrigerant supply pipe 210 and each of the ice-making fins 220 as shown by arrows in FIG. 7 and then flows into the refrigerant discharge pipe 230 And the refrigerant gas 3 is supplied to the inner end portion of each of the ice-making pins 220 by the partition 221 to circulate the ice, thereby improving the production efficiency of the ice 5.

On the other hand, the refrigerant discharge pipe 230 is a hollow pipe having open ends at both ends thereof, and is inserted into the refrigerant supply pipe 210 while passing through the partition 221. 7 and 8, the refrigerant discharge pipe 230 is formed to have a shorter length than the refrigerant supply pipe 210 and has an outer diameter smaller than the outer diameter of the refrigerant supply pipe 210, The refrigerant gas 3 may be discharged through the refrigerant discharge pipe 230.

Particularly, since the refrigerant discharge pipe 230 is inserted in the refrigerant supply pipe 210, the volume of the refrigerant pipe can be minimized because the refrigerant discharge pipe 230 does not occupy the outer space at all, .

As described above, the refrigerant supply pipe 210, the ice-making pins 220, the partition 221, the refrigerant discharge pipe 230 and the like constituting the ice-making device 200 according to the present embodiment are made of a material such as copper, stainless steel, And the surface thereof may be surface treated by any one of nickel plating, chrome plating, electrolytic polishing, anodizing or coating, or a combination thereof, so that corrosion can be prevented even after long use.

9, the ice-making apparatus 200 according to the second embodiment can be provided in the drinking-water supplying apparatus, and the drinking-water supplying apparatus is the same as the drinking-water supplying apparatus described above, do.

9, the drinking water supply device includes a water tank 40 in which water that can be consumed is stored, and an icemaker 200 that is provided in the water tank 40 to generate ice 5 .

The water tank 40 is a cold water tank in which purified water is introduced and stored through a plurality of filters. The water tank 40 has a water inlet 41 through which purified water flows, and an ice maker 200 Respectively.

Particularly, the ice making device 200 is provided on the water tank 40 of the drinking water supply device, and the ice making pin 220 of the coolant supply pipe 210 is provided to be submerged in the water stored in the water tank 40, The refrigerant pipe 230 is inserted in the upper part of the inside of the refrigerant pipe 210 so that the width between both refrigerant pipes is reduced to the outer diameter of the refrigerant pipe 210 and is made slimmer, The slimmed ice maker 200 can also make the drinking water supply device slimmer, thus reducing the cost of the drinking water supplying device. The remaining detailed configuration of the ice maker 200 is the same as that of the ice maker 200 of the second embodiment described above, and thus a repeated description thereof will be omitted.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the same is by way of illustration and example only and is not to be construed as limiting the present invention. It is obvious that the modification or improvement is possible.

It is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

3: Refrigerant gas 5: Ice
40: water tank 41: water inlet
100, 200: Deicing device 110, 210: Refrigerant supply pipe
120, 220: Deicing pin 121, 221:
122: insertion tube 130, 230:
140: Finishing cap

Claims (5)

In a structure for reducing the width of an ice maker including a refrigerant discharge pipe and a refrigerant supply pipe
A refrigerant supply pipe having a plurality of ice-making fins to which the refrigerant gas is supplied and the supplied refrigerant gas is circulated; And
And a refrigerant discharge pipe connected to the refrigerant supply pipe to discharge the refrigerant gas supplied to the refrigerant supply pipe,
The refrigerant discharge pipe and the refrigerant supply pipe are stacked so that the refrigerant supply pipe is formed at the lower portion and the refrigerant discharge pipe is formed at the upper portion, the width between the refrigerant discharge pipe and the refrigerant supply pipe is reduced to the outer diameter of the refrigerant supply pipe,
The refrigerant discharge pipe is inserted into a hollow insertion portion formed on the opposite side of the ice-making pin or inserted into the refrigerant supply pipe to discharge the refrigerant gas supplied to the refrigerant supply pipe
And a partition for partitioning the ice making fin and the inner space of the refrigerant supply pipe are provided in the plurality of ice making fins,
Wherein the partition is provided so that an upper end thereof is coupled to the upper side of the refrigerant supply pipe and a lower end thereof is spaced apart from the lower inner side surface of the plurality of the ice-making pins so that the refrigerant gas can circulate through the ice-
Wherein the refrigerant discharge pipe is a hollow pipe having both ends thereof opened and is inserted into the refrigerant supply pipe while passing through a partition provided in the plurality of the ice-making pins
The refrigerant discharge pipe is shorter in length than the refrigerant supply pipe, and the refrigerant discharge pipe is formed to have an outer diameter smaller than the outer diameter of the refrigerant supply pipe. The refrigerant discharge pipe is inserted in the refrigerant supply pipe, Thereby minimizing the volume of both refrigerant pipes and realizing refrigerant supply and discharge in an integrated structure.
The method according to claim 1,
And a finishing cap connecting the coolant supply pipe and the coolant discharge pipe so that the coolant gas can be moved from the coolant supply pipe to the coolant discharge pipe in a state where the coolant supply pipe and the coolant discharge pipe are stacked. .
delete delete delete

Images