KR101917184B1 - Apparatus for ice making - Google Patents

Abstract

An icemaker is disclosed. An ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an ice tray partition wall formed on one side of the refrigerator and an ice tray driving part formed on the ice tray partition wall and the ice tray driving part is integrally formed with the ice tray partition wall It includes the government.

Description

[0001] APPARATUS FOR ICE MAKING [0002]

An embodiment of the present invention relates to an ice maker, and more particularly, to an ice maker capable of reducing noises and simplifying the entire manufacturing process.

Generally, a refrigerator has a refrigerating chamber capable of refrigerating food and a freezing chamber capable of refrigerating and storing food. At this time, the positions of the refrigerator compartment and the freezer compartment can be variously changed according to the design of the refrigerator. Conventionally, a refrigerator in which a refrigerator compartment and a freezer compartment are formed in a mainstream is formed, but in recent years, a refrigerator having a freezer compartment at a lower portion and a refrigerating compartment at an upper portion has been released.

FIG. 1 is a front view of a conventional refrigerator, and FIG. 2 is a side view of a conventional refrigerator. For convenience of explanation, the refrigerating compartments in FIGS. 1 and 2 show the inside thereof.

1 and 2, a conventional refrigerator 10 has a freezing chamber 11 formed at a lower portion thereof and a refrigerating chamber 13 formed at an upper portion thereof. In this type of refrigerator 10, when the ice maker is installed in the freezer compartment 13, there is an inconvenience that the ice in the ice maker must be taken out by bending the user's body. Therefore, The ice chamber 20 is installed.

The ice making chamber 20 is insulated from the refrigerating chamber 13 through the ice making compartment wall 21 formed at one side of the refrigerating chamber 13 and has an independent space separated from the refrigerating chamber 13. In the ice making chamber 20, an ice maker 23, an ice bank 25, and an ice transfer driver 27 are formed. The ice bank 25 is formed below the ice bank 23 on the ice bank compartment wall 21 and the ice bank transfer driver 27 is formed on the ice bank 25 on the ice bank compartment wall 21.

When the icemaker 23 finishes the ice making, the ice maker 23 rotates the ejector (not shown) to discharge the ice to the ice bank 25. [ The ice bank 25 is formed so as to open upward to receive ice discharged from the ice- The ice bank 25 includes an ice transfer section 31, an ice crushing section 33, and an ice discharge section 35.

The ice transfer part 31 is formed in a screw shape and is formed across the inside of the ice bank 25. One end of the ice transfer part 31 is rotatably connected to the ice transfer driving part 27 and the other end of the ice transfer part 31 is connected to the ice crushing part 33. As the ice transfer unit 31 rotates, the ice in the ice bank 25 is transferred toward the ice crushing unit 33 by the ice transfer unit 31.

The ice crushing unit 33 serves to crush the ice transferred by the ice transfer unit 31. The ice crushing section 33 includes a fixed blade 33-1 and a movable blade 33-2. Here, the fixed blade 33-1 and the movable blade 33-2 are connected to the other end of the ice transfer part 31, respectively.

The ice discharge part 35 serves to partially open and close the lower surface of the ice bank 25 and discharge the ice transferred by the ice transfer part 31 to the ice chute 70 formed in the lower part of the ice bank 25 . The ice discharged into the ice chute 70 is discharged to the outside of the refrigerator 10 through a dispenser (not shown). The ice discharge portion 35 is installed to open and close only a predetermined portion of the lower surface of the ice bank 25 with reference to the stationary blade 33-1 and the movable blade 33-2. In this case, depending on whether the ice discharger 35 is opened or closed, the user can selectively obtain the ice cubes and the crushed ice.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing a conventional ice transfer driving unit, and FIG. 4 is a rear view showing a conventional ice transfer driving unit.

3 and 4, the ice transfer driving part 27 includes a case 41, a motor 43, and a solenoid 45. As shown in Fig. A lever connection hole 42 is formed on the front surface of the case 41. The motor 43 is coupled to one end of the ice transfer part 31 through a coupling assisting member 47 formed on the front surface of the case 41. The motor 43 serves to rotate the ice transfer part 31.

At the lower end of the solenoid 45, a lever connecting portion 46 is formed. At this time, the lever connection portion 46 is exposed to the outside by the lever connection hole 42. One end of a lever (not shown) is connected to the lever connection portion 46 through a lever connection hole 42 and the other end of the lever is connected to an ice discharge portion 35. The solenoid 45 can move the lever connecting portion 46 up and down to operate a lever (not shown), thereby adjusting the opening of the ice discharging portion 35 to select the size of the ice.

The conventional ice transfer driving unit 27 configured as described above is provided with the separate case 41 so that the volume occupied by the ice transfer driving unit 27 is increased and thus the total volume of the ice making chamber 20 is increased . In this case, the power consumption for keeping the temperature in the ice-making chamber 20 at a predetermined temperature or less becomes larger.

The conventional ice transfer driving unit 27 is manufactured by assembling a separate case 41 and assembling the motor 43 and the solenoid 45 in the case 41. The case 41 is attached to the ice making chamber partition wall 21, The entire assembly process is complicated, the accuracy of the dimensions is lowered, and the manufacturing cost is increased.

Since the conventional ice transfer driving unit 27 is attached to the rear of the ice bank 25 on the ice-making chamber partition wall 21 in the separate case 41, when the motor 43 is driven, There is a problem that noise is generated due to a slight collision and shaking between the ice bank 25 and the case 41 and the ice-making chamber partition wall 21. [

Meanwhile, in the conventional ice maker 23, the components such as the ice-maker control box, the ice tray, the water supply cup and the heater cover are separately manufactured and assembled and used. In this case, And it is necessary to assemble and assemble the respective components. Therefore, the manufacturing process is complicated, the manufacturing cost is increased, and the accuracy of the dimension is decreased.

An embodiment of the present invention is to provide an ice maker that can simplify the entire assembling process and reduce noise.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an ice maker comprising: an ice-making compartment wall formed at an inner side of a refrigerator; And an ice transfer driving part formed on the ice-making chamber barrier, wherein the ice transfer driving part includes a fixing part integrally formed with the ice-making chamber partitions.

An ice maker according to another embodiment of the present invention includes an ice tray partition wall formed on one side of a refrigerator and an ice maker formed in the ice tray partition wall, And an ice-maker control box formed on one side of the ice-making chamber, wherein the ice-maker control box is integrally formed with the ice-making chamber septum.

In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ice maker comprising an ice-making chamber wall formed on one side of a refrigerator and an ice maker formed in the ice-making chamber wall, wherein the ice- And an ice-maker support for fixing and supporting the ice-maker, wherein the ice-maker support is integrally formed with the ice-maker chamber.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, since the ice transfer driving part does not have a separate case, the volume occupied by the ice transfer driving part is reduced, thereby reducing the total volume of the ice making device. In this case, power consumption for keeping the temperature in the ice maker at a predetermined temperature or lower can be reduced.

Further, since the fixing portion of the ice transfer driving portion is formed integrally with the ice bank partition, the entire assembly process can be simplified, the accuracy of dimensions can be increased, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

In addition, since the fixing part of the ice transfer driving part is integrally formed with the ice-making chamber partitions, no noise due to the collision and shaking between the ice transfer driving part and the ice-making chamber partitions during operation of the conveying motor is generated, .

Further, at least one of the water supply cup, the heater cover and the ice-maker control box is integrally formed with the ice-making compartment wall in the structure of the ice-maker, the injection molding process can be reduced, and the water-supply cup, heater cover, It is possible to omit the step of assembling to the barrier ribs, so that the manufacturing process can be simplified and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

Further, since the ice maker support is integrally formed with the ice making chamber wall, the entire manufacturing process of the ice maker can be simplified and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

1 is a front view of a conventional refrigerator.
2 is a side view of a conventional refrigerator.
3 is a front view showing a conventional ice transfer driving unit.
4 is a rear view of a conventional ice transfer driving unit.
5 is a schematic view of an ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a schematic view of an ice maker according to another embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a view showing a state in which the ice maker support is coupled with the ice tray and the ice maker control box.

Hereinafter, a specific embodiment of the icemaker of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 7. FIG. However, this is an exemplary embodiment only and the present invention is not limited thereto.

In the following description, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the subject matter of the present invention rather unclear. The following terms are defined in consideration of the functions of the present invention, and may be changed according to the intention or custom of the user, the operator, and the like. Therefore, the definition should be based on the contents throughout this specification.

The technical idea of the present invention is determined by the claims, and the following embodiments are merely a means for efficiently describing the technical idea of the present invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs.

5 is a schematic view of an ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, the ice maker 100 includes a ice-making chamber barrier 102 and an ice transfer driver 104.

The ice-making chamber barrier 102 is formed inside the refrigerator in which the ice maker 100 is installed. The ice making compartment wall 102 may be formed on one side of the refrigerating compartment. Here, the ice-making room partition 102 is a separate space in the refrigerating compartment from the refrigerating compartment, and a space in the ice-making room partition 102 forms an ice-making compartment. In FIG. 5, the front and side portions of the ice-making chamber wall 102 are shown as being opened for convenience of explanation, but the ice-making chamber wall 102 is formed in a closed form in the freezing chamber.

Insulating material may be formed inside the ice-making chamber barrier 102. In this case, the ice maker 100 is insulated from the refrigerating compartment through the ice-making compartment wall 102. The space within the ice compartment bulkhead 102 should be kept at a sub-zero temperature to freeze the ice and prevent the frozen ice from melting. On the other hand, the refrigerator room should maintain the temperature of the image so that the foods do not freeze while maintaining the freshness of the foods stored in the refrigerator compartment. Thus, the space in the ice-making chamber partition 102 and the refrigerating chamber are insulated through the ice-making chamber partition 102.

The ice transfer driving part 104 includes a fixing part 111, a feed motor 114, and a lever driving part 117. The ice transfer driving part 104 does not have a separate case and a space for forming the feed motor 114 and the lever driving part 117 is provided in the ice making chamber part 102 through the fixing part 111 do.

The fixing portion 111 is formed in the ice-making chamber partition wall 102. At this time, the fixing portion 111 is formed integrally with the ice-making chamber partition wall 102. That is, the fixing portion 111 is formed together with the ice partition wall 102 at the time of manufacturing the ice-making chamber partition 102. At this time, the fixing part 111 and the ice-making chamber partitions 102 can be integrally formed through an injection molding process. The fixing portion 111 serves to fix the feed motor 114 and the lever driving portion 117 on the ice-making chamber partition 102.

The fixing part 111 may be formed across the ice-making chamber partitions 102 in the width direction of the ice-making chamber partitions 102 in the ice-making chamber partitions 102. In this case, the fixing portion 111 divides the space in the ice-making chamber partition wall 102 into two spaces. At this time, in the space existing on one side (for example, the left side of the fixing portion 111) of the fixing portion 111, the ice transfer driving portion 104 including the conveying motor 114 and the lever driving portion 117 is formed An ice bank (not shown) may be formed in a space existing on the other side (for example, the right side of the fixing portion 111) of the fixing portion 111.

Here, an ice maker (not shown) may be formed on the upper part of the ice bank (not shown). An ice bank (not shown) stores ice formed in an ice maker (not shown) and discharges the stored ice to the outside of the ice maker 100 (for example, an ice chute of a refrigerator). An ice bank (not shown) is provided in the ice bank 100 (not shown) for transporting ice, an ice crushing unit for crushing the ice transferred by the ice transfer unit, and ice conveyed by the ice transfer unit, And an ice discharging portion for discharging the ice to the outside. However, for convenience of explanation, only the ice transfer part 151 is shown here. The ice transfer unit 151 performs forward movement by rotation to transfer ice in the ice bank (not shown).

The fixing portion 111 may be formed with a lever connection hole 121 for connecting the lever driving portion 117 and a lever (not shown). The fixing part 111 may be provided with a first engaging hole 124 for engaging one end of the rotation shaft 115 of the conveying motor 114 and one end of the ice conveying part 151. [ At this time, the rotary shaft 115 of the conveying motor 114 can be coupled with one end of the ice conveying unit 151 through the coupling assisting member 129.

At least one second coupling hole 127 for fixing the feed motor 114 to the fixing portion 111 may be formed in the fixing portion 111. [ A coupling member (not shown) such as a screw is inserted into the second coupling hole 127 so that the feed motor 114 can be fixedly coupled to the fixing portion 111.

The feed motor 114 is fixedly coupled to the fixing portion 111. The feed motor 114 is coupled to one end of the ice transfer unit 151 and serves to rotate the ice transfer unit 151. When the feeding motor 114 is driven, the ice transfer unit 151 rotates to transfer the ice in the ice bank (not shown) toward the ice discharge unit (not shown).

The lever driving portion 117 is formed in the left space of the fixing portion 111. At this time, the lever driving part 117 may be fixedly coupled to the ice-making chamber partitions 102, or may be fixedly coupled to the fixing part 111. The lever driving unit 117 controls the size of the ice discharged from the ice discharge unit (not shown) by operating the lever (not shown) up and down. For example, when the lever (not shown) is operated upward through the lever driving unit 117, the ice transferred by the ice transfer unit 151 is transferred to the ice discharge unit (not shown) without passing through the ice crushing unit It is discharged immediately and large ice is discharged. When the lever (not shown) is operated downward through the lever driving unit 117, the ice transferred by the ice transfer unit 151 is discharged to an ice discharge unit (not shown) through an ice crushing unit The ice of small size is discharged.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the ice transfer driving part 104 is formed by integrally forming the fixing part 111 with the ice-making chamber partitions 102 and fixing the freezing part 111 in the space provided on the ice- It is not necessary to provide a separate case for housing the feed motor 114 and the lever driving portion 117 by forming the feed motor 114 and the lever driving portion 117. In this case, the volume occupied by the ice transfer driving part 104 is reduced, and the entire volume of the ice maker 100 can be reduced. Thus, power consumption for keeping the temperature in the ice-making device 100 at a predetermined temperature or lower can be reduced.

Since the fixing portion 111 of the ice transfer driving portion 104 is integrally formed with the ice-making chamber partition wall 102, the entire assembling process can be simplified, the accuracy of the dimension can be increased, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced . In other words, since the ice-making chamber part 102 and the fixing part 111 can be integrally formed by one injection molding process, the injection molding process can be reduced and the ice-making driving part 104 and the ice-making chamber partitions 102 can be assembled It is possible to omit the process for forming the film.

Since the fixed portion 111 of the ice transfer driving portion 104 is formed integrally with the ice-making chamber wall 102, a gap between the ice transfer driving portion 104 and the ice-making chamber wall 102 during driving of the conveying motor 114 Noise due to mutual collision and tremble does not occur, so that noise of the ice maker 100 can be reduced.

The fixing portion 111 of the ice transfer driving portion 104 is formed integrally with the ice-making chamber wall 102. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the fixing portion 111 may be formed on the upper portion of the ice bank (not shown) (For example, a heater cover, an ice-maker control box, or the like) of an ice maker (not shown) formed in the ice maker.

6 is a schematic view of an ice maker according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, not only the fixing portion 211 of the ice transfer driving part 204 but also some components of the ice maker may be integrally formed with the ice-making chamber partitions 202 in the ice-making chamber partitions 202. For example, at least one of the water supply cup 257, the heater cover 259, and the ice-maker control box 261 may be integrally formed with the ice-making chamber barrier 202. The water supply cup 257, the heater cover 259, and the ice-maker control box 261 and the ice-making chamber partition wall 202 can be integrally formed through an injection molding process. At this time, the heater cover 259 and the icemaker control box 261 may also be integrally formed.

Here, the water supply cup 257 serves to supply de-iced water from the upper part of the ice tray 251 into the ice tray 251. A plurality of partition walls 253 are formed in the ice tray 251 to divide the inside of the ice tray 251 into a plurality of ice making spaces.

A heater 255 may be formed on the lower surface of the ice tray 251. The heater 255 slightly dissolves frozen ice on the inner wall of the ice tray 251, thereby facilitating the freezing of ice. At this time, a heater cover 259 for protecting the heater 255 may be formed under the ice tray 251.

An ice maker control box 261 may be formed on one side of the ice tray 251. A controller (not shown) for controlling the overall operation of the icemaker and an ejector driver (not shown) for driving an ejector (not shown) for releasing ice in the ice tray 251 may be formed in the icemaker control box 261 .

As described above, at least one of the water supply cup 257, the heater cover 259, and the ice-maker control box 261 in the structure of the ice maker is integrally formed with the ice-making chamber wall 202, The process of assembling the water supply cup 257, the heater cover 259, and the ice-maker control box 261 to the ice-making chamber partition wall 202 can be omitted, so that the entire manufacturing process can be simplified and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 7, the ice maker may include an ice maker support 371. At this time, the ice maker support 371 may be coupled to the ice tray 351 and the ice maker control box 361 at an upper portion of the ice tray 351 and the ice maker control box 361. The ice-maker support 371 is coupled to the ice tray 351 and the ice-maker control box 361, thereby fixing the ice-maker to the ice-maker's compartment and protecting the ice-maker. Here, the ice-maker support 371 can be formed integrally with the ice-making chamber wall. For example, the ice maker support 371 may be integrally formed through the ice-making chamber barrier and the injection molding process. In this case, the entire manufacturing process of the ice maker can be simplified, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is clearly understood that the same is by way of illustration and example only and is not to be taken by way of limitation, I will understand. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the above-described embodiments, but should be determined by equivalents to the appended claims, as well as the appended claims.

100: Ice-making device 102: Ice-
104: ice transfer driving part 111:
114: Feed motor 115: Motor rotation axis
117: Lever driving part 121: Lever connecting hole
124: first coupling hole 127: second coupling hole
129: coupling assisting member 151: ice transfer part
202: ice partition wall 204: ice transfer driving part
251: Ice tray 253:
255: heater 257: water cup
259: Heater cover 261: Ice-maker control box

Claims (8)

An ice making compartment wall formed at one side of the inside of the refrigerator;
An ice transfer driving part formed on the ice making chamber wall;
An ice bank formed on one side of the ice transfer driving part in the ice bank partition;
An ice-maker provided in the ice-making chamber septum and having an ice tray; And
And an ice maker support fixedly supporting the ice maker in association with the ice maker and integrally formed with the ice maker chamber,
In the ice bank,
An ice transfer unit for transferring the ice stored in the ice bank by forward movement by rotation; And
And an ice discharge unit for discharging the ice transferred by the ice transfer unit to the outside,
The ice-
A water supply cup for supplying de-iced water from the upper portion of the ice tray to the ice tray; And
And an ice maker control box formed on one side of the ice tray,
Wherein the water supply cup is integrally formed with the ice-
The ice maker control box includes a controller for controlling the operation of the ice maker and an ejector driver for driving an ejector for releasing ice in the ice tray,
The ice-
A fixing unit formed integrally with the ice-making chamber partition wall across the ice-making room partition wall in the width direction of the ice-making room partition wall, and dividing the space in the ice-making room partition wall into two spaces; And
And a feed motor fixed to the fixing portion and rotating the ice transfer portion,
Wherein the conveying motor is disposed on one side of the two spaces with respect to the fixed portion, the ice bank is formed on the other side of the two spaces,
Wherein the fixing portion is provided with a first engaging hole for engaging the rotation shaft of the conveying motor and the one end of the ice conveying portion.
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