KR101975267B1 - Ice maker including wiring guide structure and refrigerator including the same - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is an ice maker, comprising: a control box including a case and an electronic part disposed in the case; and wiring connected to the electronic part disposed in the control box, and extending from the electronic part to an outer side of the control box. The case comprises: an insertion part configured to enable the wiring to be connected to an inner side and the outer side of the control box; and a guide surface for guiding the wiring at the outer side of the control box through the insertion part. Moreover, the guide surface is disposed for the wiring to be extended by being adjacent to one of a motor part, an output gear, and an interlocking gear, which can be disposed in the case.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to an icemaker and a refrigerator including the same,

The present invention relates to an ice maker including a wiring guide structure and a refrigerator including the same.

Generally, a refrigerator includes an ice maker that produces ice. Since the ice maker must produce ice, it can be placed in a subzero environment, that is, in the freezer area. An ordinary refrigerator is divided into a refrigeration zone and a freezing zone, and each zone can be partitioned so that the freezing zone is narrower. Therefore, the ice maker located in the freezing region may further reduce the freezing volume of the narrowly formed freezer. In order to solve this problem, attempts to reduce the volume of the ice maker have been attempted in various ways. As an example of such an attempt, the ice-maker is disposed on the door side of the freezer or the components provided for communication with the refrigerator are disposed on the side of the refrigerator controller, but such a structure may be inevitable due to the structure of the refrigerator. Therefore, there is a demand for a technology for reducing the volume of the ice maker itself and ensuring the freezing volume irrespective of the volume of the refrigerator.

Korean Registered Utility Model No. 20-0356378 (2004. 07. 06)

In an embodiment of the present invention, the wiring of the communication and power supply connected to the inside of the control box of the ice maker is extended in a guided state by closely contacting the case side of the control box, thereby reducing the volume of the ice- And it is an object of the present invention to provide an ice maker which can secure a wider refrigeration volume.

A control box including a case and an electric part provided in the case; And a wiring that is connected to a front end portion provided inside the control box and extends from the front end portion to the outside of the control box, the case including: an inlet portion for allowing wiring to pass through the inside and outside of the control box; And a guide surface for guiding the wiring outside the control box through the lead portion, wherein the guide surface is provided so that the wiring can be extended adjacent to one of the motor portion, the output gear, and the interlocking gear, An ice maker is provided.

The wiring may include a bent portion in a section extending outside the case.

Further, the case includes a first case and a second case, and a latching portion for interrupting the extending direction of the wiring from at least one of the first case and the second case may be formed.

The first latching portion is disposed on the side extending outwardly from the lead-in portion, and the second latching portion is bent or diffracted by one or more times on the outside of the case to extend the lead- Lt; / RTI >

Further, the electric field section may include a motor section and a control section.

Also, the wiring may be a wiring that carries one or more of a power source and an actuating signal.

Further, the electric field unit may further include a control unit, and at least one of a power source and an operation signal may be transmitted from the refrigerator to the control unit.

Also, the electric field unit includes a temperature sensor and a control unit, and the operation signal transmitted through the wiring is sequentially transmitted to the refrigerator, the control unit, and the electric field unit, and the sensed information sensed by the temperature sensor can be transmitted to the refrigerator through the control unit.

Also, the operation signal transmitted through the wiring can be transmitted through one of CAN (Controller Area Network) communication, LIN (Local Interconnect Network) communication, RS232, RS422, RS485 and K-LINE communication.

There is provided a refrigerator comprising the ice-maker described above.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the wiring of the communication and power supply connected to the inside of the control box of the ice maker is extended in a guided state by closely contacting the case side of the control box, thereby reducing the volume of the ice- It is possible to provide an ice maker capable of ensuring a wider refrigeration volume.

1 is a view showing an ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention;
2 is a perspective view of a control box according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a front view of a control box according to an embodiment of the present invention;
4 is a view showing a structure of a control box according to an embodiment of the present invention;
5 is a view showing the structure of a control box according to another embodiment of the present invention
6 is a diagram illustrating a signal transmission direction through wiring according to an embodiment of the present invention;
7 is a diagram illustrating transmission and reception of signals through wiring according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, this is merely an example 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 effectively explaining the technical idea of the present invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs.

1 is a view illustrating an ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the ice maker may include a ice maker 1 and a control box 100. The ice maker is located in the freezing area of the refrigerator (not shown), and can be ice-cooled by the ice-making water supplied from the water supply part and released by the twist of the ejector or the ice-making tray. Here, the water supply part and the ice-making tray may be included in the ice-making part 1. In the case of the heater ice maker, the ejector may be further included in the ice-making part 1.

The control box 100 connected to the ice-making unit 1 may include an electric part provided inside the case 120 (121, 122) and the case 120 (121, 122). Here, the case 120 may form an internal space by coupling the first case 121 and the second case 122, and a full-length portion may be provided in the internal space. The electric field unit is configured to include a motor 130, a control unit, and a sensor. Further, the electric field unit may be configured to directly or indirectly receive a power or operation signal from the refrigerator through a wiring 110 connected to the refrigerator.

The wiring 110 may be inserted into the control box 100 through the inlet formed to communicate with the inside and outside of the case 120 and connected to the front end. In other words, the wiring 110 electrically connected to the front portion can be drawn out from the control box 100 through the inlet portion to the outside of the control box, and the drawn wiring can be extended to the refrigerator side to be electrically connected. For example, the wiring 110 may be connected to a refrigerator control unit (not shown).

Here, the path of the wiring 110 extending from the outside of the case 120, that is, after the drawing, to the refrigerator side can be guided by the guide surface (121c in Fig. 2) of the case 120 by a predetermined interval. The guide surface (121c in Fig. 2) will be described later in detail with reference to Figs. 2 and 3. Fig.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a control box 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a front view of a control box 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, a wiring 110 may extend through a lead-in portion of the case 120. In this example, the inlet portion is formed in the first case 121, but this is merely an example, and the inlet portion may be formed in the second case. That is, the inlet portion may be provided by at least one of the first case 121 and the second case 122. [ The wiring 110 drawn out from the lead-in portion can extend along the outer surface of the case 120. This may be, for example, a part of the case 120 adjacent to the motor part 130. [ A guide surface 121c may be formed in a part of the case 120 adjacent to the motor unit 130 so that the outer surface thereof can guide a direction in which the wiring extends.

The guide surface 121c may be curved and may be planar, but may be formed to be concave from the case 120 to the inner space without being formed to protrude or collapse out of the case. This concave space can be extended by extending the wiring 110. More specifically, the wiring does not protrude to the outside of the case 120 and the wiring 110 is passed through the concave space. Therefore, a separate structure for hiding the wiring 110 is not required, and the freezing volume of the freezing area .

In order to arrange the wirings along the guide surface 121c, the wirings may be provided with a fixing force in the extending direction through means such as receiving or covering with a cover member (not shown) or the like. For example, a power source included in the wiring 110 and an electric wire for transmitting a plurality of operation signals can be combined by one cover member and fixed at a predetermined force.

The case may include latching portions 121a and 121b so as to be separated from the guide surface 121c by separating from the direction in which the wiring 110 extends and to prevent the wiring 110 from moving outside the concave space and outside the case 120. [ have.

The latching portions 121a and 121b may extend in a direction that can maintain the state where the wiring 110 is positioned in the concave space. In addition, a plurality of the engaging portions 121a and 121b may be provided. As shown in FIG. 2, the first and second latching portions 121a and 121b may extend in different directions. For example, the wiring 110 may be diffracted and deflected in the concave space in the process of being drawn out from the inlet and extending toward the refrigerator side, and the extension direction may be changed by the curvature or diffraction, The engaging portions 121a and 121b may be positioned in a direction parallel to the plurality of directions.

The first and second latching portions 121a and 121b may be positioned so as to be orthogonal to each other when the latching portion 121a is turned by 90 degrees in the concave space. The direction in which the engaging portions 121a and 121b extend from the case 120 may extend in the direction in which the engaging portions 121a and 121b face each other or in the same direction,

Hereinafter, a process of transmitting and receiving at least one of a power supply and an operation signal transmitted through the wiring 110 will be described.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of a control box 100 showing a first embodiment according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a drawing of a control box 100 showing a second embodiment according to another embodiment of the present invention to be.

4 and 5, the wiring 110 may extend along the guide surface 121c as described above. The extended wiring 110 can extend the motor portion 130, the output gear 140, and the interlocking gear portions 140a, 140b, 140c, and 140d with the case 120 interposed therebetween. That is, the guide surface 121c can induce the wiring 110 to be disposed adjacent to the motor unit 130, the output gear 140, and the interlocking gear units 140a, 140b, 140c, and 140d.

Here, the configurations of the motor unit 130, the output gear 140, and the interlocking gear units 140a, 140b, 140c, and 140d may be selectively provided in the control box 100, May vary.

4, the guide surface 121c is positioned so as to extend the wiring 110 adjacent to the motor unit 130. The guide surface 121c is disposed on a surface of the case 120, which is recessed inwardly, (121c) can be located. Of course, in this case, the interlocking gear portion 140a may be positioned in a direction different from the direction in which the wiring 110 positioned to receive rotational power from the motor portion 130 extends. Therefore, the position of the motor part 130 can be located at the outermost position in the control box 100. [

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5, the guide surface 121c is positioned so as to extend the wiring 110 adjacent to the interlocking gear portion 140b. The guide surface 121c is disposed on the surface of the case 120, 121c may be located. Of course, in this case, another adjacent interlocking gear portion 140d may be positioned in a direction different from the direction in which the interconnection 110 is positioned to receive rotational power from the interlocking gear portion 140b. Therefore, the position of the interlocking gear portion 140b disposed adjacent to the wiring 110 can be located at the outermost position in the control box 100. [ Further, when two interlocking gear portions 140b and 140c are positioned on the coaxial line, they can be configured as small gears and idle gears for changing the number of revolutions and the torque. In this case, the wiring 110 is arranged so as to be adjacent to the small gear (the interlocking gear portion 140b), so that the case 120 is recessed by the step difference formed by the pitch circle diameter difference with the large gear (interlocking gear portion 140c) And a guide surface 121c may be formed in the concave portion. That is, the wiring 1110 can be positioned adjacent to the small gear (interlocking gear portion 140b) when positioned adjacent to the interlocking gear portions 140b, 140c, and 140d.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating signal transmission directions through wiring according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating transmission and reception of signals through wiring according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The ice maker of the present invention can transmit at least one of an operation signal and a power source to the controller E from the refrigerator 10 by one or more of an operation signal and a power source to the controller C, . This means that each functional configuration carries at least one of the operating signal and the power source in different configurations, and a plurality of configurations of the respective configurations may be included in the icemaker or the refrigerator side. Thus, this means " functional configuration ", which represents the flow through which at least one of the activation signal and the power source is delivered.

The configuration of the electric field portion may include a first motor for rotating the ice-making tray and a second motor included in the ice-maker, an ejector, a sensor, an overheat preventing means, a heater, and the like.

The refrigerator (10) and the ice-maker control unit (C) can communicate through a communication bus. When the communication bus is communicated through the port of the Universal Asynchronous Receiver / Transmitter (UART) unit and is communicated, an operation signal is transmitted from the refrigerator 10 to the icemaker control unit C, The refrigerator 10 can receive detection information. The actuation signal may include an actuation signal for driving a drive motor including a first motor and a second motor. Here, the first motor may be a motor for rotating the ejector. Further, the second motor may be an uger motor. The ice stored in the ice bank may be an igor motor that is rotated in the course of transfer to discharge.

Since the respective information for driving the first motor and the second motor may be different from each other, individual information may be transmitted to each other. The information may include information such as the rotational speed of the motor, the rotational angle, and the rotational torque, respectively. This means that the torque is prioritized when crushing ice and the rotational speed is prioritized when the ejector is rotated, so that the information contained in the actuating signal may be different.

Further, the operation signal may include driving information of the heater. Here, the heater may be a freezing heater which is attached to the bottom surface of the ice-making tray of the heater-type ice-maker and generates heat, as in this example. The exothermic information of the heater can be determined within a predetermined time, for example, within a predetermined temperature range. Of course, if heat is generated beyond a predetermined temperature range, the heat generation of the heater can be blocked by the overheat preventing means (not shown).

For example, when the sensor for sensing the temperature of the heater transfers the heat detection information of the heater to the refrigerator 10 through the ice-maker controller C, the operation signal including the " To the control unit (C). In the ice-maker controller C, the position to which the above-mentioned " heat interruption " information should be transmitted, that is, the heater, can be discriminated and transmitted.

The ice maker may include a temperature sensor level sensor, a full ice level sensor, and a position sensor. When the sensing information sensed by each sensor is transmitted to the ice-maker controller C as described above, To the refrigerator 10 to receive feedback information corresponding to each sensing information from the refrigerator. Feedback information that has been returned can be transmitted to various positions, and it can be discriminated and transmitted to correspond to the temperature sensor, the water level sensor, the full ice level sensor, and the position sensor.

As described above, the communication between the ice-maker control unit C and the refrigerator 10 in the above-described communication system may be a communication through the universal asynchronous receiver / transmitter (UART) unit and the port. Universal Asynchronous Receiver / Transmitter (UART) includes various communication methods, for example, K-LINE communication, RS232, RS422, RS485 and LIN (Local Interconnect Network) communication.

Here, K-line communication is a diagnostic protocol that complies with the ISO 14230 standard and is based on a typical Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter (UART) circuit technology like a standard RS232 serial interface. For universal asynchronous transmission and reception, the sender and receiver use the start and stop bits for synchronization purposes. This means that a single line is sufficient for the system without additional lines. In contrast to the RS 232, the K-Line communication can communicate with various ECUs as a bus system. The standard transfer rate is 10,400 baud and the maximum speed is 115.2 K baud, which can be used for flash memory programming and so on.

In addition, K-Line is suitable for both on-board and off-board diagnostics and can provide two types of special initialization patterns. One of the characteristics of the K-Line may be a special key byte used for checking the header format and timing parameters.

The communication module may convert each sensing signal received from the ice-maker controller C into data suitable for the corresponding network communication, and then transmit the sensed signal to the refrigerator 10 via the communication bus. That is, when the network communication is LIN communication, the communication module can convert each sensing signal received from the ice-maker controller C according to the LIN protocol, and then transmit the sensed signal to the refrigerator through the communication bus 210.

Therefore, since the wiring for communication between the ice maker and the refrigerator 10 can be minimized, the size of the ice maker can be reduced, and the generation of noise and electromagnetic waves can be reduced.

Referring to FIG. 7, when the communication network of the refrigerator 10 is a Local Interconnect Network (LIN), the communication bus 210 may be a single line. Also, when the communication network of the refrigerator 10 is a LIN (Local Interconnect Network), the refrigerator 10 becomes a master node, and another electronic control device (other electric appliance) becomes a slave node and can perform communication. Here, the master refrigerator control unit may switch the operation mode from the active mode to the sleep mode according to the use state of the communication bus. For example, if there is no data transmission over the communication bus for a predetermined time, the first electronic control device can switch the mode of the communication network to the sleep mode to prevent unnecessary power wastage.

As described above, when a CAN (Controller Area Network) or a LIN (Local Interconnect Network) is used as the communication network of the refrigerator 10, if another electronic control device is added to the refrigerator, It is possible to secure excellent scalability due to specification changes and the like.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments, but, on the contrary, . 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.

1:
10: Refrigerator
100: control box
110: Wiring
111:
120: Case
121: First case
121a:
121b:
121c:
122: Second case
130:
140: Output gear
140a, 140b, 140c, 140d:
141: Output section
S: Sensor unit
C:
E: All books

Claims (10)

A control box including a case and an electric part provided in the case; And
And a wiring connected to a front portion provided inside the control box and extending along the outer surface of the case from the front portion to the outside of the control box,
In this case,
An inlet for allowing the wiring to communicate with the inside and outside of the control box;
A guide surface for guiding the wiring drawn out to the outside of the control box through the lead-in portion; And
And a latching portion for separating from the guide surface to prevent the wiring from being widened toward the outside of the case,
Wherein the guide surface is provided so as to extend adjacent to the wiring in one of a motor portion, an output gear and an interlocking gear that can be provided in the case, and is formed to be concave in the case inner space, ≪ / RTI >
Wherein the wiring extends in the concave space in the process of being drawn out from the inlet portion and extending toward the refrigerator side,
Wherein the engaging portion extends in a direction that can maintain a state where the wiring is positioned in the concave space, and includes a first engaging portion and a second engaging portion,
Wherein the first latching portion is disposed on a side extending outwardly from the lead-in portion, and the second latching portion is disposed in a section where the wiring is bent or diffracted more than once at the outside of the case, And the second catches are positioned to be orthogonal to each other.
The method according to claim 1,
The case includes a first case and a second case,
And an engagement portion is formed to prevent the first and second cases from being detached from the at least one of the first case and the second case.
delete The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the wiring includes a bent portion in a section extending outside the case.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the electric field portion includes a motor portion and a control portion.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the wiring is a wiring for transmitting at least one of a power source and an operation signal.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the electric field unit further comprises a control unit,
Wherein the wiring is a wiring for transferring at least one of a power source and an operation signal,
Wherein at least one of the power source and the operation signal is transmitted from the refrigerator to the control unit.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the full-length part includes a temperature sensor and a control part,
An operation signal transmitted through the wiring is sequentially transmitted to the refrigerator, the control unit, and the electric field unit,
And the sensed information sensed by the temperature sensor is transmitted to the refrigerator through the controller.
The method according to claim 1,
The operation signal transmitted through the wiring line,
Is transmitted through one of CAN (Controller Area Network) communication, LIN (Local Interconnect Network) communication, RS232, RS422, RS485 and K-LINE communication.
A refrigerator comprising an icemaker according to any one of claims 1, 2 and 4 to 9.

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