KR102272594B1 - Ice maker and ice making method using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed are an ice maker and an ice making method using the same.
An ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: an ice-making cell; and a cooling unit having a refrigerant flow path formed thereon so that the refrigerant flows around the ice-making cell; a water supply unit for supplying water to the ice making cell; and an opening/closing part for opening and closing an open side of the ice-making cell so that water is contained in the ice-making cell or the ice formed in the ice-making cell is discharged to the outside; may include.

Description

Ice maker and ice making method using same

The present invention relates to an ice maker and an ice making method using the same, and more particularly, to an ice maker capable of making ice in a relatively quick time with a simpler configuration and an ice making method using the same.

An ice machine is a device that makes ice.

As such ice makers, there are submerged ice makers, flowing water type and spray type ice makers.

In the submerged ice maker, the submerged member connected to the evaporator through which the refrigerant flows is immersed in the water contained in the ice-making tray to generate ice in the submerged member.

In addition, the flow-through ice maker allows water to flow through the ice tray in contact with the evaporator through which the refrigerant flows, thereby generating ice in the ice tray.

In addition, the jet type ice maker sprays water to the ice maker tray in contact with the evaporator through which the refrigerant flows, so that ice is generated in the ice maker tray.

As such, the conventional ice maker requires an ice maker tray containing water. Therefore, the configuration of the conventional ice maker is rather complicated. And, it took a relatively long time for ice to be formed.

The present invention has been made in recognition of at least one of the needs or problems occurring in the prior art as described above.

One aspect of the object of the present invention is to make ice with a simpler configuration.

Another aspect of the object of the present invention is to make ice in a relatively short time.

An ice maker and an ice making method using the same according to an embodiment for realizing at least one of the above problems may include the following features.

An ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: an ice-making cell; and a cooling unit in which a refrigerant passage is formed so that a refrigerant flows around the ice-making cell; a water supply unit for supplying water to the ice making cell; and an opening/closing unit for opening and closing an open side of the ice-making cell so that water is contained in the ice-making cell or ice formed in the ice-making cell is discharged to the outside; may include.

In this case, a water inlet hole may be formed in an upper portion of the ice-making cell, and a lower portion of the ice-making cell may be opened.

In addition, the cooling unit may be provided with a refrigerant inlet connected to the refrigerant passage and through which the refrigerant flows, and a refrigerant outlet connected to the refrigerant passage and through which the refrigerant is discharged.

In addition, the water supply unit is connected to a water supply source, the water supply pipe for supplying water; and a guide member for guiding the water supplied from the water supply pipe to flow into the water inlet hole. may include.

In addition, the opening and closing part opening and closing member; and a moving unit connected to the opening/closing member and moving the opening/closing member so that the opening/closing member opens and closes an open side of the ice-making cell. may include.

And, the opening and closing member may be provided with a heater.

An ice-making method according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: an ice-making cell closing step of closing an open side of an ice-making cell formed in a cooling unit included in the above-described ice-maker by an opening/closing unit included in the ice-maker; an ice making step of supplying water from a water supply unit included in the ice maker to the ice making cell and allowing a cold refrigerant to flow through a refrigerant passage formed in the cooling unit to generate ice in the ice making cell; and an ice removing step of opening one side of the ice making cell by the opening and closing part and separating the ice generated in the ice making cell from the ice making cell. may include.

In this case, in the ice-removing step, the ice formed in the ice-making cell may be separated from the ice-making cell by allowing the hot refrigerant to flow in the refrigerant passage.

In addition, in the step of closing the ice-making cell, the opened side of the ice-making cell may be closed by the movement of the opening/closing member included in the opening/closing part, and the one side of the ice-making cell may be opened by the movement of the opening/closing member in the ice-removing step.

In the ice removing step, ice separated from the ice making cell is placed on the opening and closing member, and the opening and closing member is inclined to move the ice placed on the opening and closing member.

In addition, in the ice removing step, the inclined opening and closing member may be heated by a heater provided in the opening and closing member.

As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, it has a simpler configuration, including a cooling unit having an ice-making cell and a refrigerant passage formed therein, a water supply unit supplying water to the ice-making cell, and an opening/closing unit for opening and closing an open side of the ice-making cell. You can make ice.

Another aspect of the object of the present invention is to allow the refrigerant to flow around the ice-making cell to make ice in a relatively short time.

1 is a perspective view of an ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is an exploded perspective view of an ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A' of FIG. 1;
4 to 8 are cross-sectional views similar to those of FIG. 3 showing an ice making method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In order to help understanding of the features of the present invention as described above, an ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention and an ice making method using the same will be described in more detail below.

The embodiments described below will be described on the basis of the most suitable embodiments for understanding the technical features of the present invention, and the technical features of the present invention are not limited by the described embodiments. It is to illustrate that the present invention can be implemented like the described embodiments. Accordingly, the present invention is capable of various modifications within the technical scope of the present invention through the embodiments described below, and these modified embodiments will fall within the technical scope of the present invention. And, in the reference numerals shown in the accompanying drawings to help the understanding of the embodiments to be described below, related components among the components that perform the same operation in each embodiment are indicated by the same or extended numbers.

ice machine

Hereinafter, an ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 . For convenience of explanation, reference will also be made to FIGS. 4 to 8 illustrating an ice making method according to an embodiment of the present invention, which will be described later.

1 is a perspective view of an ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A' in FIG.

The ice maker 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a cooling unit 200 , a water supply unit 300 , and an opening/closing unit 400 as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 .

As described above, since the ice maker 100 is configured without a separate ice maker tray, the ice I can be made with a simpler configuration.

An ice-making cell 210 and a refrigerant passage 220 may be formed in the cooling unit 200 . A plurality of ice-making cells 210 may be formed in the cooling unit 200 as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 . However, the number of ice-making cells 210 is not particularly limited, and any number is possible.

A water inlet hole 211 may be formed in an upper portion of the ice-making cell 210 . And, the lower portion of the ice-making cell 210 may be opened.

With this configuration, as shown in FIG. 5 , the water supplied to the upper portion of the cooling unit 200 through a water supply unit 300 to be described later flows through the upper portion of the cooling unit 200 , and the water flows into the ice-making cell 210 . It may be introduced into the hole 211 .

In this case, the opened lower portion of the ice-making cell 210 may be closed by an opening/closing member 410 to be described later included in the opening/closing unit 400 as shown in FIG. 5 . Accordingly, as described above, the water introduced into the ice-making cell 210 through the water inlet hole 211 of the ice-making cell 210 may be contained in the ice-making cell 210 .

Meanwhile, when the water contained in the ice-making cell 210 is cooled to form ice I in the ice-making cell 210 , the lower portion of the ice-making cell 210 may be opened as shown in FIG. 7 . Accordingly, as shown, the ice I formed in the ice-making cell 210 is separated from the ice-making cell 210 and discharged onto the opening and closing member 410 through the open lower part of the ice-making cell 210 by its own weight, That is, it can be de-icing.

The refrigerant passage 220 may be formed around the ice-making cell 210 . In addition, the cooling unit 200 may be provided with a refrigerant inlet 230 and a refrigerant outlet 240 connected to the refrigerant passage 220, respectively.

Accordingly, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 7 , the refrigerant flows into the refrigerant passage 220 through the refrigerant inlet 230 and the refrigerant flows around the ice making cell 210 . And, the refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant passage 220 is discharged through the refrigerant outlet (240).

As such, since the refrigerant flows around the ice-making cell 210 , ice I can be formed in the ice-making cell 210 in a relatively short time.

As shown in FIG. 5 , when the opened lower part of the ice-making cell 210 is closed by the opening/closing member 410 and water is contained in the ice-making cell 210 , the cold refrigerant can flow in the refrigerant passage 220 . have. Accordingly, ice I may be formed in the ice making cell 210 as shown in FIG. 6 .

Also, as shown in FIG. 7 , when the lower portion of the ice-making cell 210 is opened after ice I is formed in the ice-making cell 210 , a hot refrigerant may flow in the refrigerant passage 220 . As a result, as shown and described above, the ice I formed in the ice-making cell 210 is separated from the ice-making cell 210 and over the opening/closing member 410 through the open lower part of the ice-making cell 210 by its own weight. It can be discharged, ie de-icing.

Meanwhile, as described above, ice I formed in the ice-making cell 210 may be removed by flowing hot refrigerant in the refrigerant passage 220 , but a heater (not shown) is provided in the cooling unit 200 , so that the heater The ice I may be removed by heating the cooling unit 200 by the

The water supply unit 300 may supply water to the ice-making cell 210 . The water supply unit 300 may include a water supply pipe 310 and a guide member 320 .

The water supply pipe 310 may be connected to a water supply source (not shown) such as water. In addition, the guide member 320 may guide the water supplied from the water supply pipe 310 to flow into the water inlet hole 211 of the ice-making cell 210 .

To this end, as shown in FIG. 1 , the guide member 320 may be provided on the cooling unit 200 . In addition, a plate-shaped guide member 320 is provided to be inclined under the water supply pipe 310 to guide the water supplied from the water supply pipe 310 to flow to the upper portion of the cooling unit 200 .

In addition, plate-shaped guide members 320 are provided on both sides of the cooling unit 200 to prevent water flowing through the upper portion of the cooling unit 200 from flowing to other places.

In addition, the plate-shaped guide member 320 is provided on the cooling unit 200 opposite the water supply pipe 310 to be inclined, and the water flowing through the upper portion of the cooling unit 200 is, for example, a cold water tank (not shown). It can be moved and stored.

The above-described water supply pipe 310 may be connected to a cold water tank in which the water flowing through the upper portion of the cooling unit 200 flows and is stored, and the water may be circulated to contain a desired amount of water in the ice making cell 210 .

The shape and number of the guide member 320 is not particularly limited, and if the shape and number can guide the water supplied from the water supply pipe 310 to flow into the water inlet hole 211 of the ice-making cell 210, Any shape and number is possible.

The opening/closing unit 400 makes ice so that water is put in the ice-making cell 210 as shown in FIG. 5 or the ice I formed in the ice-making cell 210 is discharged to the outside, that is, ice is removed as shown in FIG. 7 . An open side of the cell 210 may be opened and closed.

1 to 3, the bottom of the ice-making cell 210 is opened. Accordingly, the opening/closing unit 400 may open/close the opened lower portion of the ice-making cell 210 .

To this end, the opening/closing unit 400 may include an opening/closing member 410 and a moving unit 420 as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 .

The opening and closing member 410 may have a plate shape as shown in FIG. 2 . Accordingly, the opening/closing member 410 may open and close the opened side of the ice-making cell 210, for example, the lower portion of the ice-making cell 210 as described above. However, the shape of the opening/closing member 410 is not particularly limited, and any shape is possible as long as it can open and close an open side of the ice-making cell 210 , for example, an open lower portion of the ice-making cell 210 .

As shown in FIG. 2 , a heater 411 may be provided in the opening/closing member 410 . Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 8, when the opening/closing member 410 is inclined so that the ice I removed from the ice making cell 210 moves to an ice storage (not shown), etc., the The opening and closing member 410 may be heated.

Accordingly, a portion of the ice I placed on the opening/closing member 410 in contact with the opening/closing member 410 may be slightly melted. As a result, the frictional force between the opening and closing member 410 and the ice I is reduced, so that the ice I placed on the inclined opening and closing member 410 can easily follow the opening and closing member 410 by the load, such as in an ice reservoir, etc. can move to

The moving unit 420 may be connected to the opening/closing member 410 . And, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 , the opening and closing member 410 can be moved, ie, raised, so that the opened side of the ice-making cell 210, for example, the open lower part of the ice-making cell 210 is closed. In addition, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 , one side of the ice-making cell 210 , for example, the lower part of the ice-making cell 210 may be moved, that is, lowered, so that the opening/closing member 410 is opened. And, as shown in FIG. 8 and as described above, the opening/closing member 410 may be inclined so that the ice I removed from the ice-making cell 210 moves to an ice storage (not shown) or the like.

On the other hand, as shown in Figures 1 and 3, the mobile unit 420 may be provided on the base (B).

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 , the moving unit 420 may be a hydraulic cylinder. However, the moving unit 420 is not particularly limited, and any known type is possible as long as it is connected to the opening/closing member 410 to move the opening/closing member 410 .

How to make ice

Hereinafter, an ice making method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 8 .

The ice making method according to an embodiment of the present invention may include an ice making cell closing step (S100), an ice making step (S200), and an ice removing step (S300) as shown in FIGS. 4 to 8 .

In the ice-making cell closing step (S100), the opened one side of the ice-making cell 210 formed in the cooling unit 200 included in the above-described ice-maker 100 is opened and closed in the ice-maker 100 as shown in FIG. 4 . 400) can be closed.

As described above and shown in FIG. 4 , the opening and closing member 410 included in the opening/closing unit 400 moves, that is, rises, by the moving unit 420 included in the opening/closing member 400 to open the ice-making cell 210 . One side, that is, the open lower part can be closed.

In the ice making step (S200), as shown in FIG. 5 , water is supplied to the ice making cell 210 from the water supply unit 300 included in the ice machine 100 , and water is cooled in the refrigerant flow path 220 formed in the cooling unit 200 . By allowing the refrigerant to flow, ice I may be formed in the ice making cell 210 .

That is, as described above and shown in FIG. 5 , water supplied from the water supply pipe 310 included in the water supply unit 300 may be guided by the guide member 320 to flow upwards of the cooling unit 200 .

In addition, a portion of the water flowing through the upper portion of the cooling unit 200 may be stored in the ice-making cell 210 through the water inlet hole 211 of the ice-making cell 210 as shown in FIG. In addition, the remaining water may be guided by the guide member 320 to flow into the cold water tank or the like as described above.

In addition, the cold refrigerant flows into the refrigerant passage 220 through the refrigerant inlet 230 connected to the refrigerant passage 220, flows around the ice-making cell 210, and then the refrigerant outlet 240 connected to the refrigerant passage 220. can be released through

Accordingly, ice I may be generated in the ice making cell 210 as shown in FIG. 6 .

In the ice-removing step ( S300 ), one side of the ice-making cell 210 may be opened by the opening/closing unit 400 . 7, in the ice removing step (S300), the opening and closing member 410 of the opening and closing unit 400 moves, that is, descends by the moving unit 420, so that the opened side of the ice-making cell 210, that is, the lower can be opened

Also, in the ice removing step 300 , the ice I generated in the ice making cell 210 may be separated from the ice making cell 210 . To this end, in the ice removal step ( S300 ), the hot refrigerant may flow in the refrigerant passage ( 220 ). That is, as shown in FIG. 7 , the hot refrigerant flows into the refrigerant passage 220 through the refrigerant inlet 230 , flows around the ice-making cell 210 , and then may be discharged through the refrigerant outlet 240 .

However, as described above, a heater may be provided in the cooling unit 200 , and the cooling unit 200 may be heated by the heater and the ice I may be separated from the ice making cell 210 .

In the ice removing step (S300), as shown in FIG. 7 , the ice I separated from the ice making cell 210 may be placed on the opening/closing member 410 . In addition, the opening and closing member 410 is inclined by the moving unit 420 to move the ice I placed on the opening and closing member 410 . Accordingly, the ice I may be moved from the opening/closing member 410 to the ice storage or the like.

In this case, the inclined opening/closing member 410 may be heated by the heater 411 provided in the opening/closing member 410 so that the ice I can be easily moved in the inclined opening/closing member 410 .

As described above, by using the ice maker and the ice making method using the same according to the present invention, ice can be made with a simpler configuration, and ice can be made relatively quickly.

The above-described ice maker and the ice-making method using the same are not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, but all or part of each embodiment is selectively combined so that various modifications can be made. may be configured.

100: ice maker 200: cooling unit
210: ice making cell 211: water inlet hole
220: refrigerant flow path 230: refrigerant inlet
240: refrigerant outlet 300: water supply
310: water supply pipe 320: guide part
400: lifting unit 410: opening and closing member
411: heater 420: moving unit
B: base

Claims (11)

a cooling unit integrally formed with an ice-making cell having an open lower portion, a water inlet hole formed in an upper portion of the ice-making cell, and a refrigerant passage through which the refrigerant flows around the ice-making cell;
A water supply pipe located on one upper side of the cooling unit, and a guide member for guiding the water supplied from the water supply pipe to flow into the water inlet hole while flowing to the other side of the upper side of the cooling unit, to supply water to the ice-making cell water supply; and
an opening/closing part for opening and closing an open lower portion of the ice-making cell so that water is contained in the ice-making cell or the ice formed in the ice-making cell is discharged to the outside; includes,
The guide member is provided on each upper side of the cooling unit so that the supplied water flows from one upper side of the cooling unit to the other side,
The guide member is positioned to be inclined from one side of the upper part of the cooling unit to the other side. delete The ice maker according to claim 1, wherein the cooling unit is provided with a refrigerant inlet connected to the refrigerant passage and through which the refrigerant flows, and a refrigerant outlet connected to the refrigerant passage and through which the refrigerant is discharged. delete The method of claim 1, wherein the opening and closing portion
opening and closing member; and
a moving unit connected to the opening/closing member and moving the opening/closing member so that the opening/closing member opens and closes an open lower portion of the ice-making cell;
An ice maker comprising The ice maker according to claim 5, wherein the opening and closing member is provided with a heater. An ice-making cell closing step of closing an open lower portion of an ice-making cell formed in a cooling unit included in the ice-maker of any one of claims 1, 3, 5, and 6 by an opening/closing part included in the ice-maker;
an ice making step of supplying water to the ice making cell from a water supply unit included in the ice maker and allowing a cold refrigerant to flow in a refrigerant passage formed in the cooling unit to generate ice in the ice making cell; and
an ice removal step of opening a lower portion of the ice-making cell by the opening and closing unit and separating the ice generated in the ice-making cell from the ice-making cell;
An ice making method comprising a. The method of claim 7, wherein in the ice removing step, the ice formed in the ice making cell is separated from the ice making cell by allowing a hot refrigerant to flow in the refrigerant passage. The method of claim 7, wherein in the closing step of the ice-making cell, the opened lower part of the ice-making cell is closed by movement of the opening/closing member included in the opening and closing part;
In the ice removing step, an ice making method of opening a lower portion of the ice making cell by moving the opening and closing member. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein in the ice removing step, the ice separated from the ice making cell is placed on the opening and closing member,
An ice making method in which the opening and closing member is inclined to move the ice placed on the opening and closing member. The method of claim 10, wherein in the ice removing step, the inclined opening and closing member is heated by a heater provided in the opening and closing member.

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