KR102344114B1 - Ice maker - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a structure of a part for discharging ice in an ice maker.
The ice maker according to the present invention stores ice, a tank having a discharge port for discharging the ice, a door capable of opening and closing the discharge port of the tank, and encloses and protects the tank and the door, and has a discharge port of the tank on a side surface The case may include a case having an outlet for discharging the ice discharged through the case and an internal passage extending downward from the outlet of the case to open to the outside, and a cover detachably coupled to the case.

Description

Ice Maker {ICE MAKER}

The present invention relates to an ice maker, and more particularly, to a structure of a part for discharging ice from the ice maker.

Ice makers capable of automatically generating ice are widely used in stores and homes that sell cold drinks. However, since the part for discharging ice from the ice maker is exposed to the outside, it is easy to become contaminated. In particular, when ice cubes are melted and wet, if the contamination continues, there is a risk of bacterial growth. Therefore, periodic cleaning, replacement, or other management is required. In the conventional ice maker, it is difficult to maintain the cleanliness because the part for discharging the ice is integrally formed or permanently coupled to the overall outer case.

KR 10-1485981 B1 KR 10-2013-0084153 A JP 2010-203742 A JP 2006-517167 A

In order to solve the above problem, an object of the present invention is to provide an ice maker capable of easily maintaining a clean state of a portion for discharging ice.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an ice maker that allows a user to easily recognize its operating state at any location.

The ice maker according to the present invention stores ice and includes a tank having a discharge port for discharging the ice, a door capable of opening and closing the discharge port of the tank, and enclosing the tank and the door to protect it, and a side surface of the tank discharge port The case may include a case having an outlet for discharging the ice discharged through the case and an internal passage extending downward from the outlet of the case to open to the outside, and a cover detachably coupled to the case.

In addition, a buffer member that is made of an elastic material and is disposed to block the internal passage, and which can be deformed so that ice can pass by an external force may be installed at an end of the cover, which is far from the case.

In addition, it may further include a reflective member made of a light reflective material to surround the cover, and a light source for irradiating light toward the reflective member when the door opens the discharge port of the tank.

In addition, the reflective member is a polyhedron including a plurality of reflective plates, and each reflective plate may reflect the light irradiated from the light source in different directions.

The light source may further include a diffusion member disposed between the reflective member and the light source to diffuse the light irradiated from the light source.

The ice maker according to the present invention has a cover for discharging ice that is detachably coupled to the case, so that, if necessary, it can be separated and managed, and then reassembled, so that it can be easily maintained in a clean state.

In addition, when the ice is discharged, the light source irradiates light, but the reflective member reflects the light at various angles, so that the user can easily recognize the operating state.

1 is a cross-sectional view of an ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is an enlarged perspective view of a light emitting module in the ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view on a plane A in FIG. 2 .
4 is an assembly view of a cover and a light emitting module in the ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, an ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

1 is a cross-sectional view of an ice maker 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In addition, FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the light emitting module 190 in the ice maker 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view on a plane A in FIG. 2 , and FIG. 4 is an embodiment of the present invention It is an assembly diagram of the cover 180 and the light emitting module 190 in the ice maker 100 .

First, referring to FIG. 1 , the ice maker 100 includes a cooling module, a tray 121 , a finger 122 , a tank 130 , a door 140 , a transfer member 150 , a case 160 , a slide 170 , It includes a cover 180 and a light emitting module 190 .

The cooling module includes a compressor 111 , a condenser 112 , a capillary tube (not shown), and an evaporator 113 . At this time, the refrigerant changes state by circulating them in turn. In particular, the evaporator 113 is configured to provide cool air to the surroundings by absorbing heat from the surroundings while being in a high-temperature vapor state. However, since the specific structure or principle of the cooling module is substantially the same as the previously known refrigeration cycle, an additional description thereof will be omitted.

The tray 121 is filled with water to become ice, and the fingers 122 are immersed in the water and installed to receive cold air from the evaporator 113 . Then, as the water around the finger 122 is gradually cooled, it is eventually formed as ice on the finger 122 .

The tank 130 is disposed under the fingers 122 and serves to store the ice generated as described above.

At this time, a discharge port 131 for discharging the ice is formed through the tank 130 .

The door 140 serves to open and close the discharge port 131 of the tank 130 . To this end, the door 140 is initially arranged to close the discharge port 131 , and then opens the discharge port 131 by a user's manipulation, so that the ice stored in the tank 130 is discharged through the discharge port 131 . to move in the direction of the arrow.

The transfer member 150 serves to transfer the ice stored in the tank 130 toward the discharge port 131 . To this end, the transfer member 150 may be formed in a spiral shape having a rotation shaft extending toward the discharge port 131 as shown in FIG. 1 . In this case, when the transfer member 150 rotates, for example, clockwise around the rotation axis, the ice stored in the tank 130 may be pushed along the spiral surface toward the discharge port 131 .

Of course, as long as the ice stored in the tank 130 can be transferred toward the outlet 131 , the transfer member 150 may be configured in other ways. Also, if the outlet 131 is formed on the bottom of the tank 130 and the door 140 opens the outlet 131 , the ice stored in the tank 130 will be automatically discharged through the outlet 131 by gravity. If possible, the aforementioned transfer member 150 may not be employed.

The case 160 covers and protects various parts of the ice maker 100 such as the cooling module, the tray 121 , the fingers 122 , the tank 130 , the door 140 , and the transfer member 150 .

At this time, the discharge port 161 is formed through the side of the case 160 . Accordingly, the ice discharged from the tank 130 through the discharge port 131 is discharged to the outside through the discharge port 161 of the case 160 . In particular, the outlet 161 may be formed on the front surface of the case 160 based on the normal use state of the ice maker 100 .

The slide 170 is disposed between the tank 130 and the case 160 inside the case 160 , and is connected from the discharge port 131 of the tank 130 to the discharge port 161 of the case 160 , thereby forming the tank 130 . ) and provides a path for the ice discharged through the discharge port 131 to move to the discharge port 161 .

In this case, the discharge port 131 of the tank 130 may be formed at a higher position than the discharge port 161 of the case 160 . Accordingly, the slide 170 may also be formed to be inclined downward from the discharge port 131 toward the discharge port 161 . Then, when the ice discharged from the tank 130 through the discharge port 131 moves to the discharge port 161, it will be able to slide naturally along the slide 170 by gravity without a separate transfer member.

The cover 180 may be generally formed in a pipe shape, and has an internal passage 181 through which ice can pass, so that one end is coupled to the outlet 161 side of the case 160 and the other end is opened to the outside. As a result, the ice discharged from the tank 130 through the outlet 131 moves along the slide 170 , passes through the outlet 161 of the case 160 , and then passes through the inner passage 181 of the cover 180 . It is discharged to the outside through the other end. According to this, since the outlet 161 of the case 160 is not directly exposed to the outside, the possibility of contamination of the outlet 161 or the slide 170 by external foreign substances can be reduced.

At this time, the cover 180 is generally formed in the shape of an elbow pipe, and the other end may be opened downward. According to this, since the inner passage 181 of the cover 180 is bent, it is difficult for external foreign substances to reach the outlet 161 or the slide 170 through the inner passage 181, thereby further reducing the possibility of contamination. have. In addition, since the other end of the cover 180 is opened downward, the ice discharged through the outlet 161 of the case 160 may more smoothly pass through the inner passage 181 and fall down through the other end.

In particular, the cover 180 is detachably coupled to the case 160 . For example, a hole may be formed in a region where the case 160 and the cover 180 come into contact with each other, so that a screw may be fastened together in the hole, and a protrusion and a hole having a shape corresponding to the case 160 and the cover 180 . This may be formed so that they can be fitted to each other, and other hooks and the like may be formed and detachably coupled to each other. According to this, when the cover 180 is contaminated, the clean state of the cover 180 can be easily maintained by removing the cover 180 from the case 160, washing it, and then reassembling it, and furthermore, the outlet 161 or the It is also possible to prevent the slide 170 from being contaminated together.

In this case, the buffer member 182 may be installed at the other end of the cover 180 . The buffer member 182 is made of an elastic material and is disposed to block the inner passage 181 , but may be deformed so that ice can pass through the inner passage 181 by an external force. Here, the external force refers to a force applied by the ice to the cushioning member 182 when the ice discharged through the outlet 161 of the case 160 passes through the internal passage 181 .

To this end, the buffer member 182 may be formed in a form in which, for example, the sector-shaped divided pieces 182a are gathered together to form a circle, the arc portions are fixed to each other (see FIG. 4 ). In this case, when the ice discharged through the outlet 161 of the case 160 passes through the inner passage 181 and comes into contact with the cushioning member 182, each divided piece 182a is deformed so that its central angular portions are separated from each other, so that the ice It can pass through that gap.

Accordingly, when the ice is discharged through the other end of the cover 180, the speed is reduced. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the ice from scattering or breaking when the user receives the ice, and if the container to receive the ice contains a liquid, it is also possible to prevent the liquid from being splashed by the ice.

Meanwhile, with further reference to FIGS. 2 to 4 , the light emitting module 190 includes a reflective member 191 , a light source 192 , and a diffusion member 193 .

This light emitting module 190 displays the operating state to the user by emitting light when the door 140 opens the discharge port 131 of the tank 130, and thus when the ice stored in the tank 130 is discharged to the outside. plays a role

More specifically, the reflective member 191 is made of a light reflective material and is formed to surround the cover 180 . In this case, the reflective member 191 as a single component may be formed as a curved surface surrounding the cover 180 as a whole, or may be formed as a polyhedron including a plurality of planes. The latter case is exemplified in FIG. 4 . Hereinafter, it will be described based on this for convenience of understanding, and a portion corresponding to each plane will be referred to as a reflecting plate 191a.

The light source 192 may irradiate light toward the reflective member 191 . As described above, the light source 192 irradiates light when the door 140 opens the discharge port 131 of the tank 130 . In this case, the light irradiated from the light source 192 may be arranged to reach at least two or more reflective plates 191a. Since each reflective plate 191a in the polyhedron faces different directions, the light irradiated from the light source 192 will be incident at a different angle for each reflective plate 191a and be reflected in different directions. Therefore, according to this, the user can recognize the light in various positions, so that the user's visibility can be improved.

The diffusion member 193 is disposed between the reflective member 191 and the light source 192 to diffuse the light irradiated from the light source 192 . According to this, the light irradiated from the light source 192 reaches more of the reflective plate 191a at a uniform level, and thus can be reflected more in all directions by the reflective member 191 . Accordingly, the user can recognize the light in more various positions, so that the user's visibility can be further improved.

The embodiments of the present invention described above and shown in the drawings do not limit the technical spirit of the present invention. The protection scope of the present invention is determined by the matters described in the claims. On the other hand, those skilled in the art will be able to variously improve or change the technical idea of the present invention. Such improvement or change shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention as long as it is apparent to those skilled in the art.

Claims (5)

A tank that stores ice and has a discharge port for discharging the ice;
a door capable of opening and closing the discharge port of the tank;
a case in which an outlet for discharging the ice discharged through the outlet of the tank to the outside is formed on the side to protect the tank and the door; and
It has an internal passage that extends downward from the outlet of the case and is opened to the outside, and is detachably coupled to the case and includes a cover that can be reassembled after being separated and managed by a user,
a reflective member made of a light reflective material and formed to surround the cover; and
Further comprising a light source for irradiating light toward the reflective member when the door opens the discharge port of the tank,
The reflective member is a polyhedron including a plurality of reflective plates, and each reflective plate reflects the light emitted from the light source in different directions. The method of claim 1,
An ice maker in which a cushioning member made of an elastic material and disposed to block the inner passageway is provided at an end of the cover, which is far from the case, and which is deformable to allow ice to pass through by an external force. delete delete The method of claim 1,
and a diffusion member disposed between the reflection member and the light source to diffuse the light emitted from the light source.

Images