KR102506788B1 - Ice maker and refrigerator including the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an ice maker and a refrigerator including the same, and relates to a first DC power conversion unit provided in a main control unit for controlling a plurality of electric components included in a main body in which food is stored and converting AC power to DC power, and the above It is provided in the main body and includes an ice making unit for generating ice and a transport unit for transporting the generated ice, and is wired so that the DC power converted by the first DC power conversion unit is supplied to the transport unit, thereby reducing the number of wires. Not only can it be significantly reduced, but it also provides the advantage of being able to actively cope with future replacement DC power supply configurations.

Description

Ice maker and refrigerator including the same {ICE MAKER AND REFRIGERATOR INCLUDING THE SAME}

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

In general, refrigerators use a cooling cycle to cool air inside the refrigerator so that food stored therein is kept refrigerated or frozen for a long time without deterioration. Such a refrigerator is composed of a main body forming a storage space separated into a refrigerating chamber and a freezing chamber therein, and a door mounted on one side of the main body to open and close the refrigerating chamber and the freezing chamber. A mechanical device for forming is provided. Also, an ice maker may be installed in the freezing chamber or the freezing chamber.

The ice maker automatically supplies water to the ice making container, checks the ice making status, and when ice making is completed, automatically removes the ice from the ice making container and loads it into the ice storage container. can be obtained and has recently been widely used.

In the ice maker, various sensors (eg, ice-making water sensor, position sensor, full ice sensor, temperature sensor, etc.) and motors (eg, ejector motor, twist motor, ice transfer motor, etc.). The ice maker controller that controls the overall operation of the ice maker receives sensing signals from these sensors, transmits the received sensing signals to the main controller of the refrigerator installed in the refrigerator body, receives a motor control signal from the main controller of the refrigerator, and It controls the motion of the motors.

1 is a diagram illustrating a wiring relationship between a sub controller of an ice maker and a main controller of a refrigerator in a conventional refrigerator.

Referring to FIG. 1 , the sub controller 10 of the ice maker receives sensing signals from the plurality of sensors 11 to 14 and transmits each sensing signal to the main controller 20 of the refrigerator. In addition, a motor control signal is received from the main controller 20 of the refrigerator to control the motors 15 and 16 in the ice maker.

Meanwhile, wires for transmitting signals are connected between the sub controller 10 of the ice maker and the main controller 20 of the refrigerator. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the above-described sensors include sensors 1 to 4 (11 to 14), and the above-described motors 15 and 16 include motors 1 (15) to 2 (16). In this case, the first to sixth wires 31 to 36 are provided in a point-to-point manner, and are provided between the sub controller 10 of the ice maker and the main controller 20 of the refrigerator. A seventh wire 37 for supplying power and an eighth wire 38 for grounding may be provided.

However, in a conventional ice maker, the number of wires between the sub controller 10 of the ice maker and the main controller 20 of the refrigerator increases according to the number of sensors and motors included in the ice maker, so time and effort are increased in connecting each wire. and may result in an increase in manufacturing cost.

Furthermore, when the ice maker is installed on the door of the refrigerator, the wiring structure is more complicated because both the transfer driver 17 for ice and the selection driver 18 for selecting ice must be wired to the main controller 20 of the refrigerator. In addition to damage, the number of wires passing through the refrigerator door also increases, adversely affecting product durability.

In addition, a separate space for accommodating a large number of wires must be provided in the refrigerator. Conventionally, these wires are mainly connected through a hinge portion of a refrigerator door. In this case, a hole must be made in the hinge portion of the refrigerator door to provide a space through which the wires pass, resulting in a problem in that the hinge structure of the refrigerator door is weakened and the insulation efficiency is lowered. In addition, there is a problem in that noise and electromagnetic waves increase due to a large number of wires.

The embodiment of the present invention simplifies the wiring relationship between the sub-controller of the ice maker and the main controller of the refrigerator, and also simplifies the control relationship between the main controller and the sub-controller of the refrigerator according to the type of input power of each electronic device provided in the ice maker. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ice maker capable of making the same and a refrigerator including the same.

An embodiment of the ice maker according to the present invention includes a first DC power conversion unit provided in a main control unit for controlling a plurality of electrical components included in a main body in which food is stored, and converting AC power to DC power, and provided in the main body. and includes an ice making unit that generates ice and a transfer unit that transfers the generated ice, and the DC power converted by the first DC power conversion unit is wired to be supplied to the transfer unit.

Another embodiment of the ice maker according to the present invention includes a first DC power conversion unit provided in a main control unit for controlling a plurality of electric components included in a main body in which food is stored, and converting AC power to DC power; an ice making unit that is provided to generate ice, a transfer unit that transports the ice generated by the ice maker, and a second DC power conversion unit that is provided on one side of the transfer unit and converts AC power to DC power; 2 The DC power converted by the DC power conversion unit is wired to be supplied to the transfer unit.

Another embodiment of the ice maker according to the present invention includes a first DC power conversion unit provided in a main control unit for controlling a plurality of electric components included in a main body in which food is stored and converting AC power to DC power; An ice making unit provided on the refrigerator door that opens and closes and generating ice, a transfer unit transferring the ice generated by the ice making unit, and a second DC power conversion unit provided on the refrigerator door and converting AC current into DC current. wherein the ice making unit and the transfer unit are wired to receive the DC current converted by either the first DC power conversion unit or the second DC power conversion unit.

Here, the first DC power converter and the second DC power converter may be SMPS (Switched Mode Power Supply).

The ice maker may further include a sub-controller for controlling the ice maker and transfer unit and a communication module for performing communication between the main controller and the sub-controller.

In addition, the communication may perform information acquisition and control through any one of CAN, LIN, K-Line, and power line communication.

In addition, the communication module may perform communication by a microcomputer provided in the ice maker.

In addition, the communication module performs communication by a microcomputer included in the ice making unit, and the microcomputer may simultaneously perform communication with the transfer unit.

In addition, the communication module may include a communication cable connecting the main control unit and the sub control unit and an electromagnetic wave blocking member provided in the communication cable.

Also, the communication module may be capable of communicating with modules other than the main control unit and the sub control unit.

Also, the communication module may apply control signals to the ice making unit and the transfer unit.

The ice making unit may include an ice selection driving unit, and the communication module may apply a control signal to the ice selection driving unit.

An embodiment of a refrigerator including an ice maker according to the present invention may include an ice maker including the above configuration.

According to an embodiment of the ice maker and the refrigerator including the ice maker according to the present invention, the number of wires between the sub controller of the ice maker and the main controller of the refrigerator can be minimized.

In addition, according to an embodiment of the ice maker and the refrigerator including the ice maker according to the present invention, when the electric devices provided in the ice maker are AC powered, power is supplied and communicated from either the main controller of the refrigerator or the sub controller of the ice maker according to selection. Therefore, it has the effect of securing the diversity of control.

1 is a diagram showing a wiring relationship between a sub-controller of an ice maker and a main controller of a refrigerator in a conventional refrigerator;
2 is a schematic view showing the configuration of a transfer unit among the configurations of an ice maker and a refrigerator including the same according to the present invention;
3 is a block diagram showing a wiring relationship between a sub-controller of an ice maker and a main controller of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention;
4A to 4C are schematic diagrams illustrating various embodiments of an ice maker and a refrigerator including the ice maker according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The detailed descriptions that follow are provided to provide a comprehensive understanding of the methods, devices and/or systems described herein. However, this is only an example and the present invention is not limited thereto.

In describing the embodiments of the present invention, if it is determined that the detailed description of the known technology related to the present invention may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention, the detailed description will be omitted. In addition, terms to be described later are terms defined in consideration of functions in the present invention, which may vary according to the intention or custom of a user or operator. Therefore, the definition should be made based on the contents throughout this specification. Terminology used in the detailed description is only for describing the embodiments of the present invention and should in no way be limiting. Unless expressly used otherwise, singular forms of expression include plural forms. In this description, expressions such as "comprising" or "comprising" are intended to indicate any characteristic, number, step, operation, element, portion or combination thereof, one or more other than those described. It should not be construed to exclude the existence or possibility of any other feature, number, step, operation, element, part or combination thereof.

In the following description, terms such as “transmission”, “communication”, “transmission”, “reception” and other similar meanings of signals or information refer not only to direct transmission of signals or information from one component to another, but also to It also includes passing through other components. In particular, "transmitting" or "transmitting" a signal or information as an element indicates the final destination of the signal or information and does not mean a direct destination. The same is true for "reception" of signals or information. Also, in this specification, two or more data or information being “related” means that when one data (or information) is obtained, at least a portion of other data (or information) can be obtained based thereon.

Meanwhile, directional terms such as upper side, lower side, one side, and the other side are used in relation to the orientation of the disclosed drawings. Since components of embodiments of the present invention may be positioned in a variety of orientations, directional terms are used for purposes of illustration and not limitation.

Also, terms such as first and second may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms. The terms may be used for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, a first element may be termed a second element, and similarly, a second element may be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Ice makers include a heater-type ice maker and a twist-type ice maker according to a method of separating ice from an ice tray. The heater-type ice maker includes an ice-removing heater and an ejector, and after ice-making is completed, the surface of the ice-making tray is heated with a heater and the ejector is rotated to separate the ice. The twist-type ice maker twists the ice tray through a motor to separate the ice. Hereinafter, a heater-type ice maker will be described. However, the present invention is not limited thereto and can be applied to a twist type ice maker as well.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a transfer unit among the configurations of an ice maker and a refrigerator including the ice maker according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a wiring relationship between a sub controller of an ice maker and a main controller of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. 4A to 4C are schematic diagrams illustrating various embodiments of an ice maker and a refrigerator including the same according to the present invention.

In the first embodiment of the ice maker according to the present invention and the refrigerator including the same, as shown in FIGS. 4A to 4C , the ice maker may be installed in the refrigerator.

As referenced to FIGS. 4A to 4C , the refrigerator includes a main body 200 forming a storage space for storing food, and a front end of the main body 200 that is pivotally or slidably provided to store the main body 200. A door for opening and closing the space may be provided.

The storage space may include a refrigerating compartment provided in an upper portion and a freezing compartment provided in a lower portion. In addition, the door may include a refrigerator door 205 rotatably provided on the upper side and a freezer door 205 rotatably or slidably provided on the lower side.

Embodiments of the ice maker according to the present invention may be disposed inside the upper part of the refrigerator compartment as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, as well as disposed in the refrigerator door 205 as referred to in FIG. 4C. there is.

Referring to FIGS. 4A to 4C , the embodiments of the ice maker installed in the main body 200 of the refrigerator as described above include a control box provided with a driving motor 125 and a control unit, and a control box provided on one side of the control box to dispense ice-making water. It may include an ice making unit 150 that makes ice and a transfer unit 100 that receives the ice that has been moved from the ice making unit 150 and transfers it to the outside.

The drive source for driving the ice maker 150 and the transfer unit 100 may be provided with one drive motor 125 described above, and when the ice maker 150 is provided in a twist type, a drive source that drives the ice tray alone The driving motor 125 of the ice unit 150 and the driving motor 125 of the transfer unit 100 driving the transfer unit 100 alone may be provided.

As referenced in FIGS. 2 and 3 , the transfer unit 100 includes a drive motor 125, a transfer screw rotated by the operation of the drive motor 125, and whether the ice storage unit in which the separated ice is stored is full of ice. A full ice detection sensor 121 provided to detect the ice, a solenoid 124 to control whether discharged ice is supplied to the cutting unit for cutting, and a fan motor 122 to blow cold air into the ice storage unit. It may include a blowing fan and an anti-icing heater 123 to prevent freezing of the drain pipe. In addition, the transfer unit 100 is provided inside the control box 105 and controls the operation of the above-described drive motor 125, solenoid 124, blowing fan and anti-icing heater 123, the sub-controller 110 may further include.

The driving motor 125 for transferring the conveying screw, the solenoid 124, and the fan motor 122 of the blowing fan may be provided as AC motors or DC motors driven by receiving any one of AC current and DC current. can

The first embodiment of the refrigerator including the embodiments of the ice maker according to the present invention configured as described above, except for the main body 200 and the above-described ice maker configuration, as shown in FIG. 4A, the main body It may include a main controller 210 that controls the plurality of electrical components 220 provided in the 200 and a first DC conversion converter provided in the main controller 210 and converting AC power to DC power. there is.

Among the plurality of electrical components 220 controlled by the main controller 210 of the main body 200, a component driven by AC power may be wired to be operated and controlled by directly supplying AC power supplied to the main controller 210. . However, in the case of a configuration driven by DC power among the plurality of electrical components 220 controlled by the main control unit 210 of the main body 200, DC power switched by the first DC power conversion unit 240 may be supplied. can

Here, the DC power converted by the first DC power conversion unit 240 is transmitted to the plurality of electrical components 220 included in the main body 200 as well as to the DC motor among the components included in the transfer unit 100. It may be wired so that it can be directly supplied as driving power for driving the above-described driving motor 125, solenoid 124, and fan motor 122 provided therein.

Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 4B , the second embodiment of the refrigerator including an ice maker according to the present invention is provided on one side of the transfer unit 100 and converts AC power to DC power so that the above-described ice maker 150 ) and a second DC power converter 140 supplying the transfer unit 100.

Here, the power supplied from the main controller 210 is AC power, and the second DC power conversion unit 140 converts the supplied AC power into DC power, configures the transfer unit 100, and uses DC power. It may be wired to be directly supplied as driving power for driving the driving motor 125, the solenoid 124, and the fan motor 122 provided to do so.

Meanwhile, referring to FIG. 4C , a refrigerator including an ice maker according to a third embodiment of the present invention may be provided in a refrigerator door 205 that opens and closes the main body 200 . In addition, the third embodiment including the ice maker according to the present invention may further include a second DC power converter 140 provided on the refrigerator door 205 and converting AC power to DC power.

Here, the second DC power conversion unit 140 may be defined as a configuration corresponding to the second DC power conversion unit 140 of the second embodiment referred to in FIG. 4B.

However, in the refrigerator according to the third embodiment of the present invention, the ice maker including the ice making unit 150 and the transfer unit 100 includes a first DC power conversion unit provided in the main control unit 210 of the main body 200 ( 240) and the DC power converted by the second DC power conversion unit 140 provided in the refrigerator door 205 directly uses DC power among the components constituting the ice maker 150 and the transfer unit 100 of the ice maker. It can be wired to supply components equipped to do so.

Here, the first DC power converter 240 and the second DC power converter 140 may be switched mode power supplies (SMPS). That is, as a kind of power supply, it may be used in a switch control method that converts alternating current (AC) power to direct current (DC) power using a switching transistor or the like.

In this way, the first DC power conversion unit ( 240) and the second DC power conversion unit 140, and the corresponding power is efficiently supplied according to each component, thereby simplifying a complicated wiring design.

That is, when some of the components are provided to use DC power rather than when each component driven by a predetermined power is provided to use AC power, the above-described first DC power converter 240 and the second By setting the position of the DC power conversion unit 140, the number of applied wires can be significantly reduced.

When the number of wires is significantly reduced, in particular, a complicated wiring relationship that has been wired through the hinge of the refrigerator door 205 can be simplified and insulation efficiency can be prevented from deteriorating.

Meanwhile, embodiments of the ice maker and the refrigerator including the ice maker according to the present invention may further include a communication module responsible for communication between the main controller 210 of the main body 200 and the sub controller 110 of the ice maker.

Communication here may be provided to perform information acquisition and control through any one of CAN (Controller Area Network), LIN (Local Interconnect Network), K-Line, and power line communication. .

In addition, the communication module constitutes the sub-controller 110 and may be provided to perform communication by a microcomputer provided inside the control box 105 . Further, the communication module performs communication by a microcomputer, but the microcomputer may perform communication with the transfer unit 100 in parallel.

In other words, the sub controller 110 and the main controller 210 may perform network communication using a LIN protocol or a CAN protocol. At this time, data transmission and reception may be performed through a communication bus (not shown). The communication module may be provided to perform LIN communication or CAN communication, as described above.

According to the disclosed embodiments, the main control unit 210 and the sub control unit 110 are connected through a communication bus and perform LIN communication or CAN communication, thereby transmitting and receiving data between the main control unit 210 and the sub control unit 110 The number of wires for can be minimized.

Meanwhile, although not shown in the drawing, the communication module may further include a communication cable connecting the main control unit 210 and the sub control unit 110 and an electromagnetic wave blocking member provided in the communication cable.

Such a communication module may communicate with modules other than the main controller 210 and the sub controller 110 . Also, the communication module may be able to communicate with modules other than the main controller 210 and the sub controller 110 .

Also, the communication module may apply control signals to the ice making unit 150 and the transfer unit 100 .

An embodiment of the refrigerator according to the present invention may further include an ice selection driving unit 207 disposed on the front side of the refrigerator door 205 and allowing a user to select supply of ice through a selection button. As shown in FIG. 4C , the ice selection driver 207 may be provided in the form of a touch panel, but is not limited thereto.

Here, the communication module may apply a control signal of the ice selection driver 207 .

According to embodiments of the ice maker according to the present invention configured as described above and refrigerators including the same, the first DC power conversion unit 240 provided in the main controller 210 and the second DC power converter 240 provided in the sub controller 110 The DC current converted by the DC power conversion unit 140 or the AC power supplied to the initial main body 200 is appropriately distributed and supplied for the operation of each electrical component, thereby simplifying the overall wiring design as well as DC power in the future. It provides the advantage of being able to actively cope with the replacement and design change of components requiring power use.

In the above, representative embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, but those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications can be made to the above-described embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention. will be. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments and should not be defined, and should be defined by not only the claims to be described later, but also those equivalent to these claims.

100: transfer unit 105: control box
110: sub control unit 140: second DC power conversion unit
150: ice making unit 200: main body
205: refrigerator door 207: ice selection drive unit
210: main control unit 220: electrical components
240: first DC power converter

Claims (13)

delete A first DC power conversion unit provided in a main controller that controls a plurality of electric components provided in a main body in which food is stored and converts AC power to DC power;
an ice maker provided in the main body and generating ice;
a transfer unit that transports the ice generated by the ice maker;
a second DC power conversion unit provided on one side of the transfer unit and converting AC power to DC power; and
A sub-controller for controlling the ice-making unit and the transfer unit;
and wired to supply the DC power converted by the second DC power conversion unit to at least one of the transfer unit and the ice maker.
A first DC power conversion unit provided in a main controller that controls a plurality of electric components provided in a main body in which food is stored and converts AC power to DC power;
an ice maker provided on a refrigerator door that opens and closes the main body and generates ice;
a transfer unit that transports the ice generated by the ice maker;
a second DC power converter provided on the refrigerator door and converting AC current into DC current; and
A sub-controller for controlling the ice-making unit and the transfer unit;
The ice maker and the transfer unit are wired to receive the DC current converted by one of the first DC power conversion unit and the second DC power conversion unit.
The method according to any one of claims 2 to 3,
The first DC power converter and the second DC power converter are switched mode power supplies (SMPS). The method according to any one of claims 2 to 3,
a communication module responsible for communication between the main controller and the sub controller; An ice maker further comprising a. The method of claim 5,
The ice maker performs information acquisition and control through communication of any one of CAN, LIN, K-Line, and power line communication. The method of claim 5,
The communication module performs communication by a microcomputer included in the ice maker. The method of claim 5,
The communication module performs communication by a microcomputer provided in the ice maker, and the microcomputer simultaneously performs communication with the transfer unit. The method of claim 5,
The communication module,
a communication cable connecting the main controller and the sub controller; and
an electromagnetic wave blocking member provided in the communication cable; An ice maker comprising a. delete The method of claim 5,
The communication module,
An ice maker configured to apply control signals to the ice maker and the transfer unit. The method of claim 5,
The ice making unit includes an ice selection driving unit,
The communication module applies a control signal of the ice selection driving unit to the ice maker. delete

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