KR20040088290A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A refrigerator is provided to separate a frozen object from an ice-making machine without affecting a temperature of a freezer compartment by warming the ice-making machine by hot wind. CONSTITUTION: A refrigerator includes a freezer compartment. An ice-making machine is installed in the freezer compartment, capable of separating ice of an object to be frozen, and the frozen object. A hot wind supply compartment is connected with the ice-making machine by a connection element, and generates hot wind. A hot wind containing part(180) is formed in the ice-making machine for temporarily containing hot wind of the hot wind supply compartment passing through the connection element.

Description

Refrigerator {Refrigerator}

The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to a refrigerator which can easily separate ice of the ice maker by heating the ice maker without significantly affecting the temperature of the cooling chamber.

In general, an ice making device is a device that is installed in a freezer compartment of a refrigerator to supply ice and receives ice, and Japanese Patent Publication No. 2000-18004 discloses an ice making device installed in a refrigerator.

The refrigerator disclosed in the publication includes a freezer compartment, a compressor of a refrigerating cycle, a cooler, a blower for forcibly blowing cold air cooled by the cooler, an ice making plate provided in the freezer compartment, and the ice tray. A heater, an ice bar for forcibly drawing ice from the ice making plate, a driving device for driving the ice bar, and an arithmetic processing device for controlling the driving device and the heater.

Therefore, after the ice is frozen in the ice tray in the freezer compartment and the heater is operated, the ice melts the contact surface with the ice tray by heat from the heater, and the ice bar is used to separate the ice from the ice tray. If it is to fall down to be stored in the storage tray.

However, as described above, since a heater that generates heat to remove ice from the ice making plate is provided inside the freezer compartment, a failure of the freezer that constitutes a freezer cycle for not only raising the freezer temperature but also generating cold air supplied to the freezer compartment. And deterioration in efficiency.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator which can easily separate ice of the ice making apparatus by heating the ice making apparatus without significantly affecting the temperature of the cooling chamber.

1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator according to the present invention;

Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of the ice making apparatus installed in the refrigerator according to Figure 1,

3 is a combined perspective view of the ice making apparatus according to FIG. 2;

4 is a schematic view of the flow of warm air supplied to and discharged from the ice making apparatus according to FIG. 3.

* Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings

110a: driving pulley 110b: driven pulley

111: support bracket 130: ice maker

140: tray cell 150: main body

151: freezer 152: freezer door

153: refrigerator compartment 160: refrigerator compartment door

180: hot air receiving unit 181: hot air supply room

182: heater 190: connection member

191: supply opening and closing valve 192: discharge member

193: discharge opening and closing valve

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a refrigerator including at least one cooling chamber, the refrigerator comprising: an ice making apparatus installed in the cooling chamber and capable of deicing the ice making object and detaching the ice making object; It is connected by the ice making device and the connecting member, and further comprising a hot air supply chamber for generating a warm air, wherein the ice making apparatus is provided with a warm air receiving portion for temporarily receiving the warm air of the hot air supply chamber passing through the connection member Achieved by a refrigerator.

Here, the hot air supply chamber is provided separately from the cooling chamber, it is preferable that the heater is installed inside the hot air supply chamber.

On the other hand, the connection member is provided with one side in the hot air supply chamber and the other side is installed in the hot air storage unit for supplying the warm air generated in the inside of the hot air supply chamber to the inside of the hot air storage unit, the hot air supply chamber on the connection member Supply opening and closing valve for regulating the hot air supply from the hot air receiving portion to the may be provided.

The apparatus may further include a discharge member for discharging the warm air circulated in the hot air accommodating part to the outside, and a discharge opening / closing valve may be provided on the discharge member to control hot air discharge from the hot air accommodating part to the outside.

On the other hand, the ice making device, the ice-making container which is continuously coupled in a ring shape a plurality of tray cells formed with a concave ice-making groove that can accommodate the ice-making object; It is preferable to include a conveying means for moving the tray cell along the circumferential direction of the ice making container when the ice making object accommodated in the ice making groove is frozen.

The warm air accommodating part may be disposed above at least a portion of the tray cells in which the ice making grooves of the tray cells face downward to separate the ice making object from the ice making grooves by heating the tray cells.

On the other hand, it is preferable that the connection member and the discharge member is hollow tubular inside.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator according to the present invention. As shown in this figure, the refrigerator according to the present invention has a main body 150 in which the freezing compartment 151 and the refrigerating compartment 153 are divided left and right by the intermediate partition 155, and the freezing compartment 151 and the refrigerating compartment 153 Each front opening of) is attached to the freezer compartment door 152 and the refrigerating chamber door 154 for opening and closing the front opening.

Here, the freezing compartment 151 is provided with an ice making device for ice making, and the ice making device has a pair of pulleys 110a and 110b and two pulleys 110a and 110b spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance, as shown in FIG. 2. And a conveying means having a driving device (120) for rotating), and an ice making container (130) wound around two pulleys, wherein the lower portion of the ice making device includes a storage tray for containing ice produced by the ice making device. 170 is disposed, the upper portion of the ice making apparatus is provided with a water supply pipe not shown to supply water to the tray cell 140 to be described later.

The two pulleys are composed of a driving pulley 110a that receives power from the drive device 120 and rotates, and a driven pulley 110b that receives power from the drive pulley 110a and rotates through the ice making machine 130. The pulley 110a and the driven pulley 110b are respectively installed at both ends of the support bracket 111 provided between the two to be spaced apart from each other through the support bracket 111.

The ice making container 130 is formed in an annular shape such that a plurality of tray cells 140 are coupled to each other to form a closed curve. Each tray cell 140 has an ice making unit 141 provided with an ice making groove 141a capable of containing water, and an ice making unit 141 is installed and receives power from the driving pulley 110a. And a moving part that rotates around the two pulleys.

The ice making unit 141 is provided with a pair of ice making grooves 141a side by side, the ice making groove 141a is made of a rigid body having a predetermined strength so that deformation and damage does not occur.

The moving unit includes a pair of moving plates 142a on which the ice making unit 141 is seated, and a support shaft (not shown) for maintaining a constant gap between the two moving plates 142a at the same time. Each moving plate 142a is provided with hinge protrusions 142c and hinge holes 142d at both ends thereof to be hinged with a neighboring tray cell 140, where the hinge protrusions 142c are each moving plate 142a. The hinge hole 142d is provided in the edge part opposite to a conveyance direction.

Therefore, the hinge protrusion 142c of each tray cell 140 is installed in the hinge hole 142d of the trecel adjacent to the conveying direction side, and the hinge hole 142d of each tray cell 140 is opposite to the conveying direction. It is installed on the hinge protrusion 142c of the adjacent tray cell 140 to form an ice making container 130.

The moving part has a moving protrusion 142e protruding from the moving plate 142a so that the tray cell 140 can easily receive power from the driving pulley 110a, and the driving pulley 110a and the driven pulley 110b. ) Is provided with a plurality of moving grooves (110c) on the outer circumferential surface at regular intervals to be engaged with the moving projection (142e). Therefore, power is transmitted from the driving pulley 110a to the tray cell 140 through the moving protrusion 142e and the moving groove 110c so that the tray cell 140 rotates around the driving pulley 110a and the driven pulley 110b. You can do it.

On the other hand, the ice making apparatus according to the present invention shown in Figures 3 and 4 is provided with a warm air receiving portion 180 for heating the tray cell 140 to take out ice from the ice making groove (141a), this warm air receiving portion In order to supply the warm air to the 180, a warm air supply chamber 181 is provided outside the freezing chamber 151 to generate warm air separately from the freezing chamber 151.

The warm air accommodating part 180 is installed at a lower side of the support bracket 111 to be disposed above the tray cell 140 in which the ice making groove 141a faces downward among the plurality of tray cells 140, and the connection member 192 is provided. By receiving the hot air generated in the hot air supply chamber 181 connected by the temporary supply and temporarily, the ice making groove 141a warms the tray cell 140 facing downward. That is, the hot air filled in the warm air accommodating part 180 melts the contact surface between the ice frozen in the ice making groove 141 a of the tray cell 140 facing downward and the ice making groove 141 a.

After the warm air supplied from the warm air supply chamber 181 to warm the tray cell 140 while circulating the warm air receiving unit 180, one side of the warm air is discharged through the discharge member 192 installed in the warm air receiving unit 180. To be discharged.

The connection member 192 has a hollow tubular shape and connects the internal space of the hot air accommodating part 180 and the internal space of the hot air supply chamber 181 to communicate with each other. Accordingly, one side of the connection member 192 is installed in the warm air supply chamber 181 and the other side is installed in the warm air accommodating part 180. Here, the connection member 192 may be provided with a tube of a soft material or may be provided with a pipe of a slightly hard material, and the connection member 192 is not limited to the above-described material, as long as the connection member is empty. In addition, the supply opening and closing valve 191 is provided on the connection member 192 to control the movement of the warm air supplied from the warm air supply chamber 181 to the warm air receiving unit 180.

The discharge member 192 has a hollow tubular shape, and is provided to discharge the warm air circulating inside the warm air accommodating part 180 to the outside. One side of the discharge member 192 is installed in the warm air receiving portion 180 and the other side is exposed to the outside of the freezing chamber 151. Here, the discharge member 192 may be provided by a tube of a soft material or may be provided by a pipe of a slightly hard material, and the discharge member 192 is not limited to the above-described material because the discharge member 192 may be empty. In addition, a discharge opening / closing valve 193 is provided on the discharge member 192 in order to circulate the inside of the warm air accommodating part 180 and to control the movement of the warm air discharged to the outside of the freezing chamber 151.

Here, the connection member 192 is installed through the inner wall of the freezer compartment 151 because it connects the hot air supply chamber 181 outside the freezer compartment 151 and the hot air receiver 180 of the ice making apparatus installed inside the freezer compartment 151. Since the discharge member 192 also discharges the warm air inside the hot air accommodating part 180 to the outside of the freezing chamber 151, it is installed through the inner wall of the freezing chamber 151.

The hot air supply chamber 181 is provided outside the freezing chamber 151 separately from the freezing chamber 151, and a predetermined space is formed therein, and a heater 182 is installed in the inner space to generate warm air by heating air. It is. When power is supplied to the heater 182 and starts to generate heat, the air inside the hot air supply chamber 181 is heated to form warm air, which is supplied to the hot air accommodating part 180 through the connection member 192. . Here, the hot air supply chamber 181 is provided on the outside separately from the freezing chamber 151, which may be provided outside the main body 150 to provide a hot air supply chamber 181 on the outside and at a predetermined position of the main body 150 The warm air supply chamber 181 may be provided.

Here, a solid state relay (SSR) is used for switching the power of the heater 182, whereby the control of the power supplied to the heater 182 can be easily controlled and noise can be removed.

Meanwhile, in the ice making apparatus according to the present invention, both ends of the support bracket 111 are fixed to the inside of the freezing chamber 151, and the like, so that both ends of the support bracket 111 can be fixed. Both sides of the plate-shaped fixing bracket 160 is provided so that the ice making device is installed on the fixing bracket 160.

Hereinafter, the operation and effect of the ice making apparatus according to the present invention having such a configuration will be described. Here, the operation of the ice making device is precisely and precisely controlled by the PIC micro-controller. This is because a program designed for the circuit is loaded into the PIC micro-controller IC. (Not shown), the control unit 120, the input and output operations, such as can be made. In addition, the timer built into the PIC controller allows accurate time control, and the PIC controller's small size can significantly reduce the size of the control board. On the other hand, the PIC controller receives only + 12v power from the outside. The + 12v power is supplied to the PIC controller by being + 5v power by the 7805 regulator. As a result, the circuit configuration is simple, and the power supply circuit can be provided with a minimum space.

First, water is supplied to the tray cell 140 in which the ice making groove 141a faces upward, and is filled in the ice making groove 141a through a water supply pipe (not shown). Since the ice making apparatus is installed in the freezer compartment 151 of the refrigerator, the cold air is continuously received, and after a predetermined time elapses, the water filled in the ice making groove 141a freezes into ice.

In order to use frozen ice, ice must be separated from the tray cell 140. For this purpose, the ice making container 130 is moved by the driving unit 120 and two pulleys.

That is, when power is applied to the driving device 120, the driving pulley rotates while the moving groove 110c provided on the outer circumferential surface of the driving pulley 110a and the transfer protrusion provided on the tray cell 140 are engaged with each other. Transferred.

Accordingly, when the tray cell 140 in which ice is frozen is positioned below the hot air accommodating part 180, the tray cell 140 is generated by the operation of the heater 182 installed inside the hot air supply chamber 181, and thus, As the air supply opening / closing valve 191 is opened so that the warm air stored therein may be supplied to the warm air accommodating part 180, the warm air of the warm air supply chamber 181 is connected to the warm air accommodating part 180 through the connection member 192. The warm air supplied to the inside and filled in the warm air accommodating part 180 through the path warms the ice making part 141 and the ice making groove 141a of the tray cell 140 while circulating inside the warm air accommodating part 180. Let's do it. Since the contact surface between the ice frozen in the ice making groove (141a) and the ice making groove (141a) is melted, the ice is separated from the ice making groove (141a) and dropped downward by its own weight is stored in the storage tray 170. On the other hand, when the warm air moves from the hot air supply chamber 181 to the warm air receiving portion 180 through the connecting member 192, the discharge opening and closing valve 193 of the discharge member 192 is in a closed state.

Then, after a predetermined time for warming the ice making groove using the warm air accommodating part 180 that receives the warm air to separate the ice from the ice making groove, the discharge opening / closing valve 193 is opened to open the warm air accommodating part 180. The hot air is discharged to the outside through the discharge member (192).

As described above, unlike the conventional heater in which a heater provided in the freezer compartment directly generates heat to increase the temperature inside the freezer compartment in order to separate ice from the ice making groove of the ice making machine, a problem occurs in the refrigerator according to the present invention. Not only is installed outside the freezer compartment 151, but also directly transfers the heat of the heater 182 to the ice making device, the warm air generated by the heater 182 installed on the outside through the connecting member 192, the warm air receiving unit 180 By supplying to the to gradually warm up the ice making groove of the ice making device, it may not have a great influence on the internal temperature of the freezing chamber (151).

As described above, according to the present invention, the ice making apparatus is properly warmed by the warm air when the ice making object accommodated in the ice making apparatus is completed, so that the ice making apparatus is easily heated without significantly affecting the temperature of the cooling chamber in which the ice making apparatus is installed. The frozen object may be separated from the ice making apparatus.

In addition, according to the present invention, if the hot air supply chamber for generating warm air is provided outside the cooling chamber separately, it does not affect the temperature change of the cooling chamber even more. According to the present invention, an ice making apparatus is provided by a heater mounted inside a cooling chamber of a conventional refrigerator. By directly applying heat to it, the efficiency of the refrigerating device that provides cold air to the cooling chamber can be prevented from being lowered.

Claims (7)

In the refrigerator including at least one cooling chamber, An ice making apparatus installed in the cooling chamber and capable of deicing the ice making object and detaching the ice making object; It is connected by the ice making device and the connecting member, and further comprising a hot air supply chamber for generating a warm air, wherein the ice making apparatus is provided with a warm air receiving portion for temporarily receiving the warm air of the hot air supply chamber passing through the connection member Refrigerator. The method of claim 1, The hot air supply chamber is provided separately from the cooling chamber, the refrigerator characterized in that a heater is installed inside the hot air supply chamber. The method of claim 2, The connecting member has one side installed in the hot air supply chamber and the other side is installed in the hot air storage unit for supplying the warm air generated inside the hot air supply chamber to the inside of the warm air storage unit, and on the connection member from the hot air supply chamber. Refrigerator, characterized in that the supply opening and closing valve for adjusting the hot air supply to the hot air receiving portion. The method of claim 3, And a discharge member for discharging the warm air circulated in the hot air accommodating part to the outside, and a discharge opening / closing valve is provided on the discharge member to control hot air discharge from the hot air accommodating part to the outside. . The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, The ice making device, An ice making container in which a plurality of tray cells having a concave ice making groove for accommodating an ice making object are continuously coupled in an annular shape; And a conveying means for moving the tray cell along the circumferential direction of the ice making container when the ice making object accommodated in the ice making groove freezes. The method of claim 5, And the warm air accommodating part is disposed above at least a portion of the tray cells in which the ice making grooves of the tray cells face downward to separate the ice making objects from the ice making grooves by heating the tray cells. The method of claim 6, The connection member and the discharge member is a refrigerator, characterized in that the inner tubular shape.