KR20050022896A - ice-making apparatus in the refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An ice-making machine of a refrigerator and a refrigerator using the same are provided to take out ice from a dispenser without bending the body in case of using a refrigerator having a freezer compartment at a lower part of a main body. CONSTITUTION: An ice-making machine is installed in a freezer compartment(51) formed at a lower part of a main body for manufacturing ice and discharging the ice to the lower part. An ice bank(56) is installed under the ice-making machine with an open top side to contain the manufactured ice. An ice feeder is rotatively installed at an upper part of the ice bank with a lower end part entering the ice bank. If the ice feeder rotates, the ice stored at the ice bank is moved to the upper part to be discharged to a dispenser. The ice feeder comprises a housing(61), a helical ice feeding element(62), and a motor(63).

Description

Ice-making apparatus in the refrigerator

The present invention relates to a refrigerator in which a freezing compartment is installed at a lower portion, and more particularly, to an ice making apparatus of a refrigerator capable of taking out ice produced in a freezing compartment without bending.

A typical refrigerator is divided into a freezer compartment and a refrigerator compartment. The refrigerator compartment keeps food and vegetables fresh and long at a temperature of about 3 ° C. to 4 ° C., and the freezer compartment keeps food such as meat and fish frozen at subzero temperatures.

Recently, various functions have been added to the refrigerator for the user to conveniently use, such as storing kimchi. The ice making machine described below is one such additional function.

Hereinafter, a conventional refrigerator ice making apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4.

1 is a schematic view showing a state in which a conventional ice maker is installed in the refrigerator, Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the structure of the ice maker constituting the ice maker of Figure 1, Figure 3 is a structure of the ice maker and ice bank in the refrigerator of Figure 1 Indicated

4 is a side view illustrating a process in which ice generated in the ice maker of FIG. 3 is accommodated in an ice bank.

Referring to FIG. 1, the refrigerator includes a freezing compartment 1 at a lower portion of the main body and a refrigerating compartment 2 at an upper portion of the freezing compartment. Doors are respectively installed to selectively open and close the freezer compartment 1 and the refrigerating compartment 2, and an ice maker is installed in the freezer compartment 1.

The ice maker includes a ice maker 10 for producing ice, an ice bank 20 for receiving the produced ice, and a dispenser D for discharging the ice of the ice bank to the outside. Here, the dispenser (D) is installed in the door for opening and closing the freezer compartment 1 provided in the lower body.

2 and 3, the ice maker 10 has an ice making chamber 11 in which ice is generated and a water supply part 12 formed at one side of the ice making chamber 11 to supply water to the ice making chamber. Is formed.

The ice-making chamber 11 has a substantially semi-cylindrical shape, and the ice-making chamber 11 is formed so that the partition ribs 11a protrude upward at predetermined intervals so that ice can be separated. In addition, a fastening part 15 is formed at a rear predetermined portion of the ice making chamber 11 so as to fix the ice maker to the freezing chamber 1.

The motor unit 13 is installed at one side of the ice making chamber 11. The motor unit 13 has a built-in motor, the ejector 14 (ejector) is rotatably connected to the rotating shaft of the motor.

The ejector 14 is installed so that the rotation axis crosses the center of the ice making chamber 11, and a plurality of ejector pins 14a are spaced apart at predetermined intervals so that the rotation axis of the ejector is substantially perpendicular to the rotation axis. At this time, each of the ejector pin 14a is disposed for each section partitioned by the partition ribs 11a.

The ejector 14 is rotated by the motor unit 13, and as the ejector 14 is rotated, the ejector pin 14a discharges the ice to the ice bank 20.

In addition, a plurality of slide bars 16 extend in the upper upper end portion of the ice making chamber 11 to about the rotation axis of the ejector 14.

A heater 17 (see FIG. 4) is attached to the bottom surface of the ice making chamber 11. The heater 17 heats the surface of the ice making chamber for a short time to slightly dissolve the ice surface attached to the surface of the ice making chamber so that the ice can be easily separated from the ice making chamber 11.

The ice maker 10 is provided with an ice sensing arm 18 to measure the amount of ice filled in the ice bank 20. The ice detection arm 18 is installed to be movable up and down and is connected to a control unit built in the motor unit 13. By the action of the ice detection arm 18 and the control unit, the ice bank 20 is filled with a certain amount of ice.

The ice bank 20 has an upper surface open to receive falling ice and an ice outlet 21 is formed in a predetermined portion of the lower surface. The ice outlet 21 is formed at a position corresponding to the ice shooter and the dispenser (D).

In addition, the ice bank 20 is provided with an ice transfer means 22, a motor device 23, an ice crusher 30 and an ice discharger (40).

The ice conveying means 22 is formed in a thread form and is installed to cross the inside of the ice bank 20. The ice transfer means 22 is rotatably coupled to the motor device 23.

Accordingly, when the motor device 23 is rotated, the ice is moved to the ice grinder 30 as the ice transfer means 22 is rotated.

The ice grinder 30 is composed of a housing 31, a fixed blade 32 and a movable blade 33.

The housing 31 is formed in a cylindrical shape with one end open. The fixed blade 32 is fixed in the housing 31 so as to cross the inside of the housing 61, and at least one movable blade 33 is installed at the end of the ice transfer means. This movable blade 33 is arranged between the stationary blades 32.

In addition, the ice discharger 40 is composed of a shutter 41 and a solenoid 42.

That is, a substantially plate-shaped shutter 41 (shutter) is installed at the ice outlet 21 of the housing 31 to open and close the ice outlet 21 at a predetermined opening degree, and the solenoid 42 is connected to the shutter. . That is, when the shutter 41 opens the opening degree of the ice outlet 21 small, the crushed ice is discharged, and when the shutter 41 opens the opening degree of the ice outlet 21 largely, the ice is not crushed. Discharged.

At this time, the shutter 41 and the solenoid 42 are connected by a lever.

A dispenser D having a predetermined space is installed below the ice outlet as shown in FIG. 1. This dispenser D is located at the bottom of the body. At this time, the dispenser is not shown, but the device is installed to block the outside air when the ice is not discharged.

Referring to the operation of the icemaker of the conventional refrigerator configured as described above are as follows.

When the ice bank 20 determines that the ice bank 20 lacks ice by the ice detection arm 18, water is supplied to the water supply part 12 of the ice maker 10. This water is filled to the ice-making chamber 11 to a certain level and frozen by the cold air of the freezing chamber 51. At this time, the partition rib 11a of the ice making chamber 11 serves to divide the ice produced in the ice making chamber 11 into a predetermined size.

When the ice is manufactured, the heater 17 of the ice maker 55 is operated for a short time to melt the contact surface of the ice in contact with the surface of the ice making chamber 11. Subsequently, as the ejector pin 14a is rotated by the motor unit 13, each ice positioned in the corresponding space is discharged to the outside. This ice is discharged to the ice bank 20 as shown in FIG.

When the ice bank 20 is filled with a predetermined amount of ice by repeating this series of processes, the ice making process of the ice maker 10 is terminated by the control unit. In addition, if it is determined that the ice is insufficient in the ice detection arm 18, the ice making process is performed again, and the ice maker 10 is filled with a predetermined amount of ice.

In this state in which the ice bank 20 is filled with ice, when the user selects a predetermined button of the control panel, uncrushed ice (hereinafter referred to as ice cube) or crushed ice is discharged to the dispenser D. Accordingly, the users can obtain the selected ice or crushed ice from the dispenser (D).

However, in the bottom type refrigerator in which the freezing compartment is provided in the lower part of the main body, the dispenser D may be located in the lower part of the main body. Therefore, there is an inconvenience in that the user must take out ice from the dispenser while bending the waist.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an ice making apparatus of a refrigerator that allows the user to take out ice without bending the waist in the refrigerator installed in the lower part of the main body.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is installed in the freezing compartment provided in the lower body, the ice maker for manufacturing the ice discharged to the lower portion; An ice bank installed at a lower portion of the ice maker and having an upper surface opened to receive ice produced by the ice maker; And, it is rotatably installed on the upper portion of the ice bank, the lower end is installed to be drawn into the ice bank, the ice transporter for moving the ice stored in the ice bank to the upper portion and discharged to the dispenser as it is rotated; An ice maker of a refrigerator is provided.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 7.

5 is a schematic view schematically showing the installation position of the ice maker of the refrigerator according to the present invention, Figure 6 is a side cross-sectional view schematically showing the ice maker of Figure 5, Figure 7 is the ice is transported in the ice maker of Figure 6 The operation state diagram showing the process.

The refrigerator is provided with a freezer compartment 51 at the bottom of the main body as shown in FIG. 5 and a refrigerating compartment 52 at the top of the freezer compartment. Doors 53 are respectively installed to selectively open and close the freezer compartment 51 and the refrigerating compartment 52.

An ice maker 55 is installed in the freezing compartment 51 under the refrigerator main body. The ice maker 55 is the same as described above in the related art, and thus description thereof will be omitted.

An ice bank 56 is installed below the ice maker 55. The ice bank 56 is formed in a box shape having an upper surface open to receive the ice produced by the ice maker 55. The ice bank 56 is formed in a suitable size in consideration of the capacity of the refrigerator and the amount of ice storage, and it can be understood that the ice bank 56 may be variously changed as well as the box type according to the shape of the seating portion.

An ice conveyor 60 is installed at the upper portion of the ice bank 56. The ice transporter 60 is installed so that the lower end is drawn into the ice bank 56 and, as it is rotated, moves the ice stored in the ice bank 56 to the upper portion and discharges the ice to the dispenser 54.

At this time, although not shown, the dispenser 54 is provided with devices for blocking thermal contact with outside air while the ice is not discharged.

The ice feeder 60 is composed of a housing 61, a helical ice conveying means 62 and a motor portion (63).

The housing 61 is installed so that the lower end communicates with the ice bank 56 and the upper end communicates with the dispenser 54. At this time, the upper end of the housing 61 is preferably located at the height of the waist or chest of the consumer so that the dispenser 54 is disposed at the height of the waist or chest of the consumer. This is to allow the consumer to remove the ice from the dispenser 54 without bending it.

In this case, it is also understood that the installation height of the dispenser 54 may be determined in consideration of the average height of the country using the refrigerator or the average height of housewives.

This housing 61 is formed in a cylindrical shape. At this time, the diameter of the housing 61 should be formed slightly larger than the radius of rotation of the helical ice conveying means (62).

The helical argur 62 (helical argur) is rotatably installed in the housing (61). A helical blade 62a is installed on the rotating shaft of the helical ice transfer means 62. Accordingly, when the helical ice conveying means 62 is rotated, the ice filled in the ice bank 56 is conveyed upward by the helical blade 62a, and the ice thus conveyed is discharged to the dispenser 54. It is also understood that the shape and size of the helical blade 62a may be variously changed according to the capacity of the refrigerator and the capacity of ice.

The motor unit 63 is connected to the upper end of the helical ice transfer means 62 and transmits a driving force to the helical ice transfer means 62. That is, the motor unit 63 is built in a motor, the upper end of the helical ice transfer means 62 is gear-coupled with the drive shaft of the motor. Accordingly, by adjusting the size of the gear it is possible to constantly adjust the rotational speed of the helical ice transfer means (62). Of course, it is also understood that the helical ice transfer means can be directly connected to the drive shaft of the motor driven at low speed.

Referring to the operation of the ice making device configured as described above is as follows.

As the ice maker 55 repeats a process of manufacturing ice and discharging the ice to the ice bank 56, the ice bank 56 stores a predetermined amount of ice.

In this state, when the user presses the ice button on the control panel, the motor unit 63 is operated by the control unit. As the motor unit 63 rotates, as shown in FIG. 7, the helical ice transfer means 62 rotates to transfer a predetermined amount of ice upward.

The ice thus transported is discharged to the dispenser 54 installed at the upper end of the housing 61. Therefore, the user can take out the ice without bending.

In this case, after a certain amount of ice is discharged to the consumer through the dispenser, it may be understood that the ice transfer means may be rotated to release the ice in the ice transfer means back to the ice bank. This is because the ice remaining in the helical ice transfer means without being discharged through the dispenser may be melted by heat exchange with the cold of the refrigerating compartment.

As described above, the ice maker of the refrigerator according to the present invention has the effect that the user can take out the ice from the dispenser without bending the waist. Therefore, the user can comfortably use the refrigerator, thereby improving consumer reliability.

1 is a schematic view showing a state in which an ice maker is installed in a conventional refrigerator.

2 is a perspective view showing the structure of an ice maker constituting the ice making device of FIG.

Figure 3 is a side view showing the structure of the ice maker and the ice bank in the refrigerator of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a state diagram showing a process in which the ice generated in the ice maker of Figure 3 is accommodated in the ice bank.

Figure 5 is a schematic diagram schematically showing the installation position of the ice making apparatus of the refrigerator according to the present invention.

6 is a side cross-sectional view schematically showing the ice making apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 7 is an operational state diagram illustrating a process of transferring ice in the ice making apparatus of FIG. 6. FIG.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

51: freezer 52: cold storage room

53: door 54: dispenser

55 ice maker 56 ice bank

60: ice transporter 61: housing

62: ice transfer means 62a: blade

63: motor unit

Claims (3)

An ice maker installed in a freezing compartment provided at a lower part of the main body and manufacturing ice and discharging the ice to a lower part; An ice bank installed at a lower portion of the ice maker and having an upper surface opened to receive ice produced by the ice maker; And, An ice feeder rotatably installed at an upper portion of the ice bank and installed at a lower end thereof so as to be drawn into the ice bank, and moves an ice stored in the ice bank to an upper portion to be discharged to a dispenser. Ice maker. The method of claim 1, The ice transporter is: A housing in which the lower end is in communication with the ice bank and the upper end is in communication with the dispenser to form an ice conveying passage; Helical ice transfer means is rotatably installed in the housing, the helical blade is installed on the rotating shaft; And, And a motor unit connected to an upper end of the helical ice transfer means to generate a driving force. The method of claim 2, The housing is an ice making device of the refrigerator installed to pass through the freezer compartment to reach a predetermined height of the refrigerating compartment.