KR20060053211A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

A refrigerator capable of providing powder ice together with cubed ice and flake ice by installing a powder ice manufacturing unit in a freezer compartment door is disclosed. The ice cube manufacturing unit is installed in the freezing chamber door, and the ice cube and the crushed ice are selectively provided in the freezing chamber through the first ice supply unit configured to supply ice cubes to the powder ice manufacturing unit and the ice / flake ice outlet provided in the freezing chamber door. A second ice supply unit configured to supply the oil is installed. The first and second ice supply units are partitioned and arranged in parallel in the ice reservoir. The powder ice manufacturing unit includes a case provided with a powder ice outlet, at least one blade disposed at the powder ice outlet, and a rotating cylinder installed in the case and rotated by a drive motor and a reduction gear assembly. The rotating barrel is provided with a spiral blade formed in a spiral shape on its inner circumferential surface to pressurize the ice with a blade to make powdered ice.

Description

Refrigerator {Refrigerator}

1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a refrigerator according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II of FIG. 1 showing a schematic internal structure of a refrigerator according to the present invention.

3 is a perspective view showing the ice storage container shown in FIG.

Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view showing the structure of the powder ice manufacturing unit shown in FIG.

5 is a cross-sectional view showing that the powder ice manufacturing unit of Figure 4 is installed in the freezer compartment door.

* Description of symbols on the main parts of the drawings *

20: ice container 30: powder ice manufacturing unit

31: housing 32: drive motor

33: reduction gear assembly 34: case

35: rotating cylinder 36: annular gear

37: Spiral Wing 41: Blade

42: powdered ice outlet 50: first ice supply unit

60: second ice supply unit

The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to a powder ice manufacturing unit installed in a freezer compartment door, powder ice together with ice cubes or crushed ice made from an ice supply unit installed in an ice storage container. It's about a refrigerator that can supply shaved ice.

In general, a refrigerator includes a refrigerator compartment and a freezer compartment, which are partitioned from each other so as to keep various foods in an optimal state for a long time, and the refrigerator compartment stores refrigerated foods to be stored above the freezing temperature, such as vegetables and fruits. Frozen foods, such as meat and fish, that need to be stored below freezing temperatures are stored.

In the freezer, an automatic ice maker is installed to make ice of a certain size using cold air circulating in the freezer. The automatic ice maker is an ice maker for making ice cubes of a predetermined size, and is disposed at the lower portion of the ice maker. It is equipped with ice storage container for storing the made ice, and it automatically supplies water to ice making container to make ice cubes, and then these ice cubes are automatically transferred to the ice storage container for storage. Then, the ice machine is supplied with water again to make ice automatically.

However, such a conventional refrigerator does not have a powder ice manufacturing unit for supplying ice cubes made from automatic ice makers, and thus it is not easy to use powder ice at home, especially foods requiring powder ice such as adzuki beans at home. There was a drawback that could not be made.

The present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, an object of the present invention by installing the powder ice manufacturing unit in the freezer compartment door ice powder or crushed ice with ice cubes or ice cubes made in the ice supply unit installed in the ice storage container It is to provide a refrigerator that can supply.

Refrigerator according to the present invention for achieving this object,

Freezer; A freezer compartment door to open and close the freezer compartment; An ice maker installed in the freezing compartment to make ice cubes; An ice storage container for storing ice cubes produced by the ice maker; First and second ice supply units installed in the ice storage container; A powder ice production unit installed in front of the first ice supply unit to make angular ice supplied from the first ice supply unit into powder ice; It characterized in that it comprises a control unit for operating the first and second ice supply unit independently, and controlling the first ice supply unit and the powder ice production unit to operate in conjunction with the production of powdered ice.

The powder ice manufacturing unit is installed in the freezer compartment door.

The ice storage container has a partition plate disposed in the longitudinal direction so that the first and second ice supply units are separated from each other in the ice storage container.

The second ice supply unit includes an outlet control device and a plurality of cutters to selectively discharge ice cubes and crushed ice from the second ice supply unit.

The powder ice production unit is a case provided with a powder ice outlet, at least one blade disposed in the powder ice outlet, a rotating cylinder rotatably installed in the case to transfer the ice toward the blade, rotating the rotating cylinder A drive motor is provided.

The powder ice manufacturing unit further includes a reduction gear assembly coupled to the drive motor, and an annular gear engaged with the reduction gear assembly is provided on an outer circumferential surface of the rotating cylinder to rotate the rotating cylinder at a constant speed.

The rotating cylinder is provided with a spiral blade formed in a spiral shape on the inner circumferential surface of the rotating cylinder to pressurize the ice to the blade to make powdered ice.

The freezing chamber door is provided with a recess for installing the powder ice manufacturing unit, and the powder ice manufacturing unit further includes a housing coupled to the recess to fix the case, the driving motor, and the reduction gear assembly. do.

The center of the housing is provided with a first hollow projection protruding in the axial direction so as to penetrate the center of the case, the center of the rotary cylinder is fitted to the first hollow projection second to allow the rotary cylinder to rotate stably Hollow protrusion is formed.

A vertical protrusion into which the first hollow protrusion is fitted is provided at the center of the recess to fix the housing so as not to move.

The freezer compartment door is provided with a powder ice outlet communicating with the powder ice production unit and a flake ice / flake ice outlet located under the second ice supply unit.

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

1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a refrigerator according to the present invention, Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II of Figure 1 shows a schematic internal structure of the refrigerator according to the present invention.

1 and 2, the refrigerator according to the present invention includes a main body 1 having an open front, a freezer compartment door 2 and a refrigerating compartment door 3 hinged to an open front of the main body 1. In order to form an external appearance, the freezer compartment 4 and the refrigerating chamber (not shown) which are opened and closed by the freezer compartment door 2 and the refrigerating compartment door 3 are respectively provided inside the main body 1.

An evaporator 5 for generating cold air is installed on the rear wall of the main body 1, and a compressor 6 for compressing a refrigerant is installed at the rear of the lower part of the main body 1, and the upper portion of the freezer compartment 4 has a predetermined size. An automatic ice maker 10 for automatically making and supplying ice is installed.

The automatic ice maker 10 is provided with an ice container 11 for supplying water to make ice, and an ice storage container for storing ice cubes disposed in the ice container 11 arranged under the ice container 11. 20 and a water supply pipe 12 extending from the external water supply source to the top of the ice production container 11 and supplying water for making ice to the ice production container 11.

The freezing chamber door 2 is provided with a powder ice manufacturing unit 30 for supplying the ice cubes transferred from the ice storage container 20 to powdered ice, and the ice storage container 20 has a powder ice manufacturing unit 30. The first ice supply unit 50 for supplying ice cubes is installed.

The ice storage container 20 is also provided with a second ice supply unit 60 which is arranged in parallel with the first ice supply unit 50 to allow the user to selectively use ice or flake ice, and the freezer door In (2), the recessed part 17, the powdered ice discharge port 13, and the ice cube / flake ice discharge port 14 for installing the powdered ice manufacturing unit 30 are formed (refer FIG. 3).

Powder ice discharge lever 15 and the ice cube flake ice discharge port 16 and the ice cube flake ice discharge lever 16 are respectively installed in the lower portion of the freezing chamber door 2. On the upper part of the powder ice discharge lever 15 and the ice / flake ice discharge lever 16, a control unit 8 having a powder ice selection button, a cube ice selection button, and a piece of ice selection button is provided.

The control unit 8 controls the operation of the automatic ice maker 10 so that the ice is automatically made in the automatic ice maker 10, while the user selects the powder ice selection button, the angular ice selection button, and the crushed ice selection button. By pressing any one, the first and second ice supply units 50 and 60 and the powder ice manufacturing unit 30 are selectively operated to control the user to supply powder ice, cube ice, and flake ice to the user. .

Therefore, when water is filled in the ice manufacturing container 11 through the water supply pipe 12, and after a predetermined time, the water filled in the ice manufacturing container 11 is frozen by cold air circulating in the freezing chamber 4 so that ice cubes are made. The ice cubes thus made are automatically sent to the ice storage container 20 to fill the ice storage container 20. This series of operations is controlled by the control unit 8.

When the user operates the powder ice selection button and the powder ice discharge lever 15 of the control unit 8 in this state, the first ice supply unit 50 and the powder ice manufacturing unit 30 are controlled by the control unit 8. This operation is made of powdered ice, the powdered ice is discharged to the outside of the freezer compartment door 2 through the powdered ice outlet 13 is accumulated in the cup (7).

Similarly, when the user operates the ice selection button and the ice / flake ice discharge lever 16 of the control unit 8, the second ice supply unit 60 is supplied with the ice by the control unit 8. The ice is discharged to the outside of the freezer compartment door 2 through the ice / flake ice outlet 14. Of course, when the user operates the crushed ice selection button and the angular ice / flake ice discharge lever 16 of the control unit 8, the second ice supply unit 60 is operated to cut the icy ice into small sizes. Through the ice flakes outlet 14, the ice cubes can be discharged to the outside of the freezer compartment door (2).

Next, the configuration and operation of the powder ice manufacturing unit 30 and the first and second ice supply units 50 and 60 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5.

Figure 3 shows the ice storage container shown in Figure 2 and the first and second ice supply unit installed in the ice storage container, Figure 4 shows the structure of the powder ice manufacturing unit shown in Figure 2, Figure 5 4 shows that the powder ice manufacturing unit of Figure 4 is installed in the freezer door.

As shown in FIG. 3, the ice storage container 20 is provided with first and second ice supply units 50 and 60 in parallel. The first and second ice supply units 50 and 60 are located adjacent to the first end 21 and the freezer door 2 of the ice storage container 20 positioned adjacent to the rear wall of the freezer compartment 4. It is installed along the second end 22 of the ice reservoir 20 in the longitudinal direction.

In order to allow the ice cubes stored in the ice container 20 to be effectively distributed to the first and second ice supply units 50 and 60, a predetermined height may be provided between the first and second ice supply units 50 and 60. The partition plate 23 is arrange | positioned.

The first ice supply unit 50 has a drive motor 51 installed at the first end 21 of the ice storage container 20, one end of which is coupled to the drive motor 51, and the other end of the ice storage container 20 is closed. A spiral shaft 52 extending toward the second end 22, a case 56 disposed outside the second end 22 of the ice storage container 20, and having a cube ice outlet 57; , The rotating shaft 53 connected to the end of the spiral shaft 52 and extending toward the case 56, the spiral wing 55 coupled to the rotating shaft 53, and the outer circumference of the spiral wing 55. A guide cylinder 54 for guiding the transfer of ice cubes is provided.

Therefore, when the driving motor 51 is operated, the spiral shaft 52, the rotating shaft 53, and the spiral blade 55 coupled to the rotating shaft 53 are rotated, and the ice cubes stored in the ice storage container 20 are spiraled. It is pushed into the guide cylinder 54 by the shaft 52, in which the ice cube is conveyed by the spiral blade 55, and exits to the ice cube outlet 57 of the case 56. Thus, the ice cube exited to the ice cube outlet 57 is sent to the powder ice manufacturing unit 30 installed in the freezer compartment door 2.

The second ice supply unit 60 is also configured similarly to the first ice supply unit 50 configured as described above. That is, the second ice supply unit 60 is a drive motor 61 installed in parallel with the drive motor 51 of the first ice supply unit 50 at the first end 21 of the ice storage container 20, and once A spiral shaft 62 coupled to the drive motor 61 and having the other end extending toward the second end 22 of the ice storage container 20, and the second end 22 of the ice storage container 20; A case 66 disposed at an outer side of the casing and having a cube / flake ice outlet 67 formed therein, a rotation shaft 63 connected to an end of the spiral shaft 62 and extending toward the case 66, and a rotation shaft 63; It is provided with a spiral blade (65) coupled to the guide pipe 64 for guiding the transfer of ice cubes surrounding the outer periphery of the spiral blade (65).

The second ice supply unit 60 also has a pair of rotary cutters 68 and ice / flake ice outlets 67 vertically connected to the rotation axis 63 at positions corresponding to the ice / flake ice outlets 67. It is further provided with a fixed cutter 69 is fixed at the crushed ice cubes conveyed to the ice cube / ice cube outlet 67 by the spiral blade 65 can be crushed into pieces of ice.

The second ice supply unit 60 also controls the size of the ice / flake ice outlet 67 to allow the second ice supply unit 60 to supply not only crushed ice but also crushed ice cubes. It is further provided with an adjusting device (70).

Therefore, when the drive motor 61 is operated in a state where the ice cube / flake ice outlet 67 is narrowed to a size such that the ice cube does not escape by adjusting the outlet control device 70 by the control unit 8, the spiral shaft ( 62 and the rotating shaft 63, and the spiral blade 65 coupled to the rotating shaft 63 is rotated, the ice cubes stored in the ice storage container 20 is pushed into the guide tube 64 by the spiral shaft 62. In the guide tube 64, the ice cube is transported by the spiral wing 65 and sent to the ice / flake ice outlet 67 of the case 66 while the rotary cutter 68 and the fixed cutter 69 The ice cube is crushed into a size corresponding to the adjusted size of the ice cube / ice cube outlet 67 by the cutting operation of the ice cube, and the piece ice is made. Discharged to (14).

On the other hand, by controlling the outlet adjustment device 70 by the control unit 8 when the drive motor 61 is operated in a state where the ice / flake ice outlet 67 is widened to the size where the ice can escape. The ice cubes transferred from the barrel 64 to the ice cubes / flake ice outlet 67 by the spiral blade 65 are not crushed by the rotary cutter 68 and the fixed cutter 69, but the ice cubes / flake ice outlet ( After exiting 67), the ice cube is discharged to the crushed ice outlet 14.

As shown in FIG. 4, the powder ice manufacturing unit 30 according to the present invention is fixed to the recess 17 provided inside the freezing chamber door 2 and communicating with the powder ice outlet 13 (FIG. 2) a drive 31 provided with a housing 31 having a first installation space 45 and a second installation space 46, and an outer side of the housing 31 corresponding to the second installation space 46; And a reduction gear assembly 33 disposed in the second installation space 46 at the top of the drive motor 32, and a case 34 fitted into and fixed to the first installation space 45 of the housing 31; And a rotating cylinder 35 rotatably disposed inside the case 34.

The reduction gear assembly 33 axially coupled to the drive motor 32 is composed of a plurality of reduction gears meshed with each other to appropriately reduce the rotational speed of the drive motor 32.

The rotating cylinder 35 formed by opening the upper and lower parts has an annular gear 36 formed on an outer circumferential surface of the upper end thereof and engaged with the reduction gear assembly 33, and a spiral wing 37 formed spirally extending from the inner circumferential surface thereof. Equipped.

The case 34, into which the rotary cylinder 35 is rotatably fitted, has a shape in which the upper part is open and the lower part is blocked by the bottom plate 44, and the bottom plate 44 of the case 34 has a powder ice outlet ( 42) is formed.

Moreover, the blade 41 arrange | positioned so that it may protrude upward from the powder ice outlet 42 is fixed to the bottom plate 44 of the case 34. As shown in FIG. The powder ice outlet 42 and the blade 41 are radially disposed on the bottom plate 44 to work with the spiral wing 37 formed in a spiral shape on the inner circumferential surface of the rotating cylinder 35 to make powder ice.

The powder ice outlet at the bottom of the housing 31 to send powder ice produced at the powder ice outlet 42 of the case 34 to the powder ice outlet 13 provided in the freezer compartment door 2 through the housing 31. In the position facing 42, an opening 43 of constant size is formed.

In the embodiment of the present invention, one blade 41 is illustrated as being radially disposed at the powder ice outlet 42, and a plurality of such blades 41 are configured at regular intervals at the powder ice outlet 42. Placement can quickly produce a large amount of powdered ice.

In addition, a first hollow protrusion 38 is provided at the center of the first installation space 45 of the housing 31 to protrude upward to penetrate the center hole 39 formed at the center of the case 34. In the center of the tradition 35 is provided a second hollow projection 40 coupled to the outer circumferential surface of the first hollow projection 38 of the housing 31.

The second hollow protrusion 40 is slightly larger than the first hollow protrusion 38 so that the rotating cylinder 35 can freely rotate while the second hollow protrusion 40 is fitted to the first hollow protrusion 38. Make sure

Therefore, the first hollow protrusion 38 of the housing 31 penetrates through the center hole 39 of the case 34 so that the outer circumferential surface of the case 34 is in close contact with the inner circumferential surface of the housing 31 and then rotates. When the second hollow protrusion 40 of the 35 is coupled to the first hollow protrusion 38 of the housing 31 so that the rotary cylinder 35 is disposed inside the case 34, the case 34 is formed of a housing ( 31 is fixed so as not to move, the rotating cylinder 35 is rotatably installed in the case (34).

Here, the case 34 may be configured to be firmly fixed to the housing 31 by introducing another fastening method such as screwing, and the drive motor 32 and the reduction gear assembly 33 to the case 34. When the structure is installed, the case 34 may also serve as the housing 31, so that the powder ice manufacturing unit 30 according to the present invention may be configured without the housing 31. .

As shown in FIG. 5, the recessed part 17 is a driving motor to couple the powdered ice manufacturing unit 30 configured as described above to the recessed part 17 provided inside the freezing compartment door 2. It has a shape corresponding to the appearance of the housing 31 in the state where the 32 is mounted.

In addition, a vertical protrusion 18 is formed at the center of the recess 17 to fix the first hollow protrusion 38 of the housing 31 so that the first hollow protrusion 38 is the vertical protrusion 18. When the outer peripheral surface of the housing 31 is coupled to the inside of the recess 17, the powder ice manufacturing unit 30 is fixed to the recess 17 of the freezer door 2.

Here, the housing 31 may be coupled to the inside of the freezer compartment door 2 in a state in which the housing 31 is fitted into the recess 17 in a screw or other manner.

The recessed portion 17 provided with the powder ice manufacturing unit 30 communicates with the powder ice outlet 13 so as to guide the powder ice produced by the powder ice manufacturing unit 30 to the outside of the freezer compartment door 2. In the opening 43 of the housing 31, a cover 19 that is operated by the operation of the powder ice discharge lever 15 is installed to cover the opening 43.

Therefore, when the powder ice selection button and the powder ice discharge lever 15 disposed on the outside of the freezer compartment 2 are operated, the cover 19 disposed in the opening 43 of the housing 31 rotates to produce the powder ice manufacturing unit ( 30 is in communication with the powdered ice outlet 13, the first ice supply unit 50 is installed together with the second ice supply unit 60 in the ice storage container 20 arranged in the freezer compartment 4. By the ice cubes are supplied to the rotating cylinder 35 of the powder ice manufacturing unit 30 installed in the freezer compartment door (2).

In this state, when the driving motor 32 of the powder ice manufacturing unit 30 rotates, the reduction gear assembly 33 transmits the rotational force of the driving motor 32 to the rotating cylinder 35 so as to properly transfer the rotating cylinder 35. It will rotate at speed.

When the rotating cylinder 35 is rotated, the spiral blade 37 formed inside the rotating cylinder 35 presses ice cubes to the bottom of the case 34, and thus the bottom plate 44 of the case 34. The ground ice is ground by the blade 41 disposed at the powder ice outlet 42, so that the powder ice is made to be discharged through the powder ice outlet 42 and the opening 43 of the housing 31.

As described above, the powder ice produced by the powder ice manufacturing unit 30 is continuously discharged to the outside of the freezing chamber door 2 through the powder ice discharge port 13 and placed on the powder ice discharge lever 15 side. By stacking in the powder can be easily supplied with ice.

As described in detail above, the refrigerator according to the present invention includes a plurality of ice supply units installed in the ice storage container disposed in the freezer compartment and a powder ice production unit installed in the freezer compartment door, and the ice and flake ice to the outside of the freezer compartment door, In addition, by being able to supply powder ice easily, there is an effect of allowing users to use various types of ice.

Claims (16)

Freezer; A freezer compartment door to open and close the freezer compartment; An ice maker installed in the freezing compartment to make ice cubes; An ice storage container for storing ice cubes produced by the ice maker; First and second ice supply units installed in the ice storage container; A powder ice production unit installed in front of the first ice supply unit to make angular ice supplied from the first ice supply unit into powder ice; And a control unit which operates the first and second ice supply units independently and controls the first ice supply unit and the powder ice production unit to be linked with each other when the powder ice is manufactured. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the powder ice manufacturing unit is installed in the freezer compartment door. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the ice storage container includes a partition plate disposed in a longitudinal direction so that the first and second ice supply units are separated from each other in the ice storage container. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the second ice supply unit includes an outlet control device and a plurality of cutters to selectively discharge ice cubes and crushed ice from the second ice supply unit. According to claim 1, wherein the powder ice manufacturing unit is a case having a powder ice outlet, at least one blade disposed in the powder ice outlet, a rotating cylinder rotatably installed in the case to transfer the ice toward the blade, And a drive motor for rotating the rotating cylinder. The method of claim 5, wherein the powder ice manufacturing unit further comprises a reduction gear assembly coupled to the drive motor, the outer circumferential surface of the rotary cylinder is provided with an annular gear that is engaged with the reduction gear assembly is the rotary cylinder at a constant speed Refrigerator characterized in that it is rotated. 6. The refrigerator according to claim 5, wherein the rotating cylinder is provided with a spiral blade formed in a spiral shape on the inner circumferential surface of the rotating cylinder to pressurize ice to the blade to make powdered ice. The method of claim 5, wherein the freezing chamber door is provided with a recess for installing the powder ice manufacturing unit, the powder ice manufacturing unit is the recess portion for fixing the case, the drive motor, and the reduction gear assembly The refrigerator further comprises a housing coupled. According to claim 8, wherein the central portion of the housing is provided with a first hollow projection protruding in the axial direction so as to penetrate the center of the case, the central portion of the rotary cylinder is fitted to the first hollow projection to ensure that the rotary cylinder is stable Refrigerator, characterized in that the second hollow projection is formed to be rotated. The refrigerator according to claim 9, wherein a vertical protrusion into which the first hollow protrusion is fitted is provided at a center of the recess to fix the housing so as not to move to the recess. 4. The refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein the freezing compartment door is provided with a powder ice outlet communicating with the powder ice producing unit and a cube / flake ice outlet disposed under the second ice supply unit. Freezer; A freezer compartment door to open and close the freezer compartment; An ice storage container installed in the freezing chamber; First and second ice supply units installed in parallel with the ice storage container; A powdered ice manufacturing unit installed in front of the first ice supplying unit to make the cubed ice supplied from the first ice supplying unit into powdered ice; A powder ice outlet formed through the freezer compartment door at a lower portion of the powder ice manufacturing unit to discharge powder ice produced by the powder ice manufacturing unit; And a ice / flake ice outlet formed through the freezer compartment door at a lower portion of the second ice supply unit to discharge ice cubes or flake ice supplied from the second ice supply unit. The refrigerator according to claim 12, wherein a partition plate is installed between the first and second ice supply units in the ice storage container. The method of claim 12, wherein the powder ice manufacturing unit is a case having a powder ice outlet communicated with the powder ice outlet, at least one blade disposed in the powder ice outlet, rotatably installed in the case and the blade blades ice A rotating cylinder having a spiral blade for feeding toward the refrigerator, characterized in that the refrigerator is provided with a drive motor installed in the case for rotating the rotating cylinder. 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the powder ice manufacturing unit further comprises a reduction gear assembly coupled to the drive motor, the outer circumferential surface of the rotating cylinder is provided with an annular gear that is engaged with the reduction gear assembly, the rotating cylinder at a constant speed Refrigerator characterized in that it is rotated. The refrigerator according to claim 12, wherein the second ice supply unit includes an outlet control device and a plurality of cutters to selectively discharge ice cubes and crushed ice from the second ice supply unit.

Images