KR20060128070A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

A refrigerator is provided to prevent a rotor from being separated up due to rotation and to let a user use various shapes of ices by installing a slush unit to be stably rotated and simply supplying slush together with ice pieces. A refrigerator comprises a freezing chamber; an ice storage unit formed at the freezing chamber; and a slush unit(100) making slush by receiving ice in the ice storage unit. The slush unit has a case(110) formed with a sluch discharge unit; a crushing unit(120) formed at the slush discharge unit; a rotor(130) rotatively formed at the case to transfer ice toward the crushing unit; a rotary shaft(140) combined with the rotor; and a driving unit(150) rotating the rotary shaft. The rotary shaft is screw-combined with the rotor to be rotated by the driving unit in the opposite direction to the screw-combined direction.

Description

Refrigerator {REFRIGERATOR}

1 is a front view showing a state in which the door of the refrigerator according to the present invention opened;

Figure 2 is a freezer compartment side cross-sectional view of the refrigerator of Figure 1 showing that the powder ice apparatus of the present invention mounted on the freezer compartment door,

3 is an exploded perspective view showing the structure of the powder ice apparatus shown in FIG.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

1: body 10: refrigerator

20: freezer 30: ice storage unit

40: ice making room 50: dispenser

100: powder ice device 110: case

111: powder ice discharge portion 113: the first hollow projection

115: through part 120: grinding part

130: rotating body 131: spiral wing

133: second hollow projection 135: coupling portion

140: rotation axis 150: drive unit

151: drive motor 160: housing

161: guide unit

The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to a refrigerator having a powder ice device capable of supplying cubed ice stored in an ice storage unit into powdered ice.

In general, a refrigerator is a device for maintaining a variety of foods fresh for a long time by using the heat exchanged air from the evaporator of the refrigeration cycle, a freezer compartment for storing frozen foods below the freezing temperature, such as meat, fish, fruits, vegetables As described above, a refrigerating compartment for storing the refrigerated food above the freezing temperature is provided in a compartment.

The freezer is provided with an ice maker for making ice of a predetermined size by receiving water from an external water supply device, and an ice storage unit for storing ice iced from the ice maker is provided in the lower part of the ice maker. The ice stored in the ice storage unit is crushed into ice cubes or flake ice according to the use and discharged to the outside. For the ice discharge structure of the ice storage unit, Korean Utility Application No. 1997-003500 and Korean Patent Application No. 1998-0049615 And the like.

However, the conventional refrigerator does not have a powder ice device for supplying ice cubes made from ice makers to powder ice, so it is not easy to use powder ice at home, and in particular, it is not possible to make food that requires powder ice, such as adzuki beans at home. There was a downside.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator having a powder ice device that supplies ice cubes stored in an ice storage unit into powdered ice.

The object includes, according to the present invention, a freezer compartment, an ice storage unit provided in the freezer compartment, and a powder ice apparatus that receives ice stored in the ice storage unit and makes powder ice, wherein the powder ice apparatus discharges powder ice. An additional case; A grinding unit provided in the powder ice discharge unit; A rotating body rotatably provided in the case to transfer ice toward the crushing unit; A rotating shaft coupled to the rotating body; It is achieved by a refrigerator having a drive unit for rotating the rotary shaft.

Here, the rotating shaft and the rotating body is screwed, the drive unit may be to rotate the rotating shaft in the direction opposite to the screw fastening direction.

The case may have a penetrating portion through which the rotating shaft penetrates at a central portion thereof, and the rotating body may be provided with a coupling portion at which a rotating shaft penetrating the penetrating portion is coupled at a central portion thereof.

The rotating body may be provided with a spiral wing for pressing and transporting the ice to the crushing unit.

The crushing unit may have at least one blade provided in the powder ice outlet.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Prior to the description, in describing a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a side by side refrigerator will be described as an example, but the application of the present invention is not limited thereto.

1 is a front view showing an open state of a door of a refrigerator according to the present invention, Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the refrigerator of Figure 1 showing that the powder ice apparatus of the present invention is installed, Figure 3 is the powder ice of Figure 2 An exploded perspective view showing the configuration of the apparatus.

Referring to the drawings, in the refrigerator of the present invention, the refrigerating chamber 10 and the freezing chamber 20 are divided left and right by an intermediate partition. The front openings of each of the refrigerating compartments 10 and the freezing compartment 20 are provided with a refrigerating compartment door 11 and a freezing compartment door 21 for opening and closing the opening, and inside the doors 11 and 21 to accommodate parallel flow and the like. The door guide 23 which can be arranged is arranged up and down. Here, in the refrigerator compartment 10 formed in the right side of the refrigerator main body 1, the some shelf 13 which partitions the inside of the refrigerator compartment 10 is arrange | positioned up and down, and the several drawer is provided in the lower part.

In the freezing chamber 20, an ice making chamber 40 in which an ice making apparatus for making ice is formed is partitioned at an upper portion thereof, and a plurality of shelves 13 and a storage drawer are disposed above and below the freezing chamber 20. In addition, the dispenser unit 50 is provided on the front surface of the freezing chamber door 21 to receive ice iced in the ice making chamber 40 and drinking water from the outside. The dispenser unit 50 includes a water dispenser 51 for supplying drinking water and an ice dispenser 53 for supplying ice, and an operation panel including a plurality of button keys on the dispenser unit 50. 55 is provided so that the user can select crushed ice cubes, uncrushed ice cubes or ice cubes.

An ice making tray 41 receives water from an external water supply device in the ice making chamber 40, and an ice storage unit 30 storing ice from the ice making tray 41 in the lower part of the ice making tray 41. ) Is provided. Here, an ice making motor is provided at one side portion in the longitudinal direction of the ice making tray 41 to separate the iced ice from the ice making tray 41, and a lower portion of the ice storage unit 30 is formed at the lower portion of the ice making tray 41. The ice detection lever 43 for measuring the quantity is attached.

The powder ice apparatus 100 is rotatably provided in the case 110 provided with the powder ice discharge part 111, the crushing part 120 provided in the powder ice discharge part 111, and the case 110. It includes a rotating body 130 for conveying toward the crushing unit 120, a rotating shaft 140 coupled to the rotating body 130, and a driving unit 150 for rotating the rotating shaft 140. Here, the powder ice apparatus 100 may further include a housing 160 supporting the case 110 and the driving unit 150 and accommodated in the accommodating portion 25 provided in the freezer compartment door 21.

The case 110 is provided to accommodate the rotating body 130 therein. The case 110 may have various shapes as long as the rotation of the received rotating body 130 is not limited. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the upper portion may be provided in an open cylindrical shape, or in the cylindrical shape, the bottom surface may be provided to be inclined downward toward the center portion.

The case 110 is provided with a powder ice discharge part 111 for discharging the powder ice crushed by the grinding part 120 to the outside. The powder ice discharge part 111 may be provided anywhere in the case 110. For example, it may be provided on the bottom surface of the case 110, it may be provided on the side wall. Meanwhile, a penetrating portion 115 is provided at the center of the case 110 so that the rotating shaft 140 can penetrate therethrough, and has a predetermined length extending along the edge of the penetrating portion 115 in the axial direction of the rotating shaft 140. It may have a first hollow projection 113. The first hollow protrusion 113 supports the penetrating rotation shaft 140 to allow the rotation shaft 140 to rotate smoothly, and allows the rotation body 130 to hold the rotation center position in the case 110. .

The crushing unit 120 is provided in any one of the case 110 and the rotating body 130 to crush the ice cube into powder ice. The location of the crushing unit 120 is not limited, but may be provided in the powdered ice discharge unit 111 so that the pulverized powdered ice can be immediately discharged to the outside. On the other hand, the crushing unit 120 may crush ice cubes into powdered ice in various ways. For example, at least one blade may be provided in the powder ice discharge part 111 so that the ice cubes transferred by the rotating body 130 are pressed toward the blade and crushed. (See Figure 3).

Rotating body 130 is rotatably provided in the case 110 to convey the ice cubes supplied from the ice storage unit 30 toward the crushing unit 120. The rotor 130 is seated on the first hollow protrusion 113 of the case 110 and accommodated in the case 110. Rotating body 130 may be provided so that the upper portion is opened toward the discharge port of the ice storage unit 30 to receive ice cubes. Here, when the powder ice apparatus 100 is not installed below the discharge port (not shown) of the ice storage unit 30, a guide unit (not shown) in communication with the discharge port of the ice storage unit 30 is further provided. You can also get ice.

In the center of the rotating body 130 is provided with a coupling portion 135 for coupling with the rotating shaft 140. The coupling part 135 is not limited, but may be provided as a boss part having one end opened toward the rotation shaft 140. The rotating body 130 and the rotating shaft 140 may be coupled in various ways as long as the rotating body 130 may rotate by transmitting the rotating force of the rotating shaft 140 to the rotating body 130. For example, the boss portion having an inner diameter slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the rotary shaft 140 may be provided to fit the rotary shaft 140 to the boss portion, and the threads may be formed on the outer periphery of the end of the rotary shaft 140 and the inner peripheral edge of the boss portion. 137 and 147 may be formed and screwed into place. In this case, the driving unit 150 rotates the rotating body 130 in a direction opposite to the screwing direction of the rotating body 130. If the rotating body 130 is rotated in the same direction as the screw fastening direction of the rotating body 130, the screw fastening with the rotating shaft 140 may be released as the rotating body 130 rotates. When the rotating body 130 is rotated in the direction opposite to the screw fastening direction, the fastening force between the rotating body 130 and the rotating shaft 140 becomes stronger. In addition, since the rotation body 130 and the rotation shaft 140 are not movable due to the threads 137 and 147 formed in the coupling part 135 in the axial direction, it is possible to prevent the lift-off due to the rotation of the rotation body 130. Can be. In addition, since the rotating body 130 and the rotating shaft 140 do not move relative to each other, friction does not occur and thus heat may be prevented, and foreign matters may be prevented due to wear.

A second hollow protrusion 133 may be provided at the center of the rotating body 130 to accommodate the coupling part 135 therein. Since the second hollow protrusion 133 covers the rotating shaft 140 and the coupling part 135 and is coupled to the first hollow protrusion 113, ice in the rotor 130 is rotated 130 and the coupling part 135. It can be prevented from malfunctioning by being caught between them. On the other hand, the rotating body 130 may be provided with a spiral wing 131 is formed in a spiral shape on the inner circumferential surface or the second hollow protrusion 133 to pressurized conveyed ice cubes to the crushing unit 120.

The rotary shaft 140 penetrates the through part 115 at the bottom of the case 110 and is coupled to the coupling part 135 of the rotating body 130. As shown in FIG. 3, the rotation shaft 140 may be provided in a hollow cylindrical shape, and may be provided with a stepped portion. When the rotating shaft 140 is screwed with the rotating body 130, a thread 147 may be formed at an outer circumference of the end of the rotating shaft 140. Rotating shaft 140 is not limited, but may be made of the same material as the case 110 and the rotating body 130 to prevent the wear is concentrated on any one side during friction due to rotation.

The driving unit 150 is combined with the rotating shaft 140 to rotate the rotating shaft 140. The driving unit 150 is not limited, but may be provided as the driving motor 151. In this case, the reduction gear assembly 153 may be further included to control the rotational speed of the driving motor 151 between the driving motor 151 and the rotating shaft 140. Here, the driving unit 150 allows the rotation body 130 to receive the rotation force from the rotation center to rotate, thereby preventing vibration and overload due to shaft mismatch.

The housing 160 supports the case 110 and the driving unit 150 in which the rotating body 130 is accommodated, and is accommodated in the accommodating part provided in the freezer compartment door 21. The housing 160 is provided with a guide part 161 for guiding the powder ice discharged to the powder ice discharge part 111 toward the freezer door 21 at a position corresponding to the powder ice discharge part 111 of the case 110. Can be.

The process of making powdered ice in the refrigerator having the above-described structure will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 as follows.

First, ice cubes iced from the ice tray 41 are stored in the ice storage unit 30 provided in the freezing chamber 20. When the user selects a button key provided on the operation panel 55 of the dispenser unit 50 or presses the ice dispenser 53, the transport member in the ice storage unit 30 rotates to discharge ice cubes to the outside. The discharged ice is introduced into the powder ice apparatus 100 provided below the discharge port.

The driving unit 150 is driven at the same time as the user selects the button key 55 or presses the ice dispenser 53 or at predetermined time intervals to rotate the rotating shaft 140. When the rotating shaft 140 is rotated, the rotating body 130 coupled thereto rotates along. When ice cubes are introduced into the rotating body 130 that is rotating, the powdered ice that is crushed by the crushing unit 120 is transferred to the crushing unit 120 by the spiral blade 131 formed in the rotating body 130. The powder is discharged through the ice discharge part 111. The discharged powder ice is guided to the guide part 161 provided in the housing 160 so that the powder ice is discharged to the dispenser part 50.

Therefore, the user can easily be supplied with powdered ice along with ice cubes and pieces of ice so that the user can use various types of ice.

On the other hand, since the rotating body 130 is screwed with the rotating shaft 140, it is impossible to move in the axial direction, thereby preventing the rotating body 130 from being lifted off by centrifugal force, and the rotating body 130 and the rotating shaft. 140 does not have a relative movement, it is possible to prevent the wear of the contact surface by the rotational friction.

As described above, the refrigerator according to the present invention is prevented from escaping due to the rotation of the rotating body, and equipped with a powder ice device with improved rotational stability can be easily supplied with powdered ice along with ice cubes and ice cubes. Various types of ice are available.

Claims (5)

A freezing compartment, an ice storage unit provided in the freezing chamber, and a powder ice apparatus that receives the ice stored in the ice storage unit and makes powdered ice; The powder ice device, A case provided with a powder ice discharge part; A grinding unit provided in the powder ice discharge unit; A rotating body rotatably provided in the case to transfer ice toward the crushing unit; A rotating shaft coupled to the rotating body; And a drive unit for rotating the rotating shaft. The method of claim 1, And the rotating shaft and the rotating body are screwed together, and the driving unit rotates the rotating shaft in a direction opposite to the screw fastening direction. The method of claim 2, The case has a through portion through which the rotating shaft penetrates the center, The rotating body is a refrigerator, characterized in that the coupling portion is coupled to the rotating shaft passing through the through portion in the center. The method of claim 1, The rotating body is a refrigerator, characterized in that the spiral wing is provided to pressurized ice to the grinding unit. The method of claim 1, And the crushing unit has at least one blade provided in the powder ice outlet.

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