KR20070120765A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

A refrigerator is provided to ensure fast ice making by manufacturing ice cubes in a direct cooling method, which is more effective than indirect cooling method, and to reduce manufacturing cost without having an additional duct. A refrigerator comprises a body(1), a door, an evaporator(17), an ice making compartment(20), an ice making tray(21), and an ice-making cooling part(30). The body is defined with a refrigerator compartment and a freezer compartment(3). The door opens and closes the refrigerator and freezer compartments. The evaporator is equipped in the body. The ice making chamber is installed either one of the door or the body. The ice making tray is equipped within the ice making compartment and manufactures ice cubes. The ice-making cooling part comprises a closed-loop refrigerant pipe(40) to circulate refrigerant receiving cooling heat from the evaporator and transferring the heat to the ice making tray.

Description

Refrigerator {REFRIGERATOR}

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

2 is a side sectional view of a refrigerator according to the present invention;

3 is a partial cross-sectional view of an ice making tray and an ice storage unit of a refrigerator according to the present invention;

4a to d are schematic diagrams of various embodiments of the refrigerator according to the present invention.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

1: body 2: refrigerating chamber

3: freezer compartment 7: dispenser unit

10: cooling device 20: ice making room

21: ice tray 27: ice storage unit

30: ice making cooling unit 40: refrigerant piping

41: first heat exchanger 42: second heat exchanger

43: third heat exchange unit 47: pump

The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to a refrigerator capable of improving an ice making speed.

In general, a refrigerator is a device for supplying cold air generated by a cooling device including a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve, an evaporator, etc. to lower the temperature in the refrigerator to freeze or refrigerate food or the like. The refrigerator has a top-mounted freezer (TMF) type in which the storage compartment is divided up and down, the top-mounted freezer (TMF) type in which the freezer compartment is at the top, and a side-by-side (SBS) in which the freezer compartment and the refrigerating compartment are divided left and right. It is divided into types.

Since the dispenser part of a general BMF type refrigerator is arranged in the refrigerating compartment door, a separate ice compartment is partitioned in the refrigerating compartment or in the refrigerating compartment door to take out ice to the dispenser portion, and the cold air generated in the evaporator to generate ice in the ice making compartment A method of supplying the ice making chamber has been applied.

However, such a conventional refrigerator has an indirect cooling method in which ice making is performed using cold air generated in an evaporator, and thus there is a problem in that the ice making speed is slow. Thus, if ice making is performed by applying the direct cooling method, the ice making speed will be improved. In addition, since a separate duct must be formed in order to supply the cold air of the evaporator to the ice making chamber, the space efficiency of the storage compartment is lowered and the manufacturing cost is increased.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator capable of improving the ice making speed and improving the space efficiency of the storage compartment.

According to the present invention, there is provided a refrigerator having a main body in which a storage compartment is formed, a door for opening and closing the storage chamber, and an evaporator provided in the main body, the ice making chamber provided in any one of the door and the main body; An ice making tray provided in the ice making chamber to generate ice; It is achieved by a refrigerator including an ice making cooling unit having a refrigerant pipe of a closed loop so that the coolant received from the evaporator and delivered to the ice making tray is circulated.

The ice making cooling unit includes: a first heat exchanger in contact with the evaporator to receive cooling heat from the evaporator; The method may further include a second heat exchanger contacting the ice making tray and transferring the cooling heat received from the first heat exchanger to the ice making tray.

On the other hand, the ice making cooling unit, the first heat exchanger and spaced apart from the evaporator; A second heat exchanger in contact with the ice making tray and transferring the cooling heat received from the first heat exchanger to the ice making tray; It may further include a blowing fan for cooling the first heat exchange unit by blowing the cool air generated from the evaporator to the first heat exchange unit.

Preferably, the ice making cooling unit further includes a pump for circulating the refrigerant.

It further comprises an ice storage unit for storing the ice generated in the ice tray; The ice making cooling unit may further include a third heat exchanger which contacts the ice storage unit and transfers the cooling heat received from the second heat exchanger to the ice storage unit.

On the other hand, and further comprising an ice storage unit for storing the ice generated in the ice tray; The ice making cooling unit may further include a third heat exchanger disposed to be spaced apart from the ice storage unit, and a blowing fan to cool the ice storage unit by blowing cold air generated from the third heat exchanger to the ice storage unit.

Preferably, the cold piping adjacent to the second heat exchange part is made of a flexible material.

The ice making chamber is provided in the door, and the refrigerant pipe between the main body and the door is preferably made of a flexible material.

The storage compartment includes a freezing compartment formed under the main body and a refrigerating compartment formed above the main body; The ice making chamber may be provided in any one of the refrigerating chamber and the door that opens and closes the refrigerating chamber.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Prior to the description, in describing the preferred embodiment of the present invention, a refrigerator in which a storage compartment is divided up and down will be described as an example, but the application of the present invention is not limited thereto, and a side by side refrigerator or the like is used. It is noted that it can be applied to various types of refrigerators.

1, 2 and 4a, the refrigerator according to the present invention includes a main body 1 in which the storage chambers 2 and 3 are formed, doors 5 and 6 opening and closing the storage chambers 2 and 3, and , The cooling device 10 for cooling the storage chambers 2, 3, the ice making chamber 20, the ice making tray 21 for generating ice, and the cooling heat of the evaporator 17, and receiving the ice making tray 21. It includes an ice making cooling unit 30 to deliver.

In the main body 1, the storage chambers 2 and 3 are divided up and down. The storage compartments 2 and 3 include, as an example of the present invention, a freezing compartment 3 formed below the main body 1 and a refrigerating compartment 2 formed above the main body 1. In the main body 1 according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 4A, a cooling device 10 for cooling the storage chambers 2 and 3 is provided.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the cooling device 10 includes a compressor 11 for compressing a gaseous refrigerant at high temperature and high pressure, and a condenser 13 for condensing the gaseous refrigerant compressed from the compressor 11 to a liquid state. ), An expansion valve 15 for converting the liquefied refrigerant into a state of low temperature and low pressure, and cooling the surrounding air by absorbing latent heat of evaporation from the ambient air to vaporize the refrigerant liquefied at low temperature and low pressure from the expansion valve 15. And an blowing fan 19 (see Fig. 2) for blowing the cooled air around the evaporator 17 to the storage compartments 2 and 3, such as the freezer compartment 3 and the refrigerating compartment 2.

The evaporator 17 is provided in the freezer compartment 3 as an example of the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited thereto and may be provided in the refrigerating chamber 2, or may be provided in the freezing chamber 3 and the refrigerating chamber 2, respectively.

The doors 5 and 6 open and close the storage compartments 2 and 3. The doors 5 and 6 include a freezer compartment door 6 for opening and closing the freezer compartment 3 and a refrigerating compartment door 5 for opening and closing the refrigerator compartment 2. The freezer compartment door 6 may be provided in a manner of opening and closing the freezer compartment 3 while rotating with respect to the main body 1, or may be provided in a drawer manner that draws in and out of the freezer compartment 3. And, the refrigerating chamber door (5) is provided on the left and right sides of the refrigerating chamber (2) as an example of the present invention is provided in a pair so as to rotate with respect to the main body (1) to open and close the refrigerating chamber (2).

On the other hand, the refrigerator compartment door 5 is provided with the dispenser part 7. The dispenser unit 7 may be applied with various structures known as a device capable of taking out drinking water or ice from the outside without opening the refrigerating chamber door 5.

The ice making chamber 20 is partitioned and provided in the refrigerating chamber door 5, as shown to FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 4A, and FIG. The ice making chamber 20 is preferably provided above the dispenser unit 7. Inside the ice making chamber 20, an ice making tray 21, an ice making unit 23 for icing ice generated in the ice making tray 21, and an ice storage unit storing ice generated in the ice making tray 21 ( 27) is arranged. The ice making chamber 20 is preferably insulated from each other.

Meanwhile, although the ice making chamber 20 is provided in the refrigerating chamber door 5, the present invention is not limited thereto. As illustrated in FIGS. 4C and 4D, the ice making chamber 20 may be divided into the refrigerating chamber 2.

The ice making tray 21 receives water from an external water supply device and generates ice. Ice iced in the ice tray 21 varies according to the shape of the ice tray 21. For example, it may be iced with ice having a semicircular cross section, or may be ice cubes having an almost rectangular parallelepiped shape. As shown in FIG. 1, the ice making tray 21 may be provided anywhere in the ice making chamber 20, but is preferably provided in an upper region of the ice making chamber 20.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the ice maker 23 separates the ice generated from the ice making tray 21 from the ice making tray 21. The moving part 23 may be provided in various ways. When the ice tray 21 is formed of a metal material, the ice maker 23 may include a heater (not shown) provided in the ice tray 21 and an ejector (not shown) for discharging ice from the ice tray 21. And a motor (not shown) for rotating the ejector (ejector method). And, if the ice tray 21 is made of a plastic material, as shown in Figure 3, the ice-making unit 23, the heater 24 and the motor 26 for twisting the ice tray 21 to twist It includes (twisting method).

The ice storage unit 27 is placed under the ice tray 21 and stores the ice iced from the ice tray 21. Here, the ice storage unit 27 is preferably provided in the lower region of the ice tray 21, as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, the refrigerator according to the present invention may further include an ice detection lever 29 for measuring an amount of ice in the ice storage unit 27 at the lower portion of the ice making tray 21.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the ice making cooling unit 30 receives the cooling heat from the evaporator 17 and the refrigerant pipe 40 of the closed loop through which the refrigerant delivered to the ice making tray 21 circulates. The heat exchange part 41, the 2nd heat exchange part 42, and the pump 47 which circulates a refrigerant | coolant in the ice-making cooling part 30 are included. In detail, the ice making cooling unit 30 is in contact with the evaporator 17 to receive the cooling heat from the evaporator 17, and the first heat exchange unit is in contact with the ice making tray 21. A second heat exchanger 42 for transmitting the cooling heat received from the 41 to the ice making tray 21, a refrigerant pipe 40 connecting the first heat exchanger 41 and the second heat exchanger 42; , The pump 47 for circulating the refrigerant in the ice making cooling unit (30).

The first heat exchange part 41 is in contact with the evaporator 17 receives the cooling heat generated by the evaporator 17 to cool the refrigerant contained therein. The first heat exchange part 41 is provided similar to the shape of the evaporator 17. The first heat exchange part 41 may be disposed above the evaporator 17 or may be disposed on the side of the evaporator 17.

The first heat exchange part 41 may be provided in various ways. For example, as shown in Figures 4a and 4c, it may be provided to contact the evaporator 17 in a direct cooling method to receive the heat of cooling directly from the evaporator 17, as shown in Figures 4b and 4d. Likewise, the indirect cooling may be spaced apart from the evaporator 17.

On the other hand, when the first heat exchange unit 41 is provided in an indirect cooling method, the ice making cooling unit 30 blows the cool air generated from the evaporator 17 to the first heat exchange unit 41 to the first heat exchange unit 41. It further comprises a blowing fan 45 for cooling). Here, the blower fan 45 may be provided anywhere as long as it can deliver the cold air of the evaporator 17 to the first heat exchanger 41. For example, it may be provided between the evaporator 17 and the first heat exchange part 41, or may be disposed on one side of the evaporator 17 and the first heat exchange part 41 arranged side by side. In addition, the blower fan 45 may be replaced by a blower fan 19 (see FIG. 2) that blows cold air generated in the evaporator 17 to the storage chambers 2 and 3.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the second heat exchanger 42 is brought into contact with the ice making tray 21 to receive the cooling heat of the coolant cooled by the first heat exchanger 41 to be transferred to the ice making tray 21. In detail, the second heat exchange part 42 cools the ice making tray 21 by a direct cooling method. Thus, the ice making tray 21 may increase the speed of ice making as compared to the indirect cooling method of making ice by cold air generated in the evaporator 17. The second heat exchanger 42 is preferably disposed in contact with the outer surface of the ice making tray 21.

The refrigerant pipe 40 connects the first heat exchange part 41 and the second heat exchange part 42 so that the refrigerant circulates between the first heat exchange part 41 and the second heat exchange part 42. As described above, when the ice making chamber 20 is provided in the door, the refrigerant pipe 40a (see FIG. 4A) between the main body 1 and the refrigerating chamber door 5 preferably includes a flexible material. . Thus, the refrigerant pipe 40 can be prevented from being damaged by the opening and closing operation of the refrigerating chamber door 5. In addition, when the ice portion 23 is provided in a twisting manner, the refrigerant pipe 40b (see FIG. 4A) adjacent to the second heat exchanger 42 may be made of a flexible material. Thus, it is possible to prevent the refrigerant pipe 40 from being damaged by the ice breaking operation.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the pump 47 is disposed in one region of the refrigerant pipe 40 to forcibly circulate the refrigerant inside the ice making cooling unit 30. The pump 47 may be applied with various known structures. Here, the pump 47 is preferably provided with a structure that can adjust the circulation rate and amount of the refrigerant. Thus, by adjusting the circulation speed and the amount of the refrigerant in the pump 47, it is possible to adjust the ice and ice ice speed of the ice generated in the ice tray 21. In detail, when the circulation speed of the refrigerant is lowered in the pump 47, the ice quality generated by the ice making tray 21 is improved. When the circulation speed of the refrigerant is increased in the pump 47, the ice making speed is increased. In addition, the pump 47 may be disposed anywhere in the refrigerant pipe 40.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the ice making cooling unit 30 according to the present invention further includes a third heat exchanger 43 for transferring the cooling heat received from the second heat exchanger 42 to the ice storage unit 27. It may include.

The third heat exchanger 43 serves to lower the temperature of the ice storage unit 27 in order to prevent the ice stored in the ice storage unit 27 from melting. The third heat exchange part 43 may cool heat to the ice storage part 27 before the refrigerant having sequentially moved the first heat exchange part 41 and the second heat exchange part 42 moves to the first heat exchange part 41. Is provided to convey. The third heat exchange part 43 may be provided in various ways. For example, as shown in Figure 3, it may be provided to be in direct contact with the ice storage unit 27 by direct cooling method to transfer the cooling heat directly to the ice storage unit 27, as shown in Figure 4a Indirect cooling may be spaced apart from the surface of the ice storage unit 27. When the third heat exchanger 43 is provided by indirect cooling, the ice making / cooling unit 30 blows cold air generated from the third heat exchanger 43 into the ice storage unit 27 to store the ice storage unit 27. It further comprises a blowing fan 46 for cooling.

On the other hand, the third heat exchanger 43 is the ice storage unit 27 before the refrigerant that moved the first heat exchanger 41 and the second heat exchanger 42 in order to move to the first heat exchanger (41) Although it is described above that the cooling heat is provided, the present invention is not limited thereto and may be provided in various ways. For example, the refrigerant having passed through the first heat exchange part 41 may be provided to pass through the third heat exchange part 43 before moving to the second heat exchange part 42. The three heat exchange parts 43 may be provided to be connected in parallel with the first heat exchange part 41.

The refrigerant circulating in the ice making cooling unit 30 may be provided in various ways such as ethyl alcohol.

Looking at the operation of the refrigerator according to the present invention including such a configuration with reference to Figure 4a as follows.

First, the first heat exchanger 41 receives cooling heat from the evaporator 17. Here, as described above, the first heat exchanger 41 may be disposed in contact with the evaporator 17 to directly receive cooling heat from the evaporator 17, and may be spaced apart from the evaporator 17 to be spaced apart from the evaporator 17. The generated cold air may be delivered by the blowing fan 45.

The refrigerant cooled in the first heat exchange part 41 flows by the pump 47, moves to the second heat exchange part 42, and transfers cooling heat to the second heat exchange part 42. The second heat exchanger 42 transmits cooling heat to the ice making tray 21 to cool the ice making tray 21.

Thereafter, the refrigerant in the second heat exchange part 42 moves to the third heat exchange part 43 by the pump 47 to cool the ice storage part 27. As described above, the third heat exchanger 43 may be disposed in contact with the ice storage unit 27 to directly transfer the cooling heat of the third heat exchanger 43 to the ice storage unit 27, and to store the ice. Spaced apart from the unit 27 may be transferred to the ice storage unit 27 by the blowing fan 46, the cold air of the third heat exchange unit (43).

The refrigerant having passed through the third heat exchange part 43 flows back to the first heat exchange part 41 by the pump 47.

As described above, direct cooling is provided by providing an ice making unit 30 having a refrigerant pipe 40 of a closed loop through which the coolant received from the evaporator 17 and delivered to the ice making tray 21 is circulated. Deicing can be performed in a manner. Thus, the ice making speed can be improved compared to the indirect cooling method, and since a separate duct is not provided, the space efficiency of the storage compartment can be improved, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

In addition, the ice making cooling unit 30 further includes a pump 47 for circulating the refrigerant, thereby controlling ice speed and ice making speed by adjusting the speed and amount of the flowing refrigerant.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a refrigerator capable of improving the ice making speed and improving the space efficiency of the storage compartment.

Claims (9)

A refrigerator having a main body with a storage compartment, a door for opening and closing the storage compartment, and an evaporator provided in the main body, An ice making chamber provided in one of the door and the main body; An ice making tray provided in the ice making chamber to generate ice; And an ice making cooling unit having a refrigerant pipe of a closed loop to circulate the refrigerant which receives the cooling heat from the evaporator and delivers the cooling heat to the ice making tray. The method of claim 1, The ice making cooling unit, A first heat exchanger in contact with the evaporator to receive cooling heat from the evaporator; And a second heat exchanger in contact with the ice making tray and transferring the cooling heat received from the first heat exchanger to the ice making tray. The method of claim 1, The ice making cooling unit, A first heat exchanger spaced apart from the evaporator; A second heat exchanger in contact with the ice making tray and transferring the cooling heat received from the first heat exchanger to the ice making tray; And a blower fan for cooling the first heat exchange part by blowing cold air generated from the evaporator to the first heat exchange part. The method according to claim 2 or 3, The ice making cooling unit further comprises a pump for circulating the refrigerant. The method according to claim 2 or 3, It further comprises an ice storage unit for storing the ice generated in the ice tray; The ice making cooling unit further comprises a third heat exchanger in contact with the ice storage unit to transfer the cooling heat received from the second heat exchanger to the ice storage unit. The method according to claim 2 or 3, It further comprises an ice storage unit for storing the ice generated in the ice tray; The ice making cooling unit may further include a third heat exchanger disposed to be spaced apart from the ice storage unit, and a blowing fan to cool the ice storage unit by blowing cold air generated from the third heat exchange unit to the ice storage unit. Refrigerator. The method according to claim 2 or 3, And a cold pipe adjacent to the second heat exchange part comprises a flexible material. The method according to claim 2 or 3, The ice making chamber is provided in the door, the refrigerant pipe between the main body and the door is a refrigerator comprising a flexible material. The method according to claim 2 or 3, The storage compartment includes a freezing compartment formed under the main body and a refrigerating compartment formed above the main body; And the ice making chamber is provided in any one of the refrigerating chamber and the door for opening and closing the refrigerating chamber.

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