KR20080006235U - Ice making apparatus and refrigerator having the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an ice making device having a structure capable of preventing water overflow of the ice making tray and a refrigerator having the same.

The present invention provides an ice making tray having a plurality of ice making cells in which ice is formed, an ejector for releasing ice from the ice making cell, an ejector passing portion through which the ejector passes, and the ice separated from the ice making cell. It includes a tray cover formed with an ice guide for guiding the water and a water overflow prevention portion provided in the ejector to cover the ejector passage to prevent the water in the ice tray from overflowing, even when water flows out of the ice tray. There is an effect that can prevent this overflow.

Description

Ice making apparatus and refrigerator having same {Ice making apparatus and refrigerator having the same}

1 is a perspective view showing an ice maker and a refrigerator having the same according to the present invention.

Figure 2 is a cutaway perspective view showing an ice maker of the refrigerator according to the present invention.

3 is an exploded perspective view showing an ice maker of the ice making apparatus of FIG. 2.

4 is a cross-sectional view of the ice maker of FIG. 2.

5 is an enlarged view illustrating the main part of FIG. 2.

6 is an exploded perspective view of the ejector included in the ice making apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

* Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

10: body 11: freezer

12: freezer door 15: ice bank

20: ice maker 30: ice maker

40: ice tray 42: ice tray

50: Tray Cover 51: Ejector Passing Part

52: ice guide 60: cold air guide unit

70: ejector 72: scraper

73: water overflow prevention member 75: wing portion

76: groove

The present invention relates to an ice making apparatus and a refrigerator having the same, and more particularly, to an ice making apparatus having a structure capable of preventing the water overflow of the ice making tray mounted on the rear of the door, and a refrigerator having the same.

In general, a refrigerator has a refrigerator compartment for storing various foods or beverages and a freezer compartment for freezing and storing frozen foods. The refrigerator compartment and the freezer compartment are partitioned into different spaces by partition walls, and are opened and closed by different doors.

Recently, a refrigerator having an ice maker for automatically forming ice in a refrigerator compartment or a freezer compartment has been developed. Recently, an ice maker has been installed in a door to minimize the reduction of storage space inside the refrigerator compartment or the freezer compartment due to the installation of the ice maker. Installed refrigerators have been developed.

As such, an example of a refrigerator capable of efficiently utilizing space by installing an ice maker in a door is disclosed in Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2004-102569.

However, the refrigerator disclosed in the above publication has a problem in that liquid water, which has not yet condensed in the ice making apparatus, overflows to the outside of the ice making apparatus by opening and closing the door because the ice making apparatus is mounted on the door.

In order to solve this problem, the Republic of Korea Patent Publication (Publication No. 10-2005-22094) discloses an automatic de-icing device of a refrigerator that can prevent the water contained in the ice-making room from overflowing to the outside when opening and closing the door. .

 The automatic deicing device of the refrigerator disclosed in the above publication includes an ice making room in which ice is generated in a semi-cylindrical shape; A motor provided at one side of the ice-making chamber in the long direction; An ejector drawn out from the motor shaft of the motor and installed in the central portion of the ice making chamber in the longitudinal direction; A water overflow prevention wall provided to extend upward from one long side of the ice making chamber; The opening of the ice-making chamber includes a water overflow prevention slide that covers a portion of the other long side of the ice-making chamber up to about the rotational axis and has an upper surface inclined downward.

However, the automatic deicing device of the refrigerator disclosed in the above publication has a problem in that the control structure of the motor is complicated because the rotation of the motor must be alternately operated in the forward and reverse directions so that the ejector does not directly contact the water overflow prevention slide.

In addition, an ice making device of a refrigerator having another structure for preventing water overflow of the ice making device is disclosed in Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2006-98057.

The icemaker of the refrigerator disclosed in the above publication is an icemaker of the refrigerator of the present invention, which is provided to be mountable inside a door of the refrigerator, each of which has a plurality of cavities which are partitioned by partitions to form heat in the width direction of the door. An ice making mold; An ejector provided at each cavity and having an ejector pin each fixed to the ejector shaft; The upper part of the circumferential wall facing the inner surface of the door of the ice making mold is provided with a plate body so as to cover a predetermined area of the upper part of the cavity so that water in the cavity does not overflow, and the plate body rotates with each ejector. A water overflow prevention plate having an ejector pin passing portion formed in each cavity to allow a pin to pass therethrough; It is provided with.

The ice making device water overflow prevention plate disclosed in the above publication is made of an elastic material such as silicone so as to easily pass through the ejector pin and return to the initial state to prevent the water overflow, and the first slit for passing the ejector pin and A second slit is formed to disperse the concentrated stress of the first slit.

However, the slits are in contact with the water by the flow of water due to the opening and closing of the door, etc. At this time, the water is discharged to the first slit and the second slit, etc. The accumulated water will freeze on the surface of the overflow plate. When the ejector pin passes through the first slit of the water overflow prevention plate in the frozen state, there is a problem in that the slit is cracked. Therefore, the durability of the overflow plate is significantly reduced, there is a problem that can not exert a function for preventing the overflow after a certain period of time.

Accordingly, the present invention is to solve the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an ice making apparatus having a structure capable of preventing the water overflow of the ice making tray and a refrigerator having the same.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an ice making device and a refrigerator having the same, which can improve durability of a structure that performs a water overflow prevention function.

The present invention for achieving the above object is an ice making tray with a plurality of ice making cells are formed, an ejector for removing the ice of the ice making cell, an ejector passing through the ejector and the ice making cell And a tray cover formed with an ice guide part for guiding the separated ice to the outside of the ice making tray, and a water overflow preventing portion provided on the ejector to cover the ejector passage to prevent the water in the ice making tray from overflowing. .

The ejector may include a plurality of scrapers corresponding to the plurality of ice making cells, and the water overflow prevention part may include a plurality of wings formed on the edge of each of the plurality of scrapers.

In addition, the width of the water overflow prevention portion is smaller than the width of the ice making cell, and larger than the width of the ejector passing portion.

In addition, the water overflow prevention portion and the ice guide portion is alternately arranged to prevent the water overflow.

In addition, the water overflow prevention portion is provided with an elastic material is elastically deformed and restored when passing through the ejector passing portion to cover the ejector passing portion.

In addition, a groove portion having a predetermined size is formed between any two neighboring wing portions among the plurality of wing portions.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a refrigerator including a storage compartment, a door that opens and closes the storage compartment, and an ice maker provided on the door to manufacture ice, wherein the ice maker includes a plurality of ice makers in which ice is generated. And a tray cover for guiding the ice released from the ice making cell, the ejector passing portion being formed to allow the ejector to pass therethrough, and an ejector for discharging the ice of the ice making cell. The ejector may be provided with a water overflow prevention part covering the ejector passing portion to prevent the water in the ice tray from overflowing.

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

1 is a perspective view showing an ice maker and a refrigerator having the same according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the refrigerator according to the present invention includes a main body 10 in which a freezing compartment 11 and a refrigerating compartment (not shown) are partitioned, and a freezing compartment 11 and a refrigerating compartment (not shown). Freezing chamber door 12 and the refrigerating chamber door 13 which are coupled to the rotatable, the ice making apparatus 20 provided in the freezing chamber door 12 to generate ice, and the ice produced by the ice making apparatus 20 It comprises an ice bank 15 for.

The main body 10 is opened in the front and the inside is partitioned into a freezer compartment 11 and a refrigerating chamber (not shown) by the partition wall 41. Each of the freezing chamber door 12 and the refrigerating chamber door 13 is hinged to the main body 10 to open and close the freezing chamber 11 and the refrigerating chamber (not shown).

The refrigerator according to the present invention is provided with an evaporator, a compressor, an expander, and a condenser constituting a refrigeration cycle, and a configuration constituting the refrigeration cycle corresponds to a general publicly known technology, and thus description thereof will be omitted.

In addition, the refrigerator according to the present invention can cool both the freezer compartment 11 and the refrigerating compartment using one evaporator, and of course, the freezer compartment and the refrigerating compartment can be independently cooled using a plurality of evaporators.

The ice bank 15 is installed in the freezer door 12 together with the ice making device 20.

The ice bank 15 is provided in the lower portion of the ice making machine 20 and the ice iced by the ice making machine 20 falls and is stored in the ice bank 15. In addition, although not shown, an ice transfer device is provided inside the ice bank 15 to transfer the stored ice to a dispenser (not shown) according to a user's input signal. Such an ice conveying apparatus and a dispenser are the same as those commonly used, and drawings and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In addition, it is possible to omit the ice transfer device in the ice bank 15, and in this case, the dispenser can also be omitted so that the user can directly take out the ice stored in the ice bank 15 is also possible.

Figure 2 is a cutaway perspective view showing an ice maker of the refrigerator according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, the ice maker 20 generates ice and guides the ice maker 30 to deliver the generated ice to the ice bank 15, and guides the cold air to the ice maker 30. It comprises a unit 60, an ice level lever 21 for measuring the amount of ice stored in the ice bank, and a controller 22 (see Fig. 1) for controlling the driving of each element of the ice making apparatus 20.

The ice maker 30 includes an ice making tray 40 having a space where ice is formed, an ejector 31 which separates the ice frozen in the ice making tray 40 and delivers the ice to the ice bank 15, and the ejector 31. And a tray cover 50 for guiding the ice separated from the ice making tray 40 to the ice bank 15 by driving.

A lower portion of the ice making tray 40 is provided with a heater 32 for heating the ice so that the ice can easily fall from the bottom surface of the ice making tray 40. The heater 32 heats the bottom surface of the ice making tray 40 before the ejector 31 is operated so that ice can be smoothly discharged by the ejector 31.

The cold air guide unit 60 for guiding the cold air toward the ice maker 30 is coupled to the inner upper portion of the freezer compartment 12 while surrounding the ice maker 30.

The cold air guide unit 60 introduces a portion of the cold air supplied to the upper portion of the ice making tray 40 of the ice maker 30 and an upper distribution plate 61 for guiding the remaining cold air to the rear distribution plate 62. Rear distribution plate 62 for guiding the cold air guided by the back plate 61 to the lower side of the ice making tray 40, and cold air introduced to the lower side of the ice making tray 40 by the rear distribution plate 62. Cooling the tray 40 is formed integrally, including a lower plate 63 to flow to the ice bank (15).

The upper portion of the upper distribution plate 61 is provided with a plurality of upper distribution holes (61a) spaced at regular intervals to distribute evenly supplied cold air to the upper side of the ice making tray 40, the upper distribution plate 61 Between the upper part and the rear distribution plate 62, a guide 61b formed in an arc-shaped cross section for preventing rotation interference of the ejector 31 and guiding the incoming air to the rear distribution plate 62 is provided. .

In addition, a water supply cup 64 for supplying water to the ice making tray 40 is integrally provided at one side of the upper distribution plate 61, and a water supply pipe 65 is installed at the water supply cup 64.

The rear distribution plate 62 is provided between the rear surface of the ice making tray 40 and the rear surface of the door 12 so as to secure a flow space in which cold air can flow while surrounding the ice making tray 40 and guided by the guide 61b. Thus, a plurality of rear distribution holes 62a are formed for introducing the flowed cold air to the lower side of the ice making tray 40.

The lower part plate 63 is provided to be spaced apart from the lower part of the ice making tray 40 downwards by a predetermined distance to cool the lower part of the ice making tray 40 with cold air introduced through the rear distributing hole 62a of the rear distribution plate 62. While forming a flow space so as to flow while, a portion of the cold air cooling the ice tray 40 on one front side of the lower plate 63 can flow to the ice bank 15 provided under the ice making device (20). A plurality of lower partial holes 63a are formed.

Therefore, the supplied cold air flows into the upper part of the ice making tray 40 by the upper distribution plate 61, and the other part into the upper distribution plate 61 and the rear distribution plate 62 and the lower distribution plate 63. By flowing through the cold air flow path formed along the circumference of the ice tray 40, it is possible to shorten the ice production time of the ice tray 40, and improve the ice quality of the ice.

3 is an exploded perspective view showing an ice maker of the ice making apparatus of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the ice maker of FIG. 2.

The ice making tray 40, which is a space where ice is formed in the refrigerator according to the present invention, is cast from a metal such as aluminum having high thermal conductivity, as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, and a plurality of partition walls are formed inside the ice making tray 40. The 41 is disposed at regular intervals, and the ice making cell 42 is divided into a plurality of ice making trays 40 by the partition 41. Each partition wall 41 has a communication portion 43 formed so that the amount of water supplied to each ice making cell 42 is maintained evenly, and the water supplied from the water supply pipe 65 to the ice making tray 40 is in communication. It is introduced into the adjacent ice-making cell 42 through the unit 43, the water supply amount between each ice-making cell 42 is maintained the same.

An ejector 70 is installed at the upper portion of the communicating part 43 to discharge the ice generated by the ice making tray 40 to the outside of the ice making tray 40.

The ejector 70 includes a rotating shaft 71 that is rotated by a driving device (not shown) and a plurality of scrapers 72 that are installed at regular intervals along the rotating shaft 71 so as to correspond to the plurality of ice making cells 42. do. Therefore, when the rotating shaft 71 rotates, each scraper 72 pushes the ice generated in each ice making cell 42 to be discharged to the outside of the ice making tray 40.

The tray cover 50 guides the ice discharged from the ice making tray 40 by the ejector 70 to the ice bank 15 and the ejector passing portion 51 is formed so as not to interfere with the rotation of the ejector 70. A plurality of ice guides 52 are formed to guide the ice separated from the cell 42 to the ice bank 15. The ice lever 21 is provided with a lever protector 53 which protects the ice lever 21 from being interfered with by the ice stored in the ice bank 15.

Since the ice maker 30 according to the present invention is mounted on the rear surface of the door 12, the water contained in the ice making tray 40 flows due to the opening and closing of the door 12, and a part of the flowing water is in the ice making tray. (40) The case may overflow to the outside. Therefore, the ice making apparatus 20 according to the present invention in order to prevent the water overflow is provided with a configuration for preventing water overflow. Hereinafter will be described in detail for the water overflow prevention configuration of the ice making apparatus according to the present invention.

The ejector 70 included in the present invention includes a water overflow prevention portion 73 covering the ejector passing portion 51 to prevent the water in the ice making tray 40 from overflowing.

Water overflow prevention portion 73 is provided with an elastic material, such as rubber, silicone, etc., the water overflow prevention portion 73 is a pair of fixing portion 74 to wrap and secure the scraper 72 of the ejector 70 And a rib 71a is formed above and below the rotation shaft 71 of the ejector 70.

In addition, the water overflow prevention portion 73 is formed with a plurality of wing portions 75 protruding from the edge of each of the plurality of scrapers 72, the maximum width (A) of the wing portion 75 is approximately the ejector passing portion 51 ) So that the wing portion 75 covers the ejector passing portion 51 as a whole so as to be larger than the width B, and the predetermined width is smaller than the width C of the ice making cell 42 to rotate the ejector 70. In order to reduce the contact surface between the wing 75 and the inner surface of the ice making cell 42.

In addition, the wing portion of any one of the plurality of wing portions 75 and the neighboring wing portion is spaced apart by a predetermined interval so that the water on the water overflow prevention portion 73 can be quickly introduced to the ice making tray 40 again. The groove portion 76 having a size of is formed. As such, by forming the groove portion 76 between the wing portions 75, the water contacting the water overflow prevention portion 73 by the flow of water is returned to the ice making tray 40. The water may be removed from the water overflow prevention unit 73 by allowing the oil to reflow.

Therefore, water freezes on the water overflow prevention unit 73, and the tearing problem of the wing unit 75, which may occur due to the ejector 70 rotating in the frozen state, may be prevented.

5 is an enlarged view illustrating the main part of FIG. 2.

When the ejector 70 is not driven in such a configuration, as shown in FIG. 5, the water overflow prevention portion 73 is fixed to the lower side of the ice guide portion 52, so that the wing of the water overflow prevention portion 73. Since the portion 75 covers the ejector passing portion 51, that is, the water overflow prevention portion 73 and the ice guide portion 52 are alternately arranged to cover the upper portion of the front side of the ice making tray 40. Even when the water in the ice making tray 40 flows due to the opening and closing of the door 12, the water to be discharged to the ejector passing part 51 is blocked by the wing 75 and the water overflow prevention part 73 Water flowing out through the groove portion 76 of the) is blocked by the ice guide 52 the flow. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the water of the ice making tray 40 from overflowing to the outside through the ejector passing portion 51.

In addition, when driving the ejector 70 to deliver the ice of the ice tray 40 to the ice bank 15, since the wing portion 75 is formed of a flexible elastic material, the wing portion 75 during rotation of the ejector 70 ) Is elastically deformed while contacting the ice guide portion 52 of the tray cover 50 to pass through the ejector passing portion 51, and the wing portion 75 passing through the ejector passing portion 51 is elastically restored to the wing portion. 75 covers the ejector passing portion 51.

In addition, although not shown in the drawings, it is apparent that the water overflow effect of the ice tray may be improved by installing the upper surface of the wing and the lower surface of the ice guide unit.

The following describes the ice making apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

The ice making apparatus according to another embodiment differs only from the configuration of the ejector as compared to the embodiment of the present invention, and thus the other configurations are the same, so that only the ejector will be described below. .

6 is an exploded perspective view of the ejector included in the ice making apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

The ejector included in another embodiment of the present invention is composed of a plurality of parts as shown in Figure 6, the first ejector portion (81a, 82a) forming one side and the second ejector portion forming the other side Between the 81b and 82b, the first ejector portions 81a and 82a and the second ejector portions 81b and 82b cover the ejector passing portion 51 to prevent the water in the ice making tray 40 from overflowing. The water overflow prevention portion 83 is made to include.

The first ejector portions 81a and 82a include a first rotation shaft 81a and a first scraper 82a, and the second ejector 80 includes a second rotation shaft 81b and a second scraper 82b. .

The first and second ejectors 80 and the water overflow prevention unit 83 are screw-coupled to complete the ejector 80.

The water overflow prevention part 83 is formed with a plurality of wing portions 84 protruding from the edges of the plurality of scrapers 82a and 82b, and any one of the wing portions 84 of the plurality and the like Between the adjacent wing portion and a predetermined interval is formed a groove portion 85 of a size that can be introduced into the ice tray 40 quickly the water on the water overflow prevention portion 83 again.

Therefore, the ejector included in another embodiment of the present invention will of course have the same function as the ejector of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

As described in detail above, the ice making apparatus and the refrigerator having the same according to the present invention may have an effect of preventing the water from overflowing to the outside of the ice making tray even when water flows by providing the water overflow prevention part in the ejector.

In addition, the water overflow prevention part of the present invention can be re-introduced into the ice making tray even when it is in contact with the water by the flow of water to prevent the water overflow prevention portion to prevent the tearing of the water overflow prevention part.

Claims (7)

An ice making tray in which a plurality of ice making cells are formed, An ejector for removing the ice of the ice making cell, A tray cover having an ejector passing portion through which the ejector passes and an ice guide portion for guiding the ice separated from the ice making cell to the outside of the ice making tray; And a water overflow prevention part provided in the ejector to cover the ejector passing portion to prevent the water in the ice making tray from overflowing. 2. The ejector according to claim 1, wherein the ejector includes a plurality of scrapers corresponding to the plurality of ice making cells, and the water overflow prevention unit includes a plurality of wings formed on edges of the plurality of scrapers. Ice maker. The ice making apparatus of claim 1, wherein a width of the water overflow prevention unit is smaller than a width of the ice making cell and larger than a width of the ejector passing part. The ice making apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the water overflow preventing unit and the ice guide unit are alternately disposed to prevent water overflow. The ice making apparatus of claim 1, wherein the water overflow preventing unit is made of an elastic material and is elastically deformed upon passing through the ejector passage to cover the ejector passage. 3. The ice making apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a groove having a predetermined size is formed between two adjacent wing portions of the plurality of wing portions. A refrigerator comprising a storage compartment, a door to open and close the storage compartment, and an ice making apparatus provided on the door to manufacture ice. The ice making apparatus includes an ice making tray having a plurality of ice making cells in which ice is formed, an ejector for separating the ice of the ice making cell, and an ejector passing portion formed to allow the ejector to pass therethrough. A tray cover for guiding the ice tray outside, And the ejector includes a water overflow prevention part covering the ejector passage to prevent the water in the ice making tray from overflowing.

Images