KR20150025823A - Ice maker - Google Patents

Abstract

An ice maker is disclosed. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the ice maker comprises: a cooling unit which includes an immersion member and performs cooling to make ice; a tray member in which the immersion member is submerged; and an ice-making guiding member which has a predetermined shaped ice making groove and is provided in the immersion member so that one end part of the immersion member can be positioned in the ice making groove. Therefore, the ice maker can easily and quickly make ice with a desired shape and easily and quickly separate the ice.

Description

Ice-maker {ICE MAKER}

The present invention relates to an ice maker provided with an ice water purifier or a refrigerator, and more particularly to an ice maker having an ice making guide member having a predetermined shape of an ice making groove formed in an immersion member immersed in water contained in a tray member, The present invention relates to an ice maker capable of easily and rapidly making ice of a refrigerator.

The ice maker is equipped with an ice water purifier or a refrigerator. Then, ice is made and supplied to the user.

The ice maker uses an evaporator to cool the supplied water below the freezing point to make ice, a refrigerant to cool the water, and a thermoelectric module to transfer heat from one side to the other when electricity is applied.

Conventionally, in such an ice maker, a relatively complicated configuration is included in order to make various shapes of ice such as a sphere. For example, ice is produced in various shapes such as a spherical shape by providing a member for relatively less heat transfer to a portion where ice is generated.

However, in such a configuration, it takes a lot of time to generate ice because the heat transfer is made less, so that there is a problem that ice of various shapes desired by the user can not be easily and quickly generated.

Also, it takes a lot of time to degas the ice to separate the generated ice, so that the ice can not be easily and quickly removed.

The present invention is realized by recognizing at least any one of the requirements or problems occurring in the conventional ice maker.

One aspect of the object of the present invention is to make it possible to easily and quickly produce ice of a desired shape.

Another aspect of the object of the present invention is to allow easy and rapid separation, i.e., scavenging, of the generated ice.

Another aspect of the object of the present invention is to make ice of various shapes such as a spherical shape easily and quickly to supply to the user.

An ice maker relating to an embodiment for realizing at least one of the above problems may include the following features.

The present invention is basically based on an ice-making guide member having an ice-making groove of a predetermined shape formed in an immersion member immersed in water contained in a tray member.

An ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a cooling unit including an immersion member and cooled for ice generation; A tray member containing water immersed in the immersion member; An ice-making guide member provided in the immersion member such that an ice-making groove having a predetermined shape is formed and one end of the immersion member is positioned in the ice-making groove; . ≪ / RTI >

In this case, the cooling section includes a plurality of immersion members, and the plurality of the ice-making guide members may be provided in the immersion member.

In addition, the ice making guide member may be formed with an insertion hole inserted into one end of the immersion member and connected to the ice-making groove.

The cooling unit may include a plurality of immersion members, and the ice making guide member may include a plurality of ice making grooves.

In addition, a plurality of insertion holes may be formed in the ice-making guide member, one end of each of the immersion members is inserted and each of the insertion holes is connected to the ice-making groove.

The lower portion of the ice-making groove may be opened.

In addition, one end of the immersion member may protrude from the opened lower end of the ice-making groove, or may be located inside the ice-making groove or coincide with the lower end of the ice-making groove.

The cross section of the ice-making groove may be semicircular, semi-elliptical or semi-polygonal.

The cooling unit may include an evaporator in which a refrigerant flows and an immersion member is connected to the evaporator; As shown in FIG.

And, the immersion member may be connected to the evaporator so that the refrigerant flows.

The cooling unit may include a thermoelectric module to which the immersion member is connected; As shown in FIG.

The tray member may be rotated between a freezing position where ice is generated in the immersion member and a freezing position in which ice generated in the immersion member is separated from the immersion member.

As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the ice making guide member having the ice making groove having the predetermined shape is formed in the immersion member immersed in the water contained in the tray member, so that ice having a desired shape can be easily and quickly generated.

Further, according to the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to easily and quickly separate, i.e., sink, the generated ice.

In addition, according to the embodiment of the present invention, ice of various shapes such as a spherical shape can be easily and quickly produced and supplied to the user.

1 is a view showing a first embodiment of an ice maker according to the present invention.
2 to 6 are views showing the operation of the first embodiment of the ice maker according to the present invention.
7 is a view showing that the ice making guide member is provided at various positions of the immersion member in the first embodiment of the ice maker according to the present invention.
8 is a view showing embodiments of the ice making guide member of the first embodiment of the ice maker according to the present invention.
9 is a view showing a second embodiment of the ice maker according to the present invention.
10 is a view showing that the ice making guide member is provided at various positions of the immersion member in the second embodiment of the ice maker according to the present invention.
11 is a view showing embodiments of the ice making guide member in the second embodiment of the ice making machine according to the present invention.
12 is a view showing a third embodiment of an ice maker according to the present invention.

In order to facilitate understanding of the features of the present invention as described above, an ice maker relating to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments will be described based on embodiments best suited for understanding the technical characteristics of the present invention, and the technical features of the present invention are not limited by the illustrated embodiments, It is to be understood that the present invention may be implemented as illustrated embodiments. Therefore, it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents. In order to facilitate understanding of the embodiments to be described below, in the reference numerals shown in the accompanying drawings, among the constituent elements which perform the same function in each embodiment, the related constituent elements are indicated by the same or an extension line number.

Embodiments related to the present invention are basically provided with an ice making guide member having a predetermined shape of an ice making groove formed in an immersion member immersed in water contained in a tray member.

FIG. 1 is a view showing a first embodiment of the ice maker according to the present invention, and FIGS. 2 to 6 are views showing the operation of the first embodiment of the ice maker according to the present invention. 7 is a view showing that the ice making guide member is provided at various positions of the immersion member in the first embodiment of the ice making machine according to the present invention, Fig.

The ice maker 100 according to the present invention may include a cooling unit 200, a tray member 300, and an ice-making guide member 400, as in the embodiment shown in FIG.

The cooling unit 200 may include an immersion member 210. The immersion member 210 may be included in the cooling unit 200 as shown in FIG. However, the immersion member 210 may be one.

In the cooling unit 200, cooling for generating ice (I) may be performed. Accordingly, ice (I) may be generated in the immersion member 210 as shown in FIGS. 3 to 5 and described later.

For this purpose, the cooling unit 200 may further include an evaporator 220 as in the embodiment shown in FIG.

The evaporator 220 is connected to a refrigerant circuit (not shown), which includes a compressor (not shown), a condenser (not shown), and a capillary or expansion valve Cycle.

In this refrigeration cycle, the refrigerant at a temperature lower than the freezing point of water may flow to the evaporator 220 in general. In addition, the refrigerant at a temperature higher than the freezing point of water may flow in the evaporator 220. For this purpose, the refrigeration cycle may be configured such that the refrigerant is bypassed to the evaporator 220 at the rear end of the compressor where the refrigerant having a temperature higher than the freezing point of water flows.

An immersion member 210 may be connected to the evaporator 220. Therefore, when the refrigerant at a temperature lower than the freezing point of water flows in the evaporator 220, the immersion member 210 can be cooled to a temperature lower than the freezing point of water by heat transfer. As a result, ice (I) may be generated in the immersion member 210, as shown in FIGS.

Further, when the refrigerant at a temperature higher than the freezing point of water flows in the evaporator 220, the immersion member 210 can be heated to a temperature higher than the freezing point of water by heat transfer. 6, the ice (I) generated in the immersion member 210 can be separated from the immersion member 210. As shown in FIG.

The separation of the generated ice I in the immersion member 210 may be performed not only by the flow of the refrigerant at a temperature higher than the freezing point of water but also by the evaporator 220 But also by heating the member 210. The heater provided in the evaporator 220 may be an electric heater that is heated when electricity is applied.

However, the heater is not particularly limited, and any known one can be used as long as it is provided in the evaporator 220 and can heat the evaporator 220. When the evaporator 220 is provided with a heater, it is not necessary that the refrigerant having a temperature higher than the freezing point of water flows in the evaporator 220 in order to separate the ice (I) generated in the immersion member 210.

The immersion member 210 may be connected to the evaporator 220 so that the refrigerant flows as shown in FIGS. To this end, the immersion member 210 may be provided with a refrigerant passage connected to a refrigerant passage (not shown) formed in the evaporator 220. When the coolant flows into the immersion member 210 as described above, the generation of ice (I) in the immersion member 210 and the separation of the ice (I) generated in the immersion member 210 from the immersion member 210 Can be performed more easily and quickly.

The structure of the cooling unit 200 for cooling the ice (I) is not particularly limited, and a thermoelectric module 230 that transfers heat from one side to the other side when electricity is applied as in the third embodiment Any configuration known per se such as a configuration to be used can be used.

The tray member 300 may be filled with water as shown in FIG. The immersion member 210 of the cooling unit 200 described above may be contained in the water contained in the tray member 300. In addition, the water contained in the tray member 300 can also lock the ice-making guide member 400, which will be described later.

3 and 4, when a coolant having a temperature lower than the freezing point of water is allowed to flow in the evaporator 220 and the immersion member 210, the immersion member 210 The heat transfer can be performed with the refrigerant flowing through the heat exchanger. As a result, as shown in the drawing, water around the immersion member 210 is cooled below the freezing point, so that the ice I can be generated in the immersion member 210.

1, the ice maker 100 may be provided with a water supply pipe P. As shown in FIG. 2, water can be supplied to the tray member 300 through the water supply pipe (P).

To this end, the water supply pipe P may be connected to a water supply source (not shown). The water supply source to which the water supply pipe P is connected may be one or more water filters provided in the ice water purifier and for filtering the supplied water if the ice maker 100 according to the present invention is provided in an ice water purifier And a tank connected to the filtration unit and storing the filtered water in the filtration unit.

However, the water supply source to which the water supply pipe (P) is connected is not particularly limited, and any well-known one can supply water to the water supply pipe (P).

The water supply pipe P may be provided with an on-off valve V as in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the water of the water supply source is supplied to the tray member 300 through the water supply pipe P and is supplied to the tray member 300 It can contain water.

2 to 4, the tray member 300 is provided with a freezing position in which ice (I) is generated in the immersion member 210 and a freezing position in which the immersion member 210 is formed And the ice making position for separating the ice (I) from the immersion member (210).

1, a rotation shaft A is formed on the tray member 300, and the tray member 300 can be rotated around the rotation axis A. In this case, as shown in FIG. Further, the rotational axis A of the tray member 300 may be connected to rotational driving means (not shown) including an electric motor or the like.

However, the configuration in which the tray member 300 rotates between the ice-making position and the ice-removing position is not particularly limited, and any well-known configuration is possible.

When the plurality of immersion members 210 are included in the cooling unit 200 as in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the plurality of immersion guide members 400 may be provided in the immersion member 210. That is, each of the plurality of ice-making guide members 400 may be provided in each of the plurality of immersion members 210.

As a result, the plurality of ice-making guide members 400 can be immersed in the water contained in the tray member 300 at the time of producing ice (I) together with the immersion member 210, as shown in FIGS.

As described later, ice can be formed in a desired shape by the ice-making guide member 400, and the ice-making guide member 400 is immersed in the water together with the immersion member 210, Can be generated. In addition, it is also possible to easily and quickly separate the ice (I) produced in the immersion member 210. Therefore, various shapes of ice (I) such as a spherical shape can be easily and quickly produced and supplied to the user.

The ice making guide member 400 may have an ice making groove 410 having a predetermined shape as shown in FIG. The ice-making groove 410 may be opened at the bottom as shown in the illustrated embodiment. Also, the cross section of the ice-making groove 410 may be semicircular or semi-elliptical as in the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 and 8 (a) or semi-elliptical or semi-elliptical as shown in Figs. 8 (b) It can be semi-polygonal as in the example.

However, the shape of the ice-making groove 410 is not particularly limited, and any shape can be used. In addition, the ice-making grooves 410 of the ice-making guide members 400 may be formed differently from one another without the same shape, so that various shapes of ice (I) may be generated at the same time.

The ice making guide member 400 may be provided on the immersion member 210 so that one end of the immersion member 210 is located in the ice-making groove 410. To this end, the ice-making guide member 400 may be formed with an insertion hole 420 into which one end of the immersion member 210 is inserted and connected to the ice-making groove 410.

In this case, the ice-making guide member 400 may be configured such that the insertion hole 420 of the ice-making guide member 400 extends upward as in the embodiment shown in FIG. 8 (a). Thereby, the ice-making guide member 400 can be prevented from being easily detached from the immersion member 210.

The ice-making guide member 400 may be provided on the immersion member 210 such that one end of the immersion member 210 protrudes from the lower end of the opening of the ice-making groove 410, as in the embodiment shown in FIG.

In this case, the ice (I) generated in the immersion member 210 may have a shape corresponding to the shape of the one end of the immersion member 210. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, since the one end of the immersion member 210 has a round shape, the lower part of the ice I may have a round shape. The upper part of the ice (I) may have a shape corresponding to the ice making groove 410 of the ice making guide member 400. For example, in the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 and 8A, since the cross section of the ice-making groove 410 is semicircular, the upper portion of the ice I can be hemispherical. Thereby, the ice (I) generated in the immersion member 210 can be spherical.

8 (b) and 8 (c), since the ice-making groove 410 has a semi-polygonal cross-section, the immersion member 210 has ice I) may be generated.

One end of the immersion member 210 may be positioned to coincide with the lower end of the ice-making groove 410 as in the embodiment shown in FIG. 7 (a). In this case, the immersion member 210 may be formed with ice (I) having a shape smaller than that described above, but having a shape of a lower portion that is round and an upper portion corresponding to the ice-making groove 410.

7 (b), one end of the immersion member 210 may be positioned inside the ice-making groove 410. In addition, as shown in FIG. In this case, the immersion member 210 may be formed with a shape corresponding to the shape of the ice-making groove 410, for example, a semi-circular, semi-elliptical or semi-polygonal ice (I).

The material of the ice-making guide member 400 may be a metal such as synthetic resin or stainless steel. If the ice making guide member 400 is made of synthetic resin, it is easy to produce. If the ice making guide member 400 is made of stainless steel or the like, generation of ice (I) and de-icing can be performed more easily and quickly.

However, the material of the ice-making guide member 400 is not particularly limited, and may be a material other than the above-described synthetic resin or stainless steel, or may be two or more materials instead of one material. Further, the surface treatment may be performed, or a waterproofing agent or the like may be applied to the surface.

FIG. 9 is a view showing a second embodiment of the ice-maker according to the present invention, FIG. 10 is a view showing that the ice-making guide member is provided at various positions of the immersion member in the second embodiment of the ice- 11 is a view showing embodiments of the ice making guide member of the second embodiment of the ice maker according to the present invention.

The second embodiment of the ice-maker according to the present invention differs from the first embodiment of the ice-maker according to the present invention described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8 and the structure of the ice-making guide member 400. Therefore, the different configurations will be mainly described, and the remaining configurations can be replaced with those described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8 above.

The cooling unit 200 of the second embodiment of the ice maker according to the present invention may also include a plurality of immersion members 210 as shown in the embodiment shown in FIG. In addition, a plurality of ice-making grooves 410 may be formed in the ice-making guide member 400. A plurality of insertion holes 420 may be formed in the ice-making guide member 400 so that one end of each immersion member 210 is inserted and connected to the ice-making groove 410.

That is, there is one ice-making guide member 400, and one end of each of the plurality of immersion members 210 may be positioned in the plurality of ice-making grooves 410 formed in the ice-making guide member 400.

Thereby, the ice-making guide member 400 can be easily attached to the plurality of immersion members 210. In addition, it is possible to prevent the ice-making guide member 400 from being easily separated from the immersion member 210.

Even in this case, the lower portion of the ice-making groove 410 of the ice-making guide member 400 can be opened. Also, the cross section of the ice-making groove 410 may be semi-circular or semi-elliptical, as in the embodiment shown in Fig. 9, or semi-polygonal as in the embodiment shown in Figs. 11 (a) have.

However, the shape of the ice-making groove 410 of the ice-making guide member 400 is not particularly limited as described above, and any shape can be used. In addition, the shape of each of the ice-making grooves 410 may be made different from each other, so that various shapes of ice (I) may be generated at the same time.

9, the ice-making guide member 400 may be attached to the immersion member 210 such that one end of the immersion member 210 protrudes from the lower end of the opening of the ice- . One end of the immersion member 210 may be positioned to coincide with the lower end of the ice-making groove 410 as in the embodiment shown in FIG. 10 (a). 10 (b), one end of the immersion member 210 may be located inside the ice-making groove 410. As shown in FIG.

12 is a view showing a third embodiment of an ice maker according to the present invention. The third embodiment of the ice-maker according to the present invention differs from the first embodiment of the ice-maker according to the present invention described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8 and the configuration of the cooling unit 200. Therefore, the different configurations will be mainly described, and the remaining configurations can be replaced with those described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8 above.

The cooling unit 200 of the third embodiment of the ice maker according to the present invention may further include a thermoelectric module 230 to which the immersion member 210 is connected.

The immersion member 210 may be connected to the thermoelectric module 230 by a heat transfer member 240 to which an immersion member 210 is connected at one side and a thermoelectric module 230 is connected at the other side, have.

However, the structure in which the immersion member 210 is connected to the thermoelectric module 230 is not particularly limited, and the heat transfer member 240 having a shape other than the plate-shaped heat transfer member 240, as in the embodiment shown in FIG. 12, Or any other known structure may be used.

12, a heat dissipating member 250 may be provided on the thermoelectric module 230 on the opposite side connected to the immersion member 210. [ The heat dissipation member 250 may be provided with a heat dissipation fan 260.

The thermoelectric module 230 can be thermally transferred from one side to the other side when electricity is applied. Thus, one side of the thermoelectric module 230 is cooled and the other side of the thermoelectric module 230 can be heated. When electric power is applied to the thermoelectric module 230 in a predetermined forward direction, one side of the thermoelectric module 230 to be cooled becomes the cooling side and the other side of the thermoelectric module 230 to be heated becomes the heating side.

The immersion member 210 may be connected to the cooling side of the thermoelectric module 230. Accordingly, when forward electricity is applied to the thermoelectric module 230, the cooling side of the thermoelectric module 230 is cooled, and the immersion member 210 can be cooled. Thereby, when the immersion member 210 is cooled to a temperature lower than the freezing point, the immersion member 210 can generate ice (I).

In this case, the heating side of the thermoelectric module 230 can be cooled by the heat dissipation member 250 and the heat dissipation fan 260 described above. Thereby, the cooling side of the thermoelectric module 230 can be continuously cooled.

On the other hand, if reverse electricity is applied to the thermoelectric module 230, the cooling side of the thermoelectric module 230 can be heated and the heating side can be cooled. Thereby, the immersion member 210 connected to the cooling side of the thermoelectric module 230 can be heated. When the immersion member 210 is heated higher than the freezing point of water, the ice (I) generated in the immersion member 210 can be separated from the immersion member 210.

Therefore, if the thermoelectric module 230 is included in the cooling unit 200, it is possible to separate the ice I from the immersion member 210 without a heater or a configuration in which a refrigerant having a temperature higher than the freezing point of water flows.

As described above, by using the ice maker according to the present invention, it is possible to easily and quickly generate ice having a desired shape, to easily and quickly separate the generated ice, Can be easily and quickly made and supplied to the user.

The above-described ice maker can be applied to a limited range of the above-described embodiments, but the embodiments may be constructed by selectively combining all or some of the embodiments so that various modifications may be made.

100: Ice maker 200: Cooling unit
210: immersion member 220: evaporator
230: thermoelectric module 240: heat transfer member
250: heat dissipating member 260: heat dissipating fan
300: tray member 400: ice-making guide member
410: ice-making groove 420: insertion hole
P: Water supply pipe A:
I: Ice V: Opening valve

Claims (12)

A cooling section including an immersion member for cooling for ice generation;
A tray member containing water immersed in the immersion member; And
An ice-making guide member provided on the immersion member such that an ice-making groove having a predetermined shape is formed and one end of the immersion member is positioned in the ice-making groove;
. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cooling section includes a plurality of immersion members,
And the ice-making guide member is provided in each of the immersion members. The ice-maker according to claim 2, wherein the ice-making guide member has an insertion hole into which one end of the immersion member is inserted and which is connected to the ice-making groove. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cooling section includes a plurality of immersion members,
And a plurality of the ice-making grooves are formed in the ice-making guide member. The ice-maker of claim 4, wherein the ice-making guide member is provided with a plurality of insertion holes each of which is inserted into one end of the immersion member and connected to the ice-making groove. The ice-maker according to claim 1, wherein the ice-making groove is opened at the bottom. [7] The ice maker of claim 6, wherein one end of the immersion member protrudes from the opened lower end of the ice-making groove, or is located inside the ice-making groove or coincides with the lower end of the ice-making groove. The ice maker according to claim 6, wherein the cross section of the ice-making groove is semicircular, semi-elliptical or semi-polygonal. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cooling unit comprises: an evaporator in which refrigerant flows and the immersion member is connected; Further comprising an ice maker. 10. The ice maker according to claim 9, wherein the immersion member is connected to the evaporator so that refrigerant flows. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cooling unit comprises: a thermoelectric module to which the immersion member is connected; And an ice maker. The ice maker of claim 1, wherein the tray member rotates between a freezing position where ice is generated in the immersion member and a freezing position in which ice generated in the immersion member is separated from the immersion member.

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