KR20160078200A - Ice maker including an ice moving heater - Google Patents

Abstract

An ice maker is disclosed. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the ice maker comprises: an ice tray which has divided spaces for receiving ice making water therein; an ejector which moves the ice in the ice tray; a control box which is formed to be opposite to the ice tray and has a motor for driving the ejector and a printed circuit board therein; and a heater which is formed in one side of the ice tray and supplies heat to the ice tray, wherein the heater comprises: a heating element which is arranged in multiple rows by bending a linear heating body several times; and a film-type insulating member which adheres to at least one from the top and bottom of the heating element. Therefore, the present invention secures an enough resistance value and improves heat transfer efficiency.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to an ice-

Embodiments of the present invention relate to an icemaker having a freezing heater, and more particularly to an icemaker having a freezing heater including a plurality of heating elements arranged in a row.

Generally, a refrigerator has a refrigerating chamber for refrigerating and storing food and a freezing chamber for refrigerating and storing food. At this time, an ice maker for producing ice is installed in the freezing room or the refrigerating room.

1 is a bottom view of a conventional ice-maker for a refrigerator.

Referring to FIG. 1, the icemaker 10 includes a heater 27 on the lower surface of the ice tray 11. When the ice making is completed, the heater 27 slightly melts the ice firmly coupled to the inner surface of the ice tray 11, thereby allowing the ice to be released. The heater 27 mainly uses a U-shaped sheath heater.

Here, since the heater 27 is formed in a line contact with the lower portion of the ice tray 11 in a U-shape, the area of direct contact with the ice tray 11 is small and the heat transfer efficiency is reduced. It takes a lot of time and power to dissipate the ice in the ice tray 11 by transmitting heat to a portion not directly contacting the heater 27. [ At this time, since the ice tray 11 is excessively heated by the heater 27, it takes a lot of time to cool the ice tray 11 again to the ice making temperature in the ice making cycle after the ice making, . In addition, since the conventional sheath heater has a complicated connection between the thermal fuse and the sheath heater for shutting off the power when the sheath heater is overheated, and the connection structure for supplying power to the sheath heater is complicated, .

To solve this problem, a surface heater using a metal thin film as a resistor is used. However, it is difficult to increase the resistance value of the surface heater as much as desired. Therefore, in order to form a DC voltage for driving the surface heater, a separate DC power supply Do.

Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2010-0116147 (Oct. 29, 2010)

Embodiments of the present invention are intended to provide an ice maker capable of securing a sufficient resistance value.

Embodiments of the present invention also provide an ice maker capable of increasing heat transfer efficiency from a heater to an ice tray.

An embodiment of the present invention is to provide an ice maker capable of shortening the ice making time while reducing power consumption for the entire ice making process.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an ice tray having a divided space for receiving de-iced water; An ejector for releasing ice in the ice tray; A control box provided opposite to the ice tray and including a motor and a printed circuit board for driving the ejector; And a heater provided on one side of the ice tray and supplying heat to the ice tray, wherein the heater includes a heating element in which a linear heating element is bent a plurality of times and arranged in multiple rows; And an insulating member in the form of a film which is in close contact with at least one of the upper side and the lower side of the heating element.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an ice tray having a partitioned space for accommodating de-iced water; An ejector for releasing ice in the ice tray; A control box provided opposite to the ice tray and including a motor and a printed circuit board for driving the ejector; And a heater which is provided at one side of the ice tray and supplies heat to the ice tray, wherein the heater includes a linear heating element including a fiber member and a heating wire wound around the fiber member in a winding form, A heating element in a multi-row arrangement; And an insulating layer formed to surround the outside of the heating element, wherein the insulating layer is formed by shrinking the insulating tube after inserting the heating element into the insulating tube, coating the insulating element with the heating element, And an insulating material is formed by extruding the insulating material.

The heating element may be an integral metal hot wire.

The heating element may include a fibrous member, a heating wire wound around the fibrous member in a winding form, and an insulating layer formed to surround the outside of the heating element.

And an inner insulating layer between the insulating layer and the heating element.

The insulating layer may be formed of one of cross linked polyethylene, silicon, Teflon, polyimide, and polyethylene terephthalate.

An adhesive film is disposed between the heater and the ice tray, and the heater can be attached to the ice tray using the adhesive film.

The adhesive film covers the heater and the ice tray, so that the heater can be attached to the ice tray.

The insulating member may be an adhesive film.

The adhesive film may be formed of at least one of silicon, Teflon, polyimide (PI), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

The adhesive film may be formed by bonding of different kinds of films.

Both ends of the heating element may be connected to one of a lead wire, a printed circuit board (PCB), and a metal PCB through a connection portion.

The connecting portion may be formed by one of welding, pressing and soldering.

The connection portion may be formed of three or more terminals.

The heater may be provided on the opposite side of the ice tray to which the contact member is fixed.

The contact member may include a contact portion formed to correspond to the position of the heating element and closely contacting the heating element to the ice tray and a support portion for fixing the position of the contact portion.

The ice tray may have a receiving portion for receiving the heating element.

The receiving portion may be a protrusion formed on both sides of the heating element on a lower outer surface of the ice tray.

At least half of the heating element may be included between the lower outer surface of the ice tray and the lower end of the receiving portion.

The heater may be provided on the outer circumference of the ice tray to be deflected to one side with respect to the center of the ice tray.

The heater may include a first heater and a second heater, and a cool air contact section may be formed between the first heater and the second heater, which is a portion of the outer circumferential surface of the ice tray that is exposed to the outside.

The insulating member may include a first insulating member and a second insulating member that cover upper and lower portions of the heating element, and the heating element may be disposed to be deflected toward either the first insulating member or the second insulating member.

The inner insulating layer may be formed of one of silicon, Teflon, polyimide, and polyethylene terephthalate.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an ice tray having a divided space for accommodating ice-making water; An ejector for releasing ice in the ice tray; A control box provided opposite to the ice tray and including a motor and a printed circuit board for driving the ejector; And a heater which is provided at one side of the ice tray and supplies heat to the ice tray, wherein the heater includes a linear heating element including a fiber member and a heating wire wound around the fiber member in a winding form, Wherein a heating element which is arranged in a plurality of rows (multiple rows) is insulated by coating a polyethylene (cross linked polyethylene) or cross-linking with an electron beam, and the code heater is disposed in a receiving portion formed on one side of the ice tray / RTI >

According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an ice tray having a divided space for accommodating ice-making water; An ejector for releasing ice in the ice tray; A control box provided opposite to the ice tray and including a motor and a printed circuit board for driving the ejector; And a heater which is provided at one side of the ice tray and supplies heat to the ice tray, wherein the heater includes a linear heating element including a fiber member and a heating wire wound around the fiber member in a winding form, Wherein the code heater is disposed in a receiving portion formed at one side of the ice tray, and the cord heater is disposed in a receiving portion formed on one side of the ice tray, The heater is re-insulated by an insulating film.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, by using a heating element in which a plurality of linear heating elements are bent and arranged in multiple rows instead of a planar heater, the resistance value of the heater is increased . Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a separate DC power supply for the heating element, and the household AC power can be used as it is.

Further, since the heater is provided in surface contact with the outer circumferential surface of the ice tray, the contact area with the ice tray can be widened, thereby increasing the heat transfer efficiency from the heater to the ice tray, You can melt frozen ice on the inside of the ice tray.

Further, by bringing the heater into close contact with the ice tray through the contact member, heat efficiency transferred from the heater to the ice tray can be improved.

Further, by making the heater thin and reducing the heat capacity of the heater, the heater can be raised to a predetermined temperature in a short time, and the power consumption used in the heater can be reduced.

In addition, since the heater is biased to one side with respect to the center of the ice tray, the structure of the printed circuit board in the control box is simplified, and the electric power is supplied to the ice tray As shown in Fig.

1 is a bottom view showing a conventional icemaker for a refrigerator;
2 is a cross-sectional view of an ice maker 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a schematic exploded perspective view of the heater 108 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a cross-sectional view of the heater 108 according to the first embodiment of the present invention
5 is a sectional view of the heater 108a according to the second embodiment of the present invention
6 is a perspective view of a heating element 150b according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a sectional view of the heater 108b according to the third embodiment of the present invention
8 is a sectional view of the heater 108c according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention
9 is a plan view of the heater 108d according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention.
10 is a sectional view showing the icemaker 100a according to another embodiment of the present invention
11 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an icemaker according to another embodiment of the present invention
12 is a cross-sectional view of a heating element 150d, 150e according to another embodiment of the present invention.
13 is a cross-sectional view of a heater 108d according to another embodiment of the present invention
14 is a sectional view of the icemaker 100b according to another embodiment of the present invention
15 is a sectional view of the icemaker 100c according to another embodiment of the present invention

Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the heater and the ice maker having the heater of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 2 to FIG. However, this is an exemplary embodiment only and the present invention is not limited thereto.

In the following description, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the subject matter of the present invention rather unclear. The following terms are defined in consideration of the functions of the present invention, and may be changed according to the intention or custom of the user, the operator, and the like. Therefore, the definition should be based on the contents throughout this specification.

The technical idea of the present invention is determined by the claims, and the following embodiments are merely a means for efficiently describing the technical idea of the present invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs.

2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an ice maker 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the ice maker 100 includes an ice tray 102, an ejector 104, a heater 108, and a control box 110.

The ice tray 102 may have an ice-making space for receiving water therein. A plurality of partition walls are formed in the ice tray 102 to divide the ice making space into a plurality of spaces. At this time, each separated ice-making space in the ice tray 102 may be formed corresponding to the ejector pin 104-2. The inner circumferential surface of the ice tray 102 may be provided in a semicircular shape having a radius corresponding to the length of the ejector pin 104-2 so that the ejector pin 104-2 can rotate and release ice.

The ejector 104 can serve to freeze the ice in the ice tray 102. The ejector 104 includes an ejector shaft 104-1 connected to a motor (not shown) in the control box 108 and a plurality of ejector pins 104-2 spaced apart from each other on the ejector shaft 104-1 can do. The ejector pin 104-2 can be rotated in a predetermined direction (for example, clockwise direction in FIG. 2) around the ejector shaft 104-1 to freeze the ice in the ice tray 102. FIG.

The heater 108 may be provided below the ice tray 102. At this time, the heater 108 may be provided in surface contact with the outer peripheral surface of the ice tray 102. The heater 108 may be provided along the longitudinal direction of the ice tray 102. The heater 108 can generate heat over a predetermined area. The heater 108 may be made thin. For example, the thickness of the heater 108 may be greater than 0 and 1 mm or less. The lower limit of the thickness of the heater 108 can be set appropriately at the level of a person skilled in the art depending on the material of the heating element and the insulating member constituting the heater 108. [ By making the heater 108 thin and reducing the heat capacity of the heater 108, the heater 108 can be quickly raised to a predetermined temperature. In this case, the power consumption of the heater 108 can be reduced. For example, a PTC (Positive Temperature Coefficient) heater may be used as the heater 108, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

2, the heater 108 is illustrated as being provided at the lower center of the ice tray 102, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In this case, the structure of the printed circuit board in the control box 110 may be simplified, and the structure of the control box 110 may be simplified. A power shutoff unit and a temperature sensor (not shown) may be mounted adjacent to each other on the ice tray 102 while electrically connecting the heater 108 to the heater 108.

The control box 110 may be provided on one side of the ice tray 102. The control box 110 may be coupled to the ice tray 102 at one side of the ice tray 102. The control box 110 may include a controller (not shown) for controlling the overall operation of the ice maker 100. The control box 110 may be provided with an ice-making motor (not shown) for rotating the ejector 104 in a predetermined direction. The control box 110 may be provided with a power supply unit (not shown) for supplying power to the ice-making motor (not shown) and the surface heater 108.

Here, the control unit (not shown) can control the ON or OFF operation of the heater 108 according to the rotational position of the ejector 104, or the elapsed operation time of the ejector 104, for example. Specifically, the controller (not shown) can operate the heater 108 when the temperature of the ice tray 102 reaches a predetermined ice making temperature (i.e., the temperature at which the ice making water in the ice tray 102 is filled).

Next, the control unit (not shown) rotates the ejector 104 in the clockwise direction in Fig. 2 to start iceing the ice in the ice tray 102. [ The control unit (not shown) can turn off the heater 108 when the position of the ejector 104 passes the heater 108. In this case, it is possible to reduce power consumption for melting ice. At this time, the control unit (not shown) confirms the home position of the ejector 104 through a position sensor (not shown), and cumulatively calculates the number of pulse signals inputted from the freezing motor (I.e., the rotational position of the ejector pin 104-2).

Although the control unit (not shown) turns on all the heaters 108 and then the heater 108 is turned off when the ejector 104 passes the heater 108, And the operation of the heater 108 can be adjusted in various other ways.

Although the control unit (not shown) controls the heater 108 according to the position of the ejector 104, the present invention is not limited thereto. The control unit (not shown) may control the heater 108 after the ejector 104 is rotated The heater 108 may be controlled.

3 is a schematic exploded perspective view of a heater 108 according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

3, the heater 108 includes a heating element 150, a first insulating member 108-1 and a second insulating member 108-2 disposed above and below the heating element 150, And an adhesive member 108-3 provided on the outer side of at least one of the member 108-1 and the second insulating member 180-2.

As shown in FIG. 3, the heating element 150 may be formed in a multi-row arrangement by bending a heat wire integrally formed a plurality of times, unlike an existing heating element. By forming the heating element 150 into a plurality of heat lines, the resistance of the heating element 150 can be increased because the cross-sectional area of the resistor can be reduced and the length of the resistor can be increased. Accordingly, an alternating current (for example, 110 V or 220 V) commonly used in the home can be directly applied to the heating element 150 without having to make the voltage supplied to the heating element 150 DC. Further, by forming the heating element 150 into a plurality of heat lines arranged, it is possible to prevent the resistance of the heating element 150 from dropping sharply even if a short occurs between adjacent heat lines. In addition, the thickness of the first insulating member 108-1 and the second insulating member 108-2 necessary for insulation can be reduced, and the heat generated from the heating element 150 can be transmitted well. One end and the other end of the hot wire forming the heating element 150 may be connected to a pattern or lead on the PCB for power supply. In this case, one end and the other end of the hot wire may be connected to the pattern or lead wire on the PCB by one of soldering, pressing and welding.

The first insulating member 108-1 and the second insulating member 108-2 may be provided so as to cover the upper and lower sides of the heating element 150. [ The first insulating member 108-1 and the second insulating member 108-2 may be made of silicon, Teflon, polyimide (PI), or polyethylene terephthalate (PET). In this case, the heating element 150 can be stably protected even when the heating element 150 is raised to a high temperature or an external impact is applied. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the first insulating member 108-1 and the second insulating member 108-2 may be made of various other insulating materials. The first insulating member 108-1 and the second insulating member 108-2 may be formed in a film form.

For example, a polyimide adhesive may be used as the adhesive member 108-3. However, it is not limited thereto, and the adhesive member 108-3 may be a bonding paste containing a thermally conductive powder. In this case, not only can the heater 108 adhere to the ice tray 102, but also the heat generated by the heater 108 can be efficiently transmitted to the ice tray 102. In addition, since the adhesive member 108-3 itself has insulating property, the adhesive member 108-3 instead of the first insulating member 108-1 or the second insulating member 108-2 serves as an insulating member You may. In this case, the first insulating member 108-1 or the second insulating member 108-2 may be omitted.

A heat insulating member (not shown) may be provided on the other surface of the surface to which the heater 108 is attached to the ice tray 102. The heat insulating member can prevent the heat generated by the heater 108 from escaping to the outside of the ice tray 102. In this case, the heat generated by the heater 108 can be transferred to the inside of the ice tray 102.

Here, since the heater 108 is provided in surface contact with the ice tray 102, the area in contact with the ice tray 102 can be widened. In this case, since the heat transfer efficiency from the heater 108 to the ice tray 102 can be increased, it is possible to melt frozen ice on the inner surface of the ice tray 102 with a small amount of heat and a short operation time.

That is, when the heater 108 heats the ice tray 102 to slightly melt frozen ice on the inner peripheral surface of the ice tray 102, the ejector 104 rotates to ice the ice into the ice bank (not shown) . Thereafter, ice-making water is supplied into the ice tray 102 to perform the ice-making process again. At this time, by securing the area where the ice tray 102 is in contact with the cold air in the ice making chamber, the temperature of the ice tray 102 can reach the ice making temperature in a short time, thereby shortening the entire ice making time .

According to the embodiment of the present invention, since the heater 108 is provided in surface contact with the outer circumferential surface of the ice tray 102, the area in contact with the ice tray 102 can be widened, It is possible to increase the efficiency of heat transfer to the ice tray 102 and to freeze the frozen ice on the inner surface of the ice tray 102 with a small amount of heat and a short operation time. The resistance of the heating element 150 can be increased by forming the heating element 150 inside the heater 108 as a heat line arranged in multiple rows and the resistance of the heating element 150 can be increased even if a short- It is possible to prevent the resistance from dropping abruptly.

4 is a sectional view of the heater 108 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

4, the heating element 150 is formed of a heating wire made of a metal having a predetermined resistance, and a first insulating member 108-1 and a second insulating member 108- 2 may be disposed to insulate the heating element 150 and the ice tray 102 from each other. 4 shows that the adhesive member 108-3 is disposed on the outer side of the second insulating member 108-2 because it is supposed to be attached to the ice tray 102 on the upper side of the heater 108 However, the arrangement of the adhesive member 108-3 is not limited to this. The adhesive member 108-3 may be provided on the entire outer surface of the first insulating member 108-1 or the second insulating member 108-2, Even if it is provided only on a part of the outer surface of the second insulating member 108-2, the adhesion state between the heater 108 and the ice tray 102 can be maintained.

5 is a sectional view of the heater 108a according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The description of the structure common to the heater 108a according to the present embodiment and the heater according to the foregoing embodiment will be omitted.

5, a heating element 150a included in the heater 180a according to the present embodiment includes a heating wire 150-1 formed of a metal having a predetermined resistance and an insulating film 150b formed to surround the heating wire 150-1. (150-2). The insulating film 150-2 may be a crosslinked insulating member coated by cross-linking by electron beam irradiation, and in particular, the insulating member may be polyethylene. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is also possible to use silicon, Teflon, polyimide (PI), or polyethylene terephthalate (PET) as the insulating film 150-2. As the method of forming the insulating film 150-2, the following various methods are possible. First, after inserting the hot wire 150-1 into the insulating tube formed to surround the hot wire 150-1, the insulating tube may be contracted and closely contacted with the hot wire 150-1. Second, the insulating film 150-2 may be formed around the heat ray 150-1 by coating the heat ray 150-1 with an insulating material. Thirdly, the insulating material may be extruded together with the heat line 150-1 to form the insulating film 150-2 around the heat line 150-1.

6 is a perspective view of a heating element 150b according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, the heating element 150b according to the present embodiment may be in the form of a winding in which the heat ray 150-4 is wound around the fiber member 150-3, unlike the previous embodiment. As a result, the length of the heating line 150-4 included in the heating element 150b can be increased more than that of the previous embodiments, thereby increasing the resistance of the heating element 150b. In this embodiment, not only the heating wire 150-4 but also the fiber member 150-3 can be bent so that the heating wire 150-4 is wound around the fiber member 150-3 in the form of a winding, The element 150b can be arranged in multiple rows by bending the element many times. The fiber member 150-3 may be a bundle of fiber glass.

7 is a sectional view of the heater 108b according to the third embodiment of the present invention. The description of the structure common to the heater 108b according to the present embodiment and the heater according to the foregoing embodiment will be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 7, the heating element 150b included in the heater 180a according to the present embodiment is formed by bending the heating element 150b shown in FIG. 6 a plurality of times, A first insulating member 108-1 and a second insulating member 108-2 are disposed on the upper and lower sides and an adhesive member 108-1 is provided on the outer side of the first insulating member 108-1 or the second insulating member 108-2 108-3 are provided.

8 is a sectional view of a heater 108c according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. The description of the structure common to the heater 108c according to the present embodiment and the heater of the foregoing embodiment will be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 8, the heating element 150c included in the heater 108c according to the present embodiment may have an insulating layer 150-5 formed around the heating element 150b according to the third embodiment. The insulating film 150-5 may be a crosslinked insulating member coated by crosslinking by electron beam irradiation, and in particular, the insulating member may be polyethylene. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and it is also possible to use silicon, Teflon, polyimide (PI), or polyethylene terephthalate (PET) as the insulating film 150-5. As the method of forming the insulating film 150-5, the following various methods are possible. First, after the fiber member 150-3 and the hot wire 150-4 are inserted into the insulating tube formed so as to surround the fiber member 150-3 and the heat wire 150-4, the insulating tube is shrunk, An insulating film 150-5 which is in close contact with the member 150-3 and the heat ray 150-4 can be formed. Secondly, the fiber member 150-3 and the heat line 150-4 are coated with an insulating material to form the insulating film 150-5 around the fiber member 150-3 and the heat line 150-4 . Third, the insulating material is extruded together with the fiber member 150-3 and the heat line 150-4 so that the insulating film 150-5 is formed around the fiber member 150-3 and the heat line 150-4. can do.

The insulating film 150-5 may have a thickness of 1 mm or less.

The first insulating member 108-1 and the second insulating member 108-2 are disposed above and below the heating element 150c and the first insulating member 108-1 or the second insulating member 108- 2, the adhesive member 108-3 is provided on the outer side of the adhesive member 108-3, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The heating element 150c itself may serve as the heater 108c without separately arranging the first insulating member 108-1 and the second insulating member 108-2 and the heating element 150c may be adhered to the ice tray 102 side by using a separate adhesive or by using a contact member as described below.

9 is a plan view of a heater 108d according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

9, the heater 108d according to the present embodiment is configured such that the first insulating member 108-1 and the second insulating member 108-2 are electrically connected to the heating element 150 as well as the heating element 150, (210) located between the first electrode (200) and the second electrode (200). 9 is a plan view of the heater 108d, only the second insulating member 108-2 is shown, but the first insulating member 108-1 is also of the same size and arrangement as the second insulating member 108-2 Of course.

The lead wire 200 is connected to one end and the other end of the heating element 150 to supply power to the heating element 150. The lead wire 200 is electrically connected to a main board (not shown) in the control box 110 to supply power to the heating element 150 under the control of a control unit (not shown) have. The lead wire 200 may include a conductor through which a current can flow and a sheath covering the conductor.

The connection part 210 is a structure for maintaining the electrical connection between the heating element 150 and the lead wire 200 and can connect the lead wire of the heating wire and the lead wire constituting the heating element 150 in particular. The connecting portion 210 may be formed in various forms, for example, by one of soldering, welding, and crimping, and the electrical connection state between the heat line constituting the heating element 150 and the lead of the lead wire 200 Any configuration can be employed that can maintain the same.

Here, the heating element 150 may include all types of heating elements 150, 150a, 150b, and 150c described above. Accordingly, the heating element 150 may be composed of a single heat line, and an insulating film 150-2 may be formed around the heat line 150-1. In addition, the heating wire 150-4 may be wound around the fiber member 150-3 in the form of a winding, and the insulating film 150-5 may be formed around the fiber member 150-3. The insulating film 150-5 may be a crosslinked insulating member coated by crosslinking by electron beam irradiation, and in particular, the insulating member may be polyethylene. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and it is also possible to use silicon, Teflon, polyimide (PI), or polyethylene terephthalate (PET) as the insulating film 150-5.

In FIG. 9, the lead wire 200 is connected to the heating element 150 to supply power. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the heating element 150 is connected to the heating element 150 in such a manner that both ends of the heating element 150 are connected to one side of a printed circuit board (PCB) or a metal PCB and the other side of the PCB or metal PCB is inserted into the control box 110 Power can be supplied. At this time, the connection between both ends of the heating element 150 and the PCB or the metal PCB may be performed by one of soldering, welding, and pressing. Therefore, in this case, the connection portion between the both ends of the heating element 150 and the PCB or the metal PCB corresponds to the connection portion 210. At this time, the first insulation member 108-1 and the second insulation member An insulating member 108-2 may be disposed.

Further, the connection portion 210 may be formed of three or more terminal connection terminals. According to this, the heating element 150 can be connected to the power source without a separate lead wire (or lead wire).

As described above, in the present embodiment, since the connecting portion 210 is located between the first insulating member 108-1 and the second insulating member 108-2, a separate portion for covering the connecting portion 210 The insulating member of Fig.

10 is a sectional view showing an icemaker 100a according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 10, the icemaker 100a may be provided with a fixing member 112 fixed to the opposite side of the one surface of the heater 108 'attached to the ice tray 102'.

The contact member 112 may be formed such that the heating element 150 is in close contact with the ice tray 102 'corresponding to the portion where the heating element 150 in the heater 108 is located. The tight contact member 112 has a tight contact portion 112-1 for closely contacting the heating element 150 to the ice tray 102 'side and a tight contact portion 112-1 for fixing the position of the tight contact portion 112-1. And a supporting portion 112-2 that supports the substrate. It is possible to facilitate the heat generated in the heating element 150 to be transferred to the ice tray 102 'by bringing the adhered portion 112-1 into close contact with the side of the ice tray 102'. Since the contact member 112 is formed on the outside of the heater 108, it can serve as a heater cover for preventing the heater 108 from being exposed to the outside.

Here, the heating element 150 may include all types of heating elements 150, 150a, 150b, and 150c described above. Accordingly, the heating element 150 may be composed of a single heat line, and an insulating film 150-2 may be formed around the heat line 150-1. In addition, the heating wire 150-4 may be wound around the fiber member 150-3 in the form of a winding, and the insulating film 150-5 may be formed around the fiber member 150-3. The insulating film 150-5 may be a crosslinked insulating member coated by crosslinking by electron beam irradiation, and in particular, the insulating member may be polyethylene. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and it is also possible to use silicon, Teflon, polyimide (PI), or polyethylene terephthalate (PET) as the insulating film 150-5.

The accommodating portion 102-1 is formed in a portion of the ice tray 102 corresponding to the position of the heating element 150 to maximize the contact of the heating element 150 to the ice tray 102 ' And heat generated in the heating element 150 can be more easily transferred to the ice tray 102 '. The receiving portion 102-1 may be in the shape of a projection formed on both sides of the heating element 150 on the lower side of the ice tray 102 '. The height of the accommodating portion 102-1 may be determined so that at least half of the heating element 150 is included between the lower surface of the ice tray 102 'and the lower end of the accommodating portion 102-1. Accordingly, most of the heat generated in the heating element 150 can be transmitted to the ice tray 102 '.

11 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an icemaker according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 11, a heating element 150c shown in FIG. 8 can be used as a heater used in an ice maker, and a heating element 150c is fixed to the ice tray 102 ' Can be brought into close contact with each other.

The contact member 112 may be formed such that the heating element 150c is in close contact with the ice tray 102 'corresponding to the portion where the heating element 150c is positioned, as in the embodiment shown in FIG. The tight contact member 112 has a tight contact portion 112-1 for closely contacting the heating element 150c to the ice tray 102 'side and a tight contact portion 112-1 for fixing the position of the tight contact portion 112-1. And a supporting portion 112-2 that supports the substrate.

However, in addition to the contact member 112 being in close contact with the ice tray 102 'by supporting the heating element 150c, the contact between the heating element 150c and the ice tray 102' 150c may be attached to the ice tray 102 '.

The heating element 150c may include an insulating film 150-5 on the outside. The insulating film 150-5 may be a crosslinked insulating member coated by cross-linking by electron beam irradiation, and in particular, the insulating member may be polyethylene, but is not limited thereto. In this embodiment, the heating element 150c insulated by the insulating film 150-5 is used, so that the heating element 150c is not required to be inserted between the first and second insulating members, Can be used as a heater. Although the heating element 150c is shown in Fig. 11, the heating element 150a shown in Fig. 5 is not limited thereto.

The accommodating portion 102-1 is formed in a portion of the ice tray 102 corresponding to the position of the heating element 150c to maximize the contact of the heating element 150c to the ice tray 102 ' And heat generated in the heating element 150c can be more easily transferred to the ice tray 102 '. The receiving portion 102-1 may be in the form of a projection formed on both sides of the heating element 150c on the lower side of the ice tray 102 '. The height of the accommodating portion 102-1 may be determined so that at least half of the heating element 150c is included between the lower surface of the ice tray 102 'and the lower end of the accommodating portion 102-1. Accordingly, most of the heat generated in the heating element 150c can be transmitted to the ice tray 102 '.

12 is a cross-sectional view of a heating element 150d, 150e according to another embodiment of the present invention.

12A, the heating element 150d includes a heating wire 150-1 made of a metal having a predetermined resistance and an insulating film 150-2 formed to surround the heating wire 150-1, 150-6). The material and forming method of the insulating film 150-2 may be the same as those of the heating element 150a shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, an inner insulating film 150-6 may be further added between the heat line 150-1 and the insulating film 150-2. The inner insulating film 150-6 may be formed of polyimide (PI), Teflon, Silicon, or polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

Referring to FIG. 12B, the heating element 150e further includes an inner insulating film 150-6 between the heat ray 150-4 and the insulating film 150-5 of the heating element 150c shown in FIG. Can be added. The material of the inner insulating film 150-6 may be the same as that of the preceding heating element 150d.

13 is a sectional view of a heater 108d according to another embodiment of the present invention.

13, the heater 108d is similar to the previous embodiment in that the first insulating member 108-1 and the second insulating member 108-2 are disposed above and below the heating element 150, The element 150 may be arranged to be deflected to either the first insulation member 108-1 or the second insulation member 108-2. By this configuration, when the heater 108d is received in the receiving portion 102-1 of the ice tray 102 ', the side on which the heating element 150 is biased is brought into contact with the receiving portion 102-1, The heat generated in the heating element 150 can be easily transferred to the ice tray 102 '.

14 is a sectional view of the icemaker 100b according to another embodiment of the present invention. Description of the constitution corresponding to the icemaker 100 of the previous embodiment will be omitted.

14, the heater 108 attached to the lower portion of the icemaker 100b may be deflected to one side with respect to the center of the ice tray 102. In this case, It is possible to simplify the structure of the substrate and mount it on the ice tray 102 adjacent to each other while electrically connecting the power shutdown unit and the temperature sensor (not shown) in the control box 110 to the heater 108.

15 is a sectional view of an icemaker 100c according to another embodiment of the present invention. Description of the constitution corresponding to the icemaker 100 of the previous embodiment will be omitted.

14, the heater 108 attached to the lower portion of the icemaker 100c includes a first heater 1081 and a second heater 1082, and the first heater 1081 and the second heater 1082 are connected to each other, There may be a portion of the outer circumferential surface of the ice tray 102 exposed to the outside. The cold-contact section is a region where the ice tray 102 is in contact with the cold air in the ice-making chamber, and serves to make the temperature of the ice tray 102 reach the ice-making temperature within a short period of time can do.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is clearly understood that the same is by way of illustration and example only and is not to be taken by way of limitation, I will understand. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the above-described embodiments, but should be determined by equivalents to the appended claims, as well as the appended claims.

100, 100a, 100b, and 100c:
102, 102 ': Ice tray
102-1: Receiving groove
104: Ejector
104-1: Ejector shaft
104-2: Ejector pin
108, 108a, 108b, 108c, 108d: heater
1081: First heater
1082: Second heater
108-1: first insulating member
108-2: second insulating member
108-3: Adhesive member
110: control box
112:
112-1:
112-2:
150, 150a, 150b, 150c, 150d, 150e:
150-1, 150-4:
150-2, 150-5: insulating film
150-3: Absence of fiber
150-6: inner insulating film
200: Lead wire
210: Connection

Claims (25)

An ice tray provided with a partitioned space for accommodating iced water;
An ejector for releasing ice in the ice tray;
A control box provided opposite to the ice tray and including a motor and a printed circuit board for driving the ejector; And
And a heater provided on one side of the ice tray and supplying heat to the ice tray,
The heater
A heating element in which a plurality of linear heating elements are bent and arranged in multiple rows; And
And an insulating member in the form of a film which is in close contact with at least one of the upper side and the lower side of the heating element.
An ice tray provided with a partitioned space for accommodating iced water;
An ejector for releasing ice in the ice tray;
A control box provided opposite to the ice tray and including a motor and a printed circuit board for driving the ejector; And
And a heater provided on one side of the ice tray and supplying heat to the ice tray,
The heater
A heating element in which a linear heating element including a fiber member and a heating wire winding the fiber member in a winding form is bent in a plurality of turns and arranged in a multi-row manner; And
And an insulating layer formed to surround the outside of the heating element,
Wherein the insulating film is formed by shrinking the insulating tube after inserting the heating element into the insulating tube, coating the insulating material with the heating element, or extruding the insulating material together with the heating element.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the heating element is an integral metal heating wire.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the heating element includes a fiber member and a hot wire winding the fiber member in a winding form,
And an insulating film formed to surround the outside of the heating element.
The method according to claim 2 or 4,
And an inner insulating film between the insulating film and the heating element.
The method of claim 5,
Wherein the insulating film is formed of one of cross linked polyethylene, silicon, Teflon, polyimide, and polyethylene terephthalate.
The method according to claim 1 or 2,
An adhesive film is disposed between the heater and the ice tray,
Wherein the heater is attached to the ice tray using the adhesive film.
The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Wherein the adhesive film covers the heater and the ice tray, and the heater is attached to the ice tray.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the insulating member is an adhesive film.
The method of claim 9,
Wherein the adhesive film is formed of at least one of silicon, Teflon, polyimide (PI), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET).
The method according to one of claims 7 to 10,
Wherein the adhesive film is formed by bonding of different kinds of films.
The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Wherein both ends of the heating element are connected to one of a lead wire, a printed circuit board (PCB), and a metal PCB via a connection portion.
The method of claim 12,
Wherein the connection is formed by one of welding, pressing and soldering.
14. The method of claim 13,
Wherein the connecting portion is formed of three or more terminals.
The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Wherein the heater is provided on the opposite side of the ice tray to which the contact member is fixed.
16. The method of claim 15,
The tight contact member
A tight contact portion formed corresponding to the position of the heating element and closely contacting the heating element to the ice tray,
And a support portion that fixes and supports the position of the tight contact portion.
16. The method of claim 15,
Wherein the ice tray is provided with a receiving portion for receiving the heating element.
18. The method of claim 17,
Wherein the accommodating portion is a protrusion formed on both sides of the heating element on a lower outer surface of the ice tray.
19. The method of claim 18,
Wherein at least half of the heating element is included between the lower outer surface of the ice tray and the lower end of the receiving portion.
The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Wherein the heater is provided to be deflected to one side with respect to the center of the ice tray on an outer peripheral surface of the ice tray.
The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Wherein the heater includes a first heater and a second heater,
Wherein a cool air contact section is formed between the first heater and the second heater, the cool air contact section being a portion exposed to the outside of an outer circumferential surface of the ice tray.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the insulating member includes a first insulating member and a second insulating member which cover upper and lower portions of the heating element,
Wherein the heating element is disposed to be deflected to either the first insulating member or the second insulating member.
The method of claim 5,
Wherein the inner insulating film is formed of one of silicon, Teflon, polyimide, and polyethylene terephthalate.
An ice tray provided with a partitioned space for accommodating iced water;
An ejector for releasing ice in the ice tray;
A control box provided opposite to the ice tray and including a motor and a printed circuit board for driving the ejector; And
And a heater provided on one side of the ice tray and supplying heat to the ice tray,
The heater may be formed by coating a heating element, which is a multi-row arrangement of a linear heating element including a fibrous member and a heating wire wound around the fiber member in a winding form, Which is insulated and processed,
Wherein the code heater is disposed in a receiving portion formed on one side of the ice tray.
An ice tray provided with a partitioned space for accommodating iced water;
An ejector for releasing ice in the ice tray;
A control box provided opposite to the ice tray and including a motor and a printed circuit board for driving the ejector; And
And a heater provided on one side of the ice tray and supplying heat to the ice tray,
The heater may be formed by coating a heating element, which is a multi-row arrangement of a linear heating element including a fibrous member and a heating wire wound around the fiber member in a winding form, Which is insulated and processed,
The code heater is disposed in the accommodating portion formed at one side of the ice tray,
Wherein the code heater is re-insulated by an insulating film.

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