KR20180010941A - Ice maker - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is an ice maker capable of making ice. The ice maker according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises: a main body including a water inlet and an ice outlet; an ice making unit including an inlet and an outlet, respectively, connected to the water inlet and the ice outlet and having an ice making space connected to the inlet and the outlet; a cooling unit for allowing the refrigerant to flow to at least a part of periphery of the ice making unit to cool the water introduced into the ice making space through the inlet to be iced; and a separation transfer unit separating the ice from the ice making space and transferring the ice to the outlet. The cooling unit is provided to surround at least a part of the ice making unit to form a refrigerant moving space in which the refrigerant moves between the ice making unit and the cooling unit, and includes a refrigerant space forming member connecting the refrigerant inlet with the refrigerant outlet.

Description

Ice-maker {ICE MAKER}

The present invention relates to an ice maker for making ice.

The ice maker is making ice.

There is an immersion type ice maker in which the immersion member connected to the evaporator in which the refrigerant flows in the water contained in the water receiver is immersed in the ice making machine, thereby generating ice in the immersion member. There is also a spray type ice maker in which an evaporator through which a coolant flows is provided and water is sprayed to an ice producing portion of a ice making plate on which an ice producing portion is formed, thereby generating ice in the ice producing portion. There is also a water-based ice maker in which an evaporator in which a coolant flows and water is allowed to flow through the ice producing portion of the ice making plate on which the ice producing portion is formed, thereby generating ice in the ice producing portion.

In addition, the refrigerant is allowed to flow around the ice making space in which the water flows, so that ice is generated in the inner peripheral surface of the ice making space, and the screw member is rotated in the ice making space to separate and transport the ice from the inner peripheral surface of the ice making space, There is an auger type ice maker.

In a conventional auger type ice maker, a circular or elliptical coolant tube, in which a coolant flows, is wound helically around the outer circumferential surface of the ice making chamber in which the ice making space is formed, so that the coolant flows around the ice making space.

As a result, the refrigerant and the water flowing in the ice-making space are heat-exchanged in multiple stages through the refrigerant pipe and the ice-making unit, which are made of different materials and are made of different parts. Further, since the refrigerant pipe is circular or oval, the contact area between the refrigerant pipe and the outer peripheral surface of the ice-making part is relatively small.

Therefore, in the conventional auger type ice maker, the cooling efficiency of water flowing in the ice making space by the coolant is relatively low.

The present invention is realized by recognizing at least any one of the above-mentioned conventional needs or problems.

One aspect of the present invention is to improve the cooling performance and the ice-making efficiency of the ice maker.

Another aspect of the object of the present invention is to allow ice produced in the ice making space to be easily discharged to the outside.

Another aspect of the object of the present invention is to store the generated ice or to use it to make cold water.

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

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ice maker comprising: an apparatus main body having a water inlet and an ice outlet; A ice making part having an inlet and an outlet connected to the water inlet and the ice outlet, respectively, and having an ice making space connected to the inlet and the outlet; A cooling unit for allowing a refrigerant to flow at least in a part around the ice making unit to cool the water introduced into the ice making space through the inlet so as to be ice; And a separating transfer unit for separating ice from the ice making space and transferring the separated ice to the discharge port; The cooling unit may include a refrigerant space forming member that is provided to surround at least a part of the ice making unit and forms a refrigerant flow space in which refrigerant flows between the refrigerating unit and the ice making unit and the refrigerant inlet port and the refrigerant outlet port are connected to each other have.

In this case, the cooling unit may further include a flow guide member for allowing the refrigerant to spiral at least a part of the refrigerant flow space.

Further, the flow guide member may be provided in the refrigerant flow space.

The flow guide member may have a helical shape.

The ice-making unit may include an inlet member having the inlet port; An ice making member connected to the inflow member and having the ice making space formed therein; And a discharge member connected to the freezing member and having the discharge port; . ≪ / RTI >

The discharge member may be formed with a spiral connection portion connecting the ice making space and the discharge port.

Further, a discharge connection member may be connected to the discharge port, and a discharge pipe connected to the discharge connection member may be provided in the ice discharge unit.

The separation conveying unit may include a screw member rotatably provided in the ice making space.

A supply storage unit connected to the inlet and the outlet to supply water to the inlet and receive ice from the outlet; As shown in FIG.

The supply storage unit includes a supply storage member having a water storage space in which water is stored and an ice storage space in which ice is stored; . ≪ / RTI >

In addition, the supply storage member may be provided with a partitioning member so that the storage space formed in the supply storage member can be divided into the water storage space and the ice storage space.

The supply storage member may be provided with a supply connection port that is connected to the inlet port by a sealing connection member and connects the water storage space and the inlet port.

The supply storage unit may further include a supply switching unit for selectively delivering the ice supplied from the discharge port to the water storage space or the ice storage space. As shown in FIG.

A first supply switching tube rotatably connected to a discharge pipe connected to the discharge port and having one end passing through the supply storage member and positioned higher than the partition member by a predetermined height; A second supply / return pipe connected to the first supply / return pipe and having one side opened according to the rotational position of the first supply / return pipe positioned above the water storage space or above the ice storage space; And a rotation driving unit connected to the first supply switching tube to rotate the first supply switching tube; . ≪ / RTI >

Further, the rotation drive unit includes a drive gear engaged with the driven gear formed in the first supply switching tube; And a supply switching motor connected to the drive gear; . ≪ / RTI >

The discharge pipe connected to the discharge port passes through the supply storage member and is positioned higher than the partition member by a predetermined height, and the ice can be discharged.

The supply switching unit may include a supply switching member rotatably provided in the supply storage member and selectively delivering the ice discharged from the discharge pipe to the water storage space or the ice storage space according to the rotation position.

The discharge pipe may include a discharge connection portion connected to the discharge port, and an ice discharge portion connected to the discharge connection portion and discharging ice.

In addition, at least a part of the supply switching member may be provided below the ice discharge portion.

The discharge connection part and the ice discharge part may be formed at a predetermined angle.

As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the refrigerant flow space in which the refrigerant flows around the ice-making space is formed by the refrigerant space forming member provided to surround at least a part of the ice-making unit having the ice- .

Also, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the heat exchange path between the refrigerant and the water flowing in the ice-making space can be minimized, so that the cooling efficiency of the refrigerant in the water flowing in the ice-making space can be improved.

Further, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the refrigerant can flow in at least a part of the refrigerant flow space spirally.

Further, according to the embodiment of the present invention, cold water can be used for making ice.

In addition, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the cooling performance and the ice-making efficiency of the ice maker can be improved.

In addition, according to the embodiment of the present invention, ice generated in the ice making space can be easily discharged to the outside.

Also, according to the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to store ice produced in the ice making space or to use it to make cold water.

1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of an ice maker according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the apparatus main body, ice-making section, cooling section, and separation-transfer section of the first embodiment of the ice-maker according to the present invention.
3 is an exploded perspective view of the supply storage portion of the first embodiment of the ice maker according to the present invention.
4 is a cross-sectional view taken along a line I-I 'in Fig.
5 to 9 are views showing the operation of the first embodiment of the ice maker according to the present invention.
10 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of an ice maker according to the present invention.
11 is a sectional view taken along a line II-II 'in FIG.
12 is an exploded perspective view of the supply storage portion of the second embodiment of the ice maker according to the present invention.
13 and 14 are views showing the operation of the supply switching portion of the supply storage portion of the second embodiment of the 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.

The embodiments described below will be described on the basis of embodiments best suited to understand the technical characteristics of the present invention and the technical features of the present invention are not limited by the embodiments described, It is to be understood that the invention can be practiced with 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 an understanding of the embodiments to be described below, in the reference numerals shown in the accompanying drawings, among the components that perform the same function in the embodiments, the related components are denoted by the same or an extension line number.

Ice machine First Embodiment

Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the ice maker according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9. FIG.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of an ice maker according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a device main body, a freezing portion, a cooling portion, and a separation conveying portion of a first embodiment of the ice- FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the supply storage portion of the first embodiment of the ice-maker according to the invention, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line I-I 'of FIG.

5 to 9 are views showing the operation of the first embodiment of the ice maker according to the present invention.

The first embodiment of the ice maker 100 according to the present invention may include a device body 200, a ice-making unit 300, a cooling unit 400, and a separation / transfer unit 500.

The apparatus main body 200 may have a water inlet 212 and an ice outlet 213. The water inlet 212 may be connected to an inlet 311, which will be described later, provided in the ice maker 300. Further, the ice discharge unit 213 may be connected to a discharge port 331 provided in the ice making unit 300, which will be described later.

A discharge pipe 350 connected to the discharge connection member 340 and connected to the discharge connection member 340 is provided in the discharge port 213 of the ice storage unit 300, The discharge port 331 of the ice-maker 300 can be connected to the ice discharger 213.

However, the configuration in which the discharge port 331 of the ice-making unit 300 is connected to the ice discharge unit 213 is not particularly limited, and any well-known configuration is possible.

The shapes and configurations of the water inflow portion 212 and the ice discharge portion 213 are not particularly limited and may be any shape and configuration as long as the inlet port 311 and the discharge port 331 of the ice- And the like.

The apparatus main body 200 includes an upper main body 210 having the water inlet 212 and the ice discharger 213 formed therein and a lower main body 220 coupled to the upper main body 210, . ≪ / RTI > However, the apparatus main body 200 may be integrally formed.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the heat insulating members 211 and 221 may be inserted into the upper body 210 and the lower body 220. The heat insulating members 211 and 221 may be provided outside the upper body 210 and the lower body 220, though not shown.

Thereby, the heat transfer between the outside and the apparatus main body 200 can be minimized. The ice (I) generated in the ice making space SC, which will be described later, formed in the ice making part 300 may not be melted by external heat transfer.

The heat insulating members 211 and 221 are not particularly limited and may be inserted into the upper body 210 and the lower body 220 or may be provided outside the upper body 210 and the lower body 220 to minimize heat transfer to the outside If anything, any of the common knowledge is possible.

The ice making unit 300 may include an inlet 311 and an outlet 331 connected to the water inlet 212 and the ice outlet 213 formed in the apparatus main body 200, respectively. An ice making space SC connected to the inlet 311 and the outlet 331 may be formed in the ice making part 300.

The water stored in the water storage space SW, which will be described later, formed in the water supply source 600, for example, through the inlet 311 of the ice-making unit 300, And can be introduced into the space SC. As shown in FIG. 7, ice (I) generated in the ice-making space SC and separated and transported by the separation / transfer unit 500 can be discharged through the discharge port 331 of the ice-making unit 300.

As shown in FIG. 2, the ice-making unit 300 may include an inlet member 310, a freezing member 320, and a discharge member 330.

The inlet member 310 may be provided with the inlet 311 described above.

The inlet member 310 may also be provided with a drape 312 as shown in FIGS. A drain valve 312 may be provided with an on-off valve (not shown). When the opening / closing valve is opened, the water contained in the ice-making space SC can be drained to the outside through the drape 312.

As shown in FIG. 4, the inlet member 310 may be rotatably inserted into one side of a screw member 510, which will be described later, included in the separation and transfer unit 500.

The ice maker 320 may be connected to the inlet member 310. Then, the above-described ice making space SC can be formed. The ice-making member 320 may be cylindrical, for example, as shown in Fig. However, the shape of the ice-making member 320 is not particularly limited, and any shape can be used as long as it is connected to the inflow member 310 and can form the ice-making space SC.

The discharge member 330 may be connected to the ice making member 320. The discharge member 330 may be provided with the discharge port 331 described above. A discharge connection member 340 may be connected to the discharge port 331. The discharge pipe 350 provided in the ice discharge unit 213 of the apparatus main body 200 may be connected to the discharge connection member 340.

7, the ice I discharged from the discharge port 331 flows through the discharge connection member 340 and the discharge pipe 350 and can be discharged to the outside.

The discharge member 330 may be rotatably mounted on the other side of the screw member 510, which will be described later, of the separating transfer unit 500.

As shown in FIG. 4, the discharge member 330 may be formed with a spiral connection portion 332 connecting the ice-making space SC and the discharge port 331.

The screw member 510 of the separating transfer part 500 is rotatably provided in the ice making space SC and the spiral flow path can be formed by the helical separating transfer blade 511 formed on the screw member 510 .

The spiral flow path of the ice-making space SC can be naturally connected to the spiral connection portion 332 of the discharge member 330 described above. 7, the ice I separated from the ice-making space SC by the screw member 510 is guided by the screw member 510 into the spiral hole of the ice-making space SC, And the discharge port 331 of the discharge member 330 to be discharged to the outside.

The cooling unit 400 may allow the refrigerant to flow at least partially around the ice making unit 300. Thus, heat can be transferred from the water introduced into the ice-making space SC to the refrigerant through the inlet 311 of the ice-maker 300. Then, the water in the ice-making space SC is cooled by the refrigerant and can be ice (I) as shown in Fig.

The cooling part 400 may include a coolant space forming member 410. The refrigerant space forming member 410 may be provided to cover at least a part of the ice making part 300, for example, the remaining part of the ice making part 300 excluding both ends of the ice making part 320, as shown in FIG. The refrigerant flow space SR through which the refrigerant flows can be formed between the refrigerant space forming member 410 and the freezing portion 300, for example, the freezing portion 320 of the freezing portion 300.

Accordingly, the heat exchange path between the refrigerant and the water flowing in the ice-making space SC can be minimized. That is, in the illustrated embodiment, the refrigerant can perform heat exchange with water flowing in the ice-making space SC only through the ice making member 320 of the ice-making unit 300.

Therefore, the cooling efficiency of the refrigerant in the water flowing in the ice-making space SC can be improved, thereby improving the cooling performance and the ice-making efficiency.

The coolant space forming member 410 may be connected to the coolant inlet port 411 and the coolant outlet port 412. 2, the refrigerant space forming member 410 is formed with an inlet connection hole 410a through which the refrigerant inlet port 411 is connected and an outlet connection hole 410b through which the refrigerant outlet port 412 is connected . The refrigerant may flow into the refrigerant flow space SR through the refrigerant inlet port 411, flow through the refrigerant flow space SR, and then flow out through the refrigerant outlet port 412.

The cooling part 400 may include a flow guide member 420. The flow guide member 420 can cause the refrigerant to flow spirally at least a part of the refrigerant flow space SR described above.

When the refrigerant flows spirally at least a part of the refrigerant flow space SR, the heat transfer area and the heat transfer time between the refrigerant and the water flowing in the ice-making space SC of the ice-maker 300 increase. Therefore, the heat transfer from the water flowing in the ice making space SC of the ice-making part 300 to the refrigerant can be smoothly performed, and the cooling performance can be improved.

The flow guide member 420 may be provided in the refrigerant flow space SR. In addition, the flow guide member 420 may be helical. Accordingly, a spiral-shaped refrigerant flow path is formed in the refrigerant flow space SR so that the refrigerant can flow in the refrigerant flow space SR spirally.

The separation transfer unit 500 can separate the ice I from the ice-making space SC and transfer it to the discharge port 331 of the ice-making unit 300.

The separation transfer part 500 may include a screw member 510. The screw member 510 may be rotatably installed in the ice making space SC of the ice making unit 300.

One side of the screw member 510 is rotatably inserted into the inflow member 310 of the freezing unit 300 and the other side of the screw member 510 is connected to the freezing unit 300, And may be rotatably provided through the discharge member 330. The other side of the screw member 510 passing through the discharge member 330 of the ice-maker 300 may be connected to a separation feed motor (not shown).

The screw member 510 may be formed with a helical separating transfer blade 511. A helical flow passage may be formed in the ice making space SC of the freezing portion 300 by the helical separating transfer blade 511. [

In this configuration, when the screw member 510 is rotated by the separating feed motor, the ice I generated in the inner peripheral surface of the ice making space SC can be separated by the separating feed edge 511 of the screw member 510 have. 7, the ice (I) separated from the inner peripheral surface of the ice-making space SC is passed through the spiral passage of the ice-making space SC by the separating transfer blade 511 of the screw member 510, Can be transferred to the discharge port (331) of the ice bank (300).

The first embodiment of the ice maker 100 according to the present invention may further include a supply storage unit 600 as shown in FIGS.

The supply storage unit 600 may be connected to the inlet 311 and the outlet 331 of the ice maker 300, respectively. The supply storage unit 600 may supply water to the inlet 311 and receive the ice I from the outlet 331 as shown in FIG. 7, as shown in FIG. 5 and FIG.

The supply storage unit 600 may include a supply storage member 610. The supply storage member 610 may be formed with a water storage space SW in which water is stored and an ice storage space SI in which the ice I is stored.

1 and 3, a partition member 611 is provided in the supply storage member 610 to store the storage space SS formed in the supply storage member 610 into the water storage space SW and the ice storage And space (SI).

The supply storage member 610 can be opened at the top. The water of the water supply source (not shown), such as water or a filtration portion of a water treatment apparatus such as a water purifier, including a water filter for filtering water, flows through a supply pipe (not shown) connected to a water supply source May be introduced and stored in the water storage space SW through the open top of the member 610. [

The supply storage member 610 may be provided with a supply connection port 612 as shown in FIG. The supply connection 612 may be connected to the inlet 311 of the ice-maker 300 by a sealing connection member 613. [

Accordingly, the water storage space SW of the supply storage member 610 and the inlet 311 of the ice-maker 300 can be connected. 5 and 6, the water stored in the water storage space SW of the supply and storage member 610 flows through the supply port 612 and the sealing connection member 613 to the inlet of the ice- (311). The water flowing into the inlet 311 of the ice-maker 300 can be introduced into the ice-making space SC of the ice-maker 300 through the inlet 311.

The supply storage unit 600 may further include a supply switching unit 620. The supply switching unit 620 may selectively send the ice I supplied from the discharge port 331 to the water storage space SW or the ice storage space SI of the supply storage member 610. [

When ice I is supplied to the water storage space SW of the supply storage member 610 by the supply switching unit 620, the water stored in the water storage space SW can be cooled and become cold water.

The cold water generated in the water storage space SW is supplied to the cold water discharge pipe (not shown) connected to the water storage space SW of the supply storage member 610 and the cock or the faucet connected to the cold water discharge pipe (Not shown) and can be supplied to the user.

The cold water produced in the water storage space SW is supplied to the ice making space SC of the ice making part 300 through the supply connection port 612, the seal connecting member 613 and the inlet 311 of the ice- As shown in FIG.

As described above, when cold water is supplied to the ice-making space SC of the ice-making unit 300, the ice I can be generated in the ice-making space SC more easily and quickly. Thus, the ice-making efficiency can be improved.

The supply switching unit 620 may include a first supply switching pipe 621, a second supply switching pipe 622, and a rotation driving unit 623.

The first supply switching pipe 621 may be rotatably connected to the discharge pipe 350 connected to the discharge port 331 of the ice-making unit 300 by a discharge connection member 340. For example, by inserting the discharge pipe 350 into the first supply pipe 621, the first supply pipe 621 can be rotatably connected to the discharge pipe 350 of the freezing unit 300.

However, the structure in which the first supply switching tube 621 is rotatably connected to the discharge pipe 350 of the ice-maker 300 is not particularly limited and may be a rotatably connected by bearings (not shown) Any configuration is possible.

One end of the first supply switching tube 621 may be positioned higher than the partitioning member 611 through the supply storage member 610 by a predetermined height.

3 and 4, the first supply / return pipe 621 is connected to the supply / storage member 610, and the supply / storage member 610 is connected to the supply / Penetrating through the penetrating portion 614 of the partitioning member 611 and one end thereof may be positioned higher than the partitioning member 611 by a predetermined height.

However, the above-described penetration portion 614 may be formed on the ice storage space SI side of the supply storage member 610. [

The second supply switching tube 622 may be connected to the first supply switching tube 621.

The ice I transferred to the discharge port 331 of the ice-making unit 300 by the screw member 510 of the separation transfer unit 500 is discharged to the discharge connection member 340 of the ice-making unit 300 and the discharge pipe 350 And the first supply pipe 621 and the second supply pipe 622, respectively.

The second supply switching tube 622 may be located above the water storage space SW of the supply storage member 610 as shown in Fig. 8, And may be located above the ice storage space SI of the supply storage member 610 as shown in FIG.

When the open side of the second supply switching tube 622 is located above the water storage space SW of the supply storage member 610 as shown in FIG. 8, the ice I may be supplied to the water storage space SW.

9, when the opened one side of the second supply switching tube 622 is located above the ice storage space SI of the supply storage member 610, The ice (I) can be supplied to the ice storage space (SI).

The second supply switching tube 622 may be in the shape of a letter 'A' as shown in FIGS. The shape of the second supply pipe 622 is not particularly limited and may be connected to the first supply pipe 621 so that one side opened according to the rotational position of the first supply pipe 621 is connected to the water storage space SW, or any shape that can be placed on the ice storage space SI.

The rotation drive unit 623 may be connected to the first supply switching tube 621 to rotate the first supply switching tube 621.

The rotation drive unit 623 may include a drive gear 623a and a feed switching motor 623b. The drive gear 623a can be engaged with the driven gear 621a formed in the first supply switching pipe 621. [ Further, the supply switching motor 623b may be connected to the driving gear 623a.

The first supply switching tube 621 is rotated by the rotation of the driving gear 623a by the supply switching motor 623b and the second supply switching tube 621 is rotated by the rotation of the first supply switching tube 621, 622 may be located above the water storage space SW of the supply storage member 610 or above the ice storage space SI.

Ice machine Second Embodiment

Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the ice maker according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 14. FIG.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the ice maker according to the present invention, FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken along the line II-II 'of FIG. 10, and FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view of the supply and storage unit of the second embodiment of the ice- to be.

13 and 14 are views showing the operation of the supply switching unit of the supply storage unit of the second embodiment of the ice maker according to the present invention.

Here, the second embodiment of the ice maker according to the present invention is different from the ice maker according to the second embodiment of the present invention described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9, and the supply of the discharge pipe 350 and the supply / There is a difference in the configuration of the switching unit 620.

Therefore, the different configurations will be mainly described below, and the remaining configurations can be replaced with those described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 14 above.

In the second embodiment of the ice-maker 100 according to the present invention, the discharge pipe 350 connected to the discharge port 331 of the ice-maker 300 is connected to the supply storage member 610, Through the penetrating portion 614 of the supply storage member 610 and may be positioned higher than the partitioning member 611 provided in the supply storage member 610 by a predetermined height.

The discharge pipe 350 may include, for example, a discharge connection portion 351 and an ice discharge portion 352.

One side of the discharge connection portion 351 may be connected to the discharge port 331 of the freezing portion 300 as shown in FIG. The other side of the discharge connection portion 351 may pass through the penetration portion 614 of the supply storage member 610 and may be positioned higher than the partition member 611 by a predetermined height.

The ice discharge unit 352 is connected to the discharge connection unit 351 so that the ice I can be discharged as shown in FIGS. The ice discharge portion 352 can be connected to the discharge connection portion 351, for example, integrally with the discharge connection portion 351. However, the configuration in which the ice discharge portion 352 is connected to the discharge connection portion 351 is not particularly limited, and one end of the ice discharge portion 352 may be inserted into and connected to the discharge connection portion 351, Configuration is possible.

The discharge connection portion 351 and the ice discharge portion 352 may be at an angle. For example, the discharge connection portion 351 and the ice discharge portion 352 may be at right angles as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12. However, the angle formed by the discharge connection portion 351 and the ice discharge portion 352 is not particularly limited, and any angle is possible.

The configuration and shape of the discharge pipe 350 and the configuration and shape of the discharge connection portion 351 and the ice discharge portion 352 are not particularly limited and are connected to the discharge port 331 of the ice making portion 300, Any configuration and shape of the well-known configuration is possible as long as it is a configuration and a shape to be discharged.

Meanwhile, the supply switching unit 620 of the second embodiment of the icemaker 100 according to the present invention may include the supply switching member 624 as shown in FIGS.

The feed switching member 624 may be rotatably provided in the feed storage member 610. [ For example, the feed switching member 624 may be provided with a rotating shaft 624a. 11, a shaft insertion hole 610a is formed to be rotatable by inserting a rotation shaft 624a of the supply switchable member 624, and the supply switchable member 624 May be rotatably provided in the supply storage member 610. [

However, the configuration in which the supply switching member 624 is rotatably provided in the supply storage member 610 is not particularly limited, and any well-known configuration is possible.

The supply switchable member 624 is configured to discharge the ice I discharged from the discharge pipe 350 in accordance with the rotational position to the water storage space SW of the supply storage member 610 as shown in Fig. And can be selectively sent to the ice storage space SI of the supply storage member 610 as well.

To this end, the feed diverter member 624 may be rotatably provided at least partially under the ice discharge portion 352 of the discharge pipe 350 described above. Further, the supply switchable member 624 may be, for example, in the form of a plate, as shown in Fig. However, the position and shape of the supply switching member 624 are not particularly limited, and the ice I discharged from the discharge pipe 350 may be stored in the water storage space SW of the supply storage member 610 or in the ice storage Any position or shape can be used as long as it can be selectively sent to the space (SI).

The feed switching member 624 can be rotated by a user by operating a rotation drive member (not shown) rotated by a rotation drive motor (not shown) connected to the rotation shaft 624a or connected to the rotation shaft 624a .

However, the configuration in which the feed switching member 624 is rotated is not particularly limited, and any known configuration can be used provided that the feed switching member 624 is rotated.

As described above, when the ice maker according to the present invention is used, a refrigerant flow space in which the refrigerant flows around the ice making space is formed by the refrigerant space forming member provided to surround at least a part of the ice making part in which the ice- So that the heat exchange path between the refrigerant and the water flowing in the ice making space can be minimized so that the cooling efficiency by the refrigerant of the water flowing in the ice making space can be improved and the refrigerant can flow at least a part of the refrigerant flowing space, The cooling water and the ice making efficiency of the ice maker can be improved and the ice produced in the ice making space can be easily discharged to the outside, It can be used to store the generated ice or make cold water.

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:
210: upper body 211, 221:
212: water inlet 213: ice outlet
220: Lower main body 300:
310: inlet member 311: inlet
312: Drained 320: Deicing member
330: discharge member 331: discharge port
332: connection portion 340: discharge connection member
350: discharge pipe 351: discharge connection portion
352: ice discharge part 400: cooling part
410: Refrigerant space forming member 410a: Inflow connecting hole
410b: Outflow connection hole 411: Refrigerant inlet port
412: Refrigerant outlet port 420: Flow guide member
500: separating transfer part 510: screw member
511: separation / transfer blade 600:
610: supply storage member 610a: shaft insertion hole
611: partition member 612:
613: sealing connecting member 614:
620: supply switching section 621: first supply switching tube
621a: driven gear 622: second supply switching tube
623: Rotation drive unit 623a:
623b: Supply switching motor 624: Supply switching member
624a: rotation axis SC: ice making space
I: ice SR: refrigerant flow space
SS: Storage space SW: Water storage space
SI: ice storage space

Claims (20)

An apparatus main body having a water inflow section and an ice discharge section;
A ice making part having an inlet and an outlet connected to the water inlet and the ice outlet, respectively, and having an ice making space connected to the inlet and the outlet;
A cooling unit for allowing a refrigerant to flow at least in a part around the ice making unit to cool the water introduced into the ice making space through the inlet so as to be ice; And
A separation conveying part for separating ice from the ice making space and conveying the ice to the discharge port; / RTI >
Wherein the cooling unit includes a refrigerant space forming member that is provided to enclose at least a part of the ice making unit and forms a refrigerant flow space in which refrigerant flows between the ice making unit and the ice making unit, and a refrigerant inlet port and a refrigerant outlet port are connected to each other. The ice maker of claim 1, wherein the cooling portion further comprises a flow guide member for allowing the refrigerant to spiral at least a part of the refrigerant flow space. The ice-maker according to claim 2, wherein the flow guide member is provided in the refrigerant flow space. The ice-maker according to claim 3, wherein the flow guide member is a spiral shape. The ice making machine according to claim 1,
An inflow member provided with the inflow port;
An ice making member connected to the inflow member and having the ice making space formed therein; And
A discharge member connected to the ice making member and having the discharge port;
. 6. The ice maker of claim 5, wherein the discharge member is formed with a spiral connection portion connecting the ice-making space and the discharge port. 6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the discharge port is connected to a discharge connection member,
Wherein the ice discharge unit is provided with a discharge pipe connected to the discharge connection member. The ice maker of claim 1, wherein the separating / sending part includes a screw member rotatably provided in the ice making space. 2. The ice maker according to claim 1, further comprising: a supply storage unit connected to the inlet and the outlet to supply water to the inlet and receive ice from the outlet; Further comprising an ice maker. [10] The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the supply storage unit comprises: a supply storage member having a water storage space in which water is stored and an ice storage space in which ice is stored; . 11. The ice maker according to claim 10, wherein the supply storage member is provided with a partitioning member to divide the storage space formed in the supply storage member into the water storage space and the ice storage space. 11. The ice maker of claim 10, wherein the supply storage member is provided with a supply connection port connected to the inlet port by a sealing connection member and connecting the water storage space and the inlet port. [12] The ice maker of claim 11, wherein the supply storage unit comprises: a supply switching unit for selectively delivering the ice supplied from the discharge port to the water storage space or the ice storage space; Further comprising an ice maker. 14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the supply switching unit
A first supply switching tube rotatably connected to a discharge pipe connected to the discharge port and having one end passing through the supply storage member and positioned higher than the partition member by a predetermined height;
A second supply / return pipe connected to the first supply / return pipe and having one side opened according to the rotational position of the first supply / return pipe positioned above the water storage space or above the ice storage space; And
A rotation driving unit connected to the first supply switching tube to rotate the first supply switching tube;
. 15. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the rotation drive unit
A drive gear engaged with the driven gear formed in the first supply switching tube; And
A supply switching motor connected to the drive gear;
. 14. The ice maker of claim 13, wherein the discharge pipe connected to the discharge port is located higher than the partition member through the supply and storage member and discharges ice. The ice maker according to claim 16, wherein the supply switching unit comprises a supply switching member rotatably provided in the supply storage member and selectively delivering the ice discharged from the discharge pipe to the water storage space or the ice storage space according to the rotation position, . 18. The ice maker of claim 17, wherein the discharge pipe includes a discharge connection portion connected to the discharge port and an ice discharge portion connected to the discharge connection portion and discharging ice. 19. The ice maker according to claim 18, wherein at least a part of the supply switching member is provided below the ice discharge portion. The ice maker according to claim 18, wherein the discharge connection portion and the ice discharge portion form an angle.

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