KR20240097366A - Ice maker - Google Patents

Abstract

The ice maker starts. An ice maker according to an aspect of the present invention includes one or more upper cups that form an upper part of an ice-making space in which ice is made, and are formed to open a lower side of the ice-making space; a refrigerant pipe that forms a contact portion in contact with each of the upper cups, through which refrigerant flows and cools each of the upper cups; a heat-conducting cap provided to bury an outer surface of each upper cup and a contact portion of the refrigerant pipe; One or more lower cups disposed on the lower side of each upper cup so as to contact the upper cups and combining with the upper cups to form an ice-making space; a refrigerant supply unit that supplies refrigerant to the refrigerant pipe; It may include an air discharge hole formed penetrating from the upper side of the upper cup to the outer side of the heat-conducting cap so that air within the ice-making space is discharged to the outside of the ice-making space.

Description

Ice maker {Ice maker}

The present invention relates to an ice maker, and more specifically, to an ice maker capable of making ice in a faster time.

An ice maker is a device that freezes ice using cold air. Such an ice maker may be installed in a refrigerator to freeze ice using cold air generated from the refrigerator, or may be provided solely as an ice making device for ice production.

Recently, products that are equipped with ice makers to create ice are being released in water purifiers that provide cold water.

In general, ice for drinking is mainly rectangular, such as square or trapezoid, but recently, there has been a demand for spherical ice.

In the case of spherical ice, in addition to its beautiful appearance, when put into drinks, etc., the melting speed is slower and more consistent than other types of ice, so the concentration and taste of the drink can be maintained for a relatively long time, so consumer demand has recently increased. It has been done.

Accordingly, the demand for an ice maker to more quickly ice spherical ice has increased.

Korean registered patent KR10-2337939B is an invention relating to an ice maker for producing spherical ice, comprising: a first half-molded body formed on a plate member, a second half-molded body combined with the second half-molded body to form a spherical ice-making space therein, and the first half-molded body. A water supply pipe provided in and a refrigerant pipe provided in the second half molded body are disclosed. That is, after the first half-molded body and the second half-molded body are combined with each other to form a spherical ice-making space, water for ice-making is supplied into the ice-making space, and cold air delivered from the refrigerant pipe is used to form the ice-making space. The interior can be cooled to make ice.

However, in the structure disclosed in KR10-2337939B, the refrigerant pipe and the second half body are in point contact with each other, so cold air is not transmitted efficiently, and only the point where the refrigerant pipe is in contact with the second half body is cooled, so it is not used for ice making. There is a problem that it takes a long time.

Korean Patent Publication KR10-2013-0110874A relates to an ice maker, which is an ice maker for producing ice in the shape of a sphere or a polyhedron convex upward and downward, an upper ice making frame having an upper ice-making cell in the shape of a hemisphere or a semi-polyhedron convex upward, and an upper ice-making cell convex downward. a lower ice-making frame having a lower ice-making cell that has a hemispherical or semi-polyhedral shape and is open at the center of the bottom, and a first refrigerant passage disposed at a predetermined distance from the upper surface of the upper ice-making frame through which the refrigerant that cools the upper ice-making frame can flow an evaporator cover and a nozzle unit provided at a lower portion of the lower ice-making frame and spraying ice-making water upward from the center of the open bottom of the lower ice-making cell, and the upper ice-making frame and the lower ice-making frame are coupled to each other. and is configured to be openable, so that when combined with each other, the upper ice making cell and the lower ice making cell are combined to form an integrated ice making cell of a spherical or polyhedral shape, and the upper surface of the upper ice making frame follows the shape of the upper ice making cell. The evaporator cover has an upwardly convex hemispherical or semi-polyhedral outline, and is configured to surround the upper surface of the upper ice-making cell. As the refrigerant flows between the evaporator cover and the upper surface of the upper ice-making frame, the upper ice-making frame is cooled and integrated. A structure for making ice by cooling the inside of an ice making cell is disclosed.

However, since the first refrigerant flow path through which the refrigerant flows is provided between the upper ice making frame and the evaporator cover, the configuration of the flow path is complicated, and when thermal strain is applied to the ice making frame due to repeated cooling and heating due to ice making and deicing, the refrigerant leaks. There are concerns that this could happen.

Korean Patent Publication KR10-2022-0037820A relates to an ice maker for producing spherical ice, which includes a cooling unit configured to provide cooling for ice production, and an ice-making frame connected to the cooling unit and having one or more ice-making grooves for producing ice. and a spray unit configured to spray water into the ice-making groove to generate ice, wherein the ice-making frame includes a first ice-making frame having a first ice-making groove forming a part of the ice-making groove, and the first ice-making frame A structure is disclosed that is provided to include a second ice-making frame that is connected and has a second ice-making groove forming the remainder of the ice-making groove, so that ice of various shapes and sizes can be manufactured, and is equipped to produce not only ice but also cold water. .

However, since the ice-making frame with a plurality of ice-making grooves is formed as a single object, the size of the ice-making frame that the cooling unit must cool also increases, which increases unnecessary cooling load and causes a problem in that it takes a long time for cooling.

KR10-2337939B KR10-2013-0110874A KR10-2022-0037820A

The present invention is intended to solve the above problems, and the object of the present invention is to provide an ice maker in which the refrigerant pipe uniformly cools the ice-making space and shortens the time required to make ice.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an ice maker that has a simple structure so that there is no risk of refrigerant leakage due to thermal deformation due to repeated cooling and heating.

In addition, another object of the present invention is to provide an ice maker that can uniformly cool the ice-making space and minimize the cooling load by cooling only necessary areas, thereby reducing the time required for cooling.

The problems of the present invention are not limited to the problems mentioned above, and other problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description below.

According to one aspect of the present invention, one or more upper cups form an upper part of an ice-making space where ice is made, and the lower side of the ice-making space is open. a refrigerant pipe that forms a contact portion in contact with each of the upper cups, through which refrigerant flows and cools each of the upper cups; a heat-conducting cap provided to bury an outer surface of each upper cup and a contact portion of the refrigerant pipe; One or more lower cups disposed on the lower side of each upper cup so as to contact the upper cups and combining with the upper cups to form an ice-making space; a refrigerant supply unit that supplies refrigerant to the refrigerant pipe; An ice maker is provided, comprising: an air discharge hole formed through a top of the upper cup to an outside of the heat-conducting cap so that air within the ice-making space is discharged to the outside of the ice-making space.

The ice-making space may be spherical.

The heat conduction cap may be made of a material with higher heat conductivity than the upper cup.

The heat-conducting cap may be formed of a material containing aluminum.

The distance between the surface of the heat-conducting cap and the surface of the upper cup may be formed to become closer toward the bottom.

The heat-conducting cap may be formed to have a trapezoidal cross-section shape that becomes wider from the top to the bottom.

The heat conduction cap includes an upper surface portion formed on the upper side of the refrigerant pipe, forming an upper side surface, and having a flat circular shape; and a side portion extending downward from the edge of the upper surface portion and having an outer diameter that becomes wider as it goes downward. It may be formed to bury the entire outer surface of the upper cup and the contact portion.

It may further include a water supply pipe penetrating from the outside of the heat-conducting cap to the inside of the upper cup.

The refrigerant pipe includes a low-temperature refrigerant flow pipe through which low-temperature refrigerant flows from the refrigerant supply unit; a high-temperature refrigerant flow pipe through which high-temperature refrigerant flows from the refrigerant supply unit; A heat transfer pipe in which the low-temperature refrigerant flow pipe and the high-temperature refrigerant flow pipe are combined at one end, through which the refrigerant supplied from the low-temperature refrigerant flow pipe or the high-temperature refrigerant flow pipe flows, contacts the upper cup, and is embedded in the heat conduction cap; It may include a refrigerant recovery pipe provided at the other end of the heat transfer pipe, through which low-temperature refrigerant or high-temperature refrigerant inside the heat transfer pipe is recovered.

Alternatively, the refrigerant pipe may include: a low-temperature refrigerant flow pipe through which low-temperature refrigerant flows from the refrigerant supply unit; a heat transfer pipe coupled to one end of the low-temperature refrigerant flow pipe through which the refrigerant supplied from the low-temperature refrigerant flow pipe flows, in contact with the upper cup, and embedded in the heat conduction cap; a refrigerant recovery pipe provided at the other end of the heat transfer pipe, through which low-temperature refrigerant inside the heat transfer pipe is recovered; It may also include a heating heater arranged to be connected to the inner peripheral surface of the heat transfer pipe.

According to the above configuration, the ice maker according to the present invention is equipped with a heat conduction cap so as to cover the surface of the upper cup forming the refrigerant space, and can uniformly cool the circumference of the upper cup, thereby reducing the time required for ice making. It can be simple.

In addition, the ice maker according to the present invention has a simple structure of the refrigerant pipe, upper cup, and heat conduction cap, so there is no risk of refrigerant leakage due to repeated thermal deformation, and reliability can be improved.

In addition, since the ice maker according to the present invention is equipped with a heat conduction cap for each upper cup, the cooling load is minimized, which has the effect of shortening the time required for cooling.

The effects of the present invention are not limited to the effects described above, and should be understood to include all effects that can be inferred from the configuration of the invention described in the detailed description or claims of the present invention.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing an ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the upper tray and refrigerant pipe of an ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a heat-conducting cap and an upper cup of an ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing the side portions of the heat-conducting cap and the upper cup of the ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a refrigerant pipe of an ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of a refrigerant pipe of an ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, with reference to the attached drawings, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail so that those skilled in the art can easily implement the present invention. The present invention may be implemented in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. In order to clearly explain the present invention, parts not related to the description have been omitted in the drawings, and identical or similar components are given the same reference numerals throughout the specification.

The words and terms used in this specification and claims are not to be construed as limited in their usual or dictionary meanings, but according to the principle that the inventor can define terms and concepts in order to explain his or her invention in the best way. It must be interpreted with meaning and concepts consistent with technical ideas.

Therefore, the embodiments described in this specification and the configuration shown in the drawings correspond to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and do not represent the entire technical idea of the present invention, so the configuration may be replaced by various alternatives at the time of filing of the present invention. There may be equivalents and variations.

In this specification, terms such as “comprise” or “have” are intended to describe the presence of features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof described in the specification, but are not intended to describe the presence of one or more other features. It should be understood that it does not exclude in advance the possibility of the existence or addition of elements, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

A component being “in front,” “rear,” “above,” or “below” another component means that it is in direct contact with the other component, unless there are special circumstances. This includes not only those placed at the “bottom” but also cases where another component is placed in the middle. In addition, the fact that a component is "connected" to another component includes not only being directly connected to each other, but also indirectly connected to each other, unless there are special circumstances.

Hereinafter, an ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

The ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention is described as being provided in a water purifier as an example, but it is not necessarily limited thereto, and may be applied to a freezer or an ice making device for producing only ice.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the ice maker 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an upper tray 110, a refrigerant pipe 160, a lower tray 120, a refrigerant supply unit 170, and an air discharge unit. It may include a hole 140.

The upper tray 110 may include an upper cup 112 and a heat-conducting cap 114.

The upper cup 112 forms the upper part of the ice-making space 130 where ice is made, and the lower side of the ice-making space 130 is provided to be open, and at least one of the upper cups 112 may be provided.

The ice-making space 130 is a space where ice is made, and in an embodiment of the present invention, the ice-making space 130 is described as an example of a sphere.

That is, the ice made in the ice making space 130 may be spherical ice.

Meanwhile, the upper cup 112 forms the upper side of the spherical ice-making space 130. In the embodiment of the present invention, the upper cup 112 is formed in a hemispherical shape, and the open portion of the hemisphere is It can be arranged to face downward.

The upper cups 112 may be arranged as many times as the number of ice cubes to be made at one time.

Additionally, the upper cup 112 may be made of a metal material such as stainless steel that does not react with water or ice, does not dissolve metals in water, and can smoothly transfer heat. Of course, the material of the upper cup 112 is not limited to stainless steel, and any material that has excellent heat transfer ability, does not react with water or ice, and is harmless to the human body can be applied.

In addition, the refrigerant pipe 160 is arranged to contact the top of each upper cup 112, and the refrigerant flows and transfers the cold heat of the refrigerant to each upper cup 112 through heat conduction. (112) can be cooled.

Additionally, the refrigerant pipe 160 may be formed with a contact portion 161 integrated by welding at the top of each upper cup 112. That is, since the contact portion 161 where the refrigerant pipe 160 and the top of each upper cup 112 come into contact are welded and integrated, heat transfer by heat conduction occurs between the refrigerant pipe 160 and the upper cup 112. It can be done smoothly.

In this embodiment, the refrigerant pipe 160 is provided as an example of being bent in a U-shape in order to make ice as much as possible in a narrow space. However, the refrigerant pipe 160 must be bent into a U-shape. This is not the case and may be formed in a straight shape that is not stacked, or may be formed in a shape that is stacked several times.

The heat conduction cap 114 is provided with a contact portion 161 between each upper cup 112 and the refrigerant pipe 160 so that the outer surface of each upper cup 112 and the contact portion 161 of the refrigerant pipe 160 are buried. ) can be formed to surround the. At this time, the heat-conducting cap 114 may not surround the portion opening to the lower side of the upper cup 112 and may maintain the portion opening to the lower side of the upper cup 112 in an open state.

Additionally, the heat-conducting cap 114 may be formed to surround all four sides of the refrigerant pipe 160 at a position in contact with the upper cup 112.

The heat conduction cap 114 buries each of the upper cups 112 and the portion of the refrigerant pipe 160 coupled to the upper cup 112, between the upper cup 112 and the refrigerant pipe ( By filling the space between the refrigerant pipe 160 and the refrigerant pipe 160, heat can be transferred to the upper cup 112 through conduction.

For smoother heat transfer, the heat conduction cap 114 may be formed of a material with excellent heat conductivity, such as aluminum, an alloy containing aluminum, or copper or an alloy containing copper.

Since the heat conduction cap 114 buries the outer surface of each upper cup 112 and the portion coupled to the upper cup 112 of the refrigerant pipe 160 and is pushed tightly between them, the refrigerant pipe ( The heat of 160) is transmitted more quickly and more evenly to the outer surface of the upper cup 112, so that ice can grow uniformly and quickly on the inner peripheral surface of the upper cup 112.

As shown in FIG. 3, the heat conduction cap 114 may include an upper surface portion 115 and a side portion 116, where the upper surface portion 115 is formed on the upper side of the refrigerant pipe 160. The side portion 116 extends downward from the edge of the upper surface portion 115 and may have an outer diameter that becomes wider toward the bottom.

At this time, the heat conduction cap 114 is formed to bury the entire outer surface of the upper cup 112 and the contact portion 161 where the refrigerant pipe 160 and the upper cup 112 are welded, and is formed by die casting. It can be.

The lower tray 120 may include a lower cup 122 and a lower panel 124.

Meanwhile, the lower cup 122 is coupled to the lower side of each upper cup 112 and is symmetrical with the upper cup 112 to form a spherical ice-making space 130, and has a hemispherical shape so that all sides are open. It can be provided.

Additionally, the lower panel 124 may be provided so that each of the lower cups 122 can be combined and moved together.

The lower tray 120 is combined with the upper tray 110 to form a spherical ice-making space 130, or is spaced apart from the upper tray 110 and forms a lower side of the upper cup 112 of the upper tray 110. It may be provided to open.

The refrigerant supply unit 170 is a component that supplies refrigerant to the refrigerant pipe 160. The refrigerant supply unit 170 may be provided to selectively supply not only low-temperature refrigerant but also high-temperature refrigerant to the refrigerant pipe 160.

Additionally, a water supply pipe 150 may be provided. As shown in FIG. 3, the water supply pipe 150 may be formed to supply water for ice making into the ice making space 130 formed by combining the upper cup 112 and the lower cup 122. The water supply pipe 150 may be formed to penetrate from the outside of the heat-conducting cap 114 to the inside of the upper cup 112.

Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 3, the air discharge hole 140 is connected to the heat conduction cap from the top of the upper cup 112 so that the air in the ice making space 130 is discharged to the outside of the ice making space 130. It can be formed to penetrate to the outside of (114).

As ice grows in the ice-making space 130 formed by combining the upper cup 112 and the lower cup 122, the air in the ice-making space 130 must be discharged. For this, the air discharge hole 140 is used. This is formed.

As described above, the heat conduction cap 114 is made of aluminum or an alloy containing aluminum or an alloy containing copper or copper, which has a higher thermal conductivity than the upper cup 112, and transmits the cold heat of the refrigerant pipe 160 to the above. It can be delivered quickly and evenly to each surface of the upper cup 112.

However, since the heat-conducting cap 114 may also act as a cooling load that must be cooled, in order to minimize the cooling load, the heat-conducting cap 114 moves from the top to the bottom, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. It is formed with an increasingly wider trapezoidal cross-section, and at this time, the distance between the surface of the heat-conducting cap 114 and the surface of the upper cup 112 may be formed to become closer toward the bottom.

That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the surface of the heat-conducting cap 114 at a lower point than the distance d1 between the surface of the heat-conducting cap 114 at the upper point and the surface of the upper cup 112 and the The distance d2 between the surfaces of the upper cup 112 is formed to be closer, so that the cooling load becomes smaller as the distance from the refrigerant pipe 160 increases, so that the surface of the upper cup 112 is cooled more evenly. It can be provided to do so.

In addition, since the heat-conducting cap 114 is formed to have a trapezoidal cross-section, including the flat top portion 115 and the side portion 116, the volume of the heat-conducting cap 114 can be minimized, thereby minimizing unnecessary increase in cooling load. By doing so, more rapid ice making may be possible.

Meanwhile, in the ice maker according to the embodiment of the present invention, the refrigerant pipe 160 includes a heat transfer pipe 166, a low-temperature refrigerant flow pipe 164, a high-temperature refrigerant flow pipe 162, and a refrigerant recovery tube, as shown in FIG. It may include a pipe 168.

The low-temperature refrigerant flow pipe 164 is a pipe through which the low-temperature refrigerant supplied from the refrigerant supply unit 170 flows, and the high-temperature refrigerant flow pipe 162 is a pipe through which the high-temperature refrigerant supplied from the refrigerant supply unit 170 flows. am.

The refrigerant supply unit 170 may supply cooled low-temperature refrigerant or high-temperature refrigerant by inducing phase change and heat transfer while causing the refrigerant to go through the steps of evaporation, compression, condensation, and expansion.

The low-temperature refrigerant flow pipe 164 is connected to a position where low-temperature refrigerant is formed in the refrigerant supply unit 170 and is provided to allow low-temperature refrigerant to flow, and the high-temperature refrigerant flow pipe 162 is connected to a position where low-temperature refrigerant is formed in the refrigerant supply unit 170. It may be connected to the location where the refrigerant is formed and provided so that the high-temperature refrigerant flows.

The heat transfer pipe 166 is coupled to one end of the low-temperature refrigerant flow pipe 164 and the high-temperature refrigerant flow pipe 162, and the refrigerant supplied from the low-temperature refrigerant flow pipe 164 or the high-temperature refrigerant flow pipe 162 flows therein. , may be in contact with the upper cup 112, and may be embedded in the heat-conducting cap 114.

That is, when the low-temperature refrigerant supplied from the low-temperature refrigerant flow pipe 164 flows inside the heat transfer pipe 166, the upper cup 112 and the heat conduction cap 114 can be cooled, and the heat transfer pipe 166 When the high-temperature refrigerant supplied from the high-temperature refrigerant flow pipe 162 flows inside, the upper cup 112 and the heat-conducting cap 114 can be heated.

For example, when trying to make ice in the ice making space 130, the upper cup 112 and the heat conduction cap 114 must be cooled, so low temperature refrigerant may flow inside the heat transfer pipe 166. When removing ice from the ice-making space 130, the surface of the ice frozen on the inner peripheral surface of the upper cup 112 must be melted, so high-temperature refrigerant flows inside the heat transfer pipe 166 and forms the upper cup 112. And the heat-conducting cap 114 can be heated.

Additionally, the refrigerant recovery pipe 168 is provided at the other end of the heat transfer pipe 166 to recover the low-temperature refrigerant or high-temperature refrigerant inside the heat transfer pipe 166 to the refrigerant supply unit 170.

Meanwhile, looking at another example of the refrigerant pipe 160 of the ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 6, the low-temperature refrigerant flow pipe 164, the heat transfer pipe 166, and the refrigerant recovery pipe 168 and a heating heater 163.

The low-temperature refrigerant flow pipe 164 is a pipe through which low-temperature refrigerant supplied from the refrigerant supply unit 170 flows. The low-temperature refrigerant flow pipe 164 is The refrigerant supply unit 170 may be connected to a location where low-temperature refrigerant is formed and may be provided to allow low-temperature refrigerant to flow.

The heat transfer pipe 166 is coupled to one end of the low-temperature refrigerant flow pipe 164, and the low-temperature refrigerant supplied from the low-temperature refrigerant flow pipe 164 flows therein, and is in contact with the upper cup 112. It may be embedded in the heat-conducting cap 114.

The refrigerant recovery pipe 168 is provided at the other end of the heat transfer pipe 166 to recover the low-temperature refrigerant inside the heat transfer pipe 166 to the refrigerant supply unit 170.

In addition, the heating heater 163 is arranged to be connected to the inner peripheral surface of the heat transfer tube 166, and may be provided to heat the heat transfer tube 166 by receiving electricity or the like.

At this time, the heater 163 is disposed on the lower side of the inner peripheral surface of the heat transfer tube 166, close to the part where the heat transfer tube 166 is connected to the upper cup 112, and looks at the upper cup 112. It can be provided to heat efficiently.

Therefore, when ice is to be made in the ice making space 130, the upper cup 112 and the heat conduction cap 114 must be cooled, so that low-temperature refrigerant can flow inside the heat transfer pipe 166, and the ice making space When deicing the ice made in 130, the surface of the ice frozen on the inner peripheral surface of the upper cup 112 must be melted, so the heating heater 163 is operated to remove the upper cup 112 and the heat conduction cap ( 114) can be heated.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described, the spirit of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments presented in this specification, and those skilled in the art who understand the spirit of the present invention can add or change components within the scope of the same spirit. , deletion, addition, etc., other embodiments can be easily proposed, but this will also be said to fall within the scope of the present invention.

100: ice maker 110: upper tray
112: upper cup 114: heat conduction cap
115: top part 116: side part
120: lower tray 122: lower cup
124: lower panel 130: ice-making space
140: air discharge hole 150: water supply pipe
160: refrigerant pipe 161: contact part
162: High temperature refrigerant flow pipe 163: Heating heater
164: Low-temperature refrigerant flow pipe 166: Heat transfer pipe
168: Refrigerant recovery pipe 170: Refrigerant supply unit

Claims (10)

One or more upper cups that form the upper part of the ice-making space where ice is made and are formed so that the lower side of the ice-making space is open;
a refrigerant pipe that forms a contact portion in contact with each of the upper cups, through which refrigerant flows and cools each of the upper cups;
a heat-conducting cap provided to bury an outer surface of each upper cup and a contact portion of the refrigerant pipe;
one or more lower cups disposed below each upper cup so as to contact the upper cups and combining with the upper cups to form an ice-making space;
a refrigerant supply unit that supplies refrigerant to the refrigerant pipe;
an air discharge hole formed through an upper side of the upper cup to an outer side of the heat-conducting cap so that air within the ice-making space is discharged to the outside of the ice-making space;
An ice maker comprising: According to paragraph 1,
An ice maker, wherein the ice making space is spherical. According to paragraph 1,
The ice maker is characterized in that the heat conduction cap is formed of a material with a higher heat conductivity than the upper cup. According to paragraph 1,
The ice maker is characterized in that the heat conduction cap is formed of a material containing aluminum. According to paragraph 1,
An ice maker, characterized in that the distance between the surface of the heat-conducting cap and the surface of the upper cup is formed to become closer toward the bottom. According to paragraph 1,
The ice maker is characterized in that the heat-conducting cap is formed to have a trapezoidal cross-section shape that becomes wider from the top to the bottom. According to paragraph 1,
The heat conduction cap is,
an upper surface portion formed on the upper side of the refrigerant pipe, forming an upper side surface, and having a flat circular shape; and
Including a side portion that extends downward from the edge of the upper surface portion and is formed to have an outer diameter that becomes wider as it goes downward,
An ice maker, characterized in that it is formed to bury the entire outer surface of the upper cup and the contact portion. According to paragraph 1,
The ice maker further includes a water supply pipe extending from the outside of the heat-conducting cap to the inside of the upper cup. According to paragraph 1,
The refrigerant pipe is,
a low-temperature refrigerant flow pipe through which low-temperature refrigerant flows from the refrigerant supply unit;
a high-temperature refrigerant flow pipe through which high-temperature refrigerant flows from the refrigerant supply unit;
A heat transfer pipe in which the low-temperature refrigerant flow pipe and the high-temperature refrigerant flow pipe are combined at one end, through which the refrigerant supplied from the low-temperature refrigerant flow pipe or the high-temperature refrigerant flow pipe flows, contacts the upper cup, and is embedded in the heat conduction cap;
a refrigerant recovery pipe provided at the other end of the heat transfer pipe, through which low-temperature refrigerant or high-temperature refrigerant inside the heat transfer pipe is recovered;
An ice maker comprising: According to paragraph 1,
The refrigerant pipe is,
a low-temperature refrigerant flow pipe through which low-temperature refrigerant flows from the refrigerant supply unit;
a heat transfer pipe coupled to one end of the low-temperature refrigerant flow pipe through which the refrigerant supplied from the low-temperature refrigerant flow pipe flows, in contact with the upper cup, and embedded in the heat conduction cap;
a refrigerant recovery pipe provided at the other end of the heat transfer pipe, through which low-temperature refrigerant inside the heat transfer pipe is recovered;
a heating heater arranged to be connected to the inner peripheral surface of the heat transfer pipe;
An ice maker comprising:

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