TW201925705A - Ice making device - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is an ice making device for a refrigerator that can pass cold air uniformly over an ice tray and uniformly make ice while controlling the height dimension. An ice making device for a refrigerator comprises an ice making chamber disposed therein to face in the longitudinal direction of an ice tray from the front of the refrigerator toward the back, an upper outlet that is disposed above the ice tray at the back of the ice making chamber and that blows out cold air into an upper space of the ice tray, and a side outlet that opens in a direction that intersects the direction that the upper outlet opens and that blows out cold air into the upper space of the ice tray. The side outlet is provided to be lower than the upper outlet.

Description

Ice making device

The present invention relates to an ice-making device provided in a refrigerator, and more particularly to a structure of a cold air cycle.

In the past, refrigerators having an ice-making device for automatic ice-making are known. As disclosed in Patent Document 1, a refrigerator includes an ice-making chamber, and an ice-making tray provided inside the ice-making chamber is provided to be freely rotated by a driving unit. The cold air from the cooler is supplied to the ice making chamber, and the water on the ice making tray is frozen by the cold air to perform ice making. The ice obtained by the ice making on the ice making tray is rotated by the driving part to drop the ice making tray into an ice storage box disposed under the ice making tray and stored.

The cold air pipe that guides cold air to the ice tray is composed of an upper cold air pipe and a lateral cold air pipe. The upper-side cooling air pipe and the side-side cooling air pipe are provided so as to avoid the driving section. The upper-side cold air pipe is arranged above the ice making tray, and supplies cold air from above the ice making tray through the cold air introduction hole. The side cold air pipe supplies cold air from the cold air introduction hole provided on the side of the ice tray to the ice tray. The cold air heated by the water on the ice tray is discharged from the surface on the side opposite to the cold air introduction hole on the side.

Advance technical literature

Patent Literature:

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-250489

The ice-making device of the refrigerator disclosed in Patent Document 1 aims at making ice uniformly at all positions on the ice-making tray. Therefore, the divided cold air introduction holes corresponding to the water storage sections separated on the ice making tray are provided on the upper side air cooling duct, so that the cold air is evenly distributed and the heat exchange can be stably performed without following the ice making tray Position varies. However, if an upper-side air-cooling pipe provided with a cold-air introduction hole is provided above the ice-making tray, and a turning driving space for separating ice from the ice-making tray is secured, there is a problem that the overall size of the ice-making device becomes large in the height direction. .

In addition, since the cold air supplied to the ice tray from the upper cold air pipe through the cold air introduction hole is blown out vertically, it circulates in the up-down direction between the upper cold air pipe and the water surface after colliding with the water surface on the ice tray. The circulating cold air contains moisture, and there is a problem that the moisture adheres to the wall surface of the space between the upper side cold air pipe and the water surface, and generates frost. Furthermore, if too much frost is generated in the ice making chamber, there is a problem that the turning operation of the ice making tray is hindered, the ice cannot be separated from the ice making tray, and ice cannot be made.

If the amount of cold air introduced from the cold air inlet of the lateral cold air pipe is increased to prevent frost, the cold air flowing in from the upper cold air pipe and the cold air from the lateral cold air pipe collide and flow to the side. Therefore, there is a problem that the cold air cannot be evenly distributed on the ice making tray, and the ice cannot be uniformly made.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the present invention aims to provide an ice-making device for a refrigerator, which can suppress the dimension in the height direction, and at the same time can evenly distribute cold air on the ice-making tray and perform ice-making uniformly.

The ice-making device of the present invention is an ice-making device provided in a refrigerator. The ice-making device includes: an ice-making chamber; The outlet is arranged above the deep side of the previous ice making chamber than the previous ice making tray, and blows cold air to the upper space of the previous ice making tray. The side blowing outlet is opened to intersect the opening direction of the upper blowing outlet of the previous writing. Direction, blow the pre-conditioner cold air into the space above the pre-conditioner of the pre-conditioner ice tray. The preface side blowout is located below the preface top blowout

According to the ice-making device of the present invention, it is possible to supply cold air to the water on the ice-making plate on the proximal side of the ice-making chamber without installing a tube above the ice-making plate, and to suppress the height dimension of the ice-making device to save Spatialization.

The upper air outlet provided on the deep side of the ice making tray can supply cold air from the upper air outlet to the water on the ice making tray located on the proximal side of the ice making chamber. In addition, since the side air outlet is disposed lower than the upper air outlet, the cold air from the upper air outlet and the cold air from the side air outlet do not collide with each other, and the cold air from the upper air outlet is easily supplied to the air outlet. Water on the ice tray located on the proximal side of the ice maker. In addition, it is possible to suppress the stagnation of moisture-rich cold air in the space above the ice tray, and to suppress frost formation.

The cold air from the upper air outlet does not bend sharply toward the ice tray side after being blown out from the upper air outlet, but flows on the ice tray on the deep side of the ice room along the top surface of the ice room. Therefore, the cold air blown from the upper air outlet does not cause pressure loss due to the tortuous flow, so there is no reduction in the flow rate, and the amount of cold air supplied to the water on the ice tray on the near side of the ice making chamber is increased. In addition, the cold air from the side blow outlet can be supplied to the ice tray on the deep side of the ice making chamber. Therefore, the cold air can be supplied to the entire range of the ice tray, and the water on the ice tray can be similarly iced. .

1‧‧‧ refrigerator

2‧‧‧compressor

3‧‧‧ cooler

4‧‧‧ send fan

5‧‧‧ wind road

6‧‧‧ air-conditioning blowing outlet

10‧‧‧ Ice making device

11‧‧‧ ice tray

11a‧‧‧Water storage department

11b‧‧‧ water surface

11c‧‧‧Deep side end

12‧‧‧Driver

12a‧‧‧upper drive

13‧‧‧ Upper Blow Out

13a‧‧‧upper tube

13b‧‧‧Top

13c‧‧‧ bottom

14‧‧‧Side blowout

14a‧‧‧Side tube

15‧‧‧ ceiling

18‧‧‧ Ice Machine Cover

18a‧‧‧Top

18b‧‧‧ oblique face

18c‧‧‧ Beveled End

19‧‧‧ Ice Detector

20‧‧‧ cold air return port

100‧‧‧ Refrigerator

110‧‧‧ ice making device

113‧‧‧ Upper Blow Out

113a‧‧‧upper tube

114‧‧‧Side blowout

114a‧‧‧side tube

200‧‧‧ Switch Room

300‧‧‧ Ice Making Room

301‧‧‧Ice storage box

302‧‧‧ space above

400‧‧‧freezer

500‧‧‧ Vegetable Room

Q ₁ ‧‧‧Amount

Q ₂ ‧‧‧Amount

W ₁ ‧‧‧ direction dimension

W ₂ ‧‧‧ Dimensions

d ₁ ‧‧‧ equivalent diameter

d ₂ ‧‧‧ equivalent diameter

h ₁ ‧‧‧height dimension

h ₂ ‧‧‧Dimension in height direction

ρ‧‧‧Air density

[Fig. 1] A schematic view of a refrigerator according to a first embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the front.

Fig. 2 is a schematic view showing a cross-sectional structure of a refrigerator according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a perspective view of an ice-making device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

[Fig. 4] A top view of the ice-making device of Fig. 3. [Fig.

[FIG. 5] A sectional view of the ice-making device of FIG. 4. [FIG.

6 is a schematic view of the ice-making device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention as viewed from above the ice-making tray.

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a structure of an ice-making device of a comparative example.

[Fig. 8] Fig. 8 is an explanatory view of a structure of a cross section perpendicular to a long side direction of the ice tray including an upper blowout port and a side blowout port of the ice making device of Fig. 7.

[FIG. 9] A sectional view perpendicular to the long side direction of the ice tray of the ice making device of FIG. 4. [FIG.

Embodiment 1.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a refrigerator 1 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention as viewed from the front. In FIG. 1, the door pieces that close each storage compartment of the refrigerator 1 are omitted and shown. The refrigerator 1 includes a refrigerating compartment 100 at the uppermost portion. Below the refrigerating compartment 100, there are switching rooms that can be switched to each temperature zone such as the freezing temperature zone (-18 ° C), refrigeration (3 ° C), ice storage (0 ° C), and soft freezing (-7 ° C). 200. The ice-making chamber 300 and the switching chamber 200 are arranged in parallel below the refrigerating chamber 100. A freezing chamber 400 is disposed below the switching chamber 200 and the ice-making chamber 300, and a vegetable chamber 500 is disposed below the freezing chamber 400. The switching room 200, the ice-making room 300, the freezing room 400, and the vegetable room 500 are provided with a drawer-type door. The form of the refrigerator 1 is not limited to that shown in FIG. 1. For example, the switch room 200 may not be provided.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a cross-sectional structure of the refrigerator 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 shows the A-A section of Fig. 1. The refrigerator 1 includes a compressor 2 on the back side of the vegetable compartment 500, and a blower 4 on the back side of the freezer compartment 400 that blows cool air cooled by the cooler 3 and the cooler 3 to each compartment in the refrigerator. The cold air cooled by the cooler 3 is blown to the freezing compartment 400, the switching compartment 200, the ice-making compartment 300, and the refrigerating compartment 100 through the air passage 5 used to be introduced into each storage compartment of the refrigerator 1. Room cooling. The vegetable compartment 500 is cooled by circulating the return cool air of the refrigerator compartment 100 through a return air passage (not shown) for the refrigerator compartment. Then, it returns to the cooler 3 via a return path (not shown) for vegetable compartments. The temperature of each storage room is detected by a thermistor (not shown) provided in each storage room, and an air lock (not shown) provided in the air passage 5 is adjusted by adjusting The opening degree of the compressor, the operating conditions of the compressor 2, and the amount of air supplied by the fan 4 are controlled to be preset temperatures.

In FIG. 2, the structure of each store room is shown typically. The arrows shown in FIG. 2 indicate cold airflow. The cold air cooled by the cooler 3 is sent to the ice making chamber 300 by the fan 4. The cold air is sent into the ice making chamber 300 through the cold air blowing outlet 6. An ice-making tray 11 is provided in the ice-making chamber 300 so as to be freely rotated by the driving unit 12. The cold air from the cold air blowing outlet 6 is supplied to the upper space 302 located above the ice making tray 11 and exchanges heat with the water stored on the ice making tray 11 to make ice. The ice maker tray 11 is surrounded by the ice maker cover 18 above and to the side so that cold air is supplied into the space 302 above the ice maker tray 11 between the ice maker 11 and the ice maker cover 18 and does not escape.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the ice-making device 10 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a top view of the ice-making device 10 of FIG. 3. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the ice-making device 10 of FIG. 4. Fig. 5 shows a B-B cross section of Fig. 4. The ice-making device 10 is disposed in the ice-making chamber 300. As shown in FIG. 2, the ice-making device 10 includes an ice storage box 301 below the ice-making tray 11, but it is omitted in FIGS. 3 to 5.

The upper part of the ice making tray 11 is covered by the ice maker cover 18, and an upper space 302 for cooling air circulation is formed between the ice making tray 11 and the ice maker cover 18. The ice making tray 11 is supported by a driving unit 12 arranged on the deep side of the ice making chamber 300 so as to be freely rotatable. The driving portion 12 is a device that twists the ice making tray 11 so that the ice made on the ice making tray 11 falls into the ice storage box 301. An ice detection lever 19 is provided below the ice tray 11 to detect the amount of ice accumulated in the ice storage box 301. The ice detection control lever 19 is in contact with the ice in the ice storage box 301, and when it cannot be lowered below a specific position, the ice tray 11 does not perform the ice separation action, thereby preventing the ice storage box 301 from being full.

As shown in FIG. 5, in the ice-making chamber 300, an upper blowing port 13 is provided above the ice-making tray 11 and closer to the deep side of the ice-making chamber 300 than the ice-making tray 11. The upper blowing port 13 blows the cold air from the cold air blowing port 6 located on the deep side of the ice making chamber 300 (that is, the back side of the refrigerator 1) and passes through the upper pipe 13a to the upper space 302 of the ice making tray 11. The upper tube 13a must bypass the depth of the ice tray 11 in the ice making chamber 300 The side is adjacent to the driving section 12. Therefore, the upper tube 13 a is provided adjacent to the upper portion of the driving portion 12, and the upper blowing port 13 is disposed adjacent to the driving portion 12.

The driving portion 12 is provided adjacent to the deep side of the ice making tray 11 in the ice making chamber 300. The driving unit 12 includes a mechanism for driving the ice tray 11 inside. Therefore, the upper part of the drive part 12 is provided so that it may protrude upward rather than the water storage part 11a of the ice tray 11. The upper air outlet 13 is opened further above the upper portion of the driving portion 12.

A top surface 18 a is provided above the water storage portion 11 a of the ice tray 11. The top surface 18 a is a lower surface of the ice maker cover 18, particularly a portion located above the ice making tray 11 and facing the water storage portion 11 a of the ice making tray 11. The top surface 18 a extends from the upper end 13 b of the upper blowing outlet 13 to the proximal end side of the ice-making chamber 300. The top surface 18a is horizontal from the upper end 13b of the upper air outlet 13 to the deep side end 11c of the water storage portion 11a of the ice tray 11, and the inclined surface portion 18b is provided from there to face the ice making chamber. The proximal side of 300 drops. That is, the top surface 18a is provided with an inclined surface portion 18b, which is closer to the ice-making chamber 300 toward the ice-making tray 11 in the region on the deeper side of the ice-making chamber 300. In addition, although the top surface 18a is a part of ice machine cover 18 in Embodiment 1, it is not limited to this form. The top surface 18 may be composed of other structures inside the ice making chamber 300. For example, it may be configured by a partition wall 150 that partitions the ice-making compartment 300 and the refrigerating compartment 100.

The inclined surface portion 18b of the top surface 18a is provided in a range from the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the ice tray 11 to the deep side. The inclined end portion 18c of the inclined surface portion 18b on the side closer to the ice tray 11 is located slightly above the deep side than the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the ice tray 11. In a range from the slope end portion 18 c to the proximal end side of the ice making chamber 300, the top surface 18 a and the water surface 11 b of the water storage portion 11 a of the ice tray 11 are almost parallel. The top surface 18a is formed so as not to disturb the turning trajectory of the ice making tray 11 when ice is dropped into the ice storage box 301. In FIG. 5, the top surface 18 a is located on the upper side than the upper limit line 15 of the turning locus of the ice tray 11.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the ice making tray 11 of the ice making device 10 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention as viewed from above. Fig. 6 is a schematic view of the C-C section of Fig. 5. A side blowing port 14 is provided on the side of the ice tray 11. The side blowing outlet 14 is provided in a wall of the ice maker cover 18 located on the side of the ice tray 11, and the opening faces In a direction crossing the direction in which the upper outlet 13 is opened. The side air outlet 14 is branched from the cold air outlet 6 located on the back side of the refrigerator 1 and blows the cold air passing through the side pipe 14 a to the space 302 above the ice making tray 11. The side pipe 14a is also provided to bypass the driving section 12 like the upper pipe 13a.

The position indicated by a dotted line in FIG. 5 as a rectangle indicates the position of the side blowout port 14. The side blowing port 14 blows cold air onto the water storage portion 11 a of the ice tray 11 near the driving portion 12. The side air outlet 14 is located below the lower end 13 c of the upper air outlet 13. That is, the side blowout port 14 is arranged to face a corner region formed by the upper part of the driving part and the water storage part 11 a of the ice making tray 11 in the upper space 302 of the ice making tray 11. In other words, the upper space 302 of the ice making tray 11 is divided into The region in the shape of a letter is surrounded by an upper end of the water storage portion 11a, an upper portion 12a of the drive portion, and an imaginary surface extending the lower end 13c of the upper blowout port 13 horizontally. The side outlet 14 faces this The inside area of the shape is open. In addition, the side blowout port 14 is located closer to the deep side of the ice making chamber 300 than the inclined end portion 18c of the inclined surface portion 18b provided on the top surface 18a. That is, the side blowing outlet 14 opens toward the space 302 above the ice tray 11 located below the inclined surface portion 18 b of the top surface 18 a of the ice making chamber 300.

As shown in FIG. 5, the cold air blown from the upper blowout port 13 flows along the inclined surface portion 18 b of the ice machine cover 18 extending in the blowout direction. Since the slope of the inclined surface portion 18b with respect to the blowing direction is 10 degrees or less, the pressure loss of the cold air flow is suppressed. The cold air blown out from the upper air outlet 13 and flowing along the top surface 18 a is difficult to escape from the top surface 18 a due to the wide effect, and easily reaches the near-end area of the ice making chamber 300.

In addition, the side blower outlet 14 is disposed below the lower end 13 c of the upper blower outlet 13, and is on the proximal end side of the driving portion 12 in the ice making chamber 300. Therefore, the cold air blown from the side air outlet 14 and the cold air blown from the upper air outlet 13 do not collide near the upper air outlet 13 or the side air outlet 14. Therefore, the cold air blown from the upper blower outlet 13 easily reaches the water storage portion 11 a on the ice tray 11 located on the proximal side of the ice making chamber 300.

The cold air blown from the side air outlet 14 is not obstructed by the cold air blown from the upper air outlet 13, and reaches the water storage portion 11a on the ice tray 11 near the driving portion 12.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing a structure of an ice-making device 110 according to a comparative example. FIG. 8 is an explanatory view of a cross-sectional structure perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the ice-making tray 11 including the upper blowing port 113 and the side blowing port 114 of the ice-making device 110 of FIG. 7. The ice-making device 110 of the comparative example is also installed in the refrigerator 1 like the ice-making device 10 of the first embodiment. In the ice-making device 110 of the comparative example, an upper pipe 113 a is provided above the ice-making tray 11, and a side pipe 114 a is provided on the side of the ice-making tray 11. The cold air blown from the cold air blow-out port 6 flows into the upper pipe 113a and the side pipe 114a in a branched manner. The cold air that has flowed into the upper pipe 113a is blown out from a plurality of upper blowing ports 113 provided below the upper pipe 113a. The upper blowing port 113 is arranged above the water storage portion 11 a of the ice tray 11 located on the proximal end side of the ice making chamber 300.

The cold air that has flowed into the side pipe 114a from the cold air outlet 6 is blown out from the plurality of side air outlets 114 on the side surface where the ice tray 11 on the side pipe 114a is located. The side blower outlet 114 is disposed on the side of the water storage portion 11 a of the ice tray 11 located on the deep side of the ice making chamber 300.

As shown in FIG. 8, the cold air blown from the upper air outlet 113 collides with the water level of the water stored in the water storage portion 11 a on the ice tray 11 vertically. Therefore, the cold air hitting the water surface bends horizontally and then turns upwards. That is, in the space 302 above the ice tray 11 located between the ice tray 11 and the lower surface of the upper tube 13a, cold air containing moisture is circulated in the vertical direction. The circulation of the cold air blown from the side air outlet 114 and the cold air blown from the upper air outlet 113 merges and circulates in the space 302 above the ice tray 11. Since the cold air containing moisture circulates in the upper space 302 of the ice tray 11, the frost adheres to the wall surface or the like facing the upper space 302. When more frost adheres, the frost may hinder the rotation of the ice making tray 11 initiated by the driving unit 12, which may cause problems such as the inability to make ice.

In addition, since the cold air from the upper air outlet 113 and the cold air from the side air outlet 114 collide, the cold air from the upper air outlet 113 flows to the side due to the cold airflow of the side air outlet 114. Therefore, the cold air cannot be evenly distributed on the ice making tray 11, which causes uneven ice making in each part of the ice making tray 11.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, the ice-making device 10 of Embodiment 1 blows out from an upper part The cold air blown by 13 passes along the top surface 18 a and passes above the side blowout port 14 without conflicting with the cool air blown out from the side blowout port 14. Therefore, the cold air blown out from the upper blowout port 13 does reach the water storage part 11a on the ice tray 11 located on the proximal side of the ice-making chamber 300. In addition, the cold air blown from the side blower outlet 14 is not taken away by the cool air from the upper blower outlet 13 and reaches the water storage portion 11 a on the drive portion 12 side of the ice tray 11.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the ice tray 11 of the ice-making device 10 of FIG. 4. FIG. 9 shows a cross section including the upper tube 13 a, the side tube 14 a, and the driving portion 12. From the height dimension h ₁ and the width dimension W ₁ in the cross section of the upper tube 13a, the equivalent diameter d _{1 of} the upper tube 13a is obtained by d ₁ = (h ₁ × W ₁ ) / (2h ₁ + 2W ₁ ) . Similarly, from the height dimension h ₂ and the width dimension W _{2 of} the side pipe 14a, the equivalent diameter of the side pipe 14a is obtained from d ₂ = (h ₂ × W ₂ ) / (2h ₂ + 2W ₂ ). d ₂ . In general, the pressure loss of the fluid in the tube is inversely proportional to the equivalent diameter d ₁ . That is, as the equivalent diameter d ₁ becomes smaller, the pressure of the fluid flowing through the tube decreases. If the pressure of the fluid in the tube decreases due to the pressure loss, the flow rate of the fluid in the tube decreases. In addition, the equivalent diameter d is calculated from a portion where the area of the cross section perpendicular to the flow direction of the cold air in the upper pipe 13a and the side pipe 14a is the smallest.

In the ice-making device 10 of Embodiment 1, the equivalent diameter d ₁ in the upper tube 13 a is smaller than the equivalent diameter d ₂ in the side tube 14 a. Therefore, the amount Q ₂ of cold air flowing to the side pipe 14 a is larger than the amount Q ₁ of cold air flowing to the upper pipe 13 a. Therefore, after the heat exchange between the cold air and the ambient air, the temperature rise of the cold air flowing through the upper pipe 13a having a small heat capacity is greater than the cold air flowing through the side pipe 14a. When the air temperature is t, e is the water vapor pressure, and P is the atmospheric pressure, the air density ρ can be obtained by the following formula, ρ = 1.293 × P / (1 + t / 273.15) × (1-0.378e / P). That is, the higher the air temperature, the lower the air density. Therefore, the density of the cold air flowing through the upper pipe 13a, which has increased in temperature due to heat exchange with the surrounding air, becomes smaller, and the density of the cold air flowing through the side pipe 14a and blown out from the side air outlet 14 is high. Therefore, the density of the cold air blown out from the upper blowout port 13 is smaller than that of the air blown out from the side blowout port 14, so buoyancy is generated. Due to this buoyancy, the cold air blown out from the upper blowout port 13 does not easily sink to the ice tray 11 side. Therefore, the cold air blown out from the upper air outlet 13 just now does not come into contact with the water stored in the ice making tray 11 for heat exchange, and is easily blown to the space above the ice making tray 11 on the near side of the ice making chamber 300. 302.

The cold air blown from the upper air outlet 13 does not sink in the vicinity of the driving portion 12 due to the buoyancy generated by the density difference between the cold air blown from the side air outlet 14 and the cold air. In addition, the cold air blown out from the upper blowout port 13 flows along the top surface 18a due to the wide effect at a position away from the drive unit 12. Therefore, the cold air that has not been heat-exchanged with water is supplied to the water storage portion 11 a on the ice-making tray 11 located on the proximal side of the ice-making chamber 300.

In addition, the cold air blown from the upper blowout port 13 does not make a sharp turn in the area on the side of the driving portion 12 on the ice tray 11, so there is no pressure loss due to tortuous flow. In addition, the top surface 18a is a smooth surface without a structure that obstructs flow such as protrusions, so there is little pressure loss of the cooling air and there is no reduction in the flow rate. Therefore, a sufficient amount of cooling air can be supplied to the ice making chamber 300. The water storage portion 11a of the ice tray 11 on the proximal side.

As shown in FIG. 6, the cold air blown from the side air outlet 14 is mainly supplied to the water storage portion 11 a of the ice tray 11 on the side of the driving portion 12, exchanges heat with water, and then flows to the near end of the ice making chamber 300. Side area. In the space 302 above the ice tray 11 on the proximal side of the ice making chamber 300, cold air enters the cold air return port 20 located on the side of the ice tray 11. In addition, the cold air blown out from the upper blowout port 13 and supplied to the water storage portion 11 a of the ice tray 11 on the proximal side of the ice making chamber 300 also enters the cold air return port 20 after heat exchange with water.

The cool air return port 20 equivalent diameter d ₃ of the equivalent diameter d of _a pipe 13a with the upper portion and the rear portion of said side tube conditions equivalent diameter d ₂ of 14a, satisfy. The equivalent diameter d ₃ of the cold air return port 20 is set to satisfy the relationship of 1 / d ₃ ≦ 1 / d ₁ + 1 / d ₂ . That is, the relationship of d ₃ ≧ d ₁ d ₂ / (d ₁ + d ₂ ) is satisfied. When the equivalent diameter d ₃ of the cold air return port 20 as the cold air flow exit side satisfies the above conditions, the pressure loss on the cold air flow exit side becomes small, and the inflow amount to the cold air return port 20 increases. Therefore, the cold air supplied to the upper space 302 of the ice tray 11 does not circulate and stay in the upper space 302 and easily enters the cold air return port 20. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the cold air containing moisture from circulating in the upper space 302 and to suppress frost formation in the ice making chamber 300. In addition, since the equivalent diameter d _{3 of the} cold air return port 20 satisfies the above conditions, the flow rate of the cold air flowing through the upper space 302 of the ice tray 11 is also increased.

As described above, the water accumulated on the driving portion 12 side of the ice tray 11 is mainly cooled by the cold air blown out from the side blowing port 14. In addition, the water accumulated on the ice tray 11 on the proximal side of the ice making chamber 300 is mainly cooled by the cold air blown from the upper air outlet 13. In this way, the cold air is evenly distributed on the ice making tray 11, so that the ice is evenly made on the ice making tray 11. The ice-making device of the present invention does not need to add components such as a top wind path to a conventional ice-making device, can supply cold air to the entire ice-making tray in a low-cost and space-saving manner, and can perform uniform ice-making.

(Effect of Embodiment 1)

(1) The ice-making device 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention is an ice-making device 10 provided in the refrigerator 1 and includes an ice-making chamber 300 in which the interior is arranged from the proximal side to the deep side of the refrigerator 1 and faces the long side. Ice tray 11 in the direction; upper blow-out port 13 is arranged above the deep side of the ice-making chamber 300 than the ice tray 11 and blows cold air to the upper space 302 of the ice-cup 11; the side blow-out port 14 Its opening is in a direction intersecting with the opening direction of the upper outlet 13 and blows cold air to the upper space 302 of the ice tray 11. The side air outlet 14 is provided below the upper air outlet 13.

With this structure, the cold air blown from the upper air outlet 13 and the cold air blown from the side air outlet 14 do not collide with each other near the upper air outlet 13 and the side air outlet, and can reach a specific area on the ice tray 11 . Therefore, the cold air blown from the upper blowing port 13 reaches the water storage portion 11 a of the ice tray 11 located on the proximal side of the ice-making chamber 300. In addition, the cold air blown from the side blowing outlet 14 reaches the water storage portion 11 a of the ice tray 11 located on the deep side of the ice making chamber 300. In this way, it is not necessary to install a tube in the upper part, and it is possible to supply cold air to the entire water storage portion 11 a on the ice making tray 11, thereby saving space and performing ice making uniformly on the ice making tray 11.

(2) According to the ice-making device 10 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, the ice-making tray 11 is arranged so that the water storage portion 11a to be iced faces upward, and the ice-making chamber 300 has a top surface 18a, which is located above the water storage portion 11a and It is opposite to the water storage part 11a. The top surface 18a has an inclined surface portion 18b, which is closer to the proximal end from the deep side of the ice making chamber 300 The side is lowered toward the ice tray 11. The inclined end portion 18 c of the inclined surface portion 18 b located on the side closer to the ice tray 11 is located closer to the ice-making chamber 300 than the side blowing port 14.

With this configuration, the side air outlet 14 is located below the inclined surface portion 18b of the top surface 18a. Therefore, the cold air blown from the upper air outlet 13 passes through the cold air blown from the side air outlet 14 and easily reaches the ice making location. The water storage portion 11a of the ice tray 11 on the proximal side of the chamber 300. In addition, since the cold air blown from the upper blowing port 13 flows along the gentle inclined surface portion 18b, it is possible to suppress the pressure loss and suppress the decrease in the flow rate.

(3) The ice-making device 10 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention includes a driving section 12 that rotates the ice-making tray 11. The upper blowing port 13 is arranged above the driving section 12, and the side blowing port 14 is arranged to be driven. The portion 12 is closer to the proximal end side of the ice-making chamber 300.

(4) In addition, the driving unit 12 is disposed on the deep side of the ice-making chamber 300 than the ice-making tray 11 and is adjacent to the ice-making tray 11, and is arranged so that the upper portion 12 a of the driving portion is more upward than the ice-making tray 11. Party highlights. The side blowout opening 14 opens toward a corner area formed by the upper end of the ice making tray 11 and the upper portion 12 a of the driving portion in the upper space 302 of the ice making tray 11.

With this configuration, the side air outlet 14 supplies cold air to the upper end of the ice tray 11 and the corner portion of the upper portion 12a of the driving unit. Therefore, it is not necessary to make a sharp turn of the cold air blown from the upper air outlet 13 to supply the cold air to this corner. unit. Therefore, the cold air blown from the upper air outlet 13 does not need to be deflected, and the pressure loss can be suppressed.

(5) The ice-making device 10 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention includes a cold air blowing outlet 6 that blows cold air, an upper pipe 13a branching from the cold air blowing outlet 6 and connected to the upper blowing outlet 13, and from the cold air blowing outlet 6. It is branched and connected to the side pipe 14 a of the side blow-out port 14. The equivalent diameter d ₁ of the cross section of the upper tube 13 a is smaller than the equivalent diameter d ₂ of the cross section of the side tube 14 a.

With this configuration, the density of the cold air blown from the upper air outlet 13 is smaller than that of the cold air blown from the side air outlet 14, and it is difficult to sink. Therefore, the cold air does not sink as soon as it comes out of the upper air outlet 13, but easily flows along the top surface 18a.

(6) The ice-making device 10 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention includes a cold air return port 20 through which cold air flows after being blown out from the upper air outlet 13 and the side air outlet 14, and the equivalent diameter d _{3 of the} cold air return port 20 It is larger than the equivalent diameter d ₂ of the cross section of the side pipe 14a.

With such a configuration, the cold air supplied to the upper space 302 of the ice tray 11 does not circulate and stay in the upper space 302 and easily enters the cold air return port 20. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the cold air containing moisture from circulating in the upper space 302 and to suppress frost formation in the ice making chamber 300.

Claims (10)

An ice-making device is an ice-making device provided in a refrigerator. The ice-making device includes: an ice-making chamber, and an ice-making tray facing the long side from the proximal side to the deep side of the refrigerator is arranged inside; It is located above the deep ice side of the previous ice making chamber than the previous ice making tray, and blows cold air to the upper space of the previous ice making tray. The side blowout opening is opened in a direction crossing the opening direction of the upper blow opening of the previous write. , Blow out the cool air of the previous note to the space above the previous note of the ice tray of the previous note; the side blow outlet of the first note is arranged below the upper blow outlet of the first note. As in the ice making device described in item 1 of the scope of patent application, the former ice making tray is configured so that the ice storage part faces upward; the former ice making chamber has a top surface that is located above the former storage part and is in contact with the former storage part Opposite; the top surface of the preface has an inclined surface, which decreases toward the preface ice tray as it goes from the deep side of the preface ice-making chamber to the near side; the oblique end of the preface inclined surface located near the side of the preface ice tray, It is located closer to the front ice making chamber than the side blow outlet of the previous note. The ice-making device according to item 1 or 2 of the scope of patent application, which includes a driving unit for rotating the ice-making disc of the former; the upper-side blowing outlet of the former is arranged above the driving-side of the former; The part is closer to the proximal side of the former ice making chamber. According to the ice-making device described in item 3 of the scope of patent application, the preamble driving unit is disposed on the deeper side of the pre-recording ice compartment than the pre-recording ice tray and adjacent to the pre-recording ice tray, and is arranged so that the drive unit The upper part protrudes more upwards than the previous ice tray; the side blow outlet of the first laptop faces the corner area formed by the upper end of the previous ice tray and the upper part of the previous drive section in the space above the previous laptop. The ice-making device according to item 1 or 2 of the scope of the patent application, which includes: a cold air outlet that blows out the previous cold air; an upper pipe that branches from the previous cold air outlet and is connected to the upper blow outlet of the former; The side pipe connected to the side blowout port of the previous note; the equivalent diameter d ₁ of the cross section of the upper pipe of the previous note is smaller than the equivalent diameter d ₂ of the cross section of the former side pipe. The ice-making device as described in item 5 of the scope of the patent application, which includes a cold air return port into which the cold air flow from the upper air outlet and a side blow outlet of the previous air are introduced; the equivalent diameter of the cold air return port d ₃ satisfies d ₃ ≧ d ₁ d ₂ / (d ₁ + d ₂ ). The ice-making device described in item 3 of the patent application scope includes: a cold air outlet that blows out the previous cold air; an upper pipe that branches from the previous cold air outlet and connects to the upper blow outlet of the former; The side pipe to the side blowout port of the preceding note; the equivalent diameter d ₁ of the cross section of the preceding upper pipe is smaller than the equivalent diameter d ₂ of the cross section of the preceding side pipe. The ice-making device as described in item 7 of the scope of the patent application, which has a cold air return port into which the cold air flow from the upper air outlet and a side blow outlet of the previous air has entered; the equivalent diameter of the cold air return port d ₃ meets d ₃ ≧ d ₁ d ₂ / (d ₁ + d ₂ ). The ice-making device described in item 4 of the scope of the patent application includes: a cold air outlet that blows out the previous cold air; an upper pipe that branches from the previous cold air outlet and connects to the upper blow outlet of the previous; The side pipe to the side blowout port of the preceding note; the equivalent diameter d ₁ of the cross section of the preceding upper pipe is smaller than the equivalent diameter d ₂ of the cross section of the preceding side pipe. The ice-making device as described in item 9 of the scope of the patent application, which has a cold air return port into which the cold air flow from the upper air outlet and a side blow outlet of the previous air has entered; the equivalent diameter of the cold air return port d ₃ meets d ₃ ≧ d ₁ d ₂ / (d ₁ + d ₂ ).