EP2057431A1

EP2057431A1 - Ice making apparatus and refregerator comprising the same

Info

Publication number: EP2057431A1
Application number: EP07793578A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Dong-Hoon Lee; Wook-Yong Lee
Original assignee: LG Electronics Inc
Current assignee: LG Electronics Inc
Priority date: 2006-08-29
Filing date: 2007-08-20
Publication date: 2009-05-13
Also published as: KR101320820B1; KR20080019904A; CN101490488A; WO2008026843A1; CN101490488B; EP2057431A4; US20100275635A1

Abstract

Provided are an ice maker and a refrigerator including the same. An ice maker is mounted on a rear side of a door. Flooding of water stored in an ice tray is prevented by a tray cover. Also, an ice bank storing ice made from the ice maker is taken in and out through a home bar provided to the door. Therefore, reduction in the storage capacity of the refrigerator is minimized, and simul¬ taneously, the ice can be easily taken out.

Description

ICE MAKING APPARATUS AND REFRIGERATOR COMPRISING THE SAME

Technical Field

[1] The present disclosure relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to an ice maker provided to a refrigerator to make ice and the refrigerator having the same. Background Art

[2] An ice maker for making ice is provided to a refrigerator brought to the market recently. The ice maker is an apparatus for making ice automatically or manually. As an example of the ice maker, there is an ice maker including a plurality of ice cubes for making ice, and an ice tray twisted for separating made ice from the ice cubes. The ice made from the ice maker is stored in an ice bank.

[3] However, according to the above-described related art ice maker, there are the following limitations.

[4] First, the related art ice maker is installed inside a storage space of the refrigerator in general. Therefore, a storage capacity of the refrigerator substantially reduces by the volume of the ice maker.

[5] Also, as described above, in case of the related art ice maker including the ice tray, there is a possibility that water stored in the ice cubes falls down to an outside by external impact before the water is frozen. For example, the water stored in the ice cubes may flood into an outside, i.e., the storage space of the refrigerator by an impact generated during a process of opening/closing a refrigerator door.

[6] Furthermore, the storage space should be opened by opening the refrigerator door to use the ice stored in the ice bank. Therefore, using the ice may be inconvenient. Disclosure of Invention Technical Problem

[7] Embodiments provide an ice tray configured to minimize reduction in a storage capacity of a refrigerator, and the refrigerator including the same.

[8] Embodiments also provide an ice tray configured to minimize a phenomenon that water for making ice floods into an outside during a process of opening/closing a refrigerator door, and the refrigerator including the same. Technical Solution

[9] In one embodiment, an ice maker includes: an ice tray rotatably installed on a rear side of a refrigerator door, and including ice cubes for making ice; and a tray cover rotating in cooperation with rotation of the ice tray to selectively open/close the ice cubes. [10] In another embodiment, an ice maker includes: a support frame mounted on a rear side of a refrigerator door; an ice tray rotatably installed to the support frame, and storing water for making ice; and a tray cover rotatably installed in relative to the ice tray, and preventing the water stored in the ice tray from flooding.

[11] In further another embodiment, a refrigerator includes: a main body including a storage space; a door for selectively opening/closing the storage space; and an ice maker according to one of claims 1 to 17, mounted on a rear side of the door.

Advantageous Effects

[12] According to the present disclosure, reduction in a storage capacity of a refrigerator is minimized, and simultaneously, water for making ice is prevented from flooding to an outside, and ice can be easily taken in and out.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[13] Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of a refrigerator including an ice maker according to an embodiment. [14] Fig. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the inside of a refrigerator including an embodiment.

[15] Fig. 3 is a perspective view illustrating an embodiment.

[16] Fig. 4 is a perspective view illustrating an ice tray and a tray cover according to an embodiment. [17] Figs. 5 to 8 are vertical cross-sectional views explaining an operating process according to an embodiment. [18] Fig. 9 is a perspective view illustrating an ice tray and a tray cover forming an ice maker according to another embodiment.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention [19] An ice maker of the present disclosure will now be made in detail according to the embodiment thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings. [20] Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of a refrigerator including an ice maker according to an embodiment, and Fig. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the inside of a refrigerator including an embodiment. [21] Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the refrigerator includes a main body 1, a freezing chamber door 4, and a cooling chamber door 5. A storage space for storing food is provided inside the main body 1. The storage space is divided left and right to form a freezing chamber 2 and a cooling chamber 3. The freezing chamber door 4 and the cooling chamber door 5 selectively open/close the freezing chamber 2 and the cooling chamber 3, respectively. The freezing chamber door 4 and the cooling chamber door 5 are rotatably installed in the main body 1. [22] Meanwhile, a home bar 6 is provided to the freezing chamber door 4 (referred to as a door hereinafter). The home bar 6 is designed for taking in and out food without opening the door 4 to open the freezing chamber 2. The home bar 6 includes a home bar housing 8 and a home bar door 7. The home bar housing 8 is provided on the rear side of the door 4. A storage space for storing food is formed between the rear side of the door 4 and the inner side of the home bar housing 8. Also, the upper end of the home bar door 7 vertically rotates around the lower end of the home bar door 7 at the door 4 to selectively open/close the home bar housing 8.

[23] Also, an ice maker 10 is mounted on the rear side of the door 4. The ice maker 10 is designed for making ice, and detailed description thereof will be described below.

[24] An ice bank 60 is installed on the rear side of the door 4 that corresponds to a portion below the ice maker 10 such that the ice bank 60 can be taken in and out. The ice bank 60 stores ice made by the ice tray 30. The ice bank 60 is taken out from the rear side of the door 4 through the home bar 6.

[25] Fig. 3 is a perspective view illustrating an embodiment, and Fig. 4 is a perspective view illustrating an ice tray and a tray cover according to an embodiment.

[26] Referring to Figs. 3 and 4, the ice maker 10 includes a support frame 20 mounted on the rear side of the door 4, an ice tray 30 rotatably installed at the support frame 20, a tray cover 40 for selectively opening/closing the ice tray 30, and a control housing 50.

[27] The support frame 20 is formed in a rectangular frame shape. A mounting part 21 for being mounted onto the rear side of the door 4 is provided on the upper surface of one of the long sides of the support frame 20. Support holes 23 for rotation of the ice tray 30 are formed in the short sides of the support frame 20. A hooking threshold (not shown) is provided on one of the short sides of the support frame 20. The hooking threshold horizontally supports the ice tray 30, and simultaneously, allows the ice tray 30 that has rotated by a predetermined angle to be twisted. Since the hooking threshold is an obvious structure in a related art twisting type ice maker, detailed description thereof is omitted.

[28] Also, a stopper protrusion 25 is provided to one of the long sides of the support frame 20. The stopper protrusion 25 allows the tray cover 40 to rotate in relative to the ice tray 30. For this purpose, the front end of the stopper protrusion 25 is so located as to deviate from the rotation trace of the ice tray 30 but overlap the rotation trace of the tray cover 40. Therefore, the stopper protrusion 25 does not interfere with rotation of the ice tray 30 but interferes with rotation of the tray cover 40.

[29] The ice tray 30 is formed in a rectangular shape corresponding to the inside of the support frame 20. The ice tray 30 includes a plurality of ice cubes 31 storing water for making ice. Rotational shafts 33 are provided to the short sides of the ice tray 30, respectively. Each rotational shaft 33 is inserted into and supported by the support hole 23.

[30] The tray cover 40 substantially prevents the water stored in the ice cubes 31 from flooding into an outside. For this purpose, the tray cover 40 selectively opens/closes the ice tray 30, more specifically, the ice cubes 31. In an embodiment, the tray cover

40 is formed in a semi-cylindrical corresponding to the rotation trace of the ice tray 30. [31] A water supply opening 41 is provided to the tray cover 40. The water supply opening 41 is designed for storing water in the ice cubes 31. The water supply opening

41 is formed by cutting a portion of the tray cover 40. The projection of the water supply opening 41 overlaps at least a portion of all the ice cubes 31.

[32] A contact rib for selectively contacting the upper edge of the ice tray 30 is provided on the inner periphery of the tray cover 40. The contact rib 43 protrudes from both ends on the inner periphery of the tray cover 40. A height to which the contact rib 43 protrudes may be determined in a range that rotation of the ice tray 30 does not interfere with the contact rib 43.

[33] Meanwhile, the tray cover 40 is installed to rotate in relative to the ice tray 30. For this purpose, one of the long sides of the tray cover 40 is rotatably connected to one of the long sides of the ice tray 30 by a rotation member 45 (refer to Fig. 5). At this point, the long sides of the ice tray 30 and the tray cover 40 connected to each other by the rotation member 45 are the long sides of the ice tray 30 and the tray cover 40 that are separated from the stopper protrusion 25. The rotation member 45 may be a hinge shaft provided to one of the ice tray 30 and the tray cover 40, and a hinge hole provided to the other of the ice tray 30 and the tray cover 40 to receive the hinge shaft.

[34] Also, the control housing 50 is provided to the outer surface of one of the short sides of the support frame 20. Various parts including a motor (not shown) for rotating the ice tray 30 are provided inside the control housing 50. That is, the ice tray 30 is rotated by driving force delivered from the motor.

[35] The operation of an ice maker according to an embodiment is described below in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[36] Figs. 5 to 8 are vertical cross-sectional views explaining an operating process according to an embodiment.

[37] Referring to Fig. 5, while the ice tray 30 is supported by the threshold to maintain a horizontally balanced state, the ice cubes 31 are shielded by the tray cover 40. At this point, the contact rib 43 is closely attached on the upper edge of the ice tray 30. Therefore, shielding of the ice cubes 31 by the tray cover 40 is more efficiently performed.

[38] Referring to Fig. 6, the ice cubes 31 store water for making ice. The water W stored in the cubes 31 is delivered through the water supply opening 41. Therefore, a phenomenon that the water W is flooded into an outside by the tray cover 40 while the water W is supplied to the ice cubes 31 is prevented.

[39] Referring to Fig. 7, the water W stored in the ice cubes 31 is frozen by cooling air circulating through the freezing chamber 2 (refer to Fig. 2), so that ice is made. When the ice I is made, the ice tray 30 starts to rotate counterclockwise around the rotational shaft 33 using driving force from the motor. When the ice tray 30 rotates, the tray cover 40 also rotates counterclockwise around the rotational shaft 33 when seen from the drawing in cooperation with the ice tray 30. When the ice tray 30 rotates counterclockwise by a predetermined angle, one of the long sides of the tray cover 40 rotating in cooperation with the ice tray 30 is closely attached on the stopper protrusion 25. When one of the long sides of the tray cover 40 is closely attached on the stopper protrusion 25, rotation of the tray cover 40 that operates in cooperation with the rotation of the ice tray 30 interferes with the stopper protrusion 25.

[40] Referring to Fig. 8, with one of the long sides of the tray cover 40 closely attached on the stopper protrusion 25, the rotation of the tray cover 40 in cooperation with the rotation of the ice tray 30 interferes with the stopper protrusion 25 even when the ice tray 30 continues to rotate counterclockwise. Accordingly, the tray cover 40 does not rotate in cooperation with the rotation of the ice tray 30. That is, when the ice tray 30 rotates clockwise around the rotational shaft 33, the tray cover 40 rotates clockwise in relative to the ice tray 30 around the rotation member 45. Therefore, the ice cubes 31 is opened while they are shielded by the tray cover 40. Also, the contact ribs 43 are separated from each other while they contact the upper edges of the ice tray 30.

[41] When the ice tray 30 continues to rotate counterclockwise, one side of the ice tray

30 is closely attached on the hooking threshold, and thus the ice tray 30 is twisted, ice I made from the ice cubes 31 is separated from the ice cubes 31. The separated ice I falls down due to its own weight and is stored in the ice bank 60 (refer to Fig. X).

[42] Meanwhile, the ice I is stored in the ice bank 60, a user can take out the ice bank 60 through the home bar 6 (refer to Figs. 1 and 2) to use the ice I. Therefore, it is possible to minimize a phenomenon that cooling air from the freezing chamber 2 leaks to an outside while the ice I stored in the ice bank 60 is used. Mode for the Invention

[43] An ice maker and a refrigerator including the same according to another embodiment will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[44] Fig. 9 is a perspective view illustrating an ice tray and a tray cover forming an ice maker according to another embodiment.

[45] Referring to Fig. 9, a tray cover 40 for selectively shielding ice cubes 31 of an ice tray 30 rotating around a rotational shaft 33 is formed in a rectangular plate shape. At this point, the tray cover 40 may be formed in a size that can extend to the outside of the ice tray 30. Also, a water supply opening 41 for supplying water to be stored in the ice cubes 31 is formed in the tray cover 40. Since other elements of the embodiment of Fig. 9 are the same as those of the previous embodiment, detailed descriptions thereof are omitted.

[46] It should be understood that numerous other modifications and embodiments can be devised by those skilled in the art that will fall within the spirit and scope of the principles of this disclosure. Also, the scope of the present disclosure should be construed on the basis of the appended claims. Industrial Applicability

[47] An ice maker and a refrigerator including the same according to the present disclosure provides the following effects.

[48] First, according to an embodiment, an ice maker is mounted in a refrigerator door.

Accordingly, the ice maker prevents reduction in the storage capacity of a storage space of a refrigerator, so that a larger amount of food can be stored in the refrigerator.

[49] According to an embodiment, a tray cover is provided to prevent water stored in an ice tray from flooding. Accordingly, a phenomenon that the water stored in the ice tray floods by an impact generated when a refrigerator door is opened/closed is prevented, so that a refrigerator can be used more cleanly.

[50] Also, according to an embodiment, an ice bank storing ice can be taken in and out by opening a home bar door without opening a refrigerator door. Accordingly, the ice can be taken out more simply.

[51] Furthermore, according to an embodiment, since ice can be taken out by opening/ closing a home bar door, leakage of cooling air flowing through a storage space is minimized. Therefore, a refrigerator can be used more economically.

Claims

[I] An ice maker comprising: an ice tray rotatably installed on a rear side of a refrigerator door, and including ice cubes for making ice; and a tray cover rotating in cooperation with rotation of the ice tray to selectively open/close the ice cubes. [2] The ice maker according to claim 1, wherein a water supply opening for supplying water to the ice cubes is provided to the tray cover. [3] The ice maker according to claim 1, wherein the tray cover is connected to the ice tray such that it is rotatable in relative to the ice tray. [4] The ice maker according to claim 3, further comprising a stopper member for rotating the tray cover in relative to the ice tray, the tray cover rotating in cooperation with rotation of the ice tray. [5] The ice maker according to claim 4, wherein at least a portion of the stopper member is so located as to deviate from a rotation trace of the ice tray and to overlap a rotation trace of the tray cover.

[6] The ice maker according to claim 1, wherein the tray cover is formed in a semi- cylindrical shape having a horizontal semicircular cross-section perpendicular to an extension line of a rotational shaft of the ice tray. [7] The ice maker according to claim 6, wherein a contact rib for contacting an upper edge of the ice tray is provided to the tray cover. [8] The ice maker according to claim 7, wherein the contact rib protrudes from an inner periphery of the tray cover. [9] The ice maker according to claim 1, wherein the tray cover is formed in a plate shape. [10] The ice maker according to claim 9, wherein the tray cover is formed in a size extending to an outside of the ice tray.

[I I] An ice maker comprising: a support frame mounted on a rear side of a refrigerator door; an ice tray rotatably installed to the support frame, and storing water for making ice; and a tray cover installed to be rotable in relative to the ice tray, and preventing the water stored in the ice tray from flooding.

[12] The ice maker according to claim 11, wherein the tray cover operates in cooperation with the ice tray rotating with respect to the support frame to rotate in the same direction as a rotation direction of the ice tray, and then rotates in an opposite direction to the rotation direction of the ice tray in relative to the ice tray to separate the ice. [13] The ice maker according to claim 11, wherein a stopper member provided to the support frame allows the tray cover to rotate in relative to the ice tray while the tray cover rotates in cooperation with rotation of the ice tray with respect to the support frame. [14] The ice maker according to claim 13, wherein the stopper member is provided on one side of the support frame that corresponds to a position deviating from a rotation trace of the ice tray. [15] The ice maker according to claim 11, further comprising a contact member for closely attaching the ice tray onto the tray cover. [16] The ice maker according to claim 15, wherein the contact member comprises a contact rib protruding from the tray cover and contacting an upper edge of the ice tray. [17] The ice maker according to claim 11, wherein the ice tray rotates using driving force provided from a motor. [18] A refrigerator comprising: a main body including a storage space; a door for selectively opening/closing the storage space; and an ice maker according to one of claims 1 to 17, the ice maker being mounted on a rear side of the door. [19] The refrigerator according to claim 18, further comprising an ice bank installed on a rear side of the door that corresponds to a lower portion below the ice maker such that the ice bank is taken in and out, the ice bank storing ice made from the ice maker. [20] The refrigerator according to claim 19, wherein the ice bank is taken in and out through a home bar provided to the door.