KR101324167B1 - An apparatus for water purifier having plural ice making modes and a methoed for ice making - Google Patents

Abstract

One embodiment of the ice manufacturing method of the water purifier having a plurality of ice making mode of the present invention, the ice making selection step of any one of the transparent ice ice making mode or the general ice making mode; An ice-making water supplying step in which ice-making water is supplied from the purified water tank or the cold water tank to the ice-making tank according to the selected ice-making mode; And an ice making step for selectively making transparent ice or general ice using the supplied ice making water.

Description

Water purifier with a plurality of ice making mode and ice manufacturing method {AN APPARATUS FOR WATER PURIFIER HAVING PLURAL ICE MAKING MODES AND A METHOED FOR ICE MAKING}

The present invention relates to a water purifier having a plurality of ice making modes that can improve the user's convenience by providing a transparent ice or an opaque general ice and a method of manufacturing ice.

The water purifier provides the user with purified water and hot or cold water. The water purifier capable of supplying ice is provided with an ice making device, an ice container for storing the ice iced by the ice making device, and an ice transfer device for transferring the ice to discharge the stored ice to the outside.

The ice making device cools the ice making water by using a refrigerant cycle, and generates ice. The ice making device is generally dropped and stored in an ice storage container to efficiently make ice and store it. However, when ice is generated using such a refrigerant cycle, air contained in the ice-making water does not escape during ice-making and is generated as opaque general ice.

Recent trends that call for greater convenience in life offer transparent ice instead of opaque ice to satisfy visual aesthetics. Generating such transparent ice generally agitates or vibrates the ice making water contained in the ice making tank so that ice is slowly produced to give time for air to escape.

However, in this case, ice making takes a lot of time, and the user may not necessarily want transparent ice. Nevertheless, it is problematic to provide only transparent ice that is expensive and time consuming.

In addition, the user does not necessarily need transparent ice, but may require ice having an appropriate degree of transparency. However, in the case of the conventional general ice water purifier has a problem that can not adjust the transparency to meet the needs of these consumers.

KR 10-2006-0060449 A

The present invention is to solve the problems of the prior art as described above, according to the needs of the user to provide a water purifier ice manufacturing method and water purifier to provide a transparent ice or opaque general ice without a separate device The purpose.

In addition, an object of the present invention is to provide a water purifier ice manufacturing method and water purifier to improve the user convenience by adjusting the transparency of the ice according to the user's needs.

The present invention provides the following technical configuration as a means of solving the above problems.

One embodiment of the ice manufacturing method of the water purifier having a plurality of ice making mode of the present invention, the ice making selection step of any one of the transparent ice ice making mode or the general ice making mode; An ice-making water supplying step in which ice-making water is supplied from the purified water tank or the cold water tank to the ice-making tank according to the selected ice-making mode; And an ice making step for selectively making transparent ice or general ice using the supplied ice making water.

When the transparent ice ice making mode is selected in the ice making step, ice making water is supplied from the purified water tank to the ice making tank in the ice making water supplying step.

The embodiment may further include a temperature measuring step of measuring a temperature of the ice-making water through a temperature sensor provided in the ice-making tank after the ice-making water is supplied, wherein the ice-making step is the temperature of the measured ice-making water is above a set temperature In the ice making method using the ice making means, and if the measured temperature of the ice-making water is less than the set temperature, after the temperature of the ice-making water is heated above the set temperature, the ice making means using the ice making means.

Here, in the ice making step, the temperature of the raw water is heated to a predetermined temperature or more by an ice making means or a heating means provided in the ice making tank.

The set temperature in the ice making step is characterized in that at least 15 ℃ or more.

In the above embodiment, the transparent ice making mode may be further selected when the transparent ice making mode is selected.

In the transparency selection step, the transparency of at least two transparent ice may be selected.

The set temperature of the ice making step is determined by the transparency selected in the transparency selection step.

Meanwhile, when the general ice ice making mode is selected in the ice making selection step, ice making water is supplied from the cold water tank to the ice making tank in the ice making water supplying step.

On the other hand, one embodiment of the water purifier having a plurality of ice making mode of the present invention, the water purification tank for storing the purified water at room temperature; A cold water tank for storing cold water; An ice making tank receiving ice making water from the purified water tank or the cold water tank to provide a space where ice is generated; Ice making means capable of cooling the ice making water accommodated in the ice making tank to make transparent ice or general ice; Selection means for inputting a selection of transparent ice or general ice ice making; And a controller for selectively supplying ice-making water from the water purification tank or the cold water tank to the ice-making tank according to the selection input by the selection means.

Here, the water purifier includes a water purification valve for opening and closing a flow path from the water purification tank to the ice making tank; And a cold water tank valve for opening and closing a flow path from the cold water tank to the ice making tank, wherein the control unit opens and closes the purified water tank valve or cold water tank valve to selectively remove ice making water from the purified water tank or cold water tank to the ice making tank. It is characterized by controlling to supply.

The water purifier may further include heating means for heating the ice making water accommodated in the ice making tank, and the control unit controls the heating means when the transparent ice is selected by the selecting means so that the ice making water is equal to or higher than a set temperature. It is characterized by adjusting to.

The selection means may input a selection of at least two or more transparency of the transparent ice, the set temperature is determined by the transparency, the control unit controls the heating means if the transparency is selected by the selection means The ice-making water is characterized in that it is adjusted to be above the set temperature.

On the other hand, the ice making means consists of a refrigerating cycle consisting of an evaporator, a compressor, a condenser, an expander through which the refrigerant sequentially passes, a plurality of fingers provided in the evaporator to pass the refrigerant in contact with the ice making water accommodated in the ice making tank ice Create

The present invention has the following effects by the technical configuration as described above.

According to the present invention, transparent ice or opaque general ice can be provided without a separate device according to a user's need, thereby reducing costs and improving user convenience.

In addition, the present invention has the effect of improving the user convenience by being able to adjust the transparency of the ice according to the user's needs.

1 and 2 is a flow chart showing an embodiment of the ice manufacturing method of the water purifier having a plurality of ice making mode of the present invention.
Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of the ice making apparatus of the water purifier of the present invention.
4 is a schematic view showing a specific example of the ice making means.
5 is a schematic diagram showing control by a controller;
Figure 6 is a flow chart showing another embodiment of the ice manufacturing method of the water purifier having a plurality of ice making mode of the present invention.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described a specific content for practicing the present invention through an embodiment of the present invention.

The water purifier of this embodiment is a main body forming an external appearance, a filter installed at the center of the main body to purify raw water flowing into the main body, a water purification tank 10 storing water filtered from the filter, and the water purification tank It is configured to include a hot water tank including a heater for heating the water from, and a cold water tank (40) including a refrigeration cycle (50) for generating cold water. In addition, it is configured to include a hot water taking cock and a cold water taking cock which is connected to the hot water tank and the cold water tank, respectively, and protrudes to the outside of the main body to collect the cold water and the hot water, and each configuration includes a hose and a control forming a water channel. They are interconnected with wires for These components are not shown in detail because they correspond to the components commonly used in water purifiers, etc., and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Figure 3 shows an embodiment of a water purifier having a plurality of ice making mode of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 3, the water purifier according to the present embodiment may receive ice water from the purified water tank 10 storing the purified water at room temperature, the cold water tank 40 storing the cold water, and the ice water or cold water tank to generate ice. Ice-making tank 20 for providing a space, and ice-making means 30 for cooling the ice-making water accommodated in the ice-making tank to make transparent ice or general ice.

The water purification tank 10 is a configuration for temporarily storing purified water passed through a filter or the like. This is to ensure a constant amount of purified water irrespective of the water purification capability of the filter. In this embodiment, the purified water stored in the purified water tank 10 is supplied to the ice making tank 20 where ice is generated. As shown in Figure 3 is provided with a supply passage 12 for supplying the ice-making water from the purified water tank to the ice-making tank and the purified water tank valve 11 for adjusting and opening and closing the flow rate. In addition, a purified water extraction passage 13 for sending purified water to a purified water extraction cock (not shown) in order to take out the purified water stored in the purified water tank may be further provided.

The ice making tank 20 is configured to receive and receive ice making water from the water purification tank. Accordingly, a space for accommodating a certain amount of ice making water is provided. Some of the ice-making water of the ice-making tank becomes ice by ice making means to be described later, and the rest is drained to the outside or used as cold water through a filter or the like.

The ice generated in the ice making tank 20 is separated from the ice making means 30 and accommodated in the ice storage tank 60 provided in the lower part of the ice making tank by the driving means 70 for rotating the ice making tank. In addition, the ice storage tank may further include an ice removal means (not shown) for transferring the generated and stored ice to the outlet. As the moving means, a screw or the like connected to a driving motor may be used.

The ice making means 30 is an apparatus for generating ice by cooling the ice making water accommodated in the ice making tank. The ice making means is shown in more detail in FIG. 4. Referring to Figure 4, the ice making means 30 is composed of a refrigeration cycle consisting of an evaporator 34, a compressor 31, a condenser 32, an expander 33 through which the refrigerant sequentially passes.

The compressor 31 compresses the refrigerant at a high temperature and high pressure, and the condenser 32 heat-exchanges the refrigerant of the high temperature and high pressure from the compressor in a state of low temperature and high pressure, and expands the refrigerant from the condenser in the expander 33 to obtain a low temperature and low pressure. In the evaporator 34, the refrigerant evaporates by heat exchange between the refrigerant and the ice-making water contained in the ice making tank 20. A refrigeration cycle is formed by the above configuration, and the components are connected through a pipe to form a flow path 38a of the refrigerant. In addition, a shock absorber (accumulator) 36 which separates the liquid refrigerant moving together with the steam and sends only the refrigerant in the vapor state to the compressor may be further provided, and a condenser fan 32a may be further provided to increase the efficiency of the condenser. And, the dryer 37 may be further provided so that only the refrigerant in the liquid state is sent to the expander.

On the other hand, the evaporator 34 is provided with a plurality of fingers 35 extending to the ice making tank side. The finger is to allow the pipe of the evaporator to extend to the ice making tank side, the refrigerant passes through the ice is generated around the finger.

The cold water tank 40 is configured to store cold water, and to secure a predetermined amount of cold water regardless of the processing capacity of the freezing cycle 50 of the cold water tank. In this embodiment, the cold water stored in the cold water tank 40 is supplied to the ice making tank 20 in which ice is generated. As shown in Figure 3 is provided with a supply passage 42 for supplying the ice-making water from the cold water tank to the ice making tank and the cold water tank valve 41 for adjusting and opening and closing the flow rate. In addition, the freezing cycle 50 for generating cold water accommodated in the cold water tank is provided so as not to be significantly different from the configuration of the ice making means 30 described above. On the other hand, the cold water of the cold water tank is sent to the external cold water extraction cock (not shown) through the cold water discharge passage 43 is taken out.

On the other hand, one embodiment of the water purifier having a plurality of ice making mode of the present invention is the selection means 91 for inputting the selection of transparent ice or general ice deicing and the water purifier according to the selection input by the selection means or The control unit 90 further controls to selectively supply ice-making water from the cold water tank to the ice-making tank.

In addition, a water purification valve 11 for opening and closing the flow path from the purified water tank to the ice making tank, a cold water tank valve 41 for opening and closing the flow path from the cold water tank to the ice making tank, and heating for heating the ice making water accommodated in the ice making tank. It further comprises a temperature sensor 92 provided in the means 80 and the ice making tank.

This configuration is shown in Fig. Referring to FIG. 5, the selection means 91 is a means for a user to input selection of transparent ice or general ice ice making, and may be provided in the front control panel of the water purifier. In addition, the selecting means 91 may input the degree of transparency of the transparent ice. That is, the selection means is configured to input a selection of at least one or two or more transparency of the transparent ice. This selection is transmitted to the control unit 90 to make ice according to the selection.

The temperature sensor 92 is provided in the ice making tank 20 to measure the temperature of the ice making water and transmits a signal to the controller 90. The mounting position of the temperature sensor is not limited to a specific position as long as the temperature of the ice making water accommodated in the ice making tank can be measured.

The heating means 80 refers to a configuration capable of heating the ice making water accommodated in the ice making tank. There may be various ways of heating the ice making water, and various modifications may come out. As an example of such a heating means, as shown in FIG. 4, the heating means may be a finger 35 to which heated steam is directly supplied from the compressor to the evaporator through a bypass flow path 38b. This is done by branching the high temperature and high pressure refrigerant passing through the compressor through the branch valve 39 and sending it to the evaporator 34 directly through the bypass passage 38b without sending it to the condenser 32.

As another example of the heating means, the heating means may be a heater provided around the evaporator. The heating means may be a heater provided in the ice making tank 20 to heat the raw water stored in the ice making tank.

The controller 90 is a controller provided in the water purifier main body, and is connected to a temperature sensor 92 and various valves 11 and 41. In addition, it is also connected to the drive means 70 for rotating the ice making tank and the conveying means in the ice storage tank also controls the movement of the generated ice.

More specifically, the operation of the controller 90 will be described with reference to FIG. 5, and the controller 90 receives the selection input by the selection means 91. Based on this, the purified water tank valve 11 or the cold water tank valve 41 is opened and closed to selectively supply ice-making water from the purified water tank or the cold water tank to the ice making tank.

In addition, when the transparency of the ice is selected by the selecting means 91, the controller 90 controls the heating means 80 to adjust the ice making water to be equal to or higher than the set temperature Tr. Here, the set temperature (Tr) is determined by the transparency to be selected. In addition, the controller 90 controls the ice making means 30 so that transparent ice or general ice can be generated.

One embodiment of the ice manufacturing method of the water purifier having a plurality of ice making mode of the present invention is shown in Figs. Referring to FIG. 2, in the present embodiment, an ice making selection step (S100) in which one of the transparent ice making mode and the general ice making mode is selected, and the ice making water is supplied from the purified water tank or the cold water tank to the ice making tank according to the selected ice making mode. Ice making step (S200, S210), and the ice making step (S400, S410) for selectively ice-making the ice or transparent ice using ice making means.

The ice making selection step S100 refers to a step of selecting one of the transparent ice making mode and the general ice making mode by the user. When the selection is made by the selection means 91, the selection is transmitted to the control unit 90 so that ice making can be performed.

The raw water supply step (S200) refers to a process of supplying ice-making water from the purified water tank 10 to the ice-making tank 20. In addition, the cold water supply step (S210) refers to a process of supplying the ice-making water from the cold water tank 40 to the ice making tank 20.

Here, when the transparent ice ice making mode is selected in the ice making step S100, the ice making water is supplied from the water treatment tank 10 to the ice making tank 20 in the ice making water supply step S200. On the other hand, when the general ice ice making mode is selected in the ice making step (S100), the ice making water is supplied from the cold water tank 40 to the ice making tank 20 in the ice making water supply step (S210).

On the other hand, when the transparent ice ice making mode is selected in the ice making selection step (S100) in the embodiment, the temperature measuring step of measuring the temperature of the ice making water through a temperature sensor provided in the ice making tank after the ice making water is supplied (S300) It may further include. The temperature measuring step (S300) refers to a step of measuring the temperature (T1) of the ice making water accommodated in the ice making tank using a temperature sensor provided in the ice making tank. The temperature of the ice-making water measured here is signaled to the controller 90.

The ice making step S400 refers to a step in which ice making is performed. When the transparent ice making mode is selected in the ice making step S100, the ice making step S400 may be classified into two cases. First, as illustrated in FIG. 1, when the temperature of the ice making water measured by the temperature sensor is higher than or equal to the set temperature Tr, ice making is performed using the ice making means.

However, when the measured temperature of the ice-making water (T1) is less than the set temperature (Tr), as shown in Figure 1 is heated so that the temperature of the ice-making water is more than the set temperature to make ice making using the ice making means .

The set temperature (Tr) in the ice making step (S400) is characterized in that at least 15 ℃ or more. The solubility of air is lower as the water temperature is higher. Therefore, when cooling the low-temperature ice-making water immediately, dissolved air does not escape unless there is a separate device, thereby producing opaque ice. However, when cooling the ice-making water of at least 15 ° C or more as in the present embodiment, the solubility of the air is low, and sufficient time is ensured for the air to escape, so that transparent ice can be produced even without a separate device.

Here, the ice making step (S400) heats the temperature of the raw water to a predetermined temperature or more by the heating means 80 provided in the ice making means or the ice making tank.

On the other hand, when the general ice ice making mode is selected in the ice making step (S100), in the ice making step (S410), ice making is performed using the ice making means 30 immediately.

On the other hand, the embodiment may further comprise a separation step of separating the ice produced in the ice making tank from the ice making means separated from the ice making tank. The separating step partially melts and separates between the finger and the transparent ice by a high temperature refrigerant supplied to the evaporator through a heater or a bypass passage provided in the evaporator.

In addition, the embodiment of the transparent ice manufacturing method of the water purifier may further include an ice step (S500, S510) to be taken out by transferring the ice generated in the ice making tank to the outlet. This transfers the ice to the outlet by the transfer means provided in the ice storage tank as described above.

On the other hand, another embodiment of the ice manufacturing method of the water purifier having a plurality of ice making mode of the present invention, the transparent selection step of selecting the transparency of the transparent ice when the transparent ice ice making mode is selected in the ice making step of the above-described embodiment It is configured to further include (S150). Another embodiment of this invention is shown in FIG. 6. In FIG. 6, a description of the same steps as in the above-described embodiment will be omitted.

In the transparency selection step S150, the transparency of at least two transparent ice may be selected. This can be input by the selection means 91 described above. In addition, the input selection is transmitted to the controller 90 so that the set temperature Tr of the ice making step is determined by the transparency selected in the transparency selection step. That is, as described above, the solubility of air increases as the temperature is lower, so that the transparency becomes lower as the temperature is lower. Therefore, according to the selection of the transparency input by the selection means, the controller controls the transparency of the ice by adjusting the temperature of the ice making water through the heating means.

Meanwhile, in FIG. 6, the aforementioned separation steps S450 and S460 are illustrated. The separation step (S450, S460) is to remove the ice from the ice making means 30 after the ice making step (S400, S410) to be stored in the ice storage tank.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, the scope of the present invention is not to be construed as limited to such embodiments and / or drawings, and is determined by the matters set forth in the claims below. do. In addition, it should be clearly understood that improvements, changes, modifications, and the like apparent to those skilled in the art described in the claims are included in the scope of the present invention.

S100: ice making step S150: transparency selection step
S200, S210: Raw water supply step S300: Temperature measurement step
S400, S410: Ice making step S450, S460: Separation step
S500, S510: Ice Step
10: water purification tank 20: ice making tank
30: ice making means 40: cold water tank
60: ice storage tank 80: heating means
90 control unit 91 selection means

Claims (14)

An ice making selecting one of a transparent ice making mode and a general ice making mode;
An ice making water supplying step, in which the ice making water is supplied from the purified water tank to the ice making tank when the transparent ice making mode is selected in the ice making selecting step, and the ice making water is supplied from the cold water tank to the ice making tank when the general ice making mode is selected in the ice making selecting step; And
And an ice making step for selectively making transparent ice or general ice by using the ice making means.
Ice manufacturing method of a water purifier having a plurality of ice making mode.
delete The method of claim 1,
And a temperature measuring step of measuring a temperature of the ice-making water through a temperature sensor provided in the ice-making tank after the ice-making water is supplied.
The ice making step may be performed by using the ice making means when the measured ice making water temperature is higher than or equal to the set temperature. Ice making using the ice making means,
Ice manufacturing method of a water purifier having a plurality of ice making mode.
The method of claim 3,
The ice making step is characterized in that for heating the temperature of the raw water above the set temperature by the heating means provided in the ice making means or ice making tank,
Ice manufacturing method of a water purifier having a plurality of ice making mode.
The method according to any one of claims 1, 3, and 4,
The ice making method of the water purifier having a plurality of ice making mode, characterized in that the set temperature is at least 15 ℃ or more in the ice making step.
The method of claim 3,
The method may further include a transparency selection step in which the transparency of the transparent ice is additionally selected when the transparent ice ice making mode is selected in the ice making selection step.
Ice manufacturing method of a water purifier having a plurality of ice making mode.
The method according to claim 6,
The transparency selection step is characterized in that the transparency of at least two transparent ice is selected,
Ice manufacturing method of a water purifier having a plurality of ice making mode.
The method of claim 7, wherein
The set temperature of the ice making step is determined by the transparency selected in the transparency selection step,
Ice manufacturing method of a water purifier having a plurality of ice making mode.
delete A water tank for storing purified water;
A cold water tank for storing cold water;
An ice making tank receiving ice making water from the purified water tank or the cold water tank to provide a space where ice is generated;
Ice making means capable of cooling the ice making water accommodated in the ice making tank to make transparent ice or general ice; And
And a control unit for supplying ice-making water from the water purification tank to the ice-making tank in the transparent ice ice making mode and supplying ice-making water from the cold water tank to the ice-making tank in the general ice ice making mode.
A water purifier having a plurality of ice making modes.
The method of claim 10,
A water purification valve for opening and closing a flow path from the water purification tank to the ice making tank;
And a cold water tank valve for opening and closing a flow path from the cold water tank to the ice making tank.
The control unit opens and closes the purified water tank valve or the cold water tank valve, and controls to selectively supply ice-making water from the purified water tank or the cold water tank to the ice making tank.
A water purifier having a plurality of ice making modes.
The method of claim 10,
Selecting means for receiving a selection signal for selecting one of the transparent ice making mode and the general ice making mode; And
And heating means capable of heating the ice making water accommodated in the ice making tank.
When the transparent ice ice making mode is selected, the controller controls the heating means to adjust the ice making water to be above a set temperature.
A water purifier having a plurality of ice making modes.
The method of claim 12,
The selection means may receive a selection signal for selecting a desired transparency among a plurality of predetermined transparency indicating the transparency of the ice, the set temperature is determined by the selected transparency,
When the transparency is selected, the control unit controls the heating means to adjust the ice making water to be above a set temperature,
A water purifier having a plurality of ice making modes.
The method of claim 10,
The ice making means is composed of a refrigeration cycle consisting of an evaporator, a compressor, a condenser, an expander through which the refrigerant passes sequentially,
Characterized in that the plurality of fingers provided in the evaporator passing through the refrigerant to make ice in contact with the ice making water accommodated in the ice making tank,
A water purifier having a plurality of ice making modes.

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