Refrigerator and method of manufacturing ice maker therefor

a technology of ice maker and refrigerator, which is applied in the field of refrigerator and ice maker manufacturing method therefor, can solve the problems of inconvenient user access to ice in the freezing chamber of the bottom freezer type refrigerator, and the amount of ice collected in the ice bucket is not accurately detected, so as to achieve accurate detection whether or not an ice bucket is full

US20160370080A1Inactive Publication Date: 2016-12-22DONGBU DAEWOO ELECTRONCIS CORP
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Patent Information

Authority / Receiving Office
US · United States
Current Assignee / Owner
Publication Date
2016-12-22
Estimated Expiration
Not applicable · inactive patent

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Abstract

According to an embodiment, an ice maker comprises: a main body having a cooling space supplied with the cold air generated by a cooling module; an ice making assembly comprising an ice tray arranged in the cooling space to generate ice and a rotation module configured for rotating at least one of the ice tray and rotating an ejector for ejecting the ice from the ice tray; an ice bucket disposed at a lower side of the ice making assembly configured to receive the ice from the ice tray; a transfer assembly configured for transferring the ice collected in the ice bucket to an ice discharge module; and a full ice detection module configured for detecting whether the ice bucket is full of the ice. The full ice detection module comprises: a first sensor mounted to the rotation module configured to emit light; a reflective element coupled to the transfer assembly and configured to reflect the light emitted from the first sensor; and a second sensor coupled to the rotation module and spaced apart from the first sensor by a predetermined distance to allow detection of the light reflected by the reflective element.
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Description

RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2015-0086163, filed Jun. 17, 2015, hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.FIELD

[0002] Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to a refrigerator and a method of manufacturing an ice maker therefor.BACKGROUND

[0003] A refrigerator is an appliance for storing foods at low temperature, and may store foods in a frozen or refrigerated state according to the type of food.

[0004] The interior of the refrigerator is cooled by continuously supplied cold air, and the cold air is generated through heat exchange with refrigerant by a refrigeration cycle performing a compression-condensation-expansion-evaporation process. The cold air supplied into the refrigerator is evenly transferred to the interior of the refrigerator by convection and thus the foods in the refrigerator may be maintained at a desired temperature.

[0005] The refrigerator typically has a rectangular main body which is ...

Examples

Embodiment Construction

[0034]Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In certain embodiments, detailed descriptions of relevant constructions or functions well known in the art may be omitted to avoid obscuring appreciation of the disclosure.

[0035]FIG. 1 is a view illustrating an exemplary ice maker disposed in a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view illustrating an ice maker in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the ice maker in FIG. 2.

[0036]Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, an ice maker 10 for a refrigerator capable of detecting whether or not an ice bucket 320 is full of ice is shown. The ice maker 10 may include a main body 100, a cooling module (not shown), an ice making assembly 200, an ice bucket 320, a transfer assembly 400, and a full ice detection module.

[0037]The refrigerator 1 according to the embodiment may include a case 2 de...