Ice water purifier

Abstract

Provided is an ice-making water purifier, the ice-making water purifier comprising: a water tank portion for storing purified water; an instantaneous heating device for heating purified water flowing in from a water inlet and flowing to a water outlet; a water intake member for extracting hot water discharged from the instantaneous heating device; an ice-making portion for receiving purified water from the water tank to generate ice cubes; a supply pump for pressurizing purified water from the water tank portion and supplying it to the instantaneous heating device and the ice-making portion; an ice-making portion water inlet flow path that branches from a flow path connecting the supply pump and the instantaneous heating device and is connected to the ice-making portion; an ice-making water supply valve located at The water inlet flow path of the ice-making part is opened in order to supply clean water from the water tank part to the ice-making part; the flow sensor is located upstream of the branch point of the water inlet flow path of the ice-making part; the control part is used to control the driving of the supply pump and the opening or closing of the ice-making water supply valve, so as to supply clean water equivalent to a preset ice-making water supply set amount to the ice-making part based on the flow value measured by the flow sensor, wherein the control part controls the opening or closing of the flow path so as to provide clean water to the instantaneous heating device preferentially between the instantaneous heating device and the ice-making part.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an ice-making water purifier having both water purification and ice-making functions, and more particularly to an ice-making water purifier having an instantaneous heating device and an ice-making part. Background Art

[0002] A water purifier is a device that generates purified water by filtering raw water through a filter unit having multiple filters, and the water purifier provides not only purified water at room temperature to users, but also hot water and / or cold water. In addition, recently, ice-making water purifiers that have both a water purification function and an ice-making unit for generating ice cubes are also used.

[0003] This ice making water purifier generates ice cubes by supplying the clean water filtered by the filter part to the ice making part. In this case, the clean water filtered by the filter part is accommodated in a clean water tank and then supplied to the ice making part for ice making.

[0004] The conventional ice-making water purifier adopts the following method: the opening time of the ice-making water supply valve provided on the flow path between the clean water tank and the ice-making water inlet of the ice-making part is controlled by a timer, thereby ensuring that ice-making water (clean water) is supplied from the clean water tank to the ice-making part during a preset time (timer operation time). In addition, the clean water tank is placed at the upper end of the ice-making water inlet side of the ice-making part, thereby moving the clean water contained in the clean water tank to the ice-making part through the water head difference (water pressure).

[0005] However, conventional ice-making water purifiers have limitations in supplying a predetermined amount of ice-making water because the amount of clean water (ice-making water) supplied to the ice-making part varies according to the water level difference (e.g., full water level state and low water level state) of the clean water contained in the clean water tank.

[0006] On the other hand, the conventional ice-making water purifier not only has an ice-making function, but also is basically equipped with a water purification function of performing filtered water, and generally has a function of providing hot water and / or cold water to users. In order to extract hot water, the conventional ice-making water purifier generally uses heating purified water and storing it in a hot water tank, but recently, in order to reduce power consumption, an instantaneous heating device that instantly heats (quickly heats) purified water flowing through the inside to provide it to users is widely used.

[0007] Such an instantaneous heating device may generate steam due to overheating, so in order to ensure the safety of the instantaneous heating device, the instantaneous heating device is arranged at a lower position than the water intake member for extracting hot water. Therefore, in order to extract hot water through the water intake member, it is necessary to pressurize water through a supply pump and supply it to the instantaneous heating device.

[0008] In addition, when a hot water extraction signal is input by the user operating a hot water extraction button, the supply pump operates to pressurize the supply of clean water from the clean water tank to the instantaneous heating device, and power is applied to the instantaneous heating device to discharge heated hot water.

[0009] On the other hand, in the ice making water purifier according to the related art, when the user operates the hot water extraction button during the supply of ice making water (purified water) from the purified water tank to the ice making part, the operation for generating hot water can be performed after the ice making water supply is completed.

[0010] Specifically, the conventional ice-making water purifier controls the supply of ice-making water from the water purification tank to the ice-making part for a predetermined time (the operation time of the timer) by a timer, so the supply of ice-making water cannot be interrupted in the middle. In particular, if the supply of ice-making water is forcibly stopped during the supply of ice-making water, the ice-making water is pre-supplied and remains in the ice tray. Therefore, if ice-making water is supplied by the timer thereafter, the problem of ice-making water overflowing from the ice tray will occur.

[0011] As described above, even if the user inputs a hot water extraction signal, the conventional ice-making water purifier cannot terminate the supply of ice-making water. Therefore, when the user needs to extract hot water during the supply of ice-making water, the prior art ice-making water purifier needs to wait for a long time, so the user has great inconvenience when extracting hot water.

[0012] In particular, since the control unit inside the ice-making water purifier generates an ice-making signal according to the reduction in the amount of ice cubes contained in the ice storage bin, thereby automatically supplying ice-making water, the user cannot forcibly terminate ice-making, and it is also difficult for the user to identify whether the ice-making water is being supplied. Therefore, when the ice-making water purifier is in a waiting state for a long time, the user may mistakenly believe that the hot water extraction function has failed. Summary of the invention

[0013] Problem that the invention aims to solve

[0014] The present invention is proposed to solve at least part of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and its purpose is to provide an ice-making water purifier that can immediately switch to hot water extraction operation when the user inputs a hot water extraction signal during the process of supplying water to the ice-making part.

[0015] And, as one aspect of the present invention, an object is to provide an ice-making water purifier capable of stably supplying a preset amount of water (ice-making water) to an ice-making part.

[0016] In addition, as one aspect of the present invention, an object is to provide an ice-making water purifier capable of increasing the degree of freedom in designing the installation position of an ice-making unit.

[0017] Furthermore, as one aspect of the present invention, an object is to provide an ice-making water purifier that can effectively apply a water supply pump and a flow sensor for an instantaneous heating device to ice-making water supply, and thereby achieve a reduction in the number of components and a reduction in component costs.

[0018] Means used to solve problems

[0019] As one aspect for achieving the above-mentioned purpose, the present invention provides an ice-making water purifier, which comprises: a water tank portion for storing clean water, an instantaneous heating device having a water inlet for providing clean water from the water tank and a water outlet for heating and discharging the clean water, the instantaneous heating device heats the clean water flowing into the water inlet and toward the water outlet, and discharges the hot water through the water outlet, a water intake member is located above the instantaneous heating device, and extracts the hot water discharged from the instantaneous heating device by opening a hot water extraction valve, an ice-making portion, which receives the clean water from the water tank and generates ice cubes, and a supply pump, which operates to pressurize the clean water from the water tank portion and supply it to the instantaneous heating device and the ice-making portion; a water inlet flow path for the ice-making portion, from a connection to the supply pump The flow path of the supply pump and the instantaneous heating device is branched and connected to the ice-making part. The ice-making water supply valve is located in the water inlet flow path of the ice-making part and is opened to supply clean water from the water tank part to the ice-making part. The flow sensor is located upstream of the branch point of the water inlet flow path of the ice-making part so as to measure the flow rate of clean water supplied from the water tank part to the instantaneous heating device and the ice-making part respectively; the control part controls the driving of the supply pump and the opening or closing of the ice-making water supply valve so as to supply clean water equivalent to a preset ice-making water supply set amount to the ice-making part based on the flow value measured by the flow sensor; the control part controls the opening or closing of the flow path so as to provide clean water to the instantaneous heating device preferentially between the instantaneous heating device and the ice-making part.

[0020] Furthermore, the ice-making part and at least a part of the water tank part are at the same level, and can be configured so that the clean water flows from the water tank part into the ice-making part by pressurizing the supply pump. In this case, the water tank part has a clean water tank for storing clean water at room temperature, and the ice-making part and at least a part of the clean water tank can be at the same level.

[0021] In addition, when a hot water extraction signal is input, the control unit closes the ice-making water supply valve and drives the supply pump to preferentially supply clean water to the instantaneous heating device.

[0022] At this time, when a hot water extraction signal is input, the control unit can execute an initial drainage process for draining the clean water initially supplied to the instantaneous heating device according to a preset first drainage condition, and, after executing the initial drainage process, open the hot water extraction valve to extract hot water passing through the water intake member.

[0023] Furthermore, when a hot water extraction signal is input during the period when clean water is supplied to the ice-making part by opening the ice-making water supply valve, the control unit closes the ice-making water supply valve to block the clean water supply to the ice-making part, and realizes the clean water supply to the instantaneous heating device. When the clean water supply to the instantaneous heating device is interrupted by the input of a hot water extraction end signal, the control unit reopens the ice-making water supply valve to supply the remaining amount of clean water that has not been supplied to the ice-making part out of the set ice-making water supply amount to the ice-making part.

[0024] At this time, the control unit accumulates the amount of clean water supplied to the ice-making unit based on the measurement value of the flow sensor, and stores the accumulated supply amount of clean water supplied from the input of the hot water extraction signal to the closing of the ice-making water supply valve in the memory, and when the clean water supply to the ice-making unit is restored, the clean water supply to the ice-making unit is controlled based on the stored accumulated supply amount.

[0025] Furthermore, when the hot water extraction end signal is input, the control unit can execute a final drainage process for draining the hot water contained in the instantaneous heating device according to a preset second drainage condition, and after executing the final drainage process, interrupt the supply of clean water to the instantaneous heating device and reopen the ice-making water supply valve to supply clean water to the ice-making part.

[0026] In addition, when an ice-making signal for generating ice cubes is inputted while clean water is supplied to the instantaneous heating device, the control unit blocks the supply of clean water to the ice-making unit until the supply of clean water to the instantaneous heating device is completed. After the supply of clean water to the instantaneous heating device is completed, the control unit opens the ice-making water supply valve to supply clean water equivalent to the set ice-making water supply amount to the ice-making unit.

[0027] On the other hand, the control portion controls a voltage or a current applied to the transient heating device based on a flow rate value supplied to the transient heating device measured by the flow rate sensor.

[0028] As another aspect, the present invention provides an ice-making water purifier, the ice-making water purifier comprising: a filter section, which is equipped with at least one filter for generating clean water; an instantaneous heating device, which has a water inlet for supplying clean water filtered from the filter section and a water outlet for heating and discharging the clean water, the instantaneous heating device heats the clean water flowing from the water inlet to the water outlet and discharges the hot water through the water outlet; a water intake member, which is located above the instantaneous heating device and extracts the hot water discharged from the instantaneous heating device by opening a hot water extraction valve; an ice-making section, which receives the clean water filtered by the filter section and generates ice cubes; a supply pump, which operates to pressurize and supply the clean water filtered from the filter section to the instantaneous heating device and the ice-making section; and a water inlet flow path for the ice-making section, which is connected to the water inlet of the instantaneous heating device. The supply pump branches off from the flow path of the instantaneous heating device and is connected to the ice-making part; an ice-making water supply valve is located in the water inlet flow path of the ice-making part and is opened to supply the clean water filtered from the filter part to the ice-making part; a flow sensor is located upstream of the branch point of the water inlet flow path of the ice-making part so as to measure the flow rate of the clean water supplied from the filter part to the instantaneous heating device and the ice-making part respectively; and a control part is used to control the driving of the supply pump and the opening or closing of the ice-making water supply valve so as to supply the ice-making part with clean water equivalent to a preset ice-making water supply set amount based on the flow value measured by the flow sensor, and the control part controls the opening or closing of the flow path so as to provide clean water to the instantaneous heating device preferentially between the instantaneous heating device and the ice-making part.

[0029] Effects of the Invention

[0030] According to one embodiment of the present invention having such a configuration, the following effect can be obtained, that is, hot water can be smoothly extracted at a time point desired by the user. In particular, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the following effect can be obtained, that is, even if the user inputs a hot water extraction signal during the process of supplying water to the ice making part, it is possible to immediately switch to the operation for extracting hot water.

[0031] Also, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the following effect can be obtained, that is, since the flow sensor for controlling the instantaneous heating device is also used for ice making water supply, a preset amount of water (ice making water) can be stably supplied to the ice making part.

[0032] In addition, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the following effect can be obtained, that is, water can be supplied to the ice-making part using a supply pump for extracting hot water from the instantaneous heating device to the water outlet member, so that water can be supplied to the ice-making part regardless of the height of the ice-making part. As a result, the degree of freedom in designing the installation position of the ice-making part can be increased.

[0033] Furthermore, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the following effect can be obtained, that is, the water supply pump and the flow sensor for the instantaneous heating device can be effectively applied to the ice making water supply, thereby achieving a reduction in the number of components and a reduction in component cost. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0034] Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a schematic water pipe diagram showing an ice-making water purifier according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0035] Figure 2 It is shown in Figure 1 The water pipe diagram shown is for the water flow during raw water filtration and clean water / cold water extraction in the ice making water purifier.

[0036] Figure 3 It is shown from Figure 1 The water pipe diagram shown shows the water flow when the ice making water purifier extracts hot water.

[0037] Figure 4 It is shown Figure 1 The water pipe diagram of the ice making water purifier when making ice is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, embodiments of the present invention may be modified into various other forms, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below. In addition, embodiments of the present invention are provided to more completely describe the present invention to those skilled in the art with general knowledge in the field. In the accompanying drawings, the shapes and sizes of the elements may be exaggerated for clearer description.

[0039] In addition, in the present specification, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, a single form also includes a plural form, and throughout the specification, the same drawing numerals designate the same or corresponding elements.

[0040] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0041] First, refer to Figures 1 to 4 An ice-making water purifier 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is described.

[0042] Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a water pipe of an ice-making water purifier 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 It is shown in Figure 1 The water pipe diagram of the water flow when the raw water is filtered and the purified water / cold water is extracted in the ice making water purifier 100 shown in FIG. Figure 3 It is shown from Figure 1 The water pipe diagram of the water flow when the ice making water purifier 100 extracts hot water is shown. Figure 4 It is shown Figure 1The water pipe diagram of the ice making and water purifier 100 when making ice is shown.

[0043] Reference Figure 1 According to an embodiment of the present invention, an ice-making water purifier 100 is configured to include a filter unit 110, a water tank unit 120, a supply pump 130, an instantaneous heating device 140, an ice-making unit 150, a water intake member 170, a flow sensor FS, various valves and flow paths, and a control unit C, and can be configured to also include an ice storage tank 160, etc.

[0044] The filter unit 110 filters the raw water provided through the raw water supply flow path L0 to generate purified water, and may be configured to include a reverse osmosis membrane filter 113. Like a conventional water purifier, the filter unit 110 may be configured to include a plurality of filters, and as an example, may include a pre-filter 111, a main filter 113, and a post-filter 115. The pre-filter 111 may be composed of a composite filter of a sediment filter and a pre-activated carbon filter, and the post-filter 115 may be formed of a post-activated carbon filter or the like.

[0045] And, the main filter 113 is a filter that can filter the finest particles among the filters included in the filter part 110. As an example, Figures 1 to 4 As shown in FIG. 1 , the main filter 113 may use a reverse osmosis membrane filter that separates the purified water and the concentrated water by reverse osmosis and filters the concentrated water at the same time. However, the main filter 113 may use various well-known filters such as a hollow fiber membrane filter, a nano trap, and a nano filter. However, for the sake of convenience of description, the following will be described as follows. Figures 1 to 4 The case where the reverse osmosis membrane filter (RO filter) 113 is used as the main filter 113 is described as an example.

[0046] A supply valve FV may be provided at the front end of the reverse osmosis membrane filter 113, and the supply valve FV may be opened or closed to supply water to the reverse osmosis membrane filter 113. Such a supply valve FV supplies raw water to the filter part 110, and its position may be variously changed.

[0047] In addition, the filter section 110 is provided with a filter section flow path L1 connecting a plurality of filters to each other, and a domestic water drain pipe DL1 for draining domestic water (concentrated water) that has not passed through the reverse osmosis membrane filter 113 is connected to the reverse osmosis membrane filter 113. On the other hand, in the present specification and claims, the term "drainage" is defined as the meaning of discarding waste water (drainage water, domestic water, etc.) through various drainage pipes. In addition, the place to be "drained" is not limited to a place outside the ice purifier 100 such as a sewer, and the drainage place includes a space inside the ice purifier 100 for draining various drainage waters generated inside the ice purifier 100 (for example, the ice storage 170, the instantaneous heating device 140, etc.). At this time, when the water level of the drainage tank reaches a predetermined water level (for example, a full water level), the drainage water contained in the drainage tank can be discharged through the main drainage pipe.

[0048] refer to Figure 2 , the raw water supplied to the filter unit 110 through the raw water supply flow path L0 is filtered by the filter unit 110, and the clean water filtered by the filter unit 110 is stored in the water tank unit 120 through the clean water inflow flow path L2. At this time, the water tank unit 120 may be configured to include a clean water tank 121 for containing the clean water filtered by the filter unit 110 at room temperature and a cold water tank 125 for cooling and containing the clean water. With the opening of the clean water extraction valve V2, the clean water at room temperature contained in the clean water tank 121 may flow through the clean water outlet flow path L3, the flow path connecting member F1 and the clean water extraction flow path L4 and be discharged through the water intake member 170 composed of a faucet or a cock. In addition, with the opening of the cold water extraction valve V1, the cold water contained in the cold water tank 125 flows through the cold water extraction flow path L5 and is discharged through the water intake member 170. On the other hand, the domestic water (concentrated water) that has not passed through the reverse osmosis membrane filter 113 is discharged through the main drain pipe DLM formed by merging the domestic water drain pipe DL1 and the various drain pipes DL2.

[0049] Will refer to Figure 3 The water flow when hot water is extracted and the water flow when drain water generated in the instantaneous heating device 140 is discharged are described.

[0050] Reference Figure 3 When the user operates the hot water extraction button or inputs a hot water extraction signal, the clean water contained in the clean water tank 121 of the water tank part 120 is supplied to the water inlet 141 of the instantaneous heating device 140, flows through the interior of the instantaneous heating device 140 and is heated and discharged through the water outlet 142 as hot water.

[0051] Since the instantaneous heating device 140 generates steam due to overheating, in order to ensure the safety of the instantaneous heating device 140, the instantaneous heating device 140 is arranged below the water intake member 170. That is, since the water intake member 170 is located on the upper side of the instantaneous heating device 140, in order to extract hot water through the water intake member 170, it is necessary to pressurize water through the supply pump 130 and supply it to the instantaneous heating device 140.

[0052] The purified water pressurized by the supply pump 130 flows through the flow path connection member F2 and the hot water inflow flow path L6b into the water inlet 141 of the instantaneous heating device 140 and, after being heated, is discharged through the water outlet 142. When the hot water extraction signal is input, the instantaneous heating device 140 performs a heating operation by the control part C, whereby the instantaneous heating device 140 can heat the purified water flowing from the water inlet 141 and toward the water outlet 142 and discharge the hot water through the water outlet 142.

[0053] The hot water discharged through the water outlet 142 flows through the hot water outlet flow path L7 and the hot water extraction flow path L8 as the hot water extraction valve V3 is opened, and is discharged through the water intake member 170 .

[0054] At this time, in order to perform heating control according to the flow rate of purified water flowing into the instantaneous heating device 140, a flow sensor FS for measuring the flow rate flowing into the instantaneous heating device 140 may be installed at the front end of the instantaneous heating device 140. The flow sensor FS may be configured to measure both the flow rate of purified water supplied from the water tank portion 120 to the instantaneous heating device 140 and the flow rate of purified water supplied from the water tank portion 120 to the ice making portion 150. To this end, the flow sensor FS may be disposed upstream (front end in the water flow direction) of a flow path connecting member F2 located at a branch point between the flow paths L6 and L6b for connecting the supply pump 130 and the instantaneous heating device 140 and the ice making portion water inlet flow path L6a for connecting the ice making portion 150.

[0055] In addition, the control unit C can control the voltage and / or current applied to the heater provided in the instantaneous heating device 140 based on the flow rate measured by the flow sensor FS and the clean water temperature on the water inlet 141 side and / or the hot water temperature on the water outlet 142 side measured by the temperature sensor (not shown).

[0056] On the other hand, when the instantaneous heating device 140 is started after the hot water extraction signal is input, since the temperature of the water initially discharged from the instantaneous heating device 140 is low, the hot water discharge valve V5 may be opened to discharge the clean water initially supplied to the instantaneous heating device 140 according to a preset first discharge condition (e.g., a preset flow rate or a preset time). Also, when the hot water extraction end signal is input according to the user's interruption of extracting hot water or completion of a predetermined amount of hot water extraction, the hot water discharge valve V5 may be opened to discharge the hot water remaining in the instantaneous heating device 140 according to a preset second discharge condition (e.g., a preset flow rate or a preset time).

[0057] As mentioned above, by Figure 3 As shown by the dotted line "hot water drain", when the hot water drain valve V5 is opened, the drain water (waste water) discharged from the instantaneous heating device 140 can be discharged through the main drain pipe DLM formed by the hot water drain pipe DL2 and the domestic water drain pipe DL21 merging with the hot water drain pipe DL2 through the flow path connecting component F4.

[0058] Next, refer to Figure 4 Describe the flow of water when making ice.

[0059] Reference Figure 4 The water purifier 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention may include an ice making part 150 for generating ice cubes and an ice storage tank 160 for storing the ice cubes generated from the ice making part 150 .

[0060] The ice making unit 150 uses a known cooling system to cool the supplied water (ice making water) and generate ice cubes, and may include an ice making tray (not shown) to hold the supplied water. In addition, an immersion pipe connected to the evaporator is immersed in the ice making tray, so that ice cubes can be formed around the immersion pipe when the refrigerant flows through the evaporator. As described above, the ice making unit 150 can use an immersion ice making method, but in the case of providing an ice making tray, various known ice making methods can be used. In addition, the cooling system for generating ice can be a conventional cooling system including a compressor, a condenser and an evaporator, but is not limited thereto, and a cooling method using a thermoelectric module can be used.

[0061] When the ice-making water supply valve V4 is opened, the clean water (ice-making water) accommodated in the clean water tank 121 of the water tank part 120 may be supplied to the ice-making tray of the ice-making part 150 .

[0062] When an ice making start signal is generated due to the insufficient amount of ice stored in the ice storage 170, the control unit C drives the supply pump 130 and opens the ice making water supply valve V4. Figure 4 As shown, the purified water contained in the purified water tank 121 may flow into the supply pump 130 through the purified water tank 121 , the purified water outlet flow path L3 , and the purified water supply flow path L6 .

[0063] When the height of the water tank portion 120 is not higher than the ice water supply port 151 of the ice making portion 150, or when a sufficient water head difference is not ensured, ice water (clean water) cannot be provided only by opening the ice water supply valve V4. At this time, in order to supply ice water from the water tank portion 120 to the ice water supply port 151, the supply pump 130 is driven to pressurize the water and provide it to the ice making portion 150. For example, when the ice making portion 150 is installed at the same horizontal position as at least a portion of the water tank portion 120, it is necessary to drive the supply pump 130 to ensure the smooth supply of ice water, and the supply pump 130 can be pressurized to ensure that clean water flows from the water tank portion 130 into the ice making portion 150. In addition, as Figure 4 As shown, when ice-making water (clean water) is supplied from the clean water tank 121 of the water tank portion 120 to the ice-making portion 150, if the ice-making portion 150 is installed at the same horizontal position as at least a portion of the water tank portion 120, the supply pump 130 can be used to pressurize to ensure that the ice-making water (clean water) flows smoothly from the water tank portion 130 into the ice-making portion 150.

[0064] Therefore, according to one embodiment of the present invention, there is an advantage that the supply pump 130 used to extract hot water from the instantaneous heating device 140 to the water intake member 170 is also used to supply ice-making water to the ice-making unit 150, so that the supply pump 130 can be effectively used. In addition, according to one embodiment of the present invention, ice-making water is supplied to the ice-making unit 150 using the supply pump 130, so ice-making water can be supplied to the ice-making unit 150 regardless of the height of the ice-making unit 150, thereby improving the degree of freedom in designing the installation position of the ice-making unit 150.

[0065] When the ice-making water supply valve V4 provided in the ice-making water inlet flow path L6a is opened, the purified water contained in the water tank portion 120 may be supplied to the ice-making portion 150. That is, under the pressure drive of the supply pump 130, the purified water contained in the water tank portion 120 flows through the ice-making portion inlet flow path L6a and is supplied to the ice-making portion 150 through the ice-making water supply port 151. At this time, the ice-making water inlet flow path L6a branches from the flow paths L6 and L6b for connecting the supply pump 130 and the instantaneous heating device 140, and the flow path connection member F2 may be installed at the branch point.

[0066] On the other hand, the flow rate of the purified water supplied to the ice making part 150 may be measured by the flow sensor FS. That is, the control part C may control the driving of the supply pump 130 and the opening or closing of the ice making water supply valve V4 based on the flow rate value measured by the flow sensor FS, so as to supply purified water corresponding to the preset ice making water supply amount to the ice making part 150. To this end, the control part C may be configured to compare the cumulative supply amount of purified water with the preset supply amount of ice making water by accumulating the amount of purified water supplied to the ice making part 150.

[0067] Therefore, according to one embodiment of the present invention, there is an advantage that, based on the measurement value of the flow sensor FS, an accurate flow of ice-making water can be provided to the ice-making part 150. Further, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the flow sensor FS for controlling the heating of the instantaneous heating device 140 is also used to control the flow of ice-making water supplied to the ice-making part 150, so that effective use of the flow sensor FS can be achieved.

[0068] Furthermore, when the supply of purified water to the ice-making section 150 is interrupted, the control section C can store the cumulative supply amount of purified water supplied before the ice-making water supply valve V4 is closed in the memory, and when the supply of purified water to the ice-making section 150 is resumed, a set amount of purified water for ice-making water supply is supplied to the ice-making section 150 based on the cumulative supply amount stored in the memory.

[0069] In addition, ice cubes generated by the ice making unit 150 can be stored in the ice bank 160 through the deicing process. For deicing, a method of supplying hot gas as a high-temperature refrigerant to the evaporator can be used, but a method of deicing by heating the evaporator with a heater can also be used.

[0070] The ice storage 160 is located below the ice making unit 150 to accommodate de-iced ice cubes. The ice cubes accommodated in the ice storage 160 can be provided to the user through the ice outlet 165 .

[0071] Next, refer to Figure 3 and Figure 4 A configuration in which the water supply to the instantaneous heating device and the water supply to the ice making part are controlled by the control part C is described.

[0072] The control unit C of the ice making and water purifier 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention can control the opening or closing of the flow path so that when purified water is supplied from the purified water tank 121 of the water tank unit 120 to the instantaneous heating device 140 or the ice making unit 150, the purified water is supplied to the instantaneous heating device 140 preferentially among the instantaneous heating device 140 and the ice making unit 150. That is, when water is supplied from the purified water tank 121 of the water tank unit 120 to the instantaneous heating device 140 and the ice making unit 150 at the same time, the control unit C can control the purified water to be supplied to the instantaneous heating device 140 preferentially.

[0073] Specifically, when the user inputs a hot water extraction signal by selecting a hot water extraction button (not shown) provided on the operation panel of the housing of the ice making water purifier 200, the control unit C closes the ice making water supply valve V4 to block the supply of purified water (ice making water) to the ice making unit 150, regardless of whether purified water is supplied to the ice making unit 150, and drives the supply pump 130 to supply purified water to the instantaneous heating device 140. To this end, the control unit C can prioritize the supply of purified water to the instantaneous heating device 140 over the supply of purified water to the ice making unit 150.

[0074] On the other hand, when the instantaneous heating device 140 is operated after the hot water extraction signal is input, since the temperature of the water initially discharged from the instantaneous heating device 140 is low, it can be controlled not to be extracted through the water extraction member 170. To this end, the control part C can be configured to open the hot water discharge valve V5, so as to discharge the clean water initially supplied to the instantaneous heating device 140 according to a preset first drainage condition (e.g., a preset flow rate or a preset time). At this time, the hot water discharge valve V5 can be closed and the hot water extraction valve V3 can be opened after the preset first drainage condition has passed, so that the water heated by the instantaneous heating device 140 is discharged through the water extraction member 170.

[0075] In addition, when a hot water extraction signal is input during the period when clean water is supplied to the ice-making part 150 by opening the ice-making water supply valve V4, the control part C may close the ice-making water supply valve V4 to interrupt the supply of clean water to the ice-making part 150 and not supply clean water to the instantaneous heating device 140. Thereafter, when a hot water extraction end signal is input according to the user's interruption of hot water extraction or completion of extraction of a predetermined amount of hot water, the control part C interrupts the supply of clean water to the instantaneous heating device 140. As described above, when hot water extraction is terminated and the supply of clean water to the instantaneous heating device 140 is interrupted, the control part C may continue to perform the supply of clean water to the ice-making part 150 that was previously interrupted. For this purpose, the control part C may reopen the ice-making water supply valve V4 so that the remaining amount of clean water that is not supplied to the ice-making part 150 due to the interruption of the supply of clean water in the set amount of ice-making water supply is supplied to the ice-making part 150.

[0076] At this time, the control unit C may accumulate the amount of clean water supplied to the ice-making unit 150 based on the measurement value of the flow sensor FS, and may store the accumulated supply amount of clean water supplied to the ice-making unit 150 in the memory until the hot water extraction signal is input and the ice-making water supply valve V4 is closed and the clean water supply to the ice-making unit 150 is interrupted. In addition, when the clean water supply to the ice-making unit 150 is restarted, the control unit C may compare the accumulated supply amount stored in the memory with the ice-making water supply setting amount and supply the clean water of an amount corresponding to the difference to the ice-making unit 150. When the clean water supply to the ice-making unit 150 is completed, the accumulated supply amount may be reset.

[0077] On the other hand, when the hot water extraction termination signal is inputted by the user interrupting the hot water extraction or completing the extraction of the preset hot water amount, the clean water may be supplied to the ice making part 150 immediately after closing the hot water extraction valve V3, or the clean water may be supplied to the ice making part 150 after performing the final discharge process of draining the high-temperature hot water remaining in the instantaneous heating device 140. In the case of performing such a final discharge process, when the hot water extraction termination signal is inputted, the control part C may open the hot water discharge valve V5 so as to drain the hot water contained in the instantaneous heating device 140 according to a preset second drainage condition (e.g., a preset flow rate or a preset time). After performing the final discharge process, the control part C may control both the hot water extraction valve V3 and the hot water discharge valve V5 to be in a closed state, thereby interrupting the supply of clean water to the instantaneous heating device 140, and may supply clean water to the ice making part 150 by reopening the ice making water supply valve V4.

[0078] In addition, in a state where purified water is supplied to the instantaneous heating device 140 , the ice bank 160 may input an ice making signal for generating ice cubes according to a situation such as ice extraction.

[0079] In this case, after the supply of the purified water to the instantaneous heating device 140 is completed, the control part C may supply the purified water to the ice making part 150 so as to realize ice making in the ice making part 150 .

[0080] That is, when the ice making signal is inputted while the purified water is supplied to the instantaneous heating device 140, the control unit C may block the supply of purified water to the ice making unit 150 until the purified water supply to the instantaneous heating device 140 is terminated. Next, when the hot water extraction end signal is inputted according to the user's interruption of hot water extraction or completion of a predetermined amount of hot water extraction, the ice making water supply valve V4 may be opened after the purified water supply to the instantaneous heating device 140 is terminated, so as to supply purified water equivalent to the set ice making water supply amount to the ice making unit 150.

[0081] At this time, when the final drain process is not performed, the clean water may be supplied to the ice making part 150 immediately after the hot water extraction end signal is input, and when the final drain process is performed, the clean water may be supplied to the ice making part 150 after the final drain process is performed.

[0082] As described above, according to one embodiment of the present invention, by preferentially supplying purified water to the instantaneous heating device 140 among the instantaneous heating device 140 and the ice making part 150, hot water can be smoothly extracted at a time point desired by the user. That is, when the user inputs a hot water extraction signal on the way to supply water to the ice making part 150, since purified water (ice making water) is continuously supplied to the ice making part during the timer operation time according to the ice making water purifier of the prior art, the user has to wait until the supply of purified water to the ice making part is completed. However, according to one embodiment of the present invention, since purified water is preferentially supplied to the instantaneous heating device 140, when the hot water extraction signal is input, it is possible to immediately switch to the operation for extracting hot water, so that hot water can be extracted in a short time.

[0083] Furthermore, according to one embodiment of the present invention, in the process of supplying purified water (ice-making water) to the ice-making section 150, an accurate amount of purified water corresponding to the set amount of ice-making water supply can be supplied to the ice-making section 150 by using the flow sensor FS. In particular, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the amount of purified water supplied to the ice-making section 150 can be accumulated and stored in a memory when the supply of ice-making water is interrupted, and when the supply of ice-making water is resumed, the accumulated flow value is compared with the set amount of ice-making water supply and the insufficient amount of purified water is supplied, so that even if the supply of ice-making water is interrupted on the way, an accurate amount of purified water equivalent to the set amount of ice-making water supply can be supplied to the ice-making section 150.

[0084] On the other hand, the ice making water purifier 100 according to the modified embodiment of the present invention may be used with Figures 1 to 4 Unlike the illustrated ice-making water purifier 100 , it may also be configured to not include the water tank portion 120 .

[0085] In this case, when the purified water extraction valve V2 is opened, purified water filtered by the filter unit 110 can be extracted through the water extraction member 170. Figure 1 The purified water inlet flow path L2 shown may be directly connected to the purified water outlet flow path L3 without including the water tank portion 120 .

[0086] Also, the purified water filtered by the filter unit 110 may be directly supplied to the instantaneous heating device 140 or the ice making unit 150 without passing through the water tank unit 120. At this time, the supply pump 130 may be configured to receive the purified water filtered by the filter unit 110 and pressurize it and supply it to the instantaneous heating device 140 and the ice making unit 150.

[0087] As mentioned above, as mentioned above Figures 1 to 4 The control part C of the embodiment of the ice making water purifier 100 not including the water tank part 120 described in the illustrated embodiment controls the opening or closing of the flow path so as to preferentially supply purified water to the instantaneous heating device 140 in the ice making part 150 and the instantaneous heating device 140 in the ice making part 150 .

[0088] In this case, the specific control method of the control unit C can be applied to Figures 1 to 4 Therefore, the detailed description of the ice-making water purifier 100 having a configuration not including the water tank portion 120 will be omitted, and the relevant contents may be replaced by the aforementioned contents.

[0089] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the scope of rights of the present invention is not limited thereto, and it is obvious to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention recorded in the claims.

[0090] In addition, the embodiments of the present invention may be implemented with some components deleted, and the configurations of the various embodiments may be configured in combination with each other.

[0091] Description of Reference Numerals

[0092] 100: water purifier; 110: filter unit; 111: pre-filter;

[0093] 113: main filter (reverse osmosis membrane filter); 115: post-filter; 120: water tank;

[0094] 121: clean water tank; 125: cold water tank; 130: supply pump; 140: instantaneous heating device;

[0095] 141: water inlet; 142: water outlet; 150: ice making unit; 151: ice making water supply port;

[0096] 160: ice storage; 165: ice outlet; 170: water intake component; C: control unit;

[0097] DL1: domestic water drainage pipe; DL2: hot water drainage pipe; DLM: main drainage pipe;

[0098] F1, F2, F3, F4: flow path connecting components; FS: flow sensor;

[0099] FV: supply valve; L0: raw water supply flow path; L1: filter flow path;

[0100] L2: clean water inlet flow path; L3: clean water outlet flow path; L4: clean water extraction flow path;

[0101] L5: cold water extraction flow path; L6: clean water supply flow path; L6a: ice making part water inlet flow path;

[0102] L6b: hot water inlet flow path; L7: hot water outlet flow path; L8: hot water extraction flow path;

[0103] V2: clean water extraction valve; V4: ice making water supply valve; V5: hot water discharge valve.

Claims

1. An ice-making water purifier, wherein: include: The water tank is used to store clean water. The instantaneous heating device has a water inlet for supplying clean water from the water tank portion and a water outlet for heating and discharging the clean water, wherein the instantaneous heating device heats the clean water flowing from the water inlet to the water outlet and discharges the hot water through the water outlet. a water extraction member, located above the instantaneous heating device, and extracting hot water discharged from the instantaneous heating device by opening a hot water extraction valve, An ice making unit receives the purified water from the water tank unit and generates ice cubes, a supply pump that operates to supply clean water from the water tank portion to the instantaneous heating device and the ice making portion under pressure, The ice making unit water inlet flow path is branched from the flow path connecting the supply pump and the instantaneous heating device and connected to the ice making unit. The ice making water supply valve is located in the water inlet flow path of the ice making unit and is opened to supply clean water from the water tank unit to the ice making unit. a flow sensor located upstream of a branch point of the ice making part water inlet flow path so as to measure the flow rates of the purified water supplied from the water tank part to the instantaneous heating device and the ice making part, respectively; and a control unit, configured to control the driving of the supply pump and the opening or closing of the ice-making water supply valve, so as to supply purified water equivalent to a preset ice-making water supply setting amount to the ice-making unit based on the flow value measured by the flow sensor; The control unit controls the opening or closing of the flow path so as to give priority to supplying clean water to the instantaneous heating device among the instantaneous heating device and the ice making unit. When a hot water extraction signal is input, the control part closes the ice-making water supply valve and drives the supply pump to preferentially supply clean water to the instantaneous heating device.

2. The ice-making water purifier according to claim 1, wherein: The ice-making part is located at the same level as at least a portion of the water tank part, and is configured such that clean water flows from the water tank part into the ice-making part by pressurization of the supply pump.

3. The ice-making water purifier according to claim 2, wherein: The water tank unit includes a clean water tank for storing clean water at room temperature. The ice making part and at least a portion of the clean water tank are at the same horizontal position.

4. The ice-making water purifier according to claim 1, wherein: When a hot water extraction signal is input, the control unit executes an initial drainage process, that is, drains the clean water initially supplied to the instantaneous heating device according to a preset first drainage condition, and after executing the initial drainage process, opens the hot water extraction valve to extract hot water passing through the water intake member.

5. The ice-making water purifier according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: When a hot water extraction signal is input during the period when the ice making water supply valve is opened to supply purified water to the ice making unit, the control unit closes the ice making water supply valve to block the purified water supply to the ice making unit and realizes the purified water supply to the instantaneous heating device. When the clean water supply to the instantaneous heating device is interrupted by input of a hot water extraction end signal, the control unit reopens the ice making water supply valve to supply a remaining amount of clean water that has not been supplied to the ice making unit out of the ice making water supply set amount to the ice making unit.

6. The ice-making water purifier according to claim 5, wherein: The control unit accumulates the amount of purified water supplied to the ice-making unit based on the measurement value of the flow sensor, and stores in a memory the accumulated supply amount of purified water supplied from the input of the hot water extraction signal to the closing of the ice-making water supply valve, and when the supply of purified water to the ice-making unit is resumed, controls the supply of purified water to the ice-making unit based on the stored accumulated supply amount.

7. The ice-making water purifier according to claim 5, wherein: When the hot water extraction end signal is input, the control unit executes a final draining process, that is, drains the hot water contained in the instantaneous heating device according to a preset second draining condition, and after executing the final draining process, interrupts the supply of clean water to the instantaneous heating device and reopens the ice-making water supply valve to supply clean water to the ice-making part.

8. The ice-making water purifier according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: When an ice making signal for generating ice cubes is inputted while the clean water is supplied to the instantaneous heating device, the control unit blocks the supply of clean water to the ice making unit until the supply of clean water to the instantaneous heating device is completed. After the supply of purified water to the instantaneous heating device is completed, the control unit opens the ice-making water supply valve to supply purified water equivalent to the ice-making water supply set amount to the ice-making unit.

9. The ice-making water purifier according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The control portion controls a voltage or a current applied to the transient heating device based on a flow rate value supplied to the transient heating device measured by the flow rate sensor.

10. An ice-making water purifier, wherein: include: The filter unit includes at least one filter for producing purified water. The instantaneous heating device has a water inlet for supplying the purified water filtered from the filter part and a water outlet for heating and discharging the purified water, wherein the instantaneous heating device heats the purified water flowing from the water inlet to the water outlet and discharges the hot water through the water outlet. a water extraction member, located above the instantaneous heating device, and extracting hot water discharged from the instantaneous heating device by opening a hot water extraction valve, an ice making unit, receiving the purified water filtered by the filter unit and generating ice cubes, a supply pump that operates to supply the purified water filtered by the filter unit to the instantaneous heating device and the ice making unit under pressure, The ice making unit water inlet flow path is branched from the flow path connecting the supply pump and the instantaneous heating device and connected to the ice making unit. The ice making water supply valve is located in the water inlet flow path of the ice making unit and is opened to supply the clean water filtered by the filter unit to the ice making unit. a flow sensor located upstream of a branch point of the ice making unit water inlet flow path so as to measure the flow rates of the purified water supplied from the filter unit to the instantaneous heating device and the ice making unit, respectively; and a control unit, configured to control the driving of the supply pump and the opening or closing of the ice-making water supply valve, so as to supply purified water equivalent to a preset ice-making water supply setting amount to the ice-making unit based on the flow value measured by the flow sensor; The control unit controls the opening or closing of the flow path so as to provide clean water to the instantaneous heating device first among the instantaneous heating device and the ice making unit. When a hot water extraction signal is input, the control part closes the ice-making water supply valve and drives the supply pump to preferentially supply clean water to the instantaneous heating device.

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