Ice maker

Abstract

An ice maker capable of shortening the time required for ice making is provided. The ice maker (30) includes an ice making device (31), a storage portion (32), and a cold air inlet portion (33). The ice making device (31) is formed with a plurality of ice making grooves (311) for storing water for ice making. The ice making device (31) is stored in the storage portion (32). The cold air inlet portion (33) is arranged between an air inlet (34) for blowing out cold air cooled by an evaporator (19) and the ice making device (31). Furthermore, the cold air inlet portion (33) has an upper guide portion (331) and a lower guide portion (332).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an ice maker, in particular to an ice maker equipped in a freezer compartment of a refrigerator. Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, an ice storage container for storing ice cubes is provided inside a freezer compartment or the like.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2021-96047) describes a method of using a portion of a storage compartment of a refrigerator as an ice-making chamber, placing an ice-making device in the ice-making chamber, and utilizing the ice-making device to make ice. Furthermore, ice-making machines are categorized by water supply method into automatic ice-making machines, which automatically supply water to the ice-making device, and manual ice-making machines, which manually supply water to the ice-making device.

[0004] When using a manual ice maker, a portion of the freezer compartment is divided into an ice-making area, and the ice-making device is placed within this area. The ice-making device can be freely pulled out in the front-to-back direction within the ice-making area. To make ice, the user slides the ice-making device, filled with water, into the ice-making area and stores it there. Once the water in the ice-making device freezes, the user removes the ice-making device from the freezer compartment and twists it (or performs a similar action) to release the ice.

[0005] When the ice maker is placed in the ice making area, its ice-making grooves are arranged in an array, and the overall shape of the ice maker is a flat rectangular parallelepiped. Consequently, when the ice maker is stored in the freezer compartment's ice making area, the cooling temperature on the side of the ice maker closest to the cold air inlet differs from the cooling temperature on the side facing away from the cold air inlet. This results in uneven freezing of the ice, increasing the time required to make ice. Summary of the Invention

[0006] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an ice maker capable of shortening the time required for making ice.

[0007] An ice maker is provided in a freezing chamber, and comprises an ice maker body and an ice making device.

[0008] The ice maker body includes a storage portion for accommodating the ice making device and a cold air introduction portion provided between an air inlet and the ice making device, wherein the air inlet is used to guide the cold air cooled by the evaporator;

[0009] The ice making device has a plurality of ice making grooves for storing ice making water.

[0010] The cold air introduction part has:

[0011] An upper guide portion for guiding a portion of the cold air toward the upper portion of the ice making device, and

[0012] A lower air guide portion guides a portion of the cold air to a lower portion of the ice-making device.

[0013] Furthermore, the opening portion is formed by opening a hole in the receiving portion.

[0014] Furthermore, the upper guide portion has an inclined surface inclined upward in a direction approaching the ice-making device;

[0015] The lower air guide portion has an inclined surface inclined downward in a direction approaching the ice-making device.

[0016] Furthermore, the two upper guide portions are located on opposite sides of the lower guide portion.

[0017] Further, in the case where the direction of the cold air being blown out from the air inlet is a first direction and a direction orthogonal to the first direction is a second direction;

[0018] The widths of the two upper air guide portions in the second direction are greater than the width of the lower air guide portion in the second direction.

[0019] Furthermore, the sum of the widths of the two upper air guide portions in the second direction is smaller than the width of the lower air guide portion in the second direction.

[0020] Furthermore, the sum of the widths of the two upper air guide portions in the second direction is equal to the width of the lower air guide portion in the second direction.

[0021] Furthermore, the horizontal height of the front end of the upper air guide portion is greater than or equal to the horizontal height of the upper end of the ice-making device.

[0022] Furthermore, the horizontal height of the front end of the lower air guide portion is less than or equal to the horizontal height of the lower end of the ice-making device.

[0023] Effects of the Invention

[0024] Compared to the prior art, this device can shorten the time required to make ice. Specifically, a cool air flow can be generated above and below the ice-making device, effectively cooling the ice-making water stored in the ice-making device from above and below. This allows the ice-making water stored in each ice-making recess of the ice-making device to be evenly cooled and frozen. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] Figure 1 It is a side cross-sectional view of a refrigerator equipped with the ice maker according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 2A 2 is a perspective schematic diagram of an ice making machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0027] Figure 2B It is a sectional view of the front view of the ice making machine in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0028] Figure 3A 2 is a perspective schematic diagram of an ice-making device of an ice-making machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0029] Figure 3B 2 is a perspective schematic diagram of an ice maker body of an ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0030] Figure 4 2 is a perspective schematic diagram of an ice maker body of an ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0031] Figure 5 It is a perspective schematic diagram of a side sectional view of the ice maker when obtaining cold air according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] Next, an ice maker 30 and a refrigerator 10 including the same according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In principle, identical components will be assigned identical reference numerals throughout the following description, and repeated descriptions will be omitted. Furthermore, while the terms "up, down, front, back, left, and right" are used as appropriate, the left and right directions refer to the view from the front of the refrigerator 10.

[0033] Figure 1 1 is a side sectional view of the refrigerator 10. Figure 1 As shown, the refrigerator 10 includes a box body 11 forming a main body, and a storage compartment formed inside the box body 11 for storing food and the like.

[0034] The refrigerator body 11 is the main body of the refrigerator 10. It consists of an outer shell 111 made of steel plate with an opening on its front surface; an inner liner 112 made of synthetic resin, positioned inside the outer shell 111 with a gap therebetween; and a heat-insulating material 113 made of foamed polyurethane, which is used to fill the gap between the outer shell 111 and the inner liner 112.

[0035] The storage compartment is divided into a refrigerator compartment 12, a freezer compartment 13, and a vegetable compartment 14. The refrigerator compartment 12, located at the top, and the freezer compartment 13, located below it, are separated by a partition wall 20. The freezer compartment 13 and the vegetable compartment 14, located below it, are separated by a partition wall 21. The partition walls 20 and 21 have the same thermal insulation structure as the cabinet 11.

[0036] The ice maker 30 is located inside the freezer compartment 13 and is used to make ice cubes. The ice maker 30 is located at the top of the freezer compartment 13 and is configured as a manual ice maker. For a detailed description of the ice maker 30, please refer to Figure 2 and subsequent figures below. To make ice cubes, the user first pulls out the door 16 and removes the ice making device 31 (described later). The user then fills the ice making groove 311 of the ice making device 31 with water (described later). The user then returns the filled ice making device 31 to the ice maker 30. The water-filled ice making device 31 then freezes inside the freezer compartment 13, forming ice cubes in the ice making groove 311. When the user needs ice cubes, they open the door 16, remove the ice making device 31 from the ice maker 30, and detach the ice cubes from the ice making device 31.

[0037] The front surface of the refrigerator body 11 is provided with an opening, and corresponding to the openings of the refrigerator compartment 12, the freezer compartment 13, and the vegetable compartment 14, there are respectively provided with freely openable and closable doors 15, 16, and 17, each of which has a heat-insulating structure substantially equivalent to that of the refrigerator body 11. The upper and lower portions of the door 15 near its side edges are supported on the refrigerator body 11 so that they can rotate freely. The doors 16 and 17 are supported on the refrigerator body 11 so that they can be freely extended toward the front of the refrigerator 10.

[0038] A cooling air duct 22 for supplying cool air is formed at the rear side of the freezing chamber 13 and is connected to the freezing chamber 13. The cooling air duct 22 is formed between a partition plate made of synthetic resin and an inner wall of the freezing chamber 13. The partition plate is formed with an air inlet 34 for cool air to flow.

[0039] An evaporation chamber 18 is formed by a partition plate at the rear of the cooling air duct 22. An evaporator 19 is provided inside the evaporation chamber 18 for cooling the cold air circulating in the storage room.

[0040] Evaporator 19 is implemented, for example, as a fin-tube evaporator. It is connected to compressor 25, a condenser (not shown), and a capillary tube (not shown) via refrigerant piping. This constitutes a vapor compression refrigeration cycle. Compressor 25, a portion of the condenser, and a cooling fan (not shown) for supplying air to the condenser are housed in a machine room formed at the lower rear of refrigerator 10.

[0041] An opening, or air outlet, connected to a cooling air duct 22 is formed in the upper portion of the evaporation chamber 18. This outlet houses a blower 24 for circulating the cool air. This blower 24 is an axial flow fan, which allows the cool air, cooled by the evaporator 19, to flow from the evaporation chamber 18 to the various storage compartments. Furthermore, an opening, or return air outlet, is formed in the lower portion of the evaporation chamber 18 for returning the cool air from the freezer compartment 13 to the evaporation chamber 18.

[0042] At the rear of the refrigerating chamber 12, after being divided by a partition made of synthetic resin, a cooling air duct 23 for supplying cold air to the refrigerating chamber 12 is formed. The cooling air duct 23 is connected to the cooling air duct 22 and is also connected to the refrigerating chamber 12 via an air inlet.

[0043] Refrigerator 10 has a cooling air supply duct (not shown) and a return air duct (not shown). The cooling air supply duct is connected to refrigerator compartment 12 and vegetable compartment 14 and is used to supply cold air to vegetable compartment 14. The return air duct is connected to refrigerator compartment 12, vegetable compartment 14 and evaporation chamber 18 and is used to return cold air from refrigerator compartment 12 and vegetable compartment 14 to evaporation chamber 18. In addition, cooling air supply duct 22 and cooling air supply duct 23 may also be provided with dampers (not shown) to control the flow rate of cold air supplied to the storage compartment, thereby accurately maintaining the temperature inside the storage compartment.

[0044] With the refrigerator 10 having the above-described structure, the refrigerating chamber 12 and the vegetable chamber 14 are cooled to a designated refrigerating temperature range, and the freezing chamber 13 is cooled to a designated freezing temperature range.

[0045] Figure 2A is a perspective schematic diagram of the ice maker 30, and Figure 2B It is a cross-sectional view of the front view of the ice maker 30 .

[0046] refer to Figure 2A The ice maker 30 is composed of an ice maker body 38 and an ice making device 31. The ice maker body 38 is made of synthetic resin material by an integral molding method and has a storage portion 32 and a cold air inlet portion 33. The ice making device 31 is stored in the storage portion 32 of the ice maker body 38. For a description of the structure of the ice maker body 38, please refer to the following Figure 3B .

[0047] The ice making device 31 is a container for storing ice making water and making ice. The ice making device 31 is stored inside the storage portion 32 and can be freely pulled out in the front and back directions. For a detailed description of the ice making device 31, please refer to the following Figure 3A .

[0048] refer to Figure 2B The storage portion 32 is configured as a plate-like structure for storing components of the ice-making device 31. Specifically, the storage portion 32 includes a lower surface portion 321, a side surface portion 322 extending vertically upward from the left end portion of the lower surface portion 321, and a side surface portion 323 extending vertically upward from the right end portion of the lower surface portion 321.

[0049] There is a gap between the lower surface portion 321, the side portions 322, and the side portions 323 of the storage portion 32 and the ice-making device 31. The distance between the side portions 322 and 323 is greater than the width of the ice-making device 31, thereby forming a gap between the side portions 322 and 323 and the ice-making device 31. Furthermore, ribs extending in the front-to-back direction are formed on the lower surface of the ice-making device 31 to separate the lower surface portion 321 from the ice-making device 31, thereby forming a gap between them.

[0050] Specifically, a gap 261 is formed between the lower surface of the ice-making device 31 and the lower surface portion 321 of the storage portion 32. A gap 262 is formed between the left end portion of the ice-making device 31 and the side portion 322 of the storage portion 32. A gap 263 is formed between the right end portion of the ice-making device 31 and the side portion 323 of the storage portion 32. Furthermore, a gap 264 is formed above the ice-making device 31.

[0051] from Figure 1 The cool air blown out of the air inlet 34 shown in the figure flows through the gaps 261, 262, 263 and 264. Figure 5 .

[0052] Figure 3A 1 is a perspective view schematically showing the ice making device 31 of the ice making machine 30 .

[0053] The ice-making device 31 is generally flat and rectangular in shape, with multiple ice-making grooves 311 for storing ice-making water. The ice-making grooves 311 appear as a roughly square concave structure when viewed from above, and are arranged in an array. The front end of the ice-making device 31 is tilted downward to form a pull-out portion 312. The user pulls the ice-making device 31 forward by hooking the pull-out portion 312 from below. The ice-making grooves 311 are made of synthetic resin and are modified by a different-shaped punch.

[0054] Figure 3B This is a perspective view of the ice maker body 38. The ice maker body 38 has a storage portion 32 and a cold air inlet 33 arranged in the front-to-back direction. The storage portion 32 is used to store the ice maker 31. The cold air inlet 33 is used to introduce the cold air blown by the ice maker 31.

[0055] like Figure 1As shown, the cold air inlet 33 is located between the air inlet 34 and the aforementioned ice making device 31. The cold air inlet 33 has a lower surface portion 333, a side portion 334, and a side portion 335. The lower surface portion 333 is a surface that is substantially parallel to the horizontal plane. The side portion 334 extends vertically upward from the left end of the lower surface portion 333. The side portion 335 extends vertically upward from the right end of the lower surface portion 333. For further details of the cold air inlet 33, please refer to the following. Figure 4 .

[0056] The storage portion 32 is perforated to form openings 37. Specifically, multiple openings 37 are provided near the front ends of the lower surface 321, the side surface 322, and the side surface 323. The openings 37 allow cold air to flow into the storage portion 32, partially leaking out through the openings 37. This accelerates the flow of cold air inside and outside the storage portion 32, thereby shortening the time required to make ice.

[0057] Figure 4 3 is a schematic perspective view of the ice maker body 38. The upper air guide 331 and the lower air guide 332 are arranged on the cold air introduction portion 33 along the front-to-back direction.

[0058] An upper air guide 331 is formed at the front end of the lower surface 333. The upper air guide 331 gradually protrudes from the lower surface 333 from the rear to the front. The upper air guides 331 are formed at the left and right ends of the cold air inlet 33. A lower air guide 332 is formed between the upper air guides 331. The upper and lower air guides 331 and 332 guide the cold air flowing forward to the upper and lower ends of the ice-making device 31.

[0059] A lower air guide 332 is formed at the front end of the lower surface 333. The lower air guide 332 gradually slopes downward from the rear to the front. The lower air guide 332 is formed in the middle of the cold air inlet 33 in the left-right direction. This allows the cold air blown forward to be directed downward from the ice-making device 31.

[0060] The two upper guides 331 are oppositely arranged on the left and right sides of the lower guide 332. With this structure, cold air can be blown well and evenly above and below the ice-making device 31, and each ice-making groove 311 of the ice-making device 31 can obtain uniform cold air so as to freeze ice at the same time.

[0061] Here, the widths of the upper air guide 331 and the lower air guide 332 are described. The direction in which cold air is blown out from the air inlet 34 is referred to as the first direction D1, and the direction perpendicular to the first direction D1 is referred to as the second direction D2. Here, the front-to-back direction is the first direction D1, and the left-to-right direction is the second direction D2.

[0062] As an example, the width of the upper air guide portion 331 in the second direction D2 may be longer than the width of the lower air guide portion 332 in the second direction D2.

[0063] Specifically, the width of the upper air guide portion 331 on the left side is A1, the width of the upper air guide portion 331 on the right side is A2, and the width of the lower air guide portion 332 is B. The sum of the lengths A1 and A2 can be longer than B. This allows cold air to be preferentially blown above the ice-making device 31, thereby freezing the ice-making water stored in the ice-making recesses 311 of the ice-making device 31 from above.

[0064] On the other hand, the length of A1 and A2 added together may be shorter than B. In this way, cold air can be blown preferentially to the lower portion of the ice-making device 31 , thereby freezing the ice-making water stored in the ice-making recesses 311 of the ice-making device 31 from below.

[0065] In addition, the length of A1 and A2 added together may be equal to B. In this way, cold air can be evenly blown above and below the ice-making device 31, and ice-making water stored in the ice-making recesses 311 of the ice-making device 31 can be frozen simultaneously from above and below.

[0066] Figure 5 It is a perspective schematic diagram of a side cross-sectional view of the ice maker 30 when taking in cold air.

[0067] The air cooled by the evaporator 19 is blown forward from the air inlet 34 .

[0068] A portion of the cold air blown out from the air inlet 34 flows along the upper air guide 331 to form upper cooling air 35. Upper cooling air 35 is generated above the ice-making device 31. The upper cooling air 35 cools the ice-making water stored in the ice-making recesses 311 of the ice-making device 31 from above. The upper cooling air 35 then flows outward through the front opening of the storage portion 32, that is, toward the lower portion of the freezer compartment 13. Upper cooling air 35 is generated on both the left and right sides of the interior of the ice-making device 30. Figure 5 In FIG, the upper cooling air 35 is shown by a dotted line. Figure 3B As shown, a portion of the upper cooling air 35 flows to the outside of the ice maker 30 from the openings 37 on the side surface portions 322 and 323 .

[0069] A portion of the cold air blown out from the air inlet 34 flows along the lower air guide 332 to form the lower cooling air 36. The lower cooling air 36 is generated below the ice-making device 31. The lower cooling air 36 cools the ice-making water stored in the ice-making recesses 311 of the ice-making device 31 from below. The lower cooling air 36 then flows outward through the front opening of the storage portion 32, that is, toward the lower portion of the freezer compartment 13. Figure 5In FIG, the lower cooling air 36 is shown by a dotted line. Figure 3B As shown, a portion of the lower cooling air 36 flows from the opening 37 on the lower surface 321 to the outside of the ice maker 30 .

[0070] Furthermore, the front end of the upper air guide 331 is at a height greater than or equal to the top end of the ice-making device 31. This ensures smooth flow of the upper cooling air 35 above the ice-making device 31. Furthermore, the front end of the lower air guide 332 is at a height less than or equal to the bottom end of the ice-making device 31. This ensures smooth flow of the lower cooling air 36 below the ice-making device 31.

[0071] As described above, by ensuring smooth circulation of cool air within the ice-making device 31, the temperature difference between the front and rear of the ice-making device 31 can be reduced. Furthermore, the upper cooling air 35 flows to the left and right sides of the upper surface of the ice-making device 31, while the lower cooling air 36 flows horizontally toward the center of the lower surface of the ice-making device 31. This reduces the temperature difference between the left and right areas of the ice-making device 31. This ensures that ice-making water is evenly frozen in all ice-making recesses 311 formed in the ice-making device 31, shortening the time required for ice-making.

[0072] According to this embodiment, the main effects described below can be achieved.

[0073] refer to Figure 5 Since cold air flows upward and downward from the ice-making device 31, the ice-making water stored in the ice-making device 31 can be effectively cooled from above and below. As a result, the ice-making water stored in each ice-making recess 311 of the ice-making device 31 can be uniformly cooled and frozen.

[0074] refer to Figure 3B Since the introduced cold air leaks from the ice maker 30 to the outside through the opening 37 of the storage portion 32, the accumulation of cold air above and below the ice maker 31 can be suppressed, and the ice-making water stored in the ice maker 31 can be frozen more effectively.

[0075] refer to Figure 4 , cold air can be smoothly blown toward the upper and lower sides of the ice-making device 31 along the inclined surfaces constituting the upper air guide portion 331 and the lower air guide portion 332 .

[0076] like Figure 5 As shown, the ice-making device 31 can be cooled equally from above and below by the upper cooling air 35 and the lower cooling air 36 .

[0077] refer to Figure 4, more cold air can be blown along the upper guide portion 331 , and the ice-making water stored in the ice-making groove 311 can be effectively cooled and frozen.

[0078] The present invention is not limited to the contents defined in the above-mentioned embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. In addition, the above-mentioned embodiments can be combined with each other.

Claims

1. An ice maker, arranged in a freezing room, comprising an ice maker body and an ice making device, characterized in that: The ice maker body includes a storage portion for accommodating the ice making device and a cold air introduction portion provided between an air inlet and the ice making device, wherein the air inlet is used to guide the cold air cooled by the evaporator; The ice making device has a plurality of ice making grooves for storing ice making water. The cold air introduction part has: An upper guide portion for guiding a portion of the cold air toward the upper portion of the ice making device, and directing a portion of the cold air toward a lower guide portion below the ice-making device; The upper guide portion has an inclined surface inclined upward in a direction approaching the ice making device; The lower air guide portion has an inclined surface inclined downward in a direction approaching the ice-making device.

2. The ice making machine according to claim 1, wherein: The opening portion is formed by drilling a hole in the housing portion.

3. The ice making machine according to claim 1, wherein: The two upper air guides are located on opposite sides of the lower air guide.

4. The ice making machine according to claim 1 or claim 3, characterized in that: In the case where the direction in which the cold air is blown out from the air inlet is a first direction and a direction orthogonal to the first direction is a second direction; The widths of the two upper air guide portions in the second direction are greater than the width of the lower air guide portion in the second direction.

5. The ice making machine according to claim 4, characterized in that: The sum of the widths of the two upper air guide portions in the second direction is greater than the width of the lower air guide portion in the second direction.

6. The ice making machine according to claim 4, characterized in that: The sum of the widths of the two upper air guide portions in the second direction is smaller than the width of the lower air guide portion in the second direction.

7. The ice making machine according to claim 4, characterized in that: The sum of the widths of the two upper air guide portions in the second direction is equal to the width of the lower air guide portion in the second direction.

8. The ice making machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: The horizontal height of the front end of the upper guide portion is greater than or equal to the horizontal height of the upper end of the ice-making device.

9. The ice making machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: The horizontal height of the front end of the lower guide portion is less than or equal to the horizontal height of the lower end of the ice-making device.

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