Auger-type ice maker

Abstract

To provide an ice maker capable of improving cooling efficiency by increasing a cross-sectional area of an ice-making cylinder facing an auger, reducing an application rate of frictional force applied to a formed ice layer, and ultimately improving quality of ice finally produced.SOLUTION: An ice maker includes an ice-making cylinder having an internal space extending vertically along a longitudinal direction, an auger that is rotatably mounted in the internal space of the ice-making cylinder and has spiral blades formed spirally on an outer peripheral surface thereof, a cooling unit that cools the ice-making cylinder, and a driving unit that rotationally drives the auger. The ice-making cylinder includes, along the longitudinal direction, a bent section in which an inner peripheral surface forming the internal space is formed in a bent shape having a pattern in which an inner diameter repeatedly increases and decreases along an inner circumferential direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an auger type ice maker, and more particularly to an auger type ice maker configured to increase the cross-sectional area of ​​an ice cylinder facing the auger. [Background technology]

[0002] A commonly known auger-type ice maker is configured to circulate a refrigerant through an evaporator tube that is spirally attached to the outer surface of an ice-making cylinder, cool the ice-making cylinder below freezing point, freeze the ice-making water flowing into the ice-making cylinder, and transport the ice layer that grows as the auger moves it to produce ice.

[0003] Such auger type ice maker is disclosed in Korean Patent Nos. 10-2155224 and 10-2282156, among others.

[0004] However, conventional auger-type ice makers have the risk of deteriorating ice quality due to uneven temperature distribution within the ice cylinder and frictional forces acting on the ice layer during the transport process of ice produced in the ice cylinder. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Korean Patent No. 10-2155224 [Patent Document 2] Korean Patent No. 10-2282156 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] The present invention has been devised in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an auger-type ice maker that can improve the quality of ice by increasing the cross-sectional area of ​​the ice cylinder facing the auger. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problem, according to one aspect of the present invention, the auger type ice maker of the present invention comprises an ice making cylinder having an internal space extending vertically along the longitudinal direction, an auger rotatably mounted within the internal space of the ice making cylinder and having spiral blades formed in a spiral shape on its outer surface, a cooling unit that cools the ice making cylinder, and a drive unit that rotates the auger, wherein the ice making cylinder has a curved section extending longitudinally, in which the inner surface that forms the internal space is curved in a pattern in which the inner diameter repeatedly increases and decreases along the inner circumferential direction.

[0008] According to one aspect of the present invention, the curved section is formed in a wave-like pattern in which arc-shaped concave sections and arc-shaped convex sections are repeated along the inner circumferential direction.

[0009] The bent section is formed in a pattern in which triangular gears, each having a first inclined portion whose inner diameter gradually increases in a straight line from one end and a second inclined portion whose inner diameter gradually decreases in a straight line from the other end of the first inclined portion, are repeated along the inner circumferential direction.

[0010] The curved section may be formed so that a first pattern is repeated along the inner circumferential direction, the first pattern including a first portion having a first inner diameter from one end to the other end and extending along the inner circumferential direction, a second portion extending from the other end of the first portion at an angle such that the inner diameter gradually increases along the inner circumferential direction, a third portion extending along the inner circumferential direction from the end of the second portion and having a second inner diameter larger than the first inner diameter, and a fourth portion extending along the inner circumferential direction from the end of the third portion such that the inner diameter gradually decreases along the inner circumferential direction.

[0011] In addition, the curved section may be formed so that a first portion having a first inner diameter extending along the inner circumferential direction from one end to the other end, and a second pattern having a recessed portion extending in a semicircular concave arc shape along the inner circumferential direction from the other end of the first portion are repeated along the inner circumferential direction. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] As described above, according to the present invention, the cross-sectional area of ​​the ice making cylinder facing the auger is increased to improve cooling efficiency, improve energy efficiency in ice production, and reduce the rate of friction applied to the produced ice layer, thereby improving the quality of the final ice produced. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an auger type ice making machine according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an extracted ice making cylinder of FIG. 1. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing an ice making cylinder according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing an ice making cylinder according to a third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing an ice making cylinder according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing an ice making cylinder according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0015] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an auger type ice making machine according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an ice making cylinder extracted from FIG.

[0016] 1 and 2, an auger type ice maker 100 according to the present invention includes an ice making cylinder 120, an auger 140, a cooling unit 150, and a driving unit 160.

[0017] The ice-making cylinder 120 is installed vertically within the main body 110 and has an internal space 122 extending vertically along the longitudinal direction, and is adapted to receive ice-making water supplied through the ice-making water supply pipe 115 into the internal space 122; its detailed structure will be described later.

[0018] The auger 140 is partly rotatably mounted within the internal space 122 of the ice-making cylinder 120, and has a structure in which a spiral blade 143 is formed in a spiral shape on the outer circumferential surface of the body 141.

[0019] Cooling unit 150 cools ice-making cylinder 120. The cooling unit is configured to cool ice-making cylinder 120 through a refrigerant cycle in which a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve, and an evaporation unit circulate refrigerant through a circulation pipe. In this case, cooling unit 150 may be configured to cool ice-making cylinder 120 by winding a refrigerant coil forming evaporation unit 153 around ice-making cylinder 120 multiple times, and by connecting refrigerant supply pipe 151, through which refrigerant is supplied to the refrigerant coil of evaporation unit 153, and refrigerant recovery pipe 151, which recovers refrigerant that has passed through evaporation unit 153, to elements that form the refrigerant cycle.

[0020] The drive unit 160 drives and rotates the auger 140. The drive unit 160 is configured to transmit power generated by a motor 162 to the auger 140 via a power transmission unit to rotate the auger 140. In the illustrated example, the power transmission unit has a structure in which power is transmitted between a drive gear 164 coupled to the rotation shaft of the motor 162 and a driven gear 166 coupled to the auger 140 via a power transmission member 168 such as a belt, chain, or relay gear, but it goes without saying that a power transmission structure different from the disclosed example can also be applied.

[0021] Component number 118 is an ice storage case that is connected to the top of the ice making cylinder 120 and temporarily stores the ice that is discharged, and 119 is a slicing blade that slices the ice that is produced and discharged through the ice making cylinder 120, and of course, this can be omitted depending on the applicable structure.

[0022] The auger type ice maker 100 can be applied with various known structures, such as a vertical structure that discharges the produced ice vertically, as well as the auger type ice maker structure of Korean Patent No. 10-2535914 that discharges the produced ice in an orthogonal direction.

[0023] On the other hand, the ice making cylinder 120 has an inner surface that forms the internal space 122, and a curved section that is formed in a curved shape in a pattern in which the inner diameter repeatedly increases and decreases along the inner circumferential direction, extending along the longitudinal direction.

[0024] Here, the curved section is applied to the entire length of the ice making cylinder 120.

[0025] Alternatively, the curved section formed in the ice-making cylinder 120 may be applied only to a section where ice-making water flows in to make ice, such as the area where the spiral blades 143 of the auger 140 are formed. In this case, the remaining section of the ice-making cylinder 120 excluding the curved section may be extended to have an inner diameter corresponding to the minimum inner diameter of the curved section.

[0026] In the example shown, a structure in which curved sections are applied along the entire length of the ice making cylinder 120 is illustrated, and the ice making cylinder 120 is formed from a wave pattern 131 in which an arc-shaped concave section 131a is formed so as to be drawn in an arc in the direction in which the inner diameter expands, and an arc-shaped convex section 131b is formed so as to be protruded in an arc in the direction in which the inner diameter contracts, repeating along the inner circumferential direction.

[0027] Furthermore, the cross-sectional shape of ice-making cylinder 120 along the inner circumferential direction, that is, wave pattern 131, extends in the same size along the longitudinal direction of internal space 122.

[0028] Ice-making cylinder 120, with wave pattern 131 extending along the length of its inner periphery, has an increased cross-sectional area compared to a cylindrical structure with a hollow interior space along its inner periphery. This increased cross-sectional area of ​​ice-making cylinder 120 increases the heat absorption area of ​​evaporator 153 of cooling unit 150, reducing temperature variations across the cross section of ice-making cylinder 120 and improving the uniformity of ice growth. Furthermore, this increased cross-sectional area of ​​ice-making cylinder 120 reduces the contact rate between the grown ice and auger 140, reducing the overall rate of frictional force applied. The increased edge area of ​​ice-making cylinder 120's inner periphery results in uniform ice growth and a reduced rate of frictional force, enabling the production of high-quality ice with high transparency.

[0029] Meanwhile, the structure for increasing the cross-sectional area of ​​the inner peripheral surface of ice-making cylinder 120 can be configured with a structure different from that shown, and examples thereof will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5 in order.

[0030] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an ice making cylinder according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[0031] 1, ice-making cylinder 220 is formed to have a curved section on the inner circumferential surface that defines inner space 122. In the following description, the inner circumferential direction will be assumed to be a clockwise direction.

[0032] The curved section of ice making cylinder 220 is formed into a gear pattern 231 in which a triangular gear having a first inclined portion 231a whose inner diameter gradually increases in a straight line from one end along the inner circumferential direction and a second inclined portion 231b whose inner diameter gradually decreases in a straight line from the other end of first inclined portion 231a along the inner circumferential direction is repeated along the inner circumferential direction.

[0033] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an ice making cylinder according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[0034] Referring to FIG. 1, the ice-making cylinder 320 is formed to have a curved section on the inner circumferential surface that defines the internal space 122 .

[0035] The curved section of ice-making cylinder 320 has a first pattern 331 repeated along the inner circumferential direction, including a first portion 331a having a first inner diameter from one end to the other and extending along the inner circumferential direction, a second portion 331b extending from the other end of first portion 331a in a straight line at an angle so that the inner diameter gradually increases along the inner circumferential direction, a third portion 331c having a second inner diameter larger than the first inner diameter and extending along the inner circumferential direction from the end of second portion 331b, and a fourth portion 331d extending from the end of third portion 331c in a straight line so that the inner diameter gradually decreases along the inner circumferential direction.

[0036] FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an ice making cylinder according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

[0037] Referring to FIG. 5, the ice-making cylinder 420 is formed to have a curved section on the inner circumferential surface that defines the internal space 122 .

[0038] The curved section of ice making cylinder 420 has a first inner diameter from one end to the other and is structured so that a second pattern 431 having a first portion 431a extending along the inner circumferential direction and a recessed portion 431b extending in a semicircular concave arc shape from the other end of first portion 431a so that the inner diameter expands along the inner circumferential direction is repeated along the inner circumferential direction.

[0039] As described above, the cross-sectional area of ​​the inner circumferential surface of such ice making cylinder 420 is increased, thereby improving the quality of the ice produced.

[0040] On the other hand, the aforementioned ice making cylinders 120, 220, 320, and 420 have a structure in which the internal space 122 extends uniformly along the longitudinal direction. Alternatively, an ice making cylinder may be configured so that the internal space gradually increases or decreases along the longitudinal direction, and an example of this will be described with reference to FIG. 6.

[0041] 6, ice-making cylinder 120 has a hollow interior space 122 that extends vertically along its length. Interior space 122 tapers from bottom to top along its length, maintaining the aforementioned wave pattern 131. That is, lower inlet 122a, which defines interior space 122 of ice-making cylinder 120, is larger than upper inlet 122b, and the horizontal cross-sectional area from lower inlet 122a to upper inlet 122b tapers along its length. Wave pattern 131 also tapers along its length from lower inlet 122a to upper inlet 122b. This ice-making cylinder 120 has a tapered spatial structure in which interior space 122 tapers along its length.

[0042] Meanwhile, unlike the illustrated example, the ice cylinder 120 may have a structure having an internal space that is narrow at the bottom and wide at the top.

[0043] In addition, the pattern in which the internal space 122 of the ice-making cylinder is configured so that the internal space 122 gradually increases or decreases along the longitudinal direction can of course be formed in the patterns shown in Figures 3 to 5 in addition to the wave pattern shown in Figure 6.

[0044] The auger-type ice maker described above has the advantage of improving the cooling efficiency by increasing the cross-sectional area of ​​the ice cylinder facing the auger, and reducing the rate of friction applied to the generated ice layer, thereby improving the quality of the final ice produced.

[0045] While the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, the present invention is not limited to these examples. It is clear that a person skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains can conceive of various modifications and alterations within the scope of the technical ideas set forth in the claims, and it is understood that these modifications and alterations also fall within the technical scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0046] 120: Ice Cube 140: Ogre 150: Cooling section 160: Drive unit

Claims

1. An auger-type ice machine having an ice cylinder having an internal space extending vertically along the longitudinal direction, an auger rotatably mounted in the internal space of the ice cylinder and having spiral blades formed in a spiral shape on the outer circumferential surface, a cooling unit that cools the ice cylinder, and a drive unit that rotates and drives the auger, The ice cylinder is an auger type ice maker characterized in that the inner surface forming the internal space has a curved section extending along the longitudinal direction, the curved section being formed in a pattern in which the inner diameter repeatedly increases and decreases along the inner circumferential direction.

2. 2. The auger ice maker according to claim 1, wherein the curved section is formed in a wave-like pattern in which arc-shaped concave sections and arc-shaped convex sections are repeated along the inner circumferential direction.

3. 2. The auger type ice maker according to claim 1, wherein the curved section has a first inclined portion whose inner diameter gradually increases linearly from one end and a second inclined portion whose inner diameter gradually decreases linearly from the other end of the first inclined portion, and the curved section has a triangular gear shape that is repeated along the inner circumferential direction.

4. 2. The auger type ice maker of claim 1, wherein the curved section has a first pattern repeated along the inner circumferential direction, the first pattern including: a first portion having a first inner diameter from one end to the other end and extending along the inner circumferential direction; a second portion extending from the other end of the first portion at an angle such that the inner diameter gradually increases along the inner circumferential direction; a third portion having a second inner diameter larger than the first inner diameter and extending along the inner circumferential direction from the end of the second portion; and a fourth portion extending from the end of the third portion along the inner circumferential direction with the inner diameter gradually decreasing.

5. 2. The auger type ice maker according to claim 1, wherein the curved section has a first inner diameter from one end to the other end, and a second pattern having a first portion extending along the inner circumferential direction and a recessed portion extending in a semicircular concave arc shape from the other end of the first portion along the inner circumferential direction, the second pattern being repeated along the inner circumferential direction.

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