Refrigerator

Abstract

To provide a refrigerator having an ice making function capable of efficiently making ice.SOLUTION: A refrigerator 10 includes a cooling chamber 27 in which air is cooled, an ice making chamber 50 in which ice making is performed, and an ice making air duct 51 through which air is blown from the cooling chamber 27 toward the ice making chamber 50. The ice-making air duct 51 includes an air outlet 52 and an ice-making air duct 51. The outlet portion 52 is formed so as to protrude from the cooling chamber 27 toward the ice-making chamber 50. The ice-making air duct 51 is an air channel formed from the air outlet 52 to the ice-making chamber 50. A cutout opening part 56 is formed in an upper surface part of the blowout part 52.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3A

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly to a refrigerator equipped with an ice making compartment. [Background technology]

[0002] In a typical refrigerator, a storage compartment is formed inside an insulated box, and the front opening of this storage compartment is closed by an insulated door that can be opened and closed. The insulated box consists of an outer box made of steel plate, an inner box made of synthetic resin plate placed inside the outer box, and insulation material filled between the outer box and the inner box. In addition, a cooling compartment is defined at the back of the storage compartment to cool the air blown into the storage compartment. The storage compartment generally includes a refrigerator compartment and a freezer compartment.

[0003] An ice making compartment is formed by partitioning off a part of the freezer compartment. Some refrigerators also have automatic ice makers that automatically make ice. An automatic ice maker has a storage tank, an ice tray, and an ice release device. The storage tank has the function of storing water and is located in the refrigerator compartment. The ice tray is located in the freezer compartment and is supplied with water from the storage tank. Once the water supplied to the ice tray freezes and becomes ice, the ice release device releases the ice from the ice tray. The released ice is stored in a dedicated container. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2018-100798 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, there is room for improvement in the refrigerator equipped with the ice maker described above.

[0006] The ice maker performs the ice-making function using the refrigerator's cooling function. Specifically, the evaporator cools the air inside the cooling compartment, and the fan blows a portion of the cooled air in the cooling compartment toward the ice tray. This causes the water stored in the ice tray to freeze and become ice. That is, an ice-making airflow path is formed in the cooling compartment, through which the cooled air is blown toward the ice tray.

[0007] If the air flow resistance in the ice making air duct increases, air cannot be effectively blown onto the ice making tray, the time required to make ice increases, and more energy is consumed during ice making.

[0008] Furthermore, if the shape of the ice-making air duct becomes complex, there is a problem that the air flow resistance becomes even greater. The ice-making compartment in which the ice trays are arranged is defined at the top of the freezer compartment, and electrical components such as a motor and harnesses are arranged near the top of the freezer compartment. Therefore, the presence of electrical components may limit the shape of the ice-making air duct, and in such cases, the shape of the ice-making air duct becomes even more complex.

[0009] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator having an ice-making function that can efficiently make ice. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] A refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a cooling chamber where air is cooled, an ice making chamber where ice is made, and an ice making air duct through which the air is blown from the cooling chamber toward the ice making chamber. The ice making air duct includes an outlet portion formed to protrude from the cooling chamber toward the ice making chamber and an air duct portion that is an air tunnel formed from the outlet portion to the ice making chamber, and a notched opening is formed in the upper surface of the outlet portion. According to the refrigerator of the present invention, the notched opening is formed in the end of the upper surface of the outlet portion, so that air is blown obliquely upward through the notched opening. Therefore, when the air duct portion extends substantially horizontally, the air blown from the outlet portion is blown substantially horizontally along the air duct portion. On the other hand, when the middle portion of the air duct portion is inclined upward, the air blown from the notched opening is blown along the inclined air duct portion. Therefore, even when the air duct portion is inclined, pressure loss in the air duct can be reduced, thereby reducing the time and energy required to make ice in the ice maker.

[0011] In addition, in a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention, the ice making compartment is provided with an ice removing unit that removes ice from the ice making tray, the ice removing unit having a motor that rotates the ice making tray, the motor being provided below the air duct, and the lower surface of the air duct near the motor being an inclined surface that slopes upward toward the ice making compartment. According to the refrigerator of the present invention, when the air duct is inclined due to the motor being located below the air duct, air is supplied to the air duct through the notched opening of the blowing section. This reduces pressure loss in the air duct.

[0012] The refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention further includes a rib protruding downward from the upper surface of the ice-making air duct. According to the refrigerator of the present invention, the rib separates the air blown through the ice-making air duct from the upper surface of the ice-making compartment and blows it toward the ice tray.

[0013] The refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention further includes a water supply unit that supplies water to the ice tray from above, and the rib is disposed rearward of the water supply unit. According to the refrigerator of the present invention, the rib separates air flowing from the ice-making air duct toward the ice-making compartment from the top surface of the ice-making compartment. This prevents the air flowing from the ice-making air duct toward the ice-making compartment from freezing the water supply unit, and allows the water supply unit to efficiently supply water to the ice tray.

[0014] In the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention, a part of the ceiling surface of the ice-making air duct is a recessed portion recessed upward. According to the refrigerator of the present invention, by forming the recessed portion in the ice-making air duct, the cross-sectional area of ​​the ice-making air duct can be increased and pressure loss in the ice-making air duct can be reduced.

[0015] In the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention, the ice making compartment contains an ice making tray from which ice is manually removed, and the lower surface of the air duct is generally flat and extends from the cooling compartment toward the ice making compartment. According to the refrigerator of the present invention, air can be blown toward the ice making compartment along the generally flat lower surface of the ice making air duct, allowing ice to be made effectively by the ice making tray. [Effects of the Invention]

[0016] According to the refrigerator of this embodiment, it is possible to provide a refrigerator having an ice-making function that can efficiently make ice. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view showing a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 1 is a side cross-sectional view showing a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3A] 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of an automatic ice maker in a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3B] 2 is a cross-sectional view showing an air duct and its vicinity in the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 4A] 1 is a perspective view showing an automatic ice maker, a partition, and the like in a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4B] 1 is a perspective view showing a partition in a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] 1 is a cutaway perspective view showing an automatic ice maker, a partition, and the like in a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 6] 1 is a cutaway exploded perspective view showing an automatic ice maker, a partition, and the like in a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 7] 1 is a perspective view showing a freezer compartment box and a part of an automatic ice maker in a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing an automatic ice maker and ribs in the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing an automatic ice maker and ribs in the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a manual ice maker in a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018] A refrigerator 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the up-down direction refers to the height direction of the refrigerator 10, the left-right direction refers to the width direction of the refrigerator 10, and the front-rear direction refers to the depth direction of the refrigerator 10. In addition, when describing this embodiment, the same reference numerals are generally used for the same components, and repeated description will be omitted.

[0019] The external configuration of the refrigerator 10 will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the refrigerator 10.

[0020] Refrigerator 10 is an appliance that cools and stores food, drinking water, ice, etc. to a refrigeration temperature range or a freezing temperature range. Refrigerator 10 mainly comprises an insulated box body 11 and an insulated door 15. Inside insulated box body 11, storage compartments are formed, from top to bottom, as a refrigerator compartment 12, a freezer compartment 13, and a vegetable compartment 14. As will be described later, refrigerator 10 is equipped with an automatic ice maker 49.

[0021] The insulating door 15 includes a first insulating door 151, a second insulating door 152, a third insulating door 153, and a fourth insulating door 154. The first insulating door 151 closes the front opening of the refrigerator compartment 12. The second insulating door 152 and the third insulating door 153 close the front opening of the freezer compartment 13. The fourth insulating door 154 closes the front opening of the vegetable compartment 14. The right end of the first insulating door 151 is rotatably connected to the insulating box body 11. The second insulating door 152, the third insulating door 153, and the fourth insulating door 154 are provided so as to be retractable relative to the insulating box body 11. Here, the first insulating door 151 to the fourth insulating door 154 may be rotating doors or retractable doors.

[0022] Fig. 2 is a side cross-sectional view showing the refrigerator 10. Fig. 2 is a cross-section taken along the AA cross-section line in Fig. 1. The AA cross-section is a cross-section including the up-down direction and the front-rear direction.

[0023] The insulated box body 11 of the refrigerator 10 is composed of an outer box 19 made of steel plate that forms the exterior shape of the refrigerator 10, an inner box 20 made of a box-shaped synthetic resin plate formed inside the outer box 19, and a heat insulating material 25 filled between the outer box 19 and the inner box 20. As the heat insulating material 25, either urethane foam or vacuum heat insulating material or a combination of both is used.

[0024] The inner box 20 has, from above, a refrigerator compartment box 21, a freezer compartment box 22, and a vegetable compartment box 23. The refrigerator compartment 12 is formed inside the refrigerator compartment box 21. The freezer compartment 13 is formed inside the freezer compartment box 22. The vegetable compartment 14 is formed inside the vegetable compartment box 23. As will be described later, part of the interior of the freezer compartment box 22 is an ice-making compartment 50.

[0025] The first compartment wall 33 is a wall-like portion disposed between the refrigerator compartment 12 and the freezer compartment 13. The first compartment wall 33 has a heat insulating material 25 filled between the bottom surface of the refrigerator compartment inner box 21 and the top surface of the freezer compartment inner box 22. With this configuration, the first compartment wall 33 insulates the refrigerator compartment 12 and the freezer compartment 13 from each other.

[0026] The second partition wall 34 is a wall-like portion disposed between the freezer compartment 13 and the vegetable compartment 14. The second partition wall 34 has a heat insulating material 25 disposed between the bottom surface of the freezer compartment inner box 22 and the top surface of the vegetable compartment inner box 23. With this configuration, the second partition wall 34 insulates the freezer compartment 13 from the vegetable compartment 14.

[0027] A return air passage 24 is formed inside second partition wall 34. Return air passage 24 is an air tunnel connecting vegetable compartment 14 and cooling compartment 27. The front end portion of return air passage 24 opens toward vegetable compartment 14, and the rear end portion of return air passage 24 opens toward cooling compartment 27. Air returning from vegetable compartment 14 to cooling compartment 27 circulates through return air passage 24.

[0028] The abutment portion 35 is configured so that the second insulating door 152 and the third insulating door 153 abut against each other. Specifically, the lower end portion of the second insulating door 152 and the upper end portion of the third insulating door 153 abut against the abutment portion 35. The abutment portion 35 is disposed at the front end portion inside the freezer compartment 13. The abutment portion 35 is also disposed at approximately the center in the up-down direction inside the freezer compartment 13. The abutment portion 35 is a substantially rod-shaped member that extends from the left end portion to the right end portion of the freezer compartment inner box 22.

[0029] The cooling compartment 27 is defined behind the freezer compartment 13 and serves as a space where air sent to each storage compartment is cooled. The cooling compartment 27 and the freezer compartment 13 are separated by a partition 40 made of a resin plate. The cooling compartment 27 is provided with a blower 28, an evaporator 26, and a defrost heater 30, arranged from above. The blower 28 sends air cooled inside the cooling compartment 27 to the refrigerator compartment 12, the freezer compartment 13, and the vegetable compartment 14. The defrost heater 30 is a defrosting means arranged below the evaporator 26 inside the cooling compartment 27. The defrost heater 30 is, for example, an electric heater that generates heat when energized. A dew receiver 32 is arranged below the defrost heater 30 to collect defrost water generated during defrosting.

[0030] A machine room 16 is defined at the rear of the bottom of the insulating box 11, and a compressor 29 and other components are housed in the machine room 16. Inside the machine room 16, an evaporator tray 18 is located adjacent to the top of the compressor 29. Defrosted water generated by melting frost on the evaporator 26 is transferred to the evaporator tray 18 via a pipe (not shown).

[0031] The evaporator 26 and the compressor 29 are connected to an expansion means and a condenser (not shown) via refrigerant pipes (not shown) to form a refrigeration cycle 37. The compressor 29 compresses low-temperature, low-pressure refrigerant vapor to a high-temperature, high-pressure state. The condenser (not shown) exchanges heat between the refrigerant and the outside atmosphere, thereby removing heat from the refrigerant and condensing it. The expansion means (not shown) throttles and expands the refrigerant. The evaporator 26 exchanges heat between the air inside the cooling chamber 27 and the refrigerant, thereby cooling the air inside the cooling chamber 27. The refrigerant used in the refrigeration cycle 37 is, for example, isobutane (R600a).

[0032] The air duct 111 is an air duct that extends upward from the cooling compartment 27. The air duct 111 is an air duct formed on the rear side of the refrigerator compartment 12, and is provided with a plurality of outlets for blowing air into the refrigerator compartment 12. A damper 31 is interposed in the middle of the air duct 111. A control device (not shown) controls the opening and closing of the damper 31 based on the temperature inside the refrigerator compartment 12. This adjusts the flow of air into the refrigerator compartment 12, and keeps the temperature inside the refrigerator compartment 12 constant. The connecting air duct 112 is an air duct that connects the rear end of the bottom surface of the refrigerator compartment 12 with the vegetable compartment 14. The connecting air duct 112 is a duct that is embedded in the insulation material 25 on the rear side of the inner box 20.

[0033] The following describes the air flow when cooling each storage compartment in refrigerator 10. First, the air inside cooling compartment 27 blown by blower 28 is sent to refrigerator compartment 12 via air flow path 111. Here, if a chilled compartment is formed inside refrigerator compartment 12, air is supplied to the chilled compartment from air flow path 111. As a result, refrigerator compartment 12 is cooled to a refrigeration temperature range.

[0034] The air that has cooled the refrigerator compartment 12 is sent to the vegetable compartment 14 via the connecting air duct 112. The air that has cooled the vegetable compartment 14 is returned to the cooling compartment 27 via the return air duct 24. As a result, the vegetable compartment 14 is cooled to a refrigeration temperature range that is higher than the room temperature of the refrigerator compartment 12.

[0035] A portion of the air blown by blower 28 is also supplied to freezing compartment 13. The air that has cooled freezing compartment 13 returns to cooling compartment 27 via a return port (not shown) formed at the rear end of the bottom surface of freezing compartment 13. This causes freezing compartment 13 to be cooled to the freezing temperature range. Another portion of the air blown by blower 28 is also supplied to ice-making compartment 50. Specifically, air is supplied from cooling compartment 27 to ice-making compartment 50 via ice-making air duct 51. This matter will be described later with reference to FIG. 3A etc.

[0036] Automatic ice maker 49 is a device provided in refrigerator 10 that makes ice. As will be described later, automatic ice maker 49 has storage tank 62, ice tray 57, etc. Furthermore, ice making compartment 50, in which ice is made, is formed by partitioning the upper end of freezer compartment 13 with ice storage container 66. Ice storage container 66 is a container arranged to slide back and forth together with second insulated door 152. Ice tray 57 is stored above ice making compartment 50. Ice tray 57 is provided so as to be rotatable by ice release unit 58. As will be described later, ice release unit 58 is configured to release ice from ice tray 57 by rotating ice tray 57, etc.

[0037] To make ice using automatic ice maker 49, a user supplies water, such as tap water, to storage tank 62. Automatic ice maker 49 has a pump function, which supplies water from storage tank 62 to ice tray 57. Then, air from cooling chamber 27 is blown into ice tray 57 via ice-making air duct 51, causing the water supplied to ice tray 57 to freeze, producing ice. Furthermore, ice release section 58 rotates and twists ice tray 57, causing the ice released from ice tray 57 to be stored in ice storage container 66. Then, when the user pulls second insulating door 152 forward, ice storage container 66 also moves forward together with second insulating door 152. This allows the user to remove a desired amount of ice from ice storage container 66.

[0038] The detailed configuration and functions of automatic ice maker 49 will be described later with reference to FIG. 3A and subsequent figures.

[0039] The configuration of automatic ice-making device 49 and ice-making air duct 51 will be described with reference to Figures 3A and 3B. Figure 3A is a cross-sectional view showing automatic ice-making device 49, ice-making air duct 51, and their vicinity. Figure 3B is a cross-sectional view showing an enlarged view of ice-making air duct 51 and its surrounding area.

[0040] 3A and 3B, automatic ice maker 49 mainly includes storage tank 62, ice tray 57, ice release section 58, and water supply pipe 64. As described above, the function of automatic ice maker 49 is to automatically make ice of a predetermined shape without requiring any special operation by the user other than supplying water to storage tank 62.

[0041] The storage tank 62 is a tank disposed on the bottom surface of the refrigerator compartment 12. The storage tank 62 is a tank made of synthetic resin, and the top surface thereof has a lid shape that can be opened and closed. A user can supply tap water or the like to the storage tank 62 by opening the top lid portion of the storage tank 62.

[0042] A water supply housing 63 is disposed behind the storage tank 62. A motor (not shown) and the like are disposed inside the water supply housing 63, and water is supplied from the storage tank 62 to the ice tray 57 via the water supply pipe 64 by the driving force of the motor and the like.

[0043] Water supply pipe 64 is a pipe-shaped member made of synthetic resin. The upper end of water supply pipe 64 is disposed inside storage tank 62. Water supply unit 60 is the lower end of water supply pipe 64, which supplies water to ice tray 57 from above. The lower end of water supply pipe 64 is exposed to the ceiling surface of ice making chamber 50 as water supply unit 60. The middle portion of water supply pipe 64 is embedded in the urethane foam that constitutes first partition wall 33. Water supplied from storage tank 62 to ice tray 57 flows through water supply pipe 64.

[0044] Ice tray 57 is a container made of a resin plate formed so that it can produce multiple pieces of ice. Ice tray 57 has concave ice-making sections formed in a matrix along the front-to-back and left-to-right directions. Ice of a predetermined shape is produced by freezing water stored in each ice-making section. The front end of ice tray 57 is rotatably connected to ice-release section 58. Meanwhile, the rear end of ice tray 57 is configured to be rotatable by the driving force of motor 59. For example, the rear end of ice tray 57 is drivingly connected to the rotation shaft of motor 59.

[0045] 3B, ice-making air duct 51 is an air duct through which air is blown from cooling chamber 27 to ice-making tray 57. The rear end of ice-making air duct 51 is connected to air duct 39 formed in front of cooling chamber 27. The front end of ice-making air duct 51 is connected to a space formed above ice-making tray 57.

[0046] Ceiling plate material 67 is a generally plate-shaped member that comes into close contact from above with the upper surface of freezer compartment upper surface portion 221, which is the upper surface of freezer compartment inner box 22. Ceiling plate material 67, together with freezer compartment upper surface portion 221 of freezer compartment inner box 22, forms the upper surface of ice-making air duct 51. As shown in FIG. 3A, ceiling plate material 67 has water supply penetration portion 65. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 3B, ceiling plate material 67 has recessed portion 68 and ribs 61. These portions of ceiling plate material 67 will be described in detail below.

[0047] Water supply through-hole 65 is a generally cylindrical section embedded inside first partition wall 33, and is formed as part of ceiling panel material 67. The tip of water supply pipe 64 is disposed in a through-hole formed in the center of water supply housing 63. The lower end of water supply pipe 64 is exposed to ice-making chamber 50 from water supply through-hole 65. The lower end of water supply pipe 64 is disposed above ice-making tray 57.

[0048] As described above, ice-making air duct 51 is an air duct through which air is blown from cooling chamber 27 toward ice-making chamber 50. In other words, ice-making air duct 51 is an air tunnel formed from first blowing section 521 to ice-making chamber 50. Ice-making air duct 51 has first blowing section 521, air duct intermediate section 70, etc.

[0049] First blowing section 521 is formed to protrude from air blowing chamber 39 toward ice making chamber 50. First blowing section 521 is a portion that protrudes forward from the upper end of air blowing partition section 38, which is part of partition section 40. First blowing section 521 is a generally cylindrical portion that is open at the front end.

[0050] Notched opening 56 is a portion obtained by cutting out the tip of the upper surface of first blowing section 521. By forming notched opening 56, a portion of the air blown from cooling chamber 27 toward ice-making tray 57 passes through notched opening 56. This reduces airflow resistance in ice-making airflow duct 51, allowing ice to be made more effectively in ice-making tray 57. The specific shape of notched opening 56 will be described later. In addition, a sealing member 71 is disposed between ceiling panel material 67 and freezer compartment upper surface 221 and the upper surface of first blowing section 521. The details of sealing member 71 will be described later with reference to FIG. 8 and the like.

[0051] Air passage intermediate section 70 is disposed between first blowing section 521 and ice tray 57, and is a plate-like member that forms the intermediate section of ice-making air passage 51. The lower surface of air passage intermediate section 70 forms part of air passage section lower surface 54 and inclined surface 55. Details of air passage intermediate section 70 will be described later.

[0052] Air passage section underside 54 is the underside of ice-making air passage 51. Air passage section underside 54 is made up of first blowout section 521, air passage intermediate section 70, support section 69, etc. Furthermore, a portion of the underside of air passage intermediate section 70 near motor 59 is made into inclined surface 55 that slopes upward and forward.

[0053] The reason why a portion of air passage unit underside 54 is inclined surface 55 will be explained. In this embodiment, motor 59, which rotates ice-making tray 57, is disposed behind ice-making tray 57 and below ice-making air passage 51. Therefore, a portion of ice-making air passage 51 is formed in an upper portion that bypasses motor 59. Meanwhile, first blowout section 521, which forms the rear end of ice-making air passage 51, is disposed below the upper end of motor 59 to ensure a large volume of blown air and also taking into consideration the connection with other components disposed around first blowout section 521. For this reason, a middle portion of air passage unit underside 54 is formed as inclined surface 55 that slopes upward toward the front. In such a case, if no countermeasure is taken, air blown forward from the tip of first blowout section 521 may come into contact with inclined surface 55, which may increase air passage resistance. In this embodiment, cutout opening 56 is formed by cutting out the front end of the top surface of first blowout section 521. Therefore, part of the air blown out from first blowout section 521 is blown out toward the front and upper side through cutout opening 56. This allows air to be blown effectively along inclined surface 55, and loss in ice-making air duct 51 as a whole can be reduced.

[0054] 3A and 3B, the ice making operation using automatic ice maker 49 will be described. Ice tray 57 is in the state shown in FIG. 3A during water supply from storage tank 62 and during cooling by air blown from cooling chamber 27. That is, during water supply and cooling, ice tray 57 is configured so that each ice-making section faces upward. On the other hand, during ice removal, motor 59 rotates ice tray 57 approximately 180 degrees based on instructions from a control device (CPU, not shown) to rotate each ice-making section of ice tray 57 downward. After that, further rotation of the front end of ice tray 57 is restricted. On the other hand, the rear end of ice tray 57 is further rotated by the driving force of motor 59. As a result, ice tray 57 is twisted, causing the ice produced in each ice-making section of ice tray 57 to separate from ice tray 57 and fall into ice storage container 66. Motor 59 then rotates ice tray 57 in the reverse direction, causing ice tray 57 to return to the position shown in Figure 3A, with each ice-making section facing upward. Furthermore, a predetermined amount of water is supplied from storage tank 62 to ice tray 57 based on instructions from the control device.

[0055] 4A and 4B, the configuration of automatic ice maker 49 and compartment 40 will be described in further detail.

[0056] 4A, automatic ice maker 49 is disposed on the front side of the upper left part of partition 40. With this configuration, the wind blown out from first blowing section 521 (not shown in FIG. 4A) is supplied to automatic ice maker 49, while the air blown out from second blowing section 522 and third blowing section 523 is not directly supplied to automatic ice maker 49 but is sent to freezer compartment 13.

[0057] 4B , a first blowing section 521, a second blowing section 522, and a third blowing section 523 are formed on the front surface of the air-blowing section 38 of the section 40 as the blowing section 52. The first blowing section 521 is formed near the upper left end on the front surface of the air-blowing section 38. The second blowing section 522 is formed near the upper right end on the front surface of the air-blowing section 38. The third blowing section 523 is formed at the lower part on the front surface of the air-blowing section 38. The air-blowing section 38 is formed from the right end to the left end.

[0058] As described above, the cutout opening 56 is formed on the upper surface of the first blowing section 521. The cutout opening 56 is a generally rectangular cutout portion formed in the front end of the upper surface of the first blowing section 521. The cutout opening 56 is part of the opening through which cool air is blown out.

[0059] Here, first blowout section 521 has notched opening 56 as described above, while second blowout section 522 does not have notched opening 56. In this way, the air blown out from first blowout section 521 flows smoothly inside automatic ice maker 49 to promote freezing. On the other hand, the air blown out from second blowout section 522 does not have notched opening 56 and therefore travels forward. This allows freezer compartment 13 to be cooled effectively. The same applies to third blowout section 523.

[0060] The configuration of each part that makes up automatic ice maker 49 will be described in further detail with reference to Figures 5, 6, 7, and 8. Figure 5 is a cutaway perspective view showing automatic ice maker 49. Figure 6 is an exploded perspective view showing automatic ice maker 49. Figure 7 is an exploded perspective view showing freezer compartment box 22 and ceiling panel material 67. Figure 8 is an exploded perspective view showing ceiling panel material 67 and partition 40.

[0061] 5 and 6, automatic ice maker 49 has, from above, ceiling panel material 67, support section 69, and ice release section 58. Also, air passage intermediate section 70 and first blowout section 521 are arranged behind these members.

[0062] The ceiling panel material 67 is a generally plate-shaped member, and as described above, is a member disposed on the upper surface of the freezer compartment upper surface portion 221, i.e., on the outside of the freezer compartment box 22. The ceiling panel material 67 has a recessed portion 68, a water supply through portion 65, and a rib 61. These portions will be described later with reference to FIG. 8.

[0063] Support portion 69 is disposed between ceiling panel material 67 and ice release portion 58, and is a member for attaching ice release portion 58 and ice tray 57. As shown in FIG. 6, support portion 69 has flat portion 691 and opening 692. Flat portion 691 is a flat surface formed at the rear end of support portion 69, and constitutes the front end side of air duct portion undersurface 54 of ice-making air duct 51. The rear end of flat portion 691 is connected to the front end of air duct intermediate portion 70. Opening 692 is a substantially rectangular opening formed in the middle portion of support portion 69. Water is supplied to ice tray 57 from above via opening 692.

[0064] 7, freezer compartment opening 222 is formed by partially opening freezer compartment upper surface 221. Ceiling panel material 67 is disposed in close contact with the upper surface of freezer compartment upper surface 221 so as to close freezer compartment opening 222. When viewed from above, the underside of water supply through portion 65, recessed portion 68 and the surrounding area of ​​ceiling panel material 67 are exposed to the inside of freezer compartment inner box 22 from freezer compartment opening 222.

[0065] Referring to FIG. 8, ceiling panel 67 is disposed above partition 40. A seal member 71 is disposed between the rear end of ceiling panel 67 and first blowing section 521. Seal member 71 is made of, for example, a substantially U-shaped piece of polystyrene foam. The lower surface of seal member 71 abuts against the upper surface of first blowing section 521, which is a portion surrounding notched opening 56. The upper surface of seal member 71 abuts against the lower surface of ceiling panel 67. This prevents air blown out from first blowing section 521 from leaking rearward or to the side.

[0066] Recessed portion 68 is a portion formed by recessing the underside of ceiling panel material 67 upward. The rear surface of recessed portion 68 is an inclined surface that slopes upward toward the front. The front surface of recessed portion 68 is an inclined surface that slopes downward toward the front. The surface of recessed portion 68 in the middle portion in the front-to-rear direction is a substantially horizontal surface. This configuration reduces the airflow resistance in ice-making air duct 51 described above. Specifically, referring to FIG. 3B, part of air-duct section underside 54 of ice-making air duct 51 is flat portion 691 of support portion 69. Because flat portion 691 is located above motor 59, the cross-sectional area of ​​the ice-making air duct 51 in the portion defined by flat portion 691 is reduced, which may increase airflow resistance. For this reason, in this embodiment, recessed portion 68 is formed above flat portion 691. This allows the cross-sectional area of ​​ice-making airflow duct 51 in the portion formed by flat portion 691 and recessed portion 68 to be increased, thereby reducing airflow resistance.

[0067] As shown in FIG. 8 , the rib 61 is a downwardly protruding portion of the underside of the ceiling panel 67. The rib 61 extends elongatedly in the left-right direction on the underside of the ceiling panel 67. The rib 61 has a substantially rectangular cross section. The rib 61 is formed on the left end of the front edge of the recessed portion 68. The rib 61 is also formed on the rear side of the water supply pipe 64 exposed through the water supply opening 65. This configuration prevents air from the cooling chamber 27 from being blown directly onto the water supply pipe 64. The width L10 of the front end of the recessed portion 68 is also the width of the ice-making air duct 51 through which air is blown into the ice-making chamber 50. Therefore, the rib 61 is not formed across the entire ice-making air duct 51 in the width direction, but only on the left side thereof. This configuration minimizes the resistance loss caused by the rib 61 while preventing freezing of the water supply pipe 64, as described below.

[0068] The effect of providing rib 61 will be described with reference to the cross-sectional view of FIG. 9. When air is blown from air-blowing partition 38 shown in FIG. 3A along ice-making airflow duct 51, it is blown toward the front and upper side along inclined surface 55. Therefore, unless some countermeasure is taken, the air blown forward through ice-making airflow duct 51 will be blown toward water supply unit 60. Therefore, if water droplets remain in water supply unit 60, the water droplets may freeze and clog water supply unit 60. In this embodiment, rib 61 is disposed upstream of water supply unit 60 in the airflow path. Specifically, rib 61 is formed rearward of water supply unit 60. Therefore, air guided by inclined surface 55 and blown forward along the lower surface of recessed portion 68 strikes rib 61 and is separated from the lower surface of recessed portion 68. That is, air influenced by rib 61 is blown toward ice tray 57, which is located toward the lower front side. This prevents low-temperature air from being blown directly onto water supply unit 60, thereby preventing freezing in water supply unit 60. Furthermore, by blowing air toward ice tray 57, ice formation in ice tray 57 can be promoted.

[0069] FIG. 10 is a side cross-sectional view showing ice making compartment 50 of refrigerator 10 equipped with a function for manually making ice.

[0070] Ice making compartment 50 houses ice making trays 57, from which ice is removed manually. When making ice manually, the user first supplies water to ice making tray 57 and places ice making tray 57 in ice making compartment 50. Then, air is blown toward ice making tray 57 from underside 54 of air duct section, causing the water stored in ice making tray 57 to freeze into ice. The user then removes ice making tray 57 from ice making compartment 50 and twists ice making tray 57. This allows ice to be removed from each ice making section of ice making tray 57.

[0071] If ice tray 57 is a manual type, motor 59 described above is not disposed behind ice tray 57. Therefore, air passage section underside 54 does not form an inclined surface that slopes upward toward the front until it reaches ice tray 57. Air passage section underside 54 is either substantially flat and extends from cooling chamber 27 described above toward ice making chamber 50, or is an inclined surface that slopes downward toward the front.

[0072] As a result, the air blown forward from first blowing section 521 can flow forward without being significantly changed in direction by air passage section undersurface 54. Here again, although first blowing section 521 has cutout opening 56, the amount of air passing through first blowing section 521 is extremely small compared to the case described above. Therefore, first blowing section 521 having cutout opening 56 according to this embodiment can be applied whether ice is made automatically or manually. This allows for the use of common components, improving the productivity of refrigerator 10.

[0073] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the present invention. In addition, the above-described embodiments can be combined with each other. [Explanation of symbols]

[0074] 10. Refrigerator 11 Insulated box 111 Air duct 112 Connection air duct 12 Refrigerator 13 Freezer 14 Vegetable compartment 15 Insulated Door 151 First Insulated Door 152 Second Insulated Door 153 Third Insulated Door 154 4th Insulated Door 16 Machine room 18 Evaporating dish 19 Outer box 20 Inner box 21 Refrigerated Indoor Box 22 Freezer Indoor Box 221 Top part of freezer compartment 222 Freezer compartment opening 23 Vegetable storage box 24 Return Air Path 25 Insulation 26 Evaporator 27 Cooling room 28 Blower 29 Compressor 30 Defrost heater 31 Damper 32 Dew receiving part 33 First Compartment Wall 34 Second Compartment Wall 35 Contact part 37 Refrigeration Cycle 38 Ventilation compartment 39 Ventilation room 40 Compartment 49 Automatic ice maker 50 Ice Room 51 Ice making ventilation duct 52 blowing section 521 First blowout section 522 Second blowing section 523 Third blowout section 54 Lower side of air passage 55 Slope 56 Notched opening 57 Ice tray 58 Ice release section 59 Motor 60 Water supply section 61 Ribs 62 Storage Tank 63 Water supply housing part 64 Water Supply Pipe 65 Water supply penetration 66 Ice storage container 67 Ceiling Panels 68 Concave part 69 Support part 691 Flat area 692 Opening 70 Air duct middle section 71 Sealing material

Claims

1. a cooling chamber in which the air is cooled; an ice making room where ice is made; an ice making air duct through which the air is blown from the cooling chamber toward the ice making chamber, The ice making air duct is A blowout portion formed to protrude from the cooling chamber toward the ice making chamber; An air passage portion which is an air channel formed from the blowing portion to the ice making chamber, The refrigerator is characterized in that a notched opening is formed in an upper surface of the blowout section.

2. The ice making chamber is provided with an ice removing unit that removes ice from the ice tray, The ice release unit has a motor that rotates the ice tray, The motor is disposed below the air passage portion, 2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein a lower surface of the air passage portion near the motor is an inclined surface that slopes upward toward the ice making compartment.

3. 2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, further comprising a rib projecting downward from an upper surface of the ice-making air duct.

4. The ice tray further includes a water supply unit that supplies water to the ice tray from above, 4. The refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein the rib is disposed rearward of the water supply portion.

5. 2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein a part of the ceiling surface of the ice-making air duct is a recessed portion recessed upward.

6. The ice making compartment contains an ice tray in which ice is manually removed, 2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the lower surface of the air passage is substantially flat and extends from the cooling compartment toward the ice making compartment.

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