Ice maker

Abstract

To provide an ice making machine which enables reduction of a time needed for making ice.SOLUTION: An ice making machine 30 includes: an ice making container 31; a housing part 32; and a cooling air introduction part 33. The ice making container 31 is formed with ice making recessed parts 311 where ice making water for ice making is stored. The ice making container 31 is housed in the housing part 32. The cooling air introduction part 33 is disposed between an air outlet 34 from which cooling air cooled by a cooler 19 is blown out and the ice making container 31. Further, the cooling air introduction part 33 has an upper introduction part 331 and a lower introduction part 332.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an ice maker, and more particularly to an ice maker provided in a freezer compartment of a refrigerator. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is an ice maker that includes an ice storage container for storing ice inside a freezer compartment or the like.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 describes a method in which a part of a storage chamber of an insulated box is used as an ice-making chamber, an ice-making container is placed in the ice-making chamber, and ice is made by this ice-making container. Also, ice makers include automatic ice makers in which water is automatically supplied to the ice-making container, and manual ice makers in which water is manually supplied to the ice-making container.

[0004] In a manual ice maker, a freezing area is formed by partitioning off a portion of the freezer compartment, and an ice making container is placed inside this freezing area. The ice making container is placed inside the freezing area so that it can be freely pulled out in the front-to-back direction. When making ice, the user slides the ice making container, which contains water, into the ice making area. Once the water stored in the ice making container has frozen, the user removes the ice making container from the freezing area of ​​the freezer compartment and twists the ice making container to release the ice. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-96047 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, the above-mentioned background art has room for improvement in terms of effectively making ice in the ice making container.

[0007] Specifically, the ice-making container has a matrix of concave ice-making areas, giving it a generally flat, rectangular parallelepiped shape. This means that when the ice-making container is placed in the freezer compartment, the cooling temperature differs between the rear and front sides of the container, which are closer to the cold air outlet. This causes the ice to freeze unevenly in the ice-making container, resulting in a long time required for ice production.

[0008] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an ice maker that can shorten the time required to make ice. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The present invention is an ice maker provided inside a freezer compartment and comprising an ice maker main body and an ice making container, wherein the ice maker main body comprises a storage section for storing the ice making container, and a cold air inlet section disposed between the ice making container and an outlet through which cold air cooled by a cooler is blown out, the ice making container has a plurality of ice making recesses formed therein for storing ice making water, and the cold air inlet section has an upper inlet section for directing a portion of the cold air to an upper side of the ice making container and a lower inlet section for directing a portion of the cold air to a lower side of the ice making container, The upper inlet portion is a continuous inclined surface that slopes upward toward the side approaching the ice making container, and the lower inlet portion is a continuous inclined surface that slopes downward toward the side approaching the ice making container, the upper inlet portion and the lower inlet portion are integrally formed in the same cold air inlet portion, the upper inlet portions are arranged at positions that sandwich the lower inlet portion in the left-right direction, and when the direction in which the cold air is blown out from the outlet is defined as a first direction and a direction perpendicular to the first direction is defined as a second direction, the total width of the upper inlet portions in the second direction is longer than the width of the lower inlet portions. It is characterized by: [Effects of the Invention]

[0014] The present invention According to the present invention, an ice maker that can reduce the time required to make ice can be provided. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0019] [Figure 1] 1 is a side cross-sectional view showing the schematic configuration of a refrigerator incorporating an ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2A] 1 is a perspective view showing an ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2B] 1 is a front view showing an ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3A] 1 is a perspective view showing an ice making container of an ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3B] 1 is a perspective view showing an ice maker body of an ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing in detail the ice maker body of the ice maker according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a cutaway perspective view showing a cooling state of the ice maker according to the embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0020] An ice maker 30 and a refrigerator 10 equipped with the ice maker 30 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same components will generally be given the same reference numerals, and repeated explanations will be omitted. Furthermore, in the following description, the terms up, down, front, back, left, and right will be used as appropriate, and left and right refer to the left and right when the refrigerator 10 is viewed from the front.

[0021] Fig. 1 is a side cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a refrigerator 10. As shown in Fig. 1, the refrigerator 10 has an insulated box 11 as a main body, and inside the insulated box 11, a storage compartment for storing food and the like is formed.

[0022] The insulating box 11 is the main body of the refrigerator 10. The insulating box 11 is composed of an outer box 111 made of steel plate with an opening on the front, an inner box 112 made of synthetic resin arranged inside the outer box 111 with a gap therebetween, and an insulating material 113 made of foamed polyurethane that is foamed and filled in the gap between the outer box 111 and the inner box 112.

[0023] The interior of the storage compartment is divided into a refrigerator compartment 12, a freezer compartment 13, and a vegetable compartment 14. The top refrigerator compartment 12 is separated from the freezer compartment 13 located below it by a partition wall 20. The freezer compartment 13 is separated from the vegetable compartment 14 located below it by a partition wall 21. The partition walls 20 and 21 have the same thermal insulation structure as the insulated box body 11.

[0024] Ice maker 30 is disposed inside freezer compartment 13 and is used to make ice. Ice maker 30 is a so-called manual type disposed near the top end of freezer compartment 13. Details of ice maker 30 will be described later with reference to FIG. 2 and subsequent figures. To make ice, a user first pulls out insulating door 16 and removes ice-making container 31 (described later) from ice maker 30 to the outside. Next, the user fills ice-making recess 311 of ice-making container 31 (described later) with ice-making water. The user then returns ice-making container 31 filled with water to ice maker 30. Then, inside freezer compartment 13, the ice-making water filled in ice-making recess 311 of ice-making container 31 freezes, thereby making ice. When ice is needed, the user opens insulating door 16, removes ice-making container 31 from ice maker 30, and releases ice from ice-making container 31.

[0025] The front of the insulated box body 11 is open, and insulated doors 15, 16, and 17, each having substantially the same insulating structure as the insulated box body 11, are provided in the openings corresponding to the refrigerator compartment 12, freezer compartment 13, and vegetable compartment 14 so as to be able to open and close freely. The upper and lower parts of the insulated door 15 near the side edges are supported by the insulated box body 11 so as to be able to rotate freely. The insulated doors 16 and 17 are supported by the insulated box body 11 so as to be able to be pulled out towards the front of the refrigerator 10.

[0026] A supply air duct 22 is formed on the rear side of freezing compartment 13, leading to freezing compartment 13 and supplying cool air. Supply air duct 22 is separated from freezing compartment 13 by a partition body made of synthetic resin, in which air outlet 34 for letting cool air flow is formed.

[0027] A cooling chamber 18 is formed by a partition made of synthetic resin behind the supply air passage 22. Inside the cooling chamber 18, a cooler 19 is disposed for cooling the cold air circulating inside the storage compartment.

[0028] Cooler 19 is realized by, for example, a fin-tube type evaporator. Cooler 19 is connected to compressor 25, a radiator (not shown), capillary tubes (not shown), etc. via refrigerant piping. This forms a vapor compression refrigeration cycle circuit. Compressor 25, part of the radiator, and a radiator fan (not shown) that sends air to the radiator, etc. are disposed in a machine room formed at the lower rear of refrigerator 10.

[0029] An outlet, which is an opening connected to supply air passage 22, is formed at the top of cooling chamber 18, and a blower 24 for circulating cool air is attached to the outlet. Blower 24 flows the cool air cooled by cooler 19 from cooling chamber 18 to each storage chamber, and is realized by, for example, an axial flow blower. In addition, a return port, which is an opening for returning cool air from freezer chamber 13 to cooling chamber 18, is formed at the bottom of cooling chamber 18.

[0030] A supply air passage 23 is formed at the rear of the refrigerator compartment 12, separated by a partition made of synthetic resin, for supplying cool air to the refrigerator compartment 12. The supply air passage 23 is connected to the supply air passage 22 and also to the refrigerator compartment 12 via an air outlet.

[0031] Refrigerator 10 has a supply air duct (not shown) that connects refrigerator compartment 12 and vegetable compartment 14 and supplies cold air to vegetable compartment 14, and a return air duct (not shown) that connects refrigerator compartment 12 or vegetable compartment 14 with cooling compartment 18 and returns cold air from refrigerator compartment 12 or vegetable compartment 14 to cooling compartment 18. In addition, supply air duct 22, supply air duct 23, etc. may be provided with a damper (not shown) that controls the flow rate of cold air supplied to the storage compartment and maintains an appropriate temperature inside the storage compartment.

[0032] In the refrigerator 10 having the above configuration, the refrigerator compartment 12 and the vegetable compartment 14 are cooled to a predetermined refrigeration temperature range, and the freezer compartment 13 is cooled to a predetermined freezing temperature range.

[0033] FIG. 2A is a perspective view showing ice maker 30, and FIG. 2B is a front view showing ice maker 30. As shown in FIG.

[0034] Referring to Fig. 2A, ice maker 30 is composed of ice maker main body 38 and ice making container 31. Ice maker main body 38 is made of an integrally molded synthetic resin plate, and has storage section 32 and cold air inlet section 33. Ice making container 31 is stored in storage section 32 of ice maker main body 38. The configuration of ice maker main body 38 will be described later with reference to Fig. 3B.

[0035] Ice making container 31 is a container in which ice-making water is stored and ice is made. Ice making container 31 is stored inside storage section 32 and can be freely pulled out in the front-to-rear direction. Details of ice making container 31 will be described later with reference to Figure 3A.

[0036] 2B, storage section 32 is a generally plate-shaped member that stores ice making container 31. Specifically, storage section 32 has lower surface section 321, side surface section 322 standing upward from the left end of lower surface section 321, and side surface section 323 standing upward from the right end of lower surface section 321.

[0037] Gaps are formed between bottom surface 321, side surface 322, and side surface 323 of storage section 32 and ice making container 31. By making the distance between side surface 322 and side surface 323 larger than the width of ice making container 31, gaps are formed between side surface 322 and side surface 323 and ice making container 31. In addition, by forming ribs extending in the front-to-rear direction on the bottom surface of ice making container 31, the ribs separate bottom surface 321 and ice making container 31, forming gaps between them.

[0038] Specifically, gap 261 is formed between the bottom surface of ice-making container 31 and bottom surface 321 of storage section 32. Gap 262 is formed between the left end of ice-making container 31 and side surface 322 of storage section 32. Gap 263 is formed between the right end of ice-making container 31 and side surface 323 of storage section 32. Furthermore, gap 264 is formed above ice-making container 31.

[0039] 1 flows through the gaps 261, 262, 263, and 264. This will be described later with reference to FIG.

[0040] FIG. 3A is a perspective view showing ice making vessel 31 of ice making machine 30. FIG.

[0041] Ice making container 31 has an overall flat rectangular parallelepiped shape, and is formed with multiple ice making recesses 311 in which ice making water is stored. Ice making recesses 311 are recessed areas that are approximately square when viewed from above. Multiple ice making recesses 311 are formed in a matrix. The front end of ice making container 31 is tilted downward to form drawer portion 312. Drawer portion 312 is where the user places their finger from below when pulling ice making container 31 forward. Ice making recess 311 is made of a plate-shaped synthetic resin molded into a predetermined shape.

[0042] 3B is a perspective view showing ice maker body 38. Ice maker body 38 has storage section 32 at the front and cold air inlet section 33 at the rear. Storage section 32 stores ice making container 31 as described above. Cold air inlet section 33 introduces cold air that is blown toward ice making container 31.

[0043] Cold air introduction section 33 is a section disposed between air outlet 34 shown in FIG. 1 and ice making container 31 described above. Cold air introduction section 33 has lower surface section 333, side surface section 334, and side surface section 335. Lower surface section 333 is a surface that is approximately parallel to the horizontal plane. Side surface section 334 extends upward from the left end of lower surface section 333. Side surface section 335 extends upward from the right end of lower surface section 333. Further details of cold air introduction section 33 will be described later with reference to FIG. 4.

[0044] Openings 37 are formed by partially opening storage section 32. Specifically, multiple openings 37 are formed near the front ends of bottom surface 321, side surface 322, and side surface 323. By forming openings 37, some of the cool air blown toward storage section 32 can escape to the outside through openings 37, facilitating the circulation of cool air inside storage section 32 and shortening the time required to make ice.

[0045] 4 is a perspective view showing in detail ice-making machine main body 38. In the front portion of cold air introduction section 33, upper introduction section 331 and lower introduction section 332 are formed.

[0046] Upper inlet portion 331 is formed by raising the front end portion of lower surface portion 333 upward toward the front. Upper inlet portions 331 are formed at the left and right ends of cold air inlet portion 33. Lower inlet portion 332 is formed between upper inlet portions 331. By providing upper inlet portion 331 and lower inlet portion 332, cold air blown forward can be guided to the upper and lower sides of ice making container 31 described above.

[0047] Lower inlet section 332 is formed by sloping the front end portion of lower surface section 333 downward as it approaches the front. Lower inlet section 332 is formed in the approximate center of cold air inlet section 33 in the left-right direction. In this way, cold air blown forward can be guided to the lower side of ice making container 31 described above.

[0048] The two upper inlet portions 331 are arranged in positions sandwiching the lower inlet portion 332 in the left-right direction. With this configuration, cool air can be blown in a balanced manner to the upper and lower sides of the ice-making container 31, and freezing can proceed evenly in ice-making recess 311 of ice-making container 31.

[0049] Here, we will explain the widths of the upper introduction section 331 and the lower introduction section 332. The direction in which cool air is blown out from the air outlet 34 is defined as a first direction D1, and the direction perpendicular to the first direction D1 is defined as a second direction D2. Here, the front-to-back direction is defined as the first direction D1, and the left-to-right direction is defined as the second direction D2.

[0050] For example, the width of the upper introduction portion 331 can be made larger than the width of the lower introduction portion 332 in the second direction D2.

[0051] Specifically, the width of upper inlet portion 331 on the left side is defined as A1, the width of upper inlet portion 331 on the right side is defined as A2, and the width of lower inlet portion 332 is defined as B. The sum of A1 and A2 can be made longer than B. In this way, cool air can be preferentially blown toward the upper portion of ice making container 31, and the ice-making water stored in ice-making recess 311 of ice making container 31 can be frozen from above.

[0052] On the other hand, the sum of A1 and A2 can also be made shorter than B. In this way, cool air can be preferentially blown downwards into ice-making container 31, and the ice-making water stored in ice-making recess 311 of ice-making container 31 can be frozen from below.

[0053] Also, the sum of A1 and A2 can be set to the same length as B. In this way, cool air can be blown evenly above and below ice-making container 31, and the ice-making water stored in ice-making recess 311 of ice-making container 31 can be frozen from above and below.

[0054] FIG. 5 is a cutaway perspective view showing the cooling state of ice maker 30. As shown in FIG.

[0055] From the air outlet 34, the air cooled by the cooler 19 is blown out forward.

[0056] Upper-side cooling air 35 is formed by a portion of the cool air blown out from air outlet 34 flowing along upper-side inlet 331. Upper-side cooling air 35 is formed above ice-making container 31. Upper-side cooling air 35 cools the ice-making water stored in ice-making recess 311 of ice-making container 31 from above. Upper-side cooling air 35 then flows from the front-end opening of storage section 32 toward the outside, i.e., toward the lower side of freezer compartment 13. Upper-side cooling air 35 is formed at the left and right ends inside ice-making machine 30. In FIG. 5, upper-side cooling air 35 is indicated by a dashed line. Furthermore, a portion of upper-side cooling air 35 is released to the outside of ice-making machine 30 through openings 37 formed in side surface portions 322 and 323 shown in FIG. 3B.

[0057] Lower-side cooling air 36 is formed when a portion of the cool air blown out from air outlet 34 flows along lower-side inlet portion 332. Lower-side cooling air 36 is formed on the lower side of ice-making container 31. Lower-side cooling air 36 cools the ice-making water stored in ice-making recess 311 of ice-making container 31 from below. Lower-side cooling air 36 then flows from the front-end opening of storage portion 32 to the outside, i.e., toward the lower side of freezer compartment 13. In FIG. 5, lower-side cooling air 36 is indicated by a dashed line. Furthermore, a portion of lower-side cooling air 36 is released to the outside of ice-making machine 30 from opening 37 formed in bottom surface portion 321, as shown in FIG. 3B.

[0058] The height of the front upper end of upper inlet portion 331 can be set to be equal to or higher than the upper end of ice-making container 31. This allows for a smooth flow of upper-side cooling air 35 above ice-making container 31. Furthermore, the height of the front lower end of lower inlet portion 332 can be set to be equal to or lower than the lower end of ice-making container 31. This allows for a smooth flow of lower-side cooling air 36 below ice-making container 31.

[0059] By doing so, cool air circulates smoothly inside ice-making container 31, thereby reducing the temperature difference between the front and back sides of ice-making container 31. Furthermore, by flowing upper cooling air 35 to both the left and right sides of the top surface of ice-making container 31 and further flowing lower cooling air 36 through the center in the left-right direction of the bottom surface of ice-making container 31, the temperature difference between the left and right regions of ice-making container 31 is reduced. Therefore, the freezing of ice-making water can proceed evenly in all of ice-making recesses 311 formed in ice-making container 31, and the time required for ice making can be shortened.

[0060] According to this embodiment, the following main effects can be achieved.

[0061] 5, since cold air flows can be formed above and below ice-making vessel 31, the ice-making water stored in ice-making vessel 31 can be effectively cooled from above and below. Therefore, the ice-making water stored in ice-making recess 311 of ice-making vessel 31 can be uniformly cooled and frozen.

[0062] Referring to Figure 3B, the introduced cold air escapes from ice maker 30 to the outside through opening 37 of storage section 32, thereby preventing stagnation of cold air above and below ice-making container 31 and more effectively freezing the ice-making water stored in ice-making container 31.

[0063] Referring to FIG. 4, cool air can be smoothly blown above and below ice-making vessel 31 along the inclined surfaces that form upper inlet portion 331 and lower inlet portion 332.

[0064] As shown in FIG. 5, ice-making container 31 can be cooled evenly from above and below by upper-side cooling air 35 and lower-side cooling air 36.

[0065] Referring to FIG. 4, a large amount of cool air can be blown along upper inlet portion 331, and the ice-making water stored in ice-making recess 311 can be effectively cooled and frozen.

[0066] 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. The invention that can be understood from the above-described embodiment will be described below together with its effects. The present invention provides an ice maker installed inside a freezer compartment and comprising an ice maker main body and an ice making container. The ice maker main body includes a storage section for accommodating the ice making container and a cold air inlet disposed between the ice making container and an outlet through which cold air cooled by a cooler is blown out. The ice making container has a plurality of ice making recesses for storing ice-making water. The cold air inlet includes an upper inlet for directing a portion of the cold air to an upper side of the ice making container and a lower inlet for directing a portion of the cold air to a lower side of the ice making container. The ice maker of the present invention can shorten the time required for ice making. Specifically, by forming cold air flows above and below the ice making container, the ice making water stored in the ice making container can be effectively cooled from above and below. This allows the ice making water stored in each ice making recess of the ice making container to be uniformly cooled and frozen. Furthermore, the ice making machine of the present invention is characterized in that the storage section is partially opened to form an opening. According to the ice making machine of the present invention, cold air can be released to the outside of the ice making machine through the opening, improving the flow of cold air inside the ice making machine and allowing the ice making water to freeze quickly and evenly. Furthermore, in the ice making machine of the present invention, the upper inlet portion has an inclined surface that slopes upward toward the side approaching the ice making container, and the lower inlet portion has an inclined surface that slopes downward toward the side approaching the ice making container. According to the ice making machine of the present invention, cool air can be smoothly blown above and below the ice making container along the inclined surfaces that constitute the upper inlet portion and the lower inlet portion. Furthermore, in the ice making machine of the present invention, the upper inlet portion is disposed at a position sandwiching the lower inlet portion, and the ice making container can be cooled evenly from above and below. Furthermore, in the ice making machine of the present invention, when the direction in which the cold air is blown out from the air outlet is defined as a first direction and the direction perpendicular to the first direction is defined as a second direction, the width of the upper introduction section in the second direction is longer than the width of the lower introduction section. According to the ice making machine of the present invention, a large amount of cold air can be blown into the upper introduction section, and the ice-making water stored in the ice-making recess can be effectively cooled and frozen. [Explanation of symbols]

[0067] 10. Refrigerator 11 Insulated box 111 outer box 112 Inner box 113 Insulation 12 Refrigerator 13 Freezer 14 Vegetable compartment 15 Insulated Door 16 Insulated Door 17 Insulated Door 18 Cooling room 19 Cooler 20 Compartment Wall 21 Compartment wall 22 Supply air path 23 Supply air path 24 Blower 25 Compressor 261 Gap 262 Gap 263 Gap 264 Gap 30 Ice Maker 31 Ice Maker 311 Ice making recess 312 Drawer section 32 Storage section 321 Bottom part 322 Side part 323 Side part 33 Cold air intake section 331 Upper side introduction part 332 Lower introduction section 333 Bottom part 334 Side part 335 Side part 34 Air outlet 35 Upper side cooling air 36 Downward side cooling air 37 Opening 38 Ice maker body D1 1st direction D2 2nd direction

Claims

1. An ice maker provided inside a freezer compartment and consisting of an ice maker body and an ice making container, the ice making machine body includes a storage section that stores the ice making container, and a cold air introduction section that is disposed between the ice making container and an outlet through which cold air cooled by a cooler is blown out, The ice making container has a plurality of ice making recesses formed therein for storing ice making water, The cold air introduction section is an upper introduction portion that introduces a portion of the cold air to an upper side of the ice making container; a lower introduction portion that introduces a portion of the cold air to a lower side of the ice making container, The upper introduction portion is a continuous inclined surface that slopes upward toward the side approaching the ice making container, the lower introduction portion is a continuous inclined surface that slopes downward toward the side approaching the ice making container, the upper introduction portion and the lower introduction portion are integrally formed in the same cool air introduction portion, the upper introduction portion is disposed at a position sandwiching the lower introduction portion in the left-right direction, An ice making machine characterized in that, when the direction in which the cold air is blown out from the outlet is defined as a first direction and the direction perpendicular to the first direction is defined as a second direction, in the second direction, the total width of the upper inlet section is longer than the width of the lower inlet section.

2. The ice maker according to claim 1, wherein the opening is formed by partially opening the storage section.

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