KR20080105351A - Ice blower - Google Patents

Abstract

The ice extracting device according to the present invention has a stop boss portion for accumulating ice at a lower end of the spiral sliding plate, and rotates by a rotational axis of a motor for rotating the sliding plate around the stop boss portion or rotates by an elastic force. As the toss member is installed, the ice guided by the sliding plate may be pushed up one by one to be dispensed into the dispenser, thereby preventing a large amount of ice from being taken out at the same time when the ice extraction is selected.

Description

Ice extraction device {DISPENSING IN ICE BIN}

1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention refrigerator,

Figure 2 is a perspective view of an ice maker applied to the refrigerator of the present invention,

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an example of an ice bin applied to the refrigerator of the present invention,

4 is a perspective view showing a part of the ice bin according to FIG. 3;

5 to 7 is a schematic view showing an ice extraction process in the ice bin according to FIG.

8 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of an ice bin applied to the refrigerator of the present invention;

9 is an enlarged view illustrating main parts of FIG. 8;

10 is a schematic view showing an ice extraction process in the ice bin according to FIG.

** Description of symbols for the main parts of the drawing **

100 ice maker 200 ice bin

210: casing 211: ice storage room

212 exit 213 transfer chamber

214,215: outlet 216: bank boss

220: motor 221: rotating shaft

222: touch unit 223: guide member

230: sliding plate 231: sliding surface

232: stop boss portion 240: toss member

241: guide portion 242: toss portion

250: ice crusher 251: rotary blade

252: fixed blade 260: ice transfer unit

300: Ice Dispenser

The present invention relates to an ice extraction apparatus which is provided in a refrigerator or a water purifier equipped with an ice maker and can take out ice individually.

Ice makers are generally the machines on which ice is produced. Recently, as consumers' tastes for refrigerators or water purifiers are diversified and advanced, products having ice makers mounted inside refrigerators or water purifiers have been widely introduced. When the ice maker is mounted in the refrigerator or the water purifier, the ice extracting device is further provided so that the user can take out the ice produced in the ice maker as needed.

Such an ice extraction apparatus is generally configured to store a large amount of ice cubes in a storage chamber having a predetermined volume and then extract a predetermined amount of ice when the user selects the ice extraction.

However, in the conventional ice extraction apparatus as described above, not only the ice stored in the storage chamber is entangled with each other, but also it cannot be taken out smoothly, and even if it is taken out, the ice is broken and the amount of ice is not constant so that a large amount of ice is released at once. There was a problem that causes inconvenience in use, such as ice is taken out.

The present invention solves the problems of the conventional ice extracting device as described above, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an ice extracting device in which ice can be taken out regularly without breaking.

In order to achieve the object of the present invention, the ice storage chamber is formed on the upper side, the outlet is formed on the lower side, the casing is formed between the ice storage chamber and the exit chamber; A sliding plate installed in the transfer chamber of the casing and having a spiral sliding surface formed along the axial direction so that the ice of the ice storage chamber is transferred to the exit; And a toss member rotatably coupled to the sliding plate to lift the ice caught in the stop boss to be taken out to the outlet.

Hereinafter, the ice extraction apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail based on an embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings.

1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the refrigerator of the present invention, Figure 2 is a perspective view showing an ice maker applied to the refrigerator of the present invention, Figure 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing an example of an ice bin applied to the refrigerator of the present invention, Figure 4 3 is a perspective view showing a part of the ice bin according to Figure 3, Figure 5 to Figure 7 is a schematic view showing the ice extraction process in the ice bin according to FIG.

As shown in the drawing, a refrigerator to which an ice extracting device according to the present invention is applied includes a refrigerator body 10 partitioned into a refrigerator compartment 11 for storing food and a freezer compartment 12 for freezing, and the refrigerator body 10. It consists of a refrigerator compartment door 20 and the freezer compartment door 30 to open and close the refrigerator compartment 11 and the freezer compartment 12. In addition, an ice maker 100 for making ice is installed inside the freezing chamber 12, and an ice extracting device (hereinafter, referred to as an ice bin) in which the ice made in the ice maker 100 is stored and stored inside the freezer compartment 30. (abbreviated as ice bin) (200) is installed, the ice dispenser 300 to the outside of the freezer door 30 to supply the ice stored in the ice bin 200 by the user's request Is installed.

As shown in FIG. 2, the ice maker 100 includes an ice making unit 120 in which ice is made using water provided through the water supply unit 110 and water provided through the water supply unit 110. , An ejector 130 for separating the ice produced in the ice making chamber 120, and a control box 140 in which a plurality of parts are installed to control the ejector 130 to be rotated. Here, a seating portion (not shown) for mounting the ice maker 100 inside the refrigerator is provided at the rear of the ice making chamber 120, and the inside of the ice bin 200 is located at the front side of the ice making chamber 120. There is a full-sensing lever 150 for checking the operation of the ice maker 100 is full of ice.

The ice bin 200 is a casing 210 having a predetermined internal space as shown in FIG. 3, a motor 220 installed on one side of the casing 210 to generate a rotational force, and the motor 220. Sliding plate 230 is coupled to the rotating shaft 221 of the transfer ice and tossing member 240 is rotatably coupled to the casing 210 to lift the ice of the sliding plate 230 one by one to take out Is made of.

The casing 210 is formed in the same width in the vertical direction, the ice storage chamber 211 is formed in the upper half, the outlet 212 is formed on one side of the lower half, the ice storage chamber 211 and the outlet 212 The transfer chamber 213 is formed in between. In addition, first and second outlets 214 and 215 are formed on both sides of the bottom surface of the casing 210 to guide the ice or pieces of ice to the ice dispenser 300.

The motor 220 is installed in the lower half of the casing 210 in the height direction, and the sliding plate 230 is coupled to the rotation shaft 221. In addition, a touch unit 222 protruding in the radial direction is formed on the rotating shaft 221 of the motor 220 by rotating the toss member 240. The guide member 223 is formed at the end of the rotating shaft 221 of the motor 220 to be spirally wound along the axial direction, and rotates together with the rotating shaft 221 to guide the ice to the sliding plate 230. It may be further provided.

The sliding plate 230 is installed in the transfer chamber 213 of the casing 210 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 to spiral along the axial direction so that the ice of the ice storage chamber 211 is transferred to the outlet 212. The sliding surface 231 is formed, the stop boss portion 232 is formed on one side of the sliding surface 231 to block the ice, the toss member 240 is rotated around the stop boss portion 232 The toss member operating groove 233 is possibly formed.

The toss member 240 is formed long so that the touch unit 222 of the virtual machine rotating shaft 221 is in contact with and slides up to a predetermined rotation section in FIG. 4, and an end thereof is pivotally coupled to the sliding plate 230. It is formed of a guide portion 241 and a toss portion 242 that is bent at the hinge side end of the guide portion 241 and pushes the ice while rotating with the guide portion 241. A hinge hole 243 is formed at a point where the guide part 241 and the toss part 242 are connected to each other so that a hinge axis (unsigned) is rotatably inserted. A torsion spring (not shown) may be interposed between the sliding plate 230 and the toss member 240 so that the toss member 240 can be restored.

On the other hand, as shown in Figure 1 one side of the sliding plate 230 may be further provided with an ice crusher 250 for crushing the ice. The ice crusher 250 is coupled between the rotary blade 251 and the rotary blade 251 and coupled to the separate grinding motor (not shown) to sandwich the ice with the rotary blade 251 It consists of a fixed blade 252 to be crushed. The rotary blade 251 and the fixed blade 252 is formed with a plurality of curved blades (251a, 252a) in the longitudinal direction on the surface facing each other.

In addition, an ice transfer unit 260 capable of selectively transferring ice to the sliding plate 230 or the ice crusher 250 while rotating in the forward or reverse direction between the sliding plate 230 and the ice crusher 250 is further included. It may be provided. The ice transfer unit 260 is coupled to the drive roller 261 to a separate transfer motor (not shown), the driven roller 262 is rotatably coupled to the drive roller 261 at a predetermined interval, the The belt 263 is wound around the drive roller 261 and the driven roller 262 to form a caterpillar shape.

The ice extraction apparatus of the present invention as described above is operated as follows.

That is, the ice made in the ice making chamber 120 of the ice maker 100 is transferred to the ice storage chamber 211 provided above the casing 210 of the ice bin 200 by the ejector 130 and accumulated therein. The ice accumulated in the ice storage chamber 211 is maintained in the stacked state until the user selects the ice extraction from the dispenser 300. In this case, the appropriate amount of ice is always deposited in the ice storage chamber 211 by the full-range sensor 150 provided in the ice maker 100.

Thereafter, when the user selects the ice extraction from the ice dispenser 300, the ice transfer unit 260 is operated by the transfer motor (not shown) to slide the ice in the ice storage chamber 211 to the sliding plate 230. At the same time, the motor 220 of the ice bin 200 is operated so that the spiral sliding plate 230 coupled to the rotating shaft 221 of the motor 220 rotates in a counterclockwise direction. The ice accumulated in the ice storage chamber 211 is transferred downward. As shown in FIG. 5, the ice I is sequentially transported along the sliding surface 231 of the sliding plate 230 to the lower end thereof to be blocked by the stop boss portion 232 provided at the lower end thereof. At the same time, as shown in FIG. 6, the touch part 222 provided on the rotation shaft 221 pushes the guide part 241 of the toss member 240 to the hinge part 242 of the toss member 240. While rotating to the center, one of the ice blocked by the stop boss portion 232 is pushed up. The ice I is pushed while the sliding plate 230 is further rotated to move to the bottom of the casing through the outlet 212 of the casing 210, and then through the first outlet 214, the ice dispenser. Guided to 300.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 7, when the rotary shaft 221 of the motor 220 is further rotated so that the touch unit 222 of the rotary shaft 221 is spaced apart from the guide unit 241 of the toss member 240. The toss portion 242 of the toss member 240 is returned to its original position while rotating in the opposite direction by its own load. In this case, when the torsion spring is installed between the sliding plate 230 and the toss member 240, the toss member 240 may be quickly returned by the torsion spring.

On the other hand, when the user selects the piece of ice extraction, the transfer motor (not shown) operates in contrast to the selection of the ice extraction, the ice transfer unit 260 transfers the ice to the ice crusher 250, and At the same time, the grinding motor (not shown) is operated to rotate the rotary blade 251 while crushing the ice between the rotary blade 251 and the fixed blade 252, and then through the second outlet 215. Guide to the ice dispenser (300).

If there is another embodiment of the ice extraction apparatus according to the present invention is as follows.

That is, in the above-described embodiment, the toss member 240 is configured to push up the ice while rotating by the touch unit 222 provided on the motor shaft 221, but in this embodiment, the toss member is torsioned. It is configured to push the ice while rotating elastically by the spring.

For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the toss member 240 is rotatably installed on the sliding plate 230, and the toss member 240 is elastically rotated between the sliding plate 230 and the toss member 240. A torsion spring 270 is installed to allow the torsion spring 270 to hang, and the torsion member 240 hangs the torsion member 240 when the toss member 240 rotates with the sliding plate 230 on both sides of the bottom of the casing 210. A bank boss portion 216 is formed across the rotational direction of the toss member 240 so that the spring 270 accumulates the elastic force. In addition, a toss member evacuation groove (not shown) is provided around the bank boss 216 so that a part of the toss member 240 may evacuate when the toss member 240 is caught and rotated by the bank boss 216. ) Is formed. In the drawings, the same reference numerals are given to the same parts as the above-described embodiments.

In the ice extracting apparatus of the present embodiment as described above, one end of the toss member 240 that is rotatably coupled to the sliding plate 230 when the sliding plate 230 rotates as shown in FIG. 216, and at the same time the elastic force of the torsion spring 270 provided between the sliding plate 230 and the toss member 240 is accumulated. The torsion spring 270 is elastically restored as soon as the sliding plate 230 is further rotated so that one end of the toss member 240 passes through the bank boss portion 216, and the toss member 240 is returned to its original position. Will be restored. In this process, the toss member 240 pushes up one piece of ice I caught on the stop boss portion 232 of the sliding plate 230, and the ice rotates the sliding plate 230. When the casing 210 is to be moved to the ice dispenser 300 through the outlet 216.

In this way, as the toss member of the ice bin is taken out one by one, the ice produced by the ice maker can be prevented from taking out a lot of ice at once.

The ice extracting device according to the present invention has a stop boss portion for accumulating ice at a lower end of the spiral sliding plate, and rotates by a rotational axis of a motor for rotating the sliding plate around the stop boss portion or rotates by an elastic force. As the toss member is installed, the ice guided by the sliding plate may be pushed up one by one to be dispensed into the dispenser, thereby preventing a large amount of ice from being taken out at the same time when the ice extraction is selected.

Claims (7)

A casing in which an ice storage chamber is formed on an upper side, an outlet is formed on a lower side, and a transfer chamber is formed between the ice storage chamber and the outlet; A sliding plate installed in the transfer chamber of the casing and having a spiral sliding surface formed along the axial direction so that the ice of the ice storage chamber is transferred to the exit; And And a toss member rotatably coupled to the sliding plate to lift the ice caught in the stop boss to be taken out to the outlet. The method of claim 1, One side of the casing is provided with a motor for generating a rotational force, one side of the axis of rotation is ice extraction device is formed with a touch portion for rotating the toss member to rotate. The method of claim 1, And an elastic member is installed between the sliding plate and the toss member to lift the ice while the toss member is rotated by the fixed body when the toss member is rotated together with the sliding plate. The method according to claim 2 or 3, And a guide member formed at the end of the rotating shaft of the motor to be spirally wound along the axial direction to guide the ice to the sliding plate while rotating together with the rotating shaft. The method of claim 1, Ice extraction apparatus further comprises an ice crusher for crushing the ice on one side of the sliding plate. The method of claim 5, The ice crusher is an ice extraction device is installed by rotating the rotating piece and the fixed piece alternately sandwiching the ice between the rotating piece and the fixed piece. The method of claim 5, Ice extraction unit is further provided between the sliding plate and the ice crusher ice transfer unit for selectively transferring the ice to the sliding plate or ice crusher while rotating in the forward or reverse direction.

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