U.S. patent application number 11/503160 was filed with the patent office on 2007-02-22 for icemaker and refrigerator comprising the same.
This patent application is currently assigned to Samsung Electronics Co.,Ltd.. Invention is credited to Seong Ki Jeong, Jun Dong Ji, Jung Rae Kim, Young Woon Kwon, Young Jun Park.
Application Number | 20070039335 11/503160 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37766236 |
Filed Date | 2007-02-22 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070039335 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Kwon; Young Woon ; et
al. |
February 22, 2007 |
Icemaker and refrigerator comprising the same
Abstract
Disclosed herein is a refrigerator which comprises an icemaker.
In the refrigerator, a printed circuit board for ice-making
positioned in the icemaker shares some components with a main
printed circuit board, or the main printed circuit board receives
some components used for the icemaker in place of the printed
circuit board for ice-making, thereby providing various effects.
The refrigerator comprises an icemaker to perform automatic
ice-making operation of freezing water supplied from an outside to
produce ice cubes, a first printed circuit board to control a
freezing operation for a freezing compartment of the refrigerator,
and a power supply unit shared by the icemaker and the first
printed circuit board.
Inventors: |
Kwon; Young Woon; (Gwangju,
KR) ; Kim; Jung Rae; (Seoul, KR) ; Jeong;
Seong Ki; (Yongin-si, KR) ; Ji; Jun Dong;
(Suwon-Si, KR) ; Park; Young Jun; (Seongnam-Si,
KR) |
Correspondence
Address: |
STAAS & HALSEY LLP
SUITE 700
1201 NEW YORK AVENUE, N.W.
WASHINGTON
DC
20005
US
|
Assignee: |
Samsung Electronics
Co.,Ltd.
Suwon-si
KR
|
Family ID: |
37766236 |
Appl. No.: |
11/503160 |
Filed: |
August 14, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
62/138 ;
62/351 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F25C 1/04 20130101; F25C
2700/06 20130101; F25C 2700/12 20130101; F25C 2400/10 20130101;
F25C 2700/02 20130101; F25C 5/187 20130101; F25C 5/08 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
062/138 ;
062/351 |
International
Class: |
F25C 1/00 20060101
F25C001/00; F25C 5/08 20060101 F25C005/08 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Aug 18, 2005 |
KR |
2005-75630 |
Aug 14, 2006 |
KR |
2006-76691 |
Claims
1. A refrigerator, comprising: an icemaker comprising a heater to
partially melt ice cubes produced in a mold section for a
predetermined period of time such that the ice cubes can be
discharged to an outside from the mold section, a motor to rotate
an ejector at a predetermined angle, the ejector serving to
discharge the ice cubes to the outside, an ejector sensor to detect
a rotated position of the ejector, a temperature sensor to detect a
temperature of the mold section, and an ice-filling detection
sensor to detect a rotated position of an ice-filling detection
lever; and a main printed circuit board to supply power to a
freezing compartment and the icemaker.
2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the icemaker
further comprises a printed circuit board for ice-making to control
the heater and the motor in response to detection signals sent from
the ejector sensor, the temperature sensor and the ice-filling
detection sensor to the printed circuit board for ice-making while
receiving the power supplied from the main printed circuit
board.
3. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the main printed
circuit board controls at least one of the heater and the motor of
the icemaker.
4. The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the heater,
the motor, the ejector sensor, the temperature sensor, and the
ice-filling sensor of the icemaker are connected with the main
printed circuit board via a line.
5. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the main printed
circuit board further includes a microcomputer storing a program to
delay, interlink and change an operation of the icemaker according
to a condition table input as operation and control information of
the refrigerator.
6. A refrigerator, comprising: an icemaker to perform automatic
ice-making operation of freezing water supplied from an outside to
produce ice cubes; a first printed circuit board to control a
freezing operation for a freezing compartment of the refrigerator;
and a power supply unit shared by the icemaker and the first
printed circuit board.
7. The refrigerator according to claim 6, wherein the icemaker
includes a group of sensors to detect information for the automatic
ice-making operation.
8. The refrigerator according to claim 6, wherein the first printed
circuit board includes a first microcomputer to control the
freezing operation of the freezing compartment.
9. The refrigerator according to claim 8, wherein the first printed
circuit board further comprises a driving unit to drive the
icemaker, and the first microcomputer may drive the driving unit to
control the automatic ice-making operation of the icemaker.
10. The refrigerator according to claim 8, wherein the first
printed circuit board controls the automatic ice-making operation
of the icemaker in response to the information for the automatic
ice-making operation sent from the group of sensors positioned in
the icemaker to the first microcomputer.
11. An icemaker of a refrigerator comprising a first printed
circuit board to control a freezing operation for a freezing
compartment of the refrigerator, the first printed circuit board
comprising a power supply unit, wherein the icemaker performs an
automatic ice-making operation after receiving power supplied from
the power supply unit of the first printed circuit board.
12. The icemaker according to claim 11, wherein the icemaker
further comprises a group of sensors to detect information for the
automatic ice-making operation.
13. The icemaker according to claim 11, wherein the first printed
circuit board includes a driving unit to drive the icemaker, and
the automatic ice-making operation of the icemaker is controlled
through driving of the driving unit by a first microcomputer.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent
Application Nos. 10-2005-75630, filed on Aug. 18, 2005 and
10-2006-76691, filed on Aug. 14, 2006 in the Korean Intellectual
Property Office, the disclosure of which are incorporated herein by
references.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more
particularly, to a refrigerator, which comprises an icemaker to
produce and supply ice cubes, and is constructed to have component
to drive the icemaker mounted on a separate printed circuit
board.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] FIG. 1 shows a conventional refrigerator including an
icemaker. Referring to FIG. 1, the refrigerator includes a main
body 2 which is partitioned to form a freezing compartment and a
refrigerating compartment by a barrier and has a cooling cycle
system to maintain the freezing compartment and the refrigerating
compartment at low temperatures, a freezing compartment door 4
hingably coupled with the main body 2 to open or close the freezing
compartment, and a refrigerating compartment door 6 hingably
coupled with the main body 2 to open or close the refrigerating
compartment. The cooling cycle system includes a compressor (not
shown) to compress gaseous refrigerant having a low temperature and
a low pressure to have a high pressure, a condenser (not shown) to
condense the compressed refrigerant via radiation with external
air, an expansion unit (not shown) to reduce the pressure of the
condensed refrigerant by adiabatically expanding the refrigerant,
and an evaporator (not shown) to evaporate the refrigerant via
thermal exchange.
[0006] Recently, the refrigerant is under an increasing tendency of
including an automatic ice dispenser, which can make ice cubes
using chilled air of the freezing compartment, and then allow the
ice cubes to be dispensed to an outside of the refrigerator. The
automatic ice dispenser includes an icemaker 10 mounted at an upper
portion of the freezing compartment to freeze water using chilled
air within the freezing compartment, an ice bank 30 positioned in
the freezing compartment to contain the ice cubes transferred from
the icemaker 10, a dispensing part 40 formed in a freezing
compartment door 4 to allow the ice cubes to be dispensed to an
outside without opening the freezing compartment door 4, and an ice
chute 50 to guide the ice cubes contained in the ice bank 30 to
drop into the dispensing part 40.
[0007] FIG. 2 shows a line connection between a main printed
circuit board and the icemaker in the conventional refrigerator. As
shown in FIG. 2, the conventional refrigerator includes a main
printed circuit board 21 positioned at an upper portion of a main
body 2 to control operations of the freezing compartment and the
refrigerating compartment of the refrigerator, and a separate
printed circuit board 19 for ice-making positioned in the icemaker
10 to control the icemaker 10. The main printed circuit board 21
and the printed circuit board 19 for ice-making include
microcomputers and power supplies, respectively.
[0008] For the conventional refrigerator, since the icemaker is
controlled by the separate printed circuit board for ice-making
rather than the main printed circuit board, it becomes complicated
and increases in size and manufacturing costs.
[0009] Furthermore, this structure requires a separate power source
for the printed circuit board for ice-making to independently drive
various circuits, causing an increase in power consumption.
[0010] Moreover, in the conventional refrigerator, the printed
circuit board for ice-making occupies a relatively large volume in
the icemaker so that utility of a mold section (ice-making region)
of the icemaker is lowered by the size of the printed circuit
board, causing a decrease in ice-making capacity.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] Accordingly, it is an aspect of the present invention to
provide a refrigerator, in which a printed circuit board for
ice-making positioned in an icemaker shares some components with a
main printed circuit board, or in which the main printed circuit
board receives some components used for the icemaker in place of
the printed circuit board for ice-making, thereby providing various
effects.
[0012] Additional aspects and/or advantages of the invention will
be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part,
will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by
practice of the invention.
[0013] In accordance with one aspect of the present invention,
there is provided a refrigerator, including: an icemaker comprising
a heater to partially melt ice cubes produced in a mold section for
a predetermined period of time such that the ice cubes can be
discharged to an outside from the mold section, a motor to rotate
an ejector at a predetermined angle, the ejector serving to
discharge the ice cubes to the outside, an ejector sensor to detect
a rotated position of the ejector, a temperature sensor to detect a
temperature of the mold section, and an ice-filling detection
sensor to detect a rotated position of an ice-filling detection
lever; and a main printed circuit board to supply power to a
freezing compartment and the icemaker.
[0014] The icemaker may further include a printed circuit board for
ice-making to control the heater and the motor in response to
detection signals sent from the ejector sensor, the temperature
sensor and the ice-filling detection sensor to the printed circuit
board for ice-making while receiving the power supplied from the
main printed circuit board.
[0015] The main printed circuit board may control at least one of
the heater and the motor of the icemaker.
[0016] The heater, the motor, the ejector sensor, the temperature
sensor, and the ice-filling sensor of the icemaker may be connected
with the main printed circuit board via a line.
[0017] The main printed circuit board may further include a
microcomputer storing a program to delay, interlink and change an
operation of the icemaker according to a condition table input as
operation and control information of the refrigerator.
[0018] In accordance with another aspect of the present invention,
there is provided a refrigerator, including: an icemaker to perform
automatic ice-making operation of freezing water supplied from an
outside to produce ice cubes; a first printed circuit board to
control a freezing operation for a freezing compartment of the
refrigerator; and a power supply unit shared by the icemaker and
the first printed circuit board.
[0019] The icemaker may include a group of sensors to detect
information for the automatic ice-making operation.
[0020] The first printed circuit board may include a first
microcomputer to control the freezing operation of the freezing
compartment.
[0021] The first printed circuit board may further include a
driving unit to drive the icemaker, and the first microcomputer may
drive the driving unit to control the automatic ice-making
operation of the icemaker.
[0022] The first microcomputer may control the automatic ice-making
operation of the icemaker in response to the information for the
automatic ice-making operation sent from the group of sensors
positioned in the icemaker to the first microcomputer.
[0023] In accordance with yet another aspect of the present
invention, there is provided an icemaker of a refrigerator
including a first printed circuit board to control a freezing
operation for a freezing compartment of the refrigerator, the first
printed circuit board including a power supply unit, wherein the
icemaker performs an automatic ice-making operation after receiving
power supplied from the power supply unit of the first printed
circuit board.
[0024] The icemaker may further include a group of sensors to
detect information for the automatic ice-making operation.
[0025] The first printed circuit board may further include a
driving unit to drive the icemaker, and the automatic ice-making
operation of the icemaker may be controlled through driving of the
driving unit by a first microcomputer.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0026] These and/or other aspects and advantages of the invention
will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the
following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with
the accompanying drawings, of which:
[0027] FIG. 1 shows a conventional refrigerator comprising an
icemaker;
[0028] FIG. 2 shows a line connection between a main printed
circuit board and the icemaker in the conventional
refrigerator;
[0029] FIG. 3 shows an icemaker of a refrigerator according to one
embodiment of the present invention;
[0030] FIG. 4 shows a line connection between a main printed
circuit board and the icemaker of the refrigerator according to the
embodiment;
[0031] FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of
a main printed circuit board and a printed circuit board for
ice-making according to one embodiment of the present invention;
and
[0032] FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of
a main printed circuit board and a printed circuit board for
ice-making according to another embodiment of the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0033] Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of
the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the
accompanying drawings. The embodiments are described below to
explain the present invention while referring to the figures.
[0034] In FIG. 3, an icemaker of a refrigerator according to one
embodiment of the present invention is shown. As shown in FIG. 3, a
water container 311 contains water supplied through a water
supplying valve 520 (see FIG. 5), and supplies the water to a mold
section 312. The mold section 312 serves to freeze water supplied
from the water container 311 by use of chilled air within a
freezing compartment, thereby producing ice cubes. The mold section
312 is heated by a heater (not shown) such that the ice cubes are
separated from the mold section 312 and then discharged to an
outside. An ejector 314 is rotatably installed above the mold
section 312 to scoop up the ice cubes to be discharged. Rotation of
the ejector 314 is generated by a driving force of an ejector motor
315. The ice cubes scooped up by the ejector 314 are directed into
an ice bank along a slider 316. The ice bank is provided with an
ice-filling detection sensor 317 to detect whether or not the ice
bank is filled with the ice cubes.
[0035] The mold section 312 has an ice-making space where water is
frozen. The ice-making space is formed with a plurality of
partitioning protrusions 312a to divide the ice-making space to a
plurality of spaces so that a plurality of ice cubes can be made by
the spaces. The mold section 312 is provided with connecting
members 312b by which the mold section 312 is fixed to an upper
rear side of the freezing compartment. The heater is disposed on a
lower surface of the mold section 312 to heat the mold section 312
in order to allow the ice cubes to be separated from the mold
section 312. The heater is a sheath heater, which locally heats
only the lower surface of the mold section 312 rather than heating
the overall outer surface of the mold section 312. The ejector 314
includes a shaft 314a positioned above the ice-making space and
rotated in conjunction with the ejector motor 315. The shaft 314a
of the ejector 314 is formed at a side surface with a plurality of
pins 314b, of which number corresponds to the number of ice-making
spaces divided by the plurality of partitioning protrusions 312a.
The ejector motor 315 is mounted on a printed circuit board for
ice-making (second printed circuit board) 319 positioned at one
side of the mold section 312.
[0036] FIG. 4 shows a line connection between a main printed
circuit board and the icemaker of the refrigerator according to the
embodiment. Referring to FIG. 4, a refrigerator 410 has a main
printed circuit board 421 (first printed circuit board) positioned
in an electronic compartment at an upper end of the refrigerator
410 to control a refrigerating compartment and a freezing
compartment while partially controlling the icemaker 310. The main
printed circuit board 421 according to embodiment of the present
invention shares or receives some components, which have been
mounted on the printed circuit board for ice-making in a
conventional icemaker, thereby enabling reduction in size of the
printed circuit board for ice-making 319.
[0037] For example, with a control system for an ice-making
operation remaining in the icemaker 310, the main printed circuit
board 421 comprises a power supply unit which is to be shared with
the printed circuit board for ice-making 319, thereby reducing the
size of the printed circuit board for ice-making 319 all the more.
With this construction, the main printed circuit board 421 may
supply power to the icemaker 310 while controlling the
refrigerating compartment and the freezing compartment of the
refrigerator, and the printed circuit board for ice-making 319 may
control the icemaker 310 which comprises the water supply valve 420
(as indicated by a solid line of FIG. 5). Alternatively, the main
printed circuit board 421 further comprises components, such as a
driving unit and a group of sensors, for the icemaker 310 excluding
components for the icemaker 310 directly related to ice-making, so
that the printed circuit board for ice-making 319 can be further
reduced in size. At this point, the water supply valve 420 and the
like are controlled by the main printed circuit board 421 (as
indicated by a solid line of FIG. 5). Furthermore, a housing (not
shown) may be installed between the main printed circuit board 421
and the icemaker 310 in order to firmly and neatly secure a wire
for connection.
[0038] The main printed circuit board 421 may store a program which
serves to delay, interlink and change an operation of the icemaker
310 according to a condition table input according to operation and
control information of the refrigerator. In other words, since the
icemaker 310 of the invention automatically produces the ice cubes
using chilled air from the freezing compartment of the
refrigerator, an ice-making speed can be changed according to a
state of the refrigerator. Hence, it is preferable to control the
icemaker 310 in conjunction with the state of the refrigerator.
[0039] A process for transferring the ice cubes from the icemaker
310 to the ice bank will be described hereinafter. It should be
noted in the following description that control of the icemaker 310
is performed by one of the main printed circuit board 421 and the
printed circuit board for ice-making 319.
[0040] First, the water supply valve 420 is controlled to allow
water to be supplied from an outside to the mold section 312. The
supplied water is frozen to form ice cubes within the mold section
312 by chilled air discharged from the freezing compartment of the
refrigerator. After making the ice cubes, the heater is operated to
heat the ice cubes in the mold section 312 to such a degree that
the ice cubes can be separated from the mold section 312. When a
predetermined period of time is elapsed after operating the heater,
the motor 315 is operated to rotate the ejector 314 so as to allow
the ice cubes to be transferred from the mold section 312 to the
ice bank by the ejector 314. Then, while the ice cubes are
continuously heated by the heater for the predetermined period of
time, the motor 315 is driven for a predetermined period of time,
thereby allowing the ice cubes to be transferred from the mold
section 312 to the ice bank via rotation of the ejector 314. When
the motor 315 is driven for the predetermined period of time, it is
determined that the ejector 314 makes one rotation and returns to
its original position through an interior of the mold section 312.
Of course, a location of the ejector 314 can be more accurately
detected by the ejector sensor.
[0041] FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of
the main printed circuit board and the printed circuit board for
ice-making according to one embodiment of the present invention.
Referring to FIG. 5, the main printed circuit board 412a comprises
a power supply unit 502 and a first microcomputer 504 which
controls basic components 506 (such as, compressor, fans, etc.) for
the refrigerator. An icemaker 310a is not provided with a separated
power supply unit, but shares the power supply unit 502 with the
main printed circuit board 412a. Then, the icemaker 310a is
operated in response to an input of power from the power supply
unit 502 of the main printed circuit board 412a to the icemaker
310a. Hence, a printed circuit board for ice-making 319a of the
icemaker 310a does not require a space for mounting a separate
power supply unit for the icemaker 310a, so that the printed
circuit board for ice-making 319a can be reduced in size and
installation space.
[0042] In view of the construction of the icemaker 310a shown in
FIG. 5, the printed circuit board for ice-making 319a includes a
second microcomputer 508 mounted thereon to control general
operation of the icemaker 310a. The second microcomputer 508
controls a heater driving unit 510, a valve driving unit 512 and an
ejector motor driving unit 514 to drive and control a heater 524, a
water supply valve 420a and an ejector motor 315a, respectively.
The icemaker 310a is provided with a temperature sensor 516 to
detect the temperature of the mold section 312 required for
freezing water into ice cubes, an ejector sensor 518 to detect a
rotating state of the ejector 314, and an ice-filling detection
sensor 520 to detect filling of the ice bank with the ice cubes
through detection of a rotated location of the ice-filling
detection lever 317. Values detected by these sensors 516, 518 and
520 are converted into signals permitting recognition by the second
microcomputer 508 via a sensor signal converter 522 on the printed
circuit board for ice-making 319a, and are then sent to the second
microcomputer 508. Then, the second microcomputer 508 controls the
process of making the ice cubes by the icemaker 310a in response to
the signals.
[0043] FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of
a main printed circuit board and a printed circuit board for
ice-making according to another embodiment of the present
invention. Referring to FIG. 6, the icemaker 310b is provided with
a heater 624, a water supply valve 420b, an ejector motor 315b, and
a group of sensors 616, 618 and 620, but is not provided with a
printed circuit board. Instead, components, such as a power supply
unit 602, a heater driving unit 610, a valve driving unit 612, an
ejector motor driving unit 614 and a sensor signal converter 622,
which require a printed circuit board, are mounted on a main
printed circuit board 421b. In addition, a third microcomputer 604
is mounted on the main printed circuit board 421b to control the
icemaker 310b as well as basic components 606 (such as, compressor,
fans, etc.) of the refrigerator. In other words, the third
microcomputer 604 of the main printed circuit board 421b controls
the power supply unit 602, the heater driving unit 610, the valve
driving unit 612 and the ejector motor driving unit 614 to drive
and control the heater 624, the water supply valve 420b and the
ejector motor 315b, respectively. In addition, after receiving
signal values sent via the sensor signal converter 622 on the main
printed circuit board 421b from a temperature sensor 516 to detect
the temperature of the mold section 312 required for freezing water
into ice cubes, an ejector sensor 518 to detect a rotating state of
the ejector 314, and an ice-filling detection sensor 520 to detect
filling of the ice bank with the ice cubes through detection of a
rotated location of the ice-filling detection lever 317, the third
microcomputer 604 of the main printed circuit board 421b controls
the process of making the ice cubes by the icemaker 310a in
response to these signals. Hence, it is not necessary to install
the printed circuit board in the icemaker 310b, so that a space of
the mold section 312 is further secured, thereby increasing
capacity of ice making.
[0044] As in the embodiment of the present invention, it is
desirable that the concept of allowing some components to be shared
by two different printed circuit boards be applied not only to the
main printed circuit board and the printed circuit board for
ice-making, but also to other printed circuit boards for other
independent components of the refrigerator. For example, some
components are preferably shared by the main printed circuit board
and a printed circuit board for a display unit.
[0045] As apparent from the above description, for the refrigerator
according to the present invention, a printed circuit board for
ice-making positioned in an icemaker shares some components with a
main printed circuit board, or the main printed circuit board
receives some components for the icemaker in place of the printed
circuit board for ice-making, so that the printed circuit board for
ice-making can be removed from the icemaker or can be reduced in
size, thereby enabling an increase in utility of the mold section
(ice-making space) of the icemaker.
[0046] As such, when the main printed circuit board receives the
some components for the icemaker in place of the printed circuit
board for ice-making, the microcomputer of the main printed circuit
board controls the icemaker, thereby simplifying the structure of
the icemaker while reducing manufacturing costs thereof.
[0047] Furthermore, the refrigerator according to the present
invention minimizes power consumption of the icemaker via the
structure wherein the main printed circuit board shares a single
power supply unit with the printed circuit board for ice-making, so
that overall power consumption of the refrigerator can be
minimized.
[0048] Although a few embodiments of the present invention have
been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled
in the art that changes may be made in this embodiment without
departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the
scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.
* * * * *