U.S. patent application number 13/192851 was filed with the patent office on 2012-02-02 for refrigerator having multiple ice banks.
This patent application is currently assigned to LG ELECTRONICS INC.. Invention is credited to Seongjae KIM, Seunghwan OH.
Application Number | 20120024002 13/192851 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 44658533 |
Filed Date | 2012-02-02 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120024002 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
OH; Seunghwan ; et
al. |
February 2, 2012 |
REFRIGERATOR HAVING MULTIPLE ICE BANKS
Abstract
A refrigerator includes: a refrigerator main body including a
freezing chamber positioned at a lower portion thereof and a
refrigerating chamber positioned at an upper side of the freezing
chamber; an ice maker positioned at a portion in any of the
freezing chamber and the refrigerating chamber; first and second
ice banks storing ice made by the ice maker; an ice dispenser
supplying ice stored in the first ice bank and positioned in the
refrigerating chamber; and an ice transfer unit transferring ice
between the first and second ice banks, wherein the first and
second ice banks are installed in separate spaces which are
thermally insulated and maintained at a different temperature,
respectively.
Inventors: |
OH; Seunghwan; (Seoul,
KR) ; KIM; Seongjae; (Seoul, KR) |
Assignee: |
LG ELECTRONICS INC.
Seoul
KR
|
Family ID: |
44658533 |
Appl. No.: |
13/192851 |
Filed: |
July 28, 2011 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
62/344 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F25D 2317/061 20130101;
F25C 5/22 20180101; F25D 2317/0666 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
62/344 |
International
Class: |
F25C 5/18 20060101
F25C005/18 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jul 30, 2010 |
KR |
10-2010-0074261 |
Claims
1. A refrigerator comprising: a refrigerator main body including a
freezing chamber positioned at a lower portion thereof and a
refrigerating chamber positioned at an upper side of the freezing
chamber; an ice maker positioned at a portion in any of the
freezing chamber and the refrigerating chamber; first and second
ice banks storing ice made by the ice maker; an ice dispenser
supplying ice stored in the first ice bank and positioned in the
refrigerating chamber; and an ice transfer unit transferring ice
between the first and second ice banks, wherein the first and
second ice banks are installed in separate spaces which are
thermally insulated and maintained at a different temperature,
respectively.
2. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the first ice bank is
positioned in the refrigerating chamber, and the second ice bank is
positioned in the refrigerating chamber.
3. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein both first and second ice
banks are positioned in the refrigerating chamber such that the
second ice bank is provided at an inner side of the refrigerating
chamber and positioned in an insulating space maintained at a
temperature lower than that of the refrigerating chamber.
4. The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein the ice transfer unit
comprises: first and second transfer ducts extending between the
first and second ice banks, respectively; a first ice input unit
inputting ice stored in the first ice bank to the first transfer
duct; a second ice input unit inputting ice stored in the second
ice bank to the interior of the second transfer duct; and a blower
blowing air to the interior of the second transfer duct to
pressure-transfer the ice to the first ice bank.
5. The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein the ice transfer unit
comprises: is first and second transfer ducts extending between the
first and second ice banks, respectively; a first ice input unit
inputting ice stored in the first ice bank to the first transfer
duct; a second ice input unit inputting ice stored in the second
ice bank to the interior of the second transfer duct; and a
conveyer belt installed in the second transfer duct and
transferring ice stored in the second ice bank to the first ice
bank.
6. The refrigerator of claim 4, further comprising: a cooling air
supply duct supplying cooling air toward the ice maker, wherein the
cooling air supplied through the cooling air supply duct is
returned to the freezing chamber through the first transfer
duct.
7. The refrigerator of claim 4, wherein at least one of the first
and second transfer ducts is buried in the inner wall of the
refrigerator main body.
8. The refrigerator of claim 4, wherein a damper for opening and
closing a first ice bank side opening of each of the first and
second transfer ducts is additionally provided, and the damper is
controlled to open the opening only when ice is transferred, thus
minimizing a leakage of cooling air.
9. The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein the ice transfer unit
comprises: a first transfer duct extending between the first and
second ice banks; and a spiral transfer screw installed at the
inner side of the first transfer duct and forwardly and reversely
moving to transfer ice in both directions between the first and
second ice banks.
10. The refrigerator of claim 4, wherein the first ice input unit
includes a first auger for pushing ice stored in the first ice bank
to the opening of the first transfer duct.
11. The refrigerator of claim 4, wherein the second ice input unit
comprises: an ice input path connected with the second ice bank;
and a second auger pushing ice input from the ice input path to an
inner side of an input hole formed on the second transfer duct.
12. The refrigerator of claim 11, further comprising: a damper for
opening and closing the input hole formed on the second transfer
duct.
13. The refrigerator of claim 12, wherein an ice support portion
for supporting ice input to the interior of the second transfer
duct is provided, and the ice support portion is formed such that
it allows air to pass therethrough.
14. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the ice maker is provided
on the refrigerating chamber side door.
15. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the ice maker is provided
within the refrigerating chamber.
16. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the second ice bank is
positioned in a space maintained at a relatively low temperature,
and has a storage capacity larger than that of the first ice bank.
Description
[0001] The present application claims priority to Korean
Application No. 10-2010-0074261 filed in Korea on Jul. 30, 2010,
the entire contents of which is hereby incorporated by reference in
its entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to a refrigerator having a
plurality of ice banks and, more particularly, to a refrigerator
having a plurality of ice banks for keeping ice in storage.
DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
[0003] In general, a refrigerator includes a freezing chamber and a
refrigerating chamber which are maintained at different
temperatures. Meanwhile, various types of refrigerators each
including a different number of freezing chambers and refrigerating
chambers and a different disposition form are in the market, and
so-called bottom freezer type refrigerators in which the mainly
used refrigerating chamber is disposed at an upper portion and the
freezing chamber is disposed at a lower portion are commonly used.
Some of the bottom freezer type refrigerators include an ice maker
for making ice and a dispenser for dispensing ice to the outside of
a door, and in this case, for the sake of convenience, the ice
maker and the dispenser are installed at an upper portion of the
refrigerator, namely, at the refrigerating chamber door.
[0004] However, when the ice maker is disposed at the refrigerating
chamber side maintained at an above zero temperature, the ice kept
in storage is melt and clustered together or cling to each other
after ice making is performed. Thus, in order to solve this
problem, an insulation space maintained at a below zero temperature
is provided within the refrigerating chamber, and the ice maker and
an ice bank for keeping ice in storage are positioned within the
insulation space, thus preventing ice from being melt.
[0005] However, such an insulation space occupies a large space in
the refrigerating chamber, and restrains the internal space of the
refrigerating chamber from being effectively used. Also, since the
ice maker and the ice bank are installed in the limited space of
the refrigerating chamber, the capacity of the ice bank cannot be
sufficiently increased. In particular, in most cases, both ice and
water are supplied through the dispenser, a device for supplying
water is required to be additionally mounted in the interior of the
refrigerating chamber, and to this end, the capacity of the ice
bank is inevitably reduced.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] Therefore, in order to address the above matters, the
various features described herein have been conceived.
[0007] An aspect of the present invention provides a refrigerator
capable of minimizing the phenomenon in which ice stored in an ice
bank is melt, while effectively using an internal space of the
refrigerating chamber.
[0008] According to an aspect of the present invention, there is
provided a refrigerator including: a refrigerator main body
including a freezing chamber positioned at a lower portion thereof
and a refrigerating chamber positioned at an upper side of the
freezing chamber; an ice maker positioned at a portion in any of
the freezing chamber and the refrigerating chamber; first and
second ice banks storing ice made by the ice maker; an ice
dispenser supplying ice stored in the first ice bank and positioned
in the refrigerating chamber; and an ice transfer unit transferring
ice between the first and second ice banks, wherein the first and
second ice banks are installed in separate spaces which are
thermally insulated and maintained at a different temperature,
respectively.
[0009] Since a plurality of ice banks are provided and positioned
in separate spaces which are thermally insulated, a storage
capacity of the ice banks can be increased, and at least one of the
plurality of ice banks may be disposed in a space maintained at a
low temperature, thus minimizing ice from melting.
[0010] Here, the thermally insulated space may refer to a
refrigerating chamber or a freezing chamber generally provided in
the refrigerator, or may refer to a space partitioned by an
insulating material in the refrigerating chamber or the freezing
chamber. Thus, in an embodiment of the present invention, the first
ice bank may be positioned in the refrigerating chamber and the
second ice bank may be positioned in the freezing chamber, or both
first and second ice banks may be positioned in the refrigerating
chamber such that the second ice bank is provided at an inner side
of the refrigerating chamber and positioned in an insulating space
maintained at a temperature lower than that of the refrigerating
chamber. Here, the second ice bank may have a storage capacity
larger than that of the first ice bank.
[0011] Meanwhile, the ice transfer unit refers to a certain unit
for transferring ice in both directions between the first and
second ice banks, and ice may be appropriately distributed to be
stored in the first or second ice bank by the ice transfer unit.
For example, the ice transfer unit may include: first and second
transfer ducts extending between the first and second ice banks,
respectively; a first ice input unit inputting ice stored in the
first ice bank to the first transfer duct; a second ice input unit
inputting ice stored in the second ice bank to the interior of the
second transfer duct; and a blower blowing air to the interior of
the second transfer duct to pressure-transfer the ice to the first
ice bank.
[0012] Namely, the ice is transferred upward by high pressure air,
and when ice is transferred from the first ice bank to the second
ice bank, ice is freely dropped by gravity, thus distributing ice
to be stored in the first and second ice banks.
[0013] Besides, the ice transfer unit may include: first and second
transfer ducts extending between the first and second ice banks,
respectively; a first ice input unit inputting ice stored in the
first ice bank to the first transfer duct; a second ice input unit
inputting ice stored in the second ice bank to the interior of the
second transfer duct; and a conveyer belt installed in the second
transfer duct and transferring ice stored in the second ice bank to
the first ice bank. Here, the transfer of ice from the second ice
bank to the first ice bank is made by the conveyer belt, and
transfer of ice in a reverse direction is made by gravity.
According to circumstances, the transfer of ice in a reverse
direction may be made by the conveyer belt.
[0014] Meanwhile, the refrigerator may further include: a cooling
air supply duct supplying cooling air toward the ice maker, wherein
the cooling air supplied through the cooling air supply duct may be
returned to the freezing chamber through the first transfer duct.
Namely, the ice maker makes ice upon receiving cooling air in the
interior of the freezing chamber, and here, in order to supply such
cooling air, a cooling air supply duct for discharging cooling air
and a cooling air return duct for sucking cooling air and returning
the cooling air to the freezing chamber are basically required, but
here, the first transfer duct may be utilized as the cooling air
return duct. Of course, the second transfer duct may be utilized as
a cooling air return duct.
[0015] Meanwhile, at least one of the first and second transfer
ducts may be buried in the inner wall of the refrigerator main body
to maximize a valid capacity within the refrigerator.
[0016] Meanwhile, the first and second transfer ducts communicate
with the space maintained at a relatively low temperature, having a
possibility of a leakage of cooling air. In order to prevent a
leakage of cooling air, a damper for opening and closing a first
ice bank side opening of each of the first and second transfer
ducts may be additionally provided, and the damper may be
controlled to open the opening only when ice is transferred, thus
minimizing a leakage of cooling air.
[0017] Meanwhile, the first ice input unit may include a first
auger for pushing ice stored in the first ice bank to the opening
of the first transfer duct, and ice stored in the first ice bank
may be transferred to a dispenser or the first transfer duct
according to the operation of the first auger. When ice,
transferred by the auger, is transferred to the opening of the
first transfer duct, ice is transferred by self-load to the second
ice bank.
[0018] Meanwhile, the second ice input unit may include: an ice
input path connected with the second ice bank; and a second auger
pushing ice input from the ice input path to an inner side of an
input hole formed on the second transfer duct.
[0019] Here, the refrigerator may further include: a damper for
opening and closing the input hole formed on the second transfer
duct. Accordingly, ice can be prevented from moving backward
through the input hole in the transfer process.
[0020] Also, an ice support portion for supporting ice input to the
interior of the second transfer duct may be provided, and the ice
support portion may be formed such that it allows air to pass
therethrough.
[0021] Meanwhile, in another example, the ice transfer unit may
include: a first transfer duct extending between the first and
second ice banks; and a spiral transfer screw installed at the
inner side of the first transfer duct and forwardly and reversely
moving to transfer ice in both directions between the first and
second ice banks. An impeller may be fixed around a rotational
shaft and rotated together with the rotational shaft to transfer
ice.
[0022] Meanwhile, the ice maker may be provided on the
refrigerating chamber side door or within the refrigerating
chamber.
[0023] According to embodiments of the present invention, since a
plurality of ice banks are distributedly disposed, ice storage
capacity can be increased, and since the plurality of ice banks are
disposed in spaces maintained at different temperatures, melting of
ice while being kept in storage can be minimized.
[0024] The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and
advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from
the following detailed description of the present invention when
taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0025] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator according to
an embodiment of the present invention;
[0026] FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view showing an internal
structure of the refrigerator of FIG. 1;
[0027] FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view showing a portion of
FIG. 2; and
[0028] FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view showing the interior of
a first ice is bank in FIG. 2;
[0029] FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view of a refrigerator
according to another embodiment of the present invention;
[0030] FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a portion of a conveyer
belt in FIG. 5;
[0031] FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional view of a refrigerator
according to another embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0032] A refrigerator having an ice transfer unit according to an
embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail
with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0033] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator according to
an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a vertical
sectional view showing an internal structure of the refrigerator of
FIG. 1. The refrigerator illustrated in FIG. 1 is a so-called
French door type refrigerator in which a refrigerating chamber is
disposed at an upper portion and a freezing chamber is disposed at
a lower portion, and the refrigerating chamber is open and closed
by two doors. Here, refrigerating chamber does not necessarily have
two doors, and the refrigerating chamber may be open or closed by a
single door.
[0034] As illustrated, the refrigerator according to an embodiment
of the present invention, a freezing chamber 2 for freezing and
keeping food items in storage is formed at a lower portion of the
refrigerator main body 1, and a refrigerating chamber 3 for
refrigerating and keeping food items in storage is formed at an
upper portion of the refrigerator main body 1. One freezing chamber
door 4 for opening and closing the freezing chamber 2 in a drawer
manner is installed at the freezing chamber 2, and a plurality of
refrigerating chamber doors 5 are installed at both sides of the
refrigerating chamber 3 in order to open and close the
refrigerating chamber 3 in a hinged manner from both sides. A
mechanic chamber 6 in which a compressor 10 and a condenser 12 are
installed is positioned at a lower end of a rear face of the
refrigerator main body 1.
[0035] An evaporator (not shown) connected to the condenser and the
compressor and supplying cooling air (or cold air) to the freezing
chamber 2 or the refrigerating chamber 3 is generally installed
between an outer case and an inner case at the rear face of the
refrigerator main body 1, namely, at a rear wall face of the
freezing chamber. However, the evaporator may be insertedly
installed in the interior of a side wall face or an upper side wall
face of the freezing chamber or may be insertedly installed in the
interior of a barrier demarcating the freezing chamber 2 and the
refrigerating chamber 3. Only one evaporator may be installed in
the freezing chamber to distributedly supply cooling air to the
freezing chamber 2 and the refrigerating chamber 3, or a freezing
chamber evaporator and a refrigerating chamber evaporator may be
separately installed and independently supply cooling air to the
freezing chamber 2 and the refrigerating chamber 3.
[0036] An ice making chamber 100 is installed on an inner face of
the refrigerating chamber door 5. Ice made by the ice maker 160 is
introduced into the ice making chamber 100. An ice dispenser 150 is
installed at a lower side of the ice making chamber 100. Three
holes are formed at the side of the ice making chamber 100. A hole
positioned at an upper side corresponds to a discharge hole 34 of a
cooling air supply duct 30, a hole positioned at the center
corresponds to an ice inlet 102 allowing ice transferred from a
second ice bank to be introduced into the interior of the ice
making chamber 100, and a hole positioned at a lower side
corresponds to a discharge hole 104 allowing ice stored in a first
ice bank installed in the interior of the ice making chamber 100 to
be discharged toward the second ice bank.
[0037] Meanwhile, a cooling air supply duct 30, a first transfer
duct 110, and a second transfer duct 120 are buried in the interior
of a side wall of the refrigerator main body 1. The cooling air
supply duct 30 serves to supply cooling air of the freezing chamber
to the interior of the ice making chamber 100. A cooling air
control damper 32 is provided at a discharge hole of the cooling
air supply duct 30, so that when the door 5 is open, the cooling
air control damper 32 closes the cooling air supply duct 30 to
prevent a loss of cooling air. The cooling air control damper 32 is
open when the door is closed, so as to communicate with the cooling
air discharge hole 34.
[0038] The first transfer duct 110 guides ice from the second ice
bank to the first ice bank therethrough, and also includes a
cooling air control damper 112 formed at a discharge hole thereof.
Here, the cooling air control damper 112 of the first transfer duct
110 is open only when ice is transferred through the first transfer
duct 110. Ice transferred from the first ice bank to the second ice
bank is transferred through the second transfer duct 120. Like the
first transfer duct 110, the second transfer duct 120 also includes
a cooling air control damper 122. Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 3,
the ice inlet 102 and the discharge hole 104 formed at the side
face of the ice making chamber 100 are positioned to communicate
with the first transfer duct 110 and the second transfer duct 120
when the door 5 is closed.
[0039] Meanwhile, the ice dispenser 150 serves to supply ice
introduced to the interior of the ice making chamber 100 to the
outside, and as shown in FIG. 2, an ice supply damper 106 is
installed in the interior of a connection pipe 152 of the ice
making chamber 100 and the ice dispenser 150 to control supply of
ice introduced to the ice making chamber 100 according to opening
and closing of the ice supply damper 106.
[0040] The interior of the ice making chamber 100 is configured to
be insulated from the interior of the refrigerating chamber 3, and
receives cooling air from the freezing chamber through the cooling
air supply duct 30 so as to be maintained at a temperature lower
than that of the refrigerating chamber 3. The ice maker 160 is
installed at an inner upper portion of the ice making chamber 100
to make ice by cooling air supplied through the cooling air supply
duct 30. Here, as the ice maker 160, a conventionally known ice
maker may be used, so a detailed configuration thereof will be
omitted.
[0041] A first ice bank 170 is installed at a lower side of the ice
maker 160. the first ice bank 170 keeps ice made by the ice maker
160 in storage and communicates with the ice dispenser 150 to
provide ice to the outside of the refrigerator. A partition 172 is
provided in the interior of the first ice bank 170, and a through
hole 17a is formed at a lower portion of the partition 172. ice is
stored in a space positioned at a right side based on FIG. 3 among
two spaces demarcated by the partition 172, and a first auger 178
having a spiral transfer blade is installed on a lower surface of
the space such that it is rotated in a forward and backward
direction.
[0042] The through hole 172a is positioned at one side based on the
first auger 178, and a through hole 176 is positioned at the other
side such that it faces the discharge hole 104 of the ice making
chamber 100. Thus, ice stored in the first ice bank 170 is
transferred to one side among the two through holes according to a
rotational direction of the first auger 178. For example, ice
transferred to the through hole 172a positioned at the left is
transferred to the left space of the first ice bank 170 and
supplied to the ice dispenser 150 through a dispenser side
discharge hole 174 formed on a lower surface. Meanwhile, ice
transferred to the through hole 176 positioned at the right freely
falls by a self-load through the second transfer duct 120 and
transferred to the second ice bank (to be described).
[0043] Cooling air supplied to the ice making chamber 100 through
the cooling air supply duct 30 may be returned to the freezing
chamber through the first transfer duct or the second transfer
duct, and in the above embodiment, cooling air is returned to the
freezing chamber through the second transfer duct. To this end,
when cooling air is supplied through the cooling air supply duct
30, the cooling air control duct 122 is maintained to be open for a
circulation of cooling air. Besides, a cooling air discharge hole
may be formed in the ice making chamber 100 to allow cooling air
supplied to the ice making chamber to be introduced to the interior
of the refrigerating chamber so as to be utilized for maintaining
the temperature of the refrigerating chamber.
[0044] Meanwhile, aside from the first ice bank 170, a second ice
bank 180 is provided in the interior of the freezing chamber. The
second ice bank 180 serves to store ice along with the first ice
bank 170, but because it is exposed from the interior of the
freezing chamber, it maintains the same temperature as that of the
freezing chamber. Thus, since the second ice bank 180 is maintained
at a temperature lower than that of the first ice bank 170, ice can
be relatively more stably kept in storage therein. Namely, the
first ice bank 170 is affected by the temperature of the
refrigerating chamber and exposed to external air when the door 5
is open or closed, having a possibility in which ice kept in
storage is melt, but, in comparison, because the second ice bank
180 is positioned in the interior of the freezing chamber
maintained at a below zero temperature, the ice kept in storage
therein cannot be easily melt.
[0045] Thus, in the above embodiment, ice made by the ice maker 160
is distributed stored in the first ice bank and the second ice
bank, and in this case, a minimum amount of ice to be supplied
through the dispenser may be kept in storage in the first ice bank
while a majority of remaining ice may be stored in the second ice
bank which is relatively advantageous for keeping ice in storage.
Thus, since ice is to be continuously transferred between the first
and second banks, a transfer unit is required.
[0046] As an ice transfer unit, ice may be transferred by using a
blow fan, a conveyer belt, a screw, or the like, and in the present
embodiment, a blow fan is used as a transfer unit.
[0047] Namely, with reference to FIG. 4, an ice supply path 182 is
positioned at a lower portion of the second ice bank 180 positioned
in the freezing chamber such that it communicates with an internal
space of the second ice bank 180. The ice supply path 182 is
connected with a freezing chamber side transfer duct 184. The
freezing chamber side transfer duct 184 is installed to be exposed
from the internal space of the freezing chamber 2, and an end
portion thereof is connected with the first transfer duct 110.
Also, an ice support portion 184a is formed at a lower portion of
the freezing chamber side transfer duct 184. The ice support
portion 184a is made of a material allowing air to transmit
therethrough, and in the present embodiment, the ice support
portion 184a is made of a mesh material. However, the ice support
portion 184a may not be necessarily made of a mesh material, and it
may be formed to have a plurality of through holes allowing air to
pass therethrough.
[0048] A second auger 186 is installed at a lower portion of the
ice supply path 182 in order to transfer ice within the second ice
bank 180 supplied through the ice supply path 182 to an upper side
of the ice support portion 184a. The thusly transferred ice is
transferred to the first ice bank 170 by a blow fan 188 installed
at a lower end portion of the freezing chamber side transfer duct
184. The blow fan 188 is configured as a centrifugal fan for making
air flow in an axial direction of an impeller (not shown) installed
therein and discharging air in a radial direction according to a
rotation of the impeller. A discharge side is positioned at an end
portion of the freezing chamber side transfer duct 184.
[0049] Air discharged by the blow fan 188 applies pressure to ice
placed on the ice support portion to allow ice to be transferred to
the interior of the first ice bank through the freezing chamber
side transfer duct 184 and the first transfer duct 110. Here, the
freezing chamber side air supplied together with ice to the ice
making chamber 100 is returned to the freezing chamber through the
second transfer duct 120.
[0050] Accordingly, a closed flow path is formed by the freezing
chamber side transfer duct 184, the first transfer duct 110, the
ice making chamber 100, the second transfer duct 120, the freezing
chamber 2, and the blow fan 188, and air positioned in the freezing
chamber circulates along the closed flow path. Here, the blow fan
188 acts as a power source triggering air circulation along the
closed flow path.
[0051] Meanwhile, the second auger 186 includes a spiral blade in
the form of a water mill, and ice can be sequentially input to the
interior of the freezing chamber side transfer duct 184 one by one
according to a rotation of the blade. Also, an end portion of the
spiral blade serves to close an ice input hole formed on a wall
face of the freezing chamber side transfer duct 184, thus
preventing air blown by the blow fan 188 from flowing to the ice
supply path 182 to a degree.
[0052] Besides, a damper may be installed to open and close a
connection portion of the freezing chamber side transfer duct 184
and the second auger 186. The damper may be configured to be open
and closed only when ice is supplied by the auger, and may be
installed to slide up and down along the freezing chamber side
transfer duct 184.
[0053] The operation of the embodiment will now be described.
[0054] Ice made by the ice maker 160 is primarily supplied to the
first ice bank is 170. Thereafter, when a controller (not shown)
detects that ice of more than a certain amount is stored in the
first ice bank 170, the controller operates the first auger 178 to
push the ice of more than the certain amount toward the second ice
transfer duct 120.
[0055] Since the first ice bank is positioned to be higher than the
second ice bank, ice input toward the second ice transfer duct 120
by the first auger is supplied by a self-load to the interior of
the second ice bank 180. Through this process, when ice is
sufficiently stored in both the first and second ice banks, the
controller stops operating of the ice maker.
[0056] Here, because a storage capacity of the second ice bank is
greater than that of the first ice bank, a majority of produced ice
is kept in storage in the second ice bank, namely, within the
freezing chamber, so ice can be stored while being maintained in
the state when it was made. In this state, when an ice dispensing
command is input by a user, the dispenser 150 is operated to supply
ice from the first ice bank.
[0057] If it is detected that there is no ice in the first bank or
it is detected that ice does not reach a minimum amount, the
controller operates the ice maker to additionally supply ice to the
interior of the first ice bank. However, when there is an ice
dispensing command from the user before ice is completely made by
the ice maker, the controller checks a remaining amount of ice in
the interior of the second ice bank. When it is detected that there
is ice in the second ice bank, the controller operates the second
auger 186 and the blow fan 188 to transfer ice stored in the second
ice bank to the first ice bank. The thusly transferred ice can be
supplied to the outside through the dispenser, and when ice making
is completed, ice is additionally supplied to the second ice
bank.
[0058] Here, the ice may have a certain shape. As shown in FIG. 4,
ice 20 may have a shape of a truncated cone overall and includes a
pressure receiving portion 22 formed therein. The pressure
receiving portion 22 is formed to be recessed from the surface of
ice to allow air supplied from the blow fan 188 to be introduced
thereto and thus allow ice to be easily moved along air. In
addition, since a bulk density of ice is lowered owing to the
presence of the pressure receiving portion 22, ice can be smoothly
transferred although an air volume of the blow fan is not great.
Here, the ice is not necessarily limited to the illustrated form
and may have a semi-circular shape or a spherical shape with an
empty inner portion.
[0059] Meanwhile, the first and second transfer ducts are not be
necessarily buried in the interior of the wall body of the
refrigerator main body and may be installed to be exposed from the
interior of the refrigerator. Also, an additional cooling air
return duct allowing cooling air supplied by the cooling air supply
duct to be returned to the freezing chamber may be additionally
provided.
[0060] Also, the blow fan is not necessarily provided as a transfer
unit, and a conveyer belt, a transfer screw, or the like, may also
be provided.
[0061] FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view of a refrigerator
according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is
a perspective view showing a portion of a conveyer belt in FIG. 5.
In the following description, the same reference numerals are used
for the same components as those of the embodiment illustrated in
FIG. 2, a repeated description will be omitted. With reference to
FIGS. 5 and 6, a cooling air discharge hole 34 allowing cooling air
to be supplied therethrough to the interior of the ice making
chamber and a cooling air suction hole 42 allowing supplied cooling
air to be returned therethrough are formed. The cooling air suction
hole 42 allows cooling air discharged to the freezing chamber side
to be returned through a cooling air return duct therethrough.
[0062] The first ice bank 270 is positioned at a lower side of the
cooling air suction hole 40. An ice outlet 272 is formed at the
side of the first ice bank 270, and a first auger 278 is installed
to be adjacent to the ice outlet 272. The first auger 278 serves to
push ice stored in the interior of the first ice bank 270 toward
the ice outlet 272. Also, a dispenser side connection hole 274 is
formed at the side of the first auger 278 (in a direction
perpendicular to the ground based on FIG. 5) so that ice can also
be supplied to the dispenser 150.
[0063] Meanwhile, a second ice bank 280 is provided in the freezing
chamber, and a first transfer duct 200 is installed between the
second ice bank 280 and the ice making chamber 100. The first
transfer duct 200 is configured in the form of a pipe having a
substantially quadrangular section, and positioned to penetrate a
partition member 7 partitioning the refrigerating chamber and the
freezing chamber. A driving pulley 210 and a follower pulley 212
rotatably mounted and spaced apart in the interior of the first
transfer duct 200 and a conveyer belt 214 extending between the
driving pulley and the follower pulley are installed in the
interior of the first transfer duct 200. A plurality of ice support
plates 216 are mounted at certain intervals on the conveyer belt
214, and a release preventing portion 218 is formed at an end
portion of each of the ice support plate 216 such that it forms a T
shape along with the ice support plate 216.
[0064] Here, the follower pulley 212 is positioned to be protruded
from the first transfer duct 200. In detail, the follower pulley
212 is positioned to be adjacent to a bottom surface of the second
ice bank 280. Thus, when the conveyer belt 214 rotates, ice can be
transferred upward by the ice support plates 216 and the release
preventing portion 218.
[0065] Meanwhile, the first transfer duct 200 communicates with the
interior of the ice making chamber 100 through an ice supply hole
202, whereby transferred ice can be supplied to the interior of the
first ice bank 270 through the ice supply hole 202. Here, an ice
separation member 206 is positioned on an inner wall face of the
first transfer duct 200, in adjacent to the ice supply hole 202. As
shown in FIG. 2, the ice separation member 206 is positioned
between a pair of ice support plates 216 and prevents ice
transferred by the ice support plate 216 from being returned to the
second ice bank.
[0066] An ice inlet 204 is positioned at a lower side of the ice
supply hole 202. The ice inlet 204 faces the ice outlet 272 to
allow ice supplied by the first auger to be introduced into the
first transfer duct 200.
[0067] The operation of the embodiment will now be described. Here,
an operation method of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5 is the
same as the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, except for a transfer
unit, so a detailed description thereof will be omitted. First,
when ice is transferred from the first ice bank to the second ice
bank, the first auger is operated to supply ice to the interior of
the first transfer duct 200 through the ice outlet 272 and the ice
inlet 204. The thusly supplied ice is supplied to the second ice
bank 280 along the conveyer belt 214 by the ice support plate 216
and the release preventing portion 218.
[0068] Conversely, when ice is transferred from the second ice bank
to the first ice bank, the conveyer belt 214 is moved to allow the
release preventing portion 218 to graze a lower surface of the
second ice bank, and in this process, a portion of ice is supplied
to the interior of the first transfer duct 200 by the ice support
plate 216 and the release preventing portion 218. Thereafter, when
ice passes by the driving pulley 210, it is dropped down by
self-load, but in this case, ice is caught by the ice separation
member 206 and thus supplied to the first ice bank through the ice
supply hole 202, rather than being dropped down.
[0069] Meanwhile, a spiral transfer screw, instead of the conveyer
belt, may be installed in the interior of the first transfer duct.
FIG. 7 schematically shows an example of installation of a spiral
transfer screw within the first transfer duct 200. A spiral screw
282 is installed around a rotational shaft 280 extending in a
lengthwise direction in the interior of the first transfer duct
200, and ice can be transferred upward or downward by using the
spiral screw 282.
[0070] For example, in FIG. 7, when the spiral screw is rotated in
one direction, ice may be transferred upward, and when the spiral
screw is rotated in the opposite direction, ice may be transferred
downward. Here, in order to prevent ice from sliding along the
surface of the spiral screw, a sliding preventing portion, such as
a protuberance, or the like, may be formed on the surface of the
spiral screw.
[0071] As the present invention may be embodied in several forms
without departing from the characteristics thereof, it should also
be understood that the above-described embodiments are not limited
by any of the details of the foregoing description, unless
otherwise specified, but rather should be construed broadly within
its scope as defined in the appended claims, and therefore all
changes and modifications that fall within the metes and bounds of
the claims, or equivalents of such metes and bounds are therefore
intended to be embraced by the appended claims.
* * * * *