U.S. patent application number 14/835486 was filed with the patent office on 2016-12-22 for refrigerator and ice making method therefor.
The applicant listed for this patent is Dongbu Daewoo Electronics Corporation. Invention is credited to Min Bon KOO.
Application Number | 20160370088 14/835486 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 54199103 |
Filed Date | 2016-12-22 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160370088 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
KOO; Min Bon |
December 22, 2016 |
REFRIGERATOR AND ICE MAKING METHOD THEREFOR
Abstract
A refrigerator and an ice making method therefor is disclosed.
The refrigerator comprises a refrigerator body, a storage space
defined in the refrigerator body, a door that opens and closes the
storage space, an ice making unit that makes ice cubes, a cool air
producing unit that cools air inside a cooling duct to produce cool
air, and a cool air circulation unit that supplies the cool air
from the cool air producing unit to the ice making unit and
discharges air from the ice making unit to the cool air producing
unit.
Inventors: |
KOO; Min Bon; (Seoul,
KR) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Dongbu Daewoo Electronics Corporation |
Seoul |
|
KR |
|
|
Family ID: |
54199103 |
Appl. No.: |
14/835486 |
Filed: |
August 25, 2015 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F25D 11/022 20130101;
F25D 23/028 20130101; F25D 2317/062 20130101; F25B 41/04 20130101;
F25D 17/065 20130101; F25C 5/22 20180101; F25C 2400/10 20130101;
F25C 1/00 20130101; F25D 23/00 20130101; F25C 5/182 20130101 |
International
Class: |
F25D 17/06 20060101
F25D017/06; F25B 41/04 20060101 F25B041/04; F25C 1/00 20060101
F25C001/00; F25D 23/00 20060101 F25D023/00; F25D 23/02 20060101
F25D023/02; F25C 5/18 20060101 F25C005/18 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jun 17, 2015 |
KR |
10-2015-0085588 |
Claims
1. A refrigerator, comprising: a refrigerator body; a storage space
defined in the refrigerator body; a door that opens and closes the
storage space; an ice making unit operable to make ice cubes; a
cool air producing unit operable to cool air inside a cooling duct
to produce cool air; and a cool air circulation unit operable to
supply the cool air from the cool air producing unit to the ice
making unit and to discharge air from the ice making unit to the
cool air producing unit.
2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the cool air
producing unit comprises: a cooling duct through which the air
flows; an evaporation coil wound around the cooling duct wherein
the air is cooled by a heat exchanging operation between the air
and a refrigerant; a compressor configured to compress the
refrigerant discharged from the evaporation coil to transform the
refrigerant to a high temperature and high pressure gas
refrigerant; a condenser configured to condense the gas refrigerant
to change the gas refrigerant to a high pressure liquid
refrigerant; and an expansion valve configured to perform adiabatic
expansion of the liquid refrigerant and supply the refrigerant to
the evaporation coil.
3. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the ice making
unit comprises: an ice making cabinet defining an ice making space;
an ice maker configured to produce the ice cubes using the cool
air; and an ice bank configured to store the ice cubes.
4. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the cool air
circulation unit includes: an inlet hole disposed on an upper part
of the ice making unit wherein the cool air flows from the cooling
duct into the ice making unit; an outlet hole disposed on a lower
part of the ice making unit wherein air is discharged from the ice
making unit into the cooling duct; and a circulation fan that
circulates the cool air from the inlet hole to the outlet hole.
5. The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein the cool air
producing unit further comprises: an evaporator that cools air
inside at least one of a freezer compartment and a refrigerator
compartment through a heat exchanging operation between the air and
the refrigerant; a branch line that supplies the liquid refrigerant
processed by the expansion valve to the evaporation coil or to the
evaporator; and a control valve that controls a flowing direction
of the liquid refrigerant inside the branch line.
6. The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein the cool air
producing unit is disposed in the refrigerator body.
7. The refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein the ice making
unit is disposed on a refrigerator compartment door of the
refrigerator.
8. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the cooling duct
is disposed in the refrigerator body, and the ice making unit is
disposed on a refrigerator compartment door of the refrigerator,
and wherein the cooling duct couples with the ice making unit when
the refrigerator compartment door is closed.
9. The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein the evaporation
coil functions as an evaporator of a refrigeration cycle, and cools
the cooling duct through heat conduction.
10. An ice making method for a refrigerator, the method comprising:
cooling air using a cooling duct to produce cool air; supplying the
cool air to an ice making unit to make ice cubes; discharging air
from the ice making unit to the cooling duct; and cooling the
discharged air again in the cooling duct.
11. The ice making method according to claim 10, wherein the
cooling of the air using the cooling duct to produce the cool air
comprises flowing the air through a cooling path of the cooling
duct for a predetermined period of time, and is thereby cooled to a
predetermined temperature or lower.
12. An apparatus, comprising: an ice making unit that makes ice
cubes; a cooling duct; a cool air producing unit configured to cool
air inside the cooling duct; and a cool air circulation unit that
supplies the cool air from the cooling duct to the ice making unit
and discharges air from the ice making unit to the cooling
duct.
13. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the cool air
producing unit comprises: an evaporation coil wound around the
cooling duct wherein the air is cooled by a heat exchanging
operation between the air and a refrigerant; a compressor
configured to compress the refrigerant discharged from the
evaporation coil to change the refrigerant to a high temperature
and high pressure gas refrigerant; a condenser configured to
condense the gas refrigerant to change the gas refrigerant to a
high pressure liquid refrigerant; and an expansion valve configured
to perform adiabatic expansion of the liquid refrigerant and supply
the refrigerant to the evaporation coil.
14. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the ice making
unit comprises: an ice making cabinet defining an ice making space;
an ice maker configured to form the ice cubes using the cool air;
and an ice bank configured to store the ice cubes.
15. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the cool air
circulation unit comprises: an inlet hole disposed on an upper part
of the ice making unit such that the cool air flows from the
cooling duct into the ice making unit; an outlet hole disposed on a
lower part of the ice making unit such that air is discharged from
the ice making unit into the cooling duct; and a circulation fan
that circulates the cool air from the inlet hole to the outlet
hole.
16. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the cool air
producing unit further comprises: an evaporator that cools air
inside at least one of a freezer compartment and a refrigerator
compartment through a heat exchanging operation between the air and
the refrigerant; a branch line that supplies the liquid refrigerant
processed by the expansion valve to the evaporation coil or to the
evaporator; and a control valve that controls a flowing direction
of the liquid refrigerant inside the branch line.
17. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the cool air
producing unit is disposed in a refrigerator body.
18. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the ice making
unit is disposed in a refrigerator compartment door of a
refrigerator.
19. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the cooling duct
is disposed in a refrigerator body, and the ice making unit is
disposed on a refrigerator compartment door of a refrigerator, and
wherein the cooling duct couples with the ice making unit when the
refrigerator compartment door is closed.
20. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the evaporation
coil functions as an evaporator of a refrigeration cycle, and cools
the cooling duct through heat conduction.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is based on and claims priority to Korean
Patent Application No. 10-2015-0085588, filed on Jun. 17, 2015, the
disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by
reference. This application is related to Korean Patent Application
Publication No. 10-2005-0098135 (published on Oct. 11, 2005), the
disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by
reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to a
refrigerator and an ice making method therefor.
BACKGROUND
[0003] A refrigerator is an appliance that functions to store food
at low temperatures, and may be configured to store food in a
frozen state or in a cooled state according to the kinds of food to
be stored.
[0004] The inside of a refrigerator is cooled by cool air
continuously supplied to the inside of the refrigerator. Here, the
cool air is continuously produced by a heat exchanging operation
between air and refrigerant performed in a refrigeration cycle
composed of four processes: compression, condensation, expansion,
and evaporation that are sequentially performed. Cool air supplied
to the inside of the refrigerator is evenly distributed to the
interior of the refrigerator due to convection of air, so that the
cool air can store food inside the refrigerator maintained at a
desired temperature.
[0005] The body of a refrigerator typically has a rectangular
hexahedral shape with a front opening, with a refrigerator
compartment and a freezer compartment defined in the refrigerator
body. The front of the refrigerator body may be provided with both
a refrigerator compartment door and a freezer compartment door that
can open or close the refrigerator compartment and the freezer
compartment, respectively. The storage space defined inside the
refrigerator may be provided with a plurality of drawers, shelves,
and boxes designed to store various kinds of food in an optimal
state.
[0006] In the related art, a top mount type refrigerator (in which
the freezer compartment is provided in the upper part of the
refrigerator body and the refrigerator compartment is in the lower
part of the refrigerator body) has been commonly used. However, in
recent years, for improved convenience of users, a bottom freezer
type refrigerator in which the freezer compartment is in the lower
part of the refrigerator body has been proposed and used. Here, the
bottom freezer type refrigerator is advantageous in that the
relatively frequently used refrigerator compartment is provided in
the upper part of the refrigerator body and the less frequently
used freezer compartment is provided in the lower part of the
refrigerator body, thereby allowing users to more efficiently use
the refrigerator compartment. However, the bottom freezer type
refrigerator in which the freezer compartment is in the lower part
is problematic in that to take ice cubes from the freezer
compartment, requires a user to open the freezer compartment door
and to bend over to take ice cubes.
[0007] In an effort to solve the problem, in recent years, a
refrigerator in which an ice dispenser for dispensing ice cubes is
provided in a refrigerator compartment door placed in the upper
part of a bottom freezer type refrigerator has been proposed and
used. In this refrigerator, an ice making device for making ice
cubes may be provided in the refrigerator compartment door or
inside the refrigerator compartment.
[0008] For example, in a bottom freezer type refrigerator having an
ice making device in the refrigerator compartment door, cool air,
that has been produced by an evaporator, is divided and discharged
both into the freezer compartment and into the refrigerator
compartment. Here, cool air that was discharged into the freezer
compartment flows to the ice making device via a cool air supply
duct arranged in a sidewall of the refrigerator body, and then
freezes water while circulating inside the ice making device.
Thereafter, the cool air is discharged from the ice making device
into the refrigerator compartment via a cool air restoration duct
arranged in the sidewall of the refrigerator body, so the cool air
can reduce the temperature inside the refrigerator compartment.
[0009] Here, to make ice cubes using the ice making device in the
above-mentioned refrigerator, cool air flows to the ice making
device via the cool air supply duct and flows from the ice making
device via the cool air restoration duct, so cool air supply
efficiency of the refrigerator is reduced due to the flowing of
cool air via both the cool air supply duct and the cool air
restoration duct.
[0010] Further, it is required to supply the cool air of the
freezer compartment to the ice making device when supplying cool
air to the refrigerator, so the refrigerator may waste an excessive
amount of electricity during a continuous operation of the
refrigerator.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in
mind the above problems occurring in the related art, and the
embodiments of the present invention propose a refrigerator and an
ice making method therefor in which cool air produced from a
cooling duct can be efficiently used to make ice cubes.
[0012] In one embodiment of the present invention, there is
provided a refrigerator including: a refrigerator body; a storage
space that is defined in the refrigerator body; a door that opens
and closes the storage space; an ice making unit disposed on the
door and configured to make ice cubes; a cool air producing unit
that cools air inside a cooling duct so as to produce cool air; and
a cool air circulation unit that supplies the cool air from the
cool air producing unit to the ice making unit and discharges air
from the ice making unit to the cool air producing unit.
[0013] Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are
advantageous in that the embodiments can make ice cubes using the
cool air directly produced from the cooling duct, thereby
increasing ice making efficiency and cool air supply
efficiency.
[0014] Another advantage of the exemplary embodiments of the
present invention resides in that the cool air circulates only a
short distance within an ice making space defined between the
cooling duct and the refrigerator compartment door. Accordingly,
when compared to conventional techniques in which cool air produced
from the lower part of a refrigerator flows to an ice making space
defined in a refrigerator compartment door, the present invention
can efficiently reduce loss of cool air and can save electricity
during operation of the refrigerator.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] The above and other objects and features of the present
invention will become apparent from the following description of
exemplary embodiments given in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings, in which:
[0016] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator according to
an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;
[0017] FIG. 2 is a view showing a connection between an ice making
unit and a cooling duct of a cool air producing unit in the
refrigerator according to an exemplary embodiment of the present
invention;
[0018] FIG. 3 is a view showing an internal construction of the
refrigerator according to an exemplary embodiment of the present
invention;
[0019] FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the construction of the
cool air producing unit of the refrigerator according to an
exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and
[0020] FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an ice making method for
the refrigerator according to an exemplary embodiment of the
present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0021] Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention
will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying
drawings so that they can be readily implemented by those skilled
in the art.
[0022] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator according to
an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a view
showing a connection between an ice making unit and a cooling duct
of a cool air producing unit in the refrigerator according to an
exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a view
showing an internal construction of the refrigerator according to
an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
[0023] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the refrigerator 1 according to
the exemplary embodiment of the present invention may include: a
refrigerator body 10 that defines a housing structure with an
appearance of the refrigerator; a barrier 20 that divides a storage
space of the refrigerator body 10; a door that opens and closes the
storage space; an ice making unit 100 disposed on the door and
configured to make ice cubes; a cool air producing unit 200 that
cools air inside a cooling duct so as to produce cool air; and a
cool air circulation unit 300 that supplies the cool air from the
cool air producing unit 200 to the ice making unit 100 and
discharges air from the ice making unit 100 to the cool air
producing unit 200.
[0024] The storage space of the refrigerator body 10 may be divided
into a refrigerator compartment and a freezer compartment by the
barrier 20. Further, the doors may include a refrigerator
compartment door 30 that is hinged to each of opposite edges of the
front of the refrigerator compartment, and opens and closes the
refrigerator compartment; and a freezer compartment door 40 that is
hinged to an edge of the front of the freezer compartment, and
opens and closes the freezer compartment.
[0025] Although the refrigerator 1 of the exemplary embodiments of
the present invention is a bottom freezer type refrigerator in
which the freezer compartment is provided in the lower part of the
refrigerator body, it should be understood that the present
invention may be adapted to various types of refrigerators without
being limited to the bottom freezer type refrigerator. Further, the
construction of the refrigerator body 10, the barrier 20, the
refrigerator compartment door 30, and the freezer compartment door
40 remains the same as that of a refrigerator body, a barrier, a
refrigerator compartment door, and a freezer compartment door of a
conventional refrigerator, and further explanation is thus
omitted.
[0026] Here, the ice making unit 100 is a unit that changes the
phase of water to ice using cool air, and may be disposed on an
inner surface of the refrigerator compartment door 30. Although the
ice making unit 100 of the present embodiment is disposed on the
upper part of the refrigerator compartment door 30, it should be
understood that the ice making unit 100 may be disposed at another
position of the refrigerator compartment door 30.
[0027] The ice making unit 100 may include an ice making cabinet
110, an ice maker 120, and an ice bank 130.
[0028] The ice making cabinet 110 may be disposed on the inside
surface of the refrigerator compartment door 30, and may define an
ice making space 111 in which ice cubes are produced. The ice maker
120 can freeze water using cool air flowing into the ice making
space 111, can make ice cubes, and can discharge the ice cubes into
the ice bank 130. The ice bank 130 is disposed at a location below
the ice maker 120 so as to receive ice cubes discharged from the
ice maker 120. The ice bank 130 can store the ice cubes discharged
from the ice maker 120, and can dispense ice cubes to users using
an ice dispenser unit (not shown).
[0029] The cool air circulation unit 300 functions to introduce
cool air from the cool air producing unit 200 into the ice making
space 111 of the ice making unit 100 or to discharge the cool air
from the ice making space 111 to the cool air producing unit
200.
[0030] For example, the cool air circulation unit 300 may include:
an inlet hole 310 disposed on an upper part of the ice making unit
100 at a location corresponding to a first duct hole 212 of the
cooling duct 210; an outlet hole 320 disposed on a lower part of
the ice making unit 100 at a location corresponding to a second
duct hole 213 of the cooling duct 210; and a circulation fan 330
that circulates the cool air from the inlet hole 310 to the outlet
hole 320.
[0031] In one embodiment, the cooling duct 210 is disposed in the
refrigerator body 10, and the ice making unit 100 is disposed on
the refrigerator compartment door 30 of the refrigerator 1, so when
the refrigerator compartment door 30 is closed onto the
refrigerator body 10, the first duct hole 212 and the second duct
hole 213 of the cooling duct 210 couple with the inlet hole 310 and
the outlet hole 320 of the ice making unit 100, respectively.
[0032] Thus, when the refrigerator compartment door 30 is closed
onto the refrigerator body 10, cool air inside the cooling duct 210
flows into the inlet hole 310 of the ice making unit 100 via the
first duct hole 212. In the ice making unit 100, the cool air from
the inlet circulates inside the ice making space 111 by the
operation of the circulation fan 330, thereby freezing water inside
the ice making space 111 and forming ice cubes. Thereafter, air
inside the ice making unit 100 is discharged into the second duct
hole 213 of the cooling duct 210 via the outlet hole 320. The air
discharged from the ice making unit 100 is cooled again inside the
cooling duct 210 prior to being introduced into the inlet hole 310
of the ice making unit 100.
[0033] FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the construction of the
cool air producing unit of the refrigerator according to an
exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
[0034] As shown in FIG. 4, the cool air producing unit 200 can cool
air flowing through the cooling duct 210, thereby producing cool
air, and can supply the cool air to the ice making unit 100. The
cool air producing unit 200 may be disposed inside the refrigerator
body 10 of the refrigerator 1. More specifically, the cool air
producing unit 200 may be disposed on the sidewall of the
refrigerator body 10 and in the lower part of the refrigerator body
10.
[0035] The cool air producing unit 200 includes: the cooling duct
210 that is disposed in the sidewall of the refrigerator body so as
to form a cooling path through which air flows; an evaporation coil
220 wound around the cooling duct 210 such that the air inside the
cooling duct is cooled by a heat exchanging operation between the
air and a refrigerant; a compressor 230 that compresses the
refrigerant discharged from the evaporation coil 220 so as to
change the refrigerant to a high temperature and high pressure gas
refrigerant; a condenser 240 that condenses the gas refrigerant so
as to change the gas refrigerant to a high pressure liquid
refrigerant; and an expansion valve 250 that performs adiabatic
expansion of the liquid refrigerant and supplies the refrigerant to
the evaporation coil 220. Here, the first duct hole 212 may be
disposed on the upper end of the cooling duct 210 such that the
first duct hole 212 can couple with the inlet hole 310, and the
second duct hole 213 may be disposed on the lower end of the
cooling duct 210 such that the second duct hole 213 can couple with
the outlet hole 320.
[0036] In the compressor 230, the condenser 240, the expansion
valve 250, and the evaporation coil 220, a refrigeration cycle
composed of four processes: compression, condensation, expansion,
and evaporation, is performed in which a heat exchanging operation
between air and refrigerant is carried out. Accordingly, air inside
the cooling duct 210 may be cooled to become cool air by a heat
exchanging operation performed between the air inside the cooling
duct 210 and the refrigerant inside the evaporation coil 220. Here,
the evaporation coil 220 cools the cooling duct 210 through heat
conduction. Further, the cooling line is sufficiently long such
that air inside the cooling line can be efficiently cooled to
become cool air, so when the air flows through the cooling line for
a predetermined period of time, the air can be cooled to a
predetermined temperature (for example, 14 degrees below zero or
lower) at which the cool air can efficiently make ice cubes.
[0037] The compressor 230, the condenser 240, and the expansion
valve 250 may use the elements of a refrigeration cycle that are
provided to supply cool air to both the refrigerator compartment
and the freezer compartment of the refrigerator 1.
[0038] The cool air producing unit 200 may include a cooling duct
210, an evaporation coil 220, a compressor 230, a condenser 240, an
expansion valve 250, an evaporator 260, a branch line 270, and a
control valve 280. The construction of the cooling duct 210, the
evaporation coil 220, the compressor 230, the condenser 240, and
the expansion valve 250 remains the same as that of the cooling
duct 210, the evaporation coil 220, the compressor 230, the
condenser 240, and the expansion valve 250 that are described
above, and further explanation is thus deemed unnecessary.
[0039] In one embodiment, the evaporator 260 may be provided in the
lower part of the refrigerator body 10, and may produce cool air by
cooling the air inside the freezer compartment or the refrigerator
compartment through a heat exchanging operation between the air and
the refrigerant. The cool air produced by the evaporator 260 may be
supplied to the freezer compartment or to the refrigerator
compartment. The branch line 270 may function to supply the liquid
refrigerant processed by the expansion valve 250 to the evaporation
coil 220 or to the evaporator 260. The control valve 280 is
provided at a branch point of the branch line 270 and controls the
flowing direction of the liquid refrigerant so as to supply the
liquid refrigerant to the evaporation coil 220 or to the evaporator
260.
[0040] Accordingly, the refrigerant that branches via the branch
line 270 may circulate through a refrigeration cycle composed of
the evaporation coil 220, the compressor 230, the condenser 240,
and the expansion valve 250, thereby cooling air supplied to the
ice making unit 100. Further, the refrigerant that branches via the
branch line 270 may circulate through a refrigeration cycle
composed of the evaporator 260, the compressor 230, the condenser
240, and the expansion valve 250, thereby cooling air supplied to
the refrigerator compartment and to the freezer compartment.
[0041] FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an ice making method for
the refrigerator according to an exemplary embodiment of the
present invention.
[0042] As shown in FIG. 5, the ice making method for the
refrigerator according to an exemplary embodiment of the present
invention may include: cooling air using the cooling duct so as to
produce cool air (S100); supplying the cool air to the ice making
unit so as to make ice cubes (S200); discharging the cool air from
the ice making unit to the cooling duct (S300); and cooling the
discharged cool air again in the cooling duct (S400).
[0043] In the step of cooling air using the cooling duct so as to
produce cool air (S100), air is cooled to become cool air by
directing the air to flow through the cooling duct on which the
evaporation coil is wound. The air inside the cooling duct flows
through a cooling path for a predetermined period of time while
losing heat to the refrigerant flowing in the evaporation coil, so
air discharged from the cooling line can be cooled to a
predetermined temperature (for example, 14 degrees below zero or
lower) at which the cool air can efficiently make ice cubes.
[0044] In the step of supplying the cool air to the ice making unit
so as to make ice cubes (S200), the cool air cooled in the cooling
duct is supplied to the ice making space of the ice making unit
through the inlet hole of the ice making unit. The cool air
supplied to the ice making space circulates in the ice making space
by the operation of a circulation fan, and can freeze water inside
the ice making space, thereby making ice cubes.
[0045] In the step of discharging air from the ice making unit to
the cooling duct (S300), the cool air is discharged from the ice
making space into the cooling duct through the outlet hole of the
ice making unit.
[0046] In the step of cooling the discharged air again in the
cooling duct (S400), the cool air discharged into the cooling duct
flows through the cooling path of the cooling duct for a
predetermined period of time, thereby being cooled to a
predetermined temperature or lower at which the cool air can freeze
water to make ice cubes.
[0047] While the embodiments of the present invention have been
shown and described with respect to the exemplary embodiments, it
will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes
and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and
scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.
* * * * *