KR102674787B1 - Ice dispensing apparatus having height controlling part and water purifier having the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention includes an ice room, a screw that is fixed to have a certain inclination inside the ice room and rotates to pull up the ice inside the ice room and discharge it to the outside, and a screw that supports the ice introduced into the ice room and supplies it to the screw, and supplies the ice to the screw. An ice dispensing device is provided that includes an ice height adjustment unit configured to supply newly added ice first when the amount increases.

Description

Ice dispensing device having an ice height control unit and water purifier including the same {ICE DISPENSING APPARATUS HAVING HEIGHT CONTROLLING PART AND WATER PURIFIER HAVING THE SAME}

The present invention relates to an ice dispensing device having an ice height adjustment unit. More specifically, an ice dispensing device that rotates the height adjustment member to preferentially discharge newly created ice and discharge or discharge older ice later. and a water purifier including the same.

The ice water purifier includes a filter unit that purifies raw water, a purified water tank that stores purified water, a hot water tank that heats and stores purified water, a cold water tank that cools and stores purified water, an ice-making unit that makes ice, and the ice made in the ice-making unit is delivered to the outside. Includes dispensers that discharge to .

Such ice water purifiers are typically equipped with an ice-making water pan that receives raw water for ice-making from a purified water tank or a cold water tank, and the raw water for ice-making contained in the water pan is cooled by an ice-making unit that performs a refrigeration cycle to create ice.

In this way, the ice produced in the ice-making unit goes through an ice-separating process and is stored in the ice bucket of the dispenser, and the screw at the bottom of the ice bucket rotates to discharge it from the ice storage storage.

However, as mentioned above, if the ice made in the ice making unit of the ice water purifier is stored in the ice bucket of the dispenser for a long time and then discharged to the outside, the ice may smell and cause discomfort, or there is a possibility of bacterial growth, which is a hygienic problem. may occur.

Republic of Korea Patent No. 10-1731024 Republic of Korea Patent Application No. 10-2017-0054174 Republic of Korea Patent No. 10-1573540

The present invention was devised to solve the above problems, and its purpose is to provide an ice dispensing device that preferentially discharges newly created ice and discharges or discharges older ice later.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention includes an ice room, a screw that is fixed to have a certain inclination inside the ice room and rotates to lift the ice inside the ice room and discharge it to the outside, and a screw that pulls up the ice inside the ice room and discharges it to the outside. An ice dispensing device is provided that supports and supplies ice to the screw, and includes an ice level adjustment unit formed to supply newly added ice first when the amount of ice increases.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the ice height adjustment unit includes a height adjustment member disposed in parallel with the screw and forming a support shape extending in the longitudinal direction of the screw, and rotating about one end of the height adjustment member to adjust the height. An ice dispensing device is provided that includes a rotating part that changes the inclination of the adjusting member.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, an ice dispensing device is provided wherein the rotating unit includes a motor that rotates the height adjustment member at a predetermined angle in response to the amount of ice.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, it further includes a sensor unit that detects the height of ice accumulated on the height adjustment member, and drives the motor when the sensor unit detects that the height of the ice exceeds a preset height. An ice dispensing device is provided.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, an ice dispensing device is provided, wherein the rotating part further includes an elastic spring that applies elastic force in a direction opposite to the rotation direction.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, an ice dispensing device is provided, wherein the rotating part includes an elastic spring that is deformed by the weight of ice accumulated on the height adjustment member.

In addition, the present invention includes an ice generator, a cold water tank for ice making that provides cold water to the ice generator, stores ice produced in the ice generator, and changes the inclination of the ice tray so that the newly created ice is discharged first. Shiki provides a water purifier characterized in that it includes an ice extraction device.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the ice dispensing device includes an ice room, a screw fixed to have a certain inclination inside the ice room, and a screw that rotates to lift the ice inside the ice room and discharge it to the outside, and the ice room. A water purifier is provided, which includes an ice level adjustment unit formed to support ice introduced into the machine and supply it to the screw, and to supply newly added ice first when the amount of ice increases.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the ice height adjustment unit includes a height adjustment member disposed in parallel with the screw and forming a support shape extending in the longitudinal direction of the screw, and rotating about one end of the height adjustment member to adjust the height. A water purifier is provided that includes a rotating part that changes the inclination of the adjustment member.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a water purifier is provided wherein the rotating unit includes a motor that rotates the height adjustment member at a predetermined angle in response to the amount of ice.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, it further includes a sensor unit that detects the height of ice accumulated on the height adjustment member, and drives the motor when the sensor unit detects that the height of the ice exceeds a preset height. A water purifier with features is provided.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a water purifier is provided wherein there is an outlet through which ice is discharged at a lower part of the ice room.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, when the height adjustment member is rotated and placed at the discharge position, the bottom surface of the height adjustment member and the discharge port overlap to discharge old ice. do.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a water purifier is provided, wherein a flow path is formed through which the discharged ice is supplied to the ice-making cold water tank.

According to the present invention, when ice accumulates in the ice room, the height adjustment member rotates and moves downward so that the newly created ice can be discharged by the screw. Therefore, users can always receive fresh ice, thereby increasing user satisfaction and improving hygiene and safety.

1 is a side cross-sectional view of an ice dispensing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2 is a perspective view of an ice dispensing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 3 is a conceptual diagram showing a water purifier in a state where ice is not accumulated in the ice dispensing device.
Figure 4 is a conceptual diagram showing a water purifier in a state in which ice accumulates in the ice dispensing device and discharges old ice.
Figure 5 is a conceptual diagram to explain the mechanism for discharging old ice from the ice dispensing device.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings. In this specification, the same or similar reference numbers are assigned to the same or similar components even in different embodiments, and the description is replaced with the first description. As used herein, singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

When a component is said to be "connected" or "connected" to another component, it is understood that it may be directly connected to or connected to the other component, but that other components may exist in between. It should be. On the other hand, when it is mentioned that a component is “directly connected” or “directly connected” to another component, it should be understood that there are no other components in between.

The terms used in this specification are merely used to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In this specification, terms such as “comprise” or “have” are intended to designate the presence of features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof described in the specification, but are not intended to indicate the presence of one or more other features. It should be understood that this does not exclude in advance the possibility of the existence or addition of elements, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

In addition, terms such as "...unit", "...unit", and "...module" used in the specification refer to a unit that processes at least one function or operation, which is hardware or software or hardware and It can be implemented through a combination of software.

In addition, when describing with reference to the accompanying drawings, identical components will be assigned the same reference numerals regardless of the reference numerals, and overlapping descriptions thereof will be omitted. In describing the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of related known technologies may unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description will be omitted.

Figure 1 is a side cross-sectional view of an ice dispensing device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 2 is a perspective view of an ice dispensing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 , the ice dispensing device 100 may include an ice dispensing screw 110, an ice room 120, an ice height adjustment unit 140, etc.

The ice discharging screw 110 is fixed to tilt upward and is configured to maintain a constant position regardless of whether ice (I) is introduced.

The ice discharging screw 110 is located at the top of the ice height adjustment unit 140. Since the height adjustment member 141 has a downwardly concave shape, when the screw 110 rotates along the rotation axis, the ice (I) below the height adjustment member 141 is pushed upward and discharged through the discharge port.

In the prior art, when ice (I) is put into the ice room (120), the ice (I) created first is spread at the bottom and the newly created ice (I) is piled upward, so the screw (110) is used to remove the old ice (I) spread at the bottom ( I) is discharged.

In the present invention, when ice (I) is introduced, one or a plurality of sensors measure the height of the ice, and the ice height adjustment unit 140 is driven according to the height so that the upper ice (newly created ice) is discharged. .

The ice room 120 takes the shape of an ice bucket that can store ice. However, in the present invention, the ice is not stored in the ice room 120 but is accumulated on the height adjustment member 141, so for convenience of explanation, it is called the ice room 120 instead of the ice bucket.

An ice height adjustment unit 140 is disposed inside the ice room 120, and the floor surface away from the ice discharge port may have a shape that is slightly depressed downward. This is to enable the height adjustment member 141 of the ice height adjustment unit 140 to rotate around a rotation axis adjacent to the ice discharge port.

The ice height adjustment unit 140 may include a height adjustment member 141, a rotation unit 142, a sensor unit 150, etc.

The height adjustment member 141 has a U-shaped cross-section and is elongated in the longitudinal direction of the screw 110. That is, the height adjustment member 141 is formed with a downwardly recessed center so that the input ice can be seated, and is arranged to overlap the lower part of the screw 110 by extending long in the longitudinal direction of the screw 110.

The height adjustment member 141 is formed to be able to rotate within a certain angle range around a rotation axis adjacent to the ice discharge port.

This rotation may be performed by a motor present in the rotating unit 142. The operation of the rotation unit 142 can be interlocked with the sensor unit 150. That is, after the sensor unit 150 detects the height of the ice, if the ice height is higher than the predetermined height, the control unit drives the rotating unit 142. The rotation unit 142, which receives a signal from the control unit, operates the motor to rotate the height adjustment member 141 so that the height of the ice becomes a predetermined height.

The rotating part 142 may include an elastic spring. Elastic springs can play an auxiliary role in reducing the load on the motor.

Additionally, according to another embodiment of the present invention, rotation may be achieved by an elastic spring without a motor. If a lot of ice accumulates on the height adjustment member 141, the elastic spring is deformed by the weight of the ice and the height adjustment member 141 rotates. After rotation, when the ice accumulated on the height adjustment member 141 is reduced, the height adjustment member 141 returns to its original position by the restoring force of the elastic spring.

Figure 3 is a conceptual diagram showing a water purifier in a state where ice is not accumulated in the ice extraction device, Figure 4 is a conceptual diagram showing a water purifier in a state in which ice is accumulated in the ice extraction device and discharging old ice, and Figure 5 is a conceptual diagram showing the ice dispensing device. This is a conceptual diagram to explain the mechanism for discharging old ice.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the water purifier includes a purified water tank 400, an ice creation unit 200, an ice extraction device 100, a circulation cooling unit 300, etc.

A water purifier according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a cold water tank for ice making (310) for receiving purified water from the purified water tank (400) and turning it into cold water, and a compressor for cooling the purified water stored in the cold water tank for ice making (310). It includes an ice producing unit 200 consisting of a cooling cycle including (not shown), a condenser (not shown), and a cooling fan (not shown).

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a pump 320, a circulation passage 330, a valve 340, etc. may be included to provide cold water from the cold water tank 310 for ice making to the ice creation unit 200.

Specifically, the ice creation member 220 includes a nozzle unit 331 provided to spray cold water pumped from the ice-making cold water tank 310 through the circulation passage 330, and the nozzle unit 331. The cold water sprayed from may be made of an ice producing member 220 that allows ice to be made at a certain location corresponding to the evaporator 210.

The ice generating unit 200 may include an evaporator 210, an ice generating member 220, a tray member 230, etc.

The evaporator is connected to a refrigeration system (not shown) through which refrigerant can flow, and absorbs heat from the ice-generating member 220 through heat exchange as the refrigerant passes.

Cold refrigerant may flow in the evaporator 210 during ice making, and hot refrigerant may flow during ice removal.

Cold water supplied from the cold water tank 310 for ice making is contained in the tray member 230, and the ice creation member contacts the cold water contained in the tray member 230 to generate ice.

When the creation of ice (I) is completed, the control unit rotates the tray member 230.

The tray member 230 rotates to open the bottom of the ice generating member 220 and then allows hot refrigerant to flow through the evaporator 210 and the ice generating member 220.

In this way, when hot refrigerant flows through the evaporator 210 and the ice generating member 220, the ice (I) generated in the ice generating member 220 is separated from the ice generating member 220 and falls.

Since the ice room 120 is disposed below the ice generating member 220 as shown, the ice I separated from the ice generating member 220 and falls falls into the ice room 120. Ice that falls into the ice room (120) is piled up on the height adjustment member (141).

Referring to FIGS. 3 to 5, the ice room 120 is disposed relatively above the cold water tank 310 for ice making, and by driving the ice extraction device 100, old ice is transferred to the cold water tank 310 for ice making. ) can be supplied.

Before ice accumulates, the height adjustment member 141 is placed in the basic position (A). As shown, since the discharge port 125 is formed below the height adjustment member 141, ice is not discharged when the height adjustment member 141 is in the basic position (A).

When ice accumulates, the height adjustment member 141 is rotated and placed at the discharge position (B). As shown, when the height adjustment member 141 moves to the discharge position (B), the discharge port 125 is disposed on an extension of the bottom surface of the height adjustment member 141, and the old ice lying on the floor is moved to the discharge port 125. It goes out through.

Ice discharged through the outlet 125 slides along the slope and enters the cold water tank for ice making. This structure prevents old ice from being supplied to the user and reduces the energy used to cool the cold water inside the cold water tank 310 for ice making.

According to at least one embodiment of the present invention described above, when ice accumulates in the ice room, the height adjustment member rotates and moves downward so that the newly created ice can be discharged by the screw, so that the user is always supplied with fresh ice. This can increase user satisfaction and improve hygiene and safety.

The embodiments described in this specification and the accompanying drawings merely illustratively illustrate some of the technical ideas included in the present invention. Accordingly, the embodiments disclosed in this specification are not intended to limit the technical idea of the present invention, but rather to explain it, and therefore, it is obvious that the scope of the technical idea of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. All modifications and specific embodiments that can be easily inferred by a person skilled in the art within the scope of the technical idea included in the specification and drawings of the present invention should be construed as being included in the scope of the present invention.

100: Ice extraction device 110: Screw
112: external housing 120: ice room
125: outlet 131: spring
140: Ice height adjustment unit 141: Height adjustment member
142: Rotating part 150: Sensor part
200: ice producing unit 210: evaporator
220: Ice producing member 230: Tray member
300: circulation cooling unit 310: cold water tank
320: pump 330: flow pipe
331: nozzle part 340: valve
400: Purified water tank I: Ice

Claims (14)

ice room;
a screw fixed inside the ice room to have a constant inclination and rotating to pull up the ice inside the ice room and discharge it to the outside; and
An ice level adjustment unit configured to support ice introduced into the ice room and supply it to the screw, and to supply newly added ice first when the amount of ice increases,
The ice height control unit,
A height adjustment member arranged in parallel with the screw and forming a support shape extending in the longitudinal direction of the screw; and
It includes a rotating part that rotates about one end of the height adjustment member to change the inclination of the height adjustment member,
The rotating part,
It includes an elastic spring that is deformed by the weight of ice accumulating on the height adjustment member,
The height adjustment member is,
As ice accumulates, the bottom surface of the height adjustment member rotates downward to the discharge position where it overlaps the discharge port at the bottom of the ice room, and then rotates upward due to the restoring force of the elastic spring as the ice is discharged through the discharge port. An ice dispensing device characterized in that it rotates to deviate from the dispensing position.
delete delete delete delete delete Ice producing unit;
a cold water tank for ice making that provides cold water to the ice producing unit; and
An ice dispensing device that stores ice produced in the ice producing unit and changes the inclination of the ice tray so that newly created ice is discharged first;
The ice dispensing device,
An ice room in which an outlet for discharging ice is formed on the floor;
a screw fixed inside the ice room to have a certain inclination and rotating to pull up ice inside the ice room and discharge it to the outside; and
An ice level adjustment unit configured to support ice introduced into the ice room and supply it to the screw, and to supply newly added ice first when the amount of ice increases,
The ice height control unit,
A height adjustment member arranged in parallel with the screw and forming a support shape extending in the longitudinal direction of the screw; and
It includes a rotating part that rotates about one end of the height adjustment member to change the inclination of the height adjustment member,
The rotating part includes an elastic spring that is deformed by the weight of ice accumulating on the height adjustment member,
The height adjustment member is,
As ice accumulates, the bottom surface of the height adjustment member rotates downward to the discharge position where it overlaps the discharge port at the bottom of the ice room, and then rotates upward due to the restoring force of the elastic spring as the ice is discharged through the discharge port. A water purifier characterized in that it rotates to deviate from the discharge position.
delete delete delete delete delete delete In clause 7,
A water purifier, characterized in that a flow path is formed through which ice discharged from the outlet is supplied to the cold water tank for ice making.

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