KR20230076485A - Ice dispensing apparatus having height controlling part and water purifier having the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides an ice extraction device which comprises: an ice room; a screw fixated into the ice room to have a predetermined gradient and rotated and lifting ice inside the ice room to discharge the ice to the outside; and an ice height adjustment unit supporting the ice inputted to the ice room, supplying the ice to the screw, and formed to supply the newly inputted ice in advance when an amount of the ice increases.

Description

Ice dispensing device having an ice height controller 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 adjusting unit, and more particularly, to an ice dispensing device that rotates a height adjusting member to preferentially discharge newly formed ice and discharge or discharge ice that has been formed for a long time later. And it relates to 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 by the ice-making unit is stored outside. It includes a dispenser that discharges into.

Such an ice water purifier typically has an ice-making water tray receiving raw water for ice-making from a purified water tank or a cold water tank, and cools the raw ice-making water stored in the water tray with an ice-making unit performing a refrigeration cycle to produce ice.

The ice generated in the ice-making unit is stored in the ice bucket of the dispenser after passing through the ice-removing process, and the screw at the bottom of the ice bucket rotates to eject the ice from the ice storage bin.

However, as described above, when 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 smells and causes discomfort, or there is a possibility of bacterial growth, which is not hygienic. 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 has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an ice ejecting device that preferentially ejects newly created ice and ejects or ejects ice that has been created for a long time later.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides 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 the ice introduced into the ice room. and an ice height adjusting unit configured to support and supply the ice to the screw and first supply newly introduced ice when the amount of ice increases.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the ice height adjusting unit rotates a height adjusting member disposed in parallel with the screw and forming a support shape extending in the longitudinal direction of the screw, and one end of the height adjusting member to adjust the height. An ice extracting device characterized in that it includes a rotation unit that changes the inclination of the adjusting member.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the ice extracting device may include a motor for rotating the height adjusting member at a predetermined angle corresponding to the amount of ice.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a sensor unit for detecting a height of the ice accumulated on the height adjusting member is further included, and the motor is driven when the sensor unit detects that the height of the ice is out of a predetermined height. An ice extracting device characterized by the present invention is provided.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the rotating unit provides an ice extracting device further comprising an elastic spring for applying an elastic force in a direction opposite to the rotating direction.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the rotating unit provides an ice extracting device comprising an elastic spring that is deformed by the weight of the ice accumulated on the height adjusting member.

In addition, the present invention provides an ice maker, an ice-cold water tank for supplying cold water to the ice maker, and changing the inclination of the ice tray so that the ice generated in the ice maker is stored and the newly created ice is discharged first. It provides a water purifier characterized in that it includes an ice extracting device.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the ice extracting device includes an ice room, a screw fixed to have a certain inclination inside the ice room, and rotating to lift ice inside the ice room and discharge it to the outside; and an ice level adjusting unit configured to support the ice introduced into the water supply and supply the ice to the screw, and supply the newly introduced ice first when the amount of ice increases.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the ice height adjusting unit rotates a height adjusting member disposed in parallel with the screw and forming a support shape extending in the longitudinal direction of the screw, and one end of the height adjusting member to adjust the height. Provided is a water purifier characterized in that it includes a rotation unit that changes the inclination of the adjusting member.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the rotating unit provides a water purifier comprising a motor for rotating the height adjusting member at a predetermined angle corresponding to the amount of ice.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a sensor unit for detecting a height of the ice accumulated on the height adjusting member is further included, and the motor is driven when the sensor unit detects that the height of the ice is out of a predetermined height. A characterized water purifier is provided.

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

According to one embodiment of the present invention, when the height adjusting member is rotated and placed in the discharge position, the bottom surface of the height adjusting member and the outlet overlap to provide a water purifier characterized in that formed to discharge old ice generated. do.

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

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, since the user can always be supplied with fresh ice, the user's satisfaction can be increased and hygiene and safety can be improved.

1 is a side cross-sectional view of an ice extracting device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a perspective view of an ice extracting device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a water purifier in a state in which ice is not accumulated in an ice extracting device.
4 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a water purifier in a state in which old ice is discharged when ice is accumulated in the ice extracting device.
5 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a mechanism for discharging old ice of an 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 numerals are assigned to the same or similar components even in different embodiments, and the description is replaced with the first description. Singular expressions used herein include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

It is understood that when an element is referred to as being "connected" or "connected" to another element, it may be directly connected or connected to the other element, but other elements may exist in the middle. It should be. On the other hand, when an element is referred to as “directly connected” or “directly connected” to another element, it should be understood that no other element exists in the middle.

Terms used in this specification are only 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 "include" or "have" are intended to indicate that there is a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification, but one or more other features It should be understood that the presence or addition of numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof is not precluded.

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

In addition, in the description with reference to the accompanying drawings, the same reference numerals are given to the same components regardless of 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 subject matter of the present invention, the detailed description will be omitted.

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

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 , the ice ejection device 100 may include an ice ejection screw 110, an ice room 120, and an ice level adjusting unit 140.

The ice dispensing screw 110 is fixed so as to be inclined upward, and is formed to maintain a certain position regardless of whether ice I is introduced.

The ice dispensing screw 110 is positioned above the ice level adjusting unit 140 . Since the height adjusting member 141 takes a downwardly recessed shape, when the screw 110 rotates along the rotation axis, the ice I at the bottom of the height adjusting 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) first formed is laid on the bottom and the newly created ice (I) is piled up, so the screw 110 removes the old ice ( 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 level adjusting unit 140 is driven according to the height so that the upper ice (newly created ice) can be discharged .

The ice room 120 has a shape like an ice bucket capable of storing ice. However, in the present invention, since ice is not stored in the ice room 120 but is piled up on the height adjusting member 141, it is not called an ice bucket but named the ice room 120 for convenience of description.

An ice level adjusting unit 140 is disposed inside the ice room 120, and the bottom surface farther from the ice outlet may take a shape in which it is slightly recessed downward. This is to allow the height adjusting member 141 of the ice height adjusting unit 140 to rotate about a rotation axis adjacent to the ice outlet.

The ice height adjusting unit 140 may include a height adjusting member 141, a rotation unit 142, a sensor unit 150, and the like.

The height adjustment member 141 takes a U-shaped cross section and forms a shape extending in the longitudinal direction of the screw 110. That is, the height adjusting member 141 is formed such that the center thereof is recessed downward so that the introduced ice can be seated therein, and is disposed so as to extend in the longitudinal direction of the screw 110 and overlap the bottom of the screw 110 .

The height adjusting member 141 is formed to be rotatable in a certain angular range around a rotating shaft adjacent to the ice outlet.

This rotation may be performed by a motor present in the rotation unit 142 . The operation of the rotation unit 142 may be interlocked with the sensor unit 150 . That is, after the sensor unit 150 detects the height of the ice, when the height of the ice becomes higher than the predetermined height, the controller drives the rotation unit 142. The rotation unit 142 receiving the signal from the control unit operates a motor to rotate the height adjusting 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.

Also, according to another embodiment of the present invention, rotation may be performed by an elastic spring without a motor. When a lot of ice is accumulated on the height adjusting member 141, the elastic spring is deformed by the weight of the ice and the height adjusting member 141 rotates. When the ice accumulated on the height adjusting member 141 is reduced after rotation, the height adjusting member 141 returns to its original position by the restoring force of the elastic spring.

3 is a conceptual diagram showing a water purifier in a state in which ice is not accumulated in the ice extracting device, FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a water purifier in a state in which ice is accumulated in the ice extracting device and old ice is discharged, and FIG. 5 is an ice extracting device. It is a conceptual diagram to explain the mechanism of discharging old ice.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the water purifier includes a water purifying tank 400, an ice making unit 200, an ice extracting device 100, a circulation cooling unit 300, and the like.

The water purifier according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a cold water tank 310 for ice making for receiving purified water from the water purification tank 400 and turning it into cold water, and a compressor for cooling the purified water stored in the cold water tank 310 for ice making. (not shown), a condenser (not shown), a cooling fan (not shown), and the like.

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

Specifically, the ice making member 220 includes a nozzle unit 331 configured to spray cold water pumped from the ice-making water tank 310 through the circulation passage 330, and the nozzle unit 331. The ice-making member 220 may be configured to make ice at a certain portion corresponding to the evaporator 210 of the cold water sprayed from the evaporator 210 .

The ice maker 200 may include an evaporator 210 , an ice maker 220 , a tray member 230 , and the like.

The evaporator is connected to a refrigeration system (not shown) and allows a refrigerant to flow and absorbs heat from the ice making member 220 through heat exchange as the refrigerant passes therethrough.

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

The cold water supplied from the ice-making water tank 310 is contained in the tray member 230 and the ice making member contacts the cold water contained in the tray member 230 to generate ice.

When the generation of ice I is completed, the controller rotates the tray member 230 .

After the tray member 230 rotates to open the bottom of the ice making member 220, hot refrigerant flows through the evaporator 210 and the ice making member 220.

As such, when the hot refrigerant flows through the evaporator 210 and the ice making member 220, the ice I generated in the ice making member 220 is separated from the ice making member 220 and falls down.

Since the ice room 120 is disposed under the ice making member 220 as shown in the drawing, the ice I separated from the ice making member 220 and falling falls into the ice room 120 . Ice falling into the ice room 120 is accumulated on the height adjusting 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 old ice is removed from the cold water tank 310 for ice making by driving the ice extractor 100 . ) can be supplied.

Before ice is accumulated, the height adjusting member 141 is disposed at the basic position (A). As shown, since the outlet 125 is formed below the height adjusting member 141, ice is not discharged when the height adjusting member 141 is in the basic position (A).

When the ice is accumulated, the height adjusting member 141 is rotated and disposed at the discharge position (B). As shown, when the height adjusting member 141 moves to the discharge position B, the discharge port 125 is disposed on the extension line of the bottom surface of the height adjusting member 141, and the old ice spread on the floor is discharged through the outlet 125. will go out through

The ice discharged through the outlet 125 slides along the slope and enters the cold water tank for ice making. With this structure, it is possible to prevent old ice from being supplied to the user and to reduce 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 is accumulated in the ice room, the height adjusting member rotates and moves downward so that the newly created ice can be discharged by the screw so that the user can always supply fresh ice. This can increase user satisfaction and improve hygiene and safety.

The embodiments described in this specification and the accompanying drawings merely illustrate some of the technical ideas included in the present invention by way of example. Therefore, since the embodiments disclosed in this specification are intended to explain rather than limit the technical spirit of the present invention, it is obvious that the scope of the technical spirit of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. All modifications and specific examples that can be easily inferred by those 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 generating unit 210: evaporator
220: ice generating member 230: tray member
300: circulation cooling unit 310: cold water tank
320: pump 330: flow pipe
331: nozzle unit 340: valve
400: water tank I: ice

Claims (14)

ice room;
a screw fixed to the inside of the ice room with a certain inclination and rotating to lift up the ice inside the ice room and discharge it to the outside; and
and an ice height adjusting unit configured to support the ice introduced into the ice room and supply the ice to the screw and supply the newly introduced ice first when the amount of ice increases. According to claim 1,
The ice height adjusting unit,
a height adjusting member arranged side by side with the screw and forming a support shape extending in the longitudinal direction of the screw; and
and a driving unit configured to change an inclination of the height adjusting member by rotating one end of the height adjusting member as a center. According to claim 2,
the rotating part,
and a motor for rotating the height adjusting member at a predetermined angle corresponding to the amount of ice. According to claim 3,
Further comprising a sensor unit for detecting the height of the ice accumulated on the height adjusting member,
The ice taking out device according to claim 1 , wherein the motor is driven when the sensor detects that the height of the ice is out of a predetermined height. According to claim 4,
the rotating part,
The ice extracting device further comprises an elastic spring for applying an elastic force in a direction opposite to the rotational direction. According to claim 2,
the rotating part,
and an elastic spring that is deformed by the weight of the ice accumulated on the height adjusting member. ice making unit;
a cold water tank for supplying cold water to the ice maker; and
and an ice dispensing device for storing the ice generated by the ice making unit and changing an inclination of an ice tray so that the newly generated ice is first discharged. According to claim 7,
The ice extraction device,
ice room;
a screw fixed to the inside of the ice room with a certain inclination and rotating to lift up the ice inside the ice room and discharge it to the outside; and
and an ice height adjusting unit configured to support the ice introduced into the ice room and supply the ice to the screw and supply the newly introduced ice first when the amount of ice increases. According to claim 8,
The ice height adjusting unit,
a height adjusting member arranged side by side with the screw and forming a support shape extending in the longitudinal direction of the screw; and
A water purifier comprising a rotation unit configured to change an inclination of the height adjusting member by rotating one end of the height adjusting member as a center. According to claim 9,
the rotating part,
and a motor for rotating the height adjusting member at a predetermined angle corresponding to the amount of ice. According to claim 10,
Further comprising a sensor unit for detecting the height of the ice accumulated on the height adjusting member,
The water purifier according to claim 1 , wherein the motor is driven when the sensor detects that the height of the ice exceeds a predetermined height. According to claim 11,
The water purifier, characterized in that there is a discharge port through which ice is discharged at the lower part of the ice room. According to claim 12,
The water purifier of claim 1 , wherein when the height adjusting member is rotated and disposed at the discharging position, the bottom surface of the height adjusting member overlaps with the outlet so that old ice formed therein is discharged. According to claim 13,
The water purifier, characterized in that a flow path through which the discharged ice is supplied to the ice-making cold water tank is formed.

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