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Refrigerator

Abstract: A refrigerator includes an ice-making tray, an ice storage receiving ice cubes from the ice-making tray and storing the ice cubes, and a dispenser supplied with the ice from the ice storage and providing the ice to the outside of the refrigerator, where the ice storage includes an ice storage receptacle storing the ice cubes separated from the ice-making tray; a discharge opening formed on the ice storage receptacle so as to discharge the ice cubes to the outside; a rotatable member conveying the ice toward the discharge opening; and an ice shaving device, which is coupled to the discharge opening, receiving ice cubes discharged through the discharge opening, shaving the ice cubes into shaved ice, and discharging it. Thus, the refrigerator having a freezing compartment with a simplified design and manufacturing process is provided that is equipped with an ice shaving device in which space efficiency is improved. ...

Agent: Staas & Halsey LLP - Washington, DC, US
Inventor: Sang-min Park
USPTO Applicaton #: #20060272347 - Class: 062344000 (USPTO) -

Related Patent Categories: Refrigeration, Means Producing Shaped Or Modified Congealed Product, With Product Receiving And Storing Means
The Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060272347, Refrigerator.

Freezing Shaving

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 2005-47272, filed on Jun. 2, 2005, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to a refrigerator including an ice shaving device to make shaved ice.

[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0005] In general, a refrigerator is a device for keeping food stored therein fresh for a long time using air exchanged by an evaporator in a cooling cycle. The refrigerator includes a freezing compartment for keeping frozen food such as meat, fish, or the like at freezing temperature or below and a refrigerating compartment for keeping food such as fruit, vegetable, or the like chilled at freezing temperature or higher. Further, the two compartments are separated from each other by a partition wall.

[0006] In the freezing compartment, there is provided an ice cube maker to make ice cubes by providing water from a water supplier. Under the ice cube maker, there is provided an ice cube storage storing the ice cubes separated from the ice cube maker. The ice cubes in the ice cube storage are discharged as ice cubes or crushed ice to the outside according to selection by a user. An ice discharge pattern of the ice cube storage is disclosed in the Korean Utility Model Application No. 1997-003500 and the Korean Patent First Publication No. 1998-0049615.

[0007] Recently, a refrigerator equipped with an ice shaving device has been developed in order to be used at home for making red-bean sherbet or the like, for example. The ice shaving device is a means for shaving the ice cubes from the ice cube storage into shaved ice using a knife or the like.

[0008] However, since a conventional refrigerator does not include an ice shaving device, it is not easy to get the shaved ice at home. Further, the ice shaving device is provided in the freezing compartment door, despite the refrigerator with the ice shaving device, which makes a manufacturing process complicated and space efficiency inside the freezing compartment lower since an inner case of the freezing compartment door protrudes toward the freezing compartment to contain the volume of the ice shaving device.

[0009] Also, in a conventional ice cube storage, the ice cubes are not discharged in proper quantity, which is not adequate for the ice shaving device which requires ice to be provided in a certain quantity.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Additional aspects and/or advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

[0011] Accordingly, it is an aspect of the present invention to provide a refrigerator having a freezing compartment with a simplified design and manufacturing process that is equipped with an ice shaving device in which space efficiency is improved.

[0012] Another aspect of the present invention provides a refrigerator capable of providing ice cubes to an ice shaving device in a certain quantity.

[0013] The foregoing and/or other aspects of the present invention are achieved by providing a refrigerator including an ice-making tray, an ice storage receiving ice cubes from the ice-making tray and storing the ice cubes, and a dispenser supplied with the ice from the ice storage and providing the ice to the outside of the refrigerator, where the ice storage includes an ice storage receptacle storing the ice cubes separated from the ice-making tray; a discharge opening formed on the ice storage receptacle so as to discharge the ice cubes to the outside; a rotatable member conveying the ice cubes toward the discharge opening; and an ice shaving device, which is coupled to the discharge opening, receiving ice cubes discharged through the discharge opening, shaving the ice cubes into shaved ice, and discharging it.

[0014] According to the embodiment of the present invention, the ice shaving device is coupled to the lower part of the discharge opening.

[0015] According to the embodiment of the present invention, the bottom of the ice storage receptacle and the rotatable member are upwardly slanted from the opposite side of the discharge opening to the discharge opening.

[0016] According to the embodiment of the present invention, the rotatable member includes a driving motor provided in the ice storage receptacle; a rotatable axis of which one side is coupled to the driving motor and of which the other side is extended toward the discharge opening; and spiral wings rotating by being coupled to the rotatable axis and conveying the ice to the discharge opening.

[0017] According to the embodiment of the present invention, the rotatable axis thickens in diameter thereof gradually from one side thereof to the other side thereof.

[0018] According to the embodiment of the present invention, the refrigerator further includes a guide leading the shaved ice discharged from the ice shaving device to the dispenser.

[0019] The foregoing and/or other aspects of the present invention are also achieved by providing a refrigerator including an ice-making tray, an ice storage receiving ice cubes from the ice-making tray and storing the ice cubes, and a dispenser supplied with the ice cubes from the ice storage and providing the ice cubes to the outside of the refrigerator, where the ice storage includes an ice storage receptacle storing the ice cubes separated from the ice-making tray; a plurality of discharge openings formed on the ice storage receptacle so as to discharge the ice cubes to the outside; a plurality of rotatable members conveying the ice cubes toward the discharge openings; and an ice shaving device, which is coupled to one of the discharge openings, receiving the ice cubes discharged through the discharge opening, shaving the ice into shaved ice, and discharging it.

[0020] According to the embodiment of the present invention, the discharge opening includes a first discharge opening to discharge ice cubes to the ice shaving device and a second discharge opening to discharge the ice cubes as they are or crushed ice which is crushed from the ice cubes into pieces, and the ice shaving device is coupled to the lower part of the first discharge opening.

[0021] According to the embodiment of the present invention, the ice storage receptacle is divided into a first supplier supplying the ice to the ice shaving device and a second supplier supplying the ice cubes to the dispenser, and the bottom of the first supplier is upwardly slanted from the opposite side of the first discharge opening to the first discharge opening.

[0022] According to the embodiment of the present invention, a divider wall is provided between the first supplier and the second supplier at a predetermined height.

[0023] According to the embodiment of the present invention, the refrigerator further includes a driving part driving the ice shaving device, where the driving part is disposed under the bottom of the first supplier.

[0024] According to the embodiment of the present invention, the refrigerator further includes a guide leading the shaved ice discharged from the ice shaving device and the ice discharged from the second discharge opening to the dispenser.

[0025] According to the embodiment of the present invention, the rotatable member includes a driving motor provided in the ice storage receptacle; a rotatable axis of which one side is coupled to the driving motor and of which the other side is extended toward the discharge opening; and a spiral wing rotating by being coupled to the rotatable axis and conveying the ice cubes to the discharge opening.

[0026] According to the embodiment of the present invention, the rotatable axis thickens in diameter thereof gradually from the one side thereof to the other side thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] The above and/or other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the exemplary embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:

[0028] FIG. 1 is a front view of a refrigerator of which doors are open according to the present invention;

[0029] FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a freezing compartment of the refrigerator in FIG. 1;

[0030] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an ice storage according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0031] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an ice storage according to a second embodiment of the present invention; and

[0032] FIG. 5 shows how shaved ice is made in an ice shaving device according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0033] Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. The embodiments are described below in order to explain the present invention by referring to the figures.

[0034] Hereinbelow, a side by side type refrigerator will be described as an example of the present invention.

[0035] With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, a refrigerator in the present invention includes a refrigerating compartment 10 and a freezing compartment 20 which are separated from each other by a vertical wall. At the front of the refrigerating compartment 10 and the freezing compartment 20, there are provided a refrigerating compartment door 11 and a freezing compartment door 21, respectively, to open and close the refrigerating compartment 10 and the freezing compartment 20. Inside of each door 11 and 21, there are provided door guides 23 disposed up and down to keep a bottle or the like. Here, in the refrigerating compartment 10 disposed right of a main body 1, there are provided a plurality of shelves 13 to divide the inside of the refrigerating compartment 10 in the upper part thereof and a plurality of drawers in the lower part thereof.

[0036] In the freezing compartment 20, there are disposed an ice-making compartment 40 in which an ice maker is equipped in the upper part thereof and a plurality of shelves 13 and drawers up and down in the lower part thereof. Further, on the front of the freezing door 21, there is provided a dispenser part 50 to be supplied with ice made in the ice-making compartment 40 and water stored in a water tank (not shown). The dispenser part 50 includes a water dispenser 51 to supply the water and an ice dispenser 53 to supply the ice. On the upper part of the dispenser part 50, there is disposed an operation panel 55 including a plurality of buttons for a user to select crushed ice, ice cubes, or shaved ice. Ice is guided from the ice-making compartment 40 to the dispenser part 50 through a guide 27.

[0037] In the ice-making compartment 40, there is installed an ice-making tray 41 supplied with water from an external water supply. Under the ice-making tray 41, there is provided an ice storage 100 to store ice cubes made therein. Here, on one side of the ice-making tray 41 in the lengthwise direction, there is provided an ice separating motor 45 to separate the ice cubes from the ice-making tray 41. Under the ice-making tray 41, there is disposed an ice detecting lever 43 to measure quantity of the ice cubes stored in the ice storage 30.

[0038] As shown in FIG. 3, the ice storage 100 includes an ice storage receptacle 110 storing the ice cubes, a discharge opening 120 formed on the ice storage receptacle 110 to discharge the ice cubes, rotatable members 111 and 112 conveying the ice cubes to the discharge opening 120, and an ice shaving device 130 coupled to the discharge opening 120 and making the shaved ice with the ice cubes discharged from the discharge opening 120.

[0039] The ice storage receptacle 110 stores the ice cubes separated from the ice cube-making tray 41. In the ice storage receptacle 110, there is provided the discharge opening 120 to discharge the ice cubes. Meanwhile, the ice storage receptacle 110 may further include the rotatable members 111 and 112 to convey the ice cubes in the receptacle to the discharge opening 120.

[0040] A plurality of discharge openings 120 may be provided in order to discharge the ice cubes through different openings according to their use. For example, there may be provided a first discharge opening 121 to discharge the ice cubes to the ice shaving device 130 and a second discharge opening 122 to discharge the ice cubes without shaving them or to discharge the ice cubes by shaving them into pieces. Also, three of more discharge openings may be provided.

[0041] When a plurality of discharge openings 120 are provided, in the ice storage receptacle 110, there may be provided a divider wall 113 dividing the inside of the receptacle corresponding to each discharge opening 121 and 122. For example, the ice storage receptacle 110 includes a first supplier 115 including the first discharge opening 121 and a second supplier 117 including the second discharge opening 123, which are divided by the divider wall 113 from each other. In this case, in the first supplier 115 and the second supplier 117, there are respectively provided the rotatable members 111 and 112 conveying the ice to the discharge opening 121 and 122. Here, the divider wall 113 may have various heights or may not be provided.

[0042] The discharge opening 120 may be formed in various shapes. For example, the first discharge opening 121 is formed nearly in a circle shape and the second discharge opening 123 is formed nearly in a half circle shape, as shown in FIG. 3. Further, the discharge opening 120 may be disposed in various locations. For example, the first discharge opening 121 is disposed in the upper part as high as the height of the ice shaving device 130 from the bottom, since the ice shaving device 130 is provided in the lower side thereof (refer to FIG. 3). Here, when the ice shaving device 130 is disposed in the lower part than the bottom of the receptacle, the ice shaving device 130 may be protruded more downwardly than the bottom of the ice storage 100 and interfere with the inner case of the freezing compartment door 21. Therefore, the ice shaving device 130 may be disposed in the same position as the bottom of the receptacle or in higher position than the bottom of the receptacle, as shown in FIG. 2, so as not to protrude more downwardly than the ice storage 100.

[0043] Here, when the first discharge opening 121 is disposed more upwardly than the ice shaving device 130, the bottom of the first supplier 115 is provided to be upwardly slanted toward the first discharge opening 121 (refer to FIG. 2). When the bottom of the first supplier 115 is upwardly slanted toward the first discharge opening 121, it prevents the ice cubes from needlessly sliding down from the ice storage receptacle 110 to the ice shaving device 130 by oscillation when the rotatable member 111 stops operating or external impact applies, thereby preventing troubles caused by the ice cubes pooled in the ice shaving device 130.

[0044] The ice shaving device 130, disposed in the ice storage receptacle 110, crushes the ice cubes received from the receptacle into the shaved ice and provides it. The ice shaving device 130 may include a case in which an ice shaving part and an ice discharging part are disposed, a rotative body disposed rotatably in the case and conveying the ice cubes to the ice shaving part, and a driving part 137 rotating the rotative body.

[0045] When the ice shaving device 130 is disposed in the lower part of the first discharge opening 121 and the bottom of the first supplier 115 is upwardly slanted toward the first discharge opening 121, there is formed a space in the lower part of the first supplier 115 due to the upward slant of the bottom. Therefore, the driving part 137 of the ice shaving device 130 may be disposed in this space, as shown in FIG. 2. In this case, the driving part 137 is disposed close to the ice shaving device 130, thereby improving driving efficiency. Further, there is no need to provide an additional space for the driving part 137 at the rear of the ice storage receptacle 110, thereby using space at the rear of the ice storage receptacle 110 for some other use, for example, for a space to mount a freezing compartment lamp.

[0046] The rotatable member 111 and 112 include a driving motor 111c and 112c provided in the ice storage receptacle 110; a rotatable axis 111a and 112a of which one side is coupled to the driving motor 111c and 112c and of which the other side is extended toward the discharge opening 121 and 122; and spiral wings 111b and 112b rotating by being coupled to the rotatable axis 111a and 112a and conveying the ice to the discharge opening 121 and 122. Here, the rotatable axis 111a disposed in the first supplier 115, as shown in FIG. 4, may thicken in diameter thereof gradually from the rotatable axis 111a to the discharge opening 121. As the rotatable axis 111a thickens in diameter thereof little by little, area of the spiral wings decrease gradually. Therefore, the amount of the ice which is conveyed decreases as closer to the discharge opening 121. Accordingly, a certain quantity of the ice may be discharged to the ice shaving device 130.

[0047] Meanwhile, inside of the second discharge opening 122, there is provided an ice crushing part 119 to crush the ice cubes in the ice cube storage receptacle 110 into pieces of crushed ice.

[0048] In the following, it is described how the shaved ice is made in the aforementioned refrigerator by referring to FIG. 5.

[0049] First, in the ice storage receptacle 110 disposed in the freezing compartment 20, there are saved the ice separated from the ice-making tray 41. When the user selects the shaved ice using the operation panel 55 disposed on the dispenser 50 and pushes the ice dispenser 53 using a cup or the like, the rotatable member 111 in the first supplier 115 of the ice storage receptacle 110 is driven and discharges the ice cubes in the first supplier 115 to the first discharge opening 121. The driving part 137 of the ice shaving device 130 is driven at the same time as the rotatable member 111 rotates or at intervals of predetermined time and the ice shaving device 130 crushes the ice cubes discharged through the first discharge opening 121 into the shaved ice and discharges it to the dispenser 50.

[0050] When the user selects the ice cubes or the pieces of the crushed ice through the operation panel 55, the rotatable member 112 in the second supplier 117 is driven, thereby discharging the ice cubes in the second supplier 117 to the second discharge opening 123. Here, when ice cubes are selected, they are discharged as is, and when crushed ice is selected, it is discharged by being crushed by a knife (not shown) or the like provided in the second discharge opening 122.

[0051] Likewise, the aforementioned refrigerator includes the ice shaving device disposed in the ice storage, not in one side of the freezing compartment door. Accordingly, there are advantages of easily designing the freezing compartment door, simplifying a manufacturing process since it is not necessary to mount the ice shaving device before the inner case is formed, and improving space efficiency of the freezing compartment since by preventing the inner case in the side of the freezing compartment door from protruding toward inside of the freezing compartment due to the volume of the ice shaving device.

[0052] Furthermore, when the rotatable axis 111b thickens in diameter thereof gradually toward the first discharge opening 121, a certain quantity of the ice may be discharged by adjusting quantity of the ice.

[0053] Although a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims and their equivalents.

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