Patent ID: 11959686
Assignee: LG ELECTRONICS INC.
Field: Thermal processes and apparatus (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC F | IPC F

Claim 0:
1. A refrigerator comprising:
a cabinet; and
an ice maker disposed in the cabinet, the ice maker comprising an upper assembly and a lower assembly that is pivotably coupled to the upper assembly,
wherein the upper assembly comprises:
an upper tray that defines a plurality of upper ice chambers,
an upper casing that supports the upper tray and that defines a cold air hole configured to supply cold air to the upper tray, the upper casing including an upper plate that is disposed on the upper tray, and
a cold air guide disposed on the upper plate,

wherein the upper tray and the upper plate are fixed to each other and in direct contact with each other, and the upper plate defines a tray opening through which a portion of a top face of the upper tray passes to be exposed to the cold air supplied through the cold air hole, the cold air guide extending from the cold air hole toward the tray opening,
wherein the lower assembly comprises:
a lower tray that is provided below the upper tray, the lower tray defining a plurality of lower ice chambers that are configured to come in contact with the plurality of upper ice chambers of the upper tray, respectively, to thereby form a plurality of ice chambers that are spaced apart from each other,

wherein the plurality of upper ice chambers are arranged within the tray opening along a row that extends away from the cold air hole,
wherein the cold air guide is configured to guide a flow of the cold air from the cold air hole to a first ice chamber among the plurality of ice chambers that is positioned closest to the cold air hole,
wherein the cold air guide is configured to guide the cold air to flow along the tray opening starting from a first upper ice chamber among the plurality of upper ice chambers that is positioned closest to the cold air hole,
wherein the plurality of upper ice chambers are arranged starting at an inner end of the cold air guide, and
wherein the cold air guide comprises:
a first guide provided on the upper plate and extending from one side of the cold air hole to a portion of the upper plate adjacent to the first upper ice chamber, and
a second guide provided on the upper plate and extending from the other side of the cold air hole toward the first upper ice chamber, wherein the second guide is facing the first guide between the cold air hole and the first upper ice chamber.