Patent Publication Number: US-2015059396-A1

Title: Ice maker

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2013-0106019 filed on Apr. 09, 2013, with the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     BACKGROUND 
     The present disclosure relates to an ice maker, and more particularly, to an ice maker reliably performing a definitive ice separating operation. 
     In a down-flow type ice maker, water freezes into ice while flowing down an ice making plate cooled by an evaporator, and the ice is separated from the ice making plate and stored in an ice bin. 
       FIG. 1  is perspective view illustrating an assembly included in an ice maker of the prior art, the assembly including an ice making plate  20  and an evaporator  10 , and  FIG. 2  is a side cross-sectional view illustrating how ice is formed on the ice making plate  20  of the ice maker of the prior art. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the ice maker of the prior art includes: the ice making plate  20  disposed vertically; and the evaporator  10  making contact with rear surfaces of the ice making plate  20 . 
     The ice making plate  20  includes: a plurality of partitioning plates  22  dividing the ice making plate  20  in a width direction thereof so that a plurality of ice cubes can be formed on the ice making plate  20  in the width direction thereof; ice separating protrusions  24  for separating ice cubes from the ice making plate  20  during an ice separating operation. 
     In the prior art, however, surfaces of the ice making plate  20  on which ice cubes are formed are vertical. Therefore, during an ice separating operation, ice cubes may not be easily separated from the ice making plate  20  but may stick to the ice making plate  20 . 
     Therefore, in the prior art, a lager amount of hot gas may be used to separate ice cubes sticking to the ice making plate  20 , and thus the ice cubes may melt to lower the amount and quality of ice. 
     SUMMARY 
     An aspect of the present disclosure may provide an ice maker in which ice is definitively separated from an ice making plate during an ice separating operation. 
     According to an aspect of the present disclosure, an ice maker may include: an evaporator; an ice making plate disposed vertically and making contact with the evaporator at a rear side thereof, the ice maker including a plurality of ice forming parts formed by dividing a front side thereof, surfaces of the ice forming parts being sloped to face downwards; a water tub disposed below the ice making plate to collect water falling from the ice making plate; and an ice bin forming an ice storage space around the water tub to collect ice falling from the ice making plate. 
     Each of the ice forming parts may include: an upper end protruding forward from the ice making plate; and a slope downwardly inclined toward the rear side of the ice making plate. 
     Jaws protruding forward from the ice making plate may be formed on lower ends of the ice forming parts. 
     Each of the jaws may extend from the lower end of an upper ice making part to the upper end of a lower ice making part located just below the upper ice making part. 
     The ice forming parts and the jaws may be formed in one piece by bending the ice making plate. 
     The jaws may be downwardly sloped. 
     The ice making plate may further include a plurality of partitioning barriers dividing each of the ice forming parts arranged in a width direction of the ice making plate. 
     The partitioning barriers may be formed by bending portions of the ice making plate to protrude forward. 
     The evaporator may include a pipe in which a refrigerant flows, the pipe making contact with rear sides of the ice forming parts and being sloped at both sides thereof according to sloped shapes of the ice forming parts. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
       The above and other aspects, features and other advantages of the present disclosure will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is perspective view illustrating an assembly included in an ice maker of the prior art, the assembly including an ice making plate and an evaporator; 
         FIG. 2  is aside cross-sectional view illustrating how ice is formed on the ice making plate of the ice maker depicted in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a side cross-sectional view illustrating an assembly included in an ice maker according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the assembly including an evaporator, an ice making plate, a water tub, an ice bin, and a guide member; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view illustrating the ice making plate of the ice maker depicted in  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  is aside cross-sectional view illustrating how ice is separated from the ice making plate of the ice maker depicted in  FIG. 3 ; and 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view illustrating ice formed on the ice making plate of the ice maker depicted in  FIG. 3 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     The disclosure may, however, be exemplified in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the specific embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. 
     In the drawings, the shapes and dimensions of elements may be exaggerated for clarity, and the same reference numerals will be used throughout to designate the same or like elements. 
     In the following description, the technical terms are used only for explaining specific exemplary embodiments while not limiting the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. The terms of a singular form may include plural forms unless referred to the contrary. 
     Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 3 to 6 , an ice maker  100  will hereinafter be described according to embodiments of the present disclosure. 
       FIG. 3  is a side cross-sectional view illustrating an assembly included in the ice maker  100  according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the assembly including an evaporator  110 , an ice making plate  200 , a water tub  120 , an ice bin  130 , and a guide member  140 , and  FIG. 4  is a perspective view illustrating the ice making plate  200 .  FIG. 5  is a side cross-sectional view illustrating how ice is separated from the ice making plate  200 , and  FIG. 6  is a side view illustrating ice formed on the ice making plate  200 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 3 to 6 , according to embodiments of the present disclosure, the ice maker  100  may include the evaporator  110 , the water tub  120 , the ice bin  130 , the guide member  140 , and the ice making plate  200 . 
     The evaporator  110  may include a pipe in which a refrigerant flows. The pipe may have a zigzag manner with a plurality of bent portions. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 3 to 5 , the evaporator  110  may make contact with rear sides of the ice making plate  200  (to be described later in detail), and as the refrigerant flowing in the evaporator  110  evaporates by taking heat from the surroundings, the ice making plate  200  may be cooled. 
     The water tub  120  may be disposed below the ice making plate  200  to collect water (ice-making water and ice-separating water) falling from the ice making plate  200 . 
     The ice bin  130  may form an ice storage space around the water tub  120  to collect ice (I) falling from the ice making plate  200 . 
     The guide member  140  may separate ice (I) and water falling from the ice making plate  200  to guide the ice (I) to the ice bin  130  and the water to the water tub  120  through holes. 
     The ice making plate  200  is a plate-shaped member disposed vertically and making contact with the evaporator  110  at rear surfaces thereof. The ice making plate  200  is cooled by the evaporator  110  to form ice (I) thereon. 
     The ice making plate  200  includes a plurality of ice forming parts  210  formed by dividing front surfaces thereof. That is, the front surfaces of the ice making plate  200  may be divided into the ice forming parts  210  arranged in the form of a grating. 
     Each of the ice forming parts  210  is a region in which a single piece of ice (I) is formed. 
     Surfaces of the ice forming parts  210  may be sloped so that the surfaces may face downwards. 
     In the embodiments, as shown in  FIGS. 4 to 5 , upper ends of the ice forming parts  210  may protrude forward, and the surfaces of the ice forming parts  210  may be sloped rearward as it goes downwards. 
     That is, the surfaces of the ice forming parts  210  may not be vertical. Instead, the surfaces of the ice forming parts  210  may be sloped rearward in a downward direction. 
     As shown in  FIG. 5 , both sides of the evaporator  110  maybe shaped according to the sloped surfaces of the ice forming parts  210 . 
     In this case, the contact area between the evaporator  110  and the ice forming parts  210  may be increased. 
     That is, the efficiency of heat exchange between the evaporator  110  and the ice forming parts  210  may be increased. 
     Furthermore, in the embodiments, jaws  220  protruding forward from the ice making plate  200  may be formed on lower ends of the ice forming parts  210 . 
     In the embodiments, each of the jaws  220  maybe formed on a lower end of an ice forming part  210  and may extend to an upper end of a lower ice forming part  210  neighboring the ice forming part  210 . 
     In other words, the ice forming parts  210  and the jaws  220  may be alternately formed in a vertical direction of the ice making plate  200 . 
     Therefore, because of the ice forming parts  210  and the jaws  220 , the front surfaces of the ice making plate  200  may be shaped like stairs. 
     If the jaws  220  are not sloped but horizontally protrude, water falling on the front surfaces of the ice making plate  200  may be separated from the front surfaces of the ice making plate  200  at the jaws  220 . 
     In this case, water may not flow to the ice forming parts  210  located below the jaws  220 , and thus the efficiency of ice making may be lowered. Furthermore, water separated from the ice making plate  200  may permeate the ice bin  130  and melt ice stored in the ice bin  130 . 
     The prevent such an occurrence, the jaws  220  may be downwardly sloped. That is, the jaws  220  may not protrude horizontally but may be downwardly sloped. 
     In the embodiments, the ice forming parts  210  and the jaws  220  may be formed in one piece with the ice making plate  200  by bending the front surfaces of the ice making plate  200 . 
     For example, when the ice making plate  200  is manufactured, portions bent a plurality of times in a zigzag manner may be formed on the ice making plate  200  as the ice forming parts  210  and the jaws  220 . 
     Partitioning barriers  230  may divide the ice forming parts  210  arranged in a width direction of the ice making plate  200 . 
     The partitioning barriers  230  may be plates extending in a height direction of the ice making plate  200  and arranged at regular intervals in the width direction of the ice making plate  200 . 
     In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the partitioning barriers  230  may be formed by bending portions of the ice making plate  200  to protrude forward. However, the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto. For example, separate plates may be coupled to the ice making plate  200  to form the partitioning barriers  230 . 
     Hereinafter, an ice separating operation of the ice maker  100  will now be described according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     As shown in  FIG. 5 , during an ice separating operation, ice cubes (I) formed on the ice forming parts  210  of the ice making plate  200  may be melted at surfaces making contact with the ice forming parts  210 , and thus may be separated from the ice making plate  200 . 
     During the ice separating operation, the ice cubes (I) may be pulled downwards by gravity. In detail, the ice cubes (I) may receive force in directions away from the ice forming parts  210  because the ice forming parts  210  are downwardly sloped. 
     At the same time, owing to the jaws  220  located on the lower ends of the ice cubes (I), the upper ends of the ice cubes (I) may tend to rotate downwards. 
     As a result, during the ice separating operation, the gravitational force and rotational force may be applied to the ice cubes (I), and thus the upper ends of the ice cubes (I) may be easily separated from the ice forming parts  210 . Then, air may permeate through gaps between the ice cubes (I) and the ice forming parts  210  to facilitate separation of the ice cubes (I) from the ice forming parts  210 . 
     In an embodiment shown in  FIG. 6 , the upper ends of the ice forming parts  210  may be aligned with the upper ends of fully-formed ice cubes (I). 
     In this case, during an ice separation operation, air may easily permeate through gaps between the upper ends of the ice cubes (I) and the upper ends of the ice forming parts  210  to facilitate separation of the ice cubes (I). 
     For example, if hot gas is used in an ice separating operation, gaps may be rapidly formed between the upper ends of ice cubes (I) and the upper ends of the ice forming parts  210 , and air may permeate through the gaps. Therefore, the upper ends of the ice cubes (I) and the rest parts of the ice cubes (I) may be easily separated from the ice forming parts  210 . 
     In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the ice making plate  200  of the ice maker  100  has a downwardly sloped structure so that ice can receive force in directions away from the ice making plate  200 . Therefore, ice may be reliably separated. 
     As set forth above, according to the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, since the ice making plate has a sloped structure, ice may be reliably separated from the ice making plate, and the quality of ice may be improved. 
     While exemplary embodiments have been shown and described above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications and variations could be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims.