Patent Publication Number: US-2012023999-A1

Title: Refrigerator having ice transfer unit

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2010-0072604, filed on Jul. 27, 2010, which is hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a refrigerator having an ice transfer unit and, more particularly, to a refrigerator having an ice transfer unit for transferring ice between a freezing chamber and a refrigerating chamber. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     In general, a refrigerator includes a freezing chamber and a refrigerating chamber which are maintained at different temperatures. Meanwhile, various types of refrigerators each including a different number of freezing chambers and refrigerating chambers and a different disposition form are in the market, and so-called bottom freezer type refrigerators in which the mainly used refrigerating chamber is disposed at an upper portion and the freezing chamber is disposed at a lower portion are commonly used. Some of the bottom freezer type refrigerators include an ice maker for making ice and a dispenser for dispensing ice to the outside of a door, and in this case, for the sake of convenience, the ice maker and the dispenser are installed at an upper portion of the refrigerator, namely, at the refrigerating chamber door. 
     However, when the ice maker is disposed at the refrigerating chamber side maintained at an above zero temperature, the ice kept in storage is melt and clustered together or cling to each other after ice making is performed. Thus, in order to solve this problem, an insulation space maintained at a below zero temperature is provided within the refrigerating chamber, and the ice maker and an ice bank for keeping ice in storage are positioned within the insulation space, thus preventing ice from being melt. 
     However, such an insulation space occupies a large space in the refrigerating chamber, and restrains the internal space of the refrigerating chamber from being effectively used. Alternatively, the ice maker may be positioned in the freezing chamber and ice may be taken out by opening a freezing chamber door, but it has low user convenience and, in particular, the user must take out ice by bending his waist. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Therefore, in order to address the above matters, the various features described herein have been conceived. 
     An aspect of the present invention provides a refrigerator capable of enhancing user convenience while keeping ice in storage such that it is not melt. 
     According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a refrigerator including: a refrigerator main body including a freezing chamber positioned at a lower portion thereof and a refrigerating chamber positioned at an upper portion thereof; an ice maker and an ice bank positioned at an inner side of the freezing chamber; an ice dispenser positioned at an inner side of the refrigerating chamber; a transfer flow path extending from the ice bank to the ice dispenser; an ice input unit supplying ice stored in the ice bank to the interior of the transfer flow path; and a blower blowing air to allow the ice supplied to the interior of the ice transfer flow path toward the ice dispenser. 
     Since both the ice maker for making ice and the ice bank for keeping ice in storage are positioned in the freezing chamber, ice can be prevented from melting to cling to each other. In addition, when necessary, ice can be supplied to the ice dispenser installed in the refrigerating chamber by a transfer unit so as to be dispensed from the refrigerating chamber. Here, the ice is moved toward the ice dispenser by air pressure, so the configuration can be simplified and the ice transfer path can be freely set. 
     Meanwhile, the refrigerator may further include a return flow path extending from the ice dispenser to the ice bank, and it may be set such that air blown through the transfer flow path is returned to the blower through the return flow path. Air supplied from the freezing chamber through the transfer flow path may be discharged to the interior of the refrigerating chamber so as to be used to maintain the temperature of the refrigerating chamber or may be returned to the freezing chamber through the return flow path. 
     Here, the transfer flow path and the return flow path may be installed to be exposed from the interior of the refrigerating chamber and the freezing chamber or may be buried in an inner wall of the main body. When the transfer flow path and the return flow path are buried, an effective volume of the refrigerating chamber and the freezing chamber can be increased. 
     Meanwhile, the ice input unit may include: an ice input path connected with the ice bank; an auger for pushing ice, which is input through the ice input path, into the interior of an input hole formed on the transfer flow path; and a damper for selectively opening and closing the input hole. 
     Ice made by the ice maker may have a pressure receiving portion formed to be recessed. The pressure receiving portion may serve to lower a bulk density of ice to thus allow ice to be transferred even with a small wind pressure as well as to allow ice to be stably transferred by air pressure. 
     The ice may have a shape of a truncated cone or a spherical shape. 
     Meanwhile, a suction opening of the transfer flow path and a discharge hole of the return flow path may be disposed to be spaced apart in the interior of the freezing chamber, or may be connected by using a space interposed therebetween. 
     Here, the space may serve as a blow fan installation unit, or the blow fan may be installed at an inner side of the blow fan installation unit. 
     Meanwhile, an ice support portion for supporting supplied ice may be provided in the interior of the transfer flow path, and the ice support portion may be formed to allow air to pass therethrough. Here, the ice support portion may be made of a mesh material. 
     According to embodiments of the present invention, the internal space of the freezing chamber and the refrigerating chamber can be effectively used, and since ice can be taken out of the refrigerating chamber positioned at an upper portion of the refrigerator, user convenience can be improved. 
     The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a vertical sectional view showing an internal structure of the refrigerator of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is an enlarged sectional view showing a portion of  FIG. 2 ; and 
         FIG. 4  is a sectional view showing a state in which ice is transferred from the interior of the refrigerator in  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     A refrigerator having an ice transfer unit according to an embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention, and  FIG. 2  is a vertical sectional view showing an internal structure of the refrigerator of  FIG. 1 . The refrigerator illustrated in  FIG. 1  is a so-called French door type refrigerator in which a refrigerating chamber is disposed at an upper portion and a freezing chamber is disposed at a lower portion, and the refrigerating chamber is opened and closed by two doors. Here, refrigerating chamber does not necessarily have two doors, and the refrigerating chamber may be open or closed by a single door. 
     As illustrated, the refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention, a freezing chamber  2  for freezing and keeping food items in storage is formed at a lower portion of the refrigerator main body  1 , and a refrigerating chamber  3  for refrigerating and keeping food items in storage is formed at an upper portion of the refrigerator main body  1 . One freezing chamber door  4  for opening and closing the freezing chamber  2  in a drawer manner is installed at the freezing chamber  2 , and a plurality of refrigerating chamber doors  5  are installed at both sides of the refrigerating chamber  3  in order to open and close the refrigerating chamber  3  in a hinged manner from both sides. A mechanic chamber  6  in which a compressor  10  and a condenser  12  are installed is positioned at a lower end of a rear face of the refrigerator main body  1 . 
     An evaporator (not shown) connected to the condenser and the compressor and supplying cooling air (or cold air) to the freezing chamber  2  or the refrigerating chamber  3  is generally installed between an outer case and an inner case at the rear face of the refrigerator main body  1 , namely, at a rear wall face of the freezing chamber. However, the evaporator may be insertedly installed in the interior of a side wall face or an upper side wall face of the freezing chamber or may be insertedly installed in the interior of a barrier demarcating the freezing chamber  2  and the refrigerating chamber  3 . Only one evaporator may be installed in the freezing chamber to distributedly supply cooling air to the freezing chamber  2  and the refrigerating chamber  3 , or a freezing chamber evaporator and a refrigerating chamber evaporator may be separately installed and independently supply cooling air to the freezing chamber  2  and the refrigerating chamber  3 . 
     A chute  100  is installed at an inner face of the refrigerating chamber door  4 , and ice made by an ice maker  160  installed in the freezing chamber  3  is introduced into the chute  100 . An ice dispenser  150  is installed at a lower side of the chute  100 . Two holes are formed at a side face of the chute  100 . A hole positioned at an upper portion corresponds to an ice inlet  102  allowing ice made in an ice making chamber to be introduced into the interior of the chute  100  therethrough, and a hole positioned at a lower portion corresponds to an exhaust hole  104  for exhausting air transferred along with ice through the ice inlet  102 . 
     The ice dispenser  150  serves to supply ice introduced into the interior of the chute  100  to the outside of the door, and as shown in  FIG. 2 , a supply damper  106  is installed at a connection portion connecting the chute  100  and the ice dispenser  150 . Supply of ice introduced into the chute  100  can be controlled according to opening and closing of the ice supply damper  106 . 
     In the refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention as described above, when a load is detected in the freezing chamber  2  or the refrigerating chamber  3 , the compressor is operated to generate cooling air from the evaporator, and a portion of the cooling air is distributedly supplied to the freezing chamber  2  and the refrigerating chamber  3  to maintain the freezing chamber and the refrigerating chamber at different temperatures. Here, the cooling air supplied to the freezing chamber  2  enables the ice maker  160  to make ice. 
     Meanwhile, ice made by the ice maker  160  is stored in an ice bank  170  positioned at a lower side of the ice maker  160 . The ice bank  170  is positioned together with the ice maker  160  in the interior of the freezing chamber, it is not affected by an external temperature so the ice can be kept in an initial frozen stage without being melt. 
     In the embodiment, as described above, the ice bank  170  and the ice dispenser  150  are spaced apart, so a transfer unit for transferring the ice stored in the ice bank  170  to the ice dispenser  150  when necessary is additionally installed. The transfer unit includes a transfer duct  110  and a return duct (or a restoration duct)  120  buried between the inner case and the outer case of the refrigerator main body  1 , and includes a blow fan  180  forming air pressure in the interior of the transfer duct  110 . 
     In detail, one end of the transfer duct  110  is connected to the supply duct  130  installed in the interior of the freezing chamber  2 , and the other end of the transfer duct  110  is connected to the ice inlet  102  formed at the chute. Here, the chute side end portion of the transfer duct  110  is exposed to the inner side of the refrigerating chamber  3 , so when the refrigerator door is open, the transfer duct  110  is separated from the chute, while when the refrigerator door is closed, the transfer duct  110  is connected with the chute. 
     Similarly, a chute side end portion of the return duct  120  communicates with the exhaust hole  104 , and the return duct  120  is configured to return air blown through the transfer duct  110  toward the freezing chamber side. 
     Meanwhile, dampers  112  and  122  are installed at refrigerating chamber side end portions of the transfer duct  110  and the return duct  120  in order to make the transfer duct  110  and the return duct  120  communicate with the interior of the chute  110  only when ice is transferred, thus minimizing a leakage of cooling air of the freezing chamber. 
     Meanwhile, a blow fan installation unit  140  is positioned at a lower side of the supply duct  130 , and a blow fan  180  is installed in the interior of the blow fan installation unit. The blow fan  180  is configured as a centrifugal fan for making air flow in an axial direction of an impeller (not shown) installed therein and discharging air in a radial direction according to a rotation of the impeller. A discharge side is positioned at an end portion of the supply duct  130 . In addition, a freezing chamber side end portion of the return duct  120  communicates with the interior of the blow fan installation unit  140 , whereby when the blow fan  180  rotates, air existing in the return duct  120  and the blow fan installation unit  140  is sucked and strongly blown to the supply duct  130 . 
     Thus, a closed flow path is formed by the supply duct  130 , the transfer duct  110 , the chute  100 , the return duct  120 , and the blow fan installation unit  140 , and air positioned in the freezing chamber circulates along the closed flow path. Here, the blow fan  180  acts as a power source triggering air circulation along the closed flow path. 
       FIG. 3  is an enlarged sectional view showing the supply duct  130  and the blow fan installation unit  140 . With reference to  FIG. 3 , an ice input pipe  172  communicating with the supply duct  130  is installed on a lower surface of the ice bank  170 . An auger  174  is installed at a lower side of the ice input pipe  172  and supplies ice input through the ice input pipe  172  to the interior of the supply duct  130 . 
     The auger  174  includes a spiral blade in the form of a water mill, and ice can be sequentially input to the interior of the supply duct  130  one by one according to a rotation of the blade. Also, an end portion of the spiral blade serves to close an ice input hole formed on a wall face of the supply duct  130 , thus preventing air blown by the blow fan  180  from flowing to the ice input pipe  172 . 
     Besides, a damper may be installed to open and close a connection portion connecting the supply duct  130  and the auger. The damper may be configured to be opened and closed only when ice is supplied by the auger, and may be installed to slide up and down along the supply duct  130 . 
     Ice input by the auger  174  is placed at an upper portion of an ice support portion  132  installed within the supply duct  130 . The ice support portion  113  is made of a mesh material serving to allow air blown by the blow fan  180  to pass therethrough and support ice such that ice cannot be dropped down. However, the ice support portion  132  may not be necessarily made of a mesh material and may be formed to have a plurality of air passage holes allowing air to pass therethrough. 
     The operation of the embodiment will now be described. 
     Ice made by the ice maker  160  is kept in storage in the interior of the freezing chamber such that it is stored in the ice bank  170 . Thus, because the ambience of the ice is maintained at a below zero temperature, ice kept in storage is not melt. In this state, when a user instructs to dispense ice through a manipulation panel provided in the refrigerator or through a lever (not shown), or the like, installed in the interior of the dispenser, the blow fan  180  and the auger  174  are operated by a controller (not shown) installed in the interior of the refrigerator. 
     In detail, when the controller detects that there is an instruction of dispensing ice, the controller operates the blow fan  180  to allow air to circulate along the closed flow path formed by the supply duct  130 , the transfer duct  110 , the chute  100 , the return duct  120 , and the blow fan installation unit  140 . At this time, the dampers  112  and  122  installed and the refrigerating chamber side end portions of the transfer duct  110  and the return duct  120  are maintained in an open state. 
     Thereafter, when the auger  174  is operated to supply ice stored in the ice bank  170  to the interior of the supply duct  130  one by one, the ice sequentially passes through the supply duct  130  and the transfer duct  110  by air pressure generated by the blow fan  180  and then is introduced into the interior of the chute  100 . Thus, ice introduced into the interior of the chute  100  is dispensed to the outside of the refrigerator through the ice dispenser  150 . 
     The ice may be supplied only one time when there is a corresponding instruction from the user, or ice may be continuously supplied while the user is pressing a manipulation button or the lever. 
     Meanwhile, the ice may have a certain shape. As shown in  FIG. 4 , ice  20  may have a shape of a truncated cone overall and includes a pressure receiving portion  22  formed therein. The pressure receiving portion  22  is formed to be recessed from the surface of ice to allow air supplied from the blow fan  180  to be introduced thereto and thus allow ice to be easily moved along air. In addition, since a bulk density of ice is lowered owing to the presence of the pressure receiving portion  22 , ice can be smoothly transferred although an air volume of the blow fan is not great. 
     Here, the ice is not necessarily limited to the illustrated form and may have a semi-circular shape or a spherical shape with an empty inner portion. 
     Also, the transfer duct and the return duct are not necessarily buried in the interior of the wall body of the refrigerator main body and may be installed to be exposed from the interior of the refrigerator. 
     Also, the return duct may be omitted, and cooling air of the freezing chamber supplied along with ice by the transfer duct may be discharged to the interior of the refrigerating chamber. In this case, the discharged cooling air may contribute to maintain the temperature of the refrigerating chamber. 
     Also, the blow fan installation unit may be omitted, and cooling air returned through the return duct may be discharged to the interior of the freezing chamber. In this case, a circulation flow path may be formed by the supply duct  130 , the transfer duct  110 , the chute  100 , the return duct  120 , and the freezing chamber. 
     As the present invention may be embodied in several forms without departing from the characteristics thereof, it should also be understood that the above-described embodiments are not limited by any of the details of the foregoing description, unless otherwise specified, but rather should be construed broadly within its scope as defined in the appended claims, and is therefore all changes and modifications that fall within the metes and bounds of the claims, or equivalents of such metes and bounds are therefore intended to be embraced by the appended claims.