Patent Abstract:
An ice making device that is capable of more easily and conveniently separating ice from ice trays through a simple manipulation and a refrigerator having the same are disclosed. The ice making device includes a support frame for rotatably supporting at least one ice tray, at least one manipulation button mounted to the support frame such that the manipulation button can be moved forward and backward, and an interlocking unit for rotating the ice tray with respect to the support frame according to the movement of the manipulation button.

Full Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2006-0087597, filed on Sep. 11, 2006, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety as if fully set forth herein. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to an ice making device and a refrigerator having the same, and more particularly, to an ice making device that is capable of easily and conveniently making and separating ice and a refrigerator having the same. 
     2. Discussion of the Related Art 
     A refrigerator is an electric home appliance that freezes or refrigerates food to store the food in a fresh state for a long period of time. The refrigerator includes a freezing compartment and a refrigerating compartment. In the freezing compartment is mounted an ice making device for making ice. 
       FIG. 9  is a front view illustrating a conventional refrigerator, and  FIG. 10  is a plan view illustrating an ice making device of the refrigerator shown in  FIG. 9 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 9 and 10 , the refrigerator includes a refrigerator body  10  having a freezing compartment  11  and a refrigerating compartment  13  defined therein such that the freezing compartment  11  is located at the left side of the refrigerator body  10 , and the refrigerating compartment  13  is located at the right side of the refrigerator body  10 . To the refrigerator body  10  are mounted a freezing compartment door  11   a  and a refrigerating compartment door  13   a  for selectively opening and closing the freezing compartment  11  and the refrigerating compartment  13 . 
     Specifically, the freezing compartment door  11   a  and the refrigerating compartment door  13   a  are mounted to opposite sides of the refrigerator body  10 , respectively, such that the freezing compartment door  11   a  and the refrigerating compartment door  13   a  are hingedly rotated in the forward and backward direction of the refrigerator body  10 . 
     At one side of the freezing compartment  11  is mounted an ice making device  19 . The ice making device  19  is a device that makes ice. Specifically, the ice making device  19  is mounted in the freezing compartment  11  such that the ice making device  19  can be inserted into and withdrawn from the freezing compartment  11 . As shown in  FIG. 10 , the ice making device  19  includes a support frame  21  and a pair of ice trays  23 . 
     The support tray  21  serves to rotatably support the ice trays  23 . To this end, the support frame  21  is formed in the shape of a rectangular frame. The ice trays  23  are mounted in the support tray  21  such that the ice trays  23  can be individually rotated. 
     At each ice tray  23  are formed a plurality of ice making grooves  23   a . To the centers of the front and rear of each ice tray  23  are mounted rotary shafts  24 , respectively. The ice trays  23  are rotated about the rotary shafts  24  in the clockwise or counterclockwise direction when viewed on the drawing of  FIG. 9 . To this end, the rotary shafts  24  are rotatably fitted in the rear of the support frame  21 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 10 , stoppers  25  are formed at the inner side of the support frame  21 , corresponding to the left sides of the respective rotary shafts  24  mounted at the rear ends of the ice trays  23 , such that the stoppers  25  protrude inward. 
     Each stopper  25  supports the corresponding ice tray  23  such that the ice tray  23  is horizontally maintained while the lower end of the ice tray  23  is located at the top of the stopper  25 . Also, each stopper  25  serves to twist the front end of the corresponding ice tray  23  with respect to the rear end of the ice tray  23  when the ice tray  23  is rotated about the corresponding rotary shaft  24 . 
     At the front of the support frame  21 , corresponding to the front of the ice trays  23  are mounted manipulation levers  26 , which protrude forward. The manipulation levers  26  are gripped by hands of a user such that the user rotates the ice trays  23 . 
     The manipulation levers  26  correspond to the ice trays  23 , and therefore, the manipulation levers  26  are provided in a pair. Each manipulation lever  26  is connected to the rotary shaft  24  mounted to the front of the corresponding ice tray  23 . Consequently, when the user rotates the manipulation levers  26 , the rotary shafts  24  are rotated. As a result, the ice trays  23  are rotated by a predetermined angle, and then the rear ends of the ice trays  23  are brought into contact with the corresponding stoppers  25 , whereby the front ends of the ice trays  23  are twisted with respect to the rear ends of the ice trays  23 . 
     Referring back to  FIG. 9 , on the other hand, an ice bank  27  is mounted below the ice making device in the freezing compartment  11 . The ice bank  27  serves to store ice made by the ice making device  19 . Specifically, the ice bank  27  is mounted in the freezing compartment  11  such that the ice bank  27  can be inserted into and withdrawn from the freezing compartment  11 . 
     However, the ice making device of the conventional refrigerator with the above-stated construction has the following problem. 
     It is required that the ice trays  23  be rotated through the rotation of the manipulation levers  26  in order to separate ice in the ice making grooves  23   a  from the ice trays  23 . To this end, a user must twist his/her wrists while holding the manipulation levers  26  by hand, with the result that the wrists of the user may be injured. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, the present invention is directed to an ice making device and a refrigerator having the same that substantially obviates one or more problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art. 
     An object of the present invention is to provide an ice making device that is capable of more easily and conveniently separating ice from ice trays and a refrigerator having the same. 
     Additional advantages, objects, and features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and in part will become apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned from practice of the invention The objectives and other advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings. 
     To achieve these objects and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, an ice making device includes a support frame for rotatably supporting at least one ice tray, at least one manipulation button mounted to the support frame such that the manipulation button can be moved forward and backward, and an interlocking unit for rotating the ice tray with respect to the support frame according to the movement of the manipulation button. 
     Preferably, the interlocking unit includes a guide protrusion protruding from the manipulation button, and a guide groove formed at the ice tray such that the guide protrusion is guided along the guide groove while the guide protrusion is fitted in the guide groove, the guide groove being formed in the shape of an arc and constructed in a structure in which the depth of the guide groove is gradually increased from one end to the other end of the guide groove. 
     Preferably, the guide groove is formed such that the guide groove is concentric with a support hole formed at the rotational center of the ice tray. 
     Preferably, the interlocking unit further includes a support shaft protruding from the manipulation button, the support shaft being fitted in a support hole formed at the ice tray through the support frame such that the support shaft can be moved forward and backward. 
     Preferably, the support frame is provided with a button mounting part, which is formed in a depressed shape for receiving the manipulation button. 
     Preferably, the button mounting part is provided with a pair of through-holes, through which the guide protrusion and the support shaft are inserted, respectively. 
     Preferably, the support shaft is provided with a catching protrusion for preventing the support shaft from being separated from a position where the support shaft is inserted through the corresponding through-hole. 
     Preferably, the ice making device further includes an elastic member for applying a restoring force to the ice tray such that the ice tray can be rotated in the direction opposite to the rotating direction of the ice tray in which the ice tray is rotated by the manipulation button. 
     Preferably, the elastic member has opposite ends fixed to the support frame and the ice tray, respectively. 
     Preferably, the support frame supports the ice tray such that opposite ends of the ice tray are twisted with respect to each other after the ice tray is rotated by a predetermined angle. 
     In another aspect of the present invention, a refrigerator has an ice making device. The ice making device includes a support frame mounted at the inside of a door for rotatably supporting at least one ice tray, at least one manipulation button mounted to the support frame such that the manipulation button can be moved forward and backward, and an interlocking unit for rotating the ice tray with respect to the support frame according to the movement of the manipulation button. The interlocking unit includes a guide protrusion protruding from the manipulation button, and a guide groove formed at the ice tray such that the guide protrusion is guided along the guide groove while the guide protrusion is fitted in the guide groove, the guide groove being constructed in a structure in which the depth of the guide groove is gradually increased from one end to the other end of the guide groove. 
     Preferably, guide groove is formed in the shape of an arc. 
     Preferably, the guide groove is formed such that the guide groove is concentric with a support hole formed at the rotational center of the ice tray. 
     Preferably, the interlocking unit further includes a support shaft protruding from the manipulation button, the support shaft being fitted in a support hole formed at the ice tray through the support frame such that the support shaft can be moved forward and backward. 
     Preferably, the support frame is provided with a button mounting part, which is formed in a depressed shape for receiving the manipulation button. 
     Preferably, the button mounting part is provided with a pair of through-holes, through which the guide protrusion and the support shaft are inserted, respectively. 
     Preferably, the support shaft is provided with a catching protrusion for preventing the support shaft from being separated from a position where the support shaft is inserted through the corresponding through-hole. 
     Preferably, the ice making device further includes an elastic member for applying a restoring force to the ice tray such that the ice tray can be rotated in the direction opposite to the rotating direction of the ice tray in which the ice tray is rotated by the manipulation button. 
     Preferably, the elastic member has opposite ends fixed to the support frame and the ice tray, respectively. 
     Preferably, the support frame supports the ice tray such that opposite ends of the ice tray are twisted with respect to each other after the ice tray is rotated by a predetermined angle. 
     According to the present invention with the above-described construction, it is possible to more easily and conveniently separate ice from ice trays through a simple manipulation. 
     It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description of the present invention are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principle of the invention. In the drawings: 
         FIG. 1  is a plan view illustrating an ice making device according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view, in part, of the ice making device shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIGS. 3 to 8  are views illustrating a rotating process of an ice tray of the ice making device shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 9  is a front view illustrating a conventional refrigerator; and 
         FIG. 10  is a plan view illustrating an ice making device of the refrigerator shown in  FIG. 9 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts. 
       FIG. 1  is a plan view illustrating an ice making device according to the present invention, and  FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view, in part, of the ice making device shown in  FIG. 1 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , an ice making device  50  for refrigerators includes a support frame  60 , which is formed in the shape of a rectangular frame. The support frame  60  serves to rotatably support ice trays  70 , which will be described below. 
     At the inner side of the support frame  60  are formed stoppers  61 . The stoppers  61  support the corresponding ice trays  70  such that the ice trays  70  are horizontally maintained. Also, each stopper  61  serves to twist the one end of the corresponding ice tray  70  with respect to the other end of the ice tray  70  when the ice tray  70  is rotated by a predetermined angle. 
     At the inner side of the support frame  60 , corresponding to the right side of each stopper  61 , are formed an insertion groove  62 . In the insertion groove  62  is fitted a corresponding rotary shaft  72 , which will be described below. 
     At the front of the support frame  60  are formed button mounting parts  63 . The button mounting parts  63  are formed at the front of the support frame  60  such that the button mounting part  63  are depressed backward. In the inner side of each button mounting part  63  are formed a pair of through-hole, i.e., a first through-hole  64  and a second through-hole  65 . 
     On the other hand, a pair of ice trays  70  are mounted in the support frame  60 . Each ice tray  70  is formed in a rectangular shape having a lateral width less than that of the support frame  60 . Each ice tray  70  is provided with a plurality of ice making grooves  70   a , which is filled with water necessary to make ice. 
     At the rear of each ice tray  70  is formed a rotary shaft  72 , which protrudes backward. The rotary shaft  72  is rotatably fitted in the corresponding insertion groove  62  such that each ice tray  70  can be rotated with respect to the support frame  60 . 
     On the other hand, an elastic member, for example, a coil type torsion spring  73  is mounted on each rotary shaft  72 . Opposite ends of the torsion spring  73  are supported at one side of the support frame  60  and one side of the corresponding ice tray  70 , respectively. The torsion spring  73  serves to apply a restoring force to the corresponding ice tray  70  such that the ice tray  70  can be rotated in the direction opposite to the rotating direction in which ice is separated from the corresponding ice tray  70 . 
     At the rotational center of the front of each ice tray  70  is formed a support hole  74 . The support hole  74  is formed in such a manner that a portion of the front of the ice tray  70  is depressed backward. In the support hole  74  is fitted in a support shaft  81 , which will be described below. 
     At the front of each ice tray  70  is formed a guide groove  75 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , the guide groove  75  is formed in the longitudinal sectional shape of an arc about the support hole  74 . 
     The guide groove  75  is constructed such that the cross-sectional depth of the guide groove  75  is gradually increased from one end to the other end of the guide groove  75 . Hereinafter, one end of the guide groove  75  at which the cross-sectional depth of the guide groove  75  is relatively small will be referred to as a first end  75   a , and the other end of the guide groove  75  at which the cross-sectional depth of the guide groove  75  is relatively large will be referred to as a second end  75   b.    
     On the other hand, a manipulation button  80  is mounted in each button mounting part  63 . The manipulation button  80  is formed in the shape of a cylinder having a diameter less than that of the button mounting part  63 . 
     At the rear of each manipulation button  80  is formed a support shaft  81 , which protrudes backward. When the manipulation button  80  is mounted in the corresponding button mounting part  63 , the support shaft  81  is inserted through the first through-hole  64 , and the end of the support shaft  81  is inserted into the corresponding support hole  74  such that the end of the support shaft  81  can be moved forward and backward, whereby the corresponding ice tray  70  is rotatably supported by the support shaft  81 . 
     At one side of the circumference of the support shaft  81  is formed a catching protrusion  82 . The catching protrusion  82  protrudes by a predetermined thickness from the circumference of the support shaft  81  to prevent the support shaft  81  from being separated from a position where the support shaft  81  is inserted through the first through-hole  64 . 
     Also, as shown in  FIG. 1 , a guide protrusion  83  is formed at the rear of each manipulation button  80  corresponding to the right side of the corresponding support shaft  81 . The guide protrusion  83  protrudes backward from the rear of the manipulation button  80 . 
     When the manipulation button  80  is mounted in the corresponding button mounting part  63 , the guide protrusion  83  is inserted through the second through-hole  65  such that the end of the guide protrusion  83  is inserted into the corresponding guide groove  75 . 
     Hereinafter, a rotating process of each ice tray  70  according to the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
       FIGS. 3 to 8  are views illustrating a rotating process of each ice tray of the ice making device shown in  FIG. 1 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 3 to 8 , when the manipulation button  80  is mounted in the button mounting part  63 , the support shaft  81  is inserted through the first through-hole  64 , and the end of the support shaft  81  is inserted into the support hole  74  such that the end of the support shaft  81  can be moved forward and backward, whereby the ice tray  70  is rotatably supported by the support shaft  81 . 
     The end of the support shaft  81  is positioned in the support hole  74  such that the end of the support shaft  81  is spaced apart from the bottom of the support hole  74 . The guide protrusion  83  is inserted through the second through-hole  64 , and the end of the guide protrusion  83  is positioned in the guide groove  75  such that the end of the guide protrusion  83  is brought into tight contact with the bottom of the first end  75   a  of the guide groove  75 . 
     When a user pushes the manipulation button  80  in the above-described state, the support shaft  81  moves by a distance equivalent to the movement distance of the manipulation button  80 , as shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , with the result that the end of the support shaft  81  is adjacent to the bottom of the support hole  74 . 
     Also, the end of the guide protrusion  83  pushes the guide groove  75 , while the end of the guide protrusion  83  is in tight contact with the bottom of the first end  75   a  of the guide groove  75 , by a distance equivalent to the movement distance of the manipulation button  80 . 
     As described above, the cross-sectional depth of the guide groove  75  is gradually increased from the first end  75   a  to the second end  75   b  of the guide groove  75 . Consequently, when the guide protrusion  83  is pushed, while the guide protrusion  83  is in tight contact with the bottom of the first end  75   a  of the guide groove  75 , the guide protrusion  83  moves toward the second end  75   b  of the guide groove  75 . 
     At this time, only the forward-and-backward movement of the guide protrusion  83  through the second through-hole  65  is possible. Consequently, when the guide groove  75  is rotated in the clockwise direction on the drawing, and therefore, the ice tray  70  is rotated in the clockwise direction on the drawing. When the ice tray  70  is rotated by a predetermined angle, one end of the ice tray  70  is brought into tight contact with the stopper  61 . 
     When the user continues to push the manipulation button  80  in the above-described state, the support shaft  81  continues to move by a distance equivalent to the movement distance of the manipulation button  80 , as shown in  FIGS. 7 and 8 , with the result that the end of the support shaft  81  is brought into tight contact with the bottom of the support hole  74 . 
     Also, the end of the guide protrusion  83  continues to push the guide groove  75  by a distance equivalent to the movement distance of the manipulation button  80 , with the result that the guide groove  75  is rotated in the clockwise direction on the drawing. 
     Consequently, the ice tray  70  is rotated in the clockwise direction on the drawing. At this time, one end of the ice tray  70  is in tight contact with the stopper  61 , and therefore, the other end of the ice tray  70  is rotated with respect to one end of the ice tray  70 , with the result that the ice tray  70  is twisted. As the ice tray  70  is twisted, ice is separated from the ice making grooves  70   a.    
     On the other hand, the elastic member, i.e., the torsion spring  73 , applies a restoring force to the ice tray  70  such that the ice tray  70  can be rotated in the direction opposite to the rotating direction in which the ice is separated from the ice making grooves  70   a . Consequently, when the user releases a force applied to the manipulation button  80 , the ice tray  70  is rotated in the counterclockwise direction on the drawing. 
     When the ice tray  70  is rotated, the guide groove  75  is rotated in the counterclockwise direction on the drawing, and therefore, the guide protrusion  83  moves forward. As a result, the support shaft  81  and the manipulation button  80  also move forward, whereby the support shaft  81  and the manipulation button  80  return to the state shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . 
     As apparent from the above description, the ice making device with the above-stated construction according to the present invention and the refrigerator having the same have the following effects. 
     When a user simply pushes the manipulation buttons backward, the ice trays are rotated and twisted, with the result that ice is separated from the ice trays. Consequently, it is very easy and convenient to separate ice from the ice trays. 
     Furthermore, the elastic members apply a restoring force to the ice trays such that the ice trays can be rotated in the direction opposite to the rotating direction in which the ice is separated from the ice trays. Consequently, it is possible to rapidly return the ice trays to their original positions by the user simply releasing a force applied to the manipulation buttons after the ice is separated from the ice trays. 
     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the inventions. 
     Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Technology Classification (CPC): 5