Abstract:
A refrigerator includes body having a refrigerating compartment, a freezing compartment, and an ice making compartment disposed outside the freezing compartment. The ice making compartment is in communication with an evaporator space via a supply duct to supply cold air from the evaporator to the ice making compartment, a blowing fan to introduce cold air from the evaporator into the ice making compartment, and a return duct configured so that circulated air inside the ice making compartment is discharged through an outlet of the return duct and mixed together with circulated air from inside the freezing compartment at a lower region of the evaporator space, the mixed air flowing through the evaporator in an upward direction as the mixed air is heat exchanged by the evaporator before being discharged to the freezing compartment or the supply duct.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/709,633, filed on Dec. 10, 2012, which is continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/878,601, filed on Jul. 25, 2007, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,336,330 on Dec. 25, 2012, which claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2006-0076454 filed on Aug. 11, 2006 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    1. Field 
         [0003]    The present invention relates to a refrigerator. More particularly, to a refrigerator having an ice making device. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0005]    Generally, a conventional refrigerator having a freezing compartment and a refrigerating compartment, into which cold air heat-exchanged at an evaporator is introduced, and is provided with a machinery compartment arranged at a rear side of the freezing compartment or refrigerating compartment beneath the freezing compartment or refrigerating compartment, to install a compressor and a condenser. In conventional refrigerator, the refrigerating compartment can store food in a fresh state at a temperature of about 3 to 5° C., and the freezing compartment can store food in a frozen state at a sub-zero temperature for a prolonged period of time. 
         [0006]    One type of conventional refrigerator includes an upper compartment functioning as a refrigerating compartment, to store beverage or foods to be stored for a short period of time, and a lower compartment functioning as a freezing compartment. This type of conventional refrigerator also includes an ice making device provided with a dispenser arranged at a front side of a door of the ice making device, in order to allow the user to conveniently take ice out of the ice making device. 
         [0007]    An example of such a conventional refrigerator is disclosed in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2006/0090496. The disclosed refrigerator includes a lower compartment functioning as a freezing compartment and an upper compartment functioning as a refrigerating compartment. An ice making region is defined at an upper or lower corner of the refrigerating compartment. 
         [0008]    When the ice making compartment is defined at an upper corner of the refrigerating compartment, an air duct is provided to guide cold air present in the freezing compartment defined at a lower portion of the refrigerator to the ice making region, and thus supplies cold air required to make ice. 
         [0009]    Although not disclosed in the above-mentioned publication, a communication passage is formed between the ice making region and the refrigerating compartment, in order to discharge cold air introduced into the ice making region to the refrigerating compartment after making of ice using the cold air, and thus to maintain the refrigerating compartment at an appropriate refrigerating temperature. The cold air flows toward an evaporator provided at the freezing compartment, and is then guided to the ice making region via the air duct after being heat-exchanged at the evaporator. Thus, the cold air is circulated. A damper is provided in the communication passage between the ice making region and the refrigerating compartment. In accordance with opening/closing of the damper, the ice making region and refrigerating compartment are maintained at desired temperatures, respectively. 
         [0010]    However, conventional refrigerators including the refrigerator disclosed in the above-mentioned publication perform supply of cold air for maintaining the freezing compartment in a desired freezing state, supply of cold air for making ice in the ice making region, and supply of cold air for maintaining the refrigerating compartment in a desired refrigerating state. For this reason, the supply of cold air may be insufficient, thereby causing a degradation in ice making performance. 
         [0011]    When the door of the refrigerating compartment is frequently opened and closed, the temperature of cold air present in the refrigerating compartment increases. The temperature-increased cold air is heat-exchanged through an evaporator after being circulated into the freezing compartment. In this case, the heat-exchanged cold air exhibits a relatively high temperature because the temperature of the cold air passing the evaporator is relatively high. The cold air, which has a relatively high temperature, degrades the ice making performance. 
         [0012]    Furthermore, the freezing compartment, refrigerating compartment, and ice making region communicate with one another. As a result, the smell of food stored in one compartment is diffused to the remaining compartments. In particular, when the smell of food stored in the refrigerating compartment is diffused to the ice making region, there is a problem in that the food smell is absorbed into the ice made in the ice making region. 
         [0013]    During an ice making operation, the damper installed in the communication passage may be maintained in a closed state. In this case, however, there is a problem in that it is impossible to supply cold air simultaneously to the three compartments, namely, the freezing compartment, refrigerating compartment, and ice making region. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0014]    Accordingly, it is an aspect of the present invention to provide a refrigerator having a structure capable of achieving an enhancement in ice making performance. 
         [0015]    It is another aspect of the present invention to provide a refrigerator having a structure capable of preventing the smell of food stored in a refrigerating compartment from being introduced into an ice making compartment or a freezing compartment. 
         [0016]    It is another aspect of the present invention to provide a refrigerator having a structure capable of supplying cold air simultaneously to a refrigerating compartment, a freezing compartment, and an ice making compartment. 
         [0017]    Additional aspects and/or advantages 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. 
         [0018]    These and/or other aspects of the present invention are achieved by providing a refrigerator comprising a body defined with a refrigerating compartment, a freezing compartment, and an ice making compartment, the ice making compartment arranged in the refrigerating compartment while being thermally insulated from the refrigerating compartment, the refrigerator including a first evaporator arranged in the refrigerating compartment, a second evaporator arranged in the freezing compartment; a refrigerating duct for circulating cold air from the first evaporator to the refrigerating compartment, a freezing duct for circulating cold air from the second evaporator to the freezing compartment, and an ice making flow passage for communicating the second evaporator and the ice making compartment, wherein the second evaporator, the ice making compartment, and the ice making flow passage form a closed circuit such that the cold air in the ice making compartment does not enter the refrigerating compartment. 
         [0019]    According to an aspect of the present invention, the refrigerating compartment is arranged above the freezing compartment. 
         [0020]    According to an aspect of the present invention, the ice making compartment is arranged above the refrigerating compartment. 
         [0021]    According to an aspect of the present invention, the ice making flow passage includes a supply passage for guiding cold air heat-exchanged at the second evaporator to the ice making compartment, and a return passage for guiding the cold air in the ice making compartment to an inlet side of the second evaporator. 
         [0022]    According to an aspect of the present invention, the supply passage and the return passage are provided at a rear wall of the body. 
         [0023]    According to an aspect of the present invention, the ice making compartment includes an inlet for communicating the ice making compartment to the supply passage and an outlet for communicating the ice making compartment to the return passage. 
         [0024]    According to an aspect of the present invention, the inlet and the outlet is arranged at a rear side of the ice making compartment. 
         [0025]    According to an aspect of the present invention, the refrigerator further includes an ice making device arranged in the ice making compartment, to produce and store ice, the ice making device includes an ice maker for making ice, an ice bank arranged at one side of the ice maker, to store ice fed from the ice maker, and an auger arranged in the ice bank, to feed ice. 
         [0026]    According to an aspect of the present invention, the refrigerator further includes at least one refrigerating compartment door arranged at a front side of the refrigerating compartment, to open or close the refrigerating compartment, and a dispenser arranged at one of the at least one refrigerating compartment door, to dispense ice. 
         [0027]    According to an aspect of the present invention, the ice making device further includes an ice crusher for crushing ice. 
         [0028]    It is another aspect of the present invention to provide a refrigerator including a body having a refrigerating compartment, a freezing compartment, and an ice making compartment, the refrigerating compartment includes a refrigerating space forming a storing space, and a first evaporator for generating cold air to be introduced into the refrigerating space, the freezing compartment includes a freezing space forming a storing space, and a second evaporator for generating cold air to be introduced into the ice making compartment and into the freezing space; the body includes an ice making flow passage for circulating cold air between the second evaporator and the ice making compartment, and the ice making flow passage includes a supply passage for guiding cold air heat-exchanged at the second evaporator to the ice making compartment, and a return passage for guiding the cold air in the ice making compartment to an inlet side of the second evaporator, such that the ice making flow passage forms a closed circulation flow passage. 
         [0029]    According to an aspect of the present invention, the refrigerating compartment further includes a refrigerating duct defined with a refrigerating flow passage for circulating cold air between the refrigerating space and the first evaporator. The freezing compartment further includes a freezing duct defined with a freezing flow passage for circulating cold air between the freezing space and the second evaporator. 
         [0030]    According to an aspect of the present invention, the refrigerating compartment further includes a first blowing fan arranged in the refrigerating duct, to forcibly supply cold air to the refrigerating space. 
         [0031]    According to an aspect of the present invention, the freezing compartment further includes a second blowing fan arranged in the freezing duct, to forcibly supply cold air to the freezing space. 
         [0032]    According to an aspect of the present invention, the refrigerator further includes a third blowing fan arranged in the supply passage adjacent to the second evaporator, to forcibly supply the cold air from the second evaporator to the ice making compartment. 
         [0033]    According to an aspect of the present invention, the freezing duct includes a guide passage for communicating the supply passage and the second evaporator. 
         [0034]    According to an aspect of the present invention, the refrigerator further includes a fourth blowing fan arranged in the guide passage, to forcibly supply the cold air from the second evaporator to the ice making compartment. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0035]    These and/or other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which: 
           [0036]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention in an opened state of a refrigerating compartment door; 
           [0037]      FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view taken along a line A-A′ in  FIG. 1  in a closed state of the refrigerating compartment door of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0038]      FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view taken along a line B-B′ of  FIG. 1  in the closed state of the refrigerating compartment door of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0039]      FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view taken along a line C-C′ of  FIG. 1 ; and 
           [0040]      FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view taken along the line C-C′ of  FIG. 1 , illustrating a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
       [0041]    Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elements throughout. The embodiments are described below to explain the present invention by referring to the figures. 
         [0042]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention in an opened state of a refrigerating compartment door.  FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view taken along a line A-A′ in  FIG. 1  in a closed state of the refrigerating compartment door of  FIG. 1 .  FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view taken along a line B-B′ of  FIG. 1  in the closed state of the refrigerating compartment door of  FIG. 1 . 
         [0043]    As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the refrigerator according to the illustrated embodiment of the present invention comprises a body  10 . The body  10  comprises a refrigerating compartment  20  defined at an upper portion of the body  10 , a freezing compartment  30  defined beneath the refrigerating compartment  20 , and an ice making compartment  40  defined above the refrigerating compartment  20  by insulating walls  41 . The refrigerator also comprises doors  21  and  31  respectively arranged at front sides of the refrigerating and freezing compartments  20  and  30 , and an ice making device  50  arranged in the ice making compartment  40 , to make and store ice. 
         [0044]    The refrigerator according to the illustrated embodiment of the present invention also comprises elements for constituting a refrigerant cycle, for example, a compressor  12 , a condenser (not shown), an expander (not shown), and evaporators  23  and  33 . 
         [0045]    Electric or mechanical elements are arranged in a machinery compartment  11  defined in a lower portion of the body  10  at a rear side of the body  10 . For example, the compressor  12  is installed in the machinery compartment  11 . The freezing compartment  30  is arranged above the machinery compartment  11 . The refrigerating compartment  20  is arranged above the freezing compartment  30 . The refrigerating compartment  20  and freezing compartment  30  are partitioned by a horizontal partition wall  13 . A foam material  14  is filled in a space defined between inner and outer cases  10   a  and  10   b  of the body  10 , in order to achieve thermal insulation. 
         [0046]    A freezing compartment door  31 , which is of a sliding type, is provided at a front side of the freezing compartment  30 . A pair of refrigerating compartment doors  21 , which are of a side-by-side type, are provided at a front side of the refrigerating compartment  20 . 
         [0047]    The doors  21  and  31  are provided with door handles  21   a  or  31   a , respectively. Receiving spaces  21   b  are provided at an inner side of each refrigerating compartment door  21 . A dispenser  22  is mounted to an outer surface of the left refrigerating compartment door  21 , to dispense ice made by the ice making device  50 . A cup lever  22   c  is provided at the dispenser  22 , to open a damper  22   b  provided at an outer end of an ice discharge passage  22   a  (see  FIG. 3 ). 
         [0048]    The refrigerating compartment  20 , which is defined at the upper portion of the body  10 , comprises a first evaporator  23  arranged at the rear side of the refrigerating compartment  20 , to generate cold air to be supplied to the interior of the refrigerating compartment  20 , a refrigerating space  24  for storing food, etc., a refrigerating duct  25  partitioning the refrigerating space  24  from the first evaporator  23 , and circulating cold air heat-exchanged at the first evaporator  23  into the refrigerating space  24 , and a first blowing fan  26  arranged in the refrigerating duct  25 , to forcibly circulate the cold air. 
         [0049]    A first inlet  25   a  is formed at a lower portion of the refrigerating duct  25 , to guide cold air from the refrigerating space  24  toward the first evaporator  23 . A first blowing port  25   b  is provided at an upper portion of the refrigerating duct  25 , to discharge cold air introduced through the first inlet  25   a  into the refrigerating space  24  after being subjected to heat exchange while passing the first evaporator  23 . The first blowing fan  26  is arranged at the first blowing port  25   b , in order to forcibly supply the heat-exchanged cold air to the refrigerating space  24 . 
         [0050]    An appropriate number of spaced first outlets  25   c  are formed at a front side of the refrigerating duct  25  such that the cold air emerging from the first blowing port  25   b  by the first blowing fan  26  is discharged into the refrigerating space  24  in a uniformly-distributed manner. A refrigerating flow passage  25   d  is defined in the refrigerating duct  25 , to guide the cold air introduced through the first blowing port  25   b  to the first outlets  25   c.    
         [0051]    Accordingly, the cold air present in the refrigerating space  24  flows toward the first evaporator  23  through the first inlet  25   a . After being subjected to heat exchange while passing the first evaporator  23 , the cold air is introduced into the refrigerating flow passage  25   d  via the first blowing fan  26 . The cold air introduced into the refrigerating flow passage  25   d  is discharged into the refrigerating space  24  through the first outlets  25   c . Thus, the circulation of cold air in the refrigerating compartment  20  is carried out in a closed circulation manner. Accordingly, the cold air present in the refrigerating compartment  20  is introduced into neither the freezing compartment  30  nor the ice making compartment  40 . Similarly, the cold air present in the freezing compartment  30  or ice making compartment  40  is not introduced into the refrigerating compartment  20 . 
         [0052]    The freezing compartment  30 , which is arranged beneath the refrigerating compartment  20 , comprises a second evaporator  33  arranged at the rear side of the freezing compartment  30 , to generate cold air to be supplied to the interior of the freezing compartment  30 , a freezing space  34  for storing food, etc. in a frozen state, a freezing duct  35  partitioning the freezing space  34  from the second evaporator  33 , and circulating cold air generated in accordance with heat exchange carried out by the second evaporator  33  into the freezing space  34 , and a second blowing fan  36  arranged in the freezing duct  35 , to forcibly circulate the cold air. 
         [0053]    A second inlet  35   a  is formed at a lower portion of the freezing duct  35 , to guide cold air from the freezing space  34  toward the second evaporator  33 . A second blowing port  35   b  is provided at an upper portion of the freezing duct  35 , to discharge cold air introduced through the second inlet  35   a  into the freezing space  34  after being subjected to heat exchange while passing the second evaporator  33 . The second blowing fan  36  is arranged at the second blowing port  35   b , in order to forcibly supply the heat-exchanged cold air to the freezing space  34 . 
         [0054]    A plurality of spaced second outlets  35   c  are formed at a front side of the freezing duct  35  such that the cold air emerging from the second blowing port  35   b  by the second blowing fan  36  is discharged into the freezing space  34  in a uniformly-distributed manner. A freezing flow passage  35   d  is defined in the freezing duct  35 , to guide the cold air introduced through the second blowing port  35   b  to the second outlets  35   c.    
         [0055]    As described above, the ice making compartment  40  is defined above the refrigerating compartment  20  by the insulating walls  41 . In the ice making compartment  40 , the ice making device  50 , which produces and stores ice, is arranged. Since the ice making compartment  40  is arranged at one side of the refrigerating compartment  20 , heat exchange occurs between the ice making compartment  40  and the refrigerating compartment. In order to avoid a degradation in ice making performance due to such heat exchange, the insulating walls  41  of the ice making compartment  40  are made of a thermal insulating material. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the insulating walls  41  are formed integrally with the body  10  when a foaming process is carried out to form the body  10 . 
         [0056]    For example, the ice making device  50  included in the refrigerator according to the illustrated embodiment of the present invention comprises an ice maker  51  for making ice, an ice bank  52  arranged beneath the ice maker  51 , to store ice separated from the ice maker  51 , an auger  53  arranged in the ice bank  52 , to move the ice stored in the ice bank  52  to the dispenser  22 , and an ice crusher  54  arranged at an end of the auger  53 , to selectively crush ice in accordance with a user&#39;s desire. 
         [0057]    The ice maker  51  comprises a water supply pipe  51  a for supplying water, a tray  51   c  formed with a plurality of ice receiving spaces  51   b , in which water is stored and frozen, an ice separating member  51  d for separating ice from the ice receiving spaces  51   b , and a drive motor  51   e  for driving the ice separating member  51   d . The ice maker  51  extends considerably in a depth direction of the ice making compartment  40 . Also, the tray  51   c  of the ice maker  51  is fixed to the upper surface of the ice making compartment  40 . Thus, it is possible to reduce the volume of the ice making device  50  installed in the ice making compartment  40 . 
         [0058]    The ice bank  52 , which is arranged beneath the ice maker  51 , stores ice separated from the tray  51   c  of the ice maker  51 . The auger  53 , which is arranged in the ice bank  52 , has a spiral shape. Accordingly, as the auger  53  rotates, the ice stored in the ice bank  52  is moved to the dispenser  22 . 
         [0059]    The ice crusher  54 , which is mounted to the outer end of the auger  53  to crush ice, includes a fixed blade  54   a  and rotating blades  54   b . Accordingly, the ice crusher  54  can feed ice cubes or ice particles to the dispenser  22  through the ice discharge passage  22   a  in accordance with a user&#39;s selection. 
         [0060]    An inlet  42  is formed at an upper side of a rear surface of the ice making compartment  40  where the ice making device  50  is mounted, to supply, to the ice making compartment  40 , cold air heat-exchanged while passing the second evaporator  33 . An outlet  43  is formed at a lower side of the rear surface of the ice making compartment  40 , to circulate the cold air introduced into the ice making compartment  40  toward an inlet side  33   a  of the second evaporator  33 . 
         [0061]    In the refrigerator according to the illustrated embodiment of the present invention, an ice making flow duct  60  is provided at the body  10 , to circulate cold air through the ice making compartment  40  and second evaporator  33 . The ice making flow duct  60  is arranged in the rear wall of the body  10  between the inner case  10   a  and the outer case  10   b . The ice making flow duct  60  is fixed to the rear wall of the body  10  by filling a foam material  14  into a space defined between the ice making flow duct  60  and the rear wall of the body  10 . 
         [0062]    As shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the ice making flow duct  60  comprises a supply duct  61  for guiding, to the ice making compartment  40 , cold air subjected to heat exchange while passing the second evaporator  33 , and a return duct  62  for guiding the cold air present in the ice making compartment  40  to the inlet side  33   a  of the second evaporator  33 . 
         [0063]    The supply duct  61  comprises a first end connected to the inlet  42  of the ice making compartment  40 . A third blowing fan  63  is arranged at a second end of the supply duct  61  arranged above the second evaporator  33 , to forcibly supply, to the ice making compartment  40 , cold air subjected to heat exchange while passing the second evaporator  33 . According to an embodiment of the present invention, the third blowing fan  63  is arranged adjacent to the second evaporator  33 . Where the third blowing fan  63  is arranged at such a position, it is possible to more efficiently supply cold air to the ice making compartment  40 , as compared to the case in which the third blowing fan  63  is arranged in the supply duct  61  at a position adjacent to the ice making compartment  40 . 
         [0064]    For the third blowing fan  63 , any one of a cross-flow fan and an axial flow fan may be used. According to an embodiment of the present invention, a cross-flow fan  63   a  is used for the third blowing fan  63 . In this case, the third blowing fan  63  includes a fan casing  63   b  for guiding cold air. The third blowing fan  63  may be fixedly mounted to the freezing duct  35  or to the rear surface of the freezing compartment  30 . 
         [0065]    Cold air emerging from the second evaporator  33  after being heat-exchanged is introduced into the ice making compartment  40  via the supply duct  61  by the third blowing fan  63 . Thus, cold air is supplied to the ice making device  50  arranged in the ice making compartment  40 . The cold air supplied to the ice making compartment  40 , as described above, is guided to the inlet side  33   a  of the second evaporator  33  via the return duct  62 . Thus, the cold air is circulated after being heat exchanged. In accordance with such a circulation procedure, cold air for making ice is supplied to the ice making compartment  40 . In this case, the cold air circulating through the ice making flow duct  60  does not enter the refrigerating compartment  20  because the ice making flow duct  60  does not communicate with the refrigerating compartment  20 . Similarly, there is no occasion that the cold air from the refrigerating compartment  20  enters the freezing compartment  30  or ice making compartment  40  via the ice making flow duct  60 . 
         [0066]    Thus, in the refrigerator according to the illustrated embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to supply cold air in a desired amount and at a desired temperature to the ice making compartment  40 , irrespective of frequent opening/closing of the refrigerating compartment  20 , namely, irrespective of the use of the refrigerating compartment  20  by the user. Accordingly, it is possible to achieve an enhancement in ice making performance. 
         [0067]    Also, the circulation path of cold air in the refrigerating compartment  20  and the circulation path of cold air in the ice making compartment  40  do not communicate. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the smell of food in the refrigerating compartment  20  from being diffused to the ice making compartment  40 . In addition, there is an effect capable of introducing the heat-exchanged cold air simultaneously into the refrigerating space  24 , freezing space  34 , and ice making compartment  40 . 
         [0068]    Hereinafter, a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described. 
         [0069]    In the refrigerator according to this embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 5 , a guide passage  37  is formed in the freezing duct  35 , to communicate the supply duct  61  and second evaporator  33 . The guide passage  37  comprises a first passage  37   a  for receiving cold air from the second evaporator  33 , and a second passage  37   b  extending from the first passage  36   a  while being vertically bent from the first passage  36   a  toward a rear wall  15  of the body  10 . 
         [0070]    A fourth blowing fan  64  is arranged in the first passage  37   a , to forcibly discharge cold air heat-exchanged at the second evaporator  33 . The fourth blowing fan  64  comprises a cross-flow fan  64   a , and a fan casing  64   b  for guiding cold air blown by the cross-flow fan  64   a.    
         [0071]    Accordingly, the cold air heat-exchanged while passing the second evaporator  33  is introduced into the first passage  37   a , and is then discharged into the supply duct  61  via the second passage  37   b  in accordance with operation of the fourth blowing fan  64 . The cold air introduced into the supply duct  61  is introduced into the ice making compartment  40 , to provide a cooling effect for making ice. The cold air in the ice making compartment  40  is guided to the inlet side  33   a  of the second evaporator  33  via the return duct  62 . Thus, circulation of cold air for making ice is achieved. 
         [0072]    The above-described cold air circulation structure according to the present invention is applicable not only to a bottom freezer type refrigerator including an upper compartment functioning as a refrigerating compartment and a lower compartment functioning as a freezing compartment, but also to a top freezer type refrigerator including an upper compartment functioning as a freezing compartment and a lower compartment functioning as a refrigerating compartment and a side-by-side type refrigerator including freezing and refrigerating compartments respectively defined at opposite sides of a refrigerator body. 
         [0073]    As apparent from the above description, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, evaporators are provided at refrigerating and freezing compartments, respectively, and cold air present in the freezing compartment is introduced into an ice making compartment. Accordingly, it is possible to achieve an enhancement in ice making performance, and to supply cold air simultaneously to the refrigerating and freezing compartments even during an ice making operation. 
         [0074]    In addition, according to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the smell of food in the refrigerating compartment from being introduced into the ice making compartment because the refrigerating compartment does not communicate with the ice making compartment. 
         [0075]    Although a few embodiments of the present general inventive concept 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.