ICE MAKER DEVICE AND REFRIGERATOR INCLUDING THE SAME

This application is based on and claims priority from Korean Patent Application No. 10-2018-0083603, filed on Jul. 18, 2018, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference for all purposes.

The present disclosure relates to an ice maker device and a refrigerator including the same.

A refrigerator is an appliance for storing food at low temperatures and is configured to store food in a frozen state or a refrigerated state depending on the type and condition of food to be stored.

In such a refrigerator, cold air is generated by the heat exchange action of a refrigerant and a refrigeration cycle. In other words, the refrigerant supplies cold air to the refrigerator compartments by repeatedly circulating a so-called refrigeration cycle consisting of compression, condensation, expansion and evaporation phases.

In general, the refrigerator may be manufactured in different styles, such as, a top mount type in which a freezing compartment is provided on the upper side of a refrigeration compartment, a bottom freeze type in which a freezing compartment is provided on the lower side of the refrigeration compartment, and a side-by-side type in which a freezing compartment and a refrigeration compartment are formed on the left and right side, and the like.

Moreover, an ice maker device according to the related art may be provided in the freezing compartment and typically includes an ice tray configured to store water to produce ice and an ice bucket disposed below the ice tray to receive the ice produced in the ice tray. However, in such a configuration, it has been found to be inconvenient that the user first needs to remove the ice bucket from the ice maker device in order to take out the ice.

Therefore, there is a demand for products having an ice maker device which makes it possible to easily dispense ice.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an ice maker device which makes it possible to easily take out ice, and a refrigerator including the same.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, there is described an ice maker device comprising: an ice production part configured to receive water and produce ice; and an ice discharge part detachably coupled to a lower portion of the ice production part, the ice discharge part configured to accommodate the ice produced in the ice production part, the ice discharge part configured to selectively discharge the ice to the outside, wherein the ice discharge part includes: a holder part detachably coupled to the ice production part; a receiving part including a side wall portion connected to an inner surface of the holder part, an inclined portion obliquely extending downward from a lower end of the side wall portion, and a bottom surface having an outlet port; and a lever part configured to open and close the outlet port.

The inclined portion may be continuously provided from a rim of the outlet port to a lower end of the side wall portion.

The inclined portion may include a vertical surface extending from the lower end of the side wall portion in parallel with the side wall portion and connected to the rim of the outlet port, and an inclined surface obliquely extending downward from the lower end of the side wall portion and connected to the rim of the outlet port not connected to the vertical surface.

The lever part may include a guide rail provided on a bottom surface of the receiving part, a lever configured to slidingly move along the guide rail to open and close the outlet port, and an elastic member configured to connect the guide rail and the lever to apply an elastic force to the lever.

In accordance with another aspect, there is described a refrigerator comprising: a refrigerator body having a storage space; a refrigerator door rotatably coupled on one side thereof to the refrigerator body to open and close the storage space; and the above-described ice maker device coupled to an inner surface of the refrigerator door.

The outlet port of the ice maker device may be biased toward the outer edge of the refrigerator door.

The ice maker and the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present disclosure make it possible to easily take out ice.

Hereinafter, configurations and operations of embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following description is one of various patentable aspects of the disclosure and may form a part of the detailed description of the disclosure.

However, in describing the disclosure, detailed descriptions of known configurations or functions that make the disclosure obscure may be omitted.

The disclosure may be variously modified and may include various embodiments. Specific embodiments will be exemplarily illustrated in the drawings and described in the detailed description of the embodiments. However, it should be understood that they are not intended to limit the disclosure to specific embodiments but rather to cover all modifications, similarities, and alternatives which are included in the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

The terms used herein, including ordinal numbers such as “first” and “second” may be used to describe, and not to limit, various components. The terms simply distinguish the components from one another.

When it is said that a component is “connected” or “linked” to another component, it should be understood that the former component may be directly connected or linked to the latter component or a third component may be interposed between the two components.

Specific terms used in the present application are used simply to describe specific embodiments without limiting the disclosure. An expression used in the singular encompasses the expression of the plural, unless it has a clearly different meaning in the context.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a refrigerator 1 provided with an ice maker device 300 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 1, the refrigerator 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include a refrigerator body 100 having a storage space S, a refrigerator door 200 for opening and closing the storage space S of the refrigerator body 100, and an ice maker device 300 coupled to the refrigerator door 200.

In this regard, the refrigerator 1 is generally used for storing food items at low temperatures and may be manufactured in accordance with various styles or types, including a top mount type in which a freezing compartment is provided on the upper side of a refrigeration compartment, a bottom freeze type in which a freezing compartment is provided on the lower side of the refrigeration compartment, and a side-by-side type in which a freezing compartment and a refrigeration compartment are formed on the left and right side, and the like. Although only a side-by-side type refrigerator is shown in FIG. 1, the scope of the embodiments of the present disclosure is also applicable to various refrigerator types commonly used and well known in the art.

The refrigerator body 100 may form an outer shell of the refrigerator 1 and may include a storage space S for storing food. The storage space S may be opened and closed by the refrigerator door 200 which can be rotatably installed in the refrigerator body 100, in accordance with one embodiment.

The refrigerator door 200 may be rotatably hinged on one side thereof to the refrigerator body 100 and thereby configured to open and close the storage space S. The ice maker device 300 may be disposed on the inner surface of the refrigerator door 200. Hereinafter, the detailed configuration of the ice maker device 300 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 7.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the ice maker device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 3 is a bottom perspective view of the ice maker device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 4 is a schematic exploded perspective view of the ice maker device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIGS. 2 to 4, the ice maker device 300 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is coupled to the refrigerator door 200 to produce ice. The ice maker device 300 may include an ice production part 310 and an ice discharge part 320.

The ice production part 310 may produce ice in accordance with a process that includes receiving water from a water supply pipe (not shown) of the refrigerator 1. The ice production part 310 may include, for example, an upper cover 311, a side cover 312 coupled to a lower portion of the upper cover 311, and rotatably accommodated in the upper cover 311, an ice tray 313 rotatably received in the upper cover 311 and configured to store and freeze water, and a handle 314 connected to the ice tray 313 and configured to rotate the ice tray 313.

The ice tray 313 may be disposed below the upper cover 311. One end of the ice tray 313 may be rotatably inserted into the side pillar 311a extending from the lower surface of the upper cover 311. One end of the ice tray 313 passing through the side pillar 311a may be connected to the handle 314. Therefore, when the handle 314 rotates, the ice tray 313 may rotate together with the handle 314. Accordingly, if ice is produced by freezing the water contained in the ice tray 313, the user may rotate the ice tray 313 by rotating the handle 314, which makes it possible to discharge the ice produced in the ice tray 313. While FIGS. 2 to 4 illustrate a configuration in which ice is manually discharged to the outside of the ice production part 310 by rotating the handle 314, it is also possible to provide an automatic ice production part 310. That is, it may be possible to adopt a configuration in which the ice tray 313 is rotated using a separate or automated drive source such as a motor or the like.

FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view taken along line A-A′ in FIG. 2. FIG. 6 is a schematic sectional view taken along line B-B′ in FIG. 2. FIG. 7 is a schematic plan view of an ice discharge part according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIGS. 5 to 7, the ice discharge part 320 is provided for receiving the ice produced in the ice production part 310 and then discharging or dispensing the ice to the outside. The ice discharge part 320 may be detachably attached to the lower portion of the ice production part 310. For example, the ice discharge part 320 may include a holder part 321 detachably coupled to the ice production part 310, a receiving part 322 detachably connected to the inner surface of the holder part 321 and provided with an outlet port 322c through which ice is discharged, and a lever part 323 slidably coupled to the receiving part 322 and configured to open and close the outlet port 322c.

The holder part 321 may be coupled to the ice production part 310. A guide rail 321a may be formed on the inner side surface of the holder part 321 to guide the sliding movement of the receiving part 322. A guide protrusion 322d may protrude from the outer surface of the receiving part 322 so as to be movable along the guide rail 321a. Therefore, the receiving part 322 may be slidingly coupled to the inside of the holder part 321.

Ice may be received inside the receiving part 322. In other words, when ice is produced in the ice tray 313, the user may discharge the ice from the ice tray 313 by rotating the handle 314. The ice discharged from the ice tray 313 may be received inside the receiving part 322.

For example, the receiving part 322 may include a side wall portion 322a connected to the holder part 3221 and provided with a guide protrusion 322d on the outer surface thereof, an inclined portion 322b obliquely extending downward from the lower end of the side wall portion 322a, and a bottom surface L having an outlet port 322b.

The inclined portion 322b may be downwardly inclined and continuously formed so as to connect the rim of the outlet port 322c formed on the bottom surface L of the receiving part 322 and the lower end of the side wall portion 322a. For example, the inclined portion 322b may include a vertical surface 3221 extending from the lower end of the side wall portion 322a in parallel with the side wall portion 322a and connected to the rim of the outlet port 322c, and an inclined surface 3222 obliquely extending downward from the lower end of the side wall portion 322a at predetermined inclination angles α and β and connected to the rim of the outlet port 322c not connected to the vertical surface 3221. In this regard, the inclination angles α and β of the inclined surface 3222 may be appropriately selected depending on the position of the outlet port 322c. For example, the inclination angles α and β of the inclined surface 3222 may be selected so that the inclined surface 3222 can connect the rim of the outlet port 322c and the lower end of the side wall portion 322a.

A lever part 323 may be disposed on the bottom surface of the receiving part 322. The lever part 323 may be provided for opening and closing the outlet port 322c formed on the bottom surface L of the receiving part 322. The lever part 323 may include a guide rail 323a disposed on the bottom surface of the receiving part 322, a lever 322b configured to slidingly move along the guide rail 323a to open and close the outlet port, and an elastic member 323c configured to connect the guide rail 323a and the lever 323b to apply an elastic force to the lever 323b.

The guide rail 323a may protrude from the underside of the bottom surface L and may be provided on both sides of the outlet port 322c. The lever 323b may be slidably provided on the guide rail 323a. As the lever 323b slides, the outlet port 322c may be opened or closed. The lever 323b may be formed in an inverted “L” like shape as a whole. The user may open the outlet port 322c by bringing an ice storage container such as a cup or the like into contact with the lever 323b and pressing lever 323b with the container. The elastic member 322c may be disposed between the lever 323b and the guide rail 322a. The elastic member 322c may apply an elastic force to the lever 323b to urge the lever 323b forward. Therefore, the lever 323b may generally be disposed at a position where the lever 323b seals the outlet port 322c. Furthermore, after the user presses the lever 323b and removes the ice, the lever 323b may be returned by the elastic member 323b to the position where the lever 323b seals the outlet port 322c.

The outlet port 322c disposed on the bottom surface L of the receiving part 322 may be biased toward the other edge of the refrigerator door 200. In other words, when the refrigerator door 200 is opened, the outlet port 322c may be biased toward the outer edge of the refrigerator door. This makes it possible to improve the user's accessibility to the outlet port 322c.

As described above, the ice maker device 300 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes the receiving part 322 having the inclined surface 3222 and the lever part 323. Thus, the ice can be readily removed without removing the ice bucket 320 from the ice production part 310. In other words, the ice discharged from the ice production part 310 is moved to the outlet port 322c along the inclined surface 3222, and the user can easily take out the ice by pressing the lever part 323.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that various embodiments of the present disclosure have been described herein for purposes of illustration, and that various modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. The exemplary embodiments disclosed in the specification of the present disclosure do not limit the present disclosure. The scope of the present disclosure will be interpreted by the claims below, and it will be construed that all techniques within the scope equivalent thereto belong to the scope of the present disclosure.