ICE MAKER, REFRIGERATOR HAVING THE SAME, AND ICE MAKING METHOD THEREOF

Abstract

An ice maker, a refrigerator including the ice maker, and an ice making method are provided. The ice maker includes a tray having a predetermined depth into which water is supplied to make ice. The ice maker includes an elevating unit to elevate a portion of the ice, and a cutting unit to cut off the elevated portion of the ice to be dispensed as ice pieces to a user. The ice maker has a slim configuration, and a compact size. The ice maker may be provided in the door of the refrigerator at a height approximately the same as the height of the dispenser located at the front side of the door. This arrangement permits a path for supplying cool air from a freezing compartment to the ice maker to be decreased.

Description

RELATED APPLICATION

The present disclosure relates to subject matter contained in priority Korean Application No. 10-2009-0042817, filed on May 15, 2009, which is herein expressly incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an ice maker, a refrigerator including the ice maker, and an ice making method, and particularly, to an ice maker that occupies a small space and provides an enhanced degree of spatial utilization and placement options within a refrigerator.

2. Background of the Invention

A home refrigerator serves to store food items in an accommodation space at a low temperature. The refrigerator is divided into a freezing chamber for storing food items at a temperature below zero degrees Celsius, and a refrigerating chamber for storing food items at a temperature above zero degrees Celsius. As demands for ice increases, a large number of refrigerators having automatic ice makers for making ice are being presented.

The ice maker may be installed at either the freezing chamber or the refrigerating chamber, depending on the type of refrigerator. In the case of installing the ice maker at the refrigerating chamber, cool air inside the freezing chamber is guided to the ice maker to perform an ice making operation.

Methods for separating ice from the ice maker may include a torsion method, an ejection method, and a rotation method. The torsion method is a method for separating ice by twisting the ice maker, the ejection method is a method for separating ice from the ice maker by an ejector installed above the ice maker, and the rotation method is a method for separating ice by rotating the ice maker.

However, the conventional ice makers and refrigerators provided with the conventional ice makers have several drawbacks.

Firstly, the conventional ice maker makes ice by containing water in a horizontal ice container. Here, the ice container occupies a large space, and an ice separation unit for separating ice from the ice maker occupies a large space. This may reduce the entire utilization space inside the refrigerator. Furthermore, in the case of reducing the size of the ice maker, the amount of ice that can be made at one time is reduced. This may cause ice not to be rapidly provided in summer when a large amount of ice is required.

Secondly, the conventional ice maker has a structure to drop formed ice downwardly to a location below the ice maker. Accordingly, in the case of a refrigerator having a dispenser, an ice making chamber has to be installed at a position higher than the dispenser. However, in the case of a 3-door bottom freezer type refrigerator where a freezing chamber is installed at a lower side and a refrigerating chamber including an ice making chamber is installed at an upper side, when the ice making chamber is installed at a high position, the freezing chamber is spaced far from the ice making chamber, and cooling air loss may occur when cool air from the freezing chamber is transferred to the ice making chamber. This may reduce the energy efficiency of the refrigerator.

Thirdly, the conventional ice maker has an ice making unit and an ice separating unit operated by individual mechanisms. This may cause the entire configuration and control to be complicated, resulting in an increase in the fabrication costs of the ice maker.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an ice maker having a slim configuration which occupies a small space within a refrigerator.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an ice maker locatable within a refrigerator at a location that permits a reduction of air loss occurring when cool air in a freezing chamber is supplied to an ice making chamber, by shortening a distance between the freezing chamber and the ice making chamber by lowering an installation height of the ice maker.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an ice maker capable of reducing fabrication costs and reducing malfunctions thereof by having a simplified configuration and precise controls.

Still other objects of the present invention are to provide a refrigerator having the ice maker, and an ice making method thereof.

To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, there is provided an ice maker, comprising: a tray having an ice making space; an elevating unit coupled to the tray, for elevating ice; a driving unit coupled to the elevating unit, for driving the elevating unit; and a transferring unit coupled to the tray, for transferring ice.

To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, there is also provided a refrigerator, comprising: a refrigerator body; a freezing chamber formed at the refrigerator body; a refrigerating chamber formed at the refrigerator body, and partitioned from the freezing chamber; an ice making chamber installed at the refrigerating chamber of the refrigerator body, for making ice by receiving cool air inside the freezing chamber; and an ice maker installed inside the ice making chamber, for making ice, wherein the ice maker comprises: one or more elevating units for elevating ice while rotating in a coupled state to a tray; and a driving unit coupled to the elevating unit, for driving the elevating unit.

To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, there is still also provided an ice making method of a refrigerator, comprising: a water supplying step for supplying water to a tray; an ice making step for cooling the water contained in the tray, and thereby making ice; and an ice separating step for drawing out the ice from the tray in a mechanical push manner.

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

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a bottom freezer type refrigerator having an ice maker according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the ice maker of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line ‘III-III’ in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line ‘IV-IV’ in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a worm gear and a worm wheel of an ice separating unit of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken similarly to FIG. 4 according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a view schematically showing a configuration of a control unit of FIG. 3;

FIGS. 8(a)-8(d) are longitudinal section views of the ice maker of FIG. 2, which show an ice making process;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an ice making process by the ice maker of FIG. 2;

FIG. 10 is a schematic view showing the ice maker of FIG. 1 according to another embodiment of the present invention; and

FIGS. 11 and 12 are a rear view and a side sectional view showing an arrangement structure of the ice maker of FIG. 2 and a dispenser according to another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A description will now be given in detail of the present invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Hereinafter, an ice maker, a refrigerator having the same, and an ice making method thereof according to the present invention will be explained in more detail with reference to the attached drawings.

Referring now to FIG. 1, the refrigerator according to the present invention comprises a freezing chamber 2 installed at a lower side of a refrigerator body 1 and configured to store food items at a temperature below zero degrees Celsius, and a refrigerating chamber 3 installed at an upper side of the refrigerator body 1 and configured to store food items at a temperature above zero degrees Celsius. A freezing chamber door 4 is slidably installed at the freezing chamber 2 so as to open and close the freezing chamber 2 in a drawer-like manner. A plurality of refrigerating chamber doors 5 are rotatably installed at both sides of the refrigerating chamber 3 so as to open and close the refrigerating chamber 3. A mechanical chamber is located at a lower end of a rear portion of the refrigerator body 1 where a compressor and a condenser are installed.

An evaporator for supplying cool air to the freezing chamber 2 or the refrigerating chamber 3 by being connected to the compressor and the condenser is installed at a rear portion of the refrigerator body 1, between an outer case and an inner case at a rear wall of the freezing chamber. However, the evaporator may be installed at a side wall or an upper wall or the refrigerator body. Alternatively, the evaporator may be installed at a barrier wall partitioning the freezing chamber 2 and the refrigerating chamber 3 from each other. One single evaporator may be installed only at the freezing chamber 2 to supply cool air to the freezing chamber 2 and the refrigerating chamber 3 in a distribution manner. Alternatively, a freezing chamber evaporator and a separate refrigerating chamber evaporator may be installed respectively, so as to independently supply cool air to the freezing chamber 2 and the refrigerating chamber 3.

An ice making chamber 51 for making ice and storing the ice is formed at an upper inner wall surface of the refrigerating chamber door 5. An ice maker 100 for making ice is installed inside of the ice making chamber 51. A dispenser 52 is located below the ice making chamber 51, so as to be outwardly exposed on a front side of the refrigerator chamber door 5, so that ice made by the ice maker 100 can be drawn out of the refrigerator.

The operation of the refrigerator will now be explained.

Once a load is detected from the freezing chamber 2 or the refrigerating chamber 3, the compressor is operated to generate cool air by the evaporator. A portion of the cool air is supplied to the freezing chamber 2 and the refrigerating chamber 3 in a distribution manner, whereas another portion of the cool air is supplied to the ice making chamber 51. The cool air supplied to the ice making chamber 51 is heat-exchanged so that ice can be formed by the ice maker 100 mounted at the ice making chamber 51, and then is returned into the freezing chamber 2 or is supplied to the refrigerating chamber 3. The ice made by the ice maker 100 is drawn out through the dispenser 52. These processes are repeatedly performed.

As shown in FIG. 2, the ice maker 100 includes a water supply unit 110 connected to a water supply source for supplying water, a tray 120 for performing an ice making operation by receiving the water supplied from the water supply unit 110, an ice raising unit 130 for moving ice made in the tray 120, and an ice separating unit 140 installed at an opening of the tray 120 for cutting the ice into a proper size piece or pieces, and transferring the ice piece or pieces away from the tray 120.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the water supply unit 110 includes a water supply pipe 111 for connecting the water supply source to the tray 120, a water supply valve 112 installed at an intermediate part of the water supply pipe 111 for controlling a water supply amount. A water supply pump 113 may be provided at an upstream side or a downstream side of the water supply valve 112 for pumping water. The water supply pump 113 serves to supply a uniform water pressure and flow. However, the water supply pump 113 is not necessarily required. For example, where the water supply pump 113 is not provided, water supply may be performed by using a height difference between the water supply source and the tray 120, or by water pressure of the source.

The water supply pipe 111 may be independently connected to the tray 120. When the tray 120 is implemented in plural numbers, the water supply pipe 111 is connected to the plurality of trays 120, preferably in parallel, in consideration of the aspects of controls and fabrication costs.

The water supply pipe 111 may be directly connected to the water supply source for supplying water. In addition, the water supply pipe 111 may be connected to a water tank provided in the refrigerating chamber 3 and storing a predetermined amount of water therein. In this case, the water tank serves as the water supply source. In order to supply a predetermined amount of water to the tray 120, a water level sensor may be installed at the tray 120, a flow amount sensor for sensing a flow amount of water may be installed at the water supply pipe, or a water level sensor may be installed at the water tank.

The water supply valve 112 and the water supply pump 113 may be electrically connected to a control unit 150 so as to exchange signals with each other. The control unit 150 may control a water supply amount based on a real time value sensed by the water level sensor or the flow amount sensor. Alternatively, the control unit 150 may periodically turn on/off the water supply valve 112 and the water supply pump 113 by setting an operation time of the water supply valve 112 and the water supply pump 113 according to predefined data.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, a single tray 120 may be provided according to an ice making capacity of the refrigerator. However, a plurality of trays 120 may be provided for increasing an ice making capacity of the refrigerator. When a plurality of trays 120 are provided, the plurality of trays 120 may be arranged in one line, or may be arranged in a plurality of lines, taking into consideration the relationships with the peripheral components. In order to minimize each width of the trays 120 in back and forth directions, the trays 120 are preferably arranged on the same plane in one line. However, in order to minimize each width of the trays 120 in right and left directions, the trays 120 are preferably arranged in a plurality of lines. The arrangement of the trays 120 may be suitably controlled according to particular needs.

The tray 120 may be formed of a conductive material such as aluminum, and may be formed to have a rectangular section shape having a predetermined thickness. The tray 120 may be formed to have various shapes according to particular needs. However, the tray 120 is preferably formed to have a rectangular shape extending long in a horizontal direction since ice has to come in contact with an elevating member, such as one or two screws to be described later, thereby making ice in a rectangular shape.

Referring to FIG. 3, a water supply hole 121 may be formed at the center of a bottom surface of the tray 120. Alternatively, the water supply hole 121 may be formed on a side surface of the tray 120, or above the tray 120.

The tray 120 may be provided with a plurality of ribs 122 on an inner circumferential surface thereof. Ice made in the tray 120 having one consecutive shape may not be easy to cut, or may be difficult to cut in a uniform size by a cutter. Accordingly, the plurality of ribs 122 may extend in a vertical direction on an inner circumferential surface of the tray 120 so that the ice upwardly moving by the ice raising unit 130 can be partitioned from each other in a horizontal direction, particularly along an axial direction of a cutter 142 to be described later. The shape of ice cubes may be determined according to the shape of the ribs 122.

The tray 120 may be formed to have the same sectional area and shape in a longitudinal direction. Alternatively, the tray 120 may be formed to have different sectional areas and shapes in a longitudinal direction. In the case of the latter, the tray 120 is preferably formed to have a larger sectional area and shape toward its opening, i.e., an ice separating end, so that ice made in the tray 120 can be smoothly separated from the tray 120 in a longitudinal direction.

The ice raising unit 130 includes a heater 131 installed on an outer peripheral surface of the tray 120 for applying heat to the tray 120 to thereby separate the ice mass from the tray 120, an elevating unit 132 for elevating the ice mass separated from the tray 120 by the heater 131, and a driving unit 137 for driving the elevating unit 132.

As shown in FIG. 2, the heater 131 may be implemented as a hot wire heater wound on an outer peripheral surface of the tray 120. In this case, the heater 131 may be formed as a single circuit or a plurality of circuits according to the shape of the tray 120.

The heater 131 may be controlled so as to be communicated with the water supply unit 110. For instance, a microcomputer may determine whether water is being supplied to the tray 120 for ice making, whether an ice making operation is being performed, or whether the ice made in the tray 120 is being separated from the tray 120, according to changes of values sensed by the water level sensor or the flow amount sensor of the water supply unit 110. If it is determined that water is being supplied to the tray 120 for ice making, or if it is determined that an ice making operation is being performed, the operation of the heater 131 is stopped. However, if it is determined that the ice made in the tray 120 is being separated from the tray 120, the operation of the heater 131 is started.

The time to operate the heater 131 may be determined by real-time or by periodically sensing the temperature of the tray 120. Alternatively, the heater 131 may be forcibly operated based on a data value set to indicate a lapsed time after changes of values sensed by the water level sensor or the flow amount sensor of the water supply unit 110. That is, whether the ice making operation has been completed or not may be checked by sensing the temperature of the tray 120, or through an ice making time. For instance, when the temperature of the tray 120 measured by a temperature sensor mounted at the tray 120 is less than a predetermined temperature (e.g., about −9 degrees Celsius), it is determined that the ice making operation has been completed. Alternatively, when a predetermined time lapses after a water supply operation, it is determined that the ice making operation has been completed.

Although not shown, the heater 131 may be also implemented as a conductive polymer, a plate heater with a positive thermal coefficient, an AL thin film, or a heat transfer material, rather than the aforementioned hot wire heater.

Rather than being attached onto the outer peripheral surface of the tray 120, the heater 131 may instead be installed inside the tray 120, or may be provided on an inner surface of the tray 120. Alternatively, the tray 120 may be implemented as a heating resistor which emits heat when electricity is applied to one or more parts thereof. This may allow the tray 120 to serve as the heater 131 without installing an additional heater.

The heater 131 may operate as a heat source by being installed at a position spaced from the tray 120 by a predetermined interval, without coming in contact with the tray 120. As another example, the heat source may be implemented as an optical source for irradiating light to at least one of the ice and the tray 120, or a magnetron for irradiating microwaves to at least one of the ice and the tray 120. The heat source such as the heater, the optical source, and the magnetron melts a part of an interface between the ice mass and the tray 120, by applying thermal energy to at least one of the ice mass and the tray 120, or the interface therebetween. Accordingly, once a screw 135 to be later explained is operated to elevate the ice mass, the ice mass is separated from the tray 120 by the screw 135 even in a condition where the interface between the ice mass and the tray 120 has not melted completely.

The elevating unit 132 includes a driving force transmitting member 133 for transmitting a rotation force of a driving unit 137, a driving force transmitting shaft 134 rotating by the driving force transmitting member 133 in a connected state to the driving unit 137, and a screw 135 for elevating ice while rotating by being engaged to the driving force transmitting shaft 134.

The driving force transmitting member 133 may be implemented as a belt as shown in FIGS. 2 through 6. Alternatively, the driving force transmitting member 133 may be implemented as a plurality of belts, a flexible force transmission member such as a chain, or one or more gears or shafts.

The driving force transmitting shaft 134 is installed in parallel to a rotation shaft 139 of a driving motor 138 which will be later explained. The driving force transmitting shaft 134 is provided with a pulley 134a for winding thereon the driving force transmitting member 133 at one side thereof. A worm gear 134b for elevating the screw 135 is formed at one side of the pulley 134a. The number of the worm gears 134b corresponds to the number of the screws 135. For instance, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, when the screws 135 are provided at right and left sides, the worm gears 134b are formed at both ends of the driving force transmitting shaft 134 in right and left directions.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, two screws 135 may be installed at right and left sides of the tray 120, or one screw 135 may be installed at the center of the tray 120 as shown in FIG. 10. In the case of installing the screw 135 at the center of the tray 120, interference between the screw 135 and the cutter 142 to be explained later has to be considered. Accordingly, it is preferable to install the screw 135 at both sides of the tray 120 or one side of the two sides for prevention of the interference with the cutter 142.

The screw 135 is formed long-ways in a vertical direction, and both ends thereof are rotatably coupled to upper and lower surfaces of the tray 120. The screw 135 is provided with screw threads 135a up to a predetermined height thereof so as to push up the ice in a contact manner. The screw threads 135a may be formed to have a triangular section shape, or a quadrangular section shape.

At upper ends of the screws 135, i.e., at an upper side of the screw threads 135a, worm wheels 135b are provided for converting a rotation motion of the driving force transmitting shaft 134 in a horizontal axial direction into a rotation motion of the screw 135 in a vertical axial direction by being engaged to the worm gears 134b of the driving force transmitting shaft 134. The worm wheels 135b may be directly coupled to the worm gears 134b. Alternatively, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, the worm wheels 135b may be coupled to the worm gears 134b through intermediate gears 136 provided therebetween. In this case, the worm wheels 135b need not be formed to have a very large diameter, thereby enabling the screws 135 to be easily fabricated and assembled.

The driving unit 137 may include a driving motor 138 provided at one side of an upper end of the tray 120, and a rotation shaft 139 coupled to a rotor of the driving motor 138 for rotating the driving force transmitting shaft 134 and the cutter 142.

The ice separating unit 140 includes a housing 141 for covering an upper opened surface of the tray 120, and a cutter 142 rotatably installed at an inner space of the housing 141 and configured to guide the ice to the dispenser after cutting the ice.

The housing 141 is formed in a cylindrical shape, and coupled to the upper opened side of the tray 120 so as to be communicated thereto in right and left directions. A chute tube 143 for guiding the cut ice cubes to the dispenser is provided at one side of the housing 141 opposite to the driving motor 138. The chute tube 143 may be formed in a cylindrical shape having nearly the same diameter as the housing 141. The driving motor 138 may be coupled to another side of the housing 141.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the cutter 142 is installed in the housing 141 in a horizontal direction. The cutter 142 includes a plurality of cutter plates 145 spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance so as to be rotated by a rotation force of the driving motor 138. The cutter 142 further includes one or more blades 146 formed in a spiral shape, with both ends thereof coupled to surfaces of the two cutter plates 145. Among the plurality of cutter plates 145, the rotation shaft 139 of the driving motor 138 is coupled to the cutter plate 145 adjacent to the driving motor 138. The blade 146 may be formed in a spiral shape wound by about 180° so as to smoothly cut the upwardly moving ice mass. As the two cutter plates 145 are connected to each other only by the blade 146 without using an additional bar, the ice may be smoothly upwardly moved from the tray 120 without being blocked by the cutter 142.

The cutter 142 may be formed in other ways to cut the ice mass into separated ice pieces having a proper size. In case of forming the blade 146 of the cutter 142 in a screw shape, the blade 146 can move the ice in a consecutive push manner. This may allow a free configuration of an arrangement shape of the tray 120 or a direction to draw out the ice. Furthermore, in case of forming the blade 146 of the cutter 142 in a screw shape, the number of the chute tube 143 and the position of the ice drawing opening 147 may be varied. More specifically, when the screw of the blade 146 is implemented in one direction as shown in FIG. 4, the ice drawing opening 147 is formed at one end of the blade 146. However, when the screw of the blade 146 is implemented in both directions as shown in FIG. 6, the ice drawing opening 147 may be formed at both ends of the blade 146, or at an intermediate part of the blade 146.

The heater 131 and the driving motor 138 may be controlled by a control unit 150, i.e., a microcomputer electrically connected thereto. For instance, as shown in FIG. 7, the control unit 150 includes a sensing unit 151 for sensing the temperature of the tray 120 or sensing a lapsed time after water supply, a determination unit 152 for determining whether the ice making operation has been completed or not by comparing the temperature or time sensed by the sensing unit 151 with a reference value, and a command unit 153 for controlling on/off of the heater 131 and whether to operate the driving motor 138 based on the determination by the determination unit 152.

Referring now to FIGS. 8 and 9, once ice making is requested, the ice maker 100 is turned on, and an ice making operation starts (S1). Once the ice making operation starts, the water supply unit 110 supplies water to the tray 120 (S2). Here, a water supply amount is real time sensed by a water level sensor installed at the tray 120, or a flow amount sensor installed at a water supply pipe, or a water level sensor installed at a water tank, etc. Then, the sensed water supply amount is transmitted to the microcomputer 150. The microcomputer 150 compares the received water supply amount with a preset water supply amount (S3). Based on the comparison, it is determined whether a preset amount of water has been supplied to the tray 120. If it is determined that a preset amount of water has been supplied to the tray 120, a water supply valve of the water supply unit 110 is blocked to stop a supply of water to the tray 120.

Once the water supply to the tray 120 has been completed, the water inside the tray 120 is exposed to cool air supplied to the ice making chamber 51 for a predetermined time, to be frozen into an ice mass (S5). While the water inside the tray 120 is being frozen, a temperature sensor periodically or real-time senses the temperature of the tray 120 to transmit the sensed temperature to the microcomputer 150. Then, the microcomputer 150 compares the sensed temperature with a preset temperature (S6). Based on this comparison, it is determined whether the surface of the water inside the tray 120 has been frozen. If it is determined that the water inside the tray 120 has been frozen into an ice mass, all the processes are stopped (S7) to await an ice separating operation.

Once ice separation is requested (S8), the heater 131 is operated (S9) by the control unit 150. As the heater 131 is operated, heat is supplied to the tray 120, thereby melting an outer surface of the ice mass contacting an inner surface of the tray 120.

Next, the driving motor 138 is operated by the control unit 150, thereby rotating the worm gears 134. The worm gears 134 rotate the worm wheels 135b, thereby rotating the screws 135 to which the worm wheels 135b have been coupled (S10). Accordingly, the screw threads 135a of the screws 135 upwardly move the ice mass in a pushing manner. As the ice mass is moved upwardly in a direction of the housing 141, the ice separating operation starts (S11).

While the worm gears 134 are rotated by the driving motor 138, the cutter 142 also starts to be rotated (S12). The ice mass inside the tray 120 is upwardly moved to be cut by the cutter 142 in a predetermined size. Then, the cut ice cubes are transferred to the chute tube 143 by the blade 146 of the cutter 142, and subsequently discharged out toward the dispenser, or toward an ice storage container (S13).

While the ice is being separated from the tray 120 or while the ice separating operation is prepared, supply of cool air to the ice making chamber 51 is preferably stopped in order to facilitate the ice separating operation, and in order to reduce power supplied to the heater 131.

Once the ice drawing operation is completed, the operation of the heater 131 and the cutter 142 is stopped. And, while the water supply valve 112 is opened, a proper amount of water is supplied to the tray 120 by a water level sensor and a flow amount sensor, etc. These processes are repeatedly performed.

Under these configurations, the size of the ice maker may be reduced, and thus the refrigerator having the ice maker may be implemented to have a slim configuration. More specifically, in the conventional art, a tray has a wide width, and an ice separation unit for separating ice from an ice making maker has a wide width. Accordingly, the conventional refrigerator having the ice maker has a limitation in having a slim configuration. However, in the present invention, since the ice maker is provided with the tray having a small thickness, an occupation area occupied by the ice maker in the refrigerator is small.

Furthermore, since an installation height of the ice maker is lowered, a path for supplying cool air may be shortened. This may prevent loss of cool air being supplied to the ice making chamber. More specifically, in the conventional art, an ice storage container is provided for storing ice made by the ice maker. However, in the present invention, the tray having a long shape in upper and lower directions serves to store a predetermined amount of ice therein, thereby eliminating the need for an additional ice storage container. Accordingly, the ice maker has a lowered installation height, thereby reducing the distance between the freezing chamber and the ice making chamber. This may shorten the path for supplying cool air, thereby reducing loss of cool air, and reducing loss of an input for driving the ice maker.

Furthermore, since the ice maker has a simplified configuration and precise operation controls, the fabrication costs may be reduced, and inferiority of the ice maker due to malfunctions may be prevented. More specifically, in the conventional art, ice is separated from the ice maker by a torsion method, a heating method, a rotation method, etc. However, in the present invention, ice is mechanically separated from the ice maker by using a rotation force of the driving motor which rotates the cutter. This may allow the ice maker to have a simplified configuration and precise operation controls. As a result, the fabrication costs for the ice maker may be reduced, and inferiority of the ice maker due to malfunctions may be prevented to enhance reliability of the ice maker.

Hereinafter, an ice maker according to another embodiment of the present invention will be explained.

The screw 135 may be operated by a separate additional driving motor, independently of the driving motor which rotates the cutter 142. For instance, as shown in FIG. 10, a screw rotating driving motor 125 may be additionally provided at the center of a lower side of the tray 120, and the screw 135 may be coupled to a rotation shaft of the screw rotating driving motor 125. In this case, as shown in FIG. 10, one screw 135 may be provided at the center of the tray 120. Alternatively, a plurality of screws 135 may be provided by using gears or belts and pulleys. Still alternatively, each of the plurality of screws 135 may be independently provided with a screw rotating driving motor. In this case, the ice maker has similar configurations and effects as those of the ice maker according to one embodiment of the present invention, and thus detailed explanations thereof will be omitted. The ice maker according to another embodiment where the screw rotating driving motor 125 is additionally provided is different from the ice maker according to one embodiment in that the driving force transmitting member, the driving force transmitting bar, the worm gears, the worm wheels, etc. need not be provided at a narrow space. This may facilitate the assembly process and controls, and reduce frequent malfunctions of the ice maker since the cutter and the screw are independently operated.

The refrigerator having the ice maker according to the present invention has the following operation and effects.

In case of a 3-door bottom freezer type refrigerator having the ice making chamber at the refrigerating chamber and operating the ice maker by guiding cool air to the ice making chamber from the freezing chamber, a space occupied by the ice maker may be reduced, thereby providing a slim configuration of the refrigerator. In case of a built-in refrigerator having a reduced depth in a front-to-rear direction for combination with other structures, a refrigerating chamber door may have a reduced thickness by applying the ice maker thereto. This may enhance a degree of freedom to install the refrigerator.

In case of applying the ice maker to the refrigerator, the cutter 142 is installed on an upper end of the tray 120, thereby discharging the ice from an upper side of the ice maker. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 11, the ice maker 100 may be arranged at a lower side of the refrigerating chamber door 5 beside the dispenser 52 in a width direction at approximately the same height as the dispenser 52. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 12, the ice maker 100 and the dispenser 52 may be arranged in back and forth directions such that the ice maker 100 is located behind the dispenser 52 in a thickness direction of the refrigerating chamber door 5. This may reduce a length of a flow path between the freezing chamber 2 and the ice making chamber 51. Accordingly, loss of cool air that may occur while supplying cool air to the ice making chamber 51 from the freezing chamber 2 may be greatly reduced, thereby lowering power consumption of the refrigerator. This may also increase an effective volume of the refrigerating chamber door.

The ice maker, the refrigerator having the same, and the ice making method thereof maybe applicable to all types of refrigerating appliances having ice makers, such as two-door refrigerators, side-by-side refrigerators, and stand-alone freezers without refrigerating chambers.

The foregoing embodiments and advantages are merely exemplary and are not to be construed as limiting the present disclosure. The present teachings can be readily applied to other types of apparatuses. This description is intended to be illustrative, and not to limit the scope of the claims. Many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The features, structures, methods, and other characteristics of the exemplary embodiments described herein may be combined in various ways to obtain additional and/or alternative exemplary embodiments.

As the present features 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 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.

Claims

1. An ice maker, comprising:

a tray having an ice making space configured to produce an ice mass;

an ice elevating unit configured to elevate the ice mass located within the ice making space so that an upper portion of the ice mass is located above the tray; and

an ice separating unit configured to separate the upper portion of the ice mass from a remaining portion of the ice mass.

2. The ice maker of claim 1, wherein the ice elevating unit comprises a rotatable screw having a screw thread, the screw thread being configured to contact the ice mass in the ice making space to elevate the ice mass upon rotation of the screw.

3. The ice maker of claim 2, further comprising a driving unit configured to rotate the screw, the driving unit including:

a driving motor;

a driving gear coupled to the driving motor; and

a driven gear provided at the ice elevating unit and coupled to the driving gear for rotating the screw while being rotated by a rotation force of the driving gear.

4. The ice maker of claim 1, further comprising a driving motor configured to simultaneously drive the ice elevating unit and the ice separating unit by rotation of the driving motor.

5. The ice maker of claim 1, wherein the tray includes a plurality of spaced-apart ribs provided on an inner surface thereof, the ribs extending in a generally vertical direction.

6. The ice maker of claim 1, wherein the ice separating unit comprises:

a housing located at an upper side of the tray; and

a cutter member located within the housing, the cutter member being configured to cut the ice mass into the upper portion and the remaining portion.

7. The ice maker of claim 6, wherein the cutter member comprises:

a pair of support members spaced apart in a horizontal direction; and

a blade having a spiral shape, the blade having opposite ends thereof coupled to the pair of support members.

8. An appliance, comprising:

a body including an ice making chamber; and

an ice maker located in the ice making chamber, the ice maker including: a tray having an ice making space configured to produce an ice mass; an ice elevating unit configured to elevate the ice mass located within the ice making space so that an upper portion of the ice mass is located above the tray; and an ice separating unit configured to separate the upper portion of the ice mass from a remaining portion of the ice mass.

9. The appliance of claim 8, wherein the body is a refrigerator body having a refrigerating chamber and a freezing chamber, and wherein the ice making chamber is located in the refrigerating chamber.

10. The appliance of claim 9, further comprising a door configured to open and close the refrigerating chamber,

wherein the ice making chamber is located at the door.

11. The appliance of claim 8, further comprising a dispenser located at the refrigerator door for drawing out ice made in the ice making space to outside of the refrigerator door,

wherein at least a portion of the ice making chamber is located at a same height as a portion of the dispenser.

12. A method of providing ice, comprising:

producing an ice mass in an ice making device;

receiving an ice request signal from a user;

elevating the ice mass located within the ice making device;

separating an upper portion of the ice mass from a remaining portion of the ice mass; and

dispensing the separated upper portion of the ice mass.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the elevating, the separating and the dispensing occur in that order in response to the ice request signal.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the ice mass is produced prior to receiving the ice request signal.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the producing an ice mass includes:

supplying water to a tray of the ice making device;

sensing time or an amount of the water supplied to the tray; and

determining whether the sensed time or water amount has reached a preset value.

16. The method of claim 12, further comprising separating an interface between the ice making device and the ice mass prior to elevating the ice mass.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein the elevating the ice mass includes applying mechanical force to the ice mass.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the applying mechanical force includes applying a vertical lifting force to a generally vertical sidewall of the ice mass.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the separating an upper portion of the ice mass from a remaining portion of the ice mass includes applying mechanical cutting force to the ice mass to sever the ice mass into separate pieces.

20. The method of claim 12, wherein the elevating the ice mass includes moving the ice mass in a generally vertical direction, and the separating an upper portion of the ice mass from a remaining portion of the ice mass includes applying mechanical force to the ice mass in a generally horizontal direction.