Refrigerator

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12135157-B2
Application number	US-201917282070-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 1, 2019
Priority date	Oct 2, 2018
Publication date	Nov 5, 2024
Grant date	Nov 5, 2024

Abstract

A refrigerator according to the present invention comprises: a storage space in which food is stored; a cooler for supplying cold to the storage space; a first tray assembly constituting a part of an icing cell which is the space in which water is phase-changed to ice by the cold; a second tray assembly constituting another part of the icing cell; a heater located to be adjacent to the first tray assembly and/or the second tray assembly; and a control unit for controlling the heater, wherein the control unit performs controls so that the heater is turned on in at least a partial period while the cooler supplies the cold, and thus air bubbles disintegrating in the water inside the icing cell move to liquid-phase water from a part where ice is generated, thereby enabling transparent ice to be generated, and the degree of cold transfer, which is the amount of cold of the cooler is to be transferred, is different in the first tray assembly and the second tray assembly.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A refrigerator comprising:
a storage chamber configured to store food;
a cooler configured to supply cold into the storage chamber; and
an ice maker comprising:
a first tray having a first portion of a cell;
a first tray case having a portion in contact with the first tray, formed as a separate component to the first tray, and coupled to the first tray;
a second tray having a second portion of the cell, the first portion and the second portion being configured to define a space formed by the cell in which liquid is phased-changed to form ice;
a second tray case having a portion in contact with the second tray formed as a separate component to the second tray, and coupled to the second tray;
a liquid supply part configured to supply the liquid into the space of the cell;
a heater provided to supply heat to the cell; and
a controller configured to:
operate the heater while the ice is being formed so that gas bubbles dissolved in the liquid within the cell move from a portion of the space where the liquid that has phase-changed into the ice to another portion of the space where the liquid is in a fluid state,

wherein the first tray and the second tray have respective different degrees of cold transfer for transferring the cold of the cooler into the space of the cell,
wherein the first tray and the first tray case have respective different degrees of cold transfer for transferring the cold of the cooler into the space of the cell,
wherein the second tray and the first tray case have respective different degrees of cold transfer for transferring the cold of the cooler into the space of the cell,
wherein the first tray and the second tray case have respective different degrees of cold transfer for transferring the cold of the cooler into the space of the cell, and
wherein the second tray and the second tray case have respective different degrees of cold transfer for transferring the cold of the cooler into the space of the cell.

2. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the first tray is positioned spaced farther from the heater than the second tray.

3. The refrigerator of claim 2 , wherein the degree of cold transfer of the first tray is greater than that of the second tray or the first tray case.

4. The refrigerator of claim 3 , wherein at least a portion of the first tray is formed of a material different from that of the second tray.

5. The refrigerator of claim 3 , wherein at least a portion of the first tray is formed of a metal material and at least a portion of the second tray is formed of a non-metal material.

6. The refrigerator of claim 5 , wherein at least one of a vertical cross-sectional area or a circumference thickness of the first tray is greater than that of the second tray.

7. The refrigerator of claim 5 , wherein at least one of an average cross-sectional area or a thickness of the first tray is greater than that of the second tray.

8. The refrigerator of claim 5 , wherein at least one of a maximum cross-sectional area or a thickness of the first tray is greater than that of the second tray, or
wherein at least one of a minimum cross-sectional area or a thickness of the first tray is greater than that of the second tray.

9. The refrigerator of claim 5 , wherein at least one of a uniformity of a minimum cross-sectional area or a uniformity of a thickness of the first tray is greater than that of the second tray.

10. The refrigerator of claim 1 , wherein the controller performs control to reduce a degree of supercooling of the liquid in at least one of a first time period before the liquid supply part starts supplying the liquid to the space, a second time period until when the liquid supply part is supplying the liquid to the space, or a third time period during an ice making process starts.

11. The refrigerator of claim 10 , wherein the controller performs precooling for supplying cold to the cell during at least a portion of the first time period.

12. The refrigerator of claim 11 , wherein the controller controls the liquid supply part to supply the liquid to the space of the cell when the precooling is finished.

13. The refrigerator of claim 10 , wherein the controller performs turns off the liquid supply part during a portion of the second time period before the liquid is completely supplied to the space of the cell.

14. The refrigerator of claim 13 , wherein the controller turns on the liquid supply part to resume supplying the liquid to the cell after turning off the liquid supply part.

15. The refrigerator of claim 10 , wherein the controller causes at least one of mechanical energy and electrical energy to be supplied to at least one of the space of the cell, the first tray, or the second tray during a portion of the third time period.

16. The refrigerator of claim 15 , wherein the supplied mechanical energy includes at least one of kinetic energy or potential energy.

17. The refrigerator of claim 16 , wherein the second tray moves to supply the mechanical energy to the space of the cell.

18. A refrigerator comprising:
a storage chamber;
a cooler configured to supply cold into the storage chamber; and
an ice making comprising:
a liquid supply configured to supply a liquid;
a first tray having a first portion of a cell;
a first tray case having a portion in contact with the first tray, formed as a separate component to the first tray, and coupled to the first tray;
a second tray having a second portion of the cell, the first portion and the second portion being configured to define a space formed by the cell in which the liquid is phase-changed to form ice;
a second tray case having a portion in contact with the second tray, formed as a separate component to the second tray, and coupled to the second tray;
a heater provided to supply heat to the cell; and
a controller configured to operate the heater when the ice is forming, wherein
the first portion of the first tray has a greater degree of thermal conductivity than the second portion of the second tray,
the first tray and the first tray case have respective different degrees of thermal conductivity,
the second tray and the first tray case have respective different degrees of thermal conductivity,
the first tray and the second tray case have respective different degrees of thermal conductivity, and
the second tray and the second tray case have respective different degrees of thermal conductivity.

19. A refrigerator comprising:
a storage chamber;
a cooler configured to supply cold into the storage chamber; and
an ice maker comprising:
a liquid supply configured to supply a liquid;
a first tray having a first portion of a cell;
a first tray cover having a portion in contact with the first tray and formed as a separate component to the first tray;
a first tray supporter having a portion in contact with the first tray and formed as a separate component to the first tray;
a second tray having a second portion of the cell, the first portion and the second portion being configured to define a space formed by the cell in which the liquid is phase-changed to form ice; and
a second tray case having a portion in contact with the second tray and formed as a separate component to the second tray;
a heater provided to supply heat to the cell,

wherein
the first tray cover and the second first tray have respective different degrees of thermal conductivity or different degrees of cold transfer for transferring the cold of the cooler into the space of the cell, and
the first tray supporter a

Assignees

• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Lee Donghoon
• Lee Wookyong
• Son Sunggyun
• Lee Donghoon
• Yeom Seungseob
• Bae Yongjun
• Park Chongyoung

Classifications

• F25C2600/04

  Control means · CPC title

• F25C2400/14

  Water supply · CPC title

• F25C2400/10

  Refrigerator units · CPC title

• F25C5/04

  without the use of saws · CPC title

• F25C1/10

  by using rotating or otherwise moving moulds (F25C1/08 takes precedence) · CPC title