US 11,530,860 B2Granted

Ice maker and refrigerator including the same

AssigneeLG Electronics Inc.

InventorsSeungseob Yeom, Donghoon Lee, Donghoon Lee, Wookyong Lee

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Abstract

A refrigerator and a control method of the same are disclosed, wherein the refrigerator comprises an ice tray for receiving water to generate ices; a motor capable of being rotated in a forward or reverse direction; an ejector including a rotary shaft rotating the ices made in the ice tray to discharge the ices from the ice tray, rotated by being axially connected to the motor, and a protrusion pin protruded in a radius direction of the rotary shaft to adjoin the ices; a heater for selectively supplying heat to the ice tray; a door switching sensor for sensing a storage compartment door's opening or closing, the storage compartment door being provided with the ejector; and a controller for turning the heater on or off in accordance with a rotation position of the ejector.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A control method of a refrigerator that includes an ice tray configured to receive water and to generate one or more ice pieces, a motor configured to rotate in a first direction or a second direction opposite to the first direction, an ejector that includes (i) a rotary shaft connected to the motor and configured to rotate the ice pieces in the ice tray to discharge the ice pieces from the ice tray, and (ii) a protrusion pin that protrudes in a radial direction of the rotary shaft and that is configured to contact the ice pieces, a heater configured to supply heat to the ice tray, a storage compartment door that includes the ejector and that is configured to open and close a storage compartment of the refrigerator, and a door switching sensor configured to sense whether the storage compartment door is opened or closed, the control method being performed by a controller and comprising:

sensing, using a first sensor, whether a rotation of the ejector is initiated;
based on sensing whether the rotation of the ejector is initiated, determining, using the door switching sensor, whether the storage compartment door is closed;
based on a determination that the storage compartment door is closed, rotating the ejector by a first amount of rotation;
and
based on a determination that the storage compartment door is opened, rotating the ejector by a second amount of rotation.

2 more elements

A refrigerator comprising:

an ice tray configured to receive water and to generate one or more ice pieces;
a motor configured to rotate in a first direction and a second direction opposite to the first direction;
an ejector comprising (i) a rotary shaft that is connected to the motor, that is configured to rotate the ice pieces in the ice tray to discharge the ice pieces from the ice tray, and (ii) a protrusion pin that protrudes in a radial direction of the rotary shaft and that is configured to contact the ice pieces;
a heater configured to supply heat to the ice tray;
a storage compartment door that is configured to open and close a storage compartment of the refrigerator, the storage compartment door including the ejector;
a door switching sensor configured to sense whether the storage compartment door is opened or closed;
and
a controller configured to:
turn on the heater and turn off the heater based on a rotation position of the ejector sensed by a sensor,
rotate the ejector by different amounts of rotation based on the storage compartment door being closed or opened during a rotation of the ejector,
rotate the ejector by a first amount of rotation based on the door switching sensor sensing that the storage compartment door is closed during the rotation of the ejector, and
rotate the ejector by a second amount of rotation based on the door switching sensor sensing that the storage compartment door is switched from a closed state to an opened state during the rotation of the ejector.

9 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 16/256,028Filed 24 Jan 2019
Priority: KR 10-2018-000997126 Jan 2018
Published: US 2019/0234666 A11 Aug 2019
Granted: 20 Dec 2022
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification15 codes

F25C 5/08
Without the use of saws: by heating bodies in contact with the ice
F25C 1/04
Producing ice: by using stationary moulds
F25C 5/22
Distributing ice: particularly adapted for household refrigerators
F25C 2305/024
Special arrangements or features for working or handling ice: rotating rake