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US 11,953,252 B2Granted
Ice maker and method for controlling ice maker
AssigneeLG Electronics Inc.
InventorsYonghyun Kim, Jinil Hong
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An ice maker includes: an upper tray defining an upper chamber that is a portion of an ice chamber, where an upper opening is provided in an upper side of the upper tray; a lower tray defining a lower chamber that is another portion of the ice chamber; a lower support supporting the lower tray and provided with a lower heater; and a control unit configured to operate the lower heater in an ice making process. The control unit variably controls an output of the lower heater so that bubbles included in water in the ice chamber are gathered in a lowermost section in the ice making process.
Claims20
An ice maker comprising:
- a tray body that comprises a plurality of chamber walls that are configured to define a plurality of ice chambers;
- a first heater configured to supply heat to the plurality of ice chambers during an ice-making process;
- a second heater configured to supply heat to the plurality of ice chambers during an ice-separation process;
- a water supply configured to supply water to the plurality of ice chambers;
- a temperature sensor configured to sense a temperature of at least one of the plurality of ice chambers;
- and
- a controller configured to control the first heater and the second heater,
- wherein the controller is configured to:
- control the first heater to output one or more levels of power to thereby heat the plurality of ice chambers during the ice-making process according to the temperature sensed by the temperature sensor,
- control the first heater to vary the one or more levels of power during the ice-making process according to the temperature sensed by the temperature sensor,
- control the first heater to stop outputting the one or more levels of power during a predetermined time period, and
- control the second heater to start the ice-separating process after the predetermined time period.
9 more elements
An ice maker comprising:
- a tray body that comprises a plurality of chamber walls that are configured to define a plurality of ice chambers;
- a first heater configured to supply heat to the plurality of ice chambers during an ice-making process;
- a second heater configured to supply heat to the plurality of ice chambers during an ice-separation process;
- a water supply configured to supply water to the plurality of ice chambers;
- a temperature sensor configured to sense a temperature of at least one of the plurality of ice chambers;
- and
- a controller configured to control the first heater and the second heater,
- wherein the controller is configured to:
- control the first heater to output one or more levels of power to thereby heat the plurality of ice chambers during the ice-making process according to the temperature sensed by the temperature sensor,
- based on controlling the first heater during the ice-making process, define an ice forming direction in an ice chamber among the plurality of ice chambers,
- define a plurality of ice levels to be formed in the ice chamber along the ice forming direction,
- set the one or more levels of power based on the plurality of ice levels,
- control the first heater to stop outputting the one or more levels of power during a predetermined time period, and
- control the second heater to start the ice-separating process after the predetermined time period.
11 more elements
An ice maker comprising:
- a tray body that comprises a plurality of chamber walls that are configured to define a plurality of ice chambers;
- a first heater configured to supply heat to the plurality of ice chambers during an ice-making process;
- a second heater configured to supply heat to the plurality of ice chambers during an ice-separation process;
- a water supply configured to supply water to the plurality of ice chambers;
- a temperature sensor configured to sense a temperature of at least one of the plurality of ice chambers;
- and
- a controller configured to control the first heater and the second heater,
- wherein the controller is configured to:
- control the first heater to output one or more levels of power to thereby heat the plurality of ice chambers during the ice-making process according to the temperature sensed by the temperature sensor, controlling the first heater to output the one or more levels of power comprising:
- controlling the first heater to output a first power level for a first time period,
- controlling the first heater to output a second power level different from the first power level for a second time period after the first time period, and
- controlling the first heater to output a third power level different from the first and second power levels for a third time period after the second time period,
- control the first heater to stop outputting the one or more levels of power during a fourth time period, and
- control the second heater to start the ice-separating process after the fourth time period.
11 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.