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US 2025/0052470 A1Published application
Refrigerator
AssigneeLG Electronics Inc.
InventorsDonghoon LEE, Wookyong Lee, Chongyoung Park, Donghoon Lee, Seungseob Yeom, Yongjun Bae, Sunggyun Son
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A refrigerator may include: a first tray forming a part of ice-making cells; a second tray forming the other part of the ice-making cells; a heater for supplying heat to the ice making cells; a cooler for supplying cold to a storage compartment; and a control unit for controlling the heater and the cooler. The operation modes of the refrigerator include a first mode and a second mode. The control unit may control so that either or both of the amounts of cooling by the cooler and the amount of heating by the heater vary in the first mode and the second mode.
Claims20
A refrigerator comprising:
- a storage chamber;
- a cooler configured to supply cold to the storage chamber;
- and
- an ice maker comprising:
- a first tray assembly including a first tray;
- a second tray assembly including a second tray;
- a cell in which liquid is phase-changed into ice, the first tray including a first portion of the cell and the second tray including a second portion of the cell;
- a liquid supply outlet configured to supply the liquid to the cell;
- a heater case in which a heater is installed, the heater supplying a heat to the cell in at least partial section while the cold is supplied to the cell;
- a bracket defining at least a portion of a space that accommodates the first tray assembly and the second tray assembly,
- wherein an operation mode of the refrigerator includes a first mode and a second mode, the first mode being a first transparent ice mode, and the second mode being a second transparent ice mode,
- wherein a transparency of the ice in the first transparent ice mode is higher than transparency of the ice in the second transparent ice mode,
- wherein a cooling output of the cooler in the first mode is greater than a cooling output of the cooler in the second mode,
- wherein, when the cell is divided into unit height of the cell, the cell includes a first section defining an upper portion of the cell, a second section defining a lower portion of the cell, and a third section disposed between the first section and the second section,
- wherein the first section is disposed nearer than the second section to the liquid supply outlet,
- wherein a mass per unit height of the liquid in the first section is less than a mass per unit height of the liquid in the third section, and a mass per unit height of the liquid in the second section is less than the mass per unit height of the liquid in the third section, and
- wherein the cold is supplied to the cell through an opening formed in the bracket.
14 more elements
A refrigerator comprising:
- a storage chamber;
- a cooler configured to supply cold to the storage chamber;
- and
- an ice maker comprising:
- a first tray assembly including a first tray;
- a second tray assembly including a second tray;
- a cell in which liquid is phase-changed into ice, the first tray including a first portion of the cell and the second tray including a second portion of the cell;
- a liquid supply outlet configured to supply the liquid to the cell;
- a heater case in which a heater is installed, the heater supplying a heat to the cell in at least partial section while the cold is supplied to the cell,
- a bracket defining at least a portion of a space that accommodates the first tray assembly and the second tray assembly,
- wherein an operation mode of the refrigerator includes a first mode and a second mode, the first mode being a transparent ice mode, and the second mode being a non-transparent ice mode,
- wherein a cooling output of the cooler in the first mode is greater than a cooling output of the cooler in the second mode,
- wherein, when the cell is divided into unit height of the cell, the cell includes a first section defining an upper portion of the cell, a second section defining a lower portion of the cell, and a third section disposed between the first section and the second section,
- wherein the first section is disposed nearer than the second section to the liquid supply outlet,
- wherein a mass per unit height of the liquid in the first section is less than a mass per unit height of the liquid in the third section, and a mass per unit height of the liquid in the second section is less than the mass per unit height of the liquid in the third section, and
- wherein the cold is supplied to the cell through an opening formed in the bracket.
13 more elements
A refrigerator comprising:
- a storage chamber;
- a cooler configured to supply cold to the storage chamber;
- and
- an ice maker comprising:
- a first tray assembly including a first tray;
- a second tray assembly including a second tray;
- a cell in which liquid is phase-changed into ice, the first tray including a first portion of the cell and the second tray including a second portion of the cell;
- a liquid supply outlet configured to supply the liquid to the cell;
- a heater case in which a heater is installed, the heater supplying a heat to the cell in at least partial section while a cold is supplied to the cell;
- a bracket defining at least a portion of a space that accommodates the first tray assembly and the second tray assembly;
- and
- an ice bin provided in the storage chamber and configured to store the ice made in the cell,
- wherein an operation mode of the refrigerator includes a first mode and a second mode, the first mode being a non-full ice mode, and the second mode being a full ice mode,
- wherein the ice bin is in a full ice state in the full ice mode, and the ice bin is in a non-full ice state in the non-full ice mode,
- wherein a cooling output of the cooler in the first mode is greater than a cooling output of the cooler in the second mode,
- wherein, when the cell is divided into unit height of the cell, the cell includes a first section defining an upper portion of the cell, a second section defining a lower portion of the cell, and a third section disposed between the first section and the second section,
- wherein the first section is disposed nearer than the second section to the liquid supply outlet,
- wherein a mass per unit height of the liquid in the first section is less than a mass per unit height of the liquid in the third section, and a mass per unit height of the liquid in the second section is less than the mass per unit height of the liquid in the third section, and
- wherein the cold is supplied to the cell through an opening formed in the bracket.
16 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.