Refrigerator

Abstract

The present invention relates to a refrigerator. The refrigerator of the present invention may include a first tray assembly configured to define one portion of an ice making cell, a second tray assembly configured to define the other portion of the ice making cell, and a heater disposed adjacent to at least one of the first and second tray assemblies, and a controller configured to control the heater. The controller controls the heater to be turned on so that ice is easily separated from the tray assemblies before the second tray assembly moves to the ice separation position in a forward direction.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A refrigerator comprising:
 a storage chamber configured to store food;   a cooler configured to supply cold air into the storage chamber;   a first temperature sensor configured to sense a temperature within the storage chamber;   a first tray assembly configured to define one portion of an ice making cell that is a space in which water is phase-changed into ice by the cold air,   a second tray assembly configured to define the other portion of the ice making cell, the second tray assembly being connected to a driver to contact the first tray assembly in an ice making process and to be spaced apart from at least a portion of the first tray assembly in an ice separation process;   a water supply part configured to supply the water into the ice making cell;   a second temperature sensor configured to sense a temperature of the water or the ice within the ice making cell;   a first heater disposed adjacent to the first tray assembly;   a second heater disposed adjacent to the second tray assembly; and   a controller configured to control the cooler, the first and second heaters and the driver;   wherein the controller is configured to control the cooler so that the cold air is supplied to the ice making cell after the second tray assembly moves to an ice making position when the water is completely supplied to the ice making cell;   wherein the controller is configured to control the second tray assembly so that the second tray assembly moves in a reverse direction after moving to an ice separation position in a forward direction so as to take out the ice in the ice making cell when the ice is completely made in the ice making cell;   wherein the controller is configured to control the second tray assembly so that a supply of the water starts after the second tray assembly moves to a water supply position in the reverse direction when the ice is completely separated;   wherein the second heater is turned on in at least a partial section in which the cooler is configured to supply the cold air so that bubbles dissolved in the water inside the ice making cell moves from a portion, at which the ice is made, toward the water that is in a liquid state to make transparent ice,   wherein, when the ice making process is completed, a degree of attachment between the ice of the ice making cell and the first tray assembly is greater than a degree of attachment between the ice of the ice making cell and the second tray assembly, and   wherein the controller is configured to control the first heater to be turned on before the second tray assembly moves to the ice separation position in the forward direction so that the ice is easily separated from the first tray assembly.   
     
     
         2 . The refrigerator of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the first tray assembly includes a first tray and a first tray case configured to support the first tray, and   wherein the second tray assembly includes a second tray and a second tray case configured to support the second tray.   
     
     
         3 . The refrigerator of  claim 2 ,
 wherein a high degree of attachment means that a coupling angle between the ice of the ice making cell and one of the first tray and the second tray is large, or that a time that the ice of the ice making cell and one of the first tray and the second tray are coupled is long.   
     
     
         4 . The refrigerator of  claim 2 ,
 wherein a degree of attachment between the ice of the ice making cell and the first and second trays is smaller than a degree of attachment between the ice of the ice making cell and the first and second tray cases, or   wherein a degree of attachment between the ice of the ice making cell and the first and second tray cases is smaller than a degree of attachment between the ice of the ice making cell and a case of the refrigerator.   
     
     
         5 . The refrigerator of  claim 2 ,
 wherein the first heater is disposed adjacent to the first tray.   
     
     
         6 . The refrigerator of  claim 5 ,
 wherein the second heater is disposed adjacent to the second tray,   wherein a heating amount of the first heater supplied before the second tray assembly moves to the ice separation position is greater than a heating amount of the second heater.   
     
     
         7 . The refrigerator of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the controller is configured to control a position of the second tray assembly to be determined according to a movement position of the driver.   
     
     
         8 . The refrigerator of  claim 7 ,
 wherein, after the supply of the water is completed, the controller is configured to control the second tray assembly to move to the ice making position in a reverse direction by changing the movement position of the driver in a reverse direction and then to further change the movement position of the driver in the reverse direction so as to increase a coupling force between the first and second tray assemblies at the ice making position.   
     
     
         9 . The refrigerator of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a pusher including a first edge formed with a surface pressing the ice or at least one of the first and second tray assemblies so that the ice is easily separated from the first and second tray assemblies, a bar extending from the first edge, and a second edge disposed at an end of the bar,   wherein the controller controls to move one or more of the pusher and at least one tray assembly of the first and second tray assemblies and to change a distance between the first edge of the pusher and the ice making cell.   
     
     
         10 . The refrigerator of  claim 9 ,
 wherein the controller is configured to control the first heater to be turned on before one or more of the pusher and the at least one tray assembly moves.   
     
     
         11 . The refrigerator of  claim 9 ,
 wherein the pusher includes a first pusher disposed adjacent to one tray assembly of the first and second tray assemblies, and a second pusher disposed adjacent to the other tray assembly of the first and second tray assemblies.   
     
     
         12 . The refrigerator of  claim 11 ,
 wherein the controller is configured to control a first edge of the first pusher to pass through a through hole formed in the one tray assembly at a first point outside the ice making cell, or   wherein the controller is configured to control a first edge of the second pusher to contact at least a portion of the other tray assembly at a first point outside the ice making cell.   
     
     
         13 . The refrigerator of  claim 11 ,
 wherein the one tray assembly includes a first contact surface, the other tray assembly includes a second contact surface in contact with the first contact surface at the ice making position, wherein, in the ice separation position, a minimum distance between a first edge of the first pusher and the first contact surface is smaller than a minimum distance between a first edge of the second pusher and the second contact surface; or   wherein, in the ice making position, the other tray assembly includes a contact surface in contact with the one tray assembly, and in the ice separation position, a distance between the first edge of the second pusher and the contact surface is greater than 0 and less than ½ of a distance from a center of the ice making cell to an outer peripheral surface.   
     
     
         14 . The refrigerator of  claim 1 , wherein the first tray assembly includes a first contact surface, the second tray assembly includes a second contact surface in contact with the first contact surface at the ice making position,
 wherein the first tray assembly and the second tray assembly are arranged in a first direction, and   wherein a first distance between the first contact surface and the first heater in the first direction is less than a second distance between the second contact surface and the second heater in the first direction.   
     
     
         15 . The refrigerator of  claim 1 , wherein the first tray assembly and the second tray assembly are arranged in a first direction, and
 wherein a first distance in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction between a center line passing through a center of the ice making cell in the first direction and the first heater is greater than a second distance in the second direction between the second heater and the center line.