Refrigerator

Abstract

A refrigerator includes an ice making device. The ice making device includes an upper plate tray having first recess parts that have a hemispherical shape and a lower plate tray having second recess parts which correspond to the first recess parts and have a hemispherical shape. The refrigerator also includes a water supply module configured to sense and store water to be supplied into the ice making device, an inflow-side valve configured to selectively block water supply into the water supply module, and a discharge-side valve configured to selectively supply the water stored in the water supply module into the ice making device. The water supply module includes a water tank configured to store water supplied from a water supply source and a sensor configured to sense whether a preset amount of water has been supplied to the water tank.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A refrigerator comprising:
 an ice making device, the ice making device including:
 an upper plate tray having first recess parts that have a hemispherical shape; and 
 a lower plate tray having second recess parts which correspond to the first recess parts and have a hemispherical shape, the lower plate tray being rotatably coupled to the upper plate tray and the first recess parts and the second recess parts being configured to attach to each other to define spherical cells based on the upper plate tray contacting the lower plate tray; 
   a water supply module configured to sense and store water to be supplied into the ice making device;   an inflow-side valve configured to selectively block water supply into the water supply module; and   a discharge-side valve mounted at a passage connecting the water supply module to the ice making device and configured to selectively supply water stored in the water supply module into the ice making device,   wherein the water supply module comprises:
 a water tank configured to store water supplied from a water supply source; and 
 a sensor configured to sense whether a preset amount of water has been supplied to the water tank. 
   
     
     
         2 . The refrigerator according to  claim 1 , wherein the water tank comprises:
 a case configured to store the water supplied from the water supply source;   a sensing part that extends from a first side of a top surface of the case, the sensing part having a cylindrical shape;   a water inflow part disposed on a second side of the top surface of the case, the second side of the top surface of the case being opposite of the first side of the top surface of the case; and   a water discharge part disposed on a bottom surface of the case.   
     
     
         3 . The refrigerator according to  claim 2 , wherein the sensor is a capacitance sensor mounted at the sensing part and configured to sense presence of water in the sensing part based on a change in capacitance resulting from the sensing part being filled with water. 
     
     
         4 . The refrigerator according to  claim 3 , wherein the capacitance sensor is mounted on an upper end of the sensing part, and an electrode of the capacitance sensor extends downward to an inside of the sensing part. 
     
     
         5 . The refrigerator according to  claim 4 , wherein the capacitance sensor is configured to sense presence of water in the sensing part based on water contacting the electrode. 
     
     
         6 . The refrigerator according to  claim 2 , wherein the bottom surface of the case is inclined such that a transversal cross-sectional area of the bottom surface of the case gradually reduces toward the water discharge part. 
     
     
         7 . The refrigerator according to  claim 2 , wherein the water inflow part extends upward from the top surface of the case by a predetermined length. 
     
     
         8 . The refrigerator according to  claim 2 , wherein the sensor is a floating sensor mounted inside the sensing part and configured to sense presence of water in the sensing part based on movement of a portion of the floating sensor that moves with water flowing into the sensing part. 
     
     
         9 . The refrigerator according to  claim 8 , wherein the floating sensor comprises:
 a buoy configured to float on water, the buoy being the portion of the floating sensor that moves with water flowing into the sensing part;   a magnet attached to the buoy; and   a level sensor mounted to a side of the sensing part and configured to sense the magnet attached to the buoy based on the magnet attached to the buoy reaching a level of the level sensor.   
     
     
         10 . The refrigerator according to  claim 9 , wherein the level sensor comprises a Hall Effect sensor. 
     
     
         11 . The refrigerator according to  claim 1 , further comprising a control part connected to the sensor, the inflow-side valve, and the discharge-side valve,
 wherein the control part is configured to control an opening and closing of each of the inflow-side valve and the discharge-side valve according to a signal transmitted from the sensor.   
     
     
         12 . The refrigerator according to  claim 11 , wherein the control part is configured to, based on the signal transmitted from the sensor indicating that the preset amount of water has been supplied to the water tank, close the inflow-side valve and open the discharge-side valve. 
     
     
         13 . The refrigerator according to  claim 1 , wherein the sensor is a capacitance sensor configured to sense that the preset amount of water has been supplied to the water tank based on a change in capacitance resulting from a location of the capacitance sensor being filled with water. 
     
     
         14 . The refrigerator according to  claim 1 , wherein the sensor is a floating sensor mounted inside the water tank and configured to sense that the preset amount of water has been supplied to the water tank based on movement of a portion of the floating sensor that moves with water flowing into the water tank. 
     
     
         15 . The refrigerator according to  claim 1 , wherein the sensor is a load cell configured to sense that the preset amount of water has been supplied to the water tank based on sensing a weight of water supplied to the water tank. 
     
     
         16 . A refrigerator comprising:
 an ice making device, the ice making device including:
 an upper plate tray having first recess parts that have a hemispherical shape; and 
 a lower plate tray having second recess parts which correspond to the first recess parts and have a hemispherical shape, the lower plate tray being rotatably coupled to the upper plate tray and the first recess parts and the second recess parts being configured to attach to each other to define spherical cells based on the upper plate tray contacting the lower plate tray; 
   an inflow-side valve configured to selectively block water supply to the ice making device;   a sensor mounted to at least one of the upper plate tray and the lower plate tray and configured to sense whether a preset amount of water has been supplied to the spherical cells defined by the first recess parts and the second recess parts; and   a control part connected to the inflow-side valve and the sensor and configured to control the inflow-side valve to block water supply to the ice making device based on the sensor sensing that the preset amount of water has been supplied to the spherical cells defined by the first recess parts and the second recess parts.   
     
     
         17 . The refrigerator according to  claim 16 , wherein the sensor is a capacitance sensor configured to sense that the preset amount of water has been supplied to the spherical cells defined by the first recess parts and the second recess parts based on a change in capacitance resulting from a location of the capacitance sensor being filled with water. 
     
     
         18 . The refrigerator according to  claim 16 , wherein the sensor is a floating sensor configured to sense that the preset amount of water has been supplied to the spherical cells defined by the first recess parts and the second recess parts based on movement of a portion of the floating sensor that moves with water supplied to the spherical cells defined by the first recess parts and the second recess parts. 
     
     
         19 . The refrigerator according to  claim 16 , wherein the floating sensor comprises:
 a sensing part mounted to the upper plate tray, the sensing part being configured to receive water through a communication hole defined in the upper plate tray;   a buoy located in the sensing part and configured to float on water, the buoy being the portion of the floating sensor that moves with water supplied to the spherical cells defined by the first recess parts and the second recess parts;   a magnet attached to the buoy; and   a level sensor mounted to a side of the sensing part and configured to sense the magnet attached to the buoy based on the magnet attached to the buoy reaching a level of the level sensor.   
     
     
         20 . The refrigerator according to  claim 16 , wherein the sensor is mounted to the upper plate tray.