Refrigerator and method for controlling the same

Abstract

Provided is a refrigerator in which a heater disposed at a side of a first tray or a second tray may be turned on in at least partial section while a cold air supply part supplies cold air to an ice making cell so that bubbles dissolved in water within the ice making cell move from a portion at which ice is made toward liquid water to make transparent ice, and one or more of the cooling power of the cold air supply part and the heating amount of heater may be controlled according to a mass per unit height of the water in the ice making cell so that the transparency is uniform for each unit height of the water in the ice making cell.

The invention claimed is: 
     
         1 . A refrigerator comprising:
 a storage chamber configured to store food;   a cold air supply part configured to supply cold air into the storage chamber;   a tray configured to define an ice making cell that is a space in which water is phase-changed into ice by the cold air;   a heater configured to provide heat to the tray; and   a controller configured to control the heater,   wherein the controller is configured to control the heater to be turned on in at least partial section while the cold air supply part supplies the cold air so that bubbles dissolved in the water within 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; and   wherein the controller is configured to control the cold air supply part and the heater so that one or more of a cooling power of the cold air supply part and a heating amount of the heater vary according to a mass per unit height of the water within the space.   
     
     
         2 . The refrigerator of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to control the cooling power of the cold air supply part to vary while the heating amount of heater is maintained to be constant. 
     
     
         3 . The refrigerator of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to control the cooling power of the cold air supply part such that the cooling power is a first cooling power at a first mass per unit height of the water within the space and a second cooling power at a second mass per unit height of the water within the space, the first cooling power being greater than the second cooling power and the first mass per unit height being greater than the second mass per unit height. 
     
     
         4 . The refrigerator of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to control the cooling power of the cold air supply part to be proportional to the mass per unit height of the water within the space. 
     
     
         5 . The refrigerator of  claim 1 , wherein the ice making cell has a spherical shape, and the cooling power of the cold air supply part is controlled to increase and then decrease at an initial cooling power so as to make spherical ice. 
     
     
         6 . The refrigerator of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to control the heating amount of the heater to vary while the cooling power of the cold air supply part is maintained to be constant. 
     
     
         7 . The refrigerator of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to control the heater such that a heating amount of the heater is a first heating amount at a first mass per unit height of the water within the space and a second heating amount at a second mass per unit height of the water within the space, the first heating amount being less than the second heating amount, and the first mass per unit height being greater than the second mass per unit height. 
     
     
         8 . The refrigerator of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to control the heating amount of the heater to be inversely proportional to the mass per unit height of the water within the space. 
     
     
         9 . The refrigerator of  claim 1 , wherein the ice making cell has a spherical shape, and the heating amount of the heater is controlled to decrease and then increase at an initial heating amount so as to make spherical ice. 
     
     
         10 . The refrigerator of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to control the heating amount of the heater to be inversely proportional to the mass per unit height of the water within the space and to control the cooling power of the cold air supply part to be proportional to the mass per unit height of the water within the space. 
     
     
         11 . A refrigerator comprising:
 a storage chamber configured to store food;   a cold air supply part configured to supply cold air into the storage chamber;   a tray configured to define an ice making cell that is a space in which water is phase-changed into ice by the cold air;   a heater configured to provide heat to the tray; and   a controller configured to control the heater,   wherein the controller is configured to control the heater to be turned on in at least partial section while the cold air supply part supplies the cold air so that bubbles dissolved in the water within 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; and   wherein the controller is configured to control the heater so that a heating amount of the heater varies according to a mass per unit height of the water within space.   
     
     
         12 . The refrigerator of  claim 11 , wherein the controller is configured to control the heater such that a heating amount of the heater is a first heating amount at a first mass per unit height of the water within the space and a second heating amount at a second mass per unit height of the water within the space, the first heating amount being less than the second heating amount, and the first mass per unit height being greater than the second mass per unit height. 
     
     
         13 . The refrigerator of  claim 11 , wherein the controller is configured to control the heating amount of the heater to be inversely proportional to the mass per unit height of the water within the space. 
     
     
         14 . The refrigerator of  claim 11 , wherein the ice making cell has a spherical shape, and the heating amount of the heater is controlled to decrease and then increase at an initial heating amount so as to make spherical ice. 
     
     
         15 . The refrigerator of  claim 11 , wherein the controller is configured to control the heater such that a heating amount of the heater is less in a current section of the space than a previous section of the space when a mass per unit height is greater in the current section than in the previous section, and/or
 the controller is configured to control the heater such that a heating amount of the heater is greater in a current section of the space than a previous section of the space when a mass per unit height is less in the current section than in the previous section.   
     
     
         16 . A refrigerator comprising:
 a storage chamber configured to store food;   a cold air supply part configured to supply cold air into the storage chamber;   a tray configured to define an ice making cell that is a space in which water is phase-changed into ice by the cold air;   a heater configured to provide heat to the tray; and   a controller configured to control the heater,   wherein the controller is configured to control the heater to be turned on in at least partial section while the cold air supply part supplies the cold air so that bubbles dissolved in the water within 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; and   wherein the controller is configured to control the cold air supply part so that a cooling power of the cold air supply part varies according to a mass per unit height of the water within the space.   
     
     
         17 . The refrigerator of  claim 16 , wherein the controller is configured to control the cooling power of the cold air supply part to vary while a heating amount of heater is maintained to be constant. 
     
     
         18 . The refrigerator of  claim 16 , wherein the controller is configured to control the cooling power of the cold air supply part such that the cooling power is a first cooling power at a first mass per unit height of the water within the space and a second cooling power at a second mass per unit height of the water within the space, the first cooling power being greater than the second cooling power and the first mass per unit height being greater than the second mass per unit height. 
     
     
         19 . The refrigerator of  claim 16 , wherein the controller is configured to control the cooling power of the cold air supply part to be proportional to the mass per unit height of the water within the space. 
     
     
         20 . The refrigerator of  claim 16 , wherein the ice making cell has a spherical shape, and the cooling power of the cold air supply part is controlled to increase and then decrease at an initial cooling power so as to make spherical ice.