JP2010065961A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent breaking of an ice amount detection part 52 even if a freezing compartment door 21 is opened during ice detection operation using the ice amount detection part 52. <P>SOLUTION: The refrigerator is equipped with an ice storage part storing ice equipped in the refrigerator capable of supplying ice manufactured by an icemaker in an outer side of a rotating type refrigeration compartment door, and the ice storage part is provided with an ice dropping part for delivering ice downward. An ice amount detecting part measuring an amount of ice of the icemaker comprises a lever, and an ice contact piece extending downward from a tip of the lever, and inclined parts are provided on the side faces facing freezing compartment right and left side faces of the ice contact piece. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigerator provided with an ice making device.

  The thing of patent document 1 is known as a refrigerator provided with the ice storage case in the freezer compartment door.

  In the paragraph 0011 of Patent Document 1, as an explanation of FIGS. 2 and 3, “the opening of the freezer compartment 1 is closed by the freezer compartment door 2, and the freezer compartment door 2 is located on the vertical side of the opening of the freezer compartment 1. It is structured to rotate about the upper hinge 3 and the lower hinge 4. (Omitted) ... The ice storage case 6 is detachably engaged with the left and right convex portions 2a, 2b on the surface of the freezer compartment door 2 on the freezer compartment 1 side. In general, it is structured to rotate together with the freezer compartment door 2 in accordance with the opening and closing of the freezer compartment door 2 ". Further, in the paragraph 0016, as an explanation of FIG. 4, “as an automatic ice making operation, the ice detecting lever 12 (ice storage amount detecting means) moves downward by the rotation of the lever portion 10b of the gear box 10 (FIG. 4C )) After confirming the presence or absence of ice in the ice storage case 6, if the ice is low, the ice tray 5 is rotated by the rotation of the convex portion 10a of the gear box 10 to drop the ice in the ice tray 5 (FIG. 4). (B)) ".

  That is, Patent Document 1 discloses a refrigerator that can detect the amount of ice in the ice storage case by moving the ice detecting lever downward as is apparent from FIG.

JP 2005-291682 A

  As described above, the refrigerator disclosed in Patent Literature 1 detects the amount of ice in the ice storage case provided on the refrigerator door by moving the ice detection lever provided on the main body side of the refrigerator downward. If such a structure is taken, there is a possibility that the ice detecting lever may come into contact with the wall surface of the ice storage case and be damaged when trying to open the refrigerator door while the ice detecting lever is moving downward.

  An object of the present invention is to prevent the ice detecting lever from being damaged even when the refrigerator door is opened while the ice detecting lever is moving downward.

  The above problem is provided in a refrigerator capable of supplying ice produced by an ice making device outside a rotary freezer compartment door, and includes an ice storage unit for storing ice, and the ice storage unit discharges ice downward. The ice amount detecting unit for measuring the amount of ice in the ice making device includes a lever and an ice contact piece extending downward from the tip of the lever. This is solved by a refrigerator in which inclined portions are provided on the side surfaces of the contact piece opposite to the left and right side surfaces of the freezer compartment.

  A freezer compartment having an opening in the front; a rotary freezer compartment door for closing the opening; an ice making device for producing ice provided in the freezer compartment; and a freezer compartment side of the freezer compartment door. An ice storage unit located below the ice making device when the freezer door is closed, a lever attached to the ice making device and rotatable in a plane parallel to the opening, and provided at the tip of the lever This can also be solved by a refrigerator that includes an ice amount detection unit that includes an ice contact piece that is rotatable in a direction perpendicular to the opening.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, even if a rotary freezer compartment door is opened and closed while measuring the quantity of ice stored in the ice storage part, damage to an ice quantity detection part can be prevented.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  In FIG. 1, 1 is a refrigerator of the type called side-by-side. A rotary freezer compartment door 21 is provided on the left side of the refrigerator 1 and closes the opening of the freezer compartment. Reference numeral 34 denotes a rotary refrigerator compartment door provided at the upper right of the refrigerator 1, and reference numeral 35 denotes a rotary vegetable compartment door provided at the lower right of the refrigerator 1. Reference numeral 10 denotes a dispenser unit provided in the freezer compartment door 21 to supply water and ice. Reference numeral 14 denotes a placing portion for placing a container for receiving supplied water and ice.

  Next, the state which opened each door of the refrigerator of Example 1 using FIG. 2 is demonstrated. When the hinged freezer compartment door 21 is opened, a freezer compartment 20 having a storage temperature of 0 ° C. or lower appears. Similarly, when the refrigerator compartment door 34 is opened, the refrigerator compartment 32 whose storage temperature is higher than 0 ° C. appears, and when the vegetable compartment door 35 is opened, the vegetable compartment 33 whose storage temperature is higher than that of the refrigerator compartment appears. Hereinafter, the refrigerator compartment 32 and the vegetable compartment 33 whose storage temperature is higher than 0 ° C. may be collectively referred to as the second storage compartment 30. Reference numeral 36 denotes a water supply tank that supplies water to an ice making device 50 described later via a water supply pipe path (not shown).

  Next, the freezer compartment 20 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the refrigerator 1 passing through the two-dot chain line AA of FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, an ice making device 50 is disposed on the inner surface of the upper wall surface 25 of the freezer compartment 20 and in the vicinity of the front opening of the freezer compartment 20. An ice making device cover 53 is attached to the front surface of the ice making device 50.

  Further, an ice storage unit 110 located below the ice making device 50 is provided inside the freezer compartment door 21 when the freezer compartment door 21 is closed, and the ice storage device 110 is made by the ice making device 50. Ice is stored (hereinafter also referred to as “ice storage”). The ice stored in the ice storage unit 110 is supplied to the dispenser unit 10 via the ice supply duct 26.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a cooling fan 22 that supplies cold air into the freezer compartment 20 is provided at the upper part of the freezer compartment 20 on the inner side of the inside of the refrigerator. Further, a cold air duct 23 that directly supplies the cold air from the cooling fan 22 to the ice making device 50 is provided.

  The cold air supplied to the ice making device 50 through the cold air duct 23 passes over the ice making tray 60 and then the cold air guiding portion 71 having a curved surface that guides the cold air to the bottom side of the ice making tray 60. Guided to the bottom side. Thereby, the ice tray 60 can be efficiently cooled from above and below. In addition, a part of the cold air that has passed above the ice tray 60 passes through the cold air ventilation section provided in the cold air guiding section 71 and is supplied to the ice storage section 110. By providing such a cold air guiding section 71, the outside air (warm air) that has entered the ice storage section 110 by opening and closing the freezer compartment door 21 can be quickly removed, so that a plurality of stored ice sticks. This can prevent the formation of ice blocks.

  Next, a method of moving the ice 401 manufactured by the ice making device 50 to the ice storage unit will be described with reference to FIG. When the ice tray 60 is inverted, the ice 401 is detached from the ice tray 60. Since the ice storage unit 110 is installed below the ice dropping unit 51 of the ice making device 50, the ice 401 that has left the ice tray 60 moves to the ice storage unit 110. Regarding the positional relationship between the ice making device 50 and the ice storage unit 110, for example, 50% or more of the projected area in the lower surface horizontal direction of the ice dropping unit 51 of the ice making device 50 is the upper surface horizontal direction of the upper end opening 42 of the ice storage unit 110. It is preferable that they are arranged so as to be within the projected area region.

  A method of fixing the ice making device 50 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the ice making device 50 has an opening on the inner side of the upper wall surface of the freezer compartment 20 by a fixture 66 protruding from the foam material (not shown) side of the refrigerator inner face material 2 to the inner face of the freezer compartment 20. Held in the vicinity. The ice making device 50 is fixed so that the longitudinal direction of the ice tray 60 inside the ice making device 50 is the same as the width direction of the freezer compartment 20. Thereby, it becomes easy to arrange 50% or more of the projected area in the lower surface horizontal direction of the ice making device 50 to be within the projected area in the lower surface horizontal direction of the ice storage unit 110. Further, the fixture 66 may be fixed to the refrigerator inner surface material 2 from the inside of the freezer compartment 20.

  Next, the structure of the ice making device 50 and the operation of the ice amount detection unit 52 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  First, the structure of the ice making device 50 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, the ice making device 50 includes an ice tray surrounding member 70 and an ice tray driving device 65. The ice tray enclosing member 70 includes an ice tray 60 that is rotated around an axis A, which will be described later, by an ice tray driving device 65, and a cold air guiding portion 71 that is rotated and driven in conjunction therewith. The ice amount detection unit 52 includes a lever 52a, an ice contact piece 52b provided at the tip of the lever 52a, and a spring 52c that connects the lever 52a and the ice contact piece 52b. The ice amount detection unit 52 will be described later. The ice tray driving device 65 is provided so as to be able to rotate up and down around the rotating shaft B. Further, the ice contact piece 52b is provided on the lever 52a so as to be able to rotate back and forth around a rotation axis C, which will be described later, and its rotation is restricted by a spring 52c. In addition, the ice contact piece 52b has a plane parallel to the opening of the freezer compartment 20, a right-side inclined surface, and a left-side inclined surface. In this embodiment, an inclined surface of 45 ° with respect to the horizontal is provided on the right side surface, and an inclined surface of 60 ° with respect to the horizontal is provided on the left side surface, but the angle of the inclined surface is not limited to this, and functions described later. Is not limited to the angles exemplified here. In this embodiment, an example will be described in which the spring 52c is disposed at the rotating portion of the lever 52a and the ice contact piece 52b. However, the application target of the present invention is not limited to this, and a flexible plastic is used instead of the spring 52c. Alternatively, an elastomeric material may be used.

  The relationship between the rotation axes A, B, and C will be described with reference to FIG. As shown here, since the ice tray 60 is rotationally driven around the rotation axis A by the ice tray driving device 65, the ice tray 60 can be inverted as described above to drop the ice. Further, the ice amount detection unit 52 is configured to be able to rotate around the rotation axis B, and the ice amount in the ice storage unit 110 is rotated by rotating the ice amount detection unit 52 as will be described later with reference to FIG. Can know. Further, the ice contact piece 52b is configured to be able to rotate around the rotation axis C. As is apparent from the figure, the rotation axis A of the ice tray 60 and the rotation axis B of the ice amount detection unit 52 are in a perpendicular relationship. Since the ice making device 50 is fixed as described with reference to FIG. 5, the ice amount detection unit 52 can rotate around the rotation axis B in a plane parallel to the opening of the freezer compartment 20, and the ice contact piece 52 b can be used as the freezer compartment. It becomes possible to rotate around the rotation axis C in a direction perpendicular to the 20 openings. In this embodiment, the ice tray 60 is divided into ice trays 601 and 602 having different ice sizes. However, it is also possible to make a different size of ice using an integrally formed ice tray.

  Next, an ice detection operation using the ice amount detection unit 52 will be described with reference to FIG. When the ice detection operation is not performed, the ice amount detection unit 52 is stored so as to be hidden by the ice making device cover 53. However, when the ice detection operation is performed, the ice amount detection unit 52 is moved downward as shown in FIG. Let When the ice amount detection unit 52 is rotated downward when sufficient ice is stored in the ice storage unit 110, the ice contact piece 52b contacts the ice, so that the ice amount detection unit 52 is rotated by a predetermined amount or more. I can't. On the other hand, if the ice amount detection unit 52 is rotated downward when there is no ice in the ice storage unit 110, the rotation of the ice amount detection unit 52 is not restricted depending on the ice. Can rotate up to. That is, the ice amount in the ice storage unit 110 can be known based on the rotation amount of the ice amount detection unit 52. The supply of ice from the ice tray 60 can be promoted when the amount of ice is small, and the supply of ice from the ice tray 60 can be stopped when the amount of ice is sufficient. Although the ice contact piece 52b is rotatably held by the lever 52a, the rotation of the ice contact piece 52b is restricted by the spring 52c. Therefore, even if the ice contact piece 52b comes into contact with the ice stored in the ice storage unit 110, the ice contact piece 52b. Can detect the amount of ice stored without rotating.

  Next, the behavior of the ice amount detection unit 52 when the freezer compartment door 21 is opened and closed during the ice detection operation described in FIG. 8 will be described using FIGS. 9 to 11.

  First, the situation where the freezer compartment door 21 is opened with the ice amount detection unit 52 lowered will be described. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a state in which the freezer compartment door 21 has begun to open. Since the ice storage unit 110 is provided in the freezer compartment door 21, the ice storage unit 110 also moves as the freezer compartment door 21 moves. When the ice storage unit 110 moves, the right side surface (an inclined surface of 45 ° with respect to the horizontal) of the ice contact piece 52 b comes into contact with the upper end opening 42 of the ice storage unit 110. Therefore, when the freezer compartment door 21 is opened, a force directed toward the front of the refrigerator is applied to the right side surface of the ice contact piece 52b through the upper end opening 42. Since the ice contact piece 52b is configured to be able to rotate around the rotation axis C, the ice contact piece 52b is rotated upward by a force directed to the front of the refrigerator. Then, as shown in FIG. 10, when the lower side of the ice contact piece 52b rotates to a height over the upper end opening 42 of the ice storage unit 110, the upper end opening 42 of the ice storage unit 110 is not damaged without breaking the ice contact piece 52b. 11, the freezer compartment door 21 can be opened without damaging the ice amount detector 52 as shown in FIG.

  Next, a situation where the freezer compartment door 21 is closed with the ice amount detection unit 52 lowered will be described. As shown in FIG. 11, when the rotary freezer compartment door 21 is closed while the ice amount detection unit 52 is lowered, first, the left side surface of the ice contact piece 52b (inclination of 60 ° with respect to the horizontal). Surface) comes into contact with the upper end opening 42 of the ice storage unit 110. Therefore, when the freezer compartment door 21 is closed, a force directed toward the rear of the refrigerator is applied to the left side surface of the ice contact piece 52b through the upper end opening 42. Since the ice contact piece 52b is configured to be able to rotate around the rotation axis C, the ice contact piece 52b is rotated upward by a force directed toward the rear of the refrigerator. Then, when the lower side of the ice contact piece 52b rotates to a height over the upper end opening 42 of the ice storage unit 110, the ice contact piece 52b passes through the upper end opening 42 of the ice storage unit 110 without being damaged. The freezer compartment door 21 can be closed without the detector 52 being damaged.

  In addition, by providing an inclined surface on the right side surface or the left side surface of the ice contact piece 52b, a force for moving the ice contact piece 52b upward around the rotation axis C when the freezer compartment door 21 is opened or closed. It is possible to generate the force, and it is also possible to generate a force that moves the ice amount detection unit 52 upward around the rotation axis B. That is, by providing inclined surfaces on the right side surface and the left side surface of the ice contact piece 52b, it is possible to make it easier for the ice amount detection unit 52 to get over the upper end opening 42 and retreat, and the ice amount detection unit 52. It is easy to prevent damage.

  Next, the refrigerator of Example 2 is demonstrated using FIGS. 12-14. In addition, the refrigerator of Example 2 has the structure mentioned later in addition to the structure of the refrigerator of Example 1, and description is abbreviate | omitted about the structure already demonstrated in Example 1. FIG.

  In the refrigerator of the second embodiment, fresh water supplied from the water supply tank 36 is passed through the water supply pipe path to wash away dirt adhering to the surface of the water supply pipe path and the ice tray 60 (hereinafter also referred to as “cleaning”). ) Specifically, the ice tray 60 and the water supply piping path are cleaned by supplying water to the ice tray 60 and draining the water to the ice storage unit 110 without making the ice.

  First, the structure which implement | achieves the cleaning mentioned above using FIG. 12 is demonstrated. In FIG. 12, 21 is a freezer compartment door, 50 is an ice making device, and 110 is an ice storage unit. In addition, a water tray 91 is provided at the top of the ice storage unit 110. With this configuration, the water drained through the water supply pipe path and the ice making device 50 can be stored in the water tray 91 provided at the upper part of the ice storage unit 110. Then, the user can take out the water receiving tray 91 in which the waste water is accumulated from the refrigerator 1 and discard the waste water.

  Next, a cleaning control flow in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  When the cleaning start switch is pressed during the ice making operation (S132), the time during which the switch is pressed is measured (S133). When the cleaning start switch is pressed for 5 seconds or less, it is determined that the input is erroneous, and the ice making operation (S132), which is a normal operation, is continued. On the other hand, when the cleaning start switch is pressed for 5 seconds or longer, cleaning control (S134) is started.

  When the cleaning control is started, first, an operation equivalent to the ice detecting operation described with reference to FIG. 8 is performed to confirm the presence or absence of the water tray 91 (S135). That is, when the ice amount detection unit 52 is rotated downward and the rotation is stopped at the position of the water tray 91, it is determined that the water tray 91 is mounted, and an actual cleaning operation is executed (S136). Specifically, fresh water in the water supply tank 36 is passed through the water supply pipe path to wash away dirt adhering to the surface of the water supply pipe path and the ice tray 60 and discharged to the water tray 91. And when cleaning operation is complete | finished, the user is notified that it is urged | discarded of the waste_water | drain discharged | emitted by the water tray 91. FIG. On the other hand, when it is determined that the water tray 91 is not installed, the user is notified of this, and the ice making operation (S132), which is a normal operation, is restored.

  When the ice making device 50 is not cleaned, the water tray 91 is stored in, for example, a storage unit provided above the ice storage unit 110 of the rotary freezer compartment door 21 or used as a door pocket. Then, it may be stored inside the refrigerator 1.

  A third embodiment in which the second embodiment is simplified will be described with reference to FIGS. The description of the configuration described in the first or second embodiment is omitted.

  In the second embodiment, since the drainage is collected in the water tray 91, the drainage may be spilled when the water tray 91 in which the drainage is collected is taken out from the upper part of the ice storage unit 110.

  Therefore, in Example 3, the water tray 91 was not used, and the wastewater that passed through the ice making device 50 was discharged directly to the dispenser unit 10 via the ice storage unit 110 as shown in FIG.

  In the case where the water tray 91 is not disposed at the top of the ice storage unit 110, the user temporarily moves the ice stored in the ice storage unit 110 to another place and then passes the water through the ice tray 60 for cleaning. The drainage from the ice tray 60 is drained into a container placed in the placement unit 14 disposed in the dispenser unit 10 via the ice storage unit 110 and the ice supply duct 26, and the user discards this drainage. This completes the cleaning operation.

  When draining the ice tray 60 to the placement unit 14 disposed in the dispenser unit 10, control for opening the lid (damper) 181 may be included.

  In the cleaning operation, in order to minimize the increase in volume that occurs when the water receiving tray 91 and the placement unit 14 receive the drainage after the cleaning operation, the amount of water supplied to the ice tray 60 is reduced compared to that during ice making. The operation of the water supply pump (not shown) may be controlled so that the amount of drainage received by the can be reduced.

The perspective view of the refrigerator of Example 1. FIG. The front view which shows the state which opened the door of the refrigerator of Example 1. FIG. Sectional drawing of the refrigerator of Example 1. FIG. Sectional drawing which shows the state in which ice falls in the ice storage part in Example 1 from an ice tray. FIG. 3 is a perspective cross-sectional view showing the arrangement in the refrigerator of the ice making device of Example 1. 1 is a perspective view of an ice making device according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a main part of the ice making device of Example 1. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an ice detection operation according to the first embodiment. The perspective view explaining the behavior of the ice amount detection part 52 of Example 1. FIG. The perspective view explaining the behavior of the ice amount detection part 52 of Example 1. FIG. The perspective view explaining the behavior of the ice amount detection part 52 of Example 1. FIG. The principal part enlarged view of the refrigerator of Example 2. FIG. 7 is a cleaning control flow according to the second embodiment. 7 is a cleaning control flow according to the third embodiment. The principal part sectional drawing of the refrigerator of Example 3. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Refrigerator 2 Refrigerator inner surface material 10 Dispenser part 14 Placement part 20 Freezing room 21 Freezing room door 22 Cooling fan 23 Cold air duct 25 Freezing room upper wall surface 26 Ice supply duct 30 Second storage room 32 Refrigerating room 33 Vegetable room 34 Refrigerating room door 35 Vegetable room door 36 Water supply tank 42 Upper end opening 50 Ice making device 51 Ice falling portion 52 Ice amount detection portion 52a Lever 52b Ice contact piece 52c Spring 53 Ice making device cover 60 Ice tray 65 Ice tray driving device 66 Fixing tool 70 Ice tray surrounding Member 71 Cold air induction part 91 Water tray 110 Ice storage part 181 Cover (damper)
401 ice

Claims (10)

A refrigerator that can supply ice produced by an ice making device outside the rotary freezer compartment door is provided with an ice storage unit for storing ice, and the ice storage unit is an ice for discharging ice downward. A refrigerator provided with a falling part,
The ice amount detection unit for measuring the amount of ice in the ice making device is composed of a lever and an ice contact piece extending downward from the tip of the lever, and an inclined portion is provided on the side of the ice contact piece opposite to the left and right sides of the freezer compartment. A refrigerator characterized by that. The refrigerator according to claim 1,
The refrigerator has an inclined portion provided on a side surface of the ice contact piece and an ice storage portion when the door is opened and closed with the ice contact piece extending downward from the tip of the lever inserted into the ice storage portion. A refrigerator characterized in that the ice contact piece and the lever are easily retracted into an ice making device by contacting the outer periphery of the upper opening. The refrigerator according to claim 2,
The refrigerator is characterized in that an ice contact piece extending downward from the tip of the lever is rotatably attached. The refrigerator according to claim 3,
The refrigerator is provided with a spring at a rotating portion of an ice contact piece extending downward from a tip of the lever. The refrigerator according to claim 3,
The refrigerator is characterized in that the rotating portion of the ice contact piece extending downward from the end of the lever is formed of a flexible plastic or an elastomeric material. A freezing room having an opening on the front surface;
A rotary freezer compartment door that closes the opening;
An ice making device for producing ice, provided in the freezer compartment;
An ice storage unit provided on the freezer side of the freezer compartment door and positioned below the ice making device when the freezer compartment door is closed;
An ice amount detection unit, which is attached to the ice making device and includes a lever rotatable in a plane parallel to the opening and an ice contact piece provided at a tip of the lever and rotatable in a direction perpendicular to the opening; ,
Refrigerator equipped with. The refrigerator according to claim 6,
When the freezer compartment door is opened, the ice contact piece rotates forward to get over the ice storage unit. The refrigerator according to claim 6,
The ice contact piece includes a plane parallel to the opening and an inclined surface on the right side of the plane;
When the freezer compartment door is opened, the inclined surface on the right side comes into contact with the ice storage unit so that the ice amount detection unit is lifted upward along the inclined surface and retracted inside the ice making device, A refrigerator provided with a force for rotating the ice contact piece. The refrigerator according to claim 6,
When the freezer compartment door is closed, the ice contact piece rotates backward to get over the ice storage unit. The refrigerator according to claim 9,
The ice contact piece includes a plane parallel to the opening and an inclined surface on the left side of the plane;
When the freezer compartment door is closed, the inclined surface on the left side comes into contact with the ice storage unit so that the ice amount detection unit is lifted upward along the inclined surface and retracted inside the ice making device, A refrigerator provided with a force for rotating the ice contact piece.

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