JP2011158195A - Automatic ice making device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automatic ice making device which prevents a locking phenomenon due to separated ice by raising the temperature in an ice making chamber of the automatic ice making device. <P>SOLUTION: In the automatic ice making device having the ice tray 5, water is supplied to the ice tray 5 from a water supply mechanism 8 to carry out ice making, the ice tray 5 is normally rotated from an ice making position to an ice separating position by an ice tray driving means 10 for carrying out driving by a motor, and after the ice in the ice tray 5 is separated into an ice storage box 6 disposed below the ice tray 5 at the ice separating position, the ice tray 5 is reversely rotated by the ice tray driving means 10 and restored to the ice making position. Since the temperature of the ice making chamber 2 is raised if locking abnormal condition is detected during the reverse rotation, the locking phenomenon due to separated ice can be prevented, providing the automatic ice making device with less frequency of breaking of the ice tray driving means 10, the ice storage box 6, or an interior wall. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigerator provided with an automatic ice making device, and to an ice making operation thereof.

  In recent years, automatic ice making devices have been provided in refrigerators because of their convenience. In this type of refrigerator, a water supply tank is installed in the refrigerator compartment, an ice tray that is rotated by a driving device is installed in the freezer compartment, and an ice tray is supplied from the water tank to the ice making tray through the water supply path by a water supply pump motor. It is equipped with an automatic ice making device that makes ice by supplying water.

  In this case, the water supply tank is detachable in the refrigerator compartment, and when water is supplied to the water supply tank, the water tank is taken out from the refrigerator compartment and tap water is injected. The tap water in this water supply tank is sent to the ice tray by the water supply pump motor as described above, and is frozen by the cooling action in the freezer compartment. When the ice making is completed in the ice tray, the ice tray is rotated by the driving device and twisted to separate the ice, and the ice falling from the ice tray is stored in the ice storage box.

  A conventional example of this automatic ice making apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. First, FIG. 7 shows a side view of the ice tray. In the figure, the ice making drive device 41 is configured to cause the ice making tray 42 to rotate forward (for example, counterclockwise) and reverse (for example, clockwise) and to swing the ice storage amount sensor 43 as will be described later. One of the ice trays 42 is connected to the drive unit 47 of the ice tray driving device 41, the other is fixed to the machine frame 46, and the ice making position and the ice removing position are rotatably supported at both ends of the rotation range. Yes. The ice tray drive device 41 is driven by a direct current motor. The direct current motor swings the ice storage amount sensor 43 described above to detect the amount of water in the ice storage container 46, and the ice storage container When the ice tray 42 is not full, the ice tray 42 is rotated by the DC motor to rotate the ice tray 42 from the ice-making position to the ice-breaking position, and the ice in the ice-making tray 42 is de-iced at the ice-breaking position. The ice tray 42 was inverted and returned to the ice making position.

JP 2007-263479 A

  As described in FIG. 7 of the conventional example, the ice storage amount detection sensor 43 detects the ice amount in the ice storage container 46, and when the ice storage container is not full, the ice tray 42 is rotated forward from the ice making position to the deicing position. In addition, after the ice in the ice tray 42 is de-iced at this deicing position, the ice tray 42 is inverted and returned to the ice making position.

  However, when the ice in the ice tray 42 is de-iced, if the de-iced ice is temporarily deposited in the lower part of the ice tray 42, the ice tray 42 is inverted so that the ice is separated from the ice storage container. There is a risk of locking between dishes.

Here, the lock phenomenon due to the deiced ice in the conventional example will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional explanatory view of a main part of an ice storage container 46 in a conventional example, and an ice making tray 53 for an automatic ice making machine is provided above the opening of the ice storage container 46. When the amount of ice 52 in the ice storage container 46 is detected by an ice storage amount detection sensor (not shown), the ice storage container 46 is not full and the ice tray 53 is newly deiced. The ice 52 a is in a state of being accumulated at the bottom of the ice tray 53. In the state described above, when the ice tray 53 starts to reverse (for example, clockwise) to return to the original ice making position from the deicing position 53a indicated by the dotted line, it hits the accumulated ice 52a and is locked in a state like 53b. There is a fear that

  Here, the speed at which the conventional ice tray 53 is reversed (for example, clockwise) is usually about the same as that during normal rotation, for example, about 10 to 20 seconds as the time for returning from the ice-off position to the ice-making position. It was fast.

  Therefore, in the case described above, the locking phenomenon as shown in FIG. 8 is likely to occur. Further, the maximum torque for reversing the conventional ice tray 53 (for example, clockwise) becomes considerably large, that is, when the ice tray 53 is reversed (for example, clockwise), even if the normal rotational torque is small, the rotation is not performed. This is because if the motor is blocked, the speed of the direct-current motor decreases due to the characteristics of the DC motor, but the maximum torque is generated that is larger than the normal rotation torque. Accordingly, since the maximum torque when locked is considerably increased, there is a possibility that the locked ice parts 52c and 52d may damage the ice storage container 46 and the inner wall 55.

  Therefore, the present invention is intended to solve the problems of such a conventional configuration, and the object of the present invention is to raise the temperature of the ice making chamber and prevent a lock phenomenon caused by deiced ice. It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic ice making device that can be hardly generated.

  In order to solve the above-described conventional problems, the automatic ice making device of the present invention supplies ice to an ice making tray from a water supply mechanism to make ice, and the driving device driven by the motor moves the ice making tray from the ice making position to the ice removing position. The ice tray is turned into an ice storage container installed below the ice tray, and then the ice tray is inverted (for example, clockwise) by the driving device to the ice making position. In a refrigerator having an ice tray to be restored, the ice making chamber temperature is detected by detecting the ice tray lock after the ice removing operation, and the initial operation of the drive device is performed, so that the lock phenomenon due to the deiced ice can hardly occur. It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic ice making device in which the motor drive device, the ice storage container, and the inner wall of the warehouse are less damaged.

  The automatic ice making device of the present invention supplies water to an ice tray from a water supply mechanism to make ice, and a drive device driven by a motor rotates the ice tray from the ice making position to the ice removing position. In the automatic ice making apparatus having an ice making tray that reverses the ice making tray by the driving device and returns to the ice making position after the water in the ice storage container installed below the ice making tray is deiced. When a lock abnormality is detected, the temperature of the ice making chamber is raised, and then the drive device is initially operated, so that it is difficult to cause a lock phenomenon due to deiced ice. The present invention provides an automatic ice making device with less damage to the inner wall.

Schematic side sectional view of a refrigerator with an automatic ice maker in Embodiment 1 of the present invention The perspective view of the ice making apparatus in the embodiment Main part side sectional view of the ice making device in the same embodiment Fig. 3 shows the ice tray in Fig. 3 pulled out. The block diagram of the control apparatus of the refrigerator with an automatic ice maker in the embodiment The flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement of the control apparatus of the refrigerator with an automatic ice maker of the embodiment Top view of conventional ice tray Cross-sectional explanatory drawing of the main part of the ice storage container in the conventional example

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the ice tray is supplied with water from the water supply mechanism to the ice tray, and the ice tray is rotated forward from the ice-making position to the ice-off position by a driving device driven by a motor. In the refrigerator having an ice making tray that reverses the ice making tray by the drive device and returns to the ice making position after the water in the tray is deiced into an ice storage container installed below the ice making tray, after the deicing operation Increasing the temperature of the ice making chamber by detecting the lock of the ice tray makes it difficult to cause a lock phenomenon due to deiced ice, and improves the reliability of the automatic ice making device.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the temperature of the ice making chamber is increased by detecting the lock of the ice tray, and the initial operation is performed after a lapse of a certain time, thereby locking the ice by the deiced ice. It is difficult to cause the phenomenon.

  The invention according to claim 3 is an automatic ice making device to which the operation for releasing the ice to be locked and removed in the ice removing operation is added by the driving device, and thus reliability is eliminated. A high refrigerator can be provided.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of a refrigerator according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the same reference numerals are given to the same components as those of the above-described embodiment, and detailed description thereof is omitted. Further, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

(Embodiment 1)
1 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of a refrigerator with an automatic ice making machine according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the ice making apparatus according to the same embodiment as viewed obliquely from below, and FIG. 3 is an ice making apparatus according to the same embodiment. FIG. 4 is a state diagram in which the ice tray is pulled out in FIG.

  In FIG. 1, the refrigerator body 1 has an ice making room 2 and a refrigerator room 3, and a drawer-type ice making room door 2 a and a refrigerator room door 3 a are provided at the respective front openings.

  An ice making device 4 is disposed in the upper part of the ice making chamber 2, and the ice making device 4 has an ice making tray driving means 10 as a deicing means with a built-in motor disposed behind the ice making door 2a in the direction opposite to the door. The ice made in the ice tray 5 is deiced by the rotational drive from the ice tray drive means 10 and stored in the ice storage box 6 below.

  A water supply tank 7 for storing ice making water is arranged in the refrigerator compartment 3, and water in the water supply tank 7 is supplied to a certain amount of ice making tray 5 through a water supply pipe 9 by a water supply operation means 8 comprising a water supply motor. It is supposed to be.

  Next, the structure of the ice making device 4 will be described in detail. 2, 3, and 4, the ice tray driving means 10 is installed at the end of the frame 11 that is fixed to the upper portion of the ice making chamber 2 and has an air path action for transporting the cold air of the refrigerator to the ice tray 5. The rotary shaft 10a that rotates in conjunction with the drive source is provided at the substantially central portion, and the full ice detection lever 12 that detects the ice storage amount of the ice storage box 6 is provided at the side portion.

  The ice tray 5 is integrally formed with a holding body 13 having a rotatable shaft portion and a holding portion that supports both shaft portions, and can be detachably connected to the rotating shaft 10a of the ice tray driving means 10. is there. The holding body 13 has a substantially U-shaped handle portion 13a attached and detached from the frame 11.

The frame 11 is provided with a restricting means 14 configured by a resin cam, a spring, and the like for detecting the presence / absence of the holding body 13 integrally formed with the ice tray 5 by restricting the operation of the full ice detection lever 12. When the holding body 13 integrated with the ice tray 5 is attached to the frame 11, the restricting means 14 lowers the full ice detection lever 12 against the urging force of the spring by mounting the holding body 13. The tip of the full ice detection lever 12 is configured to move to the position 12-X by the operation of the ice tray driving means 10 as shown in FIG.

  On the other hand, when the holding body 13 integrated with the ice tray 5 is removed from the frame 11, the regulating means 14 is held at a position where the downward movement of the full ice detection lever 12 is prevented by the biasing force of the spring. As shown in FIG. 4, by the operation of the ice tray driving means 10, the tip of the full ice detection lever 12 comes into contact with the restricting means 14 and is kept in the operation up to the position 12-Y. It is comprised so that.

Next, the control operation of the refrigerator in such a configuration will be described.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the control device for the refrigerator with an automatic ice maker according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is for explaining the operation of the control device for the refrigerator with the automatic ice maker according to the embodiment. It is a flowchart.

  In FIG. 6, the automatic ice making control means 30 controls the ice tray driving means 10 and the water supply operation means 8 by inputting signals from the ice making time measuring means 20 and the ice making room temperature detecting means 21, and the ice making tray driving means. The signal from the ten full ice detection means 12a is feedback-controlled. The automatic ice making control means 30 is composed of a microcomputer (not shown) mounted on an electronic board and is programmed with a control algorithm.

  The ice making operation of the ice making device 4 and the control device of the refrigerator configured as described above will be described. In the ice making operation, first, the measurement time by the ice making time measuring means 20 and the ice making chamber temperature by the ice making room temperature detecting means 21 are compared with prescribed ice making completion conditions (Step 1). When the condition is satisfied, the ice tray 5 is rotated by the ice tray driving means 10 to rotate the rotation shaft 10a and rotate the ice tray 5 by the start of the ice removing operation (Step 2).

  At the same time, the full ice detection lever 12 starts operating, and a signal from the full ice detection means 12a for determining whether or not full ice is detected is confirmed (Step 3). The full ice detection lever 12 is in contact with ice when the ice storage box 6 is full or when the holding body 13 having the ice tray 5 is removed from the frame 11 and comes into contact with the restricting means 14. If there is a signal from the full ice detection means 12a due to the same position restriction, the ice tray drive means 10 determines that full ice is detected and does not perform the ice removing operation. Water supply operation is not performed.

  On the other hand, if not, the process moves to the deicing operation and the deicing operation is completed (Step 4). When performing the ice removal operation, the ice is deiced by rotating the ice tray 5 by rotating the rotation shaft 10a by rotating and driving the ice tray 5 by driving control of the ice tray driving means 10, and the rotation shaft 10a. When the motor reaches a predetermined horizontal position, the drive motor is stopped and the deicing is completed. Thereafter, a specified amount of water is supplied to the ice tray 5 by the water supply operation means 8 (Step 5).

  When the ice in the ice tray 5 is de-iced in this way, if the de-iced ice is temporarily deposited at the bottom of the ice tray 5, the ice is stored in the ice storage box 6 or by reversing the ice tray 5. The solution of the subject which may be locked between the holding body 13 and the ice tray is presented.

The ice making tray 5 is supplied with water from the water supply mechanism 8 to make ice, and the driving device driven by the motor by the ice making completion control starts the ice removing operation, and the ice making tray 5 rotates forward from the ice making position to the ice removing position. Ice is stored in the ice tray 5 by separating the ice in the ice tray 5 into an ice storage box 6 installed below the ice tray 5, and immediately after that, the ice tray 5 is inverted by a motor drive device. The ice tray 5 is returned to the ice making position, which is the horizontal position where water is supplied by the water supply mechanism. If the ice removed at this time temporarily accumulates in the lower part of the ice tray 5, the ice tray 5 is reversed. As a result, the ice may be caught between the ice storage box 6 and the ice tray 5 and between the holders 13 holding the ice tray 5 and may be locked.

  For this reason, the temperature of the ice making chamber 2 is raised by detecting the lock of the ice tray 5 after the ice removing operation, so that the lock phenomenon due to the ice that has been removed is less likely to occur, and the reliability of the automatic ice making device can be improved.

In addition, by detecting the lock of the ice tray 5, the initial operation is performed after a certain period of time has elapsed after the temperature of the ice making chamber has risen, thereby making it difficult to cause a lock phenomenon due to the deiced ice.
By this control, it is possible to make it difficult for a situation such as damage due to a locking phenomenon inside the drive device.

  Since it is an automatic ice making device to which an operation for releasing the ice that has been locked and pinched in such an ice removing operation is added, a highly reliable refrigerator that eliminates the problem of ice making can be provided.

  As described above, the automatic ice making device according to the present invention rotates the ice tray forward from the ice making position to the ice removing position by the driving device driven by the motor, and the water in the ice making tray at the ice removing position is moved downward from the ice making tray. In a refrigerator having an ice tray that is iced in the ice storage container installed in the machine and then returned to the ice making position by reversing the ice tray by the drive device, the ice making chamber temperature is raised by detecting the ice tray lock after the ice removal operation. Therefore, it is difficult to generate a lock phenomenon due to ice that has been deiced, so it can be applied not only to refrigerators with automatic ice makers, but also to other refrigeration equipment with automatic ice makers.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Refrigerator 2 Ice making room 5 Ice making tray 6 Ice storage box 41 Drive device

Claims (3)

The ice tray is fed from the water supply mechanism to the ice tray, and is driven by a motor. The ice tray is rotated forward from the ice making position to the ice-breaking position, and the water in the ice tray is moved below the ice tray at the ice-breaking position. In the refrigerator having the ice tray that is iced in the ice storage box installed in the storage box and then reverses the ice tray by the driving device to return to the ice making position, the temperature of the ice making chamber is detected by detecting the lock of the ice tray after the ice removing operation. Automatic ice making device characterized by raising 2. The automatic ice making device according to claim 1, wherein an initial operation is performed after the temperature of the ice making chamber is increased in detecting the lock of the ice tray. A refrigerator provided with an automatic ice making device to which a releasing operation for removing ice that is locked and pinched in the ice removing operation is added.