JP2019158281A - Gear mechanism and ice-making device including the same - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a gear mechanism capable of reducing influence on another gear member due to minute rotation of a gear member within a backlash error range, and an ice-making device including the gear mechanism.SOLUTION: A gear mechanism comprises a driving source, a first gear member that is a gear member, another gear member meshing with the first gear member, and one or more power transmission gears configured to transmit the driving force of the driving source to the first gear member, wherein the size of the backlash between the first gear member and the other gear member is the same as or larger than a total amount of the backlash from the driving source to the first gear member. The problem to be solved will be resolved by the gear mechanism and an ice-making device including the gear mechanism.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

  The present invention relates to a gear mechanism and an ice making device including the same.

  Patent Document 1 listed below discloses an automatic ice making device including a low speed / high torque motor and a high speed / low torque motor. These two motors are connected to the ice tray via a reduction gear and are used as a drive source for rotating the ice tray. A high speed / low torque motor is used to agitate water during freezing (this produces clear ice without cloudiness), and a low speed / high torque motor is used to discharge ice from the ice tray. In the automatic ice making device of Patent Document 1, the rotation angle of the ice tray is monitored by a plurality of hall sensors, and the operations of these two motors are switched.

US Patent Application Publication No. 2015/0276295 (A1) Specification

  In the gear mechanism that decelerates the drive torque of the motor and transmits it to the final gear, the final gear can idle by the total amount of backlash (play between tooth surfaces) of the reduction gear train even when the motor is stopped. . As a result, the arrangement angle of the final gear whose original position should be fixed may become unstable due to, for example, vibration of a device in which the gear mechanism is mounted or rotation with another member.

  In view of the above problems, the problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a gear mechanism capable of reducing the influence on other gear members due to slight rotation of the gear member within an error range of backlash, and an ice making device including the same. There is to do.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a gear mechanism of the present invention includes a driving source, a first gear member that is a gear member, another gear member that meshes with the first gear member, and a driving force of the driving source. One or a plurality of power transmission gears that transmit to the first gear member, and the size of the backlash between the first gear member and the other gear member is from the drive source to the first gear member. The total amount of the backlash is equal to or larger than the total amount.

  By setting the magnitude of the backlash between the first gear member and the other gear member to be equal to or greater than the total amount of backlash from the drive source to the first gear member, the first gear member has an error in backlash. The accompanying rotation of the other gear member due to the slight rotation within the range can be reduced. Thereby, the positional accuracy of another gear member can be improved.

  The other gear member may be connected to a first sensor that detects a rotation angle of the other gear member, and the first sensor may be a contact-type rotation angle detection sensor.

  When a contact-type rotation angle detection sensor is connected to another gear member, when the other gear member rotates in conjunction with the fine rotation of the first gear member, the sensor connected to the other gear member also operates. Will be. When such follow-up rotation is repeatedly performed continuously within a specific angle range, the sensor component may be unevenly worn in a short period of time. According to the gear mechanism of the present invention, unnecessary wear of sensor parts can be reduced even when a contact-type rotation angle detection sensor is connected to another gear member.

  The gear mechanism of the present invention includes a second gear member that is a gear member that meshes with the first gear member, and the two gear member continues even when the first gear member stops rotating. It is good also as a structure which can be rotated.

  When the second gear member, which continues to rotate even when the first gear member is stopped, is connected to the first gear member, the first gear member rotates slightly in conjunction with the second gear member within the range of the total amount of backlash. Will be. Even in this case, according to the gear mechanism of the present invention, the accompanying rotation of the other gear member due to the fine rotation of the first gear member can be reduced.

  The gear mechanism of the present invention includes a first drive source that is the drive source, and a second drive source that is driven when the first drive source stops rotating, and the second drive source. The drive source is a drive source that rotates the second gear member, and the second gear member is provided with an output portion that is a convex portion protruding from the second gear member in the axial direction thereof, and the second drive The source may be configured to reciprocate the second gear member continuously or intermittently.

  A first drive source that drives the first gear member; and a second drive source that can drive the second gear member independently of the first gear member, and the second gear member is continuous by the second drive source. Even when reciprocatingly rotated intermittently or intermittently, according to the gear mechanism of the present invention, the accompanying rotation of the other gear member due to the fine rotation of the first gear member can be reduced.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the first gear member and the first drive source are connected via a power transmission member including a worm gear and a worm wheel.

  By including the worm gear in the power transmission member of the first drive source, the arrangement angle of the first gear member can be fixed using the self-locking action of the worm gear. As a result, the total amount of backlash when the first drive source is stopped can be grasped more accurately.

  In the gear mechanism of the present invention, the load torque applied to the first drive source is larger than the load torque of the second drive source, the first drive source is a DC commutator motor, and the second drive source is It may be configured as a stepping motor.

  The second driving source reciprocally rotates the second gear member continuously or intermittently. For this reason, a stepping motor that does not include a brush as a wear part and has little mechanical contact is used as the second drive source, and the drive torque is increased for the first drive source that receives a larger load torque than the second drive source. By using a DC commutator motor that is easy to operate, it is possible to maintain both product life and operational reliability.

  The gear mechanism of the present invention includes a planetary gear mechanism including a sun gear member, an internal gear member, and a planet carrier member having a planetary gear as its constituent members, and the first gear member is one of the constituent members. The second gear member may be one of the other two constituent members.

  The planetary gear mechanism is characterized in that a large reduction ratio can be obtained with a small number of stages. Therefore, by providing an output unit in the planetary gear mechanism and rotating it with the first drive source and the second drive source, the space efficiency of the device on which the gear mechanism is mounted can be increased.

  At this time, the first gear member may be the internal gear member, the second gear member may be the planet carrier member, and the second drive source may be connected to the sun gear member.

  By providing an output unit on one of the constituent members of the planetary gear mechanism and separately connecting the first drive source and the second drive source to the other two constituent members, unnecessary drive and interference of these drive sources can be prevented. It is possible to switch the drive source smoothly while suppressing.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the gear mechanism of this invention is equipped with the 2nd sensor which is a non-contact-type rotation angle detection sensor which detects the arrangement | positioning angle of the said sun gear member.

  As described above, the second drive source reciprocally rotates the second gear member continuously or intermittently. Therefore, when the arrangement angle of the structural member to which the second drive source is connected is monitored by a sensor with mechanical contact, there is a concern about wear of sensor parts. By using a non-contact type sensor, it is possible to prevent a decrease in product life due to such wear of sensor parts.

  In order to solve the above problems, an ice making device of the present invention includes the gear mechanism of the present invention and an ice tray, and the first drive source is an operation for twisting the ice tray to discharge ice. The second drive source is used for a rocking operation, which is an operation of repeatedly rotating the ice tray within a predetermined angle range, and the output unit is located at the rotation center of the ice tray. It is connected and performs the rocking operation and the deicing operation.

  The output unit is arranged at the center of rotation of the provided component and is directly connected to the ice tray, so that the output unit rotates the spindle that supports the center of rotation of the ice tray and the ice tray. Can also serve as a shaft. Thereby, the mechanism for swinging and twisting the ice tray can be simplified.

  Further, the ice making device of the present invention has an ice detecting shaft that is a shaft member to which an arm member that inspects the amount of ice in the ice storage container is coupled, and includes an end surface of the second gear member and a peripheral surface of the ice detecting shaft. The ice detecting shaft may be configured to rotate following the rotation of the second gear member during the deicing operation to raise and lower the arm member.

  By providing an arm member that inspects the amount of ice in the ice storage container and moving it up and down in conjunction with the movement of the output part, it is possible to use a simple mechanism to prevent abnormalities and failures caused by ice accumulating to the movable range of the ice tray. Can be prevented.

  At this time, it is preferable to include a third sensor for detecting that the ice detection axis has reached a predetermined arrangement angle.

  Further, the third sensor is a switch component, and a switch switching portion which is a protrusion is formed on a peripheral surface of the ice detecting shaft, and the switch switching portion is configured such that the ice detecting shaft is at a predetermined arrangement angle. Preferably, the third sensor is switched on and off.

  Whether or not the icing operation can be continued can be monitored by H (on) or L (off) instead of a continuous analog value, so that the control processing of the icing operation can be simplified.

  Thus, according to the gear mechanism and the ice making device of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the influence on the other gear members due to the slight rotation of the gear member within the error range of the backlash.

It is a perspective view showing the appearance of the ice making device concerning an embodiment. It is a front view which shows rocking | fluctuation operation | movement of an ice making apparatus. It is a front view which shows the deicing operation | movement of an ice making apparatus. It is a side view which shows the ice detection operation | movement of an ice making apparatus. It is side surface sectional drawing which shows the structure of the planetary gear mechanism which a drive unit has. It is a rear view which shows the internal mechanism of a drive unit. It is a front view which shows the internal mechanism of a drive unit. It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of an ice detecting shaft. It is a perspective view which shows rotation operation | movement of the ice detection axis | shaft at the time of ice detection operation | movement. FIG. 10 is a side view of each drawing in FIG. 9 as viewed from the direction A in FIG. 9. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of an ice making apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the ice making process and ice removal process of an ice making apparatus. It is a timing chart which shows the relationship between the angle of an ice tray, and the output value of each sensor. It is side view sectional drawing which shows the modification of a planetary gear mechanism.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of a gear mechanism and an ice making device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The ice making device 10 of this embodiment (hereinafter also referred to as “this example”) is a device that is installed in a freezer (not shown) and automatically produces ice.

  In the following description, “upper and lower” means a direction parallel to the Z-axis of the coordinate axes depicted in each figure, and the Z1 side is “upper” and the Z2 side is “lower”. “Front and back” means a direction parallel to the X axis of the same coordinate axis, and the X1 side is “front” and the X2 side is “back”. Similarly, “left and right” means a direction parallel to the Y axis of the same coordinate axis, and the Y1 side is “right” and the Y2 side is “left”. Further, “horizontal” means a plane direction parallel to the XY plane indicated by the same coordinate axis.

<Device overview>
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the ice making device 10. The ice making device 10 of this example is mainly composed of a drive unit 11, an ice tray 12, and an ice detecting arm 13. The ice tray 12 is an elastically deformable container body and has a plurality of cube-shaped ice-making cells 121. The ice tray 12 has a back surface connected to the drive unit 11, and a shaft portion 123 provided on the front surface 12a is rotatably supported by another member (not shown). Further, on the front surface 12 a of the ice tray 12, a convex portion 122 protruding forward is formed on the left side (right side in front view) of the shaft portion 123. The drive unit 11 is a drive unit that is connected to the back surface of the ice tray 12 and rotates the ice tray 12 about the rotation center line L. The ice detection arm 13 is an arm member that mechanically inspects the amount of ice in an ice storage container 14 described later.

(Oscillating motion)
FIG. 2 is a front view showing the swinging operation of the ice making device 10. In FIG. 2, for convenience of explanation, the configuration other than the ice tray 12 is simplified and drawn. Here, the “swinging operation” of the present invention is an operation of shaking the ice tray to stir the water in the ice tray. FIG. 2A shows an initial position of the ice tray 12 and shows a state where the ice tray 12 is arranged in the horizontal h. FIG. 2B shows a state where the ice tray 12 is tilted 30 ° counterclockwise when viewed from the front, and FIG. 2C shows a state where the ice tray 12 is tilted 30 ° clockwise when viewed from the front. Hereinafter, regarding the rotation angle of the ice tray 12, the front counterclockwise direction is referred to as “minus (−)” and the front clockwise direction is referred to as “plus (+)”.

  The ice making device 10 continues to rotate the ice making tray 12 within an angle range of ± 30 ° until the water filled in the ice making tray 12 changes to ice. As the ice tray 12 rotates, the water in the ice tray 12 is agitated, thereby producing clear ice without cloudiness.

  The aspect of the “swinging operation” of the present invention is not limited to the operation of rotating the ice tray 12 as in this example. If the water in the ice tray can be stirred, for example, an operation of shaking the ice tray left and right or shaking up and down is also included in the “swinging operation” of the present invention.

(Ice removal operation)
FIG. 3 is a front view showing the ice removing operation of the ice making device 10. In FIG. 3, for the sake of convenience of explanation, the configuration other than the ice tray 12 is simplified. Here, the “ice removal operation” of the present invention is an operation of taking out the ice generated in the ice tray from the ice tray. When the ice making device 10 takes out the ice from the ice tray 12, first, the ice tray 12 is rotated to a position of −35 °. Thereafter, the ice tray 12 is reversed to a position of + 120 °, and the convex portion 122 of the ice tray 12 is brought into contact with the abutting portion 19 provided on another member (not shown). Then, the ice tray 12 is twisted to a position of + 160 ° to discharge the ice.

(Ice detection operation)
FIG. 4 is a side view showing the ice detecting operation of the ice making device 10. FIG. 4A shows the initial position of the ice detecting arm 13. FIG. 4B shows the operation of the ice detecting arm 13 at the start of the ice removing operation. The “ice detection operation” in the present invention is an operation for inspecting the amount of ice in the ice storage container.

  The ice making device 10 of this example causes the ice detecting arm 13 to stand by at the initial position when the ice tray 12 swings. Then, after the ice is completed, the ice detecting operation is performed when the ice removing operation is started, and the ice removing operation is canceled when a predetermined amount or more of ice is stored in the ice storage container 14.

<Ice tray>
As described above, the ice tray 12 is a container body that can be elastically deformed, and has a plurality of cells 121 that are cube-shaped ice making molds. As shown in FIG. 1, the ice tray 12 of this example has a cell group in which two sets of five cells 121 arranged in the front and rear are arranged on the left and right sides, and 10 ice pieces are put at a time. Generate. A waterproof wall 124 extending above the opening of the cell 121 is provided on the outer edge of the cell group so as to surround the cell group. The waterproof wall 124 blocks water splashes when supplying water to the ice tray 12 or swinging, and prevents water from splashing outside the ice tray 12.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a thermistor 125, which is a temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the ice tray 12, is attached to the bottom of the ice tray 12. The lead wire 125a of the thermistor 125 passes through the outside of the drive unit 11 and is connected to the control unit C described later.

  The ice tray 12 of the present example has a complicated shape as described above. However, the “ice tray” of the present invention can store water and can take out ice by deicing operation. Any container body may be used.

<Ice detection arm>
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the ice detecting arm 13 of this example is an elongated plate-like arm member arranged with the plate surface facing left and right. The ice detecting arm 13 pivots about the axis t to raise and lower its tip 131 and bring the tip 131 into contact with the top of the ice 141 accumulated in the ice storage container 14. The plate surface of the ice detecting arm 13 is thinned so as to form lattice-like ribs. The ice detecting arm 13 has an arcuate outer shape as a whole, with the vicinity of the turning center (axis t) and the base end of the tip 131 bent at an obtuse angle upward. The bottom surface of the tip portion 131 is formed wider in the left-right direction than the other portions, thereby improving the accuracy of detecting the ice 141.

<Drive unit>
As shown in FIG. 1, the drive unit 11 of this example has a substantially cubic outer shape by connecting a front case 111, an intermediate case 113, and a back case 112. The left and right surfaces of the intermediate case 113 and the back case 112 are provided with a snap-fit structure 114 that fits the concave portion and the convex portion using elastic deformation. The intermediate case 113, the back case 112, and the front case 111 are coupled with screws 115.

  FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional side view showing the structure of the planetary gear mechanism 40 provided in the drive unit 11. FIG. 6 is a rear view showing the structure of the swing mechanism S that swings the ice tray 12. FIG. 6 is a view of the drive unit 11 from which the back case 112 is removed as viewed from the rear to the front. FIG. 7 is a front view showing the structure of the ice removal mechanism R that performs the ice removal operation. FIG. 7 is a view of the drive unit 11 with the front case 111 removed as viewed from the front to the rear.

  The drive unit 11 includes a stepping motor 20 (second drive source) that is a drive source used for the swing operation of the ice tray 12 and a DC commutator motor 30 (drive source, first drive source that is used for the ice removing operation). 1 drive source) (hereinafter referred to as “DC motor 30”), and a planetary gear mechanism 40 having an output unit 435 that performs a swinging operation and an ice removing operation. The stepping motor 20 and the DC motor 30 are connected to the planetary gear mechanism 40 via another power transmission member.

  The planetary gear mechanism is characterized in that a large reduction ratio can be obtained with a small number of stages. Therefore, in the ice making device 10 of the present example, the planetary gear mechanism 40 is provided with the output unit 435 that performs the swinging operation and the ice removing operation of the ice tray 12, and the output unit 435 is shared by the stepping motor 20 and the DC motor 30. The space efficiency in the device is increased. Thereby, it is possible to flexibly design the reduction ratios of the stepping motor 20 and the DC motor 30 while suppressing an increase in the size of the apparatus.

(Planetary gear mechanism)
As shown in FIG. 5, the planetary gear mechanism 40 is mainly constituted by a sun gear member 41, an internal gear member 42 (first gear member), and a planet carrier member 43 (second gear member) having a planetary gear 434. It is configured. Hereinafter, in the structure description of the planetary gear mechanism 40 using FIG. 5, for convenience of explanation, the front side (X1 side in FIG. 5) is “up” and the rear side of the ice making apparatus 10 (X2 side in FIG. 5). Is called “below”.

  The sun gear member 41 is a compound gear member having a sun gear 412. The sun gear member 41 has a substantially cylindrical body portion 41a, and a flange portion 41b is formed at the lower end of the body portion 41a. The flange portion 41b extends radially outward from the opening. An input gear 411 of the sun gear member 41 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the flange portion 41b. The trunk portion 41a is reduced in diameter in a plurality of steps from the lower end toward the upper end, and a sun gear 412 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the step facing the planetary gear 434 of the planetary carrier member 43 described later. .

  In the sun gear member 41, a substantially cylindrical support shaft 112a provided in the back side case 112 is fitted in the opening at the lower end of the trunk portion 41a and the edge thereof. The body portion 41a is inserted through a sleeve 113a that is a cylindrical portion of the intermediate case 113. An upper end portion 41d of the trunk portion 41a is fitted into a bearing portion 431a of a planetary carrier member 43 described later, and a shoulder portion 41c which is an upper surface of the step of the sun gear 412 faces the tip of the bearing portion 431a. Thereby, the sun gear member 41 is rotatably held at a predetermined position in the case.

  The planet carrier member 43 is a disk-shaped housing that holds three planet gears 434. The planet carrier member 43 has an upper support portion 431 that covers the upper surface of the planetary gear 434 and a lower support portion 432 that covers the lower surface. At the center of the upper surface of the upper support portion 431, an output portion 435 is provided that is a convex portion that protrudes upward and fits into a concave portion (not shown) provided on the back surface of the ice tray 12.

  The output unit 435 is disposed at the rotation center of the planetary carrier member 43 and is directly connected to the ice tray 12, so that the output unit 435 rotates the spindle that supports the rotation center of the ice tray 12 and the ice tray 12. It also serves as the axis to be moved. As a result, the ice making device 10 of the present example has a simplified mechanism for swinging and twisting the ice tray 12.

  The upper support portion 431 has a claw arm 431a that engages the hook with the lower support portion 432 by using elastic deformation, whereby the upper support portion 431 and the lower support portion 432 are coupled inseparably. The Three support shafts 434a of the planetary gear 434 are provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction between the upper support portion 431 and the lower support portion 432, and each planetary gear 434 is rotatably supported by these support shafts 434a. ing. As a result, the planet carrier member 43 rotates integrally with the planetary gear 434 in accordance with the revolution of the planetary gear 434 and rotates the output unit 435.

  A bearing portion 431a into which the upper end portion 41d of the sun gear member 41 is fitted is provided on the lower surface of the upper support portion 431, and the tip of the bearing portion 431a faces the shoulder portion 41c of the sun gear member 41. . A cylindrical portion 432a into which the trunk portion 41a of the sun gear member 41 is inserted is formed at the center in the radial direction of the lower support portion 432, and the lower end surface of the cylindrical portion 432a is a sleeve 113a of the intermediate case 113. Facing the top surface of the. Thereby, the planet carrier member 43 is rotatably held at a predetermined position in the case.

  The internal gear member 42 is a compound gear member having an internal gear 422. The internal gear member 42 is a substantially cylindrical member that is reduced in diameter in a stepped manner from a lower step 42a, a middle step 42b, and an upper step 42c from the lower end to the upper end. An input gear 421 of the internal gear member 42 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the lower stage 42 a of the internal gear member 42. An internal gear 422 is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the middle stage 42 b of the internal gear member 42. An angle monitoring gear 423 connected to a potentiometer 55 (first sensor) described later is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the upper stage 42 c of the internal gear member 42.

  The internal gear 422 of the internal gear member 42 meshes with the planetary gear 434. The top portion of the upper stage 42 c of the internal gear member 42 faces the back surface of the front case 111, and the lower surface of the upper stage 42 c faces the upper surface of the upper support portion 431 of the planet carrier member 43. Thereby, the internal gear member 42 is rotatably held at a predetermined position in the case.

(Modification of planetary gear mechanism)
FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional side view showing a modification of the planetary gear mechanism 40. In the planetary gear mechanism 40 of this modification, a hollow portion e that is a hole penetrating along the rotation center line L of the ice tray 12 is formed. The lead wire 125a of the thermistor 125 is inserted into the hollow portion e.

  When the lead wire 125a of the thermistor 125 is wired through the output portion 435 and the rotation center of the planetary gear mechanism 40, the lead wire 125a is connected to the controller C through the outside of the drive unit 11. In comparison, the displacement (bending stress) of the lead wire 125a accompanying the rotation of the ice tray 12 can be reduced. Moreover, the effect that the lead wire 125a in the hollow part e is protected from the splash of water or ice by the lead wire 125a being inserted through the hollow part e is also expected.

(Swing mechanism)
Hereinafter, the swing mechanism S of the drive unit 11 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. The swing mechanism S of this example is mainly composed of a stepping motor 20, a reduction gear 22, and a planetary gear mechanism 40. The reduction gear 22 is a compound gear in which a large-diameter gear 221 and a small-diameter gear 222 are integrally formed coaxially.

  The pinion gear 21 of the stepping motor 20 meshes with the large diameter gear 221 of the reduction gear 22, and the small diameter gear 222 of the reduction gear 22 meshes with the input gear 412 of the sun gear member 41.

  During the swinging operation of the ice making device 10, the internal gear member 42 of the planetary gear mechanism 40 is fixed by the self-locking action of the worm gear 31 included in the ice removing mechanism R described later. Therefore, the driving force of the stepping motor 20 input to the sun gear member 41 causes the planetary gear 434 to revolve in the same direction as the rotation direction of the sun gear member 41, so that the ice tray 12 is moved within an angle range of ± 30 ° from the horizontal position. Rotate.

  Further, a small piece of the permanent magnet 51 is embedded in the trunk portion 41a of the sun gear member 41, and the intermediate case 113 is opposed to the permanent magnet 51 when the sun gear member 41 reaches a predetermined arrangement angle. Hall IC 52 is arranged in the area. The permanent magnet 51 and the Hall IC 52 constitute a Hall sensor 50 that detects the rotation angle of the sun gear member 41. The hall sensor 50 of this example operates when the sun gear member 41 reaches an angle at which the ice tray 12 becomes −30 °.

  As described above, the rocking motion of the ice tray 12 is an operation performed to generate clear ice without cloudiness, and is repeated until the water changes to ice. Therefore, when the arrangement angle of the sun gear member 41 is monitored by a sensor with mechanical contact, there is a concern about wear of sensor parts. In this example, the use of the Hall sensor 50 (second sensor) which is a non-contact type rotation angle detection sensor prevents a decrease in product life due to wear of sensor parts.

  Further, a convex portion 414 projecting rearward is formed on the rear end surface (lower surface in FIG. 6) of the flange portion 41 b of the sun gear member 41. Then, on the inner surface of the back side case 112, an abutting portion 112b, which is a wall portion against which the convex portion 414 comes into contact, is formed on the orbit of the convex portion 414. Thereby, the angle by which the sun gear member 41 rotates the ice tray 12 is limited to ± 35 °. In the ice making device 10 of this example, the rotation range of the ice tray 12 during the swinging operation is ± 30 °, and the convex portion 414 does not contact the abutting portion 112b during the swinging operation. As a result, the noise of the swing motion is suppressed. On the other hand, the convex portion 414 and the abutting portion 112b limit the rotation angle of the sun gear member 41 when, for example, an abnormality occurs in the operation of the ice making device 10 or an external force is applied to the ice tray 12; Protect the mechanism.

(Ice removal mechanism)
Hereinafter, the ice removal mechanism R of the drive unit 11 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 7. The ice removal mechanism R of this example is mainly composed of a DC motor 30, a worm gear 31, which is a power transmission gear, a worm wheel 32, a third reduction gear 33, a fourth reduction gear, and a planetary gear mechanism 40. ing. The worm wheel 32, the third reduction gear 33, and the fourth reduction gear 34 are compound gears in which a large-diameter gear and a small-diameter gear are integrally formed coaxially.

  The worm gear 31 is attached to the output shaft of the DC motor 30, and the tip thereof is supported by a bearing 311 disposed in the intermediate case 113 (see FIG. 6). The rotation of the worm gear 31 is transmitted to the large diameter gear 321 of the worm wheel 32, the rotation of the worm wheel 32 is transferred from the small diameter gear 322 to the large diameter gear 331 of the third reduction gear 33, and the rotation of the third reduction gear 33 is the small diameter thereof. The rotation of the fourth reduction gear 34 is transmitted from the gear 332 to the large-diameter gear 341 of the fourth reduction gear 34 while being reduced from the small-diameter gear 342 to the input gear 421 of the internal gear member 42.

  A convex portion 424 protruding forward is formed on the front surface of the internal gear member 42. Then, on the inner surface of the front case 111, abutting portions 113b and 113c, which are wall portions with which the convex portion 424 abuts, are formed on the orbit of the convex portion 424. When the ice making device 10 is operating normally, the convex portion 424 does not come into contact with the abutting portions 113b and 113c and stops immediately before that. The abutting portions 113b and 113c limit the rotation angle of the internal gear member 42 and protect the mechanism when, for example, an abnormality occurs in the operation of the ice making device 10 or an external force is applied to the ice making tray 12. It is the composition.

  The ice removal mechanism R of the present example includes the worm gear 31 in the power transmission member of the DC motor 30, and can fix the arrangement angle of the worm wheel 32 using the self-locking action of the worm gear 31. Thereby, when the stepping motor 20 drives the output part 435, it becomes possible to fix the arrangement | positioning angle of the internal gear member 42 with which DC motor 30 was connected, and the rocking | fluctuation operation | movement of the ice tray 12 can be stabilized. .

  As will be described in detail later, when the ice removing mechanism R is driven, the sun gear 412 is fixed at a position where the convex portion 414 of the sun gear member 41 abuts against the abutting portion 112b of the back side case 112 in the CW direction in FIG. ing. Therefore, the driving force of the DC motor 30 input to the internal gear member 42 causes the planetary gear 434 to revolve in the same direction as the rotation direction of the internal gear member 42, thereby causing the planetary carrier member 43 (output unit 435) and the ice tray 12 to move. Rotate to + 160 ° position.

  Further, the rotation of the internal gear member 42 rotates the potentiometer gear 56 (other gear member), which is a spur gear mounted on the shaft portion of the potentiometer 55, via the angle monitoring gear 423. By connecting the potentiometer 55 to the internal gear member 42, it is possible to grasp the continuous rotation angle of the ice tray 12 during the deicing operation, and the sensor component cost is reduced. The internal gear member 42 used for the deicing operation has a smaller number of times of driving than the sun gear member 41 used for the swinging operation. Therefore, even if the potentiometer 55 which is a contact type rotation angle detection sensor is used, the risk of failure due to wear is relatively small.

  Here, the size of the backlash (play between tooth surfaces) between the angle monitoring gear 423 and the potentiometer gear 56 of the internal gear member 42 is determined by the worm gear 31, the worm wheel 32, the third reduction gear 33, and the fourth reduction gear. , And the total amount of backlash between the input gears 421 of the internal gear member 42 is designed to be the same size.

  The ice removing mechanism R, which is a gear mechanism, transmits the driving torque of the DC motor 30 to the internal gear member 42 by reducing the driving torque of the DC motor 30 with a plurality of power transmission gears. While the DC motor 30 is stopped, the internal gear member 42 can freely rotate by the total amount of backlash of these power transmission gears. The planetary gear 434 of the planetary carrier member 43 meshes with the internal gear 422 of the internal gear member 42 of this example, and when the DC motor 30 is stopped, the planetary carrier member 43 (ice tray) is swung. 12) continues to reciprocate within the range of ± 30 °. Therefore, the internal gear member 42 is slightly rotated in the same direction as the planetary gear 434 every time the planet carrier member 43 is reversed by the swinging operation.

  When the fine movement of the internal gear member 42 is transmitted to the potentiometer gear 56, only a specific portion of the resistance pattern in the potentiometer 55 is repeatedly rubbed with the brush, and the resistance pattern may be unevenly worn. In particular, since the swinging motion of this example is repeated for a long time until the water changes to ice, it is considered that the uneven wear of the resistance pattern proceeds rapidly.

  In the ice making device 10 of this example, the backlash between the internal gear member 42 and the potentiometer gear 56 is set to the same magnitude as the total amount of backlash from the DC motor 30 to the internal gear member 42, so Even if the internal gear member 42 rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the planet carrier member 43 due to the moving operation, the rotation of the internal gear member 42 is absorbed by the backlash with the potentiometer gear 56 and does not reach the potentiometer gear 56. Thereby, the partial wear of the potentiometer 55 is prevented. In general, the backlash between the gears causes a reduction in transmission efficiency, noise, and damage to the tooth portion. Therefore, the backlash between the gears is sought to be as small as possible. The position is stabilized, thereby preventing the lifetime of the potentiometer 55 from being reduced. In this example, the backlash between the internal gear member 42 and the potentiometer gear 56 is set to the same size as the total amount of backlash from the DC motor 30 to the internal gear member 42, but the size is larger than that. However, the same effect can be obtained.

  As described above, the swinging operation and the deicing operation of this example are executed by rotating the output unit 435 while appropriately switching the stepping motor 20 and the DC motor 30 that are driving sources. In the ice making device 10 of this example, the output part 435 is provided in the planetary carrier member 43, the stepping motor 20 is connected to the sun gear member 41, and the DC motor 30 is connected to the internal gear member 42, respectively. As a result, it is possible to smoothly switch between the swinging operation and the de-icing operation while preventing interference caused by unnecessary rotation of these drive sources and detent torque.

  On the other hand, among the constituent members of the planetary gear mechanism 40 (the sun gear member 41, the internal gear member 42, the planet carrier member 43), the constituent member provided with the output unit 435 and the constituent member to which each drive source is connected are: The combination is not limited to this example. A combination different from this example can also be adopted by appropriately adjusting the reduction ratio between the constituent members. Further, in the ice making device 10 of this example, only one output unit 435 is arranged at the rotation center of the planetary gear mechanism 40. For example, a support shaft that supports the rotation center of the ice tray and the ice tray are rotated. The output part to be separated may be provided separately, and the output part may be disposed at a position away from the center on the front surface of the planetary gear mechanism and connected to the ice tray. Furthermore, an output unit for swinging operation and an output unit for deicing operation are separately provided on the front surface of the planetary gear mechanism, and the swinging operation and deicing operation are performed according to the rotation angle and rotation direction of the planetary gear mechanism. A configuration for switching between the two is also conceivable.

  The load torque of the swinging operation of the ice tray 12 is relatively small, but is repeated until the water changes to ice. On the other hand, the ice removing operation is an operation of twisting the ice tray 12 to deform the ice tray 12, and a large load torque is applied to the drive source. Therefore, the ice making device 10 of this example employs the stepping motor 20 that does not include a brush as a wear part and has few mechanical contacts as a drive source for the swinging operation, and it is easy to increase the driving torque for the ice removing operation. By adopting the DC motor 30, both the maintenance of the product life and the reliability of the operation are achieved.

(Ice detection mechanism)
FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of the ice detecting shaft 60. FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the rotation operation of the ice detecting shaft 60 during the ice detecting operation. 10 is a side view of the respective views in FIG. 9 as viewed from the direction A in FIG.

  The ice detecting shaft 60 is a shaft member to which the ice detecting arm 13 for inspecting the amount of ice in the ice storage container 14 is coupled. The ice detecting shaft 60 has a cylindrical body portion 60a, and an arm connecting portion 66 to which the ice detecting arm 13 is coupled is provided at one end (Y2 side end portion) of the body portion 60a. Furthermore, a plurality of protrusions protruding from the peripheral surface are formed on the body 60a. These projecting portions are a follower portion 61 that is a cam follower fitted in a groove portion 433 of a planet carrier member 43 described later, a switch switching portion 62 that switches on / off of a tactile switch 70 (third sensor) described later, and a coil spring 631. And an urging portion 63 that urges the ice detecting shaft 60 in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 8.

  As shown in FIG. 9, a groove 433 that is a guide rail continuous in the circumferential direction is formed on an end surface on the back side of the planet carrier member 43 (the lower surface of the lower support portion 432 as viewed in FIG. 6). The follower 61 of the ice detecting shaft 60 is inserted. The groove portion 433 and the follower portion 61 constitute a groove cam mechanism, and the follower portion 61 moves up and down following the displacement of the groove portion 433 as the planet carrier member 43 rotates. Further, the groove portion 433 is provided with a widened portion 433a which is a portion where the groove width is widened to the outer peripheral side.

  When the ice making device 10 starts the deicing operation, the internal gear member 42 rotates the planet carrier member 43 in the direction of the arrow in FIG. Then, when the planet carrier member 43 rotates to a predetermined arrangement angle, the follower portion 61 reaches the widened portion 433a, and the ice detecting shaft 60 is urged by the urging portion 63 to rotate in the direction of the arrow in FIG. To do. As a result, the tip 131 of the ice detecting arm 13 is lowered into the ice storage container 14.

  The ice detection mechanism of this example further includes a tactile switch 70 (hereinafter simply referred to as “switch 70”) that is an ice detection shaft sensor that detects that the ice detection shaft 60 has reached a predetermined arrangement angle. . The switch 70 switches the on / off state when the descending angle of the ice detecting arm 13, that is, the rotation angle of the ice detecting shaft 60 is large enough to indicate that the ice storage container 14 has sufficient free space. It is a switch part to inform by. As described above, the ice detection mechanism of the present example can monitor whether or not the icing operation can be continued by using H (on) or L (off) instead of a continuous analog value. It has been simplified.

  More specific description will be given below. The switch 70 of this example is a general momentary switch, and conducts the circuit only while the button is pressed (while it is on) to output the input voltage. In the initial state, the switch 70 is in a state where the button is pressed on the switch switching plate 72 (see FIG. 9A). The switch switching plate 72 is a plate-like member that can turn around the shaft portion 721, and is always urged by a coil spring 722 in the direction of pressing the button of the switch 70. When the ice detecting shaft 60 rotates to a predetermined arrangement angle, the switch switching unit 62 of the ice detecting shaft 60 pulls the switch switching plate 72 away from the button of the switch 70 and turns off the switch 70.

  Here, when the ice detecting arm 13 comes into contact with the ice in the ice storage container 14 and its lowering is hindered on the way, the ice detecting shaft 60 cannot sufficiently rotate to the position of FIG. As a result, the switch 70 cannot be switched. That is, when the switch 70 is turned off, the deicing operation should be continued, and when the switch 70 remains on and cannot be switched, the deicing operation should be canceled.

  When the ice removal operation is continued after the ice storage container 14 is detected, the ice detection arm 13 lowered into the ice storage container 14 becomes an obstacle. Therefore, when the ice removal operation is continued, it is necessary to return the ice detection arm 13 to the initial position, that is, the position retracted from the ice storage container 14 before the ice is discharged from the ice tray 12. In this example, when the planet carrier member 43 continues to rotate, the follower portion 61 of the ice detecting shaft 60 is detached from the widened portion 433a of the groove portion 433, and the arrangement angle of the ice detecting shaft 60 is the angle shown in FIG. Return to. As a result, the ice detecting arm 13 also returns to the initial position. In addition, the arrangement | positioning angle of the ice detection axis | shaft 60 of Fig.9 (a) and FIG.9 (c) is the same.

  As described above, the ice making device 10 of the present example includes the ice detecting arm 13 that inspects the amount of ice in the ice storage container 14. It is possible to prevent abnormal operation and failure due to accumulation up to a movable range with a simple mechanism.

<Functional configuration>
FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the ice making device 10. As a sensor system, the ice making device 10 detects a hall sensor 50 that detects that the sun gear member 41 has reached a predetermined arrangement angle during a swing operation, and detects a continuous rotation angle of the internal gear member 42 during an ice removal operation. A potentiometer 55 and a switch 70 for detecting that the ice detecting arm 13 has been lowered to a predetermined position during the ice detecting operation are provided. Further, the thermistor 125 for measuring the temperature of the ice tray 12 is attached to the ice tray 12. The output values of these sensors are input to the control unit C of the ice making device 10, and the control unit C controls the driving of the stepping motor 20 and the DC motor 30 that are drive sources while monitoring the output values of the sensors.

  Further, in the ice making device 10 of the present example, the switch 70 and the potentiometer 55 are connected in series on the circuit, whereby the number of lead wires connected to the control unit C is reduced. That is, the output values of the switch 70 and the potentiometer 55 of this example are output from one lead wire as a result of superimposing the outputs of these sensors. More specifically, a voltage value corresponding to the current resistance value of the potentiometer 55 is output while the switch 70 is on, and 0 V is output while the switch 70 is off. That is, as a result of the ice detection operation, it can be seen that there is sufficient free space in the ice storage container 14, and when the ice removal operation may be continued, the output values of the switch 70 and the potentiometer 55 are temporarily set to 0V as a signal. Become. Here, “temporarily” means that the follower portion 61 of the ice making shaft 60 enters the widened portion 433a of the groove portion 433 by the rotation of the planet carrier member 43 accompanying the deicing operation, and then the follower portion 61 is widened. This means that until the part 433a is removed.

<Control processing>
FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the flow of the ice making process and the ice removing process of the ice making device 10. FIG. 13 is a timing chart showing the relationship between the rotation angle of the ice tray 12 and the output value of each sensor. Hereinafter, control processing of the ice making device 10 will be described.

(Ice making process)
When the ice tray 12 is filled with water from a water supply tank (not shown), the control unit C starts the swinging operation of the ice tray 12. In the swinging operation, the stepping motor 20 is driven alternately in the CW / CCW direction (S11), and the sun gear member 41 is rotated back and forth (S12). As a result, the ice tray 12 rotates within a range of ± 30 ° (S13). The hall sensor 50 detects that the ice tray 12 has become −30 ° each time, and the control unit C monitors this. The swinging operation is repeated until the water changes to ice (S14: N).

  While the ice tray 12 and the planet carrier member 43 are rotated by ± 30 °, the follower portion 61 of the ice detecting shaft 60 does not reach the widened portion 433a of the groove portion 433, and therefore the ice detecting shaft 60 rotates. do not do. Further, the DC motor 30 is not driven during the swinging operation, and the arrangement angle of the internal gear member 42 is fixed by the self-locking action of the worm gear 31 attached to the DC motor 30. Therefore, the output values of the potentiometer 55 and the switch 70 do not change during the swinging operation.

(Ice removal process)
When the ice is completed and the thermistor 125 of the ice tray 12 detects this, the controller C starts the ice removing operation (S14: Y).

  In the deicing operation, first, the stepping motor 20 is driven in a direction in which the ice tray 12 rotates in the minus direction (S21), and the projection 414 of the sun gear member 41 abuts against the abutting portion 112b of the back case 112. Rotate to the limit. Thereby, the ice tray 12 is rotated to -35 ° (S22).

  Thereafter, the DC motor 30 starts driving (S23), and thereby the internal gear member rotates (S24). The internal gear member 42 reverses the planetary gear member 43 (output unit 435) and the ice tray 12 in the plus direction (S25). Further, when the internal gear member 42 rotates, the angle monitoring gear 423 of the internal gear member 42 rotates the potentiometer gear 56 of the potentiometer 55.

  When the planet carrier member 43 rotates to a position where the ice tray 12 reaches + 40 °, the follower portion 61 of the ice detecting shaft 60 reaches the widened portion 433a of the groove portion 433, and the ice detecting shaft 60 biased by the coil spring 631 is reached. Rotates in a direction to lower the ice detecting arm 13 into the ice storage container 14 (S26). When the rotation angle of the ice detecting shaft 60, that is, the turning angle of the ice detecting arm 13 is large enough to indicate that there is sufficient free space in the ice storage container 14, the switch switching unit 62 of the ice detecting shaft 60 switches the switch. The plate 72 is pulled away from the button of the switch 70, and the switch 70 is turned off.

  The control unit C indicates that the initial output values of the switch 70 and the potentiometer 55 indicate that the ice tray 12 is tilted to −35 °, and the ice tray 12 rotates to the plus side as the output value decreases from there. Judge that it is. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 13, when the switch 70 is turned off, that is, when the output value becomes 0 V, the assumed rotation angle of the ice tray 12 swings extremely to the plus side. The control unit C determines that the switch 70 is turned off with an extreme change in the assumed rotation angle.

  Here, when the empty space of the ice storage container 14 is not enough and the descending of the ice detecting arm 13 is hindered on the way, the ice detecting shaft 60 does not rotate to the position where the switch switching plate 72 is separated from the button of the switch 70, The switch 70 remains on (S27: Y). When the controller C detects this, the ice removing operation is canceled. More specifically, when the switch 70 is not turned off until the internal gear member 42 rotates by a predetermined angle, the control unit C rotates the DC motor 30 in the reverse direction, so that the planet carrier member 43, and The ice tray 12 and the ice detecting arm 13 interlocked with this are returned to the initial positions. And it waits for a fixed time (S30).

  As a result of the ice detection operation, when the free space of the ice storage container 14 is sufficient and the ice removal operation is continued (S27: N), the planetary carrier member 43 is further rotated, so that the follower 61 of the ice detection shaft 60 is rotated. Is removed from the widened portion 433a of the groove portion 433, and the arrangement angles of the ice detecting shaft 60 and the ice detecting arm 13 are returned to the initial positions (S28).

  When the ice tray 12 rotates to + 120 °, the convex portion 122 of the ice tray 12 comes into contact with the abutting portion 19. Then, the ice tray 12 is twisted as it is to the + 160 ° position to deform the ice tray 12, and the ice is discharged from the ice tray 12 (S29).

  Here, the planet carrier member 43 (output unit 435) tends to escape in the direction opposite to the rotation direction of the internal gear member 42 (the direction in which the ice tray 12 is twisted) due to the reaction of the ice tray 12 being twisted. . When the planet carrier member 43 rotates in the reverse direction, the sun gear member 41 rotates in the CW direction in FIG. However, at this time, the sun gear member 41 has its convex portion 414 in contact with the abutting portion 112b of the back case 112 in the CW direction as viewed in FIG. 6, and is prevented from further rotation in the CW direction. Thereby, the reverse rotation of the planet carrier member 43 is prevented, and the ice tray 12 is twisted to the + 160 ° position.

  After the ice is discharged, the DC motor 30 is rotated in the reverse direction to return the planet carrier member 43, the ice tray 12 and the ice detecting arm 13 associated therewith to the initial positions. When the internal gear member 42 returns to the initial position, the arrangement angle of the sun gear member 41 is maintained by the detent torque of the stepping motor 20, and the internal gear member 42 rotates without rotating the sun gear member 41. . When the ice removal operation is completed, the ice tray 12 is filled with new water, and the ice making process is resumed.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

10: ice making device, S: rocking mechanism, R: ice removing mechanism (gear mechanism), C: control unit, L: rotation center line, 11: drive unit, 12: ice tray, 122: convex part, 123: Shaft portion, 125: thermistor, 125a: lead wire, 19: contact portion, 13: ice detection arm (arm member), 14: ice storage container, 141: ice, 20: stepping motor (second drive source), 21: pinion gear , 22: reduction gear, 30: DC motor, DC commutator motor (drive source) (first drive source), 31: worm gear, 32: worm wheel, 33: third reduction gear, 34: fourth reduction gear, 40 : Planetary gear mechanism, 41: sun gear member (component), 411: input gear, 412: sun gear, 50: hall sensor (second sensor), 51: magnet, 52: hall IC, 42: internal gear member ( Component ), 421: input gear, 422: internal gear, 423: angle detection gear, 55: potentiometer (first sensor), 56: potentiometer gear, 43: planet carrier member (component), 433: groove (cam mechanism) , 433a: widening part, 434: planetary gear, 435: output part, e: hollow part, 60: ice detecting shaft, 61: follower part, 62: switch switching part, 63: biasing part, 631: coil spring, 66 : Arm connection part, 70: tactile switch (third sensor), 72: switch switching plate, 722: coil spring

Claims (13)

A driving source;
A first gear member which is a gear member;
Another gear member meshing with the first gear member;
One or a plurality of power transmission gears that transmit the driving force of the driving source to the first gear member,
The size of the backlash between the first gear member and the other gear member is equal to or larger than the total amount of backlash from the drive source to the first gear member. Gear mechanism.   The other gear member is connected to a first sensor that detects a rotation angle of the other gear member, and the first sensor is a contact-type rotation angle detection sensor. The gear mechanism described. A second gear member that is a gear member meshing with the first gear member;
3. The gear mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the two gear members can continue to rotate even if the first gear member stops rotating. 4. A first drive source that is the drive source;
A second drive source that is driven when the first drive source stops rotating,
The first drive source and the second drive source are drive sources that rotate the second gear member,
The second gear member is provided with an output portion that is a convex portion protruding in the axial direction from the second gear member,
The gear mechanism according to claim 3, wherein the second drive source reciprocally rotates the second gear member continuously or intermittently.   The gear mechanism according to claim 4, wherein the first gear member and the first drive source are connected via a power transmission member including a worm gear and a worm wheel. The first drive source is a DC commutator motor;
The second driving source is a stepping motor;
The gear mechanism according to claim 4 or 5, wherein a load torque applied to the first drive source is larger than a load torque of the second drive source. A planetary gear mechanism having a sun gear member, an internal gear member, and a planet carrier member having a planet gear as its constituent members;
The said 1st gear member is one of the said structural members, and the said 2nd gear member is one of the other two structural members, The any one of Claims 4-6 characterized by the above-mentioned. The gear mechanism described in 1. The first gear member is the internal gear member;
The second gear member is the planet carrier member;
The gear mechanism according to claim 7, wherein the second drive source is connected to the sun gear member.   The gear mechanism according to claim 8, further comprising a second sensor that is a non-contact rotation angle detection sensor that detects an arrangement angle of the sun gear member. The gear mechanism according to any one of claims 4 to 9,
An ice tray, and
The first drive source is used for an ice removing operation which is an operation of discharging ice by twisting the ice tray.
The second drive source is used for a swinging operation that is an operation of repeatedly rotating the ice tray within a predetermined angle range,
The output unit is connected to a rotation center of the ice tray, and performs the swinging operation and the de-icing operation. An ice detecting shaft which is a shaft member to which an arm member for inspecting the amount of ice in the ice storage container is coupled;
A cam mechanism is provided on the end surface of the second gear member and the peripheral surface of the ice detecting shaft,
The ice making device according to claim 10, wherein the ice detecting shaft rotates following the rotation of the second gear member during the deicing operation to raise and lower the arm member.   The ice making device according to claim 11, further comprising a third sensor that detects that the ice detection axis has reached a predetermined arrangement angle. The third sensor is a switch component;
A switch switching portion that is a protrusion is formed on the peripheral surface of the ice detecting shaft,
The ice making device according to claim 12, wherein the switch switching unit switches on and off of the third sensor when the ice detecting shaft reaches a predetermined arrangement angle.

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