JP3071047B2 - Reverse cell ice machine - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a so-called inverted cell type ice maker, and more particularly to an ice maker capable of controlling operation without causing an ice biting phenomenon in which ice is caught between a water tray and an ice maker.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional general inverted cell type ice making device has a plurality of downwardly opened ice making compartments, an ice making section having a cooler for cooling the ice making compartment on its upper surface, and stores ice making water. A water tray that locks the water tank and that is rotatably supported on one side, and that closes each ice-making chamber on the surface that has a fountain port during ice-making, and tilts the water tray to open the ice-making section when ice-making is completed And a drive mechanism including a deceleration motor that moves the water tray back so as to close the ice making section upon completion of deicing.

[0003] Other components include a compressor, a condenser, etc., and a reversible refrigeration system in which a refrigerant gas flows through the ice making section by ice gas making, and a hot gas valve flows through the hot gas valve during ice making, or a water tank. The pump motor that circulates the water so as to repeatedly supply the water to the ice making unit and the deceleration motor that tilts the water plate are controlled so as to perform forward and reverse rotation operation and stop according to the closing and opening of the water plate. There is a motor stop control switch and the like.

In the above-mentioned inverted cell type ice making machine, a water supply step to a water tank, a water tray is closed, and a refrigeration cycle operation is performed,
In addition, the ice making process in which the fountain is repeated in the ice making portion to make ice, a hot gas is flown, the water tray is opened, deicing is performed from the ice making portion, and then the ice releasing process in which the water tray is closed is executed as one ice making cycle, thereby making one ice making It is carried out.

[0005] In the case of an ice making device that performs the above ice making cycle, there are some problems. The biggest problem is the bite of ice that occurs when the water tray moves backward.

[0006] That is, when the ice making process is completed and the process shifts to the ice removing process and the water tray is tilted and opened, ice fragments adhere to the water tray. Then, the falling ice may catch on the ice pieces on the water dish. When the water tray moves back while the ice is caught, an ice biting state occurs in which the ice is caught between the water tray and the ice making unit. Such an ice bite may apply an extra load to the tilting drive mechanism of the water tray, possibly leading to breakage of the device. In addition, if ice making is continued as it is, ice of a strange shape is formed and normal ice making cannot be performed.

In order to remove such an ice bite, the ice bite is detected by an ice bite detecting device as proposed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. Sho 56-175682, and when the ice bite occurs, the water tray is opened again. I'm trying to drop the bitten ice.

[0008]

However, with this method, if ice bites still occur during the ice making operation of the next cycle,
In addition, the operation of opening and closing the water dish will be repeated,
If the water tray is frequently opened and closed due to such ice biting, the ice making efficiency is reduced. In addition, the above method only deals with the occurrence of ice biting and does not basically eliminate ice biting, so that ice biting may occur frequently thereafter. That is, the problem of the ice sticking to the water tray when the water tray tilts, which causes the ice biting, is considered to be one of the causes of the ice making being performed by the supercooling, but the supercooling operation is not suppressed. As long as every ice-making cycle, ice biting will occur.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and when an ice bite is detected by the ice bite detecting means, the ice making time of the next ice making cycle after the cycle in which the ice bite occurred is corrected, and the subsequent ice making time is corrected. An object of the present invention is to provide an ice maker in which ice biting does not occur in a cycle.

[0010]

According to the present invention, there is provided an ice making section provided with a cooler, wherein a plurality of ice making chambers opened downward by the cooler can be cooled, and the ice making section is opened and closed with respect to the ice making section. A water tray that is rotatably supported on one side and supplies water for ice making to the ice making unit when closed, an ice making process in which the water tray closes the ice making unit with a water tray opening / closing drive mechanism, and ice making; An inverted cell type ice making machine in which the ice tray is tilted to open and deice the ice making section, and after the deicing, the ice making step is repeated as one ice making cycle, in which the water dish is moved back and the ice making section is closed. A water tray closed state detecting means for detecting an ice bite between the water tray and the ice making part by performing a detection operation with the water tray completely closing the ice making part is provided. If an ice bite is detected, the next ice making cycle in the ice making cycle It is characterized in that it comprises a short correction to the control means for controlling operation of the ice making time in cycles.

According to the present invention, there is provided an ice making section having a cooler, wherein a plurality of ice making chambers opened downward by the cooler can be cooled, and one side of the ice making section which can be opened and closed with respect to the ice making section. A water tray for supplying ice-making water to the ice making unit when closed, and an ice making process in which the water tray closes the ice making unit with the water tray opening / closing drive mechanism to make ice, and after the ice making, the water tray tilts. The ice making section is opened and de-iced, and after the de-icing, the water tray is moved back and the ice removing step of closing the ice making section is repeated as one ice making cycle. A current value detecting means is provided for detecting a change in the current value of a water tray opening / closing motor constituting the mechanism, and detecting that the current value has increased above normal, thereby detecting an ice bite between the water tray and the ice making unit. When the current value detection means detects an ice bite,
Control means for controlling the operation by shortening the ice making time in the next ice making cycle of the ice making cycle in which the ice biting has occurred is provided.

Further, the present invention includes an ice making section provided with a cooler, the plurality of ice making chambers opened downward by the cooler can be cooled, and one side of the ice making section can be opened and closed with respect to the ice making section. A water tray for supplying ice-making water to the ice making unit when closed, and an ice making process in which the water tray closes the ice making unit with the water tray opening / closing drive mechanism to make ice, and after the ice making, the water tray tilts. The ice making section is opened and de-iced, and after the de-icing, the ice tray is moved back and the ice removing step of closing the ice making section is repeated as one ice making cycle. Water tray opening / closing time detecting means for detecting the opening / closing time of a water tray opened / closed by a motor, and detecting that the opening / closing time is longer than usual, thereby detecting an ice bite between the water tray and the ice making section. If the ice bite is detected by the water tray opening / closing time detecting means, Biting is characterized in that it comprises a control means for correcting the operation control short ice making time in the next ice making cycle of the ice making cycle generated.

[0013]

When the ice is caught between the water tray and the ice making section, it is detected by the water tray closed state detecting means that the ice is caught.
The water-dish-closed-state detecting means detects, for example, a water-dish switch, a current value of a water-dish opening / closing motor, a water-dish open / close time, and the like. When this ice bite is detected, control is performed by the control means so as to shorten the ice making time in the next ice making cycle, and as a result, the ice making operation of the supercooling block which has been a cause of the ice bite is corrected. In the subsequent cycles, the ice bite disappears.

[0014]

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

1 is a so-called inverted cell type ice making device,
It is supported and supported by a support beam 2 above an ice making chamber (not shown) formed in a main body (not shown) of the heat insulating structure.

An ice storage compartment (not shown) for storing ice produced by the ice making device 1 is provided in the main body separately from the ice making compartment.

The ice making device 1 has a plurality of ice making chambers 4A opened downward, an ice making part 4 having a cooler 4B composed of a cooling pipe meandering on the upper surface, and one side pivotally supported rotatably. A water tray 5 closing the ice making chamber 4A from below with a surface 5A provided with a fountain port (not shown), a water tank 6 fixed to the water tray 5, and water supplied into the water tank 6. A circulating pump 7 for spraying ice for ice making from the fountain port of the water tray surface 5A to each ice making unit 4A, and a forward / reverse rotatable water tray opening / closing for tilting and returning the rotatably supported water tray 5 Motor 8
And a drive mechanism 9 including Reference numeral 10 denotes a drainage tray for ice-making water drained from the water tank 6 when the water tray 5 is tilted as shown in FIG. Reference numeral 11 denotes a water supply valve. The arm 1 is provided on the rotating shaft of the water tray opening / closing motor 8.
2 is fixed, and the other end of the coil spring 13 attached to one end 12 </ b> A of the arm 12 is connected to the side of the water tray 5.
The arm 12 and the spring 13 are provided as a pair on the left and right sides of the water tray 5. Here, it is assumed that the water tray 5 is opened by the forward rotation of the water tray opening and closing motor 8 and closed by the reverse rotation. Then, as shown in FIG. 2, when the water tray 5 is closed and ice is made, and the motor 8 rotates forward and the water tray 5 is completely opened based on the completion of the ice making, the water tray 5 is operated on the other end 12B of the arm 12 which rotates counterclockwise. Motor 8
A control switch 14 for stopping the motor is provided on the support beam 2 to stop the power supply to the motor and switch the motor drive circuit to the reverse rotation state so that the next backward movement can be performed. Therefore, when the motor 8 rotates in the reverse direction and the water tray 5 closes, the arm 12 rotates clockwise, and one end 12A of the arm 12 comes upward as shown in FIG. Control switch 1
4 is operated, and the motor drive circuit is switched so as to enable the stop of the motor 8 and the normal rotation direction of the motor 8.
By the way, whether or not there is an ice bite is detected by a water-dish-closed state detection switch 17 that is closed when the water tray 5 is completely closed.

That is, the switch portion 15 is fixed to the support beam 2, while the water tray 5 is pressed against the switch portion 15 in a state where the water tray 5 completely closes the ice making portion 4A. An operating member 16 is provided.
And a water tray closed state detection switch 17 composed of a switch section 15 and an ice biting detection means.

Next, control of the ice making apparatus will be described.

FIG. 3 shows a control flowchart when a normal ice making cycle without ice biting is executed.

For convenience of explanation, the operations are divided and shown in the flowchart in (1), (2), (3),.
The numbers are indicated as 1), (12), and (13), and the flow will be described below corresponding to each operation.

(1) When the power is turned on, the compressor
The water supply valve 11 and the pump motor are turned on (process 21),
When the water tray 5 is full (determination 22: yes), the water supply step is ended and the operation proceeds to the washing step.

This operation is a water supply for washing the ice making device only once before the first ice making cycle.

(2) In the cleaning step, the compressor, the pump motor and the fan motor are turned on (process 23), the water supply valve 11 and the hot gas valve are turned off (process 24), and the cleaning is performed for a predetermined time (for example, 30 seconds) (determination 25). ), Judgment 2
When the cleaning is completed in step 5 with yes, the process moves to the ice removal (washing water drainage) process.

(3) The de-icing process is for draining the washing water, and the water tray 5 is opened and the water tray 5 is closed immediately after draining.
Enter the water supply process to enter the original ice making process.

This de-icing process is the same operation as the original de-icing process following the ice making process. The compressor, hot gas valve, water supply valve is turned on (process 26), and the water supply valve and hot gas valve are turned off (process 27). ) And then
The water tray 5 is opened. When the water tray 5 is opened, the water supply valve is turned off (Step 28), and the temperature of the ice making unit 4 is measured by a cooler temperature detection sensor (ET).
It is determined whether the temperature has reached the deicing completion detection temperature (determination 29), and as a result of this determination, the water tray 5 is closed (process 30).

(4) The compressor, the water supply valve 11, and the pump motor are turned on (process 31). The fan motor and the hot gas valve are turned off (process 32), and the water supply is continued until the water is full (judgment 33). Ye of decision 33
s) Move to the ice making process.

(5) In the ice making process, the compressor, the pump motor and the fan motor are turned on (process 34), and the water supply valve 11 and the hot gas valve are turned off (process 3).
5) Perform ice making operation.

(6) Upon entering the ice making cycle, a pre-cooling step of cooling the ice making section 4 to a predetermined temperature is performed.

That is, the temperature of the ice making section 4 is detected by the ET sensor, and it is determined whether the temperature has reached a predetermined temperature (for example, 0 ° C.) (decision 36).

If the determination 36 is yes, the ice making timer which has reached the predetermined temperature is started (process 37). In this operation, the circulating pump 7 is driven simultaneously with the ice making operation, and the ice making water may be circulated in the ice making chamber 4A to freeze the ice, but the ice making part 4 is not sufficiently cooled at the beginning of the ice making operation. This is because the ice making efficiency drops.

(7) The ice making timer is started, and the ice making is continued until the remaining ice making timer time elapses.
After counting up, the process moves to a de-icing process (decision 38).

(8) When moving to the ice removal process, the compressor
The water supply valve 11 and the hot gas valve 11 are turned on (process 39), the pump motor and the fan motor are turned off (process 40), and the water tray 5 is opened.

When the water tray 5 is opened and the ice making section 4 is heated by hot gas, the falling of ice from the ice making chamber 4A starts. Further, the water flows on the water tray 5 to facilitate the sliding of the dropped ice and is introduced into the ice storage part.

(9) When the water tray 5 is opened, the water supply valve 11 is turned off (process 41), and then the water tray 5 is opened until the ET sensor reaches the ice-free completion detection temperature (decision 42). .

Here, when all the ice is deiced from the ice making section 4, the temperature of the ice making section 4, which is heated by hot gas, rises. End.

(10) When the ET sensor has reached the temperature for detecting the completion of ice removal (Yes in decision 42), the water tray 5 is closed (step 43).

(11) An ice storage sensor is provided in the ice storage part, and the detection of full ice is performed (decision 44).

Accordingly, if the ice is not full (N in decision 44)
o) Then, it moves again to the water supply process of (4), followed by (5) to
The operations of the ice making process and the ice removing process of (11) are repeated. That is, the ice making operation of the next cycle is performed. If the ice is full (yes in judgment 44), the process proceeds to the ice storage process of (12).

(12) If the ice is full (yes in decision 44)
s), the water tray 5 is opened (process 45), and the compressor, the water supply valve 11, the hot gas valve, the pump motor, and the fan heater are turned off and stopped (process 46).

(13) When the operation is temporarily stopped and the ice is no longer full because the ice is taken out (No in decision 47), the water tray 5 is closed (process 48), and the process goes to the ice making process of (4) again. .

The above is a normal ice making cycle without ice biting.

However, as described above, the phenomenon of ice biting occurs frequently. Here, the cause of the bite of the ice is various and variously conceivable, and the first conceivable point is that the ET (ice making section) sensor of (6) detects a predetermined temperature (for example, 0 ° C.) in the normal cycle. At this time, the predetermined temperature detection varies due to an error in the ET sensor itself, an error in mounting the ET sensor, an influence of the outside air temperature, and the like. Since the ice making timer time is substantially constant depending on the outside air temperature, the entire ice making time may vary depending on the detection of a predetermined temperature. If the ice making time fluctuates in the longer direction, ice fragments may stick to the water plate when the water tray is opened in (8) due to supercooling, and the ice made by the ice fragments may be caught on the water tray. There is. If the process proceeds to (10) in this state and the water tray is closed, ice will bite between the water tray and the ice making unit. In this case, the ice making is performed just before the supercooling, but may be repeated many times unless the supercooling is eliminated.

Until now, products without an ice bite detection device have continued the cycle while being bitten, resulting in the formation of odd-shaped ice and an extra load on the equipment. Further, when an ice bite is detected, the opening and closing of the water tray is repeated only until the ice drops, and the ice making capacity is inevitably reduced (Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 56-175682).

Therefore, according to the present invention, an ice jam detecting device detects an ice jam, prevents the ice jam, removes an extra load from being applied to the equipment, and removes the next load after the cycle in which the ice jam occurs. Fine adjustment is made so that the ice making time of the cycle is automatically shortened so that ice biting does not occur from the next cycle in which ice biting occurs.

Next, the control operation will be described in detail.

That is, when there is an ice bite, the flows (2) and (1) shown in FIG. 4 are replaced with the flows surrounded by the dotted lines of * 1 and * 2 in FIG. 3 showing the normal ice making cycle. The function has been added and executed.

The flow will be described with reference to FIG.
As in the case of the above, for convenience of explanation, the operations are divided into (A), (B),... (E), (F),
(G) is indicated by a number, and the operation will be described below in correspondence with each operation.

* 2, the ice making process is completed. (A) When the ice removing process is started, the water tray opening operation is started (process 5).
1).

(B) Wait until the water tray is completely opened (decision 5)
2) When the water tray is fully opened (Yes in decision 52), the water supply valve is closed (process 53).

(C) With the water tray open, wait until the temperature of the ET sensor reaches the deicing completion detection temperature (judgment 5).
4) Upon reaching (yes in decision 54), the water tray closing operation is started (process 55).

(D) Wait until the water tray is closed, and if it is completely closed, check the closing completion signal of the water tray closed state detection switch 17 (decision 56, decision 57), and if there is no closing completion signal, set the ice bite flag The operation moves to (E), and returns to (A), and thereafter, (B), (C), and (D) are repeated. Then, when there is a closing completion signal, the ice removing process is ended.

(E) The ice biting FLG is set, and the ice releasing process is performed again (step 58).

As a result, the ice making operation is not continued while the ice is being bitten.

After the ice has been caught in this way and the ice caught has been removed and the FLG has been set, the process proceeds to the water supply process shown in FIG. 3 (4), and the next ice making cycle is started.

Then, after the step (5) is completed and the water supply step next to the cycle in which the ice biting has occurred in * 1, the flow of (2) in FIG. 4 is executed.

(F) When entering the ice making process, the ET sensor
Is reached (determination 61).

When the temperature reaches 0 ° C. (yes in decision 61)
s) In the last ice making, it is checked whether the ice bite FLG has risen (H) (judgment 62), and if the ice bite FLG is "H" (yes in judgment 62), the ice bite FLG is dropped. After (L) (process 63), a process of a predetermined fine adjustment time (for example, 1 minute) + 1 is performed (process 64), and (ice making time data)-(fine adjustment time) is set in the ice making timer ( Process 65).

If there is no ice bite FLG and "L" (No in decision 62), (ice making time data)-(fine adjustment time) is set in the ice making timer (processing 67), and the ice making timer is started (processing 66). ).

In the processing described here, for example, the standard processing time required for ice making is 20 minutes, or the ice is bitten in several ice making cycles, so the fine adjustment time (1 minute) is shortened (20 minutes). Minutes-1 minute) 19 minutes, but if there is still an ice bite, another 1 minute (fine adjustment time) is short, a total of 2 minutes short (20 minutes-2 minutes) 18 minutes of ice making time Means the control to be performed.

(H) Then, based on the newly changed ice making time, wait for the ice making timer to count up, and after counting up, return to the ice removing process (decision 6).
8).

By performing the above-described control, an ice making operation is automatically performed such that even if there is an ice bite in the next ice making cycle, the ice biting operation is eliminated.

In the above embodiment, the ice biting is detected based on whether or not the water tray closed state detecting switch 17 is completely closed.

Here, the determination 57 may be variously considered as the ice biting detecting means other than the water tray closed state detecting switch.

One of them is detected from a change in motor current value of a water tray opening / closing motor 8 for opening and closing the water tray 5. That is, if there is an ice bite, the water tray 5 is closed while biting the ice thereafter, so that a change occurs such that the motor current value increases after the ice bite.

FIG. 5 shows the flow. In FIG. 5, the operation of (D) in the aforementioned flow ((1) of FIG. 4) is the next operation (D
-1).

(D-1) Wait until the water tray 5 is closed, and when it is completely closed, check the motor current value for opening and closing the water tray.
If it is "large", the process proceeds to (E), and if it is "small", the ice removal process is terminated. In this case, a water-dish state detection switch is provided which operates when the water-dish 5 is almost closed.

As another ice biting detecting means, a method of checking the opening and closing time of the water tray can be considered. That is, using the water tray opening / closing time measurement timer, it is checked whether the water tray opening / closing time is longer or normal than the standard required time. The flow is shown in FIG. 5 and similarly operates as follows.

(D-2) Wait until the water tray 5 is closed. If the water tray 5 is completely closed, check the water tray opening / closing time.
Then, if “normal”, the ice-removing process is ended.

As described above, even if the detection means is changed, the ice biting can be eliminated.

[0071]

As described above, according to the present invention, the detection switch which operates when the water tray is completely closed when the ice between the water tray and the ice making unit is completely closed, and the current of the motor for opening and closing the water tray. If a change in the value or the length of opening / closing time of the water tray is detected by means of detecting, and the ice biting occurs, the ice making time of the next ice making cycle after the ice making cycle is corrected to be short, and the ice biting due to supercooling may occur. An inverse cell ice machine that eliminates one of the expected causes and automatically controls the operation so that ice biting does not occur in the subsequent ice making cycle, so that good-quality and homogeneous ice can be produced smoothly. Can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a main part of an ice making device in a de-icing process in which a water tray is tilted and de-iced.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a main part of the ice making device in a state where the water tray is closed and an ice making process is being performed.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a part of a normal ice making cycle without ice biting.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing another part of a normal ice making cycle without ice biting.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a part of control when an ice bite occurs.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing another part of the control when there is an ice bite.

FIG. 7 is a control flowchart in the case of detecting a bite of an ice by detecting a change in a current value of a motor for opening and closing a water tray.

FIG. 8 is a control flowchart in a case of detecting a bite of ice by detecting an opening / closing time of a water tray.

[Explanation of symbols]

 4 Ice making unit 5 Water tray 8 Water tray opening / closing motor 17 Water tray closed state detection switch

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-2-130364 (JP, A) JP-A-2-230071 (JP, A) JP-A-56-175682 (JP, U) (58) Survey Field (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) F25C 1/04

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. An ice making section comprising a cooler, wherein a plurality of ice making chambers opened downward by the cooler are made coolable, and one side is pivotally supported so as to be able to open and close the ice making section. A water tray for supplying ice-making water to the ice making unit when closed, an ice making process in which the water tray closes the ice making unit with the water tray opening / closing drive mechanism, and an ice making unit that tilts the ice tray after ice making. An inverted cell type ice machine in which the ice tray is opened and de-iced, and after the de-icing, the ice tray is moved back to close the ice making section, and the ice making step is repeated as one ice making cycle. A water tray closed state detecting means for detecting an ice bite between the water tray and the ice making unit is provided by performing a detection operation in a state where the ice tray is closed, and when the water bite is detected by the water tray closed state detecting means. The ice making time in the next ice making cycle of the ice making cycle in which this ice bite occurred Short corrected ice making machine characterized by comprising a control means for controlling operated. 2. An ice making section comprising a cooler, wherein a plurality of ice making chambers opened downward by the cooler are made coolable, and one side is pivotally supported so as to be able to open and close the ice making section. A water tray for supplying ice-making water to the ice making unit when closed, an ice making process in which the water tray closes the ice making unit with the water tray opening / closing drive mechanism, and an ice making unit that tilts the ice tray after ice making. An inverted cell type ice making machine that repeatedly makes ice as a single ice making cycle, in which the ice tray is opened and de-iced, and the ice tray is moved back after the de-ice and the ice making part is closed, constituting the water tray opening and closing drive mechanism. A current value detecting means for detecting a change in the current value of the motor for opening and closing the water tray, and detecting that the current value has increased above normal, thereby detecting an ice bite between the water plate and the ice making unit. If the detection means detects an ice bite, the ice making cycle in which the ice bite occurred Ice making machine characterized by comprising a control means for controlling operation next ice-making time in the ice making cycle of short correction to. 3. An ice making section having a cooler, wherein a plurality of ice making chambers opened downward by the cooler can be cooled, and one side is pivotally supported so as to be able to open and close the ice making section. A water tray for supplying ice-making water to the ice making unit when closed, an ice making process in which the water tray closes the ice making unit with the water tray opening / closing drive mechanism, and an ice making unit that tilts the ice tray after ice making. Opening and de-icing, and an ice-removing step in which the water tray is moved back after de-icing and the ice making section is closed as one ice making cycle. A water tray opening / closing time detecting means for detecting an ice bite between the water tray and the ice making section by detecting the opening / closing time of the water tray to be performed and detecting that the opening / closing time is longer than usual. The ice bite occurred when the ice bite was detected by the water tray opening / closing time detecting means. Ice making machine characterized by comprising a control means for controlling operation of the ice making time in the next ice making cycle of ice cycle shorter correction to.