JP5631259B2 - refrigerator - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigerator having an automatic ice making device.

  Conventionally, as a refrigerator having a detachable ice tray and having temperature detecting means for the ice tray, an output shaft that supports and rotates one end of the ice tray and the ice tray, and a drive unit that rotates the output shaft A temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the ice tray is provided. During ice making, the sensor is in close contact with the side surface of the ice tray and detects the temperature. When the ice is removed, the ice chamber of the ice tray rotates in the direction facing the temperature sensor by the operation of the drive unit, and the rib provided on the ice tray and the contact portion formed on the sensor holding member come into contact with each other. Release the close contact with the ice tray. As a result, when the ice tray is rotating, there is one in which the temperature sensor does not transmit the twisting operation related to the ice tray (for example, see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 4333167 (5th page, FIGS. 2 to 4)

In the refrigerator provided with the ice making device as described above, a spring member is disposed between the sensor holding member and the ice making frame, and the sensor comes into contact with the ice making tray by the biasing force of the spring member to detect the temperature of the ice making tray. However, since the spring member is arranged in the ice making frame, the fixing portion of the spring must be arranged close to the ice making frame or the fixing member to the ice making frame, and splashed water is applied during water supply, or the ice making frame. When moisture in the air condenses, it may freeze between the spring member and the ice making frame, and the urging force of the spring member may not be sufficiently obtained. At this time, there is a problem that the contact force of the temperature sensor is lowered with respect to the ice tray or that the temperature sensor cannot be contacted, and the temperature detection sensitivity of the temperature sensor is lowered. In particular, when a coiled spring member is used, a shaft for supporting the spring member is required to prevent movement or deformation in a direction other than the expansion / contraction direction. It is easy to freeze between own lines.
In order to solve such problems, the ice making frame is enlarged, and the spring member and the fixing part of the ice making frame may be arranged at a position sufficiently away from the ice making plate. However, the ice making frame is generally used for cooling the ice making plate. There is a function of adjusting the air flow, and there is a problem that the air flow around the ice tray cannot be optimized by increasing the size, and the ice making speed deteriorates.

  The present invention has been made to solve such problems of the prior art, and the possibility of condensation and freezing of the elastic member in the automatic ice making device is reduced, so that the temperature of the ice tray can be accurately detected. The purpose is to provide a refrigerator.

The refrigerator according to the present invention includes an ice tray, an ice making frame that is formed to cover the ice tray, and rotatably holds the ice tray, a drive unit that rotates the ice tray, and the temperature of the ice tray. A temperature sensor for detecting the temperature, and an elastic member having one end engaged with the temperature sensor and the other end fixed to a fixing portion disposed outside the ice making frame, and elastically pressing the temperature sensor against the ice tray. The elastic engagement means is configured by using elastic force of a side wall portion of the ice making frame itself, and the temperature sensor is held at a lower end portion of the side wall portion via a sensor holding member. It is.

In the present invention, one end of the elastic engagement means that elastically presses the temperature sensor against the ice tray is engaged with the temperature sensor, and the other end is fixed on the outside of the ice making frame surrounding the ice tray. By fixing to the part, there is no possibility that the water splashed at the time of water supply will be applied to the elastic engaging means, and the temperature of the temperature sensor is accurately detected by preventing the sensitivity of the temperature sensor from deteriorating due to freezing of the elastic engaging means. In addition, the elastic engagement means is configured using a wide range of elastic force in the side wall portion of the ice making frame itself, and the temperature sensor is held at the lower end portion of the side wall portion via a sensor holding member. Therefore, there is no relative movement between the temperature sensor or the sensor holding member and the ice making frame, it is possible to prevent contact operation failure, increase temperature detection reliability by the temperature sensor, and spring member. Separately there is no need to be installed, production is simplified.

It is a perspective view which shows the main body of the refrigerator which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is side surface sectional drawing which shows the principal part of the automatic ice making apparatus of the refrigerator shown by FIG. It is principal part sectional drawing when the automatic ice making apparatus shown by FIG. 2 is seen from the front. It is principal part sectional drawing of the refrigerator which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a main body of a refrigerator according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The refrigerator 1 includes a refrigerating room 2, an ice making room 3, a switching room 4, a freezing room 5, and a vegetable room 6. 2 is a side cross-sectional view showing the main part of the automatic ice making device of the refrigerator shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a main part cross-sectional view of the automatic ice making device shown in FIG. In the figure, the ice making chamber 3 is surrounded by an ice making chamber door 31, upper and lower heat insulating walls 32, a rear heat insulating wall 33, and left and right heat insulating walls 34. The main part of the automatic ice making device 7 is arranged in the ice making chamber 3. The ice tray 71 installed in the ice making chamber 3 has a plurality of ice chambers 71 a, and a rear end portion (right side in FIG. 2) has an engaging portion 71 b that can be attached to and detached from the rotation shaft of the driving portion 72. Engaged and arranged.

  The front end of the ice tray 71 opposite to the drive unit 72 has a rotating shaft 71 c and is pivotally supported by the ice tray handle 73. The ice tray handle 73 is fixed to the bearing portion 74a of the ice making frame 74 during ice making. When the ice tray 71 is removed for the purpose of washing or the like, the ice tray handle 73 is pulled out to be removed integrally with the ice tray 71. The ice tray 71 is rotatably held with respect to the ice making frame 74 by a bearing portion 74 a and a driving portion 72. The ice making frame 74 is formed so as to cover the ice making plate 71 and the driving unit 72 except for the surface facing the ice case 35 installed at the bottom of the ice making chamber 3. For example, the heat insulating wall 32 at the top of the ice making chamber 3 is fixed. It is fixed to the part.

  Further, a water injection port 74b for supplying water from a water storage tank (not shown) provided in the refrigerator compartment 2 is provided at the upper part of the ice making frame 74, and ice is cooled in the vicinity of the rear heat insulating wall 33. Ventilation openings 74c are provided for allowing airflow to pass therethrough. As shown in FIG. 3, the temperature sensor 75 is held via a sensor holding member 75a at the lower end of a plate-like spring member 76 that constitutes an elastic engagement means that elastically presses the temperature sensor 75 against the ice tray 71. Has been. The upper end portion of the spring member 76 is fixed to the upper end portion of the surface facing the left heat insulating wall 34 of the ice making frame 74. The temperature sensor 75 is in contact with the ice chamber 71a at a position where water is poured through the water inlet 74b so that the biasing force of the spring member 76 is applied.

  The spring member 76, which is an elastic member, is disposed so as to maintain a predetermined distance from the side wall portion 74d of the ice making frame 74 except for the fixing portion 76a at the upper end. The spring member 76 and the sensor holding member 75a are formed so as to have a downward slope in the space inside the ice making frame 74 and to have no horizontal portion. The automatic ice making device 7 includes the ice making plate 71, the drive unit 72, the ice making plate handle 73, the ice making frame 74, the temperature sensor 75, the spring member 76, a water supply tank (not shown), a control device, and the like. . In addition to the above, the various sensors and control devices that constitute the automatic ice making device are the same as those in the prior art, so illustration and description thereof are omitted.

  Next, the operation of the first embodiment configured as described above will be described. The water automatically poured into the ice tray 71 by a control device (not shown) is cooled by the cooling airflow introduced from the ventilation port 74c of the ice making frame 74, becomes ice, and is further cooled to a low temperature. The temperature sensor 75 detects the temperature of the ice tray 71 at this time, and when the temperature reaches the preset ice-making completion determination temperature, the drive unit 72 operates and the ice tray 71 rotates in the clockwise direction in FIG. At this time, the temperature sensor 75 is temporarily released from contact with the ice tray 71. When the ice tray 71 is rotated to a certain angle, the side surface opposite to the side surface of the ice tray 71 with which the temperature sensor 75 is initially in contact comes into contact with the temperature sensor 75, and the temperature sensor 75 is pushed by the ice tray 71. Retreat from the rotating orbit.

  The ice tray 71 continues to rotate, and when the ice chamber 71a is substantially downward, a part of the ice tray 71 on the ice tray handle 73 side comes into contact with a stopper (not shown) provided on the ice making frame 74, and the drive unit By continuing to rotate the 72 side, the ice tray 71 is twisted, the ice is deiced and falls into the ice case 35. After the ice removal, the ice tray 71 returns to its original position by reverse rotation in the same orbit as before the ice removal. At this time, the contact between the ice tray 71 and the temperature sensor 75 is also restored by the elasticity of the spring member 76.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, since the spring member 76 is disposed at a position separating the side wall portion 74d of the ice making frame 74 from the ice tray 71, a substantial elastic portion of the spring member 76 is provided. Since the central portion is not exposed to water splashes or high humidity air in the ice making frame 74, it is possible to prevent the spring operation from being defective due to freezing and to improve the reliability of temperature detection. I can do it. In addition, since a sufficient distance can be provided between the center portion of the spring member 76 and the side wall portion 74d, it is possible to prevent malfunction due to freezing between them.

  Further, since the deformation of the spring member 76 in the horizontal direction is not restricted by the ice making frame 74, the amount of movement of the temperature sensor 75 during rotation of the ice tray 71 can be increased. By increasing the amount of movement, the temperature sensor 75 can be brought into contact with the vicinity of the bottom of the ice chamber 71a, which is close to the rotation center of the ice tray 71. Since the water temperature in the ice tray 71 at the time of ice making is generally high near the bottom surface and the ice making speed is slow, the completion of ice making can be detected with higher accuracy by contacting the temperature sensor 75 near the bottom surface.

  Further, the spring member 76 is disposed so as to extend downward from the fixed portion 76a, and is bent with an inclination downward in the direction of the ice tray 71 on the way. Accordingly, when the temperature sensor 75 moves, the spring member 76 is bent in the horizontal direction at the height of the contact portion of the temperature sensor 75 with respect to the ice tray 71, and the sensor holding member 75a is disposed horizontally. The displacement of the spring member 76 in the horizontal direction can be suppressed. Thereby, the whole automatic ice making apparatus 7 can be installed close to the left heat insulating wall 34, and the space in the refrigerator can be used effectively.

  Further, since the sensor holding member 75a has a downward slope in the space inside and below the ice making frame 74, even when splashed water is splashed in the ice making frame 74, the sensor holding member 75a is lowered along the inclination. Since it flows down, the splashed water does not accumulate on the sensor holding member 75a or the like, and the temperature can be accurately detected. When ice is generated in the vicinity of the temperature sensor 75, the sensitivity of the temperature sensor 75 may be adversely affected by the heat capacity of the ice and the latent heat of melting, but according to the first embodiment with the inclination as described above, Such a problem can be avoided.

  Further, since the plate-like spring member 76 has a plate surface arranged in parallel with the side wall portion 74d of the ice making frame 74 and has a small element that disturbs the air flow in the warehouse, even when the ice making corner is enlarged, the ice making speed is deteriorated. Therefore, the temperature sensor sensitivity can be prevented from deteriorating due to freezing of the spring mechanism, the temperature can be accurately detected, and energy can be saved. In addition, since the spring member 76 is configured by a leaf spring, it is easy to provide a downward inclination.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of the refrigerator according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the member or part which is the same or corresponds through each figure. In the figure, the temperature sensor 75 is fixed to the lower end portion of the side wall portion 74d of the ice making frame 74 through a sensor holding member 75a. The ice making frame 74A has elasticity including the side wall portion 74d, and the temperature sensor 75 is brought into contact with the ice making tray 71 with an urging force due to its elasticity.

  That is, the second embodiment uses the elasticity of the ice making frame 74 having the side wall portion 74d as an elastic engagement means that elastically presses the temperature sensor 75 against the ice tray 71, and an ice making frame as a spring member. 74A has a lower end portion of the side wall portion 74d, which is one end portion, fixed to the sensor holding member 75a of the temperature sensor 75, and the other end portion to the upper heat insulating wall 32 which is a fixed portion disposed outside the ice making frame 74A. It is fixed by fixing means (not shown). Note that the ice making frame 74A is configured to have physical and mechanical characteristics so that a desired contact force and moving amount can be obtained. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

  According to the second embodiment configured as described above, the relative movement of the temperature sensor 75 or the sensor holding member 75a and the ice making frame 74A is eliminated. Further, by providing elasticity over a wide range of the ice making frame 74A, even if a part of the side wall 74d of the ice making frame 74A is frozen, the elasticity is not completely lost. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the contact operation from being defective and to improve the reliability of temperature detection by the temperature sensor 75. Moreover, since it is not necessary to install the spring member 76, the effect that manufacture becomes easy is also acquired.

  In the above-described embodiment, the elasticity of the ice making frame 74A having the spring member 76 made of a leaf spring or the side wall portion 74d is used as the elastic engagement means for elastically pressing the temperature sensor 75 against the ice tray 71. However, the present invention is not necessarily limited to this, and can be configured using another elastic member such as a coil spring.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Refrigerator, 3 Ice making room, 31 Ice making room door, 32 Heat insulation wall, 34 Heat insulation wall, 7 Automatic ice making apparatus, 71 Ice making tray, 71a Ice room, 71b Engagement part, 71c Rotating shaft, 72 Drive part, 73 Ice tray handle, 74 ice making frame, 74A ice making frame (elastic engagement means), 74a bearing part, 74b water injection port, 74c ventilation port, 74d side wall part, 75 temperature sensor, 75a sensor holding member, 76 spring member (elastic engagement means), 76a Fixed part.

Claims (2)

An ice tray, an ice making frame formed so as to cover the ice tray, and rotatably holding the ice tray, a drive unit for rotating the ice tray, a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the ice tray, the other end portion at one end portion is engaged with said temperature sensor comprises a resilient engagement means for pressing elastically the temperature sensor is fixed to the fixed portion disposed outside the above ice tray of the ice making frame, the elastic The engaging means is configured by using an elastic force of a side wall portion of the ice making frame itself, and the temperature sensor is held at a lower end portion of the side wall portion via a sensor holding member . The sensor holding member is fixed to the lower end portion of the side wall portion of the ice making frame, and the other end portion of the side wall portion is fixed to an upper heat insulating wall that insulates the ice making chamber provided with the ice making frame. The refrigerator according to claim 1.

Images