JPH01193571A - Ice making device for refrigerator and the like - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To solve the inability to remove the ice making tray due to the frost growth by operating a heating device at regular intervals over a certain time period from the moment when a temperature sensing means detects a temperature above a preset level. CONSTITUTION:If, after setting a first ice making tray 15 filled with water in a first ice making chamber 8, the user does not press the ice making switch as clear ice is not needed, the thermal effect of the water gets to a thermostat 24 through an air hole 23, and the thermostat 24 is turned on when it detects a temperature rise beyond a certain level, for instance -5 deg.C. In response to this 'ON' signal, a timer 25 causes a contact point to repeat the sequence of going on for 2 minutes and off for 8 minutes over a time period of about 6 hours. That is, heater 11 intermittently heats up, and a heating plate 12 is heated to about 2-3 deg.C. The ice making process is completed in this 6 hours, and the vapor generated during the ice making is discharged to the opening in the first ice making chamber 8 without sticking to the heating plate 12. Therefore, there will be no inconvenience of inability to remove the ice making tray 15 due to the ice growth.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ice-making device that is disposed in a freezer compartment of a refrigerator and is particularly capable of producing transparent ice.

Conventional technology Traditionally, in household refrigerators, etc., the entire ice making device is placed in one section of the freezing chamber, and the ice making tray is housed in the entire ice making device, and the water in the water making tray is completely frozen by the cooling effect of the cold air flowing inside the ice making device. It is common practice to generate water and gold by

However, with such a water generation method, the freezing of the water in the ice tray, which is not where the water is generated, progresses from the contact surface between the ice tray and the water and the contact surface between the cold air and water to the center. As a result, gaseous components and impurities dissolved in the water are trapped in the center of the ice, resulting in a cloudy center, making the water opaque and unsuitable for drinks such as whisky. It was not suitable.

Therefore, there is a need to obtain clear water from thermal removal, and the equipment for producing it is shown in Figures 6 to 7, for example.
The method shown in the figure is being considered. The contents will be explained below according to the drawings.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a refrigerator body, which is divided by a partition wall 2 into a freezing compartment 3 at the top and a refrigerating compartment 4 at the bottom. 6 is a cooler for the refrigeration cycle, and 6 is a blower for forced ventilation.
is located on the back of the.

7 is an ice making device disposed at the bottom of the freezer compartment 3;
A first ice-making compartment 8 for producing transparent water is provided in the upper stage, and a second ice-making compartment 9 for producing regular ice is provided in the lower stage. The first ice-making compartment 8 has an outer wall, except for the bottom and front, surrounded by a heat insulating material 10, a heater 11 on the top, and an aluminum heating plate 12 disposed on the back of the metal, and a heating plate 12 on the bottom. Aluminum cooling plates 13 are respectively arranged. 14 is a ventilation passage formed in the upper part of the second ice making compartment 9, and 15° and 16 are ventilation passages formed in the upper part of the first ice making compartment 8. This is the second ice tray.

Reference numeral 17 denotes a discharge duct for forcing the cold air cooled by the cooler 5 into the ice making device 7 by the air blower @6, and the discharge duct 17 is connected to the ventilation duct 14 and It communicates with the inside of the second ice making chamber 9. 19
is a return duct for returning cold air discharged into the freezer compartment 3 to the cooler 6. Further, reference numeral 2o denotes a transparent water ice-making switch, which is configured so that once the switch is turned on, the heater 11 is energized for a predetermined time (1). Further, 21 is provided in the freezing chamber 3 marked mJ, and is connected to the blower e.
and operation of the compressor 22 of the refrigeration cycle.

It is a thermostat that controls the stop.

Next, to explain the electric circuit, the feeder 6 and the compressor 22 are connected in parallel, and then the thermostuff 1
-21'i to the power supply. The heater 11 is connected in series with the ice-making switch 20 and then connected to a power source.

In this configuration, when the thermostat 21 is turned on, the compressor 22 and the blower 6 are operated, and the air cooled by the cooler 6 is supplied to the freezer compartment 3 and the refrigerator compartment 4 by the ventilation action of the blower 6, and at the same time, the air is supplied to the discharge duct 17. Discharge port 1st
- Through the ice making device 7 yen, the second ice making compartment 9 and the ventilation passage 14
is discharged.

The cold air guided into the second ice-making compartment 9 directly cools the second ice-making tray 16fjc, and the water inside is heated to the water surface and the second ice-making tray 16fjc.
The remaining ice is sequentially frozen from the side that comes into contact with the ice cube tray 16 to produce normal ice. However, as mentioned above, the ice produced in this way becomes cloudy and does not become transparent. On the other hand, the cold air guided into the ventilation passage 14 cools the cooling plate 13. Therefore, in order to make transparent ice, the user stores the first ice tray 15 filled with water in the first ice making compartment 8 and turns on the ice making switch 2o. 11 starts the heating action via the heating plate 12, and cooling, ie freezing action, starts from the lower surface via the cooling plate 13 by cold air flowing through the ventilation passage 14. Further, since the outer wall of the first ice tray 15 except the lower surface is covered with a heat insulating material 1o, it is not affected by the cooling effect from the freezing chamber 3, and the freezing action progresses in one direction from the lower surface to the upper surface. This freezing effect is indirect cooling via the cooling plate 13, and in addition, a heating effect is added by the heater 11 whose capacity is set in advance, so ice grows due to the diffusion rate of gaseous components in the water. Freezing speed is slower Ice making progresses without air bubbles being incorporated into the ice. In this way, the freezing rate is approximately 3 M/h.
If controlled to the following degree, the gas components in the water will be degassed from the surface of the frozen ice to the outside air, so the ice that is finally formed will be almost transparent and will not contain air bubbles. You will get it. Approximately -6 when freezing is completely completed
The power supply is automatically stopped after a while after passing the temperature.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in such a configuration, the user can
5 is put into the first ice-making compartment 8 and the ice-making switch 2o is not turned on, the heating plate 12 is not heated and remains at a low temperature of about -5°C. Therefore, the water vapor that evaporates during ice making adheres to the heating plate and turns into ice, and the first ice tray 15 gets caught in the ice and cannot be removed.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide an ice making device such as a refrigerator that does not cause the inconvenience of not being able to take out the ice tray due to frost even if ice is made without pressing the ice making switch.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, the refrigerator of the present invention includes a ventilation hole formed in a part of the heating plate, a temperature detection means provided in the back space of the heating plate opposite to the ventilation hole, The heating device is configured to operate the heating device for a certain period of time at a predetermined time period from the time when the temperature detection means detects a temperature higher than a predetermined temperature.

Effects of the present invention When ice is made without pressing the ice making switch with the above-described configuration, if the temperature detection means detects a temperature higher than a certain temperature due to the thermal influence of the water temperature, the heating device is activated for a certain period of time at a predetermined time period from that point onwards. The temperature of the heating plate is raised to prevent frost formation.

EXAMPLE Hereinafter, an ice making apparatus such as a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. It should be noted that the same components as those in the prior art are given the same numbers and their explanations will be omitted.

23 is a ventilation hole formed in the heating plate 12. A thermostat 24 detects the ambient temperature on the top surface of the first ice tray. 26 is connected in series with the timer, thermostat 24, and ice-making switch oF point 20a. The operation of the above configuration will be explained below.

A user fills the first ice tray 16 with water and puts it into the first ice tray 8. At this time, the user does not need transparent ice (
(or you have forgotten), if you do not press the ice making switch 2o, the heat effect from water will be removed from the thermostat 24 rather than the vent 23.
When the thermostat 24 detects a temperature rise and reaches a certain temperature (for example, -5° C.), the thermostat 24 turns on. Next, the timer 26 is turned on for 2 minutes and turned off for s minutes by this ON signal.
Open and close the contacts at F for about 6 hours. That is, the heater 11 performs intermittent heating, and the heating plate 12 is heated to about 2 to 3 degrees Celsius. Ice making is completed within these six hours, and the steam evaporated during ice making exits to the opening of the first ice making chamber 8 without adhering to the heating plate 12. Therefore, there is no inconvenience that the ice tray 15 cannot be removed due to frost formation.

Effects of the Invention As described above, according to the present invention, when an ice making tray is put in when the ice making switch is not turned on, the temperature detection means detects the temperature rise, and thereafter the heating device is operated for a certain period of time at a predetermined time period. Therefore, there is no possibility of frost forming on the heating plate, and there is no inconvenience that the ice cube tray is obstructed by frost and cannot be removed.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is an electric circuit diagram of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention;
The figure is a temperature characteristic diagram when ice is made with the ice making device of the same refrigerator when the ice making switch is not turned on. Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the ice making device of the same refrigerator. Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of the same refrigerator. Figure 5 is the conventional FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the ice making device of the refrigerator, and FIG. 7 is a front view of the refrigerator. 8...First ice making compartment, 1o...Insulating material, 11...Heater (heating means), 12...
...Heating plate, 13...Cooling plate, 14...
・Ventilation path (cooling means), 15...First ice tray (ice tray), 20...Ice making switch, 23...
...Vent hole, 24...Thermostat value detection means), 25...Timer. Name of agent: Patent attorney Toshio Nakao and 1 other person//
--- This part (Kaki Po〒iri 20- Ice making switch? 4 --- Boo drying stand (Friends know hands) Za- Timer Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 8- First water making! 10- Insulation material//--- Heater (1) l?-Kase-Kono 3-11-kun-1zu-wago item (1st victory area: g-) t) Fig. 5 2/ / / /

Claims (1)

[Claims] a cooling plate, an ice-making chamber partitioned with the cooling plate as a bottom and an open front side, an ice-making tray stored in the ice-making chamber and placed on the cooling plate, a heater provided on the top surface of the ice-making tray, etc. a heating plate equipped with a heating device; a ventilation hole formed in a part of the heating plate; a temperature detection means provided in a back space of the heating plate opposite to the ventilation hole; and a bottom surface of the ice making compartment. A heat insulating material disposed inside the outer wall excluding the front surface, an ice making switch that commands the start of ice making and activates the heating device, and a point in time when the temperature detecting means detects a temperature equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature when the ice making switch is not turned on. An ice making device such as a refrigerator comprising means for operating the heating device for a certain period of time at a predetermined time period.