JPH0218464Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] a. Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to an operation control device for an ice-making machine that de-ices using a combination of hot gas and de-icing water.

b. Prior Art Conventionally, ice making machines generally rely solely on hot gas as a deicing means, but depending on the structure of the ice making machine, deicing using hot gas alone may not be sufficient. For example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 60-46348 filed by the same applicant as the present application, when using an ice-making plate formed of a stainless steel plate with vertical waves, the thermal conductivity of stainless steel is relatively low. Because of the low temperature, semi-cylindrical ice grains are formed independently around the surface area corresponding to the evaporator installed on the back of the ice plate, but when deicing these ice grains, hot gas is supplied to the evaporator. If the ice is simply flushed, the ice on the surface of the ice-making plate corresponding to the evaporator will melt relatively quickly, but the ice formed on the surface away from the ice-making plate will not melt easily and will require a long deicing time. This will result in a significant decrease in ice making capacity, so it is necessary to use deicing water as well.

In addition, the shape of the ice in the above-mentioned case using only hot gas is, as shown in Figure 6, a melted part 5a with its center melted and an ice part 5b remaining after deicing, which is extremely inconvenient as a product. It was hot.

On the other hand, when using hot gas and deicing water together, a hot gas valve with a small diameter is used to prevent the compressor from overloading under conditions where the ambient temperature or feed water temperature is high. Under certain conditions, the deicing time may be so long that deicing may even be impossible due to insufficient hot gas flow. In addition, if a hot gas valve with a large diameter is used, it works well under the low temperature conditions mentioned above, but under high temperature conditions, the refrigerant gas pressure at the discharge and suction from the compressor will rise significantly, causing the compressor to drop significantly. This will cause an overload, which will impede normal operation and cause the compressor to malfunction.

In other words, when hot gas and de-icing water are used together, under high-temperature conditions, the thermal energy of both is overwhelmingly greater, as can be understood just by comparing their specific heat; The influence of hot gas on ice is only about one-fifth that of water, and this was an extremely important factor leading to the above-mentioned problems.

c Problems to be solved by the invention Therefore, in the conventional technology, when hot gas and deicing water are used together for deicing, depending on the temperature conditions,
There was a problem in which deicing could not be performed without overloading the compressor.

d Means for Solving the Problems The present invention aims to provide extremely effective means for quickly solving the above problems. The water supply valve 2 is used in an ice making machine which supplies deicing water to the ice making section 1 and also supplies hot gas to an evaporator 2 connected to the ice making section 1 in a heat exchange manner.
A normally closed contact 24 and a normally open contact 25 of a timer 23 that control the valve opening time from 6 are connected in series to the water supply valve 26 and a temperature sensing device that turns on when ice is removed from the ice making section 1. A fan motor 17 for cooling the normally closed contact 24 and the condenser 10 is connected to the deicing detection switch device 18, and the fan motor 17 is driven by a closing signal from the normally closed contact 24. It is connected as much as possible.

e Function During the deicing process, the normally closed contact 24 of the timer 23
The fan motor 17 is driven via. Under high temperature conditions, ice leaves the ice-making section and the de-icing detection switch device 18 is turned on before the timer times up, so even if the timer times up and the normally closed contact 24 opens, the fan does not The motor 17 operates continuously to reduce the refrigerant gas pressure and prevent compressor overload. Under low temperature conditions, when the timer 23 times up, ice has not yet left the ice making section, so the deicing detection switch device is off, and when the timer 23 times up and the normally closed contact 24 opens, the fan motor 17 is turned off. Stop to facilitate de-icing.

f. Embodiment Next, a preferred embodiment of the operation control device for an ice maker according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts.

1 to 3 show an example of an ice making machine in which the operation control device of the present invention is implemented, and in the figures, reference numeral 1
The ice-making plate generally shown in Fig. 1 is an ice-making plate of an ice-making machine that is entirely made of stainless steel plates and is installed almost vertically.A tubular evaporator 2 is installed on the back side 1a of this ice-making plate 1 for heat exchange. It is being As shown in FIG. 2, the ice-making plate 1 is formed with a plurality of protrusions 3 hanging down at regular intervals.
The entire structure is formed into a corrugated plate shape, whereby a plurality of ice-making surfaces 4 are formed at positions corresponding to the evaporator 2 on the surface 1b side of the ice-making plate 1 between the respective protrusions 3,
Semi-cylindrical ice particles 5 are formed on each ice making surface 4.

A de-icing water sprinkling pipe 6 and an ice-making water sprinkling pipe 6a (FIG. 3) are disposed above the ice-making plate 1.
This deicing water sprinkler pipe 6 is connected to a deicing water supply pipe (not shown) having a water supply valve 26 described below, and
The deicing water is applied to the back surface 1a of the ice-making plate 1 from the water sprinkling hole 6b.
can be supplied to A circulation pump driven by a pump motor 22, which will be described later, is connected to the ice-making water sprinkling pipe 6a.

The lower end 2a of the evaporator 2 is connected via a first conduit 7 to a compressor 8, which is connected via a second conduit 9 to a condenser 1 having a fan motor 17 for cooling.
0, and the condenser 10 is connected to the third conduit 11
It is connected to a capillary tube 12, which is an expansion means, via a.

The capillary tube 12 is connected to the upper end 2b of the evaporator 2 via a fourth conduit 13, and the lower end 2a of the evaporator 2 is connected to a temperature-sensitive deicing detection switch device (FIG. 4) 18. Detection means 18' are attached. The branch part 9a of the second conduit 9 and the fourth
A hot gas valve 15 is connected to the conduit 14 between the conduit 13 and the branch portion 13a.

Next, before explaining an embodiment of the operation control device of the present invention applied to the above-mentioned ice making machine, please refer to FIG. 7 for the configuration of a conventional control circuit for sequentially controlling ice making and deicing processes. To explain, the control circuit 19 includes the first to fifth circuits 30 and 4.
0,50,60,70. The relay 20 of the first circuit 30 that controls ice making and deicing of the ice maker has a normally closed contact X ₁ and normally open contacts X ₂ , X ₃ , and X ₄ . A water level detection type ice making completion detection switch device 21 provided in the water tank, a deicing detection switch device 18 in the fifth circuit 70 that detects the completion of deicing, and a normally open contact 25 of a timer 23 that controls water supply time. are connected in series and a normally open contact in the fourth circuit 60.
A pump motor 22 for ice making water circulation is connected in series to _X2 .

The normally closed contact X ₁ of the second circuit 40 includes the hot gas valve 15, the timer 23, and the normally closed contact 2 of the timer 23.
4 and the water supply valve 26 are connected in series. Furthermore, the normally closed contact 24 of the timer 23 in parallel with the normally open contact X ₃ of the third circuit 50 is connected in series to the condenser fan motor 17, and the normally open contact X ₄ of the first circuit 30 is Perform retention. Compressor 8 is connected in parallel to fourth circuit 60 .

The configuration of the conventional control circuit 19 described above is the same in the case of the operation control device according to the present invention (FIG. 4), and the above description also applies to the operation control device according to the present invention.

When the conventional operation control device shown in FIG. 7 is operated, in the ice-making process in which the relay 20 of the first circuit 30 is energized, the ice-making process is started by the operation of the pump motor 22 as the normally open contact X ₂ is closed. Ice-making water is supplied to the ice-making surface of the plate from the ice-making water sprinkler pipe, and the normally open contact
When X ₃ is closed, the fan motor 17 rotates to cool the condenser, and the ice making surface is cooled by the operation of the compressor 8, forming ice particles. When the growth of ice grains is completed, the ice making completion detection switch device 21 detects a decrease in the water level in the ice making water tank (not shown) and turns off, so the relay 20 is demagnetized and the normally closed contact X ₁ is turned on. , the normally open contacts X ₂ , X ₃ , and X ₄ are turned off, the pump motor 22 and the fan motor 17 are stopped, the hot gas valve 15 and the water supply valve 26 are opened, and hot gas is supplied to the evaporator. Deicing water is supplied from the ice water sprinkling pipe to the back side of the ice-making plate, and the deicing process is started.

Further, when the normally closed contact X ₁ is turned on and the timer 23 is energized to measure a certain period of time, the normally closed contact 24 is turned off and the water supply valve 26 is closed.

At the same time, the normally open contact 25 is turned on, and when the de-icing detection switch device 18 detects the removal of ice from the ice-making plate 1, that is, the set temperature, the ice-making completion detection switch, which had been turned on by water supply from the water supply valve 26, is turned on. Relay 20 is energized via device 21, deicing is completed, and the next ice making process begins.

The configuration and operation of the operation control device described above are those of the conventional one shown in FIG. 7, but according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. circuit 40, third circuit 50
The structure differs from the conventional one shown in FIG. 7 in that it has a line 51 connected to terminals a and b, and because of this difference, the ice making machine operation control device according to the present invention can The control mode of the deicing process is significantly different in the case of low temperature conditions (e.g. ambient temperature and water temperature of about 15°C or less). This will be explained using Figures A and B.

FIG. 5A shows the operating sequence of the deicing and ice making process under conditions of high ambient temperature and high water temperature.

t ₀ is the start of deicing, t ₁ is the completion of deicing and the start of ice making, t ₂
indicates the completion of ice making, and operation is performed according to this cycle. T ₁ indicates the deicing time, T ₂ indicates the ice making time, and the deicing detection switch device (thermostat) 18 indicates t ₁
The water supply timer 23 is energized before and after the deicing time T1, and the water supply timer 23 is energized during the deicing time _T1 .
During the timer setting time, the normally closed contact 24 is closed.
The water supply valve 26, the hot gas valve 15, and the fan motor 17 are operated via the line 51, and after the timer setting time, the ice making process begins, but the fan motor 17 continues to operate, and the condenser 10 is operated. Cooling continues.

FIG. 5B shows the sequence control state when moving from the deicing process to the ice making process under conditions of low ambient temperature and low water supply temperature.

t ₀ point indicates the start of deicing, t ₁ point indicates the completion of deicing and the start of ice making, t ₂ point indicates the completion of ice making, T ₃ indicates the deicing time, T ₄
indicates ice making time. The water supply timer 23 is energized for a certain period of time, during which time the water supply valve 26 and fan motor 17 operate as described above, and the hot gas valve 15 is energized until the deicing detection switch device 18 detects deicing and turns on. , then enters the ice making process.

Next, to explain each of the above sequence control states in more detail, in the sequence control shown in Fig. 5A under high temperature conditions, the deicing time T ₁ becomes very short, so a constant water supply amount can be ensured. In order to do so, the water supply valve 26 and the hot gas valve 15 are also opened for a certain period of time by the timer 23 to remove ice, but the fan motor 17 is also operated to prevent the low pressure of the compressor 8 from rising abnormally. Since the deicing thermal energy of the high temperature water is large, deicing is completed within the timer setting time and the deicing detection switch device 18 is turned on, so the ice making process begins immediately after deicing, and the fan motor 17 is completely turned off. It will not stop. In this case, the ice making process will be relatively long due to the high water temperature.

Furthermore, in the sequence control shown in FIG. 5B under low temperature conditions, when the deicing process begins, the water supply valve 2
6 and the hot gas valve 15 are opened, and the fan motor 1 is opened.
7 is also activated, but the deicing is not completed within the set time of the timer 23 because the deicing thermal energy of the low temperature water is small. Therefore, after the time set by the timer 23, not only the water supply valve 26 is stopped, but also the fan motor 17 is stopped via the line 51, the temperature of the condenser 10 is increased, and deicing is completed using only hot gas. let In this case, the deicing time _T3 is longer than _T1 , but the ice making time _T4 is shorter than _T2 because the water temperature is lower.

g. Effects of the invention Since the ice maker operation control device according to the invention has the configuration and function described above, it can operate the fan motor for cooling the condenser in different sequences depending on the ambient temperature and water temperature. It can be controlled by a program, prevents a sudden rise in low pressure, which is closely related to the compressor load, and reliably avoids overloading the compressor.

Furthermore, since deicing is reliably performed regardless of the ambient temperature and water temperature, the shape of the ice particles does not change during deicing, and it can be assembled at low cost without adding any parts or the like.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a refrigeration circuit diagram of an ice maker that can implement the operation control device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing the ice making mechanism in the ice maker of FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a control circuit diagram of the operation control device according to the present invention, and FIGS. 5A and B are charts showing states in which the control circuit of FIG. 4 is operated in sequence. FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a main part showing a conventional deicing state, and FIG. 7 is a control circuit diagram of a conventional operation control device. 1...Ice plate, 2...Evaporator, 3...Protrusion,
4...Ice making surface, 5...Ice grains, 6...Deicing water sprinkling pipe, 6a...Ice making water sprinkling pipe, 8...Compressor, 10
...Condenser, 12...Capillary tube, 15...
Hot gas valve, 17... Fan motor, 18...
Deicing detection switch device, 19...control circuit, 20
... Relay, 21 ... Ice making completion detection switch device, 22 ... Pump motor, 23 ... Timer, 2
4... Normally closed contact, 25... Normally open contact, 26... Water supply valve, 51... Line.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] It is used in an ice making machine that supplies deicing water from a water supply valve 26 to the ice making section 1 during the deicing process, and also supplies hot gas to the evaporator 2 connected to the ice making section 1 in a heat exchange relationship. The water supply valve 26
The normally closed contact 24 and the normally open contact 25 of the timer 23 that control the opening time from the water supply valve 26 are connected in series with the water supply valve 26, respectively. Deicing detection switch device 1
8, and the normally closed contact 24 and a fan motor 17 for cooling the condenser 10 are connected so that the fan motor 17 is driven by a closing signal from the normally closed contact 24. Operation control device.