JPH03129277A - Ice making machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simplify switch structure and to enable proper operation of an ice making device by a method wherein a conductor for inputting signals from ice detecting plates is clamped, and an ice detecting body formed in a unit state is mounted to the mounting opening parts of an ice delivery part and an ice storage chamber in a manner to close the mounting opening parts. CONSTITUTION:A conductive ice delivery member 12 in an ice delivery part 11 and the conductive inner box of an ice storage chamber 1 form a first electrode part. Conductive ice detecting plates 25 and 25a of a second electrode part positioned facing the first electrode part are mounted, and sensor cases 27 and 27a containing electrostatic volume change detecting circuits 26 and 26 are arranged on the opposite side to the ice detecting plates 25 and 25a, respectively. The sensor cases 27 and 27a are securely fastened directly to the ice detecting plates 25 and 25a or with an electric insulating plate 28 therebetween by means of conductive screws. Simultaneously, a conductor for inputting signals from the ice detecting plates 15 and 25a is also clamped to form an ice detecting body formed in an unit state. The ice detecting body is securely mounted to the mounting opening parts of the ice delivery part 11 and the ice storage chamber 1 in a manner to close the opening parts. This constitution improves reliability of operation, simplifies switch structure, and enables proper control of operation of an ice making device.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (a) Industrial Application Field The present invention is provided with an ice making device including a delivery section for water produced in the ice making device and an ice storage for storing the delivered ice. The present invention also relates to an ice maker that detects the level of ice stored in an ice storage and appropriately controls the operation of the ice maker.

(b) Conventional technology Ice makers generally stop operation when the amount of stored ice reaches a certain level using an ice storage switch installed in the ice storage.

When the ice is no longer consumed, the operation is restarted, and the operation is controlled by a limit switch provided in the ice delivery section to stop the operation when an abnormality such as ice clogging occurs in the ice delivery section.

By the way, as the ice storage switch and limit switch, conventionally, for example, in the ice storage switch,
- As shown in Publication No. 151068, a photoelectric type that uses infrared rays and turns off when the light emitting part and the light receiving part face each other and accumulated ice enters between them and blocks the infrared rays. 5 In addition, as shown in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 58-5903, a limit switch uses a mechanically operated switch such as a microswitch. When ice builds up on the impeller, the ice pushes up the actuating plate and activates a microswitch, stopping the engine.

Fig. 6 shows an ice maker that makes use of the conventional configuration. That is, in the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes an ice storage, which includes an ice storage chamber 3 defined by a heat insulating wall 2, and an ice fall passage 4 defined at the upper part of the ice storage chamber. An ice storage switch 5 having a configuration in which a light emitting part 5A that emits infrared rays and a light receiving part 5B thereof face each other is disposed below the ice falling passage 4, and ice 6 enters between the light receiving part 5B and SA. When the infrared rays are cut off, the change in output is taken out as a signal via the conductor 7 and sent to a control section (not shown) to stop the operation of the ice making device 8. The ice making device 8 is a well-known auger type, and an auger (
(not shown) is inserted so as to be freely driven and rotatable, and the shaved ice by the auger is transferred upward and compressed into thin ice pieces by the upper bearing lO of the auger. The structure is such that the ice is sent into the ice, and further scraped and sent to the ice falling passage 4 by an ice sending member such as an impeller 12 provided therein. Therefore, when the ice storage switch 5 is activated, the rotation of this auger is stopped. The cooling cylinder 9 is cooled by a refrigeration device installed in the upper part of the ice storage 1. Specifically, a cooling coil 17 that is connected to a compressor 14, a condenser 15, and a capillary tube 16 via a refrigerant pipe 13 to form a refrigeration circuit is wrapped around the outer periphery of the cooling tube 9 to keep it cool. On the other hand, the limit switch 18 for safety protection provided in the ice sending section 11 is connected to an actuating plate 20 which is always urged downward by a coil spring 19 and is attached to the shaft end of the actuating plate 20. It consists of an external actuator 21 that moves up and down, and a microswitch 22 that is activated by this actuator 21.
As can be understood from the before-operation diagram in FIG. 8 and the operational diagram in FIG. When the actuator is in an operating state and a large amount of ice 6 enters between the impeller 12 and the actuating plate 20 due to ice clogging in the ice sending section 11, the actuating plate 20 is pushed by the ice 6 and the reactuator 21 is moved upward. Micro switch 2
2 to immediately stop the rotation of the ice making device 8, that is, the auger.

(c) Problems to be Solved by the Invention In terms of the problems to be solved by the invention, the photoelectric ice storage switch and the mechanical switch described in the above publication and FIGS. 6 to 8 have the following drawbacks. First of all, with the former type of photoelectric ice storage switch, the light may be blocked not only by ice but also by limescale and water droplets inside the ice storage, which may cause the ice making operation to stop or when the ice storage door is opened. There is a concern that malfunctions may occur, such as restarting operation due to outside light shining in. The latter type of mechanical limit switch has a movable part that moves the operating plate up and down, so malfunctions are likely to occur, and it is difficult to obtain stable switch operation, resulting in a lack of reliability. Also, when the actuating plate is pushed up, a considerable amount of pressure is applied to the ice, so it is necessary to take this pressure into consideration when selecting the material of the ice delivery part and ensuring sufficient strength of the structure itself. In addition, the stroke of the actuating plate and the spring of the coil spring must be adjusted to ensure accurate operation of the microswitch, and there is a problem in that assembly and installation are troublesome.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and is a capacitive switch that can provide highly reliable and stable switch operation, and has a simple switch structure. The purpose of the present invention is to provide an ice making machine that enables easy operation control.

(d) Means for Solving the Problems The present invention has an ice sending unit that sends out water made by an ice making device and an ice storage thereof, and the ice sending status of the ice sending unit and the ice storage level of the ice storage are monitored. In an ice making machine that controls the operation of the ice making device by detection using a capacitance type ice detection device, a conductive ice sending member in the ice sending unit, a conductive inner box of the ice storage, etc. are used as a first electrode part, A conductive ice detection plate of a second electrode part corresponding to this first electrode part is provided, a sensor case housing a capacitance change detection circuit is arranged on the outside opposite to this ice detection plate, and this sensor case is It is made into a unit by tightening and fixing it directly to the detection plate or with an electrically insulating plate in between, using conductive screws, etc., and also tightening the lead wire for receiving the signal from the ice detection plate. forming an ice sensing body;
This ice maker has this ice detector installed in the ice delivery section and the installation opening of the ice storage in a sealed manner.

(E) Function When the ice is being delivered smoothly in the ice delivery section, there is no ice between the ice delivery member such as the impeller, which is the first electrode part, and the ice detection plate, which is the second electrode part. There is no interference, and the capacitance detected during that time is small because of the air, and the capacitance detection circuit does not generate a signal to stop the ice making device.

However, ice delivery may continue for a long period of time due to a failure of the ice storage switch or malfunction of the ice delivery member.

If ice is not delivered smoothly, ice will form a bridge between the impeller and the ice detection plate. Therefore, the capacitance becomes extremely large due to the ice having a high dielectric constant, and the capacitance detection circuit detects the capacitance at this time and generates a signal to stop the operation of the ice making apparatus. On the other hand, when the ice storage level is low in the ice storage, there is air between the inner box, which is the first electrode part, and the ice detection plate, which is the second electrode part, so the detected capacitance is small, and the ice making device The signal to stop is not generated from the capacitance detection circuit, but
When the ice storage level increases and the ice becomes a bridge between the inner box and the ice detection plate, an extremely large change in capacitance is detected due to the presence of ice with a high dielectric constant, and this change is detected. A signal is generated from the capacitance detection circuit to stop the operation of the ice making device.

In addition, each ice detection plate is placed inside the ice delivery section and the ice storage compartment.
Then, each sensor case housing the capacitance detection circuit is placed outside the ice delivery section and outside the ice storage.
These water detection plates and the sensor case are connected together with conductive screws, and the conductive wires for taking in detection signals from the water detection plate to the capacitance detection circuit are also connected with these screws. The resulting unit constitutes an ice detector. Therefore, this compact ice detector can be mounted in a sealed manner in the mounting opening provided in the ice delivery section and the wall of the ice storage, making assembly and mounting easy.

In addition, the conductor wire for receiving the detection signal is short, and care has been taken to avoid creating a separate capacitance detection section by wiring it so that it does not run along the inner box or the ice delivery member, which is the ground electrode.
The influence of external noise can be sufficiently avoided, and since the fixing point between the conductor and screw is located outside and does not come into contact with ice or moisture, there is no need to worry about rust, and a good electrical connection can be achieved over a long period of time. can be maintained, thereby achieving high detection accuracy.

(f) Example Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

Fig. 1 shows a longitudinal sectional view of an ice maker according to the present invention that enables the operation of the ice maker to be controlled by detecting changes in capacitance, and Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the ice storage sensor attachment part. shows. Note that components that are the same as or equivalent to conventional ones are indicated by the same numbers. IIA of the ice storage I is made of a conductive material 1, for example, stainless steel.

This inner box IA itself functions as a first electrode portion of the capacitive ice storage switch 5. This inner box IA is in electrical contact with the outer box IB, which is also made of stainless steel.

And this outer box IB is grounded (E). A second electrode portion corresponding to the first electrode portion is an ice detection plate 25 made of a conductive material, for example, stainless steel. Therefore, the mechanism is such that a change in capacitance C between this ice detection plate 25 and the inner box IA is detected. In other words, if the amount of stored ice is small, both IA.

The space between 25 and 25 is air and the capacitance C is small, but when the amount of ice storage increases and the space between them becomes bridged by ice, the capacitance C' between them increases because ice has a high dielectric constant. ,
It becomes possible to operate the switch based on this change in capacitance, so a circuit for detecting this change in capacitance, that is, a capacitance detection circuit 26 (see Figure 5) is incorporated and sealed. A sensor case 27 and this ice detection plate 25 can be assembled integrally. For this purpose, an electric forest board 28 is provided, and the sensor case 27 and the ice detection board 25 are coupled and fixed together with this insulating board 28 sandwiched therebetween. The connection is made by two conductive screws 29.
．． At 29, the screws 29 and 29 are inserted from the sensor case 27 side and tightened so as to fix the sensor case 27 to the electrical insulating plate 28 and the ice detection plate 25. At this time, a conductive wire 30 connecting the ice detection plate 25 and the capacitance detection circuit 26 inside the sensor case 27 is connected to the head of one of the screws 29. A round terminal 31 is attached to the tip of this conductor 30.
are attached, and these are to be tightened together with screws 29. In this way, the ice detection plate 2 is placed on one side of the electrically insulating plate 28.
5. The sensor case 27 is attached to the other surface, and a conductor 30 is used to capture changes in capacitance as a detection signal.
can also be attached to form a compact unitized ice detector 5D. next.

This ice detector 5D is applied from the back side to the mounting opening 32 formed in the side wall 4A of the ice falling passage 4, and an electric Ha
The top and bottom of the plate 28 are fixed with screws 33 and 33. As a result, the ice detection plate 25 faces the ice storage 1 side, and the sensor case 27 is mounted in a state exposed outside the ice storage 1. When the outer side 14A of the ice falling passage 4 is formed of a conductive material such as metal, a short circuit between the ice detector 5D and the conductive ice falling passage 4 can be prevented by mounting via the electrical insulating plate 28. Can be configured by state.

However, if the ice falling passage 4 is formed of a non-conductive material such as resin, the electrically insulating plate 28 is not used and the sensor case 27 and the ice detection plate 25 are directly connected to each other, as shown in FIG. , are connected with two conductive screws 29, 29 to form an ice detector 5D, which is inserted into the resin ice falling passage 4 with screws 3.
3.33, it can be installed without worrying about electrical short circuits. In this way, finally, in order to ground one end of the capacitance detection circuit 26 in the sensor case 27, another conductive wire 34 is fixed to the metal frame 3F of the upper wall 3A of the ice storage chamber with a screw 35, and is in contact with this metal frame 3F. It is electrically connected to the outer box IB. 36 is a signal cable for transmitting signal changes from the capacitance detection circuit 26 to the control circuit of the ice making device 8, and is connected to the control circuit via a connector 37.

On the other hand, the limit switch 18 provided in the ice sending section II
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the structure is almost the same as that of the ice storage switch 5, and in this case, the impeller 12 is made of a conductive material to serve as the first electrode section, and the impeller 12 is made of a conductive material to form the first electrode section. The ice detection plate 25a of the second electrode part is fixed with screws 29a, 29a, and the electrically insulating plate 2
The only difference from the ice storage switch 5 is that 8a also serves as the top end cover of the ice delivery section 11. And 30a
36a is a lead wire for taking in the capacitance change signal; 36a is a signal cable for taking out the output from the capacitance change detection circuit 26a;
And 34a is a conductive wire for grounding. 27a is a sensor case, 26a is a capacitance detection circuit, and 33a is a mounting screw for the electrically insulating plate 28a. The ice storage switch 5 and the limit switch 18 are constructed as described above, and therefore, the two conductors forming a pair of electrodes, that is, the inner box IA
and ice detection plate 25, and impeller 12 and ice detection plate 25
When there is a space between the inner box IA and the ice detection plate 25, the capacitance C between them is small due to air, but as the amount of ice storage increases, the ice 6, which has a higher dielectric constant than air, connects the inner box IA and the ice detection plate 25. , or if the impeller 12 and the ice detection Fi 25a become short-circuited, the capacitance C' between them will increase. Then, the capacitance detection circuits 26 and 26a in each of the sensor cases 27 and 27a use the change in capacitance, ic', as an input signal to detect ice detection plates 25 and 25a, screws 29 and 29a, and conductive wires 30 and 30a, respectively. The signal change from this detection circuit 26.26a is taken in via the connector 37°37 with the control circuit of the ice making device 8.
The signal is transmitted to the control circuit via the signal cable 36.36a having a signal line 36.36a, and controls the operation stop of the ice making device 8.

Here, a circuit 26゜26 for detecting a change in capacitance
a may be placed inside the ice storage l or the ice delivery unit 11 or outside of each, but changes in capacitance are captured by the ice detection plates 25 and 25a, and the output of the change is sent to the sensor case 27. , 27a, the capacitance change detection circuit 26゜26
It is desirable that the conductive wires 30 and 30a taken into the conductive wires 30 and 30a are as short as possible and do not cross near the ground side electrode, that is, the conductive inner box IA and outer box IB of the first electrode part. If so, guide! 30 is near the inner box IA, etc., and if the wiring is parallel to it, this conductor 3
0 and the inner box IA constitute another capacitance detection section, which rejects external noise and detects a 1° change in capacitance, which is then taken in as a signal by the regular capacitance change circuit 26. , there is a risk of malfunction. Point 1: In the present invention, the ice storage switch 5 is provided at a location away from the inner box IA, and the conducting wire 30 is not aligned with the inner box IA.
Ice detection plate 25 and capacitance detection circuit 26 with short conductor 30
are electrically connected. Therefore, it is an excellent ice storage switch 5 that can avoid the influence of external noise, can sensitively detect changes in capacitance due to the presence of ice 6, and can expect more reliable detection operation and switch operation. becomes.

In addition, a general method for connecting the conducting wire 30 for extracting the detection signal to the ice detection plate 25, which is an electrode plate, is as follows:
is tightened to the ice detection plate 25 with screws 29. However, since the conducting wire 30 and the round terminal 30 are easily rusted lv1, it is not preferable to place them in the ice delivery section 11 or the ice storage 5 where they come into direct contact with ice. In this respect as well, the present invention has the advantage that since the conductor 30 and the screw 29 are connected outside the ice storage 1, there is no risk of electrical contact failure due to confusion. Furthermore, since the ice detector 5D can be made into a unit, it can be easily installed. Similar advantages also exist in the limit switch 18.

Next, the control block circuit diagram in FIG. 5 will be explained. This control block circuit diagram also applies to the ice storage switch 5.
Since the limit switch 18 has the same configuration, the ice storage switch 5 will be explained as an example. C indicates the capacitance between the ice detection plate 25 and the inner box IA in the grounded state, and the capacitance detection circuit 26 includes an oscillation circuit 40 whose input capacitance is this capacitance C, and a subsequent stage. Rectifier output circuit 41
The oscillation circuit 40 usually consists of an ice detection plate 26 and an inner box IA.
Since there is air between them, the input capacitance C is extremely small and does not oscillate. Alternatively, the oscillation frequency becomes higher, and as a result, the amplitude becomes smaller, and the output of the single oscillation circuit 40 can be considered to be zero. Then, when the input capacitance C increases, the oscillation circuit 40 performs an oscillation operation and applies a pulsed voltage to the rectified output circuit 41 at the subsequent stage. The rectifier circuit 41 rectifies this pulse voltage and converts it into a DC output voltage.

The next stage control circuit 42 is operated. A relay Ry is connected to the output end of the control circuit 42, and the drive and stop of the compressor 14 and the auger motor 43 of the refrigeration system are controlled via the relay contact Sy. 44
is an AC power source.

Therefore, the oscillation condition of the oscillation circuit 40 is that when the inner box IA and the ice detection plate 26 are bridged by the ice 6, the capacitance C' becomes extremely large and oscillation occurs. When the oscillation circuit 40 oscillates, the rectifier output circuit 41 and the control circuit 42 are operated to control the compressor 14 and the auger motor 4.
Stop 3. When the ice making device 8 returns to operation, when the contact between the ice 6 and the ice detection plate 26 disappears, the input capacity C becomes smaller.
The oscillation condition is not satisfied, and the control circuit 42 cannot obtain an output voltage sufficient to operate the relay Ry from the rectifier output circuit 41, and the relay contact Sy returns to the compressor 1 again.
4 and auger motor 43 resume operation.

These operations can be achieved by increasing the sensitivity of the circuit.
It is also fully possible to operate it even when the water valve contacts. For example, when the inner box IA is made of resin, the outer box IB acts as the first electrode part, and in this case, the ice 6 does not create a bridging state between the outer box 1B and the ice detection plate 26. By increasing the sensitivity of the circuit, the ice 6 is detected by the ice detection plate 26.
By contacting the ice making device 8, it becomes possible to control the operation stoppage of the ice making device 8 in the same manner as in the embodiment.

(g) Effects of the Invention As described above, according to the present invention, an ice detection plate that constitutes a capacitance detection unit corresponds to the conductive sending member in the ice sending unit, the conductive inner box of the ice storage, etc.; The sensor case housing the capacitance detection circuit is integrally connected with conductive screws, etc., and the lead wire for receiving the detection signal from the ice detection plate is also fastened with these screws, resulting in a unitized ice detector. Since this is an ice maker, the ice detection body is installed in a sealed manner in the ice delivery section and the installation opening of the ice storage. The reliability of operation is significantly improved compared to those that detect the delivery status or those that use an infrared light beam to detect the ice storage level.

Since the ice detection plate and the sensor case are combined to form a unitized compact ice detection body, installation thereof becomes easy. Furthermore, since the conductor for capturing the detection signal is a short wiring that does not run along the ice sending member (which is the ground electrode) and the inner box, it is possible to reduce malfunctions caused by external noise signals. Since the ice delivery section and the ice storage are each screwed on the outside to prevent any contact with the ice, a good electrical connection can be maintained.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of an ice maker according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is a partial sectional view of an ice storage unit equipped with a capacitive ice storage switch for detecting the ice storage level, and Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of an ice maker according to another embodiment. FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view of an ice storage unit equipped with such an ice storage switch, FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view of an ice delivery section equipped with a capacitive limit switch for detecting the ice delivery status, and FIG. Block diagram, Figure 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of an ice maker equipped with a conventional mechanical limit switch and an infrared ice storage switch in the ice delivery section and ice storage, respectively, and Figure 7 is the operation of the mechanical limit switch in the ice delivery section. The previous state diagram, FIG. 8, is a state diagram of the same mechanical limit switch during operation. 1... Ice storage, IB... Inner box, 4... Ice falling passage, 5... Ice storage switch, 5D... Ice detector, 6...
・Ice, 8...Ice making device, 11...Ice delivery section, 12.
...Ice sending member, 18...Limit switch, 25,
25a...Ice detection plate, 26, 26a...Capacitance detection circuit, 27.27a...Sensor case, 28...
・Electrical insulating plate, 29... Conductive screw, 30, 30
a...Conductor for detecting signal intake, 32...Mounting opening, 33...Screw. Figure Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure

Claims (1)

[Claims] It has an ice sending unit that sends out ice made by an ice making device and an ice storage thereof, and detects the ice sending status of the ice sending unit and the ice storage level of the ice storage with a capacitive ice detection device. In an ice making machine that controls the operation of the ice making device, a conductive ice sending member in the ice sending section and a conductive inner box of the ice storage are used as a first electrode part, and a second electrode part corresponding to the first electrode part. A conductive ice detection plate is provided, a sensor case housing a capacitance change detection circuit is placed on the outside opposite to the ice detection plate, and this sensor case is electrically insulated directly or between the ice detection plate. The plates are sandwiched and fixed with conductive screws, etc., and at the same time, the conductor wire for receiving the signal from the ice detection plate is also tightened to form a unitized ice detection body. An ice maker characterized in that a body is attached and fixed to the ice delivery section and the attachment opening of the ice storage in a sealed manner.