JPH03282174A - Automatic ice making device for refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable a large amount of ices having a high transparency and ices having a normal transparency to be manufactured by a method wherein an automatic ice making device is provided with a thermal insulation material, a lid member for storing a heating means, and a lid opening closing means for moving the lid between a closing position where it is substantially contacted with an upper surface of an ice making pan and an opening position out of a rotary lotus of the ice making pan. CONSTITUTION:In the event that a normal mode is applied, a lid member 30 is opened, and positioned at a location out of rotary lotus of an ice making pan 9. The ice making pan 9 is cooled from both sides of upper and lower one with cold air in a freezing chamber 2 and the water in the ice making pan 9 is iced. When the mode is changed over to a transparent mode, a water supplying pump 6 is driven, the water stored in advance in a water supplying bottle 4 passes through the water storing tank 5 and it supplied to the ice making pan 9. Along with this operation, a heater 38 is electrically energized under a control of a heating control circuit 46, a heating plate 36 is heated and a motor 48 in a driving box 31 is driven by a motor control circuit 47, a shaft 34 is rotated by a driving gear, the lid 30 is closed at a position contacting with the upper surface of the ice making 9. With such an arrangement, the ice making pan 9 is heated from above and cooled from below with cold air in the freezing chamber 2.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an automatic ice-making device for a refrigerator that can generate ice within the freezing chamber of the refrigerator.

[Prior Art] FIG. 14 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a conventional automatic ice making device for a refrigerator as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 60-32850;
Figure 15 is an electric circuit diagram of the automatic ice maker for the refrigerator shown in Figure 14. In the figure, (2) is the refrigerator (not shown).
1) Freezer compartment, (3) refrigerator (1) cold compartment, (4)
is a water bottle installed in this refrigerator room (3), (5)
is a water tank that stores water from this water bottle (4), (6
) is the water supply pump, (7) is the water supply pipe, (8) is the freezer compartment (
2) an ice-making unit disposed in the ice-making unit (9), an ice-making tray rotatably mounted in the ice-making unit (8);
0) is a water storage box that can be freely drawn out at the bottom of the ice making unit (8), (11) is a motor that rotates the ice tray (9), and (12) is turned on when the water in the ice tray (9) freezes. (13) is a holding switch that turns on when the ice tray (9) rotates a predetermined amount.

(14) turns on when the ice tray (9) is horizontal, and.

A water supply switch that turns off when a predetermined amount of water is supplied to the ice tray (9), a weight detection switch (15) that turns off when the weight of ice in the water storage box (10) reaches a predetermined value, and (16) a refrigerator This is a position switch that changes the operating mode of the automatic ice making device.

Next, its operation will be explained. Now, when the ice making mode is selected by switching the position switch (16) and the freezing detection switch (12) is turned on, the motor (11)
is energized and the ice tray (9) rotates. When the ice tray (9) rotates a predetermined amount, the holding switch (13) turns on.
The motor (11) rotates continuously, and during the rotation, the ice tray (9) is twisted by a twisting mechanism (not shown), and the ice tray (9) is twisted.
The ice inside is taken out into the water storage box (10). When the ice is released and the ice tray (9) becomes horizontal, the hold switch (13)
When turned off, the motor (11) stops, and when the water supply switch (14) is turned on, the water supply pump (6) is driven, and the next predetermined amount of water is supplied from the water tank (5) to the ice tray (9). Ru. This ice making cycle is repeated until the weight detection switch (15) is turned off. In this way, the steps of water supply, freezing, and removal can be performed automatically and consecutively.

By the way, if you pour tap water into a regular ice tray used in a home refrigerator and freeze it, the resulting ice will look white with finely dispersed air bubbles, taste bad, and melt slowly. early.

Additionally, in general, an ice cube tray is divided into multiple compartments using plate partitions, and when these compartments are filled with water and stored in the freezer, the water in each compartment is drained sequentially from near the water surface downward. It freezes, and all the water in the small room turns to ice. Therefore, a transparent portion is formed on the outer periphery of the ice, but the impurities are trapped in the center of the ice, forming an opaque cloudy portion.

As a conventional refrigerator ice making device that produces transparent ice without such opaque cloudy parts, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-13997
Examples include those published in Publication No. 6.

FIG. 16 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of this ice-making device for a refrigerator. In the figure, (17) is a first ice-making compartment (18) located at the bottom of the freezing compartment and in the upper stage for producing transparent ice. but,
Second ice-making compartment (19) for producing regular ice in the lower tier
(20) is the first ice making compartment (18).
), (21) is an aluminum heating plate placed on the top of the first ice-making compartment (18), (22) is a heating plate (21) ) heater installed on the back side of the

(23) is an aluminum cooling plate placed on the bottom of the first ice-making compartment (18), and (24) is formed at the bottom of this cooling plate (23) and above the second ice-making compartment (19). (25) and (26) are the first ice-making compartment (18), respectively.
, the first and second ice trays housed in the second ice making compartment (19), (27) supply cold air cooled by the cooler to the ice making device f (17) through the discharge port (28). The discharge duct for forced ventilation (29) is a return duct for returning cold air discharged into the freezer compartment to the cooler.

Next, its operation will be explained. The air cooled by the cooler is supplied to the freezer compartment and refrigerator compartment, and at the same time it is sent to the discharge duct (
27) is discharged to the second ice making chamber (19) and the ventilation passage (24) in the ice making apparatus (17). The cold air guided into the second ice-making compartment (19) directly cools the second ice-making tray (26), and the remaining water in contact with the water surface and the second ice-making tray (26) is Normal ice is generated by freezing sequentially from the surface. However, the ice produced in this way is cloudy and does not become transparent. On the other hand, the cold air guided into the ventilation path (24) cools the cooling plate (23).

Therefore, in order to make transparent ice, the user stores the first ice tray (25) filled with water in the first ice making compartment (18) and turns on the ice making switch. ) Heating action by the heater (22) is started from the top surface via the heating plate (21), and cooling, that is, freezing action is started from the bottom surface via the cooling plate (23) by cold air flowing through the ventilation path (24). will be started. In addition, since the outer wall of the first ice tray (25) except for the bottom surface is covered with a heat insulating material (20), it is not affected by cooling from the freezer compartment, and the freezing action progresses in one direction from the bottom surface to the top surface. do.

This freezing effect is achieved by indirect cooling via the cooling plate (23), as well as by the heater (22), which is preset to an appropriate capacity.
), the freezing speed of the ice growing is slower than the diffusion speed of the gaseous components in the water, and ice making progresses without air bubbles being incorporated into the ice. By controlling the freezing rate to approximately 3 mw+/h or less in this manner, the gaseous components in the water are finally degassed from the frozen ice surface, and the generated ice does not contain air bubbles and is nearly transparent. Also, the heater (
22) is set so that electricity is stopped at around -5°C when ice making is completely completed, and the transparent ice produced is then cooled to about -20°C.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The conventional automatic ice-making device for refrigerators shown in FIG. 14 uses the above-mentioned ice-making tray to freeze the entire ice, so the center part becomes cloudy and opaque due to impurities, etc., which makes it look unsightly. There were problems such as the formation of bad ice.

In addition, the conventional ice-making device for a refrigerator that produces transparent ice shown in Fig. 16 has a separate ice-making compartment surrounded by heat insulating material, a heating plate, and a cooling plate, in addition to the ice-making compartment that produces normal ice. Since the transparent ice is frozen in the ice tray stored in the ice tray, it is difficult to automate the ice making process that automatically and continuously performs the steps of water supply, freezing, and ice removal. If you want to get only ice or regular ice, one of the ice-making compartments is not used, and the space factor inside the refrigerator is extremely poor, so it takes time to make only clear ice or not. However, there was a problem in that it could not meet the demands such as wanting to obtain a large amount of ice quickly.8 This invention was made to solve the above problems, and it is possible to produce highly transparent ice. To obtain an automatic ice making device for a refrigerator capable of producing a large amount of ice of normal transparency as required.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The automatic ice-making device for a refrigerator according to the present invention includes an ice-making tray disposed in a freezing chamber, and rotationally driving the ice-making tray from a horizontal position where water is supplied to an inverted position where ice is removed. An automatic ice making device for a refrigerator, which is equipped with an ice making tray rotation drive means, a lid body having a built-in heat insulating material and a heating means, a closed position where the lid body is substantially in contact with the top surface of the ice tray, and a rotation trajectory of the ice tray. It is provided with a lid opening/closing means for moving the outer open position and the gap.

[Function] In this invention, when freezing transparent ice, the lid body containing the heating means is placed in a closed position almost touching the top surface of the ice tray, and the ice tray is heated from above by the heating means in the lid body. At the same time as it is heated, the cold air inside the freezer cools it from the bottom, so the water in the ice cube tray freezes from bottom to top over a long period of time, and impurities in the water are precipitated and dissipated upwards, forming transparent ice. is obtained. Further, during the water supply process and the ice removal process of automatic ice making, the lid is placed in an open position outside the rotation locus of the ice tray by the lid opening/closing means. Furthermore, even when making regular ice, the lid is placed in the open position and cold air flows into the ice tray from above, shortening the ice making time. In this way, the same ice cube tray can be used both for automation of clear water production and for switching to regular water production.

[Example 1] An example of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1st
6 to 6 show an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing how the automatic ice making device of this embodiment is installed in a refrigerator, FIG. 2 is a perspective view, and FIG. 3 is a partial view. Enlarged sectional view, 4th
The figure is an electric circuit diagram, and FIGS. 5 and 6 are time charts explaining the ice generation operation.

In the figure, (1) is the refrigerator, (2) is its freezer compartment,
(3) is a refrigerator room, (4) is a water bottle installed in this refrigerator room (3), (5) is a water tank that stores water from this water bottle (4), (6) is a water pump, (7) is the water supply pipe, (8) is the ice making unit that constitutes the ice making device, (9
) is the ice tray of the ice making unit (8), (10) is the water storage box,
(30) is a lid body, (31) is a drive box that incorporates an ice tray rotation drive means and a lid opening/closing means that are composed of a motor and a drive gear, and (32) is fixed to the drive box (31) to the body. frame, (33) is an ice cube tray (9)
One end is inserted into the drive box (31) and coupled to the ice tray rotation drive means, and the other end is inserted into the frame (32).
) is rotatably supported on a shaft for rotating the ice cube tray, (
34) is fixed to the lid (30), one end is inserted into the drive box (31) and coupled to the lid opening/closing means, and the other end is rotatably supported by the frame (32) for opening and closing the lid. shaft, (35) is the upper plate that forms the upper side of the lid (30), (36) is the heating plate that also forms the lower side, (37)
(38) is a heat insulating material filled in the space formed between the upper plate (35) and the heating plate (36), and is attached along the inside of the heating plate (36). The heater (38) and the heating plate (36) constitute a heating means, (39) is a transparent control temperature detector consisting of a thermistor that detects the temperature of the heating plate (36), and (40) is a transparent control temperature detector. This is a temperature sensor for detecting freezing, consisting of a thermistor fixed to the back surface of the ice tray (9). When the lid (30) is closed, the heating plate (36) is located in contact with the ice tray (9), and when the lid (30) is open, the heating plate (36) is located outside the rotation trajectory of the ice tray (9). It is configured like this. (41) is a control device consisting of a control board such as a microcomputer;
(42) is attached to the refrigerator door, etc., and is used to switch the control mode between normal ice making control mode (hereinafter referred to as normal mode) and transparent ice making control mode (hereinafter referred to as transparent mode). ), a display device including a transparent mode indicator light (44) that lights up in the transparent mode and a lighting mode indicator light (45) that lights up in the normal mode;
) operates the heater (3) in response to a control command from the control device (41).
8), a heating control circuit (47) that controls the control device (
41), the ice tray (9) and the lid (
A motor control circuit (49) that controls a drive motor (48) in a drive box (31) that rotationally drives a drive box (30);
In response to control commands from the control device (41), the water supply pump (
6) A motor control circuit that controls the driving pump motor (50), (51) a storage device that stores the control mode etc. set on the display device (42), and (52) a control device whose explanation is omitted here. (41) is a group of contacts for controlling the refrigerator, such as sensors and switches, and (53) is an AC power source.

Next, the operation will be explained. It is now assumed that the changeover switch (43) of the display device (42) is set to the normal mode. By setting this normal mode, the transparent mode indicator light (44) turns off and the normal mode indicator light (45) lights up, and the fact that this normal mode is set is stored in a storage device (51) such as a self-holding relay. Ru. As a result, even if the control device (41) is reset due to a power outage, it can be restarted in the mode before the power outage without having to be reset after the power is restored.

Prior to ice making, the motor (
50) is energized, the water supply pump (6) is driven, and the water previously stored in the water bottle (4) passes through the water tank (5) and is poured into the ice tray (9) from the water supply pipe (7). Ru. Since the mode is now normal, the lid (30) is opened and the ice tray (9) is open.
) is located outside the rotation locus. Therefore, the ice tray (9) is cooled from both the upper and lower sides by the cold air in the freezer compartment (2), and the water in the ice tray (9) freezes.

When the freezing is completed and the temperature of the ice decreases to -10°C as shown in Figure 5, this is detected by the freezing detection temperature detector (40), and the motor ( 48) is energized and driven by the motor control circuit (47), and I! The shaft (33) is rotated by half a rotation by the drive gear, and the ice tray (9) is reversed. At this time, the ice tray (9) is twisted by the stopper, and the ice therein is released and falls into the water storage box (10). After ice removal is completed, the shaft (33
) rotates in the opposite direction, and the ice tray (9) returns to its original position. When the ice tray (9) returns to its original position, the water supply pump (6) is driven and a predetermined amount of water is supplied from the water tank (5) to the ice tray (9). After this water supply is completed, the ice making process begins. Each process of water supply, freezing and ice removal is as follows:
Automatically and continuously.

Next, when the changeover switch (43) of the 1 display device (42) is switched to the transparent mode, the normal mode indicator light (4
5) goes out, the transparent mode indicator light (44) lights up, and the fact that the transparent mode is present is stored in the storage device (51). Then, the water supply pump (6) is driven, and the water previously stored in the water supply bottle (4) is supplied to the ice tray (9) from the water supply pipe (7) through the water storage tank (5). At the same time, the heater (38) is controlled by the heating control circuit (46).
is energized to heat the heating plate (36), and the motor (48) in the drive box (31) is connected to the motor control circuit (47).
The shaft (34) is rotated by the drive gear, and the lid (30) is closed to a position in contact with the top surface of the ice tray (9). As a result, the ice tray (9) is warmed from the top and cooled from the bottom by the cold air in the freezer compartment (2). As a result, the water freezes from the bottom to the top, but because it is warmer at the top, it takes longer to freeze. During this freezing process, various soluble salts in the tap water that make the ice cloudy,
Impurities such as soluble gases and dissolved bubbles are concentrated and precipitated during the freezing period, but as mentioned above, since the freezing time is long, freezing is uniformly performed, and gases, bubbles, etc. are also precipitated uniformly. For this reason, the heating control circuit (46) stops energizing the heater (38) after the set ice generation time that produces ice with high overall transparency has elapsed.

When ice is generated, the temperature of the ice decreases as shown in FIG. 6, and this is detected by the freezing detection temperature detector (40), and the motor (48) in the drive box (31) is activated. Driven by the control circuit (47), the drive gear rotates the shaft (34) to open the lid (30), and then the shaft (33) rotates to reverse the ice tray (9).

At this time, the ice tray (9) is twisted by the stopper to drop the ice into the water storage box (10) and release the ice.

When ice removal is completed, the ice tray (9) returns to its original position, water starts being supplied to it, and the heater (38) is energized.

The lid (30) is closed. In this way, the steps of water supply, freezing, and ice removal in the transparent mode are automatically and successively performed.

In addition, in the above embodiment, in the transparent mode, the lid body (30)
The heater (
38) is configured so that electricity is applied continuously for a predetermined period while the lid body (30) is opened, but the temperature of the water in the ice tray (9) is 0°C.
The transparency of the ice is not affected until it reaches the ice crystal zone and after it passes through the ice crystal zone, so during this period, the ice formation time can be shortened by opening the lid (30) and letting in cold air from above and below. . In addition, the temperature of the heating plate (36) is detected by a transparent control temperature detector (39), and the heating control circuit (46) turns on and off the electricity to the heater (38) so that the temperature is optimal. , transparent ice can be produced more efficiently and in a shorter time. FIG. 7 is a time chart for explaining ice generation operation in another embodiment of the present invention in which such control is performed.

The amount of electricity supplied to the heater (38) is controlled by a temperature sensor (40) fixed to the back of the ice tray (9) or a temperature sensor installed at another location in the freezing compartment (2). By detecting the cooling temperature of the ice tray (9) and controlling it according to this cooling temperature, it is possible to optimally control the transparency of ice according to the temperature adjustment in the freezer compartment (2). That is, when the inside of the freezer compartment (2) is strongly cooled, the cooling temperature decreases, so the amount of electricity applied to the heater (38) is increased accordingly, and when the inside of the freezer compartment (2) is cooled weakly, the cooling temperature increases, and the heater (38) is accordingly increased. Reduce the amount of current applied to. By doing so, optimal transparent ice is always produced regardless of the temperature adjustment in the freezer compartment (2).

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the lid (30) was configured to rotate around the shaft (34), but as shown in FIG. 8, the shaft (34) was rotated along the guide groove (54). By moving, the lid (30) may be moved vertically in parallel to open and close.

Further, in the above embodiment, the lid (30) was opened first and then the ice tray (9) was turned over, but the lid (30)
The opening and closing of the ice tray (9) may be synchronized with the rotation of the ice tray (9).

Furthermore, in the embodiments described above, since the lid opening/closing mechanism and the ice tray rotating mechanism are disposed in the freezer compartment, there are cases where these freeze up and the drive motor becomes restricted. In this case, there is a problem in that a lock current flows through the motor, increasing the temperature of its windings, leading to accidents such as winding breakage, ignition, and smoke generation. Therefore, if the rotation of the motor is restricted and a lock current flows through the motor, and if it is determined that there is an abnormality, it is necessary to stop energizing the motor. Figures 9 to 11 show an embodiment equipped with a means for detecting this abnormality and stopping power to the electric motor. Figure 9 is a circuit diagram of the motor control unit for rotating the ice tray, and Figure 10 is A flowchart for explaining the operation, and FIG. 11 is a timing chart.

In the figure, (47) represents the ice tray (9) and the lid (30).
The drive motor (
48), and (55) is a microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as microcomputer) that constitutes the control device (51), which controls the input boats Pi1, Pi, Pi, and the output boats Po1, P O□, P Oa. , PO2. Here, descriptions of other ports and other circuits connected to the microcomputer (55) are omitted to explain only the ice tray rotation drive control of the drive motor (48). (56) is an overcurrent detection circuit; (57) is an ice tray horizontal position detector consisting of a contact (57a) and a resistor (57b) that closes when the ice tray is in a horizontal position and opens at other positions; (58)
(59) (60) (61) (62) is a motor control circuit (47 ), the transistor (59) is connected to the output port Po1 of the microcomputer (55).

The transistor (60) is connected to the output port Po, and the transistor (61) is connected to the output port Po.
62) are connected to the output ports Po, respectively,
Emitter of transistor (60) and transistor (61)
) is located on the positive side of the drive motor (48), and the emitter of the transistor (59) and the transistor (
The connection part with the collector of 62) is connected to the negative electrode side of the drive motor (48), and the transistors (61) and (62)
The emitters of the transistors (59, 60) are connected to the negative side of the DC power source (63), and the collectors of the transistors (59, 60) are connected to the positive side of the DC power source (63). Also, overcurrent detection circuit (56)
consists of resistors (64) (65) (66) (67), a voltage comparator (hereinafter referred to as the comparator) (68), and a constant voltage diode (69).
The output of 49) is connected to the input port Pj1 of the microcomputer (55). The output of the ice tray horizontal position detector (57) is connected to the input port Pj2 of the microcomputer (55), and when the ice tray is in the horizontal position, the contact (57a) closes and generates a high potential level (hereinafter simply referred to as H). At the other position, the contact (57a) opens and outputs a low potential level (hereinafter simply referred to as L), and the output of the ice tray inversion position detector (58) is connected to the input port Pj3, and the contact (57a) opens at the ice tray inversion position. (58a) opens and connects L to the contact (58a) at another position.
58a) opens and outputs H.

Next, regarding the ice making tray rotation drive control of the drive motor (48), that is, the ice removal operation, the flowchart in FIG. 10 and the flowchart in FIG.
This will be explained using the time chart shown in the figure.

First, in step (70), the output ports Po2 and Pa4 of the microcomputer (55) are set to H, and the output port Po1
and Po3 is set to L, the energization time timer t□ and the energization stop time timer t2 are reset to 0, and step (71
). At this time, the ice tray is not in the inverted position and the output of the ice tray inversion position detector (58), that is, the input port Pi□ is L
Therefore, the process proceeds to step (72).

Due to the H of Po2 and Pa, the transistor (60) (
62) is turned on, and the drive motor (48) is powered on by the DC power supply (
63) and starts rotating forward. At this time, the current flowing through the drive motor (48) has a waveform shown in FIG.

That is, for a certain period of time after the start of forward rotation, a time period T1 in which the steady special current □ is greater continues due to a so-called rush current. This rush current causes the voltage of the DC power supply (63) to change from, for example, 12V to 6V.
The voltage that is divided by the resistors (66) and (67) and applied to the non-inverting input (68a) of the comparator (68) becomes below the rated Zener voltage of the constant voltage diode (69), for example, 5V. . As a result, the comparator (68) is inverted, and its output voltage to the input port Pi of the microcomputer (55) changes from L to H. However, Pi
l becomes H both when a transient inrush current flows and when the drive motor (48) is locked, so if the energization time t1 after the start of rotation of the drive motor (48) is 12 As long as it is within the range, the operation continues regardless of the output of the comparator (49), that is, the potential of Pjl (step (
72), (73)). However, when the time t after the drive motor (48) starts rotating becomes 10 or more (step (
If the output of the comparator (49), that is, Pi
Output ports PO□ and Pa4 of 55) become L, transistors (60) and (62) turn off, and the drive motor (4
8) is stopped, and the energization time timer t1 is reset to 0. When the power supply to the drive motor (48) is stopped, the time measurement of the power supply stop time timer t2 is started, and it is T2.
2, that is, after stopping the power supply to the drive motor (48) at step (75) for 12 hours, step (70)
The process returns to step 1 and starts energizing the drive motor (48) again.

If the lock is released after power is resumed, P1□ becomes L, and steps (71) and (72) are performed until the ice tray reaches the inverted position.
), and the drive motor (48) continues to be energized. When the ice tray reaches the reversal position where ice is removed, the output Pj3 of the ice tray reversal position detector (58) becomes L, and the process advances from step (71) to step (76).
The output ports Po2 and Po4 of the microcomputer (55) are set to L, the output ports Po1 and Po are set to H, the energization time timer t□ and the energization stop time timer t2 are reset to 0, and the process proceeds to step (77). Transistors (60) and (62) are turned off due to the L level of Po2 and Po4, and Po1
and transistor (59) (61) by H of Po3
is turned ON, the salmon motion motor (48) is rotated in the opposite direction, and the ice tray is driven to return to the horizontal position. In the following steps (78) to (81), the steps (72) to (75) described above are performed.
) The same overcurrent check and drive motor protection operations are performed. When the ice tray returns to the horizontal position and the output Pi2 of the ice tray horizontal position detector (57) becomes H, step (82
), the output ports Po1 and Po become L, the power supply to the drive motor (48) is stopped, and the ice removal operation is completed.

In the above automatic ice making device, the ice making tray (
A temperature detector (40) for detecting freezing, which is a thermistor fixed to the back surface of the ice cube 9), detects, for example, -10°C, determines that freezing is complete, and starts the ice removal operation. Therefore, if the freezing detection temperature sensor (40) fails, no ice making operation is performed at all. For example, if a thermistor has a short-circuit failure, it will detect an extremely high temperature even if it has frozen, and will not release the ice for a long time, and if it has an open failure, it will detect an extremely low temperature and perform an ice-release operation even if the ice is not completely frozen. There are other problems. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the operation of another embodiment of the present invention that solves this problem. indicator light consisting of LED, time counter and freezer door opening/closing detector (none of which are shown)
A program for executing the flowchart shown in FIG. 12 is stored in the memory of the microcomputer in the control device.

Next, its operation will be explained. First, the control operation when the temperature sensor for detecting icing (40) is normal will be explained. When the temperature detected by the temperature detector (40) is 0°C, NO is determined in both step (83) and step (84), the indicator light for failure indication is off in step (85), and step (86) is determined as NO. ), the time count is cleared and the process proceeds to step (87). Since the temperature has not reached -10°C, the process returns from step (87) to step (83). The water in the ice tray (9) has completely frozen and the temperature is detected. The container (40) is-
Step (83) to step () until 10°C is detected.
87) is repeated. When freezing is completed, step (8)
Proceed to step 8) and begin the ice removal operation. In step (88), the drive motor (48) rotates forward to rotate the ice tray (9), and the process proceeds to step (89). When it reaches the reverse position and the ice is discharged, the process proceeds to step (90), and the ice making tray (9) rotates. The motor (48) reverses and rotates the ice tray (9) to return it to its original horizontal position and proceeds to step (91), and when the ice tray (9) returns to its horizontal position, the process moves from step (91) to step ( Step 92) starts water supply for the next ice-making operation, and step (93)
Proceed to. After water supply for 10 seconds, the process proceeds to step (94), water supply is stopped, and the process returns to the first step.

Next, if the thermistor of the icing detection temperature detector (40) has a short-circuit failure, the detected temperature will be extremely high; if it is an open failure, the detected temperature will be extremely high; in either case, step (83) is performed. Alternatively, the process proceeds from step (84) to step (95), where the failure indicator light is turned on and step (96)
) (97) Proceed to (98), where the opening time of the freezer door is cumulatively counted, and when 3 hours have elapsed, which is the time for the water in the ice tray (9) to freeze sufficiently, step (99) is executed.
), the accumulated time count is cleared, and step (88
) and begin the ice removal operation. That is, if the freezing detection temperature sensor (40) is out of order, ice making, ice removal, and water supply operations are continued regardless of the temperature detected by this temperature sensor (40).
During this time, the user is informed that the temperature sensor (40) is out of order by lighting the indicator light. In addition, a temperature sensor (
If the failure in step 4o) is temporary, the determinations in steps (83) and (84) return to No after normal recovery, and step (
At step 85), the indicator light is turned off, and at step (86), the accumulated time count is cleared and normal operation is resumed.

Furthermore, in the automatic ice making apparatus shown in FIG. 1, if the water in the water bottle (4) is not replaced for a long period of time, the remaining water will rot and this is not sanitary.

As shown in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 63-72467, a water exchange timer that is set and reset according to the installation and removal of the water bottle (4) is used, and the cumulative time of this timer exceeds a predetermined value. Conventionally, measures have been taken to activate an alarm device to prompt water exchange. However, if a momentary power outage occurs while this water exchange timer is counting, the timer will be reset and will start counting from O again after power is restored, which may result in a situation where no alarm is issued even if no water exchange is performed for a long time. There was a risk that this would occur. To prevent this, by storing the contents of the water bottle installation time timer in the storage device t(51) shown in FIG. 4, it is possible to prevent the cumulative time from being reset due to a momentary power outage.

In the embodiment described above, a warning is issued if the water bottle (4) is not replaced for a predetermined period of time, but even if ice making and water supply are frequently performed during that time and the water in the water bottle (4) runs out, the warning will not be issued. cannot be detected. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the operation of another embodiment of the present invention that solves this problem. A water supply indicator light consisting of an LED to encourage refilling and a water bottle (
4) is provided with a water bottle detection device that detects that the item is correctly installed; A program for executing the flowchart shown in the figure is stored in the memory of a microcomputer in the control device.

Next, its operation will be explained. First, step (1
00), it is determined whether the water bottle (4) is installed based on the signal from the water bottle detection device. When the water bottle (4) is taken out for water supply, the water bottle detection device outputs a signal indicating that there is no water bottle, and the process proceeds from step (100) to step (101), where the ice making counter is reset to 1. . When the water bottle (4) is taken out and newly installed, the process proceeds from step (100) to steps (102) and (103), and if the water supply indicator light is on, it will be turned off, and if it is off, it will remain as it is. Step (
Proceed to step 104). In step (104), it is determined whether or not water supply start conditions are met during ice-making operation. If not, the process returns to step (100); if the water supply start conditions are met, the process proceeds to step (1o5) to see if the water supply indicator light is lit. If it is determined whether 1 is not lit, step (
The process proceeds to step 106), where the water supply pump (6) is driven to perform a water supply operation. Next, in step (107), the number of water supply operations is determined.

That is, the number of times N of ice making is determined, and the value of N is a predetermined number N.

If it is smaller, the process advances to step (108), 1 is added to the value of N, and the process returns to step (100). The value of N is a predetermined number N
. If this has been reached, it is determined that there is no more water in the water bottle (4), and the process proceeds to step (109), where the water supply indicator light is turned on. When the water supply indicator light is turned on, the process returns from step (105) to step (100), and unless the water bottle (4) is removed, the water supply pump (6) will not be driven and the next ice-making operation will not begin.

With this control, for example, if the amount of water entering the water bottle (4) is 2Q and the amount of ice made at one time is 200cc,
By setting the value of N to 10, the water supply indicator light will light up to notify the user when the 10th water supply is completed, and the water supply indicator will automatically turn on when the water bottle (4) is taken out and placed again. The water supply indicator light will turn off and the next ice making operation will begin.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, there is provided a lid housing a heat insulating material and a heating means, a closed position in which the lid is substantially in contact with the top surface of the ice tray, and a position outside the rotation trajectory of the ice tray. Since the lid opening/closing means is provided to move the lid between the open position and the open position, the generation of highly transparent ice, which takes time, and the generation of normal ice, which is not transparent but takes less time, can be performed as needed. This has the effect of making it possible to switch between operations, thereby making it possible to obtain a more efficient automatic ice-making device for refrigerators with high marketability.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 1 to 6 show an embodiment of the present invention, with Figure 1 being a side sectional view showing how the automatic ice making device of this embodiment is installed in a refrigerator, Figure 2 being a perspective view, and Figure 3 being a perspective view. is a partially enlarged sectional view,
FIG. 4 is an electric circuit diagram, FIGS. 5 and 6 are time charts for explaining the ice generation operation, FIG. 7 is a time chart for explaining the ice generation operation of another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a time chart for explaining the ice generation operation. FIGS. 9 to 11 are partially enlarged sectional views showing other embodiments of the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram of a motor control unit for rotating and cantering an ice tray. FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining the operation, FIG. 11 is a timing chart, FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the operation of another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 13 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of yet another embodiment of the invention. Flow chart showing, No. 14
The figure is a schematic configuration diagram showing a conventional automatic ice making device for a refrigerator, FIG. 15 is an electric circuit diagram thereof, and FIG. 16 is an enlarged sectional view of another conventional example. In the figure, (1 month old refrigerator, (2) is the freezer compartment, (8)
is the ice making unit, (9) is the ice tray + (30) is the lid,
(31) is a drive box (ice tray rotation drive means, lid opening/closing means), (36) is a heating plate (heating means), (37)
is a heat insulating material, and (38) is a heater (heating means). The same reference numerals in the figures indicate the same or corresponding parts. Fig. Fig. 4 Tsuta main release ηm shaft Fig. 37 1 sales 38 Heater attachment; 13 Figure 4 Figure 15

Claims (1)

[Claims] In an automatic ice making device for a refrigerator, which includes an ice tray disposed in a freezing chamber and an ice tray rotation driving means that rotates the ice tray from a horizontal position where water is supplied to an inverted position where ice is removed, A lid having a built-in heating means, and a lid opening/closing means for moving the lid between a closed position in which the lid is substantially in contact with the top surface of the ice tray and an open position outside the rotation trajectory of the ice tray. Features: Automatic ice making device for refrigerators.