JPH0347175Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] <Technical field> The present invention relates to an ice dispenser that controls the hardness of slush ice by detecting the current of the stirring motor, and in particular, the invention relates to an ice dispenser that controls the hardness of slush ice by detecting the current of the stirring motor. memorize the state (without ice),
The present invention relates to hardness control of an ice dispenser that utilizes this value.

<Prior art> Fig. 3 shows a conventional basic control circuit, in which 1 is a stirring motor, 2 is a current detector, 3 is a comparator, 4 is a delay timer, 4A is a transistor,
5 is a compressor relay, 6 is a compressor, and 7 is a reference value setting variable resistor.

In the above configuration, as shown in FIG. 2, a cooling coil as a cooler 9 is wound around the manufacturing chamber 8.
stirring blade 10 (slushier) that cools the water to generate ice on its inner surface and connects this ice to the stirring motor 1.
to increase the amount of slush ice in the manufacturing chamber 8. As the amount of slush ice increases in the production chamber 8, the viscosity of the liquid increases, the load on the stirring motor 1 increases, and the current also increases.The amount of change in this current value is detected by the current detector 2. , the comparator 3 compares it with a predetermined value, and turns the transistor 4A ON and OFF to open and close the compressor relay 5, operate or stop the compressor 6, and Control the amount of slush ice. When the power is turned on, the stirring electric motor 1 starts rotating. This current is converted into voltage by the current detector 2, and the compressor 6 is controlled by the value. However, since the reference value of the comparator 3 is initially set higher than the detected value, the output of the comparator 3 transistor 4A
is turned on, compressor relay 5 is turned on, and compressor 6 is turned on.
starts cooling operation. As the amount of slush ice in the cooling tank increases over time, the load on the stirring motor 1 increases, that is, the current increases, and the input voltage of the comparator 3 increases. At this time, when the value becomes higher than the reference value, the output of comparator 3 turns OFF.
Compressor 6 stops. At this time, the delay timer 4 starts operating and maintains this state for about 3 to 4 minutes. When delay timer 4 turns on, the transistor turns on and compressor 6
starts cooling operation, and the cycle is repeated. Note that the delay timer 4 is activated when the compressor 6 stops.
A delay time of several minutes is set to control the restart time to protect the compressor. Note that R1 in the figure is a resistance.

However, in the above control method, the current value differs for each stirring electric motor 1 due to production variations, so unless the variable resistor 7 for setting the reference value is adjusted, the amount of slush ice will be constant, that is, the hardness will be uniform. The drawback was that you couldn't drink anything.

<Purpose> In view of the above, the present invention memorizes the initial value of the stirring electric motor (when there is no slush ice) and uses this initial value as the reference value of the comparator, so that when the specified amount of slush ice An object of the present invention is to provide an ice dispenser control device that can control the amount of slush ice by detecting the difference between the current value and the current value of the slush ice, thereby producing slush ice of uniform hardness.

<Example> Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described based on FIGS. 1 and 2. Components with the same functions as those in FIG. 3 will be described with the same reference numerals. That is, the ice dispenser according to the present invention includes: a stirring motor 1 that rotationally drives a stirring blade 10 in a slush ice production chamber 8; a cooler 9 that cools the production chamber 8;
The cooler 9 is equipped with a compressor 6 for compressing and discharging refrigerant, and its control device is controlled by the stirring motor 1.
a current detector 2 for detecting the load current of slush ice; a memory circuit 13 for storing the output signal of the current detector 2 before slush ice production; and a memory circuit 13 for storing the output signal of the current detector 2 before slush ice production; A comparator 3 for comparing the output signal of the comparator 2 with the output signal of the comparator 3, and a control circuit 14 for controlling the compressor 6 on and off based on the output signal of the comparator 3.

The cooler 9 is connected to the compressor 6 on one side and to the condenser 15 on the other side via a capillary tube 15A.
The condenser 15 is connected to the compressor 6. The condenser 15, cooler 9, and compressor 6 constitute a refrigerant cycle, which is housed in the ice dispenser main body 16. Note that 17 is a blower for cooling the condenser 15;
8 is a replenishment tank for replenishing water into the manufacturing chamber 8 via a replenishment path 19, and 20 is a slush ice supply port.

Further, the current detector 2 is composed of a current transformer or the like wound around the power supply part of the stirring motor 1 in a coil shape, and one end of the current detector 2 is connected to the A/D converter 2.
1 to the memory circuit 13. The memory circuit 13 consists of a general one-chip microcomputer, and internally stores data RAM and programs.
It has ROM, ALU, etc., and is driven by a reference clock oscillation circuit. Further, the negative side input terminal of the comparator 3 is connected to the output terminal of the memory circuit 13 via a D/A converter 22, and one end of the current detector 2 is connected to the positive side input terminal of the comparator 3 via a diode D. Connected to the input terminal. and the control circuit 14
is a delay timer 4 connected to the output terminal of the comparator 3, a transistor 11 whose base side is connected to the output terminal of the timer 4, and a relay coil 5A connected in series to the emitter and collector of the transistor 11. , ON- by excitation of the relay coil 5A
It consists of a relay contact 5B that turns OFF. A relay 5 is constituted by a relay coil 5A and a relay contact 5B, and a compressor 6 is connected to a power source in series with the relay contact 5B.

Next, the control method will be explained. First, when the inside of the production chamber 8 is liquid (when there is no slush ice), the current of the stirring motor 1 is detected by the current detector 2, this output voltage is converted by the A/D converter 21, and the memory circuit 13, the output voltage is output from the memory circuit 13 to the comparator 3 via the D/A converter 22, and this value is used as a reference value. That is, when the power is turned on, the stirring electric motor 1 starts rotating. This current is converted into voltage by the current detector 2, and the compressor 6 is controlled by the value. However, since the reference value of the comparator 3 is initially set higher than the detected value, the output of the comparator 3 is used to control the transistor 6. 11 is turned on, the compressor relay 5 is turned on, and the compressor 6 starts cooling operation. As the amount of slush ice in the cooling tank increases over time, the load on the stirring motor 1 increases, that is, the current increases, and the input voltage of the comparator 3 increases. At this time, when it becomes higher than the reference value, the output of comparator 3 turns OFF.
Then, the compressor 6 stops. At this time, the delay timer 4 starts operating and maintains this state for about 3 to 4 minutes.
When the delay timer 4 turns on, the transistor turns on and the compressor 6 starts cooling operation, and the cycle is repeated. The amount of slush ice in the production chamber 8 is kept constant by the increase in current of the stirring electric motor 1. In other words, it is possible to make a drink with uniform hardness.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and it goes without saying that many modifications and changes can be made to the above embodiments within the scope of the present invention.

<Effects> As is clear from the above description, the present invention includes a stirring motor that rotationally drives stirring blades in a slush ice production chamber, a cooler that cools the production chamber,
An ice dispenser comprising a compressor for compressing and discharging refrigerant into the cooler, a current detector for detecting the load current of the stirring motor, and a memory for storing an output signal of the current detector before producing slush ice. a comparator that compares the output signal of the storage circuit with the output signal of the current detector during slush ice production; and a control circuit that controls the compressor on and off based on the output signal of the comparator. The present invention relates to a control device for an ice dispenser characterized by being provided with a.

Therefore, according to the present invention, by controlling the amount of slush ice by detecting only the increase in current of the stirring motor, changes in the amount of slush ice due to differences in the current value of each stirring motor can be prevented. This means that beverages with uniform hardness can be provided, and production variations in the stirring motor are ignored.
This has an excellent effect in reducing the cost of stirring electric motors.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a control circuit diagram of an ice dispenser showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the same ice dispenser, and FIG. 3 is a control circuit diagram of a conventional ice dispenser. 1... Stirring motor, 2... Current detector, 3...
Comparator, 6... Compressor, 8... Manufacturing room, 9... Cooler, 10... Stirring blade, 13... Memory circuit, 14
...control circuit.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] An ice dispenser comprising a stirring electric motor that rotationally drives stirring blades in a slush ice manufacturing chamber, a cooler that cools the manufacturing chamber, and a compressor that compresses and discharges a refrigerant to the cooler. a current detector that detects a load current; a memory circuit that stores an output signal of the current detector before slush ice production; an output signal of the memory circuit; and an output signal of the current detector during slush ice production; 1. A control device for an ice dispenser, comprising: a comparator for comparing the values; and a control circuit for controlling the compressor on and off based on the output signal of the comparator.