JPH0420769A - Automatic icemaker - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To accurately grasp the quantity of ice in an ice storage body by stopping a motor, if full of ice is sensed, at a position where an ice sensing lever is disposed upward, then moving a timer for integrating times, then again operating the motor when predetermined time is elapsed and sensing the quantity of the ice by the lever. CONSTITUTION:An ice sensing lever 22 vertically moving in cooperation with an ice separating mechanism 5 and a motor 6 is extended from an icemaking case 21 and disposed on an ice storage box 11. When the motor 6 starts to move, the lever 22 starts moving down, and after predetermined time is elapsed, it is disposed at the lowest position. When the motor 6 is further moved, the lever 22 starts to rise, and the lever 22 is finally returned to its original position. When the lever 22 is brought into contact with an obstacle such as ice, etc., while it is moving down, the lever 22 is stopped at the position, and the motor 6 is still continuously moved. The lever 22 is raised in cooperation with the state in which the lever 22 is started to be raised after predetermined time is elapsed from when the motor 6 starts to move. Icemaking sensing means 13 judges the quantity of ice of the box 11 according to the series of the operating amounts of the lever 22.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an automatic ice-making device that automatically rotates an ice-making container to perform an ice removal operation after ice-making is completed.

(Prior Art) In recent years, automatic ice making devices such as those attached to household refrigerators, such as the GR-R40Cv manufactured by Toshiba Corporation, have been developed using a water supply pump motor that supplies water into the ice making container, and a water supply pump motor that supplies water to the ice making container. A temperature sensor attached to the outer bottom surface for detecting the completion of ice making, and a separating device that rotates the ice making container to perform an ice removal operation when the temperature detected by this temperature sensor becomes below the ice making completion temperature (for example, -12°C). Some are equipped with an ice mechanism. The configuration will be explained below with reference to FIGS. 5 to 8.

FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 are diagrams showing the configuration of a conventional automatic ice making device. 1 is an ice-making container, and when attached to a household refrigerator, it is installed in a freezing room or an independent room with a freezing temperature (-18°C). Reference numeral 2 denotes a temperature detection means consisting of a thermistor attached to the outer bottom surface of the ice making container 1 for detecting the completion of ice making. 3 is a water supply tank, and if it is attached to a household refrigerator, it will be installed in the refrigerator room. 4 is a water supply pump motor that supplies water from the water supply tank 3 to the ice making container 1. 5 is an ice removal mechanism that rotates the ice making container 1 to perform an ice removal operation;
A motor 6 that rotates the ice-making container 1, a twisting section 7 that twists the rotating ice-making container 1 to release ice, a position detection means 8 consisting of a microswitch etc. that indicates the completion of twisting, and a horizontal position of the ice-making container 1. The horizontal position detecting means 9 is comprised of a microswitch or the like that indicates the horizontal position. Furthermore, the ice release mechanism 5 is
It is configured in an ice making case 10 surrounded by plastic or the like. Further, an ice storage box 11 is arranged below the ice making container 1 to store fallen ice. Also, an ice detection lever 12 that moves up and down on the ice storage box 11 with a part of the ice storage box 10 as a fulcrum for detecting the amount of ice in the ice storage box 11 is protruding from the ice making case 10. There is an ice-making detection means 13 such as a microswitch that determines the amount of ice based on the amount of operation of the ice detection lever 12.

Next, the control circuit will be explained. Reference numeral 14 denotes a control means composed of a microcomputer or the like, and the temperature detection means 2, the position detection means 8, the horizontal position detection means 9, and the ice making detection means 13 are connected to its input terminals. Drive means 15,16 for moving the motor 6 and the water pump motor 4 are connected to the output terminals. Note that the control means 14 includes:
A water supply timer 17 is configured to count the time during which the water supply pump motor 4 is operated.

The operation of this configuration will be explained with reference to FIG.

First, in step 201, if the state of the horizontal position detection means 9 is ON, it can be determined that the ice making container 1 is horizontal, and the process proceeds to step 202. If it is determined in step 201 that the surface is not horizontal, the process proceeds to step 203 and the motor 6 is set to ON so as to operate. In step 202, the motor 6 is turned off, and the process proceeds to step 204. In step 204, it is determined whether the temperature of the temperature detection means 2 is higher or lower than the set value, and if it is higher, then in step 204, the process waits until it becomes lower. Further, if it is determined in step 204 that the temperature is low, it can be determined that ice making has been completed, and the process proceeds to step 205, where the state of the ice making detection means 13 is determined. Ice storage box 1 here
When the amount of ice in the container 1 is small, the ice detection lever 12 is lowered and the ice making detection means 13 is turned ON because it determines that the amount of ice is small.
is in a state of Therefore, the process advances from step 205 to step 206. Also, in step 205, the ice storage box 1
When there is a large amount of ice in the container 1, the ice detection lever 12 is in a raised state and the ice making detection means 13 is in an OFF state. Therefore, in step 205, the ice making detection means 13 is turned on.
Wait until Next, when the ice in the ice storage box 11 is used and decreases, the ice making detection means (3) is turned on and the process proceeds to step 206. In step 206, the motor 6 is turned on. Therefore, the ice making container 1 is rotated. and twist part 7
Add a twist with to release the ice from the ice making container 1. Therefore, in step 207, the state of the position detecting means 8 is turned ON, and it can be determined that water separation is completed, and the process proceeds to step 208, where the motor 6 is continuously operated until the ice making container 1 becomes horizontal. Wait until it becomes ON. In step 207 and step 208, the position detection means 8
Step 2 until both the and horizontal position detection means 9 are turned ON.
Return to 07. In step 208, the horizontal position detection means 9 is set to O.
When it reaches N, it is determined that the ice making container I is horizontal, and the process proceeds to step 20.
9, the motor 6 is stopped. In step 210, the water supply pump motor 4 is operated to supply water to the empty ice making container 1, and in step 211, the water supply timer 17 is started, and in step 212, the water supply pump motor 4 is operated until the time is up. When the water supply timer 17 times up in step 212, the water supply pump motor 4 is turned off in step 213. With the above, water supply is completed and one cycle of the ice making cycle is completed, and step 204 is completed again.
, and this cycle is repeated to automatically make ice.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) However, in such a configuration, the ice detection lever 1
2 is always in contact with the ice storage box 11 or the ice within the ice storage box 11. Therefore, for example, if the ice detection lever 12 is wet or the surface of the ice is melting and wet, the ice detection lever 12 and the ice storage box 11 may stick together, or the ice detection lever 12, the ice, and the ice storage box may become stuck together. ll gets stuck, and the ice detection lever 12 becomes fixed and cannot move freely. That is, even though ice falls into the ice storage box 11, the ice detection lever 12 does not move upward.

Therefore, even though the ice storage box 11 is filled with ice, the ice-making detection means 13 always determines that there is a water shortage, and in step 206 the motor 6 is activated to remove the ice from the ice-making container 1 and fill the ice storage box 11 more and more. Ice is stored.

Eventually, the ice will overflow from the ice storage box 11, or the ice will pile up on the ice storage box 11 and reach the ice making container 1, and then when the motor 6 moves and attempts to rotate the ice making container 1, it cannot rotate and the motor 6 There is a problem in that the motor 6 becomes locked and the motor 6 breaks down.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems and provides an automatic ice-making device that reliably detects the amount of water stored and controls the ice-making device to prevent motor failure.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to solve the above problems, the automatic ice making device of the present invention has the following features:
The ice detection lever moves up and down in conjunction with the motor, and when the motor is stopped, the ice detection lever is in the upper position. If you move the lever downwards and detect that the ice is full,
Stop the motor when the ice detection lever is in the upper position. Thereafter, a timer is activated to add up the time, and when a predetermined time has elapsed, the motor is operated again to detect the amount of ice using an ice detection lever.

(Function) According to the present invention, with the above-described configuration, the ice detection lever is normally located at the upper side and moves downward in conjunction with the motor only when performing the ice detection operation. Next, if the ice making detection means determines that the amount of ice in the ice storage box is small based on the amount of operation of the ice detection lever, it will proceed to the next ice removal operation, but if it determines that the amount of ice in the ice storage box is large, Stop the motor when the ice detection lever is in the upper position and start the timer. When the timer counts for a predetermined period of time, the ice detection operation is performed again. Therefore, since the amount of ice in the ice storage box is accurately determined and the next operation is made, it is possible to prevent the ice detection lever from sticking to the ice storage box or the ice from overflowing from the ice storage box.

(Example) An example of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. Fig. 1 is a flowchart of an automatic ice making device showing an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a control circuit diagram of the automatic ice making device, Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the automatic ice making device, and Fig. 4 is a diagram of the automatic ice making device. FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram inside an ice making case of the device. Components that are the same as those of the prior art are designated by the same reference numerals, detailed explanation thereof will be omitted, and only different parts will be described.

Reference numeral 18 denotes a control means consisting of a microcomputer or the like, which includes a water supply timer 17 and a timer A19 that counts the time from when the ice making detection means 13 detects that the ice is filled and the control means 18 stops the motor 6. and motor 6
A timer 820 that counts the time from when the
It is composed of

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the inside of the ice making case 21, in which an ice detection lever 22 that moves up and down in conjunction with the ice removal mechanism 5 and the motor 6 comes out of the ice making case 21 and is located above the ice storage box 11. When the motor 6 starts moving, the ice detection lever 22 begins to move down and after a certain period of time has passed, it moves to the lowest position. Furthermore, when motor 6 is moved,
The ice detection lever 22 begins to rise and eventually the ice detection lever 22
returns to its initial position.

If the ice detection lever 22 hits an obstacle such as ice while being lowered, the ice detection lever 22 will stop at that spot and the motor 6 will continue to move. Then, when the motor 6 starts moving and starts to move up the ice detection lever 22 after a certain period of time, the ice detection lever 22 also goes up in conjunction. The ice-making detection means 13 determines the amount of ice in the ice storage box 11 based on the amount of operation of the ice detection lever 22.

The operation of this configuration will be explained with reference to FIG. If it is determined in step 204 that ice making has been completed, the process proceeds to step 101. In step 101, the motor 6 is operated, and in step 102, the timer B20 is started. In step 103, it is checked whether the timer 820 has counted for a certain period of time, and if the counting has not ended, the process waits in step 103. While waiting in step 103, the motor 6 continues to operate, and the ice detection lever 22 first moves down and hits the ice in the ice storage box 11 and stops, or reaches the lowest point without hitting anything and then moves up. . During the operation process of the ice detection lever 22, the ice making detection means 13 determines the amount of ice based on the amount of operation of the ice detection lever 22, and is in an ON or OFF state. When the series of operations of the ice detection lever 22 is completed, the time count of the timer 820 is also completed and step 1 is completed.
Proceed to 04. In step 104, the state of the ice making detection means 13 is checked, and if the amount of ice in the ice storage box 11 is small and it is in the ON state, the process proceeds to step 207 and proceeds to an ice removal operation. If the ice making detection means 13 determines in step 104 that there is a large amount of ice in the ice storage box 11 and is in the OFF state, step 10
Proceed to step 5. In step 105, the motor 6 is stopped, and in step 106, the timer A19 is started. In step 107, if it is not checked whether the timer A19 has reached a predetermined time, the process waits in step 107. When a predetermined time has elapsed in step 107, the process returns to step 1 old. That is, the ice detection operation is performed again.

Therefore, in the ice detection operation after ice making is completed, the ice detection lever 22 moves in conjunction with the motor 6 to detect the amount of ice. Therefore, since the ice detection lever 22 is normally located at the top, it will not stick to ice or the ice storage box. If it is determined that there is a large amount of ice during the ice making process, the amount of ice is detected again after a certain period of time has elapsed, and if the amount of ice is large, the above process is repeated until the amount of ice becomes small. Next, if there is little ice, proceed to the next step, which is the ice removal operation.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, in the automatic ice making device of the present invention, the ice detection lever moves up and down in conjunction with the motor, so when the motor is not operating, the ice detection lever can be kept in the upper position. As a result, the ice detection lever may get stuck to the ice storage box or ice, causing it to incorrectly detect the amount of ice in the ice storage box. It is possible to prevent ice from falling into the ice storage box and overflowing, or from reaching the ice making container with a heap of ice, preventing the ice making container from rotating, locking the motor, and causing the remoter to malfunction. To provide an automatic ice making device which has a great effect of preventing ice from falling and running out after determining that the ice storage box is full even though there is little ice.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of an automatic ice making device showing one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a control circuit diagram of the automatic ice making device, and FIG.
The figure is a perspective view of the automatic ice making device, Figure 4 is a configuration diagram inside the ice making case of the automatic ice making device, Figure 5 is a flowchart of the conventional automatic ice making device, and Figure 6 is the control of the automatic ice making device. The circuit diagram, FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the automatic ice making device, and FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram inside the ice making case of the automatic ice making device. 1...Ice container, 2...Temperature detection means, 3...
Water supply tank, 4... Water supply pump motor, 5...
ice removal mechanism, 6... motor, 8... position inspection means,
9... Horizontal position detection means, 11... Ice storage box,
13. Ice-making detection means, 18. Control means, 21.
・Ice making case, 22...Ice detection lever

Claims (1)

[Claims] a water supply tank, an ice-making container, a water supply pump motor for supplying water from the water supply tank to the ice-making container, a temperature detection means attached to the ice-making container, a motor for rotating the ice-making container, and a position of the rotating ice-making container. an ice-making mechanism for rotating the ice-making container and dropping ice, the ice-making case comprising a position detecting means shown in FIG. an ice storage box located below the ice making container for storing released ice; and an ice detection lever protruding from the ice making case that moves up and down on the ice storage box in conjunction with the motor to detect the amount of ice. and ice-making detection means for determining the amount of ice based on the amount of operation of the ice detection lever, and a cooling period until the temperature detection means reaches a predetermined temperature or less, and after the end of the cooling period, the ice detection lever is operated. An ice detection period in which the ice making detection means detects the amount of ice, followed by a second driving period in which the ice making container is rotated, a water supply period in which the water supply pump motor is driven after the end of the second drive period, and an end of the water supply period. When the ice-making detection means detects full ice during the ice-detection period in the ice-making cycle, the ice-making cycle then returns to the cooling period, waits for a certain period of time, then performs the ice detection operation again until the ice storage becomes insufficient in the next period. An automatic ice-making device equipped with control means that cannot be used.