JPH04324085A - Ice making device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To produce ice with a high transparency without being affected by an atmospheric temperature or the operating condition of a compressor while preventing a vibrating mechanism from the deterioration of life. CONSTITUTION:A microcomputer 37 outputs a pulse signal to conduct and/or intercept an electric current through a solenoid and control the driving of a vibrating mechanism 18. The microcomputer 37 accumulates a continuous operating time during ice making operation based on an operation signal Sa given from a compressor 5 through a condition detecting circuit 40. The microcomputer 37 enlarges a vibrating output generated from the vibrating mechanism 18 from a condition, in which the vibrating output is deteriorated, when continuous operating time has arrived at a set time. According to this method, optimum vibration can be provided in accordance with a cooling capacity whereby ice with a high transparency can be produced at all times.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[Object of the invention]

0002

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ice-making apparatus that performs ice-making operations while applying vibration to an ice-making tray in order to produce highly transparent ice.

0003

[Prior Art] Generally, when producing ice with high transparency, there are methods such as slow freezing,
There is a method of freezing water while forcibly expelling air bubbles generated from inside the water during the freezing process.

[0004] In automatic ice-making devices incorporated in household refrigerators, etc., in which air bubbles are forcibly ejected in order to produce highly transparent ice, for example, the ice-making process is performed while applying vibration to the ice-making tray. There is something.

[0005] This method uses a vibration mechanism to apply vibrations to the ice-making tray during ice-making operation, thereby guiding air bubbles generated from water that has begun to freeze to the surface of the water, thereby preventing air from being trapped inside the ice. It produces highly transparent ice.

[0006]

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] By the way, since it is common for household refrigerators to be used while constantly making ice, the vibration mechanism is also driven continuously. become. On the other hand, considering the lifespan required for refrigerators, the same lifespan is also required for the vibrating mechanism that has moving parts, making it difficult to ensure its reliability. The vibration mechanism needed to have a sturdy structure, which inevitably led to a significant increase in cost.

[0007] In addition, in response to the above-mentioned situation, if the vibration rate is set to be lowered to apply vibration suitable for normal ice-making operations, for example, when opening and closing a refrigerator door, If this is done frequently, or in summer when the outside air temperature is high, conversely, the continuous operation time of the compressor becomes longer, and cold air is continuously sent to the ice-making compartment over a long period of time. In this case, since the cooling capacity is increased, the ice making capacity is also increased, and when normal vibrations are applied as described above, sufficient deaeration is not achieved.
Clear ice may not form.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to prevent the life of the vibration mechanism from decreasing, and to
Vibration can be applied in response to the cooling state, and therefore,
To provide an ice making device that can always produce highly transparent ice without being affected by the continuous operation of a compressor or the outside temperature.

[Configuration of the invention]

0010

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention is directed to an ice-making device that performs ice-making operations while vibrating an ice-making tray disposed in an ice-making chamber by a vibration mechanism, and the present invention is directed to an ice-making device that performs an ice-making operation while vibrating an ice-making tray placed in an ice-making chamber. The control means is provided with a compressor to be driven and a control means provided to be able to adjust the vibration output by the vibration mechanism, and the control means is controlled until the continuous operation time of the compressor reaches a set time or when the outside air temperature reaches the set temperature. The present invention is characterized in that the vibration output is reduced when the vibration output is below.

[0011]

[Function] First, the conditions for producing transparent ice and the effect of vibration on the ice tray will be briefly explained. In other words, in order to produce ice with high transparency, the conditions are to cool the water so that it freezes from one side rather than from the entire surface in contact with the outside world, and to reduce the growth speed of the ice interface by reducing the growth rate of the water in the water near the interface. An example of this is to keep the diffusion speed of air lower than that of air. In this case, in order to satisfy the former of the above conditions and the latter condition without using means such as stirring or running water, the interfacial growth speed should be 2 to 3 mm/
It is known that h should be used (from Kiichi Maeno's ``Science of Ice'' published by Hokkaido University Publishing).

[0012] However, it is practically too slow to generate ice at such a growth speed, so in actual ice making equipment, the interfacial growth speed is increased and the ice tray is vibrated to improve air diffusion. By increasing the speed and meeting the above conditions, highly transparent ice is produced. Therefore, if the interfacial growth speed is below the above-mentioned value, highly transparent ice will be produced even if the amount of vibration applied is reduced.

Therefore, according to the ice making apparatus of the present invention, when the ice making operation is performed, vibration is applied to the ice making tray by the vibration mechanism. Until this time, vibration is applied to the ice tray with the vibration output of the vibration mechanism reduced by, for example, 50%, and when the continuous operation time of the compressor reaches the set time, the vibration output of the vibration mechanism is reduced to the original output. In other words, the output increases to 100% and is applied to the ice cube tray.

[0014] As a result, when the compressor is operated continuously for a long time, that is, when ice making is performed with the cooling capacity increased due to reasons such as high outside air temperature, ice is generated. Since the interfacial growth speed of ice increases, the transparency of the ice produced can be increased by increasing the output of the vibration applied to the ice tray after the compressor's continuous operation time exceeds the set time. Can be done.

[0015] Furthermore, when the outside air temperature is low and the continuous operation time of the compressor does not reach the set time, that is, when the cooling capacity does not increase, the vibration output of the vibration mechanism by the control means remains reduced and ice is made. The operation takes place, and the ice produced is sufficiently transparent.

Further, according to the ice making apparatus of the present invention, the control means causes the ice making operation to be performed with the vibration output of the vibration mechanism being reduced when the outside air temperature is below the set temperature,
When the outside air temperature exceeds the set temperature, the vibration output of the vibration mechanism is set to a predetermined output state to perform the ice-making operation. As a result, when the outside temperature is high, that is, when ice making is performed with the compressor running for a long time to increase the cooling capacity, the ice tray is vibrated with a predetermined vibration output. However, it is possible to produce ice that is sufficiently transparent.

[0017]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a refrigerator with an ice making device will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5.

In FIG. 2, a freezer compartment 2, a refrigerator compartment 3, and an ice-making compartment 4 are formed inside a refrigerator body 1, and a machine room (not shown) is provided below this compartment. A compressor 5 (see FIG. 1) constituting a refrigeration cycle is disposed. The cold air cooled by the cooler 5a is supplied to each of the chambers 2, 3, and 4 by a fan 6. An automatic ice making device 7 according to the present invention is provided in the ice making chamber 4, and will be described in detail below.

Inside the ice-making compartment 4, a rectangular body 8 is disposed at the upper front part, and at the rear thereof, an L-shaped support member 9 that protrudes rearward is provided as shown in FIG. It is being A drive mechanism 13 consisting of a motor 10, a gear mechanism 11, and an output shaft 12 serving as a shaft is provided inside the fuselage 8. 12.

The ice tray 14 is made of, for example, a plastic material and has the shape of a thin container with an open top, and the inside thereof is divided into a plurality of (for example, eight) small chambers. The ice tray 14 is in a state in which the center of the front part is movable in the axial direction on the support member 9 via the support shaft 15, and the output shaft 1 and the support shaft 15 are movable in the axial direction.
It is rotatably supported around , and is rotated by an output shaft 12.

A compression coil spring 16 is wound around the output shaft 12 so as to be located between the body 8 and the ice tray 14, and a compression coil spring 16 is wound around the output shaft 15, and a compression coil spring 16 is wound around the output shaft 12 and is located between the ice tray 14 and the support member 9. A compression coil spring 17 is wound. A convex portion 14a is protruded from one end of the rear portion of the ice tray 14.
When it is rotated in the reverse direction, its convex portion 14a comes into contact with the support member 9, thereby restricting the rotation.

The vibration mechanism 18 is a mechanism for vibrating the ice tray 14 in the axial direction, and as shown in FIG. A movable core 20 movably inserted into a provided solenoid 19, a vibration transmission member 21 screwed onto the tip of the movable core 20, and a collar 21a wound around the vibration transmission member 21. and a compression coil spring 22 disposed between the rear surface of the body 8 and the rear surface of the body 8.

The claw portion 21b at the tip of the vibration transmitting member 21 engages with a V-shaped engagement recess 23 formed in the ice tray 14.
It is removably engaged with from below. The vibration mechanism 18 is
When the solenoid 19 is energized, the movable iron core 20 is suctioned and moved in the direction of arrow A against the spring force of the compression coil spring 22, and accordingly, the ice tray 14 is moved through the vibration transmission member 21.
are moved in the same direction, and when the solenoid 19 is de-energized, the spring force of the compression coil spring 22 causes the movable cores 20,
The vibration transmitting member 21 and the ice tray 14 are integrally moved in the direction opposite to the direction of the arrow A, and this is repeated to vibrate the ice tray 14 in the axial direction.

The body 8 is provided with a circuit board 24 inside, and a horizontal position detection switch 25 for detecting the horizontal position of the ice tray 14 and a horizontal position detection switch 25 for detecting the inverted position of the ice tray 14 near the output shaft 12. Reversing position detection switch 26
is provided. Further, a temperature sensor 27 is disposed at a predetermined location on the lower surface of the ice tray 14 to detect the temperature of the ice tray 14.

Further, in FIG. 2, an ice box 28 is disposed below the ice tray 14 so that it can be taken in and out of the ice making chamber 4. An ice storage device that detects the amount of ice stored in the ice box 28 A detection lever 29 is rotatably supported by the body 8. The water supply device 30 is disposed in the refrigerator compartment 3, and is configured to supply water from a water tank 31 to the ice tray 14 via a water supply pipe 33 using a water supply pump 32.

Furthermore, the cold air supply port 34a of the cold air duct 34 that supplies cold air into the ice making compartment 4 faces the lower side of the ice tray 14, so that the cold air mainly flows to the lower side of the ice tray 14. ing. A lid 35 made of a heat insulating material is disposed on the top of the ice tray 14 so as to cover the top surface, and a heater 36 is disposed above the lid 35 . Further, the lid 35 allows the ice tray 14 to rotate and move in the axial direction.

A microcomputer 37 serving as a control means is disposed on the circuit board 24, and controls the ice-making operation based on an ice-making program (not shown), as will be described later. This microcomputer 37 is
The solenoid 19 of the vibration mechanism 18 described above is driven and controlled by an electrical configuration as shown in FIG.

That is, one end of the solenoid 19 is connected to the power supply terminal Vc, and the other end is connected to the driving transistor 38.
It is grounded through. microcomputer 37
The control output terminal C of is connected to the base of the transistor 38 via a protective resistor 39. A state detection circuit 40 that outputs a signal depending on the operating state of the compressor 5 is connected to an input terminal P of the microcomputer 37. In this case, the microcomputer 37 integrates the duration of the operating signal for the compressor 5 given from the state detection circuit 40, and outputs the signal from the control output terminal C as described later.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained with reference to FIG. 5.

When the power is turned on, the microcomputer 37 starts a series of ice-making operations based on an ice-making program (not shown). The ice making operation is divided into water supply, ice making, and ice removal processes, and each process will be briefly explained below, and then vibration application in the ice making process will be explained in detail.

(1) Water supply process...microcomputer 3
7 drives the water supply device 30. That is, the water tank 31
The water for ice making is pumped up by the water supply pump 32 and
Water is supplied to the ice tray 14 through the ice tray 14. When a predetermined amount of water is supplied, the water supply device 30 is stopped.

(2) Ice-making step: The temperature of the ice-making tray 14 is detected by the temperature sensor 27 to see if it has reached a predetermined ice-making completion temperature. In other words, when the water supplied to the ice making tray 14 freezes, the temperature further decreases, thereby detecting the completion of ice making. In this ice-making process, the vibration output of the vibration mechanism 18 is controlled by the microcomputer 37 as will be described later.

(3) Ice-off process: When it is determined that the water in the ice-making tray 14 has frozen, the microcomputer 37 controls the drive mechanism 13 to rotate the ice-making tray 14 in the direction indicated by arrow B, thereby removing the ice. It is removed from the ice cube tray 14. This results in
Ice is dropped into the ice box 28 and stored there.

[0034] By repeating the above steps,
The ice making operation is performed until the ice box 28 is filled with highly transparent ice.

Now, the control of the vibration mechanism 18 by the microcomputer 37 in the ice making process described above will be described in detail below. First, a case will be described in which the outside air temperature is relatively high or the door of the refrigerator main body 1 is opened and closed frequently, so that the continuous operation time of the compressor 5 extends for a long time t1.

When the ice-making operation is being performed, the microcomputer 37 outputs a pulse signal from the control output terminal C, which causes the transistor 38 to repeatedly turn on and off, and the solenoid 19 to repeatedly turn on and off. It will be done. The vibration mechanism 18 vibrates the ice tray 14 to generate transparent ice. In this case, the vibration output of the ice tray 14 by the vibration mechanism 18 is set to, for example, 50%.

The microcomputer 37 counts the duration time of the operating signal Sa outputted according to the operating state of the compressor 5 given via the state detection circuit 40, and the duration time is determined by the set time t0 (for example, 25 As shown in FIG. 5(a), if the vibration mechanism 18
The output is increased so that the vibration output of the ice tray 14 is twice that of the above case, that is, 100%.

This allows the compressor 5 to operate for a long time (t
1 is operated continuously for 25 minutes or more), the vibration output is increased to prevent the transparency of the ice being generated from decreasing due to the increase in cooling capacity, so the transparency of the ice being generated is increased. prevent it from decreasing.

Furthermore, when the operation of the compressor 5 is stopped, the microcomputer 37 reduces the vibration output of the vibration mechanism 18 to 50% again, returning to the normal vibration output application state.

In this way, transparent ice is produced by controlling the vibration output of the vibration mechanism 18 as described above until it is determined that ice has been produced.

In the above case, if the continuous operation time t2 of the compressor 5 is shorter than the set time t0, the vibration output of the vibration mechanism 18 is controlled by the microcomputer 37, as shown in FIG. 5(b). continues at 50%.

Furthermore, unlike the above case, when the quick freezing mode is set to rapidly generate ice, the compressor 5 is operated continuously, and in this case, the cooling capacity is large. Therefore, while the compressor 5 is in operation, the microcomputer 37 outputs a pulse signal from the control output terminal C so that the vibration output by the vibration mechanism 18 is always 100%.

As described above, in this embodiment, when the continuous operation time of the compressor 5 exceeds the set time t0, the microcomputer 37 reduces the vibration output of the ice tray 14 by the vibration mechanism 18 from 50% to 100%.
Therefore, by appropriately applying vibration when the cooling capacity is large, it is possible to generate ice with sufficiently high transparency.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show a second embodiment of the present invention, and the differences from the first embodiment will be explained below.

In FIG. 6 showing the electrical configuration, a temperature sensor 41 for detecting outside air temperature is adapted to give its detection signal Sb to an input terminal P of a microcomputer 37. The microcomputer 37 receives this detection signal S
A pulse signal is output from the control output terminal C based on the pulse signal b to control the vibration output of the ice tray 14 by the vibration mechanism 18.

According to the above configuration, when the temperature T1 detected by the temperature sensor 41 outputs the detection signal Sb exceeding the set temperature T0 (for example, 25° C.), the microcomputer 37 outputs the detection signal Sb as shown in FIG. 7(a). In addition, the vibration output by the vibration mechanism 18 is controlled to be 100% during the operating period of the compressor 5, and the vibration output is controlled to 50% during the period when the compressor 5 is stopped due to the low cooling capacity. Reduce and control.

Furthermore, the temperature T2 detected by the temperature sensor 41
When the temperature is lower than the set temperature T0, the microcomputer 37 controls the vibration output of the vibration mechanism 18 to be 50% throughout the ice-making operation period, as shown in FIG. 7(b).

The reason why the vibration output is controlled in accordance with the outside air temperature in this way is that when the outside air temperature is high (T1), the continuous operation time of the compressor 5 becomes longer. This is due to the fact that the operating state of No. 5 is controlled, and therefore, the second embodiment also provides the same effects as the first embodiment.

FIG. 8 shows a third embodiment of the present invention, in which a vibration mechanism 42 is used in place of the vibration mechanism 18 in the first embodiment.

That is, the vibration mechanism 4 that vibrates the ice tray 14
2 is constructed as follows. Rotating shaft 43a of motor 43
A cam 44 having an uneven cam surface 44a is attached to the cam surface 44a, and a slide member 46 having a removable claw 45 is provided in the engagement recess 14a of the ice tray 14. The configuration includes a spring 47 that urges the cam surface 44a toward the cam surface 44a.

When the cam 44 is rotated by the motor 43, the slide member 46 in contact with the cam surface 44a slides and reciprocates in the axial direction.
The ice tray 14 is configured to vibrate.

In this embodiment using such a vibration mechanism 43, the same effect can be obtained by controlling the vibration output from the vibration mechanism 43 using the microcomputer 37 in the same manner as in the first embodiment. It is possible.

[0053]

As explained above, according to the ice making apparatus of the present invention, the vibration output is controlled by the control means until the continuous operation time of the compressor reaches the set time or when the outside air temperature is below the set temperature. Since the ice-making operation is performed while the ice-making tray is vibrated in the lowered state, when the cooling capacity is high, the ice-making operation can be performed with strong vibrations, and therefore the compressor can be operated continuously for a long time. In other words, when ice making is performed with the cooling capacity increased due to reasons such as high outside air temperature, the interfacial growth speed of the generated ice increases, so the compressor should be adjusted accordingly. After the continuous operation time exceeds the set time, the clarity of the ice produced can be increased by increasing the output of the vibration applied to the ice tray.

[0054] Furthermore, when the outside air temperature is low and the continuous operation time of the compressor does not reach the set time, that is, when the cooling capacity does not increase, the vibration output of the vibration mechanism by the control means remains reduced and ice is made. Although the operation is performed, the produced ice has an excellent effect of being sufficiently transparent.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an electrical configuration diagram of main parts showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

[Figure 2] Vertical side view of the upper part of the refrigerator body

[Fig. 3] Plan view of automatic ice making device partially cut away

[Figure 4] Vertical side view of the vibration mechanism part

[Figure 5] Time chart showing the relationship between compressor operating status and vibration output

FIG. 6 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 1 showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Figure 7
】Equivalent diagram of Figure 5 showing vibration output according to external temperature

[Figure 8]
A diagram corresponding to FIG. 4 showing the third embodiment of the present invention

[Explanation of symbols]

1 is a refrigerator body, 4 is an ice-making compartment, 5 is a compressor, 7 is an automatic ice-making device, 14 is an ice-making tray, 18 and 43 are vibration mechanisms,
19 is a solenoid, 36 is a heater, 37 is a microcomputer (control means), 38 is a transistor, 40 is a state detection circuit, 43 is a motor, and 44 is a cam.

Claims (1)

[Claims] Claim 1: In an ice-making operation in which an ice-making tray placed in an ice-making chamber is vibrated by a vibration mechanism, a compressor that is driven when cooling the inside of the ice-making chamber and a vibration output by the vibration mechanism can be adjusted. and a control means provided, the control means being configured to reduce the vibration output until the continuous operation time of the compressor reaches a set time or when the outside air temperature is below the set temperature. An ice making device characterized by: