JPH05306868A - Ice making device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate useless power energization for a freezing prevention heater and save power energy. CONSTITUTION:Freezing prevention heaters 18 and 19 are installed to a water supply line which leads to an ice making pan 12 where power is energized by a drive signal from a control device. The control device detects a water supply state of the ice making pan 12 based on a temperature signal transmitted from a thermistor 17. A continuous closed time of a door 3a of an ice making chamber 3 is time-counted by the control device based on an opening/closing signal transmitted from a door switch. When both an empty state of a water supply tank 8 and the continuous closed time of the door 3a exceed 24 hours after water has been supplied, the control device determines that no substantial ice making operation is being carried out and cuts off the supply of power to freezing prevention heaters 18 and 19, which makes it possible to save power energy.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ice making device provided with an antifreezing heater in a water supply path from a water supply tank to an ice tray in an ice making chamber.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an ice making device of this type, for example, an automatic ice making device installed in a refrigerator performs an ice making operation as follows. That is, first, the water in the water supply tank provided in the refrigerating compartment is supplied to the ice tray of the ice making compartment by the water supply pump, and the water stored in the ice making tray is cooled by the cold air supplied to the ice making compartment to become ice. ..

When the ice making is completed, the ice making tray is rotated by the drive mechanism so as to be turned upside down and twisted in the process of reaching the turning position, whereby the ice in the ice making tray is detached. It is stored in the ice storage box arranged below. Then, such an ice making operation is repeated until the ice in the ice storage box is full.

In this case, when the internal water is frozen in the water supply path from the water supply tank which is the water supply source to the ice tray,
Since water cannot be smoothly supplied to the ice tray, a freeze prevention heater has been conventionally provided in order to prevent water in the water supply path from freezing. Specifically, the antifreezing heaters are provided at least at the lower surface of the water supply tank and at two locations around the water supply port extending from the water supply tank to the ice tray, and are configured to be continuously energized at all times.

[0005]

However, in such a configuration in which the antifreezing heater provided in the water supply tank or the water supply port is always energized, there is no water for ice making in the water supply tank and the ice making operation is substantially performed. Even if the heater is not turned on, the antifreezing heater is energized, which causes wasteful heat generation and is uneconomical.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its object is substantially to control the energization of the antifreezing heater provided in the water supply path from the water supply source to the ice tray. An object of the present invention is to provide an ice making device that can save power by preventing unnecessary power supply when the ice making operation is not performed.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to an ice making device provided with a freezing prevention heater in a water supply path from a water supply tank to an ice tray in the ice making chamber, wherein the door of the ice making chamber is closed. A door sensor for detecting a state, a water supply sensor for detecting a water out state of the water supply tank, and a control means for controlling energization of the antifreezing heater are provided and configured.
The control means is controlled so as to stop energizing the antifreezing heater on condition that the detection state of the door sensor and the detection state of the water supply sensor continue for a set time or longer.

[0008]

According to the ice making apparatus of the present invention, the control means stops energizing the antifreezing heater on condition that the detection state of the door sensor and the detection state of the water supply sensor continue for a set time or longer. As a result, in the state where the ice making operation is not performed substantially, that is, when the water supply tank is running out of water and the door is kept closed, that is, when there is no water in the water supply path, Since unnecessary power supply is stopped, it is possible to reduce wasteful power consumption and save power.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a refrigerator will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 3 showing the appearance of the refrigerator, the refrigerator compartment 1 provided with the double doors 1a and 1b is a refrigerator main body 2.
The ice making chamber 3 provided on the upper part of the refrigerator and provided with the drawer type door 3a is provided in the middle part of the refrigerator body 2. The door 3a of the ice making chamber 3 is provided with a door switch 3b (see FIG. 1) as a door sensor, which is turned on / off according to opening / closing of the door. In addition, the refrigerator body 2 includes a freezer compartment 4 having a drawer-type door 4a, a freezer compartment 5 also having a drawer-type door 5a (see FIG. 2), and a vegetable compartment having a drawer-type door 6 ( (Not shown)
Is provided. The ice making chamber 3 is configured to be cooled to the same temperature as the freezing chambers 4 and 5.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic structure of an automatic ice making machine 7 provided in the refrigerator main body 2, which will be described below.

That is, a water tank 8 (also shown in FIG. 3) as a water supply source is provided in the tank storage corner 1c formed at the bottom of the refrigerating compartment 1 for supporting the water supply tank 8 in a mounted state. 1, a water tray 10 for supplying water at a constant water level from the water supply tank 8 and a water supply pump 11 for pumping the water in the water tray 10 are provided, and the water pumped by the water supply pump 11 is used in the ice making chamber 3 It is configured to be supplied into the ice tray 12 provided therein via a water supply pipe 11a.

Further, the tank switch 13 is configured to turn on when the water supply tank 8 is set (placed) on the tank shelf 9. The amount of water supplied to the ice tray 12 is controlled by driving the water supply pump 11 for a fixed time.

The ice tray 12 is made of an elastically deformable plastic material and is rotated by an ice making machine body 14 having a built-in motor and the like when the ice making is completed, and a twist is imparted at the final stage of the rotation. The ice removing operation is performed, and the ice dropped from the ice tray 12 by this ice removing operation is stored in the ice storage box 15 arranged below.

Inside the ice storage box 15, there is disposed an ice storage detection lever 16 which rotates according to the amount of ice storage. When the rotation amount of the ice storage detection lever 16 reaches a set value,
That is, when a predetermined amount of ice or more is stored in the ice storage box 15, a limit switch (not shown) in the ice making machine body 14 is turned on to restrain the start of the ice removing operation.

On the back surface of the ice tray 12, the temperature T
A thermistor 17 for detecting the water is provided, and the thermistor 17 has a function as a water supply sensor.
Then, based on the temperature T detected by the thermistor 17, detection of ice making completion time, detection of water shortage in the water supply tank 8 as a water supply sensor, and the like are performed.

Further, in the water supply path from the water supply tank 8 to the ice tray 12, for example, on the lower surface of the water supply tank 8 and around the water supply pipe 11a, antifreezing heaters 18, 1 are provided, respectively.
9 is provided.

On the other hand, FIG. 1 schematically shows an electrical configuration by combining functional blocks, which will be described below.

The temperature detecting circuit 20 includes the thermistor 17
The temperature signal K having a voltage level corresponding to the detected temperature T is output to the control device 21 as the control means. The water supply lamp 22 is provided, for example, on the front surface of the door 1b of the refrigerating compartment 2, and in response to its lighting, a notification that the inside of the water supply tank 8 has become empty, and an abnormality such as a defective setting of the water supply tank 8. Make a notification.

The control device 21 includes a microcomputer and controls each part based on a program stored in advance. The control device 21 includes a temperature detection circuit 20, a tank switch 13, a door switch 3b, and an ice storage detection lever 1.
The signal from each of the 6 is received.

The water supply lamp 22 and the water supply pump 11 are connected to the control device 21 via drive circuits 23 and 24, respectively, and the ice making machine main body 14 is connected to the control device 21, which is drive-controlled based on a program. It is supposed to do.

The series circuit of the antifreezing heaters 18 and 19 forms an energizing circuit 27 through a relay switch 25 and an AC power source 26 in series, and the relay coil 25a of the relay switch 25 is of a pnp type. A heater drive circuit 29 is configured with the transistor 28. The base of the transistor 28 is connected to the control output terminal A of the control device 21 via the resistor 30.

Further, the control device 21 has the following two timing operation functions. The first timekeeping operation function is a function of, when the door 3a of the ice making chamber 3 is opened and then closed, measuring a door closing time tA from that time until the door 3a is next opened / closed. The second timekeeping function is
When the empty state of the water supply tank 8 is detected and the water supply lamp 22 is turned on, the water supply lamp lighting time tB from that point until the water supply lamp 22 is turned off is measured.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 4 and 5. still,
4 and 5 show only the part of the control content of the control circuit 21 that is directly related to the gist of the present invention.

In FIG. 4, in the power-on state, the control device 21 outputs a drive signal from the control output terminal A to turn on the transistor 28 and energize the relay coil 25a, which causes the relay switch 25 to operate. Since the antifreezing heaters 18 and 19 are turned on to supply power, the water supply tank 8 and the water supply pipe 11a are heated to prevent freezing.

Then, it is judged whether or not the temperature T of the ice tray 12 indicated by the temperature signal K from the temperature detection circuit 20 is equal to or lower than the ice making completion temperature of -12.5 ° C (step S).
1) At this point, the ice tray 12 is in a waiting state until the ice making is completed. Then, when the completion of ice making is detected, the control device 21 proceeds to step S2, and when 5.5 minutes have elapsed after the power was turned on, the control device 21 proceeds to step S3.

In step S3, the control device 21 determines whether or not 2.0 hours have elapsed since the start of water supply,
When it has not elapsed, the process returns to step S2, and when it has elapsed, it is determined that the predetermined ice making operation is completed, and the operation proceeds to the ice removing operation (step S4). In the ice removing operation, the control device 21 outputs a signal to the ice making machine body 14,
The ice tray 12 is rotated so as to be turned upside down, and the generated ice is separated and stored in the lower ice storage box 15. After this,
The ice tray 12 is returned to the original position, and the process ends.

Next, the control device 21 determines whether the amount of ice stored in the ice storage box 15 is full or not and the ice storage detection lever 16
Judgment is made depending on whether or not is on (step S
5) When the ON signal is input in the full state, the user takes out ice and the ice storage detection lever 16
Goes into a standby state until is turned off.

When the ice storage detection lever 16 is turned off, the control device 21 subsequently determines from the signal from the tank switch 13 whether or not the water supply tank 8 is set (step S6). Then, when the water supply tank 8 is set and it is detected that 5.5 minutes have passed after the setting (step S7), the control device 21 performs the water supply operation (step S8).

In the water supply operation, the control device 21 gives a drive signal to the water supply pump 11 through the drive circuit 24 for a certain period of time so that a predetermined amount of water in the water supply tank 8 is supplied to the ice tray 12 through the water supply pipe 11a. Supply. After this, the control device 21
Determines whether or not the water is normally supplied depending on whether or not the temperature T of the ice tray 12 based on the temperature signal K from the temperature detection circuit 20 becomes higher than -9.5 ° C (step S).
9).

This is because the temperature of the ice tray 12 due to water supply is −
The judgment is based on the temperature rising above 9.5 ° C, and until 5.5 minutes have elapsed after the start of water supply (step S1
During step 0), if “YES” is determined in step S9,
The process returns to step S1 and the above steps are repeated.

On the other hand, if 5.5 minutes have not elapsed since the start of water supply and the determination is not "YES" in step S9, the control device 21 determines "YES" in step S10 and proceeds to step S11. Then, the control device 21 gives a lighting signal to the water supply lamp 22 via the drive circuit 23 to display the lighting (step S11), and also executes the second timing operation function to measure the lighting time tB of the water supply lamp 22. The operation is started (step S12). This informs the user that the water supply tank 8 is empty.

Next, the control unit 21 proceeds to step S13 and determines whether or not the value of the door closing time tA, which is the time since the door 3a of the ice making chamber 3 was last closed, exceeds 24 hours. To do. This step S13 is for detecting a state in which the door 3a of the ice making chamber 3 remains closed for more than 24 hours and substantially no ice in the ice making chamber 3 is used. In this case, the value of the door closing time tA is measured as follows.

That is, when the door 3a of the ice making chamber 3 is once opened and then closed, the control device 21 controls the door switch 3b.
The interrupt program shown in FIG. 5 is executed based on the signal from the. The control device 21 first clears the value of the door closing time tA to the initial value "0" (step T1), and then starts the timing operation of the door closing time tA as the first timing operation (step T2). Subsequently, the control device 21 outputs a drive signal from the control output terminal A to energize the antifreezing heaters 18 and 19 (step T3), and returns to the main program. If the controller 21 has already energized the antifreezing heaters 18 and 19, the energized state is maintained in step T3.

Since the door closing time tA is being clocked by the interrupt program as described above, the control device 21 proceeds to step S14 when it determines "YES" in step S13 of the main program.

In step S14, the control device 21 determines whether or not the lighting time tB of the water supply lamp 22 exceeds 24 hours. This step S14 is step 11
This is for judging the state in which the duration after the lighting of the water supply lamp 22 exceeds 24 hours and the water supply tank 8 is substantially empty and the ice making operation is not performed.

In step S14, "YE
When it is determined to be "S", the control device 21 proceeds to step S15 to stop the drive signal output from the control output terminal A to turn off the freeze prevention heaters 18 and 19. That is, in both steps S13 and S14, "YE
By determining "S", the automatic ice maker 7 detects that the water supply tank 8 is practically empty and the ice making operation is unnecessary, and suppresses unnecessary power consumption. ..

After this, the control device 21 causes the step S16.
Then, it is determined whether or not the water supply tank 8 is reset based on the signal from the tank switch 13. When the water supply tank 8 is reset by supplying water or the like, the control device 21 determines "YES" and proceeds to step S17. When "NO" is determined in step S13 or S14, the process jumps to step S15 and moves to step S16 in any case.

In step S17, the controller 21 outputs a drive signal from the control output terminal A to energize the antifreezing heaters 18 and 19, and subsequently turns off the water supply lamp 22 (step S18) and supplies water. The value of the lighting time tB of the lamp 22 is cleared to "0" (step S19), after which the process returns to step S7.

In step S16, the control device 21 determines "NO" here until the water supply tank 8 is reset, and proceeds to step S20, where the temperature T of the ice tray 12 is-. It is determined whether or not the temperature becomes 9.5 ° C. or higher, and if “NO” is determined here as well, the process returns to step S13 to repeat the above steps.

The control device 21 then proceeds to step S20.
It is determined to be “YES”, that is, the temperature T of the ice tray 12 is −9.5.
When the temperature exceeds C, the temperature T of the ice tray 12 before water supply is too low, and the temperature rise is slow, but it is determined that the water supply has been performed. Then, the control device 21 energizes the freeze prevention heaters 18 and 19 (step S2).
At the same time as 1), the water supply lamp 22 is turned off and the lighting time tB is cleared to "0" (steps S22 and S23).
After that, the control device 21 returns to step S1 and repeats the above control.

According to this embodiment, the control device 2
1, the freezing provided in the water supply path from the water supply tank 8 to the ice tray 12 is conditioned that both the closing time tA of the door 3a of the ice making chamber 3 and the lighting time tB of the water supply lamp 22 exceed 24 hours. Since the prevention heaters 18 and 19 are turned off, it is possible to prevent wasteful power consumption in a state where the ice making operation is not substantially performed, and to save power.

In the above embodiment, step S1
Although the set time is set to 24 hours in both 3 and S14, the set time is not limited to this and may be set to a different time.

[0044]

As described above, according to the ice making apparatus of the present invention, the control means causes the antifreezing heater to operate on the condition that the detection state of the door sensor and the detection state of the water supply sensor continue for a set time or longer. Since the energization is stopped, in a state where the ice-making operation is not substantially carried out such that the water supply tank is continuously out of water and the door is kept closed, that is, in a state where there is no water in the water supply path, There is an excellent effect that unnecessary power supply to the antifreezing heater can be stopped, and thus wasteful power consumption can be eliminated and power saving can be achieved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an electrical configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional side view of a main part.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a refrigerator

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a main program showing control contents.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an interrupt program showing the control contents at the time of interrupt.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 is a refrigerator main body, 3 is an ice making chamber, 3b is a door switch (door sensor), 7 is an automatic ice making machine, 8 is a water supply tank, 11 is a water supply pump, 12 is an ice tray, 13 is a tank switch, 1
4 is an ice making machine main body, 16 is an ice storage detection lever, 17 is a thermistor (water supply sensor), 18 and 19 are freeze prevention heaters,
20 is a temperature detection circuit, 21 is a control device (control means), 2
2 is a water supply lamp, 25 is a relay switch, and 25a is a relay coil.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An ice making device having a heater for preventing freezing in a water supply path from a water supply tank to an ice tray in an ice making chamber, wherein a door sensor for detecting a closed state of a door of the ice making chamber and a drainage state of the water supplying tank are provided. A water supply sensor for detecting, and a control means for controlling energization of the antifreezing heater, the control means, provided that the detection state of the door sensor and the detection state of the water supply sensor continues for a set time or more. An ice making device, which is controlled to stop energization of the antifreezing heater.