JPH0629638Y2 - Refrigerator with automatic ice maker - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Object of the Invention] (Industrial field of application) The present invention detects the completion of ice making based on the temperature detected by a temperature sensor provided in the ice making container, and then performs an ice removing operation from the ice making container. The present invention relates to a refrigerator with an automatic ice making device equipped with the automatic ice making device.

(Prior Art) In a refrigerator with an automatic ice making device of this type, a temperature detected by a temperature sensor provided in an ice making container has a predetermined temperature, for example, -1.
An automatic ice making device having an ice making completion detecting circuit that outputs an ice making completion detecting signal when the temperature reaches 2 ° C. and a mechanism section that performs ice removing operation based on the ice making completion detecting signal is provided, for example, in an ice making chamber. ing. An example of this is shown in FIG. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 1 is an ice making container, 2 is a temperature sensor provided on the bottom surface of the bottom of the ice making container 1, and 3 is a mechanism portion for causing the ice making container 1 to perform ice removing operation. in this case,
When the refrigerator is normally frozen, as shown in FIG. 5, the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 2 (curve A in FIG.
Indicates that the temperature of the water in the ice making container 1 (shown by the curve B in the figure) has dropped to -5 ° C. or less to complete the ice making. When an ice-making completion detection signal is output from the ice-making completion signal, the mechanism unit 3 causes the ice-making operation to completely remove the ice, and stores the ice-made ice in an ice storage container (not shown). I try to repeat it.

(Problems to be solved by the invention) In recent years, due to a request to further improve the freezing function, a quick freezing operation function has been added to the refrigerator having the above configuration. In this case, when the quick freezing operation is executed, as shown in FIG. 4, the cold air constantly hits the ice making container 1, particularly the temperature sensor 2, so that the temperature sensor 2 is cooled faster than the water in the ice making container 1. As shown in FIG. 6, even when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 2 (shown by the curve C in the figure) reaches −12 ° C., the ice making container 1
The temperature of the water inside (shown by the curve D in the figure) has dropped only to a temperature higher than -5 ° C, and the ice-making state is also a semi-ice state. However, even when such quick freezing operation is performed, the above-described automatic ice making device outputs the ice making completion detecting signal from the ice making completion detecting circuit when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 2 reaches −12 ° C. Since the ice making operation is performed based on the ice making completion detection signal, there is a problem that the judgment of the ice making completion is erroneous and the ice making incomplete, that is, the semi-ice state ice containing water is stored in the ice storage container. .

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator with an automatic ice-making device capable of preventing a malfunction that separates unfinished ice-making from the ice-making container even when a quick freezing operation is performed.

[Means for Solving the Problem] (Means for Solving the Problems) The refrigerator with the automatic ice making device of the present invention is an ice making device that outputs an ice making completion detection signal when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor provided in the ice making container reaches a predetermined temperature. An automatic ice making device having a completion detection circuit and a mechanism section for performing an ice removing operation on the basis of the ice making completion detection signal, wherein the ice making container is present at a portion receiving cold air during quick freezing operation, A quick freeze signal output means for outputting a quick freeze signal during a freezing operation is provided, and an ice making detection stopping means for stopping the output of the ice making completion detection signal is provided while the quick freeze signal is being output. Have.

(Operation) When the quick freezing operation is being executed, the quick freezing signal output means outputs the quick freezing signal, and while the quick freezing signal is being output, the ice making detection stopping means causes the ice making completion detection circuit to make the ice making. The output of the completion detection signal is stopped. Thus, while the quick freezing operation is being executed, the ice removing operation is not performed by the mechanism unit, so that it is possible to prevent a malfunction in which half-ice that has not been ice-made is released from the ice making container.

(Embodiment) An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

First, in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, 11 is an ice making container, and a temperature sensor 12 having a substantially quadrangular pyramid shape is provided on the bottom surface of the bottom of the ice making container. Reference numeral 13 denotes a mechanism section for performing an ice removing operation, which is configured so that the ice making container 11 can be turned upside down. And such a structure is arrange | positioned in the ice making chamber, for example, and the ice making container 11 exists in the site | part which receives cold air at the time of quick freezing operation.

In FIG. 1 showing the electrical structure, 14 is a power supply line connected to the DC power supply terminal Vcc, and the resistor 15 and the temperature sensor 12 are connected in series between the power supply line 14 and the ground terminal. There is. Here, the temperature sensor 12 is composed of, for example, a thermistor having a negative temperature characteristic, and its resistance value increases as its temperature decreases. Reference numeral 16 is an ice making completion detecting circuit, which is composed of a comparator 17, a voltage dividing circuit 18, and the like.
The voltage dividing circuit 18 includes two resistors 19 and 20 connected in series between the power supply line 14 and the ground terminal, and generates a reference voltage V ₀ at a common connection point 21 between the resistors 19 and 20. . This reference voltage V ₀ is input to the inverting input terminal (−) of the comparator 17, and the non-inverting input terminal (+) of the comparator 17 detects the temperature output from the common connection point 22 of the resistor 15 and the temperature sensor 12. The signal V ₁ is input. The comparator 17
Outputs an ice making completion detection signal Sa which is, for example, a high level output signal when V ₁ > V ₀ . 23 and 2
Reference numeral 4 is a feedback resistor and a diode. Reference numeral 25 denotes a drive motor built in the drive unit 13, which is connected in series with a transistor 26, which is a switching element, between a DC power supply terminal Vdd and a ground terminal. The output terminal of the comparator 17 is connected to the base of the transistor 26.
The drive motor 25 is turned on / off in accordance with the output from 7.

On the other hand, 27 is a quick freezing signal output means, which outputs, for example, a high level quick freezing signal Sb during the quick freezing operation. Reference numeral 28 denotes an ice making detection stopping means, for example, a transistor. The collector and emitter of the transistor 28 are connected to both terminals of the temperature sensor 12, and the base is a resistor 2.
It is connected to the quick freezing signal output means 27 via 9. This transistor 28 is used for the quick freeze signal output means 2
While receiving the quick freezing signal Sb from 7, the temperature sensor 1
The two terminals of 2 are short-circuited.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described.

First, when the normal cooling operation is performed, the quick freezing signal output means 27 does not output the quick freezing signal Sb, so that the terminals of the temperature sensor 12 are not short-circuited. In this state, when the resistance value of the temperature sensor 12 changes according to the temperature, the temperature detection signal V ₁ corresponding to the change in the resistance value is output from the common connection point 22. Now ice making container 1
Since the temperature of the bottom lower surface of the ice making container 11 is higher than −12 ° C. while ice making of the water supplied to the inside 1 proceeds,
The temperature detection signal V ₁ is smaller than the reference voltage V ₀ , and the output of the comparator 17 becomes low level. When the ice making of the water in the ice making container 11 is completed, the temperature of the lower bottom portion of the ice making container 11 reaches −12 ° C. At this time, the temperature detection signal V ₁ becomes larger than the reference voltage V ₀ , and the output of the comparator 17 becomes High level, in other words, ice making completion detection circuit 16
Outputs an ice making completion detection signal Sa. When the transistor 26 is turned on in response to the ice-making completion detection signal Sa, the drive motor 25 is energized and driven, and the mechanism unit 13 is driven.
Performs the ice removing operation by driving the ice making container 11 upside down. Hereinafter, after the ice making container 11 is driven to return to its original state, a predetermined amount of water is supplied to the inside thereof, and thereafter, the same ice making execution, ice making completion detection and ice removing operations as described above are repeated.

When the quick freezing operation (for example, 90 minutes) is performed, the quick freezing signal output means 27 outputs the high-level quick freezing signal Sb, and the transistor 28 is turned on while the quick freezing signal Sb is being output. Then, both terminals of the temperature sensor 12 are short-circuited. As a result, the temperature detection signal V ₁ output from the common connection point 22 becomes O _V , so that the temperature detection signal V ₁ becomes smaller than the reference voltage V ₀ and the output of the comparator 17 becomes a low level, so that the rapid freezing is performed. While the operation is being executed, ice making completion detection circuit 1
The output of the ice making completion detection signal Sa from 6 is stopped. As a result, while the quick freezing operation is being executed, even if the temperature of the temperature sensor 12 reaches −12 ° C., the deicing operation by the mechanism section 13 is not performed, so unlike the conventional case shown in FIG. It is possible to prevent an erroneous operation in which half-ice that has not been made into ice is released from the ice making container 11.

In the above embodiment, as the ice making detection stopping means, the transistor 26 is used to short-circuit both terminals of the temperature sensor 12, but the invention is not limited to this. For example, the reference voltage input to the comparator is increased. (In FIG. 1, for example, both terminals of the resistor 19 may be short-circuited), and various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

[Advantages of the Invention] As is apparent from the above description, the present invention is an ice making completion detecting circuit that outputs an ice making completion detecting signal when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor provided in the ice making container reaches a predetermined temperature, and the ice making completion. An automatic ice making device having a mechanism that performs an ice removing operation on the basis of a detection signal is provided, and the ice making container is present in a portion that receives cold air during quick freezing operation, and a quick freezing signal is provided during quick freezing operation. Since the quick freezing signal output means for outputting is provided and the ice making detection stopping means for stopping the output of the ice making completion detection signal is provided while the quick freezing signal is being outputted, the quick freezing operation is performed. Even at this time, there is an excellent effect that it is possible to prevent an erroneous operation in which half-ice that has not been ice-made is released from the ice-making container.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 to 3 show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is an electrical configuration diagram, FIG. 2 is a side view of an essential part, and FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the essential part. Further, FIGS. 4 to 6 show a conventional configuration. FIG. 4 is a view corresponding to FIG. 2, FIGS. 5 and 6 show water in the ice making container and respective temperatures of the temperature sensor at different operations. It is a figure which shows change. In the drawings, 11 is an ice making container, 12 is a temperature sensor, 13 is a mechanism part, 16 is an ice making completion detecting circuit, 27 is a quick freezing signal output means, and 28 is a transistor (ice making detection stopping means).

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. An ice making completion detecting circuit for outputting an ice making completion detecting signal when a temperature detected by a temperature sensor provided in an ice making container reaches a predetermined temperature, and a mechanism section for performing ice removing operation based on the ice making completion detecting signal. And a quick freezing signal output means for outputting a quick freezing signal during the quick freezing operation, wherein the ice making container is present in a portion that receives cold air during the quick freezing operation, An ice making refrigerator having an ice making detection stop means for stopping the output of the ice making completion detection signal while the signal is being output.