JPH1068563A - Refrigerator with automatic ice making device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make the speed of a motor for driving an ice detecting lever faster than that of the motor for driving an ice making dish. SOLUTION: A refrigerator is provided with an automatic ice making machine in which ice is made by supplying water to an ice making dish, the ice making dish is inverted from its horizontal position and rotated to its twisted position to remove ice after the quantity of ice stored in an ice storing vessel is detected and the ice making dish is reversely rotated from the twisted position to the horizontal position. A controller 32 for controlling a dirving device comprises a parallel circuit of a resistance 34 and a diode 40 connected in series to the motor 28 for normally and reversely rotating the ice making dish, a detecting part 35 for detecting voltage at both ends of the resistance 34 of the parallel circuit, a deciding part 36 for deciding the lock of the motor 28 based on the voltage detected by the detecting part and a control part 37 for driving the motor for operating an ice detecting means every prescribed time after the motor for rotating the ice making dish when the lock is decided by the deciding part. The rotating speed of the motor for rotating the ice detecting means is higher than that for rotating the ice making dish.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a refrigerator with an automatic ice making device having an automatic ice making device for automatically making ice in a freezer compartment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a home refrigerator, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 4-9561, water is supplied to an ice tray disposed in a freezing room to make ice. Some are equipped with an automatic ice maker which repeats the operation of rotating, turning upside down, twisting, deicing, dropping ice into an ice storage container, storing ice, and then supplying water to an ice tray again to make ice. In addition, actual fairness prior to the present invention 5-
No. 44683 discloses an ice tray in place of a horizontal position detection switch for detecting that the ice tray has returned to the horizontal position or a twist position detection switch for detecting that the ice tray has reached a twist position for dropping ice. There is disclosed an automatic ice maker which detects the horizontal position and the twist position from a current value flowing through a motor rotating in both forward and reverse directions.

[0003]

In the above-mentioned conventional automatic ice making machine, switches for detecting that the ice tray has reached a predetermined position, such as a horizontal position detecting switch and a twist position detecting switch, can be omitted. However, during the normal rotation of the ice tray from the horizontal position to the twist position and the reverse rotation of the ice tray from the twist position to the horizontal position, the ice tray is filled with ice or a canned beverage or other food in a predetermined amount or more in the ice storage container. It has not been possible to detect that the ice tray has stopped moving (that is, the occurrence of an abnormal state) due to some reason such as rotation failure. If the ice tray stops moving for some reason (becomes abnormal) even if the motor is energized during the normal rotation from the horizontal position to the twist position and during the reverse rotation from the twist position to the horizontal position, However, it is difficult to distinguish between the fact that the ice tray has reached the twist position and the position where the ice tray is in the middle position, using only this current value. For this reason, the motor cannot be stopped (for example, the applied voltage is stopped) in spite of the occurrence of an abnormality, and power is wasted unnecessarily, or an excessive load is continuously applied to the motor, and the motor winding is not operated. Even if the abnormality is released by burning, excessive force is applied to the gear located between the rotation axis of the ice tray and the rotation axis of the motor, the gear teeth may break, or the cam formed on the gear may be broken. After that, there was a problem that ice could not be made or de-ice could not be made. In order to prevent gears and cams from breaking when a twisting force is applied to the ice tray, the strength of the gears and cams during rotation from the horizontal position to the twisting position is usually improved. It has been confirmed that gears and cams are often broken during the period of reverse rotation from the twist position to the horizontal position.

[0004] In the latter publication, a circuit is configured so that the voltage across the resistor increases and decreases in proportion to the value of the current flowing through the motor, and the so-called deicing is performed by rotating the ice tray in both forward and reverse directions. During operation, the voltage at one end of the resistor is always set to a positive voltage, and the voltage at one end of this resistor can be measured.However, with the measured voltage alone, it is determined whether the position reached the twist position or returned to the horizontal position. There was a defect that could not be distinguished. Furthermore, since current flows through the resistor during the period of forward rotation from the horizontal position to the twist position,
In some cases, the torque (twist torque) of the motor was reduced by the resistance, and ice could not be completely removed from the ice tray.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problem. By arranging a diode in the detection unit, a voltage is generated at both ends of the resistor only during a period in which the ice tray is reversely rotated from the twist position to the horizontal position. When it is determined that the motor is locked (abnormal) from the voltage at both ends of the resistor, the voltage applied to the motor is stopped, and then the ice detecting means is activated at predetermined time intervals. It is an object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator with an automatic ice making device in which the means does not hinder the removal of ice.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a refrigerator with an automatic ice making device, wherein water is supplied to an ice tray disposed in a freezing room to make ice, and the amount of ice stored in the ice storage container is measured by ice detecting means. After the detection, the ice making tray is turned upside down from a horizontal position by a driving device, rotated to a twist position to deice, and an automatic ice making device is rotated from the twist position to the horizontal position in the reverse direction, A control device that controls the driving device, a parallel circuit of a resistor and a diode connected in series to a motor that rotates the ice tray in both forward and reverse directions, and a detection unit that detects a voltage across the resistance of the parallel circuit. A determination unit that determines the lock of the motor based on the voltage detected by the detection unit; and an ice detection unit that rotates the ice making tray when the determination unit determines that the lock is determined. Work means A control unit that drives a motor that drives the ice detecting means so that the rotation speed is higher when the ice detecting means is operated than when the ice tray is rotated, so that the ice detecting operation is shortened. In order to prevent the ice removal work by the user from being disturbed.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 is a sectional view of a refrigerator with an automatic ice making device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a freezing room, FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional side view of the automatic ice making device, and FIG. 4 is a block circuit diagram of a control device of the refrigerator with an automatic ice making device. FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the control device, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the abnormality detection operation during the deicing operation in the control device.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a refrigerator with an automatic ice making device. The refrigerator is an outer box 2 made of a steel plate which opens forward, and an inner box made of a hard synthetic resin which opens forward and is incorporated in the outer box at intervals. A main body 5 is constituted by 3 and a foamed polyurethane heat insulating material in which a space 4 between the two boxes 2 and 3 is filled by an in-situ foaming method. The inner box 3 is vertically divided by a partition wall 6, and a refrigerating room 7 is formed on an upper side, and a two-stage freezing room 8 is formed on a lower side. The front opening of the refrigerator compartment 7 is closed by a door 9, and the front opening of the freezer compartment 8 is closed by a drawer door 10 so as to be openable and closable.

A U-shaped frame 11 having one end fixed to the back surface is fixed to the drawer door 10 as shown in FIG.
This frame is a fixed rail with a roller 12 provided on the main body 5.
The lower container 13 which is slidably fitted in the front-rear direction and is divided into two right and left sides is held therein. An upper container 14 and an automatic ice maker 15 are arranged above the lower container. Behind the freezing compartment 8, a cooler 17 partitioned by a partition wall 16, and a blower 1 disposed above the cooler 17.
8 is provided. The partition wall 16 is provided with an outlet 18A for cool air cooled by the cooler 17 in the freezer compartment 8 in front of the blower 18.

The automatic ice making machine 15 comprises a mounting frame 20 having an opening below, an ice tray 21 housed in the mounting frame, and a driving device 22 for rotating the ice tray 21. An ice storage container 23 is provided on one of the lower containers 13 disposed below the ice tray 21.

Reference numeral 24 denotes a water supply tank fixed in the refrigeration compartment 7, and a pipe 26 to which a pump 25 is attached is connected to the water supply tank. It penetrates and opens above the ice tray 21. Reference numeral 27 denotes a holder for holding the pipe 26 in the partition wall 6.

The automatic ice maker 15 supplies water to the ice tray 21 from a water supply tank 24 via a pipe 26 to make ice.
A series of operations of rotating the ice tray 21 up and down from the horizontal position to the twist position by the driving device 22 to deice into the ice storage container 23, and rotating the ice tray 21 in the reverse direction from the twist position to the horizontal position are performed. .

The drive unit 22 includes, for example, a DC motor 28, a motor output shaft 29, a gear train, a cam, a position detection switch, and the like as a drive source. The output shaft 29 amplifies the rotational force of the DC motor 28 by a gear, and is transmitted to the output shaft 29 and a support shaft 30 of ice detecting means described later. An ice detection lever 31 is rotatably attached to the spindle 30 of the ice detection means. The ice tray 21 and the ice detecting lever 31 are driven by a driving device 22 (in particular, a DC motor 28).

A temperature sensor (not shown) for controlling the operation of the automatic ice maker 15 is attached to an appropriate place (for example, the center) of the lower surface of the ice tray 21.

The ice detecting lever 31 is supported on the support shaft 30 so as to be vertically swingable. The ice detecting lever normally stops at the position where the ice detecting lever has risen to the maximum position, and does not hinder the loading and unloading of the ice storage container 23 when the ice detecting lever is at the maximum position (hereinafter referred to as an initial state of the lever).

Here, the ice detecting operation will be briefly described. In the ice detecting operation, first, the DC motor 28 of the driving device 22 is rotated in one direction and the ice detecting lever 31 is rotated downward, so that the tip of the ice detecting lever 31 is lowered into the ice storage container 23. Then, whether or not the amount of ice in the ice storage container 23 is equal to or higher than a predetermined level is detected based on the contact or separation relationship with the ice in the ice storage container. That is, if the ice detection lever 31 is rotated to the lowest position and does not collide with the ice (if the ice storage amount is small), the motor 28 does not lock, and it is detected that the lowest position has been reached. The home position detection switch operates to determine that the ice in the ice storage container 23 has not been stored to the predetermined level. Based on the signal of the home position detection switch, the motor 28 is rotated in the other direction to rotate the ice detecting lever 31 upward to return the ice detecting lever to the initial state. The return to the initial state is detected by the detection switch, and the motor is stopped (in this case, the operation shifts to the ice removing operation).

On the other hand, when the ice detecting lever 31 collides with ice while being lowered and the ice detecting lever is prevented from descending downward, the motor 28 is locked. (If the position detection switch is turned on at this time, based on this ON signal), it is determined that the amount of ice stored in the ice storage container 23 exceeds a predetermined level. In this case, if it is the first (first) detection, the ice removing operation is performed, and thereafter (the second and subsequent times)
In such a case, the ice removing operation is not performed.

FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram of a control device 32 as control means of the automatic ice maker 15. As shown in FIG. Control device 3
2 is a driver 33 for applying a voltage to a DC motor 28 as a drive source for rotating the ice tray 21 in both forward and reverse directions and rotating the ice detecting lever 31 in both up and down directions, and an output terminal of the driver and the motor 28. And a voltage detecting unit as a detecting unit connected in parallel to both ends of the resistor 34 in order to detect a voltage generated at both ends of the resistor 34. 35,
In order to determine whether the motor 28 is locked based on the voltage detected by the voltage detector, one input terminal is connected to the voltage detector 35.
And a general-purpose microcomputer (hereinafter simply referred to as a microcomputer) 37 as a control unit that controls the driver 33 based on the output of the determination unit. The driver 33 includes a driving power supply circuit 38 for rotating the ice tray 21 in both forward and reverse directions and an ice detecting lever 31.
Is controlled by the microcomputer 37 so as to be switched with the driving power supply circuit 39 for rotating the. The power supply circuit 39 for driving the ice detecting lever 31 is a power supply circuit 3 for driving the ice tray 21.
8 is set higher than, for example, the power supply circuit 38 is set to 12
V, the power supply circuit 39 is set to 18V.

A temperature sensor (not shown), a horizontal position detection switch SW2 for detecting that the ice tray 21 has reached the horizontal position, and an input terminal of the microcomputer 37 as a control unit,
A reversing position detection switch SW1 for detecting that the ice tray 21 has reached the twist position (reversing position);
In response to this, the ice storage amount in the ice storage container 23 is detected (when the ice storage amount is equal to or more than a predetermined level, the operation is turned on). The original position detection for detecting that the ice storage detection switch SW3 and the ice detection lever 31 have reached the maximum descending position. Each output of the switch SW4 and the output of the determination unit 36 are input, and a water supply pump and a water supply pipe heater (not shown) are connected to the output terminals.

The driver 33 switches between applying and not applying a voltage to the DC motor 28, while changing (switching) the polarity of the applied voltage to the motor 28.
Is changed (switched) in the forward or reverse direction. The output terminal connected to the resistor 34 is grounded via a transistor in the driver 33. For this reason, the voltage at the output end of the driver 33 connected to the motor 28 is switched to a positive voltage or a negative voltage. When a current flows in the direction of the leftward arrow in FIG. Direction of rotation of motor (when output terminal is negative voltage) is forward rotation of motor (hereinafter referred to as forward rotation)
When the current flows in the right arrow direction (that is, when the output terminal is at a positive voltage), the rotation direction is defined as reverse rotation of the motor (hereinafter referred to as reverse rotation).

The voltage detecting section 35 as a detecting section has a diode 40 connected in parallel with the resistor 34 for generating a voltage at the resistor 34 during a period in which the motor 28 rotates in the reverse direction. Reference numerals 41 and 42 denote resistors connected to the negative input terminal of the amplifier 43. When the resistance values are R2 and R3, respectively, and the voltage across the resistor 34 is V, the resistance 34 is connected to the + terminal of the amplifier 43 via the resistor. Because it is connected to the side input terminal,
The voltage at the output terminal of the amplifier 43 is {1+ (R3 / R2)} V
Becomes Therefore, the amplification factor of the amplifier 43 can be set by appropriately setting the resistance values R2 and R3.

The judging section 36 compares the voltage detected by the detecting section 35 (substantially the output voltage of the amplifier 43) with the +
Input to the side input terminal and a predetermined voltage (5 volts in this embodiment)
Is input to the negative input terminal of a comparator 44. When the output voltage of the amplifier 43 exceeds the reference voltage, the comparator 44 outputs a high-potential signal (hereinafter referred to as an H signal). The low potential signal (that is, the L signal) is output in other cases.

Driver 33 for operating DC motor 28
When the ice tray 21 is driven, a voltage of 12 V is supplied to the power supply circuit 38.
When the ice detecting lever 31 is driven, a voltage of 18 V is supplied from the power supply circuit 39, the voltage for moving the ice detecting lever 31 is increased to increase the rotation speed, and the ice detecting lever rises and falls in the ice storage container 23. Ice detection lever 3
In addition to reducing the probability that noise is added during the operation 1, it is possible to shorten the time required to inspect the ice maker when assembling the refrigerator. Further, since the stopping torque of the ice detecting lever 31 is small, the amount of heat generated from the motor winding can be reduced, and the value of the current flowing through the resistor 34 becomes large, so that the judgment by the judging unit 36 can be made. It is easy to do.

In the above description, the DC motor is used as the motor 28. However, it goes without saying that a stepping motor may be used.

The operation of the control device for the automatic ice maker 15 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6 based on the above configuration. 5 and 6 show a flowchart of the program of the microcomputer 37.

Since the microcomputer 37 does not know at which position the DC motor 28 is stopped (specifically, the position of the ice tray 21), the microcomputer 37 sets the motor 28 to a specific position (particularly, the ice tray at the horizontal position). First, in step S1, the motor 28 is driven by the driver 33 to return the ice tray 21 to the horizontal position, while the ice detection lever 31 is moved up and down to turn on the original position detection switch, and the rotation of the motor 28 is started. The direction is reverse.

Next, in step S2, it is determined whether or not the temperature TS of the ice tray detected by the temperature sensor provided on the lower surface of the ice tray 21 is lower than a predetermined temperature (for example, -11.degree. C.) as an ice-making completion temperature. When the temperature of the ice tray falls below -11 ° C., the timer TM1 for judging that the ice making is completed is performed in step S3. It is determined whether or not a predetermined time (for example, 40 minutes) has been reached. If the predetermined time has not been reached, the process returns to step S2, and if 40 minutes have elapsed, the motor 28 is rotated in the reverse direction to perform an ice detecting operation in step S5. The process proceeds to step S6.

In step S6, when the motor 28 rotates in the reverse direction, the ice detecting lever 31 descends and the ice detecting lever 3
If the tip of 1 enters the ice storage container 23 and the ice detection lever 31 is turned to the most lowered position and does not collide with ice (if the amount of ice storage is small), the motor 28 locks. Since there is no such position, the home position detection switch SW4 for detecting that the vehicle has reached the lowest point is operated, and it is determined that the ice in the ice storage container 23 is not stored to the predetermined level. Based on the signal of the home position detection switch, the motor 28
Is rotated in the forward direction to rotate the ice detecting lever 31 upward to return the ice detecting lever to the initial state. The return to the initial state is detected by the detection switch SW3, and the motor 28 is stopped (in this case, the operation shifts to the ice removing operation of step S9).

On the other hand, when the ice detecting lever 31 collides with ice while descending and the downward movement of the ice detecting lever is prevented, the motor 28 is locked. It is detected (if the position detection switch is turned on at this time, based on this ON signal), it is determined that the amount of ice stored in the ice storage container 23 exceeds a predetermined level, and the process proceeds to step S7.

In step S7, the timer TM3 for performing the ice detecting operation is counted every third predetermined time (for example, 60 minutes) after detecting the full ice, and in step S8, the timer TM is counted.
Steps S7 and S8 are repeated until M3 reaches 60 minutes, and when it reaches 60 minutes, the process returns to step S5 to perform the ice detecting operation.

In step S9, a de-icing operation (de-icing operation) is performed, and the process proceeds to step S10 (the details of the de-icing operation are shown in FIG. 6). In step S10, the temperature of the ice tray 21 is measured by the temperature sensor, and water is supplied from the water supply tank to the ice tray 21 through a pipe by a water supply pump. Next step S11
Then, it is determined whether or not the temperature difference ΔT between the temperature of the ice tray 21 after water supply detected by the temperature sensor and the above-mentioned measured temperature before water supply exceeds 6 deg.

If the temperature difference ΔT of the ice tray 21 is 6 deg or less, it is determined that the water supply tank is empty, and the process proceeds to step S14, in which a notification means (for example, a water supply LED) for prompting a water supply operation is operated (lights up). ), And in step S15, it is determined whether or not the water supply tank is taken out of the refrigerator compartment, injected with water, and stored again in the refrigerator compartment. The steps S14 and S15 are repeated until the water supply tank is stored again, and the water supply tank is injected and stored. If so, the water supply LED is turned off in step S16, and the process returns to step S10.

The temperature difference Δ of the ice tray in step S11
If T exceeds 6 deg, it is determined that water supply has been performed, and in step S12, a timer T for measuring a standby time after the end of the water supply operation {ie, a second predetermined time (for example, 60 minutes)}
M2 is counted, and it is determined in step S13 whether or not the timer TM2 has elapsed for 60 minutes. Steps S12 and S13 are repeated until 60 minutes have elapsed, and the process returns to step S2 when 60 minutes have elapsed.

Next, the ice removing (deicing) operation will be described with reference to FIG. 6. In step S21, the motor 28 is rotated in the forward direction to rotate the ice tray 21 in the twisting direction. Then, in step S22, it is determined whether or not the ice tray 21 has reached the twist position (reversal position) by the forward rotation of the motor 28,
Steps S21 and S22 are repeated until the inversion position detection switch SW1 is turned on. If the SW1 is turned on, the motor 28 is stopped for a predetermined time in step S23.
In step S24, the process proceeds to an abnormality detection operation (ie, step S25) for detecting whether or not there is any abnormality before the motor 28 is rotated in the reverse direction to return from the twist position to the horizontal position.

Since the voltage generated at both ends of the resistor 34 is amplified by the voltage detecting unit 35 and the amplified voltage is compared with the reference voltage by the comparator 44 of the judging unit 36, the output of the comparator 44 is output in step S25. It is determined whether the signal is an H signal. If the output of the comparator 44 is not an H signal, it is determined in step S26 whether or not the horizontal position detection switch SW2 has been turned on, and the reverse rotation of the motor 28 is continued until the ice tray returns to the horizontal position. Motor 2 if turned on
8 is stopped, and the process proceeds to step S8 to perform a water supply operation.

If the output of the comparator 44 is an H signal in step S25, it is determined that the motor 28 has locked due to some abnormality before the ice tray 21 returns from the twist position to the horizontal position, and immediately in step S28. The voltage applied to the motor 28 is stopped to stop the motor, and the process returns to step S1. Therefore, the lock of the motor 28 can be detected based on the output of the voltage detection unit 35 only until the ice tray 21 returns from the twist position to the horizontal position, and
The disadvantage that the torque of the motor 28 (twist torque) is reduced by the resistance during the period of rotation from the horizontal position to the twist position unlike the related art is eliminated. When the lock is detected, the motor 28 is immediately stopped to protect the motor windings, cams, gears, and other components of the drive device 22, and to eliminate unnecessary power consumption. Also, when an abnormality is detected and the motor 2
When the motor 8 is stopped, the process returns to the step S1. Therefore, even if the motor 28 is determined to be locked due to noise and the motor is stopped, the ice detecting operation is performed every predetermined time. (De-icing) operation can be performed, and there is no problem that ice cannot be made after an abnormality has occurred.

In step S21, when the motor 33 is rotated forward by the driver 33, the ice tray 21 starts rotating forward through the output shaft 29. The normal rotation of the ice tray 21 is continued until the reversal position detection switch SW1 detects a predetermined reversal position in step S22. And ice tray 21
Is turned to a substantially inverted position, the inversion position detection switch SW
1 detects it, and the microcomputer 37 proceeds from step S22 to step S23. In the course of this normal rotation, the one end of the ice tray 21 stops rotating first, so that a twisting force is applied to the ice tray 21 so that the ice is smoothly deiced. Then, the de-iced ice is dropped and stored in an ice storage container 23 located below the ice tray 21. When the deicing is completed, the microcomputer 37 sets the motor 28 in step S23.
Is stopped, and in step S24, the motor 28 is reversely rotated this time, and the reverse rotation of the ice tray 21 via the output shaft 29 is started.
Then, in step S26, the horizontal position detection switch SW
Based on 2, it is determined whether or not the ice tray 21 has returned to the predetermined horizontal position. After continuing until the ice tray 21 returns, when the ice tray 21 has become horizontal, the process proceeds to step S27 and the reverse rotation of the motor 28 is stopped.

In this manner, the automatic ice making machine 15 automatically makes ice, and performs an ice making operation continuously as long as there is water until a predetermined amount of transparent ice is stored in the ice storage container 23.

[0039]

According to the present invention, ice is supplied by supplying water to an ice tray disposed in a freezer, and the ice storage means detects the amount of ice stored in the ice storage container. A control device for controlling the driving device, comprising an automatic ice making device that rotates upside down from the horizontal position to rotate to the twist position and deice, and rotates in the reverse direction from the twist position to the horizontal position, A parallel circuit of a resistor and a diode connected in series to a motor that rotates the ice tray in both forward and reverse directions, a detecting unit that detects a voltage between both ends of the resistor of the parallel circuit, and a voltage detected by the detecting unit. A determining unit for determining lock of the motor, and a control unit for driving a motor for operating the ice detecting means at predetermined time intervals after stopping the motor for rotating the ice tray when the lock is determined by the determining unit. Composed of Possible motor than when rotating the ice tray as the rotational speed becomes faster when operating the ice detecting means, as the ice extraction work is not hindered by the ice detecting means by reducing the ice detecting operations. Moreover,
Since the speed of the motor of the ice detecting means having a small stopping torque is increased, the calorific value is small, the temperature inside the refrigerator can be prevented from rising due to the heat load, and the abnormality such as lock can be reliably determined.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a refrigerator with an automatic ice making device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a freezer according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional side view of the automatic ice making device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block circuit diagram of a control device of the refrigerator with an automatic ice making device according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the control device of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining an abnormality detection operation during a deicing operation in the control device of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Refrigerator with an automatic ice making device 8 Freezer compartment 21 Ice making tray 22 Drive device 28 Motor (DC motor) 31 Ice detection lever 32 Control device 33 Driver 34 Resistance 35 Detection part 36 Judgment part 37 Control part (microcomputer) 40 Diode

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An ice tray provided in a freezing room is supplied with water to make ice, and the ice detecting means detects the amount of ice stored in the ice storage container, and then drives the ice tray upside down from a horizontal position. In a refrigerator having an automatic ice making device that rotates to the twist position to deice and rotates in the reverse direction from the twist position to the horizontal position, the control device that controls the driving device rotates the ice tray in both forward and reverse directions. A parallel circuit of a resistor and a diode connected in series to the motor to be driven, a detecting unit for detecting a voltage between both ends of the resistor of the parallel circuit, and a determining unit for determining whether to lock the motor based on the voltage detected by the detecting unit. And a control unit that drives a motor that operates the ice detecting means every predetermined time after stopping the motor that rotates the ice tray when the lock is determined by the determination unit,
A refrigerator with an automatic ice making device, wherein the motor makes the rotation speed higher when operating the ice detecting means than when rotating the ice tray.