JPS59176561A - Controller for feedwater to ice machine - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the control of ice-making machines, particularly to the control of ice-making water supply time.

Conventional configuration and its problems Conventionally, in automatic ice makers, water is supplied to a water storage tank before the first ice making starts, and even if the high water level switch in this tank detects a predetermined high water level in the tank, water is not supplied again. Water was continued to be supplied through a valve, and water was drained through a drain located above the height of the high water level switch, after which ice was made. In addition, when ice making progresses and the low water level switch detects a switch from ice making to ice removal, water is supplied and drained in the same way. This is for the purpose of draining dirty water at the end of ice making from the drain port through an overflow operation to clean the ice making water. However, when the power is turned on or after a water outage, the water storage tank etc. is often dirty or the water itself is very dirty. It may contaminate the ice making water. On the other hand, if the overflow was carried out for a long time each time when the power was turned on or after a water outage, long enough for the water quality to improve, the amount of drainage would increase unnecessarily, which was inconvenient from the perspective of water conservation.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is to provide an ice making machine that automatically makes ice making water sufficiently clean even when the power is turned on or when the operation is stopped due to water outage, etc., and also contributes to water saving.

Structure of the Invention In order to achieve this object, the present invention starts water supply when the power is turned on and detects the low water level switch, and then only when a certain period of time is required due to a water outage etc. at the point where the high water level switch operates. The water supply extension time after the high water level switch is detected is increased to increase the amount of water discharged, and the dirt in the water storage tank, etc. when the power is turned on, and the dirty water after the water is cut off, are forcibly drained, and the ice-making water in the water storage tank is The purpose is to keep the water clean at all times and to save water by minimizing the amount of water discharged during normal times.

Description of examples An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an example of the ice making machine of the present invention. 1 is the ice making machine main body formed of a heat insulating wall, and is composed of an ice making compartment 2 and a machine compartment 3. An ice-making member 5 equipped with a container 4 is installed at an angle, and a water storage tank 6 for storing ice-making water and a circulating water pump device 7 are installed in this tank 6.
A running water circulation ice making system is constructed. Below the ice making member 5, an ice storage chamber 8 and an ice plate cutting heater device 9 are provided which cut the ice cubes into cubes of a predetermined size after being removed. Further, in the machine room 3, an electric compressor 1o and a condenser 11, which together with the evaporator 4 form a refrigeration circuit, are arranged. 12 is an air cooling fan for the condenser 11. Further, reference numeral 13 denotes a water storage amount detection device having a temperature sensing portion for detecting a predetermined amount of water in the water storage chamber 8, and is provided so as to sense the contact temperature of the ice block and stop all ice making operations.

A water supply valve 14 electrically opens and closes a water supply pipe 16 connected to a water source to introduce ice-making water into the water storage tank 6. The water storage tank 6 includes a drain pipe 16 that has a drain port at a predetermined height in the tank 6 to maintain a predetermined water level and performs an overflow operation, and a drain port of the drain pipe 16 that detects the water level 17 and has a drain port at a predetermined height in the tank 6 to maintain a predetermined water level. High water level switch 1 located at a lower position
8 and a low water level switch 19 located slightly above the bottom wall of the tank 6.

20 is an evaporator 4 when removing ice generated in the ice making member 5;
This is a solenoid valve that electrically controls the hot gas flowing from the electric compressor 1o.

Reference numeral 21 denotes an ice-off detection device that is attached to the ice-making member 6 and detects the completion of ice-off based on a predetermined temperature rise of the ice-making member 5.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control device for the ice making machine. 22 is a signal from the high water level switch 18, which outputs an ON signal when the ice making water reaches the upper limit water level in the water storage tank 6 (slightly lower than the height of the drain port). 23 is a signal from the low water level switch 19, which outputs an ON signal when the ice making water level in the water storage tank 6 drops to a certain level due to the ice making operation (when the ice formed in the ice making member 6 reaches a predetermined ice thickness). 24 is a 6/-co-outputs an ON signal when ice-off is detected by the signal from the ice-off detection device 21.25 is a control circuit that includes a microcomputer CPU26,
It is formed of a ROM 27, a RAM 28, a timer 29 whose operating time can be varied, and a counter 30 that counts the time from when the low water level switch 19 is activated until the high water level switch 18 is activated during water supply. The ROM 27 stores a program that determines the next operation to be performed based on the confirmation order of operations and the state at that time. Also, the RAM
Reference numeral 28 is for storing whether the current operating state is being performed. 31, 32, 33, 34 are relays which are operated by the outputs 01, 02''3''4 from the control circuit 25. The relay 31 is connected to the circulating water pump device 7.
Electric compressor10. Connected to the air cooling fan motor 12,
The relay 32 is connected to the water supply valve 14, the relay 33 to the electromagnetic valve 20, and the relay 34 to the plate-shaped cutting heater 9.

The timer 29 starts water supply and the high water level switch 18
The timer operation is started after the signal 22 turns on, and while this timer operation continues, output is output from output 02, turning on the relay 32, opening the water supply valve 14, and continuing to supply water. It is something that continues. When this timer time expires, the output 02 from the control circuit 25 is no longer output, the relay 32 is turned off, and the water supply valve 14 is closed.

As mentioned above, the counter 30 is activated when the low water level switch 19 is turned on, and then the high water level switch 18 is turned on.
The timer time of the timer 29 is varied based on this count time. That is, while the timer 29 is operating, the water supply valve 14 is open, so water continues to be supplied to the water storage tank 6, and during this time, the drain vibrator 16 performs an overflow operation. The overflow time by the timer 29 is normally set to, for example, 30 seconds.

On the other hand, the count time of the counter 30 is the time from when the low water level switch 19 is turned on and the water supply valve 14 is opened until the high water level switch 18 is turned on, that is, from the set water level of the low water level switch 19 to the time when the high water level switch 18 is turned on. The time required to supply the amount of water equivalent to the volume up to the set water level is counted.

This varies depending on the capacity of the tank 6 and the water supply pressure, but since the tank capacity can be set, if the count reaches 10 minutes or more for something that requires 4 to 6 minutes due to fluctuations in the water supply pressure, the counter 3 Further, the timer 29 is configured to change the timer time of the timer 29 from, for example, 30 seconds to 3 minutes. As a result, when it takes time to supply water due to a long-term water outage, the overflow time is increased for 3 minutes compared to the normal overflow time of 1 hour and 30 seconds to increase the amount of drainage, and the waste water after the water outage is removed from the tank 6. This is to clean the ice making water inside.

Next, the operation of the control circuit 25 according to the program will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, we will explain what happens when the power is turned on and when ice is made for the first time. In order to start making ice, it is determined whether the high water level switch 18 is ON or not (a). If the high water level switch 8 is not ON, open the water supply valve 14 and start water supply.

This operation is repeated until the high water level switch 18 is turned on. When the high water level switch 18 is turned on, it is detected in (a) and the set time of timer ~29 is set longer (c) Next, the timer 29 is turned on and it is determined whether the timer time has ended or not. do (ho)). Then, when the timer time expires, the water supply ends (to). Next, it is detected whether the ice removal is completed (g). At first ice making component 6
Since there is no ice on top, the ice-off detection device 21 is ON, so the relay 31 is turned ON and ice making is started (G). At the same time, turn off the relay 33 and turn off the solenoid valve 20.
F and cancel ice removal. Also, if the ice has not broken off (
The ice is on standby until the ice removal is completed. Next, determine whether the low water level switch 19 has been turned on.

This means that when the low water level switch 19 is turned on, the ice making water between the water level at the drain port of the drain pipe 16 and the water level of the low water level switch 19 has been made, and thus serves as an ice making end signal. When the low water level Sui Sochi 19 is turned on, the relay 33 is turned on and the solenoid valve 20 is operated to finish ice making and start ice removal (nu). At the same time, relay 32 is turned on.
N, open the water supply valve 14, 10,... Start supplying water to the water storage tank 6, and start the counter 3o. Next, it is determined whether the high water level switch 18 is ON or not. If the high water level switch 18 is not turned on, the water supply valve 14 is kept open and this operation is repeated until the high water level switch 18 is turned on. Then, when the high water level switch 18 is turned on, the force detects this and stops the counter 30 (wa).
and the cumulative time.

Compare it with the water cutoff certification time stored in advance in the ROM 27 of the microcomputer 26 (y), and then either make the count time shorter than the water cutoff certified time or shorten the timer 29 time (y). Return to ) and turn on timer 29 to reduce the amount of water discharged. On the other hand, if the count time is equal to or longer than the authorized water outage time, the system will continue to operate as is, lengthen the timer time, and increase the amount of water discharged in the same manner as after the power is turned on.

Therefore, when turning on the power and making ice after a water outage.

By lengthening the overflow hour of the water supply and increasing the amount of water discharged, we can eliminate dirt in the water storage tank and dirty water supply immediately after a water outage. Since it is possible to reduce water to the necessary minimum, ice-making water can always be kept clean, and it can also contribute to water conservation.

Effects of the Invention As is clear from the above description, the ice making machine according to the present invention includes an ice making member that generates ice, a pump that circulates ice making water to the ice making member, and a storage of ice making water.

A water storage tank with a drain port for discharging water supplied above a certain water level, a high water level switch installed in the water storage tank at a position lower than the drain port, and ice making by detecting the well water level lowered by ice making at a certain level. a low water level switch that controls the start of ice removal, a water supply valve that is opened by the operation of the low water level switch and supplies ice-making water to the water storage tank, and a time period until the water supply valve closes after the operation of the high water level switch. a counter that counts the time from the operation of the low water level switch until the operation of the high water level switch during operation of the water supply valve; and a counter that counts the time from the operation of the low water level switch to the operation of the high water level switch, and the timer set time only when the power is turned on and the counter value is longer than a predetermined time. In these cases, the water supply overflow time is lengthened to increase the amount of water discharged to eliminate dirt in the water storage tank and dirty water supply immediately after a water outage. In other normal ice-making cycles, the overflow time of water supply can be shortened and the amount of water discharged can be kept to the minimum necessary, so ice-making water can always be kept clean and water can be saved, which has extremely practical effects. big 0

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an ice making machine adopting an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2 is a block diagram of the water supply control device in the ice maker.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the control device. 5...Ice making component, 6...Water storage tank,
15... River/water supply valve, 16... Drain pipe (drain outlet), 18... High water level switch, 19...
...Low water level switch, 26...Control circuit (means), 29. Old...Timer, 30...Counter〇 Name of agent Patent attorney Toshio Nakao and 1 other person 1
Fig.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] An ice-making member that generates ice, a pump that circulates ice-making water to the ice-making member, and a water storage tank that stores ice-making water and has a drain port that drains water supplied above a certain water level; A high water level switch installed in a water storage tank at a position lower than the drain port, a low water level switch that detects the ice making water level that drops due to ice making at a certain level, finishes ice making, and controls the start of ice removal, and the operation of the low water level switch. a water supply valve that is opened by the operator and supplies ice-making water to the water storage tank; a timer that controls the time from the operation of the low water level switch to the closing of the water supply valve after the operation of the high water level switch; A counter that counts the time until the water level switch operates, and only when the power is turned on and the counter is longer than a predetermined time.
A water supply control device for an ice maker, comprising means for extending the water supply time according to the time set by the timer. 2, ・