KR100215047B1 - Water supplying control apparatus and its method of ice maker - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a water supply control device and a method of the ice maker, water supply time adjusting means 32 for adjusting the water supply time to adjust the amount of water supplied to the ice making bowl (5) and the water supply time adjusting means 32 Control means 22 for controlling the water supply valve 6 so that a predetermined amount of water is supplied to the ice making vessel 5 according to the water supply time adjusted by the), and the water supply time under the control of the control means 22 And a display means 36 for displaying the water supply time adjusted by the adjustment means 32. The water supply time is set in the microcomputer program and the set value is changed stepwise by a key operation of the operation panel unit 15 to adjust the water supply amount. Easy to adjust

Description

Water supply control device of ice maker and its method

The present invention relates to an ice machine for an electronic refrigerator, and more particularly, to a water supply control apparatus and a method of an ice maker for easily adjusting the amount of water supplied to an ice maker.

In general, when the water is directly supplied to the ice making vessel from the water pipe, the ice making machine of the water direct connection method is an apparatus for making ice by ice making water by cold air, and separating the ice in the ice making vessel and automatically storing the ice in the ice storage container.

As shown in FIG. 1, the ice maker is partitioned into a plurality of spaces in the upper end of the partition wall that divides the freezing compartment 2 and the refrigerating compartment 3 of the main body 1, that is, the freezing compartment 2 to make ice. An ice making bowl 5 is provided to ice water supplied from the water pipe 4, and a solenoid valve is turned on / off so that a predetermined amount of water is supplied to the ice making bowl 5 at a predetermined position of the water pipe 4 ( 6; hereinafter referred to as feed water valve).

An evaporator 7 is installed at the lower right end of the ice making vessel 5 to heat the blown air to cool air, ie, cold, by the latent heat of evaporation of the refrigerant. The cooling fan 9 is rotated in accordance with the drive of the fan motor 8 to circulate the cold air heat exchanged by the circumference of the ice making vessel 5 to ice the water stored in the ice making vessel 5.

And, at the lower end of the ice making bowl (5), a storage container (10) for storing ice iced by the cooling fan (9) is installed, and on one side of the ice making bowl (5) the storage container (10) A storage amount detection lever 11 for detecting the amount of ice stored in the rotational center is installed around the hinge point 12, and stored at the one end of the storage amount detection lever 11 in the storage container 10. The microswitch 13 which operates on / off by the storage amount detection lever 11 which moves up and down according to the quantity of ice is provided.

In the ice maker configured as described above, when the power is applied, the microcomputer 15 determines the ice making condition and performs the ice making cycle. The general ice making cycle of the refrigerator can be divided into three processes.

The first process is the initialization process of the refrigerator and the water supply process of supplying water to the ice making vessel (5), and the second process is an ice making process of making ice by freezing water in the ice making vessel (5), and the third process is an ice making vessel. The ice formed in (5) is separated from the ice making bowl (5), and the ice is stored in the storage container (10).

As such, in order to control the amount of water supplied to the ice making bowl (5) in the ice maker, the conventional mechanical type controls the water supply time by adjusting a screw. The water supply time was changed according to the microcomputer program.

By the way, the mechanical type of water supply stops when the injection material moving according to the gear during water supply is pressed by the detection switch, and the water supply time is adjusted by changing the position of the detection switch with a screw, so the ASS'Y of the ice maker must be separated when adjusting the water supply. There was an inconvenience.

Also, if the desired water supply time is set using the diode option, the water supply time is adjusted by memorizing this setting option and supplying the water for the memorized time during water supply.In the case of water supply adjustment, soldering and inserting the diode to change the option In addition, there was a problem in that the reliability of the product was deteriorated to the consumer at the time of A / S due to the inconvenience and time lost.

Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and the water supply time is set in the microcomputer program, and the setting value is changed step by step with the key operation of the operation panel, so that the amount of water supplied to the ice tray is accurate and simple. It is an object of the present invention to provide a water supply control apparatus and a method thereof of an ice maker that can be adjusted easily.

In order to achieve the above object, the water supply control device of the ice maker according to the present invention is installed in the freezer compartment and the refrigerating compartment and the front door of the freezer compartment, which are formed in the refrigerator main body, and at the same time setting the internal temperature and operating function of the freezer compartment and the refrigerating compartment. An ice maker for a refrigerator comprising an operation panel unit configured to rotate, an ice making bowl rotatably installed in the freezer compartment, and a water supply valve for supplying water to the ice making vessel, the amount of water supplied to the ice making vessel Water supply time adjusting means for adjusting the water supply time to adjust step by step, Control means for controlling the water supply valve to supply a predetermined amount of water to the ice tray according to the water supply time adjusted by the water supply time adjusting means, and the control Display indicating the water supply time adjusted by the water supply time adjusting means under control of the means It is characterized by being a stage.

In addition, the water supply control method of the ice maker according to the present invention in the ice making method of the ice maker to make ice by making the water to be supplied in the ice making vessel, the basic time to set the water supply time of the water supplied to the ice making vessel when the power is applied to the default value A water supply step of supplying water to the ice making vessel by controlling a water supply valve according to a setting step and a basic water supply time set in the basic time setting step, and changing a water supply time of water supplied to the ice making vessel by a water supply time adjusting means. And a water supply time display step for displaying the water supply time changed in the water supply time change step, and a water supply time setting step for resetting the water supply time changed in the water supply time change step.

1 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of a general ice maker;

2 is a front perspective view of a refrigerator according to one embodiment of the present invention;

3 is a display state of the operation panel unit according to an embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a display state of the operation panel unit according to another embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 5 is a control block diagram of the water supply control device of the ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention,

6A and 6B are flowcharts illustrating a water supply time adjustment operation procedure of the ice maker according to the present invention.

Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings

4: water pipe 5: ice tray

6: water supply valve 20: power supply means

22: control means 24: water supply valve drive means

26: temperature sensing means 28: fan motor driving means

30: moving motor driving means 32: water supply time adjusting means

36: display means

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, freezer compartments and refrigerator compartments 2 and 3 for storing food are formed in upper and lower portions of the refrigerator body 1, and the freezer compartment and refrigerator compartments 2 and 3 are provided on the front surface of the body 1. Doors 2a and 3a for opening and closing the doors are provided, respectively, and on the lower side of the freezer door 2a, various operating functions of the refrigerator are selected, the internal temperature and the like are set, and the selected operating function and the internal temperature and the like. The operation panel part 15 which displays is displayed.

As shown in Fig. 5, the power supply means 20 receives a commercial AC voltage supplied from an AC power supply terminal (not shown) and converts it into a predetermined DC voltage (load driving power supply and microcomputer driving power supply) required for the operation of the ice maker. do.

The control means 22 initializes the ice maker by receiving a DC voltage (microcomputer driving power) output from the power supply means 20 and controls the overall ice making operation of the ice maker according to the on / off signal of the micro switch. As a microcomputer, the control means 22 performs on / off operation of the water supply valve 6 so that a certain amount of water is supplied to the ice making vessel 5 according to the water supply time adjusted by the water supply time adjusting means described later. To control.

Then, the water supply valve driving means 24 receives the control signal output from the control means 22 and drives the water supply valve 6 so that water is supplied from the water pipe 4 to the ice making vessel 5, and the temperature is controlled. The detection means 26 is a temperature sensor which senses the temperature of the water supplied to the ice making vessel 5 according to the opening of the water supply valve 6 and outputs it to the control means 22.

The fan motor driving means 28 receives the control signal output from the control means 22 and drives the fan motor 8 to ice the water supplied to the ice making vessel 5, and the ice motor driving means. 30 receives the control signal output from the control means 22 and drives the ice motor 31 to separate the ice formed in the ice making vessel 5 and store it in the ice storage container 10.

In addition, the water supply time adjusting means 32 is provided in the operation panel unit 15 to operate the freezing chamber keys and the refrigerating chamber keys 33 and 34 to adjust the internal temperature of the freezing chamber 2 and the refrigerating chamber 3, respectively. The water supply time from the water pipe 4 to the ice making vessel 5 is changed so that a predetermined amount of water is supplied to the ice making vessel 5, and the display means 36 is provided in the operation panel unit 15. The water supply time changed according to the operation of the freezer compartment key and the refrigerator compartment keys 33 and 34 is displayed using a display panel which displays the internal temperatures of the freezer compartment 2 and the refrigerating compartment 3, respectively.

Hereinafter, the effect of the water supply control device of the ice maker and the method configured as described above will be described.

6A and 6B are flowcharts illustrating the water supply time adjustment operation procedure of the ice maker according to the present invention, in which S denotes a step (STEP) in FIGS. 6A and 6B.

First, when power is supplied to the ice maker, the power supply unit 20 receives commercial AC voltage supplied from an AC power terminal (not shown) and converts it into a microcomputer driving power supply of DC 5V and a load driving power supply of DC 12V required for driving the ice maker. And print it out.

Therefore, in step S1, the direct current voltage (microcomputer driving power source) output from the power source means 20 is inputted from the control means 22 to initialize the refrigerator, and the control means 22 proceeds to the step S2 of the default value of the water supply time ( For example, 6 seconds) is set, the temperature of the water supplied to the ice making vessel 5 is sensed by the temperature sensing means 26, and the freezing chamber key 33 and the refrigerating silk key 34 of the operation panel unit 15. The set control temperature of the freezer compartment 2 and the refrigerating compartment 3 adjusted by the above is determined.

Subsequently, in step S3, in order to perform normal control for each part of the refrigerator according to the program sequence, when ice is formed in the ice making bowl 5, the ice making bowl 5 is automatically rotated to 180 degrees to make the ice making bowl 5 Ice in the ice sheet is stored in the ice storage container 10 while falling into the ice storage container 10. At step S4, it is determined whether the water supply condition of the ice maker is satisfied.

As a result of the discrimination in step S4, in the case of a water supply condition (YES), the flow advances to step S5 and the control means 22 supplies the water in the ice making vessel 5 for the basic water supply time of the set '6 seconds'. Since a control signal is output to the drive means 24 to turn on the water supply valve 6, water is supplied from the water pipe 4 to the ice making vessel 5 during the basic water supply time.

At this time, in step S6, the temperature sensing means 26 detects the temperature of the water supplied to the ice making vessel 5 according to the opening of the water supply valve 6, and determines whether water supply is completed. ) Returns to the step S5 and repeats the operation of the step S5 or less.

As a result of the determination in step S6, when the water supply is completed (YES), the water supply valve driving means 24 turns off the water supply valve 6 under the control of the control means 22 to stop the water supply operation to step S7. Further, it is determined whether there is a key input by the operation panel unit 15, and when there is no key input (in the case of N0), the process returns to the step S3 and performs normal control for each part of the refrigerator in accordance with the program sequence. The following operation is repeated.

As a result of the discrimination in step S7, if there is a key input (YES), the flow advances to step S8 to determine whether the input key is a function switching key for changing the operation panel unit 15 to the water supply time adjustment mode of the ice maker. If it is not the function change key (NO), the process proceeds to the stem S10, returns to the step S3 while setting the contents of the program by the changed temperature and the function control according to the key input, and repeats the operation under the step S3.

With the function switching key, when the freezer compartment key 33 and the refrigerating compartment key 34 provided on the operation panel unit 15 are simultaneously pressed for 5 seconds, as shown in FIG. 3, all the displays of the operation panel unit 15 are displayed. It turns off the function of the ice maker by changing the display state of the operation panel unit 15 to the water supply time control mode which is turned on only in the 'weak' of the freezer compartment (2). It means the watering time '6 seconds'.

As a result of the discrimination in step S8, in the case of a function switching key (YES), the flow advances to step S9 to switch the display state of the operation panel unit 15 to the water supply time adjustment mode of the ice maker, and in step S11 the cold storage key (34). Press a predetermined number of times to determine whether the water supply time change key is input.

As a result of the discrimination in step S11, when the water supply time change key is input (YES), the flow advances to step S12 to indicate that the water supply time has been changed according to the number of presses of the refrigerating chamber key 34. 33) and the refrigerating chamber key 34 are pressed five times, as shown in FIG. 4, the LED is turned on from the freezer 2 'weak' to the refrigerating chamber 3 'strong' to indicate that the water supply time is changed to 11 seconds. do.

Subsequently, in step S13, after changing to the desired water supply time, it is determined whether there is a key input for 10 seconds, and when there is a key input (YES), the process returns to the step S11 and repeats the operations of step S11 and below. If there is no input (NO), go to step S14 to reset the changed water supply time to the program, and then return to step S3 while adjusting the desired water supply with the changed water supply time (for example, 11 seconds). The operation below step S3 is repeatedly performed while restoring the function of the operation panel part 15 to a normal control state.

On the other hand, when the discrimination result in step S11 is that no water supply time change key is input (NO), the process proceeds to step S13 and repeats the operations of step S13 and below.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the water supply control according to the operation of the freezing chamber key 33 and the refrigerating chamber key 34 does not affect the normal control function of the refrigerator, but only affects the water supply time of the ice maker, and thus when the power is turned off. The set value of the changed water supply time disappears, and the water supply time is adjusted based on the default value of '6 seconds' when the power is again supplied.

According to the water supply control device and the method of the ice maker according to the present invention as described above, the water supply time is set in the microcomputer program and the set value is a key operation for controlling the temperature of the freezer compartment 2 and the refrigerating compartment 3. Since the water supply time is changed step by step (for example, 6 seconds, 7 seconds, 8 seconds ... 15 seconds), it is possible to accurately and simply adjust the amount of water supplied to the ice making vessel (5).

Claims (3)

A freezer compartment and a refrigerating compartment partitioned in the refrigerator main body, an operation panel unit installed at the front door of the freezer compartment to set and display the internal temperature and operation function of the freezer compartment and the refrigerating compartment, and water which is installed to be rotated in the freezer compartment In the ice maker for refrigerators having an ice making bowl for making ice, and a water supply valve for supplying water to the ice making bowl, provided in the operation panel to adjust the water supply time by adjusting the amount of water supplied to the ice making bowl step by step Control means for controlling the water supply valve so that a predetermined amount of water is supplied to the ice-making vessel according to a water supply time controlled by a freezing chamber key and a refrigerating chamber key, and the freezing chamber key and the refrigerating chamber key, and the freezer compartment under control of the control means. Display panel of the operation panel portion to display the water supply time adjusted by the key and the refrigerator compartment key step by step Water supply control device of the ice maker, characterized in that consisting of the display means for sequentially lighting the null. In the ice making method of the ice maker making ice by making the water to be iced in the ice making bowl, the basic time setting step of setting the water supply time of the water supplied to the ice making bowl when the power is applied as a default, and the basic time set in the basic time setting step A water supply step of supplying water to the ice making vessel by controlling a water supply valley according to the water supply time, a water supply time changing step of changing a water supply time of water supplied to the ice making vessel by a freezing chamber key and a refrigerating chamber key, and The water supply time display step of displaying the water supply time changed according to the operation through the display panel of the operation panel unit, and the water supply time setting step of resetting the water supply time changed according to the operation of the refrigerating chamber key to the control means to be used as a subsequent water supply time. Water supply control method of the ice maker, characterized in that consisting of. The method of claim 2, wherein the changing of the water supply time comprises pressing the freezing chamber key and the refrigerating chamber key at the same time to switch to the water supply time changing mode, and then changing the water supply time by operating the refrigerating chamber key. .