KR102409772B1 - Ice maker module and refrigerator including the same - Google Patents

Abstract

an ice machine control unit included in the ice machine; and an operation unit connected to the ice maker control unit, wherein the ice maker control unit receives at least one of an operation signal and power transmitted from the refrigerator through a communication bus, and transmits at least one of the operation signal and power supply to the operation signal corresponding to the operation signal. An ice maker is provided, which is transmitted to the unit and controlled by receiving the status of the operation unit from the operation unit.

Description

Ice making module and refrigerator including same

The present invention relates to an ice making module and a refrigerator including the same.

BACKGROUND ART In general, a refrigerator includes a main body having a refrigerating chamber for refrigerated storage of food and a freezing chamber for freezing food, and a compressor for compressing a refrigerant and a heat exchanger for generating cold air are installed at the rear of the main body. The cold air generated by the heat exchanger is supplied into the refrigerator or freezer compartment by a fan, and the air whose temperature has risen by circulating in the refrigerator or freezer compartment is again supplied to the refrigerator or freezer through the heat exchanger, so that the food stored in the refrigerator or freezer is always fresh. state can be maintained. At this time, an ice maker for producing ice is installed in the freezing compartment or the refrigerating compartment.

The ice maker provided in the refrigerator automatically receives water from the ice making container, checks the ice making state, and when ice making is completed, the ice is automatically removed from the ice making container and loaded into the ice storage container, and the user's request for the ice making operation is performed. It has been widely used in recent years because it can obtain ice without separate manipulation.

Among these ice makers, the heavy Auger type ice maker may have components such as a motor, a heater, and a sensing unit provided around the Auger unit. To control these components, an operation signal is transmitted from the refrigerator ice maker, and each component that receives the operation signal responds to the operation signal. can be driven accordingly. However, in order to perform this operation, communication lines for receiving and receiving signals between each component and the refrigerator control unit must be provided, respectively, so that malfunctions due to interference by a large number of electromagnetic waves and the internal volume of the refrigerator decrease as the volume of the ice maker increases. became

Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 2004-0035773 (04. 29, 2004)

An embodiment of the present invention is to provide a technique for simplifying wiring and communication relationships other than the ice maker.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a technique for increasing the volume of the refrigerator without changing the exterior of the refrigerator while reducing the volume of the ice maker in the refrigerator.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a technology for simplifying a connection process between an ice maker and a refrigerator controller and reducing manufacturing cost.

ice machine; and an Auger including an Auger, wherein the Auger receives at least one of an operation signal and power transmitted from the refrigerator control unit, and at least one of the Operating signal and Power is transmitted to a corresponding Auger, An ice making module is provided for the Auger operation unit to transmit and receive operation signals to and from the refrigerator control unit.

ice machine; and an Auger including an Auger, wherein the ice maker receives at least one of an operation signal and power from the refrigerator control unit and transmits it to the Auger, and the Auger receives at least one of the operating signal and power transmitted from the refrigerator control unit. An ice-making module is provided, which is received, at least one of an operation signal and power is transmitted to a corresponding operation unit, and the operation unit is controlled through transmission/reception of an operation signal with the refrigerator control unit.

In addition, at least one of the operation signal and power received by the operation unit may be transmitted from the operation unit to the ice maker to control the ice maker.

In addition, the operation unit may include one or more of a motor, a sensing unit, a valve, a cooling fan and a heater.

Also, the valve may include one or more of a solenoid valve and a cam valve.

In addition, the operation signal may be transmitted through K-LINE communication.

In addition, the operation signal may be transmitted through LIN (Local Interconnect Network) communication.

In addition, the operation signal may be transmitted through one of RS232, RS422 and RS485 communication.

In addition, the operation signal may be transmitted through CAN (Controller Area Network) communication.

In addition, it further includes at least one conversion communication module disposed between the Auger and the refrigerator control unit, and the signal transmitted by the conversion communication module may be transmitted to the receiving side through one wire.

In addition, the operation signal and power may further include a power line communication unit for performing power line communication transmitted and received through a single wire.

In addition, the wire through which the operation signal is transmitted and received may be a shield-coated communication cable including a fiber optic cable or a twisted-pair (TP) cable.

In addition, the ice maker may further include an ice maker control unit, and the ice maker control unit may directly control the auger operation unit.

In addition, the refrigerator including the refrigerator controller may further include one or more electronic control devices, and the ice maker controller may transmit/receive to and from the one or more electronic controllers.

In addition, to the heater and the motor side, it can be controlled by selectively providing a driving force.

In addition, at least one of the sensing unit, the valve, the cooling fan, the motor, and the heater may receive DC power.

In addition, the motor may be capable of forward rotation and reverse rotation.

In addition, the ice maker may further include an ice maker control unit for controlling the aggravation operation unit.

In addition, the operation unit may include a BLDC motor or a stepping motor.

In addition, the ice maker may be located on the door of the refrigerator or inside the refrigerator.

the ice making module described above; and a mounting unit on which the ice-making module is mounted.

In addition, the retainer and the dispenser of the ice-making module may be located on the door side of the refrigerator, and the retainer and the dispenser may be controlled by an operation signal transmitted from a refrigerator controller that controls the refrigerator.

A refrigerator comprising the above-described ice-making module is provided.

According to the disclosed embodiment, the number of wires for data transmission/reception between the ice maker and the refrigerator can be minimized by allowing the ice maker control unit or the refrigerator control unit to be connected through a communication bus and perform LIN communication or CAN communication. That is, since the wiring for data transmission/reception between the ice maker and the refrigerator needs to be connected with a minimum communication bus wiring, the number of wirings between the ice maker and the refrigerator can be minimized.

In addition, as the number of wires between the ice maker and the refrigerator is minimized, it is possible to minimize the use of space for accommodating wires in the refrigerator, reduce time and effort for wiring connections, and reduce manufacturing costs. . In addition, it is possible to reduce the generation of noise and electromagnetic waves by minimizing the number of wires.

1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator including an ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention;
2 is a diagram showing a wiring structure when AC power is supplied;
Fig. 3(a) is a diagram showing a first example of an arrangement structure in which wirings are arranged when AC power is supplied, and a diagram showing a second example of an arrangement structure in which wirings are arranged when AC power is supplied;
4 is a diagram illustrating a wiring structure of an ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention;
5 is a view showing a connection structure of an ice maker in a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention;
6 is a view showing a connection structure of an ice maker in a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention;
7 is a view showing the driving and communication flow of the ice maker according to the second embodiment of the present invention;
8 is a view showing the driving and communication flow of the ice maker according to the second embodiment of the present invention;
9 is a view showing transmission and reception by a conversion communication module according to the present invention;
10 is a diagram illustrating a communication network of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The following detailed description is provided to provide a comprehensive understanding of the methods, devices, and/or systems described herein. However, this is merely an example, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

In describing the embodiments of the present invention, if it is determined that the detailed description of the known technology related to the present invention may unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted. And, the terms to be described later are terms defined in consideration of functions in the present invention, which may vary according to intentions or customs of users and operators. Therefore, the definition should be made based on the content throughout this specification. The terminology used in the detailed description is for the purpose of describing embodiments of the present invention only, and should in no way be limiting. Unless explicitly used otherwise, expressions in the singular include the meaning of the plural. In this description, expressions such as “comprising” or “comprising” are intended to indicate certain features, numbers, steps, acts, elements, some or a combination thereof, one or more other than those described. It should not be construed to exclude the presence or possibility of other features, numbers, steps, acts, elements, or any part or combination thereof.

In the following description, the terms "transmission", "communication", "transmission", "reception" and other similar meanings of a signal or information are not only directly transmitted from one component to another component, but also a signal or information This includes passing through other components. In particular, to “transmit” or “transmit” a signal or information to a component indicates the final destination of the signal or information and does not imply a direct destination. The same is true for "reception" of signals or information. In addition, in this specification, when two or more data or information are "related", it means that when one data (or information) is acquired, at least a part of other data (or information) can be acquired based thereon.

Meanwhile, directional terms such as upper side, lower side, one side, the other side, etc. are used in connection with the orientation of the disclosed drawings. Since components of embodiments of the present invention may be positioned in various orientations, the directional terminology is used for purposes of illustration and not limitation.

Also, terms such as first, second, etc. may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms. The above terms may be used for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another component. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, a first component may be referred to as a second component, and similarly, the second component may also be referred to as a first component.

In various examples below, the wiring through which the operation signal is transmitted and received may be a communication cable including a fiber optic cable or a twisted-pair (TP) cable, and by becoming a cable shielded with silver foil, etc., communication reliability can be obtained

In addition, the rotation of the Auger motor can be controlled by the ice maker control unit or the refrigerator control unit, but the Auger operation unit provided in the Auger unit includes a separate control unit that controls only the Augur unit to control the Auger motor. The controller mainly controls the Auger motor, and the Auger motor will be referred to as a motor 190 hereinafter. In addition, the heater, valve, sensing unit (sensor), cooling fan and motor included in the operation unit are collectively referred to as the operation unit (D).

1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator including an ice maker 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1 , a refrigerator 200 may include an ice maker 100 . Here, the ice maker 100 may be configured to include an ice storage unit, a control box, a tray, and a fisherman. The ice maker 100 may transmit at least one of an operation signal and power through the refrigerator controller ( 140 in FIG. 2 ) and the communication bus 210 in the refrigerator 200 . For example, the operation signal received from the controller ( 130 in FIG. 2 ) from the refrigerator 200 may drive the operation unit (D). Here, the control unit ( 130 in FIG. 2 ) may be in charge of controlling the aggravation operation unit (D). The aggravation operation unit D may include a heater, a motor, a valve, a sensing unit, and a cooling fan included in the auger unit of the ice maker 100 shown in FIG. 1 .

The refrigerator 200 may be wired to receive AC power when communicating with the controller ( 130 in FIG. 2 ). 2 is a diagram showing a wiring structure when AC power is supplied. The control unit 130 can transmit and receive power or an operation signal between the refrigerator control unit 140 and the operation unit (D; 190, 191, 192, 193). . Here, transmission and reception may be performed through the communication bus 210 . The structure of the wiring for the transmission and reception in the AC power supply state will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 2 .

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the arrangement structure of wiring when supplying AC power in the related art. FIG. 3 (a) is a view showing a first example of the arrangement structure in which wiring is arranged when supplying AC power, and FIG. 2(b) is It is a figure which shows the 2nd example of the arrangement structure in which wiring at the time of AC power supply is arrange|positioned.

Referring to FIGS. 2A and 2B , the refrigerator 200 may include a dispenser 184 “G ice maker 100 . The refrigerator ice maker 140 of the refrigerator 200 includes the refrigerator 200 . ), the ice maker 100 mounted on one side of the interior of the refrigerator 200 and the dispenser 184 positioned on the front of the refrigerator 200 may be connected to the refrigerator ice maker 140 through wiring.

In this case, the refrigerator control unit 140 may be connected to the ice maker 100 , the Auger operation unit D, and may be connected to the dispenser 184 . In such a connection, since each component is connected to the refrigerator ice maker 140, the structure of the wiring may be increased.

3 is a view showing a wiring structure when AC power is supplied according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3 , the ice maker 100 may be connected to the refrigerator 200 . Here, the refrigerator 200 includes an electronic control device other than the refrigerator ice maker 140 and one or more refrigerator ice makers 140 provided. When the ice maker 100 is mainly connected to the refrigerator ice maker 140 to transmit and receive operation signals, the ice maker 100 connected to the refrigerator 200 may be the controller 130 . That is, the refrigerator control unit 140 and the control unit 130 may be connected to each other to transmit/receive operation signals and the like through the communication bus 210 . Of course, power may also be supplied to the ice maker 100 through the refrigerator controller 140 .

The communication bus 210 may be power line communication transmitted including power, which will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. In this embodiment, AC power is transferred to the ice maker 100 together with DC power. By being supplied, an example in which some components of the operation unit D are driven by AC power, and the remaining components of the operation unit D are driven by DC power will be described. For example, the cooling fan 193 may be driven by supplying DC power, and the heater 192 , the valve 191 , and the motor 190 may be driven by AC power. That is, AC power supplied to the refrigerator 200 may be converted into DC power by a converter (not shown) and transmitted, where the converter is located in either the refrigerator 200 or the ice maker 100 to perform the conversion. can do.

Meanwhile, since the refrigerator controller 140 and the ice maker 100 may be spaced apart from each other at a predetermined interval in the refrigerator 200 , a wiring structure may be formed to transmit at least one of an operation signal and power. For example, in the refrigerator 200 , the ice maker 100 may be mounted on one side of the refrigerator 200 , and a mounting portion may be formed so that the ice maker 100 can be mounted thereon. The wiring structure can transmit one or more of an operation signal and power transmitted from the refrigerator control unit 140, and becomes more complex and increases as it is transmitted to the detailed configuration (eg, heater, valve and motor) of the aggregator 181 . A fixed number of wirings may be arranged. According to the increased number of wires, the internal volume of the refrigerator 200 is reduced.

Accordingly, the wiring through which at least one of the operation signal and the power is transmitted can be transmitted by reducing the wiring between the controller 130 and the refrigerator control unit 140 . Such a decrease is that the ice maker control unit 140 receives the operation signals transmitted to the components 190 to 194 included in the Auger operation unit D in a batch, and the control unit 130 receives the operation signals to each Auger operation unit D. The corresponding operation signal can be distributed and transmitted. Accordingly, the aggravation operation unit (D) can be operated.

For example, each operation signal related to heat generation of the heater 192, opening and closing of the valve 191, rotation of the cooling fan 193, and rotation of the motor 190 is transmitted from the refrigerator control unit 140 to the operation unit (D) When transmitting to the controller 130 that controls An operation signal may be distributed from 130 to the motor 190, valve 191, heater 191, cooling fan 190, and detection unit 194 of the operation unit D corresponding to the signal. .

Therefore, in the prior art, two or more signal lines (eg, 20 or more signal lines) transmitted from the refrigerator control unit 140 to the control unit 130 for controlling the trigger operation unit D are transferred from the refrigerator control unit 140 to the operation operation unit D. (D) may be transmitted to the control unit 130 for controlling) may be reduced to one or two signal lines. In addition, by applying Power Line Communication (PLC), it is possible to transmit power and transmit/receive an operation signal through one line including a power line and a signal line. Here, the operation signal includes a heater operation signal (eg, a heater on/off signal), a valve operation signal (eg, a valve on/off signal), and a cooling fan operation signal (eg, a cooling fan on/off signal). off signal), a sensor operation signal (eg, a sensor sensing signal), and a motor operation signal (eg, a motor on/off signal).

Meanwhile, the detection unit 194 may include one or more of a temperature sensor, a water level detection sensor, a full ice detection sensor, and a position sensor included in the ice maker 100 . The sensing unit 194 may sense the driving state of the Auger operation unit D, and may transmit it to the refrigerator control unit 140, and may transmit it through the control unit 130 in the entire process.

4 is a diagram illustrating a wiring structure of the ice maker 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4 , the ice maker 100 may be connected to the refrigerator 200 . Here, the refrigerator 200 includes an electronic control device other than the refrigerator ice maker 140 and one or more refrigerator ice makers 140 provided. When the ice maker 100 is mainly connected to the refrigerator ice maker 140 to transmit and receive operation signals, the ice maker 100 connected to the refrigerator 200 may be the controller 131 for controlling the ice maker 100 . . That is, the refrigerator controller 140 and the controller 131 for controlling the ice maker 100 may be connected to each other to transmit/receive operation signals and the like through the communication bus 210 . Of course, power may also be supplied to the ice maker 100 through the refrigerator controller 140 .

In the present embodiment, power is provided from the refrigerator 200 to the ice maker 100, and the power is DC power, and the DC power may be provided to both sides. By supplying the DC power provided to both sides to the ice maker 100 together, some components and the remaining components of the operation unit D may be driven by each DC power. As the DC power is transmitted, for example, DC power transmitted to the controller 131 through the ice maker 100 may be preferentially supplied to the motor 190 of the Auger 181 , and the motor 190 may DC power via can reach heater 192 via valve 191 . Of course, the path through which the DC power is provided is selectively determined, but in this embodiment, an example in which the DC power is preferentially supplied to the motor 190 included in the Auger 181 has been described.

A wiring for supplying power from the controller 131 to the heater 192 and the valve 191 by the flow of DC power may not be disposed. When the power is provided as described above, the operation signal may be separately transmitted to the operation unit (D), or may be transmitted along with the power by including a code corresponding to each configuration in the DC power.

That is, the AC power supplied to the refrigerator 200 may be converted into a converter (not shown) for the portion supplied with DC power from the controller 131 , and the converter is located in the refrigerator 200 to convert it into DC power. It may be supplied to the control unit 130 . The converter may be selectively located in the refrigerator 200 or the ice maker 100 .

Meanwhile, since the refrigerator controller 140 and the ice maker 100 may be spaced apart from each other at a predetermined interval in the refrigerator 200 , a wiring structure may be formed to transmit at least one of an operation signal and power. For example, in the refrigerator 200 , the ice maker 100 may be mounted on one side of the refrigerator 200 , and a mounting portion may be formed so that the ice maker 100 can be mounted thereon. The wiring structure may become more complicated as one or more of the operation signal and power transmitted from the refrigerator control unit 140 are transmitted in more configurations, and the number of wirings may increase. According to the increased number of wires, the internal volume of the refrigerator 200 is reduced.

Accordingly, the wiring through which at least one of the operation signal and the power is transmitted can be transmitted by reducing the wiring between the controller 131 and the refrigerator control unit 140 . In this reduction, the ice maker control unit 140 receives the operation signal transmitted to the components included in the operation unit D at once, and the control unit 131 distributes the operation signal corresponding to each operation unit D. can be transmitted. Accordingly, the aggravation operation unit (D) can be driven.

For example, each operation signal related to heat generation of the heater 192 , opening and closing of the valve 191 , rotation of the cooling fan 193 , and rotation of the motor 190 is transmitted from the refrigerator control unit 140 to the control unit 131 . When the heater 192, the valve 191, the cooling fan 193, and the motor 190 are not individually connected to each other, it can be connected to the control unit 131 with a smaller number of wires, and the signal received from the control unit 131 is The operation signal may be distributed to each of the components 190, 191, 192, and 193 of the operation unit D corresponding thereto.

Meanwhile, the detection unit 194 may include one or more of a temperature sensor, a water level detection sensor, a full ice detection sensor, and a position sensor included in the ice maker 100 . The sensing unit 194 may sense the driving state of the Auger operation unit D, and may transmit it to the refrigerator control unit 140, and may transmit it through the control unit 130 during the transmission process.

5 and 6 are views illustrating a connection structure of the ice maker 100 in the refrigerator 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 and 6 , the refrigerator 200 may include a dispenser 184 "G ice maker 100. The refrigerator ice maker 140 of the refrigerator 200 is located on the rear surface of the refrigerator 200, The ice maker 100 mounted on one side of the interior of the refrigerator 200 and the dispenser 184 positioned on the front of the refrigerator 200 may be connected to the refrigerator ice maker 140 through a wire.

At this time, the connection may be connected to the refrigerator control unit 140 , the ice maker 100 , and another operation unit D, and may be connected to the dispenser 184 . Such a connection may be preferentially connected to the ice maker 100 through a wire from the refrigerator ice maker 140 . When DC power is supplied, the meaning of the connection performed “preferentially” is first supplied to one of the dispenser 184 , the control unit 130 , and the Auger 181 , and the power source of the remaining components via each component. This means that it can be provided as

Due to the above wiring structure, the entire wiring can be simplified compared to the example of FIG. 2 , and as described above, by this simplification, an increase in the internal volume of the refrigerator can be expected without the expansion of the exterior. Furthermore, it is possible to minimize the occurrence of interference in the process of transmitting the operation signal and power of the adjacent wiring due to electromagnetic waves and magnetic fields generated from the wiring.

Meanwhile, the motor 190 included in the auger 181 may be a BLCD motor or a stepping motor. Of course, the motor 190 can rotate forward and reverse.

Furthermore, the operation unit (D) is driven by the provided AC power or DC power, when power must be provided to each component at the same time to prevent the performance of the components from being degraded due to the decrease in the power of each component. When a decrease in power is sensed, power is preferentially provided to the motor 190 , and when the motor 190 completes a predetermined execution, power is supplied to the remaining components so that each component can perform a predetermined execution. Here, "configuration" is the configuration of the operation unit D, and may be a motor 190, a valve 191, a heater 192, a cooling fan 193, and the like.

In addition, when the ice maker 100 is located on the door side of the refrigerator 200 as shown in FIG. 6 and the agglomerate 181 is coupled to the door side, a control unit (not shown) located on the door side is additionally included in the refrigerator. Also, the Auger 181 and the Dispenser 184 may be controlled by the controller (not shown).

7 is a diagram illustrating a driving and communication flow of the ice maker 100 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 7 , the refrigerator 200 and the controllers 130 and 131 may communicate through the communication bus 210 . However, the communication bus 210 may be a power line communication unit P, unlike the example of FIG. 3 . Accordingly, the controllers 130 and 131 may receive both power and operation signals from the refrigerator 200 through a single wire. Accordingly, in the related art, two or more signal lines transmitted from the refrigerator 200 to the controllers 130 and 131 (for example, currently 20 or more signal lines are sometimes transferred from the refrigerator 200 to the controllers 130 and 131 ). ) can be reduced to one or two signal lines. Here, the operation signal includes a heater operation signal (eg, a heater on/off signal), a valve operation signal (eg, a valve on/off signal), and a cooling fan operation signal (eg, a cooling fan on/off signal). off signal), a sensor operation signal (eg, a sensor sensing signal), and a motor operation signal (eg, a motor on/off signal).

The operation signal may include an operation signal for driving the motor. Here, the first motor 161 may be a motor for rotating the ejector 108 , but in the case of a twister ice maker that is not a heater type, it may be a motor that twists for ice removal. In addition, the second motor 163 may be an Auger motor. The ice stored in the ice bank (not shown) may be an auger motor that is rotated in the process of transporting it to be discharged.

Since the respective information for driving the first motor 161 and the second motor 163 may be different from each other, individual information may be transmitted to each other. The information may include information such as a rotation speed, a rotation angle, and a rotation torque of the motor, respectively. This is because torque is prioritized when crushing ice or twisting to remove ice fixed while being frozen in the ice-making tray 102, and rotation speed is prioritized when the ejector rotates, so the information included in the operation signal may be different.

In addition, the operation signal may include driving information of the heater 171 . Here, the heater 171 may be an ice heater 110 that is attached to the lower surface of the ice-making tray 102 of the heater-type ice maker as in this example and generates heat. The heating information of the heaters 171 ( 110 ) may be determined within a predetermined time period, for example, within a predetermined temperature section. Of course, when the heat exceeds the predetermined temperature range, the heat of the heater (171; 110) may be blocked by the overheat prevention means (not shown).

For example, when a sensor sensing the temperature of the heaters 171; 110 transmits heat detection information of the heaters 171; 110 to the refrigerator 200 through the controllers 130 and 131, the refrigerator 200 side An operation signal including “heat stop” information may be transmitted to the controllers 130 and 131 . The control units 130 and 131 may discriminate and transmit the location to which the “heat stop” information should be transmitted, that is, the heaters 171 and 110 .

As various examples, the ice maker 100 may include a temperature sensor 113 , a water level detection sensor 115 , a full ice detection sensor 117 , a position sensor 119 , and the like. As described above, each sensor detects When one piece of detection information is transmitted to the controllers 130 and 131 , the controllers 130 and 131 may transmit it to the refrigerator 200 and receive feedback information corresponding to each detection information back from the refrigerator. The returned feedback information can be delivered to various locations, and it can be discriminated to correspond to the temperature sensor 113 , the water level sensor 115 , the full ice sensor 117 , and the position sensor 119 .

In order to perform the above-described process, the power line communication unit P may pass through the transmission process, and the process of transmitting power and operation signals within the structure of the power line communication unit P may be described with reference to FIG. 5 .

8 is a diagram illustrating a driving and communication flow of the ice maker 100 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 8 , for example, a current of 220v may be provided, and may be divided into two lines for supplying a current and a control signal. First, in the case of current, it may be transmitted to the DC stabilizer 310 and supplied to the controllers 130 and 131 as a voltage of DC 5v. It may be a power source of the controllers 130 and 131 .

Meanwhile, the current provided to the control signal supply line may be sequentially transferred to the insulating transformer 321 , the active filter 322 , and the data transmission/reception terminal 323 . Here, the operation signal may be formed in the data transmission/reception terminal 323 . In this case, the active filter 322 may remove noise included in the current before transmission to the data transmission/reception terminal 323 . That is, in the control signal supply line, an operation signal may be formed in the current from which the noise is removed and transmitted to the controllers 130 and 131 .

9 is a view showing transmission and reception by the conversion communication module 135 according to the present invention.

Furthermore, FIG. 9 is a diagram (a) showing communication between universal asynchronous receiver/transmitter (UART) units according to the present invention and a diagram (b) showing transmission/reception by the conversion communication module 135 . In the example of the communication method, the operation signal (data) transmission through the above-described Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter (UART) unit is as shown in FIG. 7(a), but in order to further simplify wiring between communication media One or more conversion communication modules may be disposed in the communication path between the refrigerator 200 or the ice maker 100 . For example, in the communication between the refrigerator control unit 140 and the control units 130 and 131, when each control unit 130 or 131, 140 includes the conversion communication module 135 or is adjacent to each other, the conversion communication module ( 135), communication can be achieved through the connection between them.

Here, the conversion communication module 135 may be a type of power line communication that further includes a power line 1 in a Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter (UART). Compared with the case of FIG. 3 , a power line may be supplied to the data transmission/reception terminal 323 and power may be provided through the power line 1 . Of course, the power may be a power of 5v as a current that has passed through the DC stabilized power supply device 310 .

10 is a diagram illustrating a communication network of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. Here, the communication network may be a controller area network (CAN) or a local interconnect network (LIN).

Referring to FIG. 10 , the refrigerator 200 may include a plurality of electronic control devices 202 , 204 , 206 , 208 and a communication bus 210 .

The electronic control devices 202 , 204 , 206 , and 208 are provided in the refrigerator 200 , perform a function of the refrigerator 200 , and may refer to electronic components or modules capable of electronic control. In an exemplary embodiment, the first electronic control device 202 may be a refrigerator controller. The second electronic control device 204 may be an ice maker. The third electronic control device 206 may be a compressor or a heat exchanger. The fourth electronic control device 208 may be a touch panel provided on a refrigerator door.

The communication bus 210 may be provided by connecting the respective electronic control devices 202 , 204 , 206 , and 208 . A wiring member (eg, a cable) of the communication bus 210 has an electromagnetic wave shield for electromagnetic wave shielding. A member may be provided.

When the communication network of the refrigerator 200 is a controller area network (CAN), the communication bus 210 may be formed of two twisted pair wires. A CAN HIGH signal may be transmitted to one of the two twisted wires, and a CAN LOW signal may be transmitted to the other. Here, by using different voltages for the two twisted wires, it is possible to reduce electrical noise.

Also, when the communication network of the refrigerator 200 is a controller area network (CAN), each of the electronic control devices 202 , 204 , 206 , and 208 may be assigned a unique identifier. The unique identifier may consist of 11 bits or 29 bits. Here, it is possible to set the priority for data transmission between the respective electronic control devices 202 , 204 , 206 , and 208 through the bit value of the unique identifier. That is, when a plurality of electronic control devices simultaneously transmit data through the communication bus 210 , data of the electronic control device having a higher priority according to the bit value of the unique identifier is transmitted with priority.

Meanwhile, when the communication network of the refrigerator 200 is a LIN (Local Interconnect Network), the communication bus 210 may be formed of one line. Also, when the communication network of the refrigerator 200 is a LIN (Local Interconnect Network), the first electronic control device 202 serving as the refrigerator controller becomes the master node, and the other electronic control devices 204, 206, 208 are slave nodes. to be able to communicate. Here, the first electronic control device 202 serving as the master may switch the operation mode from the active mode to the sleep mode according to the usage state of the communication bus 210 . For example, when there is no data transmission through the communication bus 210 for a preset time, the first electronic control device 202 may switch the mode of the communication network to the sleep mode in order to prevent unnecessary power consumption.

As such, when a controller area network (CAN) or a local interconnect network (LIN) is used as the communication network of the refrigerator 200 , when another electronic control device is added to the refrigerator, the added electronic control device is transferred to the communication bus 210 . ), it is possible to secure excellent scalability according to specification changes, etc.

Although representative embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains will understand that various modifications are possible within the limits without departing from the scope of the present invention with respect to the above-described embodiments. . Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be defined by the claims described below as well as the claims and equivalents.

1: power line
100: ice machine
102: ice tray
104: control box
106: drive unit
108: ejector
108a: ejector shaft
108b : ejector pin
110: ice heater
111: ice-making space
113: temperature sensor
115: water level sensor
119: position sensor
121: drive motor
123: gear unit
127: axis of the drive motor
129: auxiliary gear
130, 131: control unit
135: conversion communication module
140: refrigerator control unit
151: communication bus
153: wiring for power
155: wiring for grounding
161: first motor
163: second motor
171: heater
181 : Fisherman
183: selective driving unit
184 : dispenser
190: motor
191: valve
192: heater
193: cooling fan
194: detection unit
200: refrigerator
202: first electronic control device
204: second electronic control device
206: third electronic control device
208: fourth electronic control device
210: communication bus
310: DC stabilized power supply
321: insulated transformer
322: active filter
323: data transmitting and receiving terminal
330: control unit
P : Power line communication department
D: Augur movement part

Claims (23)

ice machine; and
Containing an arguing unit including an arguing operation unit,
The aggravation operation unit,
Receives at least one of two or more operation signals and power transmitted from the refrigerator control unit, and at least one of the two or more operation signals and the power is transmitted to the corresponding Auger operation unit,
The operation unit is controlled by transmitting and receiving the two or more operation signals with the refrigerator control unit by one or more and two or less signal lines,
Further comprising at least one conversion communication module disposed between the Auger and the refrigerator control unit,
The signal transmitted by the conversion communication module is transmitted to the receiving side through one or more power lines, the ice making module.
ice machine; and
Containing an arguing unit including an arguing operation unit,
The ice maker receives at least one of two or more operation signals and power from the refrigerator control unit and transmits it to the Auger unit,
The aggravation operation unit,
At least one of the two or more operation signals and the power transmitted from the refrigerator control unit is received, and at least one of the two or more operation signals and the power is transmitted to the corresponding Auger operation unit,
The Auger operation unit is configured to transmit and receive the two or more operation signals between the ice maker and the refrigerator control unit by one or more and two or less signal lines,
Further comprising at least one conversion communication module disposed between the Auger and the refrigerator control unit,
The signal transmitted by the conversion communication module is transmitted to the receiving side through one or more power lines.
The method according to claim 1,
At least one of the operation signal and the power received by the Auger operation unit is transmitted from the Auger operation unit to the ice maker to control the ice maker.
The method according to claim 1 or 2,
The auger operation unit includes at least one of a motor, a sensing unit, a valve, a cooling fan and a heater,
The operation signal is at least one of a heater operation signal, a valve operation signal, a cooling fan operation signal, a sensor operation signal, and a motor operation signal.
5. The method according to claim 4,
The valve includes at least one of a solenoid valve and a cam valve.
The method according to claim 1 or 2,
The operation signal is transmitted through K-LINE communication, the ice making module.
The method according to claim 1 or 2,
The operation signal is transmitted through LIN (Local Interconnect Network) communication, the ice making module.
The method according to claim 1 or 2,
The operation signal is transmitted through one of RS232, RS422 and RS485 communication, the ice making module.
The method according to claim 1 or 2,
The operation signal is transmitted through CAN (Controller Area Network) communication, the ice making module.
delete The method according to claim 1 or 2,
The operation signal and the power supply further comprising a power line communication unit for performing power line communication transmitted and received through a single wire, ice making module.
The method according to claim 1 or 2,
The wiring through which the operation signal is transmitted and received,
An ice-making module, which is a shield-coated communication cable including a Fiber Optic cable or a TP (Twisted-pair) cable.
The method according to claim 1 or 2,
The ice maker further includes an ice maker control unit,
and the ice maker control unit directly controls the auger operation unit.
14. The method of claim 13.
The refrigerator including the refrigerator controller further includes one or more electronic control devices,
and the ice maker control unit is capable of transmitting and receiving with the one or more electronic control devices.
5. The method according to claim 4,
An ice-making module, which is controlled by selectively providing a driving force to the heater and the motor.
5. The method according to claim 4,
At least one of the sensing unit, the valve, the cooling fan, the motor and the heater is supplied with DC power, the ice making module.
5. The method according to claim 4,
The motor is capable of forward and reverse rotation, an ice-making module.
The method according to claim 1 or 2,
The ice maker further includes an ice maker control unit configured to control the auger operation unit.
The method according to claim 1 or 2,
The ice-making module comprising a BLDC motor or a stepping motor, the Auger operation unit.
The method according to claim 1 or 2,
The ice maker is located in a door of the refrigerator or inside the refrigerator.
The ice-making module according to claim 1 or 2; and
and a mounting part on which the ice making module is mounted.
22. The method of claim 21,
The aggregator and the dispenser of the ice-making module are located on the door side of the refrigerator,
The auger and the dispenser,
The refrigerator is controlled by an operation signal transmitted from the refrigerator controller that controls the refrigerator.
A refrigerator comprising the ice-making module according to claim 1 or 2.

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