KR19980036095A - Control Method of Automatic Ice Maker - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for controlling an automatic ice making device, and more particularly, a horizontal sensing step of sensing a horizontal level of an ice making container when power is applied, a water supply step of supplying water to an ice making container when the ice making container is horizontally detected, and The present invention relates to an overall control method of an ice maker including an ice making step, an ice making determination step of determining completion of ice making at ice making, an ice making step of making ice from an ice making container when ice making is completed, and a test step of testing after cleaning and repairing. According to the control method of the automatic de-icing device, when the initial power is applied and the power is restored after the power failure, the ice making container waits for 1 cycle in the horizontal position surface to perform ice making. It is effective. In addition, in the horizontal position detection step of the ice tray of the ice maker, when the forced stopping of the ice motor is forcibly stopped, the mechanical motor of the ice maker is improved by reversing the ice motor and relieving the stress applied to the driving unit. In addition, even if the water in the water supply tank is insufficient during water supply, the water supply operation is performed for a predetermined time and then the water supply alarm is issued and the ice making operation is performed to maintain a stable ice making cycle. In addition, in a refrigerator equipped with an automatic ice maker and a dispenser, when water is supplied to the automatic ice maker and the dispenser simultaneously, the water is automatically supplied to the user by stopping the water supply of the automatic ice maker and supplying the dispenser first. It is effective. In addition, by refluxing the residual water remaining in the flow path after supplying water to the automatic ice making machine to the water supply tank to prevent the freezing of the flow path when re-water supply to the automatic ice making device has an effect of achieving a stable water supply operation of the automatic ice making device. In addition, by refluxing the remaining water in the flow path after supplying the dispenser to the water supply tank it is possible to supply the water cooled to a certain temperature during the rewatering operation to meet the user's satisfaction. In addition, it performs stable flicking operation by checking the change of the driving time and the change of the switch at the same time during the flocking operation. By performing the operation has an effect of preventing damage caused by the malfunction of the ice motor. In addition, it is effective in maximizing the use of the automatic ice making device by providing a test function to make an ice making cycle in a short time during repair and cleaning, providing easy operation and cleaning.

Description

Control Method of Automatic Ice Maker

The present invention relates to a method for controlling an automatic ice making device, and more particularly, a horizontal sensing step of sensing a horizontal level of an ice making container when power is applied, a water supply step of supplying water to an ice making container when the ice making container is horizontally detected, and The present invention relates to an overall control method of an ice maker including an ice making step, an ice making determination step of determining completion of ice making at ice making, an ice making step of making ice from an ice making container when ice making is completed, and a testing step of testing after cleaning and repairing.

In general, an ice maker is provided in a freezer compartment of a refrigerator, and furthermore, an automatic ice maker is provided to perform automatic deicing by performing an automatic water supply to the ice maker of the freezer compartment and automatically removes and stores ice from the ice maker when the ice maker is completed. Therefore, the user can take ice very conveniently without the need for a separate operation for making ice, and is a situation in which the dispenser is able to take drinking water without opening the door of the refrigerator.

As shown in FIG. 1, the refrigerator including the automatic ice maker and the dispenser includes a water supply tank 4 in the freezing compartment 1 and a refrigerating compartment 3 in the freezer compartment 1, and a dispenser in the refrigerator door 7. 6) is installed.

FIG. 2 shows the automatic ice making apparatus shown in FIG. 1, (a) is a side view showing the automatic ice making apparatus, (b) is a sectional view along the PP line at the arrow, and (c) is a plan view of the automatic ice making apparatus. . The automatic ice making apparatus 2 is composed of a driving unit 8 and an ice making container 9 which is supplied with water to make ice, and an ice making lever 10 for detecting a full ice during full ice. Looking at this in more detail, the drive unit 8 is composed of a worm gear 12 and a plurality of gear trains (12, 13, 14, 15) in order to transfer the rotational force of the ice motor 11 to the ice making container (9). At the ends of the gear trains 12, 13, 14 and 15, a gear (hereinafter referred to as cam gear) 16, to which a cam is coupled, is also engaged by engagement. The cam gear 16 has first and second cams 17 and 18 having different sizes, and each of the cam gears 16 has grooves on the circumference thereof, so that the horizontal switch 19 and the ice detection switch (when the cam gear 16 rotates). 20) can be controlled on / off. In addition, the ice detection lever 10 detects the amount of ice making in the ice storage container 5 and operates the ice detection switch 20 when the ice is iced. The control method of the automatic ice making device configured as described above is described as a block diagram shown in FIG.

A power supply unit 2a for supplying a driving voltage in the automatic ice making machine, an ice making machine position discriminating unit 3a for determining the rotational position of the ice making machine 9, and a corresponding function switch so that a user can select an ice making function from the outside To control the rotational state of the water supply motor 21 supplying water to the icemaker 9 and the function selection unit 4a, the ice-making motor control unit 5a for controlling the rotational state of the ice-making motor 11, and the like. It consists of the water supply motor control part 6a and the control part 1a which controls all the above-mentioned components.

Referring to the operation of the conventional ice maker having the configuration described above as follows. When the user operates the ice making switch of the function selecting section 4a to select the ice making function, this signal is applied to the control section 1a. In addition, the driving voltage generated in the power supply unit 2a is supplied to the control unit 1a. The control unit 1a performs the following operation according to the control signal applied from the function selection unit 4a. First, the control unit 1a rotates the ice motor 11 to detect the horizontal state of the ice making container 9. When the horizontal switch 29 and the ice detection switch 30 are combined to determine the level, and the position of the ice making container 9 is determined horizontally (both the horizontal switch and the ice detection switch are off signals), the moving ice 11 To stop the level of the ice making container (9). However, the ice detection switch 30 outputs an on-signal when the ice is iced, and the controller 1a cannot determine the horizontal position of the ice making container 9, thereby further rotating the ice motor 11 and eventually making the ice making container 9 ) Is forced to stop by the horizontal adjustment jaw (26) installed to prevent the deviation of the horizontal position. And once the ice-making container 9 finds a horizontal position, the control unit 1a outputs a control signal to the feed water motor 21 to drive the feed water motor 21. Water supply to the ice making container 9 is started by the drive of the water supply motor 21, and when the user wants to withdraw water from the dispenser 6, the water supply operation is also performed to the dispenser 6. Thereafter, ice making is performed for a predetermined time and the ice making decision unit 7a receives the signal from the controller 1a to determine the completion of ice making, and when ice making is completed, a control signal is output to the ice motor control unit 5a to form an ice motor. (11) is rotated in a predetermined direction. When the ice maker 9 rotates toward the ice storage container 5 as the ice motor 11 rotates, one side of the ice maker 9 is caught on a stepped portion (not shown) and cannot rotate further. The other side of the container 9 continues to rotate by the ice motor 11, and as a result, the ice maker 9 is distorted. Accordingly, the iced ice is separated from the ice making container 9 and stored in the ice storage container 5, and then the controller 1a controls the ice motor control unit 5a to rotate the ice motor 11 in the opposite direction. To return to the initial state. Thereafter, the controller 1a checks whether the ice maker 9 has returned horizontally from the ice maker position discriminating unit 3a, and repeats the aforementioned ice making cycle when the ice maker 9 is in the horizontal state. If the ice storage container 5 is full of ice, i.e., in a state of full ice, and the ice storage switch 20 is kept on, the controller 1a automatically defrosts even if the position of the ice making container 9 is horizontally detected. The power of the device 2 is stopped so that no further ice making operation is performed.

However, according to the conventional ice maker as described above, the following problems occur.

First, when the controller finds the horizontal position of the ice tray, the controller detects the overload of the ice motor to find the horizontal position of the ice tray. At this time, the gear stops under stress and stops the mechanical failure of the gear. Will occur.

Second, since the control unit judges the horizontal position of the ice making container only by the horizontal switch and the ice detection switch, it causes a frequent failure of the automatic ice making device due to their malfunction.

Third, there is no function to indicate when the water level is below a predetermined value, so the user must directly check the quantity of the water supply tank.

Fourth, in the refrigerator equipped with the automatic ice maker and the dispenser simultaneously, when the automatic ice maker and the dispenser are driven at the same time, the water pumped from the water supply motor is supplied to the automatic ice maker and the dispenser at the same time This decreases. Therefore, it is inconvenient to operate the dispenser for a long time in order to obtain a desired amount of water.

Fifth, when the remaining water in the flow path after completing the supply of water to the automatic ice making device has a problem that is difficult when re-water supply to the automatic ice making device as frozen by the temperature of the freezer compartment.

Sixth, if the remaining water remains in the flow path formed inside the refrigerator wall after the water supply to the dispenser is completed, the remaining water is not cooled to a certain temperature by the cold air of the refrigerator, so the first glass can satisfy the user's desire when refueling the dispenser. none.

Seventh, there is a problem in maximizing the use of the automatic ice maker because it takes time corresponding to one cycle of the ice making operation to check the normal operation of the automatic ice maker when repairing and cleaning the automatic ice maker.

The technical problem of the present invention is to solve the above problems and to improve the operational reliability of the automatic ice maker and the dispenser and to increase the mechanical reliability of the automatic ice maker.

1 is a cross-sectional view of a refrigerator equipped with a general automatic ice maker;

Figure 2 (a) is a side view showing the ice making device, (b) is a cross-sectional view of cutting the P-P line in the arrow, (c) is a plan view.

3 is a schematic block diagram of a general automatic ice maker;

4 is a schematic block diagram of an automatic ice maker according to the present invention;

5 is an operation flowchart of an automatic ice maker according to the present invention;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view of a drive unit in the horizontal direction of the ice making container;

7 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a horizontal subroutine of the flowchart shown in FIG. 5;

8 is a detailed circuit diagram of the moving motor controller and the moving motor overload detection unit according to the present invention;

9 is a cross-sectional view of a driving unit during the ice removal operation of the ice making container;

FIG. 10 is a side view as seen from the arrow Q-Q at the time of the arrow of FIG.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of subroutine ebbing in the flowchart shown in FIG. 5;

12 is a schematic view showing a water supply device according to the present invention;

FIG. 13 is an operation flowchart at the time of subroutine water supply in the flowchart shown in FIG. 5;

14 is a detailed circuit diagram of the water supply unit according to the present invention;

15 is a detailed circuit diagram of an ice making judging unit;

16 is an operational flowchart showing a test of the ice maker in accordance with the present invention.

17 is an operation flowchart of the subroutine dispenser of the flowchart shown in FIG. 5;

18 is a detailed circuit diagram of a solenoid drive unit according to the present invention.

* Explanation of symbols used in the main part of the drawing *

1: freezer 2: automatic ice maker

3: refrigerating chamber 4: water supply tank

6: dispenser 7: door

8: drive unit 9: ice maker

10: Ginger lever 11: moving motor

12: War gear 13, 14, 15: Gear column

16: Cam Gear 17: First Disc Cam

18: second disc cam 19: the horizontal switch

20: ice switch 21: water supply motor

25: Operation lever 26: Damage prevention jaw

27: horizontal adjustment jaw 29: stop member

30, 31: control transistor 32-35: switching transistor

36: voltage detection resistance 37, 38: voltage divider resistance

39, 40: comparator 41, 42: voltage divider

43: the demister 50: solenoid valve

51: control transistor 52: switching transistor

53: Relay

Ice maker control method of the present invention was made as follows.

In the control method of the automatic ice making machine to automatically generate ice repeatedly using the cold air of the freezer,

An ice motor control step of driving the ice motor to return the ice maker to the original position; a water supply means controlling step of supplying water to only one of the ice maker and the dispenser; and the flow path formed by the water supply means control step. A water supply motor control step of driving a water supply motor to perform water supply, an ice making step of deicing when water supply is completed in the ice making container, an ice making step of determining completion of ice making in the ice making step, and an ice removal motor upon completion of ice making It comprises a driving step of driving and rotating the ice tray, and a test step for testing the operation flow of the automatic ice maker.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

4 is a schematic block diagram of an automatic ice making apparatus according to the present invention. In Fig. 4, the same reference numerals as in Fig. 3 denote the same components. 4, the power supply unit 2a for supplying a driving voltage in the automatic ice maker, the ice maker position discriminating unit 3a for determining the rotation position of the ice maker 9, and the user can select the automatic ice making function from the outside. Water is supplied to the function selection unit (4a) equipped with the corresponding function switch, the ice motor control unit (5a) for controlling the rotation state of the ice motor (11), and the ice making machine (9) of the automatic ice maker (2). A water supply motor control unit 6a for controlling the rotation state of the water supply motor 21 to be operated, an ice making unit 7a for checking the ice making state by receiving a signal from an ice making sensor installed under the ice making container 9, and an ice An ice motor overload detection unit 8a for detecting the load applied to the motor 11 to protect the ice motor 11, and a solenoid drive unit 9a for controlling the water supply state of the automatic ice maker 2 and the dispenser 6. And a controller 1a for controlling all the above-mentioned components.

The operation of the automatic ice making device configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. 5. 5 is shown using a subroutine, the operation flow of each subroutine will be described in detail later, and the overall control flow of the present invention will be described.

Horizontal sensing that checks whether the ice making container 9 is horizontal when the initial power is applied or when the power is restored, and performs an operation to keep the ice making container 9 horizontal when the ice making container 9 is not in the horizontal position. Step 1B and the water supplying step 4B when the ice making container 9 is leveled, wherein the ice making container 9 is returned to its original position when the initial power is applied or the power failure is restored in the horizontal sensing step 1B. In the case of the horizontal level, a step (2B) of waiting for the ice-making operation of one cycle, a step of ice-making (3B) when the ice-making is completed, and a horizontal detection step (1B) of the ice-making container (9) after ice-making is further performed. Execute (4B). The water supply step 4B operates the water supply motor 21 for a programmed time to perform water supply. When water supply is completed, ice making is performed, which is performed by reading a signal of an ice making sensor attached to the bottom of the ice making container 9 from the ice making judging unit 7a and outputting an ice making completion signal to the controller 1a. Will be performed. In addition, the test step 6B is provided to confirm the normal ice making operation after the cleaning and repair of the automatic ice making device 2, and can be driven at any stage except during the water supply operation or the ice making operation. And the dispenser step 7B is operated when water is supplied to the dispenser 6. The test step 6B and the dispenser step 7B of the above steps do not constitute an ice making cycle of the automatic ice maker 2, but are performed only at the request of the user.

Hereinafter, the control operation of the automatic ice making apparatus will be sequentially described in the order of the subroutine steps of FIG. 5.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the driving unit to help explain the subroutine of the horizontal detection shown in FIG. 5, showing an ice making container in a home state in a horizontal state. In the horizontal sensing step 1B, the ice motor 11 is rotated forward. At this time, the worm gear 12 and the plurality of gear trains 12, 13, to transmit the rotational force of the ice motor 11 to the ice making container 9. 14 and 15 are constituted by engagement, and at the end of the gear trains 12, 13, 14 and 15, the cam gear 16 is also engaged by engagement. The cam gear 16 has first and second cams 17 and 18 having different sizes, which have grooves on the circumference, so that the horizontal switch 19 and the ice detection switch 20 when the cam gear 16 rotates. ) Can be turned on and off. In addition, the ice detection lever 10 detects the amount of ice and operates the ice detection switch 20 during full ice. This basic operation will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 7 in the horizontal sensing subroutine shown in FIG. 5.

When the initial power is applied to the automatic ice making device 2 and when the power failure is restored, the control unit 1a receives the signals of the horizontal switch 19 and the ice detection switch 20 to check the horizontal state of the ice making container 9 (step 1M). ). At this time, when the ice making container 9 is judged to be in a horizontal state, ice making is performed without driving the ice-making motor 11 (6M). That is, in case of supplying water to the ice making container 9 when the initial power is applied and when the power failure is restored, ice is made. If it is determined in step 1M that the ice making container 9 is not horizontal, the cam gear 16 is rotated until both the horizontal switch 19 and the ice detection switch 20 are turned off (step 2M). However, if the ice storage container 5 is full of ice and the detection switch 20 does not change to the off signal even when located in the concave portion of the second cam 18, the cam gear 16 rotates further and eventually the ice making container The breakage preventing jaw 26 of the cam gear 16 is caught by the horizontal adjusting jaw 27 installed to prevent the 9 from moving out of the horizontal position and forcedly stopped. Therefore, the gear trains 12, 13, 14, and 15, which transmit the power of the ice motor 11 to the ice making container 9, are forced to stop, so that a stress acts on this portion of the gear coupled to the teeth. At this time, the control unit 1a receives a signal generated from the overload detection unit 8a to determine whether the overload motor 11 is overloaded (step 3M). If it is determined in step 3M that it is overloaded, the control unit 1a determines whether the signal of the horizontal switch 19 is off and the signal of the detection switch 20 is on (step 4M). In step 4M, when the combination of the signals is determined to be the former 19 and the latter 20, the control unit 1a determines the state of the ice storage container 5 as ice and the horizontal of the ice making container 9 By determining one of the conditions, the forward rotation of the moving motor 11 is controlled to reverse rotation. The gear trains 12, 13, 14, and 15, which were forcibly stopped during the overload due to the reverse rotation of the ice motor 11, are reversed to relieve stress caused by the gears, thereby improving mechanical reliability of the automatic ice making device 2. have. In addition, 0.5 seconds, the time when the reverse rotation is completed in step 5M is rotated at an extremely small angle so as not to affect the horizontal position of the ice making container 9 even if the reverse rotation of the ice motor 11, only, the ice motor The overload operation in (11) is to remove the stress on the gear part. FIG. 8 illustrates a forward / reverse driving circuit of the ice motor and an ice motor overload detection circuit for detecting an overload of the ice motor, and as shown in the same figure, a switching element between the controller 1a and the ice motor 11 as a switching element. It is connected through a plurality of transistors (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35), and applies a voltage output from the moving motor 11 to the comparator (OP amp) 39, the comparator 39 is a control unit It is connected to (1a). The forward / reverse driving circuit of the moving motor 11 controls the rotation direction of the moving motor 11 by switching the driving voltage V2 applied from the constant voltage power supply (not shown) to the moving motor 11. A plurality of switching transistors 32, 33, 34, 35 and a pair of control transistors that are switched by receiving a control signal from the controller 1a to control the switching operation of the plurality of switching transistors 32, 33, 34, 35. It consists of (30,31). In addition, the overload detection circuit for detecting the overload of the moving motor 11 is connected to the emitter terminal of the switching transistor 35 to a voltage detection resistor 36 and a constant voltage source for detecting a voltage applied to the moving motor 11. A voltage of a predetermined magnitude divided by a pair of voltage divider resistors 37 and 38 and a voltage detection resistor 36 that divides the constant voltage into a predetermined magnitude is applied to the inverting terminal (-) and the voltage divider resistor 37 And a comparator 39 for receiving a voltage of a predetermined magnitude divided by the non-inverting terminal (+), comparing the two input voltage values, and outputting a comparison result to the controller 1a. That is, as described above in FIG. 7, when the moving motor 11 is forced to the horizontal adjustment jaw 27 and forcedly stops due to overload, the maximum current is zero because the supply current is proportional to the load torque. ), The maximum current flows to the motor. Therefore, the voltage value connected to the emitter terminal of the switching transistor 35 and applied to the moving motor 11 has a constant value of the voltage detecting resistor 36 as in V = I * R. Then, the detection voltage value detected by the voltage detection resistor 36 is applied to the inverting terminal (-), and the value of the pair of voltage divider resistors 37 and 38 for dividing the constant voltage to a predetermined size is used as the reference voltage value. The overload can be detected by comparing the two voltage values received by the front end (+) and outputting the comparison result to the controller 1a.

Thereafter, one cycle standby time shown in FIG. 5 is a step for making ice when water is supplied to the ice making container. That is, after the time required for the horizontal detection, water supply, ice making, and ice breaking cycles, which are normally performed, the ice making operation is performed when it is determined that the ice making is completed by the controller.

Next, FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the driving unit to help explain the icebreaking subroutine shown in FIG. 5 and shows when the ice maker is in the iced state. In order to sequentially receive the rotational force of the moving motor 11 to the worm gear 12, the gear trains 13, 14, 15, and the cam gear 16, the driving motor 11 and the end cam gear 16 The rotation direction is reversed, and the horizontal switch 19, the sensing switch 20, and the operation lever 25 are interlocked by the rotation of the first cam 17 and the second cam 18 coupled to the cam gear 16. In addition, the icemaker 9 coupled to the cam gear 16 shaft is also interlocked. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 10, the ice making container 9 rotates in the direction of the arrow to drop off the ice therein. At this time, one side of the ice making container 9 is caught by the stop member 29 and no longer rotates. The other side of the ice maker 9 is continuously rotated by the ice motor 11, so that the ice maker 9 is twisted, so that the ice maker can be effectively performed. Then, the ice making container 9 returns to the original position by the rotational motion of the ice motor 11 again.

This basic operation will be described in detail with reference to the moving subroutine shown in FIG.

Ibbing operation is performed by checking the state and the change time of the horizontal switch 19 and the detection switch 20 in parallel, and if the signal change and the change time of each switch do not coincide with each other, it is determined to be an abnormal state and immediately moved. After the rotation of the motor 11 is stopped, forward rotation is performed to return the ice making container 9 to its original position, wait for the time set in the control unit 1a, and then re-execute. First, the controller 1a determines the ice-breaking condition by the signal of the ice-making determination unit 7a using the ice-making sensor attached to the bottom of the ice-making container 9 (step 1S). If determined to be an iced condition, the controller 1a applies a control signal to the iced motor controller 5a to drive the iced motor 11. At this time, the controller 1a counts the rotation time of the moving motor 11 and determines whether the reverse rotation time has passed 1.2 seconds (step 3S). If the set time has elapsed in step 3S, it is determined whether the inspection switch 20 is off and the horizontal switch 19 is on (step 6S). When the determination condition is satisfied, the reverse rotation time of the moving motor 11 is 2.6 seconds. It is judged whether it has passed (step 4S). If the set time has elapsed in step 4S, it is determined whether the detection switch 20 is on and the horizontal switch 19 is on (step 7S). If the determination condition is satisfied, it is determined whether the reverse rotation time of the moving motor has elapsed for 8 seconds. (Step 5S). If the set time has elapsed in step 5S, it is determined whether the inspection switch 20 is on and the horizontal switch 19 is off (step 8S). The switch signal determination steps 6S, 7S, and 8S performed after the time-lapse determination steps 3S, 4S, and 5S in the steps 3S-8S rotate the cam gear 16 due to the rotation of the ice motor 11. When the angle is not satisfied by the switch signal determination steps 6S, 7S, and 8S as an operation for verifying the angle through the switch, the controller 1a determines this to be an abnormal state and immediately stops the rotation of the moving motor 11. Afterwards, perform forward rotation. If the determination condition is satisfied in the step 8S, the returning condition determination 1S and the maximum torsion state determination condition 2S are also satisfied, so that the reverse rotation stop step 13S of the moving motor 11, which is the next step, is performed ( Ice maker 9 is torsional). Then, it is determined whether the ice making container 9 is horizontal (step 14S), and if it is not horizontal, it is determined whether 2 seconds have elapsed after the maximum torsion state (step 15S). The torsion state, as shown in Figure 10, one side of the ice making container is caught by the stop member 29 fixedly coupled to the drive case can no longer rotate, the other side of the ice making container (9) by the ice motor 11 As the ice machine 11 continues to rotate, the ice maker 11 is twisted to complete the ice removal for two seconds set as the stop time of the ice motor 11 in the controller 1a. When the set time has elapsed in step 15S, the ice motor 11 is rotated forward and the operation flow is returned to determine whether the ice making container 9 is horizontal (14S). When the ice making container 9 is judged to be horizontal, the forward rotation of the ice motor 11 is stopped (step 16S) and the ice making operation is completed.

Subsequently, a water supply operation is performed, and the water supply subroutine illustrated in FIG. 5 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 12.

Water supply operation control time is made of the setting time programmed in the controller (1a), as shown in Figure 16, by controlling the solenoid valve (50) for the water pumped supplied from the water supply motor (21) The flow path is controlled to the side and the dispenser 6 side, and the water supply operation is performed only to one side. Usually, the solenoid valve 50 forms the flow path to the ice-making container 9 side. First, when the completion of the ice is checked and checked (step 1T) and the ice is completed, the water supply motor 21 is rotated forward to check the normal completion of the water supply after 7 seconds, which is the time set in the controller 1a, (step 2T). . If the time set in step 2T has not elapsed, the operation flow is returned, and if the set time has elapsed, the water supply normal completion is checked (step 4T). The water supply normal completion determination condition of the step 4T is the water supply motor 21 forward rotation time. When the water supply operation is normally performed in the step 4T, the water supply motor 11 stops the forward rotation operation and determines whether 1 second, the time set in the controller 1a, has elapsed after the water supply is completed (step 6T). If the determination condition of step 6T is satisfied, it is determined whether the reverse rotation operation of the feed water motor 21 is performed for 4 seconds (step 7T). The reverse rotation time is to send the water of the hose supplying water to the ice making container 9 to the water supply tank 4 again to remove the water remaining in the supply hose to prevent the supply hose from freezing during the ice making operation. In addition, the water supply operation is controlled in combination with the signal of the water level sensor provided in the water supply tank 4, when the water level sensor outputs a low signal (lack of water in the water supply tank), the control unit 1a is applied to perform the water supply operation. It waits and blinks the water supply alarm of the function selection part 4a. Therefore, when the signal of the water level sensor is output high (when the water supply tank is full), the water supply operation is performed. In addition, when water is insufficient during water supply, the water supply motor 21 is rotated for a time set in the controller 1a, and then the water supply alarm of the function selection unit 4a flashes. The water level sensor is composed of an optical signal transceiving device, and comprises a photodiode for outputting an optical signal, and a photocoupler in which a phototransistor for receiving an optical signal output from the photodiode is received at a position where the optical signal can be received. In addition, if the dispenser 6 water supply signal is applied to the control unit 1a while the water supply operation to the ice making container 9 is executed, the water supply to the ice making container 9 is immediately stopped, and the control unit 1a performs time integration. The power is applied to the solenoid valve 50 to switch the flow path to the dispenser 6 side, so that the dispenser 6 is first supplied with water. When the water supply to the dispenser 6 is finished, the water supply motor 21 is reversely rotated for 4 seconds (step 7T), the power applied to the solenoid valve 50 is removed, and the flow path is switched to the ice making container 9 side to supply the remaining time. do. Looking at the circuit configuration of the control unit 6a of the water supply motor described above, as shown in FIG. 13, in the forward / reverse drive circuit of the water supply motor, the driving voltage V2 applied from the constant voltage power supply (not shown) is supplied to the water supply motor (not shown). 21 and a plurality of switching transistors 32, 33, 34, and 35 for controlling the rotation direction of the moving motor 11 by switching the ones applied to the plurality of switching transistors. It consists of a pair of control transistors 30 and 31 for controlling the switching operation of (32, 33, 34, 35). At this time, the switching transistors 33 and 35 switch that the water supply motor 21 is connected to the ground terminal, and the switching transistors 32 and 34 supply the driving voltage V2 supplied from the constant voltage source to the water supply motor 21. Configured to switch what is applied. In addition, the switching transistors 32 and 33 control the switching state according to the on / off state of the control transistor 30, and the switching transistors 34 and 35 control the interlocking control according to the on / off state of the control transistor 31. do.

Thereafter, the ice making operation is performed, and the ice making step illustrated in FIG. 5 will be described in detail.

De-icing completion is using the defroster (Thermistor) which is the deicing sensor attached to the bottom surface of the de-icing container (9) after the completion of the water supply operation. In (7a), it is determined by the output signals H and L output based on this. That is, when the output signal of the ice making unit 7a is low, it is determined that the ice making is completed, and then performs the ice-making operation after waiting for 10 minutes, which is the time programmed in the controller 1a. When the signal of the ice making judging portion 7a repeats high and low, the waiting time is counted for 10 minutes from the last low signal, and then the ice is executed. In addition, when the initial power is applied or the power failure is restored, the signal of the temperature sensing unit of the ice making sensor is checked, and even if the signal is turned low, the ice is not performed and the ice is performed after waiting for one cycle. Looking at the circuit configuration of the ice making judging portion 7a during the above-mentioned ice making operation, as shown in FIG. 14, the voltage dividers 41 and 42 and the dummysters for dividing the dummyster 43 and the constant voltage to a predetermined size are shown. 43) and a comparator 40 for comparing the voltage values applied from the voltage divider resistors 41 and 42. That is, the change in the electrical resistance due to the temperature, which is the property of the dummyster 43, is remarkable. When the temperature of the dummyster 43 rises, the resistance value is reversely reduced. Thus, in a conventional refrigerator, the refrigerating chamber maintains a temperature range of approximately 3 ° C. to 7 ° C., and the freezing chamber maintains a temperature range of approximately −12 ° C. to −20 ° C. Therefore, if the water supply tank 4 is provided in the refrigerating chamber, the temperature of the water supplied to the ice making container 9 becomes the same as that of the refrigerating chamber, and the temperature of the ice making container 9 of the freezing compartment and the dummyster attached to the ice making container 9. The temperature of 43 will be equal to the temperature of the freezer compartment. Here, when the water supply motor 11 is driven by the controller 1a to supply water to the ice making container 9, a temperature change corresponding to the temperature difference between the refrigerating chamber and the freezing chamber occurs (the temperature of the demister is increased). When the temperature difference decreases and falls below the temperature judged to be complete ice making, the current value supplied by the dummyster 43 is changed to apply the changed voltage value to the inverting end of the comparator 40 and to apply the constant voltage from the constant voltage source. A reference voltage of a predetermined magnitude divided by a pair of voltage divider resistors 41 and 42 for dividing the constant voltage to a predetermined magnitude is applied to the non-inverting stage (+), and the two input voltage values are compared and the comparison result is controlled. By outputting to (1a), the ice-making completion can be judged.

Subsequently, a test operation is performed, and the test subroutine illustrated in FIG. 5 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 15.

The test step is performed only at the user's choice. However, even if the user selects the test function, the test step is not operated if the water is currently being supplied to the ice making container 9 or the dispenser 6 or the ice is moving. Can be used. Therefore, when the user selects the test function, the controller 1a sequentially determines whether the water is currently being supplied to the ice making container 9 or the dispenser 6 (step 1G) or is currently being iced (step 2G). If the ice is in ice, the operation flow is returned, and if the water is not in the current ice making cycle, the water supply step 1G and the ice step 2G are continuously performed. When the dispenser switch is turned on even during the execution of the water supply during the test operation, the controller 1a drives the solenoid valve 50 to form a flow path toward the dispenser 6 to supply water to the dispenser 6.

Subsequently, the control operation of the dispenser 6 is made. FIG. 16 is a schematic view of the water supply means to help explain the dispenser subroutine. The water supply tank 4, the water supply motor 21, the solenoid valve 50, and the ice making container 9 are illustrated. ) And a flow path formed on the dispenser 6 side.

The water supply tank 4 is provided with a water level sensor for sensing the water level, which is operated by an optical method. In addition, a water supply motor 21 for pumping the water of the water supply tank 4 is provided, which is capable of forward / reverse rotation. And a solenoid valve 50 for alternatively forming a flow path for pumped supplied water to the ice making container 9 side and the dispenser 6 side is provided.

This basic operation will be described in detail with the dispenser subroutine shown in FIG.

The controller 1a determines whether the water supply state is in the ice making container 9 (step 1C), and if it is determined that the water supply state is not in the step 1C, the controller 1a determines whether the dispenser switch is on (step 2C). Here, the dispenser on signal is a signal driven by the user to draw water from the dispenser 6. When the signal of the dispenser is turned on in step 2C, power is supplied to the solenoid valve 50 to switch the flow path formed on the ice making container 9 side to the dispenser 50 side. After the solenoid power is applied, it is determined that the solenoid has elapsed 500 msec, which is the time required for the solenoid to completely block the ice making container side flow path and open the dispenser side flow path (step 4C). When the determination condition is satisfied, the controller 1a may perform the water supply operation satisfactorily by controlling the controller 6a of the water supply motor to rotate the water supply motor 21 forward. If it is determined in step 4C that the dispenser is switched off, the controller 1a determines whether water supply is completed, which is a signal for the user to drive the dispenser switch to stop supplying water from the dispenser 6. If it is determined in step 6c that the water supply is completed, it is determined that 1 second has elapsed (step C). If the set time has not elapsed, the water supply motor 21 which is the water supply completion operation is maintained in the forward rotation stop state. ) Controls the water supply motor control unit 6a to reversely rotate the water supply motor 21, and determines whether this reverse rotation elapsed time is 4 seconds (step 9C). If the set time of step 9C has not elapsed, the water supply motor reverse rotation step 10C is performed, and if the set time elapses, the reverse rotation of the feed water motor is stopped (step 11C). The reverse rotation step 11C is for refluxing the residual water remaining in the flow path to the water supply tank 4 when the water supply is completed to supply the water cooled to a predetermined temperature during the water supply. When the reverse rotation stop step 11C is completed, after 1 second, the power applied to the solenoid valve is cut off (step 12C) to shut off the flow path of the dispenser 6 and open the flow path of the ice making container 9 side. Looking at the circuit configuration of the solenoid drive unit 9a during the above-described dispenser operation, as shown in FIG. 18, a relay 53 for operating the solenoid valve 50 and one terminal of the relay 53 are connected to the ground terminal. The switching transistor 52 for switching the driving state of the solenoid valve 50 and the dispenser switch is switched by receiving a predetermined control signal from the control unit 1a according to the on / off state of the solenoid valve 50. It consists of a control transistor 51 for controlling the driving state of the.

As described in detail above, according to the control method of the automatic ice making apparatus according to the present invention, when the initial power is applied and when the power is restored after the power failure, the ice making container waits for one cycle of horizontal position surface to perform ice making. In this case, there is an effect of performing a stable ice making operation because it is not iced. In addition, in the horizontal position detection step of the ice tray of the ice maker, when the forced stopping of the ice motor is forcibly stopped, the mechanical motor of the ice maker is improved by reversing the ice motor and relieving the stress applied to the driving unit. In addition, even if the water in the water supply tank is insufficient during water supply, the water supply operation is performed for a predetermined time and then the water supply alarm is issued and the ice making operation is performed to maintain a stable ice making cycle. In addition, in a refrigerator equipped with an automatic ice maker and a dispenser, when water is supplied to the automatic ice maker and the dispenser simultaneously, the water is automatically supplied to the user by stopping the water supply of the automatic ice maker and supplying the dispenser first. It is effective. In addition, by refluxing the residual water remaining in the flow path after supplying water to the automatic ice making machine to the water supply tank to prevent the freezing of the flow path when re-water supply to the automatic ice making device has an effect of achieving a stable water supply operation of the automatic ice making device. In addition, by refluxing the remaining water in the flow path after supplying the dispenser to the water supply tank it is possible to supply the water cooled to a certain temperature during the rewatering operation to meet the user's satisfaction. In addition, it performs stable flicking operation by checking the change of the driving time and the change of the switch at the same time during the flocking operation. By performing the operation has an effect of preventing damage caused by the malfunction of the ice motor. In addition, it is effective in maximizing the use of the automatic ice making device by providing a test function to make an ice making cycle in a short time during repair and cleaning, providing easy operation and cleaning.

Claims (13)

An in-situ step of returning the ice making container, a water supplying step of supplying water to the original ice-making container, an ice making step of subsequent ice-making in the water supplying step, and an ice-making step of ice-icing the ice from the ice-making container when the ice-making step is completed. In the control method of an automatic ice making device comprising: Waiting step of holding the ice making container in the present state when the power is applied to the automatic ice making device in any of the steps, The control method of the automatic ice making device, characterized in that to configure the ice making cycle to return to the home position after performing the initialization step to make the ice container empty when the predetermined time elapses in the waiting step. The method of claim 1, wherein the waiting step The control method of the automatic ice making apparatus is performed only when the position of the ice making container is the original position, and when the position of the ice making container is not the original position, the home ice making cycle is performed without performing the waiting step. . The method of claim 1, The predetermined time in the waiting step is a control method of the automatic ice making apparatus, characterized in that the time required for one cycle of the ice making operation. The method of claim 1, wherein the initializing step To be performed even without ice ice in the ice making container, Defrosting operation determining step of checking the position of the ice tray according to the rotation time of the ice motor, If the position of the ice making container according to the rotation time of the ice motor is the same as the position of the ice making container input in advance in the ice making operation judging step, it is determined that the normal ice making operation is completed and the home position step is performed. If the position of the ice-making vessel according to the rotation time of the ice-making motor is different from the previously input position of the ice-making vessel in the ice-making operation judging step, the reverse rotation step of rotating the ice-making motor to reverse rotation And if the ice making container is returned to its original position by rotating the ice motor in the reverse rotation step, after reserving the ice making container for a predetermined time, performing the ice making operation determining step. The method of claim 4, wherein When the maximum rotation time of the ice motor in the normal ice operation, the rotation position of the ice making container is determined to the maximum to stop the ice motor to complete the ice operation, and when the ice operation is completed, the home position step is performed. Control method of automatic ice making device. In the control method of the automatic ice making device having an ice making step of supplying water to the ice making container and ice making, and an ice making step of driving the ice motor to ice the ice from the ice making container when the ice making is completed in the ice making step, The ice-making step is the ice-making operation determining step of rotating the ice motor to check the position of the ice tray according to the rotation time of the ice motor, If the position of the ice making container according to the rotation time of the ice making motor is the same as the position of the ice making container which is input in advance in the step of determining the ice making operation, it is determined that the normal ice making operation is completed, and the ice making motor is reversely rotated. To the original ice making container, If the position of the ice-making vessel according to the rotation time of the ice-making motor is different from the previously input position of the ice-making vessel in the ice-making operation judging step, the reverse rotation step of rotating the ice-making motor to reverse rotation If the ice making container in the reverse rotation of the ice in the reverse rotation step of the original position, the control method of the automatic ice making device, characterized in that consisting of a re-shaving step of re-aving the ice tray after waiting for a predetermined time. The method of claim 6, When the maximum rotation time of the ice motor in the normal ice operation, the rotation position of the ice making container is determined to the maximum to stop the ice motor to complete the ice operation, and when the ice operation is completed, the home position step is performed. Control method of automatic ice making device. A water supply step of receiving water from a water supply tank to supply water to the ice making container, and a water supply interruption step of stopping water supply to the ice making container when water is insufficient in the supplying step, and water is supplied to the ice making container when water is supplied to the water supply tank. In the re-watering step of re-supplying the water, the control method of the automatic ice making device to perform the ice making operation when the water supply to the ice making container in the re-supply step is completed, Rotating the water supply motor for a predetermined time even if the water in the water supply interruption step is insufficient, and the automatic ice making device to stop the water supply motor and perform the ice making operation after a predetermined time in the step Control method. An initial step of driving the ice motor to the original position of the ice making container, a water supplying step of supplying the ice making container in the initial position, an ice making step of deicing when the watering step is completed, and an ice making step of the ice making step. In the control method of the automatic ice making device consisting of the step of the ice to ice the ice ice from the ice container, And a test step for forcibly operating the respective steps. The method of claim 9, wherein the testing step A water supply judging step of determining whether water is currently being supplied If it is determined that the water supply is not in the water supply determination step, the ice making determination step to determine whether the current ice If it is determined that the ice is not in the ice determination step, the ice-making step is performed, and when the ice-making step is completed, the water supply step is performed. An initial step of returning the ice making container to an ice-making container by driving an ice-making motor; In the control method of the automatic ice making device comprising an ice making step of ice-making when water supply is completed, and an ice-making step of ice ice from the ice making container when the ice making in the ice making step is completed, And a test step for forcibly operating the respective steps. The method of claim 11, wherein the testing step A water supply judging step of determining whether water is currently being supplied If it is determined that the water supply is not in the water supply determination step, the ice making determination step to determine whether the current ice If it is determined that the ice is not in the ice determination step, the ice-making step is performed, and when the ice-making step is completed, the water supply step is performed. The method of claim 11, In the test step, if a water supply signal is applied from the dispenser while watering the ice-making container, the dispenser water supply step of stopping the water supply of the ice-making container and supplying water to the dispenser first, And when the water supply to the dispenser is completed in the dispenser water supply step, supplying water to the ice making container for the remaining time in the dispenser water supply step.