KR20040085598A - Refregerating cycle of ice-making device and controlling method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A cooling system of an ice machine and an operation control method thereof are provided to sharply reduce noise produced by a refrigerant of high temperature and high pressure instantaneously sent in haste when a valve of a bypass pipe is opened. CONSTITUTION: A cooling system of an ice machine has an ice -making member partially coming in contact with ice-making water filled in an ice-making vessel(11). The cooling system of the ice machine comprises an evaporation pipe(37) combined to the ice-making member, to keep the temperature of the ice-making member at the temperature under the freezing point; plural bypass pipes(91,93) bypassing a refrigerant of high temperature and high pressure to the evaporation pipe from a compressor; and plural opening and shutting valves(92,94) opening and shutting the bypass pipes.

Description

REFREGERATING CYCLE OF ICE-MAKING DEVICE AND CONTROLLING METHOD THEREOF}

The present invention relates to an ice maker, and more particularly, to a cooling system and an operation control method of the ice maker.

In a conventional ice maker, a cooling system having a configuration of a general refrigeration cycle is applied. 1 is a view showing a schematic configuration of a cooling system of such a conventional ice maker. Referring to the drawings, the compressor 101 discharges the gaseous refrigerant of high temperature and high pressure, and the condenser 102 forms a liquid refrigerant by heat-exchanging the incoming gaseous refrigerant with the atmosphere. The gaseous phase refrigerant contained in the liquid refrigerant discharged from the condenser 102 expands while passing through the capillary tube 103, and is reduced in pressure.

The pressure-enhanced refrigerant exchanges heat with the atmosphere while evaporating to a gaseous state in the evaporator 104 and then flows back into the compressor 101. Here, the evaporator 104 is coupled to the ice making member (see 53 in FIG. 3) of the ice maker (see 1 in FIG. 2) to maintain the ice making member 53 at a temperature below freezing point. The ice making member 53 maintained at a temperature below the freezing point freezes the ice making water in the ice making container 11 to form ice.

In the conventional cooling system 100 of the ice maker, the bypass pipe 105 for bypassing the high temperature and high pressure refrigerant discharged from the compressor 101 to the evaporator, and the valve 106 for opening and closing the bypass pipe 105. ) Is included. After deicing is completed, the valve 106 opens the bypass pipe 105 to bypass the high temperature and high pressure refrigerant from the compressor 101 to the evaporator 104. Then, the ice making member is formed at a high temperature to separate the ice frozen on its outer surface.

By the way, in the cooling system 100 of the conventional ice maker, when the valve 106 opens the bypass pipe 105, the high temperature high pressure refrigerant | coolant from the compressor 101 is instantaneously fed to the bypass pipe 105, and it makes noise. There is a problem that arises. On the other hand, the moment the valve 106 cuts off the bypass pipe 105, the flow path of the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 101 becomes narrow, and the load of the compressor 101 becomes large. May cause backflow problems.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a cooling system of an ice maker and an operation control method thereof, which can greatly reduce noise generated by a high temperature and high pressure refrigerant that is instantaneously fed when opening a valve of a bypass pipe, in view of the above problems. To provide.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a cooling system of an ice maker and an operation control method thereof, which can prevent an overload phenomenon of a compressor occurring when the valve of the bypass pipe is blocked, thereby extending the life of the compressor.

1 is a view showing the configuration of a conventional general cooling system,

2 is a perspective view of an ice maker with a cooling system according to the present invention;

3 is a perspective view of the main portion of Figure 2, showing the internal configuration of the ice storage of the ice maker provided with the present cooling system in detail,

4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the ice making body of FIG. 2;

5 is a view showing a schematic configuration of the present cooling system, and

6 is a flow chart for explaining the operation control method of the cooling system according to the present invention.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

1: ice maker 3: ice maker

5: case 11: ice making container

15: ice storage 16: lever

21: support bracket 31: cooling system

33: compressor 35: condenser

36 capillary tube 37 evaporation tube

43: water supply pump 50: lower cabinet

51 ice making apparatus 53 ice making member

54: ice making projection 61: rotation motor

71: swinging unit 73: swinging base

75: elastic spring 78: swing shaft

79: rocking cam 79: rocking motor

91, 93: bypass pipe 92, 94: stepping valve

96: control unit

An object of the present invention is to provide a cooling system for an ice maker including an ice making member partially in contact with the ice making water filled in the ice making machine, the cooling system comprising: an evaporating tube coupled to the ice making member to maintain the ice making member at a temperature below freezing point; A plurality of bypass tubes for bypassing the high temperature, high pressure refrigerant from the compressor to the evaporation tube; And a plurality of on / off valves for opening and closing the bypass pipes.

Here, the plurality of on-off valves may be configured as a stepping valve, and the plurality of stepping valves are preferably configured to be opened and closed stepwise by a control signal of the controller after the ice making water in the ice making container is formed of ice.

More preferably, the control unit is configurable to open and close the plurality of stepping valves alternately.

The above object is, on the other hand, in the operation control method of the cooling system having a plurality of bypass pipes connected between the compressor and the evaporator tube coupled to the ice making member of the ice maker and the valve capable of opening and closing each bypass pipe, the ice making is completed Checking whether it is received; Upon completion of deicing, bypassing the hot and high pressure refrigerant from the compressor to the evaporator by opening the valve; And after a predetermined time, it may be achieved by the operation control method of the configured cooling system comprising the step of sequentially shutting off each valve.

Here, the plurality of valves is preferably configured as a stepping valve that can be opened and closed step by step.

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

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an ice maker including a cooling system according to the present invention, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a main part of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the ice making body of FIG. 2. As can be seen from these figures, the ice maker 1 includes an ice making body 3, a lower cabinet 50 supporting the ice making body 3 upward, and an ice making body supplying ice making water to the ice making body 3. The ice water supply device 12 is provided.

The ice making water supply device 12 includes an ice making water supply pipe 7 extending through the case 5 of the ice making body 3 to the ice making container 11. The end of the ice-making water supply pipe 7 can be connected to a domestic or commercial water pipe, or a separate ice-making tank through a feed water pump. Here, in the case where the ice making water supply device 12 includes the feed water pump 14 and the ice making water container 13, it is preferable to incorporate the ice making water supply device 12 into the lower cabinet 50. On the flow path of the ice making water supply pipe 7, a flow rate sensor 9 for adjusting the amount of ice making water supplied to the ice making container 11 is provided.

The ice making body 3 includes a case 7 having a rectangular cylindrical shape, and an ice manufacturing device 51 and a cooling system 31 are installed above and below the ice storage 15. An ice outlet 6 is formed on the front face of the case 7, and a lever 16 capable of taking out ice in the ice reservoir 15 is provided on the front face of the ice outlet 6. An ice making water supply pipe 7 and an ice making water drain pipe 8 for draining the ice making water in the ice making container 11 and the ice storage 15 pass through the bottom of the case 7.

The ice reservoir 15 has an ice inlet opening 17 that is upwardly open, and has an ice outlet 18 that is forwardly opened in the lower portion and a drain port 19 formed on the bottom surface. The bracket 21 supporting the ice making device 51 is fixed to the opening face of the ice inlet 17. The ice produced by the ice making device 51 is dropped through the ice inlet 17 and stored in the ice reservoir 15. Inside the ice outlet 18, the rotating screw 22 and the stirrer 23 for discharging the stored ice are installed. These rotating screws 22 and the stirrer 23 release the ice while interlocking by pressing the lever 16 installed in the case 5. In addition, a drain pipe 8 penetrating the bottom surface of the case 7 is coupled to the drain port 19.

The ice manufacturing device 51 includes a swinging unit 71 which swings while supporting the ice making container 11 rotatably, an ice making member 53 which freezes the ice making water in the ice making container 11, and an ice making container 11. It is provided with a rotating motor 61 to rotate up and down. The ice making apparatus 51 includes an ice detection sensor for detecting whether ice water in the ice making container 11 is frozen. Here, it is preferable to further include a pair of position detection sensors for sensing the position of the ice making container 11, that is, the horizontal position and the rotation position, respectively.

The ice making member 53 includes a plurality of ice making protrusions 54 protruding downward. And the evaporation tube 37 of the cooling system 31 mentioned later is combined in a zigzag shape. The low temperature refrigerant passing through the evaporation tube 37 keeps the ice making member 53 and the ice making protrusions 54 below the freezing point. The ice making protrusion 54 is immersed in the ice making water filled in the ice making container 11, and grows over time as ice is gradually frozen on its outer surface.

The swinging unit 71 is pivotally coupled to the bracket 21 to support the ice making container 11 thereon, and a plurality of rocking bases 73 interposed between the rocking base 73 and the ice making container 11. It is composed of an elastic spring (75) and a rocking shaft (77) installed on the bracket (21) for periodically pressing down the ice making container (11) and a rocking cam (78) coupled thereto. The swing base 73 has a hinge shaft 74 provided along one side longitudinal edge thereof, and the hinge shaft 74 is rotatably coupled to the support bracket 21. The rotation motor 61 is coupled to the hinge shaft 74 of the swing base 73 to rotate the swing base 73 up and down in accordance with the control signal of the control unit 96 of FIG. 5. At this time, the ice making container 11 also rotates up and down integrally with the swinging base 73.

The plurality of elastic springs 75 serve to elastically support the ice making container 11 on the upper surface of the swing base 73. In these elastic springs 75, guide rods 76 in the standing direction are accommodated, respectively, to guide the vertical swing of the ice making container 11. The swing shaft 77 provided on the bracket 21 is disposed along the longitudinal direction of the ice making container 11, and a pair of swing cams 78 are rotatably coupled to the swing shaft 77. . The swinging motor 79 for rotating the swinging shaft 77 is fixed to the bracket 21. Then, the swinging cam 78 integrally rotated with the swinging shaft 77 presses the ice making container 11 downward to swing up and down.

On the other hand, Figure 5 is a view showing a schematic configuration of a cooling system according to the present invention. The present cooling system 31 includes a compressor 33, a condenser 35, a capillary tube 36, and an evaporation tube 37, and circulates a refrigerant in one direction. The compressor 33 and the condenser 35 are fixed to the inner surface of the case 5, and the evaporation tube 37 is coupled to the ice making member 53 of the ice making device 51. The low temperature refrigerant flowing through the evaporation tube 37 serves to maintain the ice making member 53 at a temperature below the freezing point.

The cooling system further includes a pair of first and second bypass tubes 91 and 93 and a first and second bypass tube 91 and 93 which connect between the evaporator tube 37 and the compressor 33. It further comprises a first and second on-off valve (92, 94) respectively installed in the). When the first and second on-off valves 92 and 94 are opened, the high temperature and high pressure refrigerant from the compressor 33 is bypassed to the evaporation pipe 37. Then, the ice making member 53 is formed at a high temperature, and the ice frozen in the ice making protrusions 54 is automatically dropped and accumulated in the ice storage 15.

When the on-off valves 92 and 94 respectively provided in the both bypass pipes 91 and 93 are opened, the high temperature and high pressure refrigerant from the compressor 33 is branched and supplied to the evaporation pipe 37. Then, the noise generated when the high-temperature, high-pressure refrigerant is ejected into a conventional single pass pipe (see 105 in FIG. 1) can be greatly reduced. Here, each of the opening and closing valves 92 and 94 is preferably configured as a stepping valve that can be opened and closed stepwise by the control unit 96. The stepping valves 92 and 94 which are opened in stages control the amount of refrigerant and the amount of pressure flowing into the bypass pipes 91 and 93, thereby effectively blocking the generation of noise.

The pair of stepping valves 92 and 94 are also stepwise adjustable upon closing thereof. Here, it is preferable that the control part 96 closes each stepping valve 92 and 94 sequentially. For example, after opening the first stepping valve 92, the second stripping valve 94 may be opened. Then, as the flow path of the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 33 decreases in stages, the problem caused by the increase in the load of the conventional compressor (see 101 in FIG. 1) can be solved.

In the drawings, reference numerals 39 and 38 are dryers and accumulators for removing foreign substances mixed in the refrigerant, respectively, and FIG. 40 is a heat exchange cooling fan.

Hereinafter, an operation control method of the cooling system of the ice maker according to the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 6.

When the cooling system 31 is operated, the low-temperature refrigerant flows through the evaporation tube 37, so that the cooling member 53 is maintained at a temperature below the freezing point. As a result, the ice making water filled in the ice making container 11 is formed of ice (P1). The control part 96 confirms the state in which such ice-making by the cooling system 31 is made based on the detection signal from the frost detection sensor (P2). Thus, when ice making is completed, the rotating motor is rotated to rotate the ice making container downward (P3).

When the ice making container 11 is disposed in the downward rotation position (P4), the control unit 96 opens the stepping valves 92 and 94 (P5). At this time, it is preferable to simultaneously open the first and second stepping valves 92 and 94 step by step. Then, the high temperature and high pressure refrigerant discharged from the compressor 33 branches to the first and second bypass pipes 91 and 93 and is supplied to the evaporation pipe 37. The phenomenon that the high temperature and high pressure refrigerant does not flow to the condenser 35 is due to the relatively high pressure in the capillary 36. The high temperature and high pressure refrigerant supplied to the evaporation tube 37 forms the cooling member 53 at a high temperature, whereby ice frozen in the cooling protrusion 54 of the cooling member 53 is separated and the ice reservoir 17 is removed. To fall.

When a predetermined time elapses, the controller 96 first closes the first stepping valve 92 step by step (P7). Then, as the flow path of the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 33 gradually decreases, a predetermined amount of the high temperature and high pressure refrigerant starts to flow toward the condenser 35. In a state where the first stepping valve 92 is completely closed or partially closed, the controller 96 closes the second stepping valve 94 stepwise. Due to the sequential and stepwise closing of the first and second stepping valves 92 and 94, the amount of the high temperature and high pressure refrigerant bypassed toward the evaporation tube 36 gradually decreases, and conversely, the amount of the refrigerant directed to the condenser 35. Increases.

Thus, eventually, when the first and second stepping valves 92 and 94 are completely closed, the one-way circulation path of the refrigerant in which both the high temperature and high pressure refrigerant of the compressor 33 flows toward the condenser 35 is maintained. The cooling member 53 is formed again at a temperature below freezing point by the circulation of the refrigerant, so that the above-mentioned ice making operation can be performed.

As described above, according to the present invention, it has a pair of bypass pipes and on / off valves provided in each of these bypass pipes, so that the high temperature and high pressure refrigerant from the compressor is opened to the bypass pipes on both sides when the on / off valves are opened. Since it is branched and supplied, there is provided a cooling system of an ice maker and an operation control method thereof which greatly reduce noise generated when a high pressure refrigerant is instantaneously delivered when the valve is opened. Here, when each open / close valve is constituted by a stepping valve, since the supply amount of the high pressure refrigerant gradually increases, noise is hardly generated.

In the cooling system of the ice maker and its control method, the stepping valves installed in each bypass pipe can be blocked step by step, thereby preventing overloading occurring in the compressor, thereby extending the life of the compressor. Can be.

Claims (6)

A cooling system for an ice maker having an ice making member partially in contact with ice making water filled in the ice making container, An evaporation tube coupled to the ice making member to maintain the ice making member at a temperature below freezing point; A plurality of bypass tubes for bypassing the high temperature, high pressure refrigerant from the compressor to the evaporation tube; And And a plurality of on / off valves for opening and closing the bypass pipes. The method of claim 1, And said plurality of on / off valves are stepping valves. The method of claim 2, wherein the plurality of stepping valves, After the ice making water in the ice container is formed of ice, the cooling system of the ice maker characterized in that the opening and closing step by step by the control signal of the controller. The method of claim 2, wherein the control unit, And a plurality of stepping valves can be opened and closed alternately. In the operating control method of the cooling system comprising a plurality of bypass pipes connected between the evaporator tube and the compressor coupled to the ice making member of the ice maker and the valve capable of opening and closing each of the bypass tubes, Checking whether ice making is completed; Upon completion of deicing, bypassing the hot and high pressure refrigerant from the compressor to the evaporator by opening the valve; And And after the predetermined time elapses, sequentially shutting off each of the valves. The method of claim 5, And the plurality of valves are configured as stepping valves which can be opened and closed step by step.