KR20040085600A - Operation control method for ice making achine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An operation control method of an ice machine is provided to control continuance of ice manufacture operation by sensing whether an ice storage tank is full of ice. CONSTITUTION: An operation control method of an ice machine comprises steps of determining whether the ice machine is in an ice manufacture stop mode(S10); determining whether predetermined time has passed if the ice machine is in the ice manufacture stop mode(S11); determining input of information about a state where the ice storage tank is full of ice(S12); sensing ice manufacture is completed if the ice storage tank is not full of ice(S13); lowering an ice water tank assembly downward and heating a cooling plate instantaneously(S14); sensing whether the ice water tank assembly is returned upward to the original position(S15); determining whether contact with ice is sensed(S16); determining whether the initial value of a pulse signal, produced when the ice water tank assembly starts to rise, is a reference value(S17); sensing whether the initial value lasts for predetermined time(S18); recognizing that the ice storage tank is not full of ice(S19); determining whether a low pulse signal lasts for predetermined time if the pulse signal is under the reference value(S20); determining whether the ice water tank assembly is moved to the original position(S22); determining the ice storage tank is full of ice(S24); and stopping operation of the ice machine and converting into the ice manufacture stop mode(S25).

Description

Operation control method for ice making achine}

The present invention relates to an operation control method of an ice maker.

An ice maker is an apparatus for making ice by cooling supplied ice making water, and FIG. 1 shows a conventional ice maker disclosed in Korean Patent No. 1002152894.

Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional ice maker includes a case 10 and an ice making unit 20.

Inside the case 10 is provided with an ice reservoir 11 for storing the ice made in the ice making unit 20. A refrigeration system 30 including a compressor 31 and a condenser 32 is installed below the ice storage tank 11. In addition, the case 10 is connected to a water supply pipe 12 for supplying water to the ice making unit 20 and a drain pipe 13 for discharging water not frozen in the ice making unit 20 to the outside of the ice maker body 10. do. The water supply pipe 12 is installed to extend from the water supply equipment (not shown) to the ice making unit 20, and the drain pipe 13 is installed to extend from the water collecting portion 14 installed in the ice storage tank 11 to the drainage equipment not shown. do.

As shown in FIG. 2, the ice making unit 20 includes an ice water tank 21 filled with water, a cooling plate 22, and an evaporation tube 23. The ice water tank 21 is connected to the support member 25 rotatably supported on the pivot shaft 24, and a swing plate 26 is installed therein. The support member 25 is rotated about the pivot shaft 24 by the swing motor AM to tilt the ice water tank 21 in one direction to discharge the water remaining in the ice water tank 21. The swinging plate 26 swings up and down by the swinging motor RM to swing water in the ice water tank 21 to remove bubbles in the water. One side of the ice tank 21 is provided with a drain guide plate 27 for guiding the water discharged from the ice tank 21 to the water collecting unit 14.

The lower portion of the cooling plate 22 is provided with a plurality of cooling projections 28 that are immersed in the water to grow ice around it.

The evaporation tube 23 is installed on the upper surface of the cooling plate 2 and connected to the refrigeration system 30. A refrigerant flows into the evaporation tube 23, and the cooling plate 22 and the cooling protrusion 28 are cooled by heat exchange of the refrigerant.

According to the above structure, water freezes around the cooling projection 28 cooled below the freezing point by heat exchange of the refrigerant. After the ice having a predetermined size is formed around the cooling protrusion 28, the high-temperature refrigerant discharged from the compressor 31 is directly supplied into the evaporation tube 23 without passing through the condenser 32. Remove from (28). The ice water tank 21 is inclined about the pivot shaft 24 together with the support member 25 by the swing motor AM. Therefore, the generated ice falls into the ice storage tank 11, and the water remaining without freezing in the ice water tank 21 is discharged to the drainage facility through the drain pipe 13.

By repeating this ice making operation, the ice maker is operated so that a predetermined amount of ice is always stored in the ice storage tank 11. Therefore, it is necessary to properly control the operation of the ice maker by detecting whether the ice is full in the ice storage tank 11 and determining whether to continue or stop the ice making operation.

The present invention was devised to solve the above problems, and provides an improved ice making control method of the ice maker to control whether the ice making operation is continued by detecting whether the ice in the ice storage tank is full. have.

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a conventional ice maker.

2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an extract of the ice making unit disclosed in FIG.

3 is a cross-sectional view showing an ice maker for explaining the operation control method of the ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is an exploded perspective view of the ice maker shown in FIG. 3.

5 is a perspective view of the ice maker shown in FIG. 3.

6 is a partial perspective view showing an extract of the ice sensor shown in FIG.

7 is a schematic view showing a state in which the ice sensor is in contact with the ice.

8 is a flowchart illustrating an operation control method of the ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention.

<Description of Symbols for Major Parts of Drawings>

50. Ice machine body 51. Ice storage tank

60. Ice Tank Assembly 61. Support Frame

63. Ice water tank 70. Cooling plate

71. Evaporator 80. Ice sensor

90. Cover distribution

Motion control method of the icemaker according to the present invention for achieving the above object, the ice storage tank rotatably installed at a predetermined angle downward, the ice-water tank assembly is filled with ice-making water, the ice-water tank assembly is installed on top An ice making unit including a cooling plate to freeze ice while repeatedly being immersed in the ice making water and cooled; A method of controlling ice making operations in an ice maker, the method comprising: making ice at a lower portion of the cooling plate; Lowering the ice tank assembly and dropping the iced ice into the ice storage tank; Detecting whether the ice storage tank is full of ice after the ice has fallen; And determining an ice making operation stop mode or an ice making operation progress mode according to the detection result.

Hereinafter, an operation control method of an ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

3 and 4 are schematic diagrams illustrating an ice making apparatus for explaining an operation control method of an ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to the drawings, the ice maker includes an ice making unit 100 and an ice sensor 80 installed on an upper portion of the ice storage tank 51 provided in the ice maker main body 50.

The ice making unit 100 includes an ice water tank assembly 60 rotatably installed on an upper portion of the ice storage tank 51, a cooling plate 70, and an evaporation tube 71.

The ice water tank assembly 60 includes a support frame 61 installed on the ice maker main body 50 so as to be rotated and returned downward, and an ice water tank 63 mounted on an upper portion of the support frame 61. Equipped. The support frame 61 is installed to be rotatable and return downward at an angle of about 90 degrees from the top of the ice storage tank 51. The support frame 61 has a plate-shaped body, one side of the body has a pair of axial support (61a). The shaft support portion 61a is rotatably connected / supported to the cover member 90. Referring to FIG. 5, the shaft support part 61a is connected to a rotation shaft 92 which is rotated by the power of a rotation drive motor (not shown). The cover member 90 has a plurality of support legs 91 coupled to the top of the ice storage tank 51.

The ice water tank 63 is installed to be elevated on the upper portion of the support frame (61). To this end, a spring 64 is installed between the support frame 61 and the ice water tank 63. The spring 64 is fitted to the guide member 65 provided in the lower portion of the ice water tank 63 to guide the lifting motion of the ice water tank 63. The guide member 65 guides the lifting movement of the ice water tank 63 while passing through the support frame 61. The upper surface of the ice water tank 63 is formed with a plurality of ice water groove (63a) is filled with ice. In addition, one side of the upper surface of the ice water tank 63 is formed with a drainage passage 63b for draining the remaining water without ice making. When the ice water tank 63 is rotated downward at an angle of 90 degrees, water is discharged through the drain passage 63b. A drain container (not shown) for receiving the drained water is installed in the ice storage tank 51.

The cooling plate 70 is installed above the ice water tank 63. It is provided below the cover member 90 of the cooling plate 70, a plurality of cooling projections (70a) is formed at the bottom. Each cooling protrusion (70a) is immersed and separated in the ice-making water filled in the ice-water groove (63a) during the ascent of the ice-water tank (63). An upper portion of the cooling plate 70 is connected to an evaporation tube 71 connected to a refrigeration system (not shown). When a low temperature refrigerant is supplied to the evaporation tube 71, the cooling protrusions 71 of the cooling plate 70 may be cooled to freeze ice.

In addition, as a means for raising and lowering the ice water tank 63, a cam 75, a cam driving motor 76 and a cam shaft 77 is provided. The cam driving motor 76 is supported by the cover member 90, the cam 75 is provided with a pair is connected to the cam shaft 77. When the cam 95 rotates, the upper surface of both ends of the ice water tank 63 is forced downward to allow the cam 95 to descend. Lifting force is provided by the spring 64

As illustrated in FIG. 6, the ice sensor 80 is mounted on the support frame 60 so as to face the contact deformation detecting member 81 and the contact deformation detecting member 81 installed on the support frame 61. The sensor 85 is provided.

The contact deformation detecting member 81 is a silicon molding, and is fixed to the other side of the support frame 61, that is, the other side of the support frame 60 opposite to the shaft portion 61a. Therefore, when the contact deformation detecting member 81 contacts the ice in the ice storage tank 51 while the ice water tank assembly 60 is rotated downward, the contact deformation detecting member 81 becomes elastically deformable by the contact force. The contact deformation detecting member 81 has a body 82 having both ends 82a fixed to the side surfaces of the support frame 60 and having a space portion 82b at the center thereof, and the body (from the tip of the body 82). A contact portion 83 thinner than the contact portion 82 and a sensing protrusion 84 protruding from the contact portion 83 into the space portion 82b are spaced apart from each other at a predetermined interval. The sensing protrusion 84 is provided with a receiving groove 84a into which the magnet or the metal member 86 is fitted. As shown in FIG. 7, when the contact portion 83 is deformed, ie bent, by the ice, the sensing protrusion 84 is bent to one side with the contact portion 83 so as to be farther from the sensor 85. do.

The sensor 85 is a hall sensor that measures magnetic force, that is, a pulse generated between the metal member 86, to determine whether the metal member 86 is at or outside the constant distance. Detect it. That is, the sensor 85 measures the magnitude of the pulse signal generated between the metal members 86, and when the change range exceeds a predetermined error range, the contact portion 83 touches the ice in the ice storage tank 51. It can be detected as.

A method of controlling the operation of the ice maker using the ice maker having the above configuration will be described below.

Referring to FIG. 8, the controller determines whether the ice maker is in the ice making stop mode at step S10. In the case of the ice making stop mode, it is determined whether a predetermined time has resulted (S11). If the predetermined time has not elapsed, the predetermined time continues to the ice making stop mode. On the contrary, when a predetermined time has elapsed, the ice water tank assembly 60 is lowered downward and the cooling plate 70 is instantaneously heated (S14). This process is to remove the ice-water groove remaining in the ice-water groove (63a) of the ice-water tank 63, and to shake off the small ice stuck to the cooling projection (70a). Heating of the cooling plate 70 is enabled by supplying a high temperature gas to the evaporation tube 71.

On the other hand, if it is determined in the step (S10) that the non-stop mode, it is determined whether the information about the ice filled state in the ice storage tank 51 is obtained (S12). When the ice is not full, the ice making unit detects whether ice making is completed (S13). When the ice making is completed, the above-described step 14 is performed to drop the iced ice to the ice storage tank 51. This state becomes a state as shown in FIG.

Subsequently, it is detected whether the ice water tank assembly 60 is in the upward direction again, that is, it is rising (S15). When it is detected that the ice bath assembly 60 is rising, it is determined whether the contact with the ice is detected by the sensor 80 (S16). When the ice detection signal is input, it is determined whether the initial pulse signal detected by the sensor 80, that is, the initial value of the pulse signal generated when the ice tank assembly 60 starts to rise (S17). If the initial value is a reference value, after detecting the initial value, the controller detects whether the initial value has been constant for a certain period of time, that is, several seconds (S18). If the initial value is maintained for a predetermined time in this step (S18), the control unit recognizes that the ice storage tank 51 is not full of ice (S19). Then, it is determined whether the ice bath assembly 60 has moved to the upper position, that is, the original position (S22). If the ice bath assembly 60 is not located in the original position, it moves to the original position (S23). On the contrary, when the ice water tank assembly 60 is in place, it is determined once again whether the ice storage tank 51 is full of ice (S24), and if not, the ice defrosting operation mode continues.

On the other hand, if the pulse signal measured in the step (S17) is not high, that is, lower than the reference value, it is determined whether the low pulse signal lasted for a predetermined time (S20). If it continues, the control part recognizes that ice is full (S21). In this case, the controller stops the operation of the ice maker after the steps S22 and S24, and switches to the ice making stop mode (S25). In addition, after the step S21, the steps S22 and S23 may be passed, in which case, starting from the step S10 again, the step S12 to S24 to S25 may be performed from the step S12. It can be switched to the ice making stop mode in order.

As described above, according to the ice-making operation control method of the ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention, it is determined whether the ice storage tank 51 is full through the sensor 80 in the ice-making operation mode, the information It is possible to switch to the ice making stop mode by stopping the driving of the ice making unit by using. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the ice making unit or the like from being unnecessarily driven and to save energy such as power used for driving various devices.

In addition, although not described in the present embodiment, the transition to the ice making operation, that is, the restart operation is performed in a state in which the ice is full and then in the stop mode, whether a predetermined time has elapsed or an artificial ice discharge amount is calculated to determine whether the ice is full again. After sensing, it decides whether to restart. Since this operation step is outside the gist of the present invention, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In addition, in the embodiment of the present invention, when the ice water tank assembly 60 rises in the lowered state, it is determined whether the ice is full based on the pulse signal generated from the sensor 80, but this is merely exemplary. Do. That is, when the ice bath assembly 60 descends, it may be determined whether the ice is full by using a pulse signal generated by the sensor 80. In addition, the configuration of the sensor 80 may be changed so that the reference value is a low pulse number signal.

According to the ice-making operation control method of the ice maker of the present invention as described above, it is possible to detect whether the ice is full in the ice storage tank to convert to the ice-making operation stop mode to prevent the over-operation of the ice maker.

Claims (5)

It is installed on the upper portion of the ice storage tank to be rotated downward by a predetermined angle, the ice-water tank assembly is filled with ice-making water, and the cooling plate is installed on the upper portion of the ice-water tank assembly and repeatedly immersed in the ice-making water to cool the ice An ice making unit comprising a; In the ice-making operation control method of the ice machine comprising a; sensor for detecting whether the ice in the ice storage tank is full, Ice making at the bottom of the cooling plate; Lowering the ice tank assembly and dropping the iced ice into the ice storage tank; Detecting whether the ice storage tank is full of ice after the ice has fallen; And Determining an ice making stop mode or an ice making operation progress mode according to the detection result. The method of claim 1, wherein the detecting of the fullness comprises: Providing an ice detecting sensor provided at one side of the ice water tank assembly and deforming upon contact with ice and generating a high or low pulse signal from an initial value according to the degree of deformation; A measurement / comparison step of measuring a pulse signal generated by the ice sensor at the beginning of the return operation of the ice water tank assembly and comparing it with the initial value; If the measured value is equal to the initial value, measuring whether the value is maintained for a predetermined time; And And determining that the ice reservoir is full of ice when the measured value is not maintained for a predetermined time. The method of claim 2, wherein the initial value is a high level, and when the sensor contacts the ice, a low level pulse signal is generated. The method of claim 2 or 3, wherein the detecting of the fullness comprises: Measuring whether the other measured value lasts for a predetermined time when the initial value and the measured value are different in the measuring / compare step; And And determining that the ice storage tank is full of ice when the other measured value lasts for a predetermined time. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, And determining that the ice tank is full of ice before returning the ice tank assembly to the original position, before determining the ice making operation stop mode.