KR20060125456A - Ice maker & controlling method for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

An icing machine and a control method thereof are provided to simplify the structure of the icing machine, to produce a large amount of ice in a short time, to reduce energy consumption for separating ices from the icing machine, and to easily secure volume of an icing tray. An icing machine(100) comprises an icing tray rotatively formed with an icing chamber(112) to make ice; an ice bank(120) storing ice separated from the icing tray; and an ice filling sensing unit detecting whether the ice bank is filled by rotating the icing tray. The ice filling sensing unit is a sensor for detecting whether the icing tray is rotated. The ice filling sensing unit has a filler arm rotatively installed at one side of the icing tray.

Description

Ice maker and control method {Ice maker & Controlling method for the same}

1 is a perspective view showing a conventional general ice making apparatus;

2 is a schematic view showing an operation of the ice making apparatus of FIG.

3 is a schematic view showing a part of a refrigerator according to the present invention;

4 is a perspective view showing an example of an ice making apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

5 is a cross-sectional view showing an example in which the rotating shaft is provided on one side of the ice tray in the ice making apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

6 is a perspective view showing an example having two ice trays side by side in the ice making apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

7 is a schematic view showing the ice tray of FIG. 6 in a state of ice making;

8A is a schematic view showing a state where ice is caught while the ice tray of FIG. 7 rotates in a forward direction;

FIG. 8B is a schematic view showing a state where ice is caught while the ice tray of FIG. 7 rotates in the reverse direction; FIG.

9 is a schematic view showing a state in which the ice making tray of FIG.

10 is a view showing an ice making apparatus according to a second embodiment and a third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a schematic view showing the ice tray of FIG. 10 in a state of ice making; FIG.

12 is a schematic view showing a state in which the ice making tray of FIG. 10 rotates in the forward direction during the ice detection step;

FIG. 13A is a schematic diagram showing a state where ice is caught while the ice tray of FIG. 10 rotates in a forward direction; FIG.

FIG. 13B is a schematic view showing a state in which the ice tray of FIG. 10 rotates in the reverse direction; FIG.

FIG. 14 is a schematic view showing that the ice making tray of FIG. 10 is in a returning step or a waiting step; FIG.

15 is a schematic view showing a state in which the filler arm of the ice tray of the ice making apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention is caught in ice;

16 is a flowchart illustrating a control method of the ice making apparatus according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention; And,

17 is a flowchart illustrating a control method of an ice making apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

* Explanation of Signs of Major Parts of Drawings

100: ice maker 102: shaft

104: heater 106: drive device

108: water supply unit 110: ice tray

112: ice making room 114: partition plate

116 unit room 120 ice bank

122: ice 170: pillar arm

S110: ice making step S120: ice making completion determination step

S130: ice detection step S140: discharge step

S150: return step S160: standby step

The present invention relates to an ice making apparatus and a control method thereof, the structure of which is simple and can separate ice from the ice making tray with a small amount of energy.

A typical refrigerator is divided into a freezer compartment and a refrigerator compartment, and the refrigerator compartment is maintained at a temperature of about 3 to 4 ° C. so that food and vegetables can be kept fresh and long, and the freezer compartment has a temperature below zero to keep meat and food frozen. Is maintained.

Recently, the refrigerator has an ice making device that automatically performs a series of processes related to ice making without user interaction, and an ice making device for conveniently obtaining ice, and a dispenser for making ice or water available outside the refrigerator. Various functions are being added to the refrigerator to make it easier to use. 1 and 2 illustrate an example of an icemaker for a refrigerator, which will be described in more detail below with reference to these drawings.

The general ice making apparatus 10 includes an ice making tray 11 forming an ice making chamber in which ice is generated, a water supply unit 12 formed at one side of the ice making tray 11, and supplying water to the ice making chamber, and the ice making tray. A heater 17 mounted on a lower surface of the 11, an ejector 14 for discharging the ice generated by the ice making tray 11 to the outside, a driver 13 for driving the ejector 14, And an ice bank 20 for receiving and storing the ice generated by the ice making tray 11, and a full ice detection device 15 for detecting the amount of ice filled in the ice bank 20.

The water supply unit 12 is connected to a water supply source (not shown) outside the refrigerator, and supplies water into the ice tray 11 when the ice making is required. The ice tray 11 has a substantially semi-cylindrical cross section and has partition plates for separating the ice tray into a plurality of unit chambers so that a plurality of pieces of ice can be produced in the ice tray 11.

The heater 17 is mounted on the lower surface of the ice making tray 11 as shown in FIG. 2, and the ice is separated from the ice making tray 11 by heating the ice making tray 11 to melt the ice. Let it be.

The ejector 14 includes a rotating shaft installed to cross the center of the ice making tray 11 and a plurality of ejector pins 14a protruding vertically from the rotating shaft. Each ejector pin 14a is installed in a one-to-one correspondence in each unit chamber partitioned by the partition plates, so that the ice in each unit chamber is released from the ice making tray 11 as the ejector pin 14a rotates. Discharged.

On the side where the ice is discharged from the ice making tray 11, the slide 16 is inclined downward to the vicinity of the rotating shaft of the ejector 14. Accordingly, the ice discharged from the ice making tray 11 is stored in the ice bank 20 disposed under the ice making apparatus 10 after sliding the slide 16.

The ice sensor 15 checks the amount of ice filled in the ice bank 20 while moving in the vertical direction by the driving unit 13. If the ice bank 20 is filled with ice, the ice detection device 15 may not be sufficiently lowered, thereby detecting whether the ice bank 20 is full.

The above-mentioned general ice maker for a refrigerator requires a heater, an ejector, and a driving device for the ejector to separate the ice from the ice tray. In addition, in order to detect whether or not the ice bank is full, a full ice detection device and a driving device therefor are required. Therefore, there is a problem that many components are complicated and the production cost increases.

In addition, in a typical refrigerator ice maker, the ice detection device should rotate to detect whether the ice bank is full. Therefore, a large space for the rotation of the ice detection device should be secured next to the ice tray. Therefore, the size of the ice making tray was inevitably designed to be relatively small, thereby making it impossible to produce a large amount of ice in a short time.

In addition, a general refrigerator ice maker should sufficiently heat the ice tray using the heater before the ice in the ice tray is used to spread the ice in the ice tray. This is because the ice can be separated from the ice tray without damaging the ejector and drive. Therefore, the heater must be heated for a long time, whereby a large amount of energy is consumed. In addition, since the ice melts excessively, water is also splashed together when the ice is discharged by the ejector. Water splashed out of the ice making tray is introduced into the ice bank and binds the ice in the ice bank. Thereby, there is a problem that it is difficult to automatically discharge the ice in the ice bank to the dispenser of the refrigerator.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problem, and its object is to simplify the structure of the ice making apparatus.

Another object of the present invention is to improve the structure of the ice making apparatus so that a large amount of ice can be produced in a short time.

Another object of the present invention is to reduce the energy consumption of the ice making apparatus for ice-making.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide an ice-covering sensing device having a structure advantageous for securing a volume of an ice making tray and a control method thereof.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is provided with an ice making chamber for freezing ice, rotatably provided; An ice bank for storing ice iced from the ice tray; It is provided with an ice making device comprising: a ice detection unit for detecting whether the ice bank is full of ice while the ice tray is rotated.

The ice detection unit may be a sensor for detecting whether the ice tray is rotated.

In addition, the ice-covering unit may further include a pillar arm rotatably provided at one side of the ice tray.

And the filler arm is limited in rotation angle such that the filler arm is not rotated more than a predetermined angle in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation of the ice making apparatus.

In addition, the ice-covering unit and the filler arm rotatably provided on one side of the ice tray; Sensor for detecting the rotation angle of the pillar arm can be made, including.

The pillar arm may be provided to freely rotate with respect to the ice tray.

In addition, the sensor is preferably a sensor for detecting whether the filler arm is directed in the direction of gravity.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the volume of the ice detection unit for detecting the amount of ice in the ice bank is reduced to a minimum, thereby increasing the volume of the ice making chamber.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, preferred embodiments of the ice making apparatus of the present invention will be described.

3 schematically shows a refrigerator to which an ice making apparatus according to the present invention is applied. The refrigerator according to the present invention has at least one cooling chamber, for example, a refrigerating chamber 1 and a freezing chamber 2. The cooling chambers comprise an evaporator 4, a compressor 3, and a cooling fan 5 for supplying cool air around the evaporator 4 to the cooling chambers. The cooling chambers may be cooled by one evaporator 4 and one cooling fan 5 or may be independently cooled by a plurality of evaporators and cooling fans. The freezing chamber 2 is provided with an ice making apparatus 100 according to the present invention for making ice, and an ice bank 120 for receiving and storing ice made by the ice making apparatus 100 under the ice making apparatus 100. ) Is placed.

In the ice making apparatus 100 according to the present invention, an ice making tray is rotatable unlike a general ice making apparatus. Thus, the self-weight of the ice can be used at the time of ice, thereby reducing the energy required to separate the ice from the ice tray. The ice making apparatus 100 according to the present invention is provided with a separating device and a discharging device to help discharge of ice by the rotation of the ice tray. The separating device and the discharging device independently or in combination with heat or kinetic energy at the boundary between the ice and the ice making tray to effectively assist the discharge of ice during rotation of the ice making tray.

4 to 9, the first embodiment of the ice making apparatus of the present invention will be described.

The ice making chamber 112 which receives water to produce ice has a semi-cylindrical shape with, for example, an open top. As shown in FIG. 4, one ice tray 112 may be provided in one ice tray 109, and two ice trays 112 may be arranged in a single ice tray 110 as shown in FIG. 6. have. Of course, a plurality of the ice making chambers 112 may be provided in the ice making tray 110 or may have a shape other than a semi-cylindrical shape.

The ice making unit 100 according to the present invention does not occupy a large turning radius as in the prior art. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the ice tray 110 of the ice making apparatus 100 according to the present invention can make the width of the ice tray 110 much larger than that of the conventional art, so that the plurality of ice trays 112 can be arranged side by side. As a result, a large amount of ice can be produced at one time.

The ice making chamber is divided into a plurality of unit chambers 116 by a plurality of partition plates 114 protruding from the inner circumferential surface of the ice making tray 110. Accordingly, the ice making tray 110 is formed by a plurality of pieces of ice at a time. I can make it. The partition plates 114 are elongated along the direction of rotation of the ice tray 110, for example, so that the ice can be smoothly discharged when the ice tray 110 is rotated.

Conventional ice trays required slides to guide the ice discharged by the ejector to an ice bank disposed below the ice maker. However, the ice making apparatus 100 according to the present invention rotates the ice making tray 110 to discharge the ice in the ice making tray 110 to the ice bank 120. Therefore, since the components corresponding to the conventional slides may not be provided in the ice tray 110, the structure of the ice tray 110 is simple.

One side of the ice making tray 110 is provided with a water supply unit 108 for supplying water to the ice making chamber. The water supply unit 108 is connected to an external water supply source, and supplies a predetermined amount of water to the ice making chamber 112 when ice making is required in a state where ice in the ice making tray 110 is iced.

For example, the ice tray 110 may be installed to rotate about an axis 102 disposed at the center thereof, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, or at one side thereof as shown in FIG. 5. It may be installed to rotate about the axis (102a) disposed. When the shaft 102a of the ice making tray 110 is disposed at one side of the ice making tray 110, the rotation radius of the ice making tray 110 is increased.

In order to rotate the ice tray 110, a driving device 106 is provided at one side of the ice tray 110. The drive unit 106 includes components connected to a drive shaft (not shown) substantially coaxial with the shaft 102, and the ice making tray 110 is connected to the drive shaft. The driving device 106 may be configured to rotate the ice tray 110 in a forward direction and a reverse direction or continuously rotate in one direction.

However, in order to prevent the wires connecting the driving device 106 and the components that may be mounted on the ice making tray 110 by the rotation of the ice making tray 110, the driving of the driving device 106 is performed. The device 106 is preferably capable of forward / reverse rotation. Meanwhile, the driving device 106 may include a step motor configured to rotate the ice making tray 110 in a forward or reverse direction by a predetermined angle, for example, 180 ° or 90 °.

Meanwhile, the ice tray 110 may be detachably connected to the driving device 106. Then, ice trays having various shapes and ice making capacities can be selectively mounted and used. Therefore, not only the user's taste can be satisfied, but also the amount of one-time ice making can be adjusted appropriately.

In addition, a temperature sensor (not shown) may be installed at one side of the ice making tray 110 to determine whether the ice making is completed by measuring the temperature of the ice making tray 110.

And, in the ice tray, separating means for heating the ice to be separated from the ice tray 110 is provided. Generally, as the separating means, a heater 104 for separating ice and an ice tray using heat is applied.

The heater 104 may be mounted to be in physical contact with the ice making tray 110 or may be disposed away from the ice making tray 110 by a predetermined distance. For reference, FIG. 4 illustrates an example in which the heater 104 is disposed to cross the bottom surface of the ice making tray 110.

In addition, although not shown in the drawing, the heater 104 may be arranged to surround one surface, for example, a bottom surface of the ice making tray 110. The heater 104 may be embedded in the ice tray 110 or may be provided on an inner surface of the ice tray 110. Furthermore, at least a part of the ice making tray 110 may be configured to perform a role of the heater by being made of a heat generating resistor when electricity is applied.

As another example, the ice making apparatus 100 may include a heat source, which is different from the heater, disposed away from the ice making tray 110. Examples of the heat source may include a light source for irradiating light to at least one of the ice and the ice making tray 110, or a magnetron for irradiating microwaves to at least one of the ice and the ice making tray.

As described above, a heat source such as a heater, a light source, or a magnetron applies at least one of the ice and the ice making tray 110 or a boundary thereof to the at least one portion of the ice and the ice making tray 110. Melt it slightly. Accordingly, when the ice tray 110 is rotated, the ice is separated from the ice tray 110 by its own weight even when the boundary surface is not thawed.

Therefore, according to the present invention, since the ice can be performed even if a small amount of energy is input than the conventional ice making device, the energy consumption can be reduced. Of course, since the amount of thawing is small, less water is generated during ice-taking, thereby effectively preventing water from falling from the ice making tray 110 to the ice bank 120 during ice-taking.

On the other hand, when a heat source such as a heater is arranged to heat the ice tray 110, the ice tray 110 is gradually heated to melt the interface with the ice. However, the portion adjacent to the heat source of the interface melts quickly and much, while the portion away from the heat source melts late and less. Therefore, even if the ice making tray 110 is inverted and iced using the own weight of the ice, it is difficult to completely prevent the occurrence of excessive excessive sea ice on the interface.

Therefore, in order to effectively prevent the ice melts excessively and the water falls during the rotation of the ice tray 110, a method and time for supplying the thermal energy supplied to the interface between the ice and the ice tray 110, etc. It would be desirable to control appropriately.

To this end, the present invention proposes to apply high energy to the boundary between the ice tray 110 and the ice in a short time. For example, when a high voltage is instantaneously applied to the heater 104 that heats the ice making tray 110, the heater 104 instantly generates a high temperature and thus the ice making tray 110 also heats instantly. At least partly melts the interface between the ice and the ice tray. At this time, if the ice tray 110 is already rotated or rotates, the ice is separated from the ice tray 110 by its own weight before the boundary surface is locally excessively thawed. Therefore, it is possible to effectively prevent water from falling during the rotation of the ice tray 110 by excessive thawing of ice.

When high heat energy is applied to the interface between the ice and the ice making tray 110 in a short time, the ice may be removed from the ice making tray 110 with the minimum amount of thawing required for the ice using its own weight as described above. Can be separated. However, if the supply time of the thermal energy is not properly limited, the ice making tray 110 may be heated more than necessary even after the ice is discharged, resulting in excessive consumption of power and heat loss.

Therefore, the supply time of the thermal energy is preferably limited to until the force due to the weight of the ice exceeds the bonding force to be combined with the ice making chamber 112. In other words, even if the interface between the ice and the ice making tray 110 is not completely melted, the supply time of the thermal energy is limited until the ice is forcibly separated by its own weight.

For this purpose, the control is performed to supply the thermal energy during the optimal heat energy supply time obtained experimentally, the weight change of the ice tray 110 is detected, or whether the ice is discharged from the ice tray 110. It may be checked to control the supply time of the thermal energy.

As such, when the time of applying high thermal energy to the boundary between the ice and the ice making tray 110 in a short time is controlled, the minimum amount of thawing required for separation by the self-weight of the ice is obtained. It is possible to effectively prevent the occurrence of falling water during the rotation of the tray 110. Of course, heat loss and waste of power can also be prevented.

Even if the supply of the thermal energy is optimally controlled, ice may be somewhat melted to generate water. Then, the generated water may fall into the ice bank 120 when the ice tray 110 rotates.

Therefore, the ice making apparatus 100 of the present invention preferably includes a fall prevention unit 130 to prevent water generated by melting ice in the ice making chamber 112 from falling out of the ice making tray 110.

The fall prevention unit 130 collects the water generated by melting the ice so as to accumulate in the fall prevention unit 130 when the ice making tray 110 rotates, and when the ice making tray 110 returns to the initial position again. It is preferable that the accumulated water flows into the ice making chamber 112.

In addition, the ice bank 120 is provided with a full ice detection unit for detecting whether or not the ice is full.

7 to 8b are views illustrating how the ice making apparatus of the first embodiment according to the present invention detects the ice level.

First, for convenience of description, the rotation of the ice making tray 110 in the clockwise direction is referred to as forward rotation, and the rotation in the counterclockwise direction is referred to as reverse rotation. And these rules apply equally in the following description.

The ice detection unit may be provided to measure whether the ice bank 120 is iced while the ice tray 110 rotates.

Here, the ice detection unit is preferably made of a sensor (not shown) for detecting whether the ice tray 110 is rotated.

In addition, when the ice tray 110 rotates, the outermost portion of the ice tray 110 may be configured to pass the high ice level of the ice bank 120.

The ice level is a height at which the ice bank 120 is filled with ice and can no longer receive ice. Since the ice level is a value that depends on the shape and volume of the ice bank 120 and the amount of ice discharged from the ice tray 110 at one time, the ice level is not specified herein.

Therefore, when ice making is completed and the ice making tray 110 rotates, if the height of the ice in the ice bank 120 is below the ice level, the rotation of the ice making tray 110 is not hindered and thus can be smoothly rotated. .

By the way, if the height of the ice of the ice bank 120 is filled up to the ice level, as shown in Figure 8a when the ice tray 110 rotates, the ice tray 110 to the ice 122 The rotation stops.

Then, the sensor (not shown) detects that the ice tray 110 is not rotated and determines that the ice 122 is filled to the ice level in the ice bank 120.

In addition, when it is determined that the ice bank 120 reaches the high ice level by stopping the ice tray 110, as shown in FIG. 9, it is preferable to reversely rotate the ice tray 110 to return to an initial state. .

Although not shown in the drawings, such a sensor may be provided in the shaft 102 or the driving device 106 of the ice making tray 110 to sense the rotation of the ice making tray 110. In addition, if the time required for the ice making tray 110 to rotate is constant, it may be determined whether or not the ice making tray 110 reaches a specific position for a certain time. In this case, the sensor may include a magnet (not shown) and a hall sensor (not shown).

For example, a magnet may be installed in the rotatable ice making tray 110, and a hall sensor may be installed in another fixed part so as to correspond to the magnet. Then, as the ice tray 110 rotates, the relative position between the hall sensor and the magnet changes, and accordingly, the ice bank 120 may be determined whether or not the ice bank 120 is full based on the strength of the voltage output from the hall sensor. Will be.

Specifically, for example, when the ice bank 120 is full of ice, the ice making tray 110 may not rotate backward to return to its original position or to return to the original position after the ice is discharged. Then, the ice tray 110 stops rotating, and thus, since the magnetic force of the magnet does not act on the hall sensor, the ice bank 120 may detect the full ice based on the voltage output from the hall sensor. It will be possible.

Therefore, since the ice-covering unit for detecting whether the ice bank 120 is full is implemented as a sensor provided inside the ice making apparatus 100 and the rotating ice tray 110, the structure is simplified, thereby reducing the production cost. In addition, since it is not necessary to secure a space for the ice making apparatus of the conventional ice making apparatus, the size of the ice making tray 110 may be increased to increase the amount of ice making.

Next, a second embodiment of the ice making apparatus according to the present invention will be described.

10 to 14 show a second embodiment of the ice making apparatus according to the present invention.

The ice making apparatus of this embodiment is substantially the same as the ice making apparatus of the first embodiment described above in many parts. However, since the configuration of the ice detection unit is different, the configuration of the ice detection unit will be described below.

In addition, for the convenience of description, the same parts as the above-described embodiments of the components constituting the present embodiment will be omitted and the same reference numerals will be used.

The ice-covering unit applied to the second embodiment of the ice making apparatus according to the present invention may include a sensor for detecting the rotation of the ice tray and a pillar arm 170 rotatably provided at one side of the ice tray.

Here, the sensor is the same as the sensor of the first embodiment described above.

In addition, the pillar arm may be rotatably provided at one side of the ice making tray 110, and more preferably, the filler arm may be provided at a side that first descends downward when the ice making tray 110 rotates. .

In addition, one side of the pillar arm 170 is hinged to the ice tray 110, the pillar arm 170 is free to rotate by its own weight and the rotation angle is preferably provided to be limited.

Here, the rotation angle of the pillar arm 170 is preferably limited to not rotate outside the 90 ° in the opposite direction in which the ice tray 110 rotates in the forward direction.

In addition, the length of the filler arm 170 is preferably formed so that the outer end of the pillar arm 170 passes the ice level of the ice bank 120 when the ice tray 110 rotates.

Therefore, when ice making is completed and the ice making tray 110 rotates as shown in FIG. 12, if the height of the ice 122 of the ice bank 120 is below the high ice level, the rotation of the ice making tray 110 is performed. Undisturbed, the circle can rotate.

However, if the height of the ice of the ice bank 120 is filled up to the ice level, as shown in FIG. 13A, when the ice tray 110 rotates, the filler arm 170 may contact the ice 122. Contact. At this time, since the pillar arm 170 is provided so as not to rotate more than a predetermined angle in a direction opposite to the rotation direction of the ice making tray 110, the rotation of the ice making tray 110 is stopped.

Then, the sensor detects that the ice tray 110 is not rotated and determines that the ice 122 fills the ice bank 120 to the height of the ice.

However, in order to discharge the ice, when the ice tray 110 is rotated forward, the ice 122 is below the height of the ice but the ice is discharged from the ice tray 110 to become the ice level. have.

In this case, in the above-described first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8B, the ice tray 110 is caught in the ice 122 in an inverted state, and thus the height of the ice 122 in the state cannot be rotated. It will stop until it descends.

However, in the state where the ice making tray 110 is inclined as described above, water is filled in the fall prevention unit 130. If the situation persists, the accumulated water of the fall prevention unit 130 is frozen. When the water is frozen in the fall prevention unit 130, the water is not accumulated in the fall prevention unit 130 from the next rotation can overflow to fall into the ice bank 120.

However, according to the second embodiment of the present invention, since the filler arm 170 may rotate as shown in FIG. 13B, the ice making tray 110 may return to the initial position as shown in FIG. 14. Can be prevented that the fall prevention unit 130 is clogged with ice does not occur.

In addition, the pillar arm 170 is not rotated to the side space of the ice making tray 110, and is opposed to the ice making tray 110 so as to face a direction perpendicular to the ground when the ice making tray 110 rotates. Since it detects the ice while rotating, there is no need to secure the side space of the ice making tray 110 for the filler arm 170, which is advantageous in securing the volume of the ice making tray 110.

In addition, since the pillar arm 170 is rotated along the rotation of the ice making tray, there is no need for a separate device for driving the pillar arm 170, thereby simplifying the structure.

In the following, the control method of the ice making apparatus according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention described above will be described.

The control method of the ice making apparatus according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention is the ice making step (S110), the ice making completion determination step (S120), and the ice level detection step (S130) and the discharge step (S140) , A returning step (S150), and a waiting step (S160).

First, in the ice making step S110 of freezing ice on the ice making tray 110, the ice making tray 110 is in an initial state horizontal to the ground as shown in FIGS. 7 and 11. When it is determined that ice making is completed, the ice bank 120 detects whether the ice is filled up to the ice level (S130).

When the ice detection step S130 is performed, as shown in FIGS. 8A and 12, the ice tray 110 starts to rotate and inclines. At this time, the filler arm 170 provided in the ice making device of the second embodiment rotates by its own weight by an angle rotated by the ice making tray 110 in a direction opposite to the direction in which the ice making tray 110 rotates. The tip always faces in a direction perpendicular to the ground.

In the case of the ice making apparatus according to the first embodiment, if the ice bank 120 is not in an iced state, the ice tray 110 may continue to rotate because there is no jam.

In addition, in the second exemplary embodiment, since the ice making tray 110 rotates, there is no jam at the end of the filler arm 170, so that the rotation can be continued.

Therefore, the sensor (not shown) detects that there is no jam in the rotation of the ice making tray 110, and determines that the ice bank 120 is not in an iced state to discharge the ice to the ice bank 120 (S140). Is implemented.

Then, after the discharging step of discharging the ice 122 to the ice bank 120, a return step S150 is performed in which the ice making tray 110 returns to the initial state shown in FIGS. 7 and 11 for re-ice. Can be.

On the other hand, if the ice bank 120 is in a full ice state in the ice detection step (S130), in the case of the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8A, the ice making tray 110 is caught on ice 122 and cannot rotate. .

In addition, in the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 13A, the filler arm 170 is caught in ice. At this time, since the rotation angle of the pillar arm 170 is limited in a direction opposite to the forward rotation direction of the ice making tray 110, the pillar arm 170 may not rotate any more, and thus the ice making tray 110 may be rotated. Will not even rotate.

Then, the ice bank 120 may determine that the ice bank 120 is in the full ice state by detecting that the ice tray 110 does not rotate by a sensor (not shown) that detects whether the ice tray 110 rotates.

When the ice bank 120 is determined to be full in the full ice detection step S130, the waiting step S160 is performed.

In the waiting step (S160), as shown in Figure 9 and 14, the ice tray 110 is rotated back to the initial position, and after waiting for a predetermined time is made to perform the ice detection step (S130). Can be.

Hereinafter, a third embodiment of the ice making apparatus according to the present invention will be described.

The ice making apparatus of this embodiment is substantially the same as the ice making apparatus of the second embodiment described above in many parts. However, since the configuration of the ice detection unit is different, the configuration of the ice detection unit will be described below.

10 to 12, and 14 and 15 show a third embodiment of the ice making apparatus according to the present invention.

10 to 12 and 14 are views described in the above-described second embodiment. Since the shape is the same in the present embodiment, the description of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

In addition, for the convenience of description, the same parts as those of the above-described embodiment will be omitted and the same reference numerals will be used in the components constituting the present embodiment. I will explain this.

In the following description of the third embodiment, reference numeral 170 of the pillar arm illustrated in FIGS. 10 to 12 and 14 is referred to as reference numeral 270.

The ice-covering unit applied to the third embodiment of the ice making apparatus according to the present invention is a pillar arm 270 rotatably provided at one side of the ice tray 110, and a sensor for detecting a rotation angle of the pillar arm. H).

Here, the pillar arm 270 is similar to the pillar arm 170 of the second embodiment described above. However, the pillar arm 170 of the second embodiment described above is limited in the rotation angle, whereas the pillar arm 270 of the present embodiment is provided so as to allow free rotation without the rotation angle being limited.

The sensor of the second embodiment detects whether the ice tray 110 is rotated, whereas the sensor of this embodiment detects the rotation angle of the pillar arm 270.

Accordingly, the sensor may be mounted at a portion where the pillar arm 270 is hinged to the ice making tray 110 to detect the rotation angle of the pillar arm 270.

More preferably, the sensor (not shown) detects whether the tip of the pillar arm 270 faces the direction of gravity, that is, the direction perpendicular to the ground.

That is, the filler arm 270 is rotated relative to the ice tray 110 by its own weight so that the tip is always maintained in a direction perpendicular to the ground, if the tip of the filler arm 270 is ice 122 If the contact is in contact with the ground does not maintain the direction perpendicular to the inclined as shown in Figure 15, so the sensor can determine that the ice bank 12 is in the ice state.

Alternatively, when the ice bank 120 is not in the ice state, the pillar arm 270 is rotated by the angle at which the ice tray 110 is rotated in the opposite direction in which the ice tray 110 rotates. . However, when the filler arm 270 is caught in the ice 122 in the full ice state, the filler arm 270 rotates more or less than the rotation angle of the ice making tray 110. It can be determined that the state is full ice.

Hereinafter, a control method of the ice making apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described.

The control method of the ice making apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention is the ice making step (S210), the ice making completion determination step (S220), and the full ice detection step (S230) and the discharge step (S240), the return step (S250) , And the wait step (S260).

First, in the ice making step (S210) in which ice is frozen in the ice making tray 110, the ice making tray 110 is in an initial state horizontal to the ground as shown in FIG. 11, and when it is determined that ice making is completed (S220) The ice detection step S230 is performed to determine whether the ice is filled up to the ice level in the bank 120. Then, as shown in FIG. 12, the ice making tray 110 starts to rotate and tilts. At this time, the pillar arm 270 is freely rotated by its own weight by an angle of rotation of the ice tray 110 in a direction opposite to the direction in which the ice tray 110 rotates, so that its tip is always perpendicular to the ground. Will face.

If the ice bank 120 is not in an iced state, the filler arm 270 rotates relative to the opposite direction in which the ice tray 110 rotates, and thus the tip thereof always faces the gravity direction. It is determined that the ice is not the ice discharge step (S240) for discharging the ice 122 to the ice bank 120 is performed.

Then, after the discharge step (S240) for discharging the ice 122 to the ice bank 120, a return step (S250) for returning the ice tray 110 to the initial state shown in FIG. Can be.

On the other hand, if the ice bank 120 is in full ice, the tip of the filler arm 270 that rotates relative to the ice tray 110 is caught by the ice 122 as shown in FIG. 13A. At this time, since the pillar arm 270 is not limited to the rotation angle, as shown in FIG. 15, the pillar arm 270 is not inclined toward the gravity direction and is inclined.

Then, the sensor detects that the pillar arm 270 is not facing the direction of gravity, and thus may determine that the ice bank 120 is in an iced state.

If the ice bank 120 is determined to be full ice in the full ice detection step, the waiting step S260 is performed.

In the waiting step (S260), as shown in FIG. 14, the ice making tray 110 may be reversely rotated to return to the initial position, and after the waiting time for a predetermined time, the ice detection step S230 may be performed.

Although several embodiments have been described above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be embodied in many other forms without departing from the spirit and scope thereof.

Accordingly, the described embodiments are to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive, and all embodiments within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents are included within the scope of the present invention.

As described above, the ice making apparatus of the present invention has the following effects.

First, the conventional structure had to leave a space for discharging ice on one side of the ice making apparatus for discharging the ice, but according to the ice making apparatus of the present invention, the ice is discharged using the space secured while the ice tray is rotated. Since the ice making space can be increased, the amount of ice making is improved.

Second, since the force generated by the self-weight of the ice can be used for the discharge of the ice, the operating time of the heater can be shortened, thereby saving energy.

Third, since the operating time of the heater is shortened, there is an effect to minimize the amount of ice melted by the heating of the heater, accordingly there is an effect that can minimize the falling water.

Fourth, according to the first embodiment of the ice making apparatus according to the invention there is no need for a structure such as a separate filler arm for the ice-covering unit has the effect of simplifying the structure, and thus does not require a separate space for the ice-covering unit There is an effect that can increase the volume of the ice tray.

Fifth, according to the second and third embodiments of the ice making apparatus according to the present invention, there is no need for a separate device for driving the filler arm constituting the ice-covering unit, so that the structure is simplified.

Sixth, according to the second and third embodiments of the ice making apparatus according to the present invention, the pillar arm is rotated relative to the vertical to the ground when the ice tray is rotated, thereby driving the pillar arm on the side of the ice tray Since there is no need to secure space for this, there is an advantageous effect in enlarging the volume of the ice making tray.

Claims (9)

An ice making tray which freezes ice and is rotatably provided; An ice bank for storing the ice iced from the ice tray; An ice making device, comprising: a ice detection unit for detecting whether the ice bank is full while the ice tray is rotated. The method of claim 1, The ice making unit is a sensor for detecting whether the ice tray is rotated. The method of claim 2, The ice making device further comprises a filler arm rotatably provided at one side of the ice making tray. The method of claim 3, And the filler arm is limited in rotation angle such that the filler arm is not rotated more than a predetermined angle in a direction opposite to the rotation direction of the ice making apparatus. The method of claim 1, The ice-covering unit is a pillar arm rotatably provided on one side of the ice tray; Sensor for detecting the rotation angle of the filler arm: Ice making device comprising a. The method of claim 7, wherein And the filler arm rotates freely with respect to the ice making tray. The method of claim 7, wherein And the sensor is a sensor for detecting whether the pillar arm faces the direction of gravity. An ice making step of freezing ice in the ice making chamber of the ice making tray; Determining the rotation of the ice tray while the ice tray is rotating, and determining that the ice bank is not in ice when the ice tray is rotated, and determining that the ice bank is in ice when the ice tray is not rotated; Discharging the ice in the ice making chamber to an ice bank; A returning step in which the ice making tray returns to the initial position and starts the ice making step; If the ice bank is determined to be in the full ice state, the standby step of waiting after returning the ice making apparatus to the initial position. An ice making step of freezing ice in the ice making chamber of the ice making tray; It is determined whether the filler arm faces the direction of gravity while the ice tray is rotated. If the filler arm faces the direction of gravity, the ice bank is not in ice. If the filler arm does not face the direction of gravity, the ice bank is in ice. Detecting the ice cream step; Discharging the ice in the ice making chamber to an ice bank; A returning step in which the ice making tray returns to the initial position and starts the ice making step; And a standby step of waiting for the ice bank to return to the initial position after the ice bank is in an ice state.

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