WO2012074323A2

WO2012074323A2 - Ice storage

Info

Publication number: WO2012074323A2
Application number: PCT/KR2011/009293
Authority: WO
Inventors: 이현우
Original assignee: 웅진코웨이주식회사
Priority date: 2010-12-02
Filing date: 2011-12-02
Publication date: 2012-06-07
Also published as: WO2012074323A3; KR20120060772A; KR102066415B1

Abstract

The present invention relates to an ice storage capable of adjusting an amount of ice that is sensed as full ice, and according to one embodiment of the present invention, the ice storage comprises: an ice storage body in which ice that is generated from an ice machine is stored; a sensing unit which is comprised in said ice storage body, and senses whether the ice is full within said ice storage body; and an adjusting unit which adjusts an amount of the ice that is sensed as said full ice by varying the position of said sensing unit. According to one embodiment of the present invention as above, the ice storage can adjust the amount of the ice, which is stored in said ice storage, according to the user's purpose, season, and place.

Description

Ice storage

The present invention relates to an ice reservoir, and more particularly, to an ice reservoir that can adjust the amount of ice (hereinafter referred to as ice quantity) detected as ice in the ice reservoir.

In recent years, ice purifiers and refrigerators equipped with an ice supply device are increasing according to user demand.

The ice supply apparatus includes an ice maker that generates ice by a refrigerating cycle, and an ice reservoir in which the ice produced by the ice maker is separated and received by an operation of the ice maker. The ice contained in the ice storage can be supplied in a desired amount whenever the user requests.

However, since the storage capacity of the ice storage is limited, when the ice storage is full, the ice can no longer be accommodated. Therefore, the ice storage can detect whether the ice storage is full, and when the ice storage is full, the ice storage can be stopped to prevent the ice storage from overflowing.

Specifically, in the conventional ice storage, a sensor device consisting of a light emitting sensor and a light receiving sensor for sensing the ice on both upper sidewalls of the ice storage body may be installed. In this case, when the ice stored in the ice storage body becomes full, the sensor device may detect this and give a signal to stop the operation of the ice maker, thus preventing the ice storage from overflowing.

However, since the ice reservoir according to the prior art merely determines whether the ice is full, it may generate and store an amount of ice that is too much larger than the amount of ice actually required. In this case, there may be a problem with user satisfaction requiring energy waste and fresh ice.

The present invention is to provide an ice storage that can adjust the amount of ice.

Ice reservoir according to an embodiment of the present invention, the ice reservoir body for storing the ice generated in the ice maker; A sensing unit provided in the ice reservoir body and detecting whether ice is in the ice reservoir body; And it may include a position adjusting unit for adjusting the amount of ice detected by the ice to vary the position of the sensing unit.

Here, the detection unit, the transmission unit is installed on one side of the ice reservoir body for transmitting a detection signal; And a receiving unit installed at the other side of the ice storage body to receive the detection signal.

The position adjusting unit may be connected to at least one of the transmitter and the receiver to vary the height of at least one of the transmitter and the receiver.

The position adjusting unit may include a rotating member for adjusting the position of at least one of the transmitting unit and the receiving unit, and may change the height of at least one of the transmitting unit and the receiving unit by the rotation of the rotating member. .

Here, the position adjusting unit includes an adjustment lever for adjusting the position of at least one of the transmitter and the receiver, and drives the control lever up and down to vary the height of at least one of the transmitter and the receiver. Can be.

Here, the ice reservoir may further include a controller for determining whether the amount of ice stored in the ice reservoir body corresponds to full ice using the detection signal received by the receiver.

Here, the controller may set the amount of ice and transmit a control signal for adjusting the operation of the position controller according to the set amount of ice to the position controller.

The position adjusting unit may vary the height of at least one of the transmitting unit and the receiving unit in a plurality of steps according to an input control signal.

Here, when the ice extraction signal for extracting the ice stored in the ice reservoir main body is input, the control unit accumulates the length of an input time for inputting the ice extraction signal or the input frequency for inputting the ice extraction signal, A control signal for setting a position of at least one of the transmitter and the receiver may be transmitted to the position controller using the length of an input time or the accumulated input frequency.

The controller may set the position of at least one of the transmitter and the receiver to “up” when the accumulated time is greater than or equal to a first reference time, and the transmitter and the transmitter when the accumulated time is less than a third reference time. The position of at least one of the receivers may be set to "lower", and if the accumulated time is less than the first reference time or more than the third reference time, the position of at least one of the transmitter and the receiver may be set to "medium". have.

The controller may set the position of at least one of the transmitter and the receiver to “up” when the integrated input frequency is greater than or equal to a first reference frequency, and when the integrated input frequency is less than a third reference frequency. Set the position of at least one of the bride and the receiver to "low", and if the accumulated input number is less than the first reference number and more than a third reference number, the position of at least one of the transmitter and the receiver is "middle". Can be set with

The control unit may measure a temperature outside the ice reservoir through a temperature sensor and transmit a control signal for setting the position of the transmitter and the receiver according to the external temperature to the position controller.

The controller may set the position of at least one of the transmitter and the receiver to “low” when the measured external temperature is equal to or less than a first reference temperature, and when the measured external temperature is greater than a third reference temperature. The position of at least one of the transmitter and the receiver is set to "up", and if the measured outside temperature is greater than the first reference temperature and less than the third reference temperature, the position of at least one of the transmitter and the receiver is " Medium ".

Herein, the control unit measures the brightness of the outside of the ice reservoir using an illuminance sensor, and when the measured value falls below a reference value, a control signal for setting the position of at least one of the transmitter and the receiver to the night ice making position. May be transmitted to the position adjusting unit.

Here, when the measured value rises above the reference value, the controller may transmit a control signal for restoring the transmitter and the receiver to the position before the night ice making position to the position adjusting unit.

The position adjusting unit may vary the height of at least one of the transmitting unit and the receiving unit using a stepping motor.

Ice reservoir according to an embodiment of the present invention, the ice reservoir body is stored ice generated in the ice maker; A plurality of transmitters installed at one side of the ice reservoir main body in a height direction of the ice reservoir, and configured to transmit a detection signal to only one of the plurality of ice reservoirs according to a control signal; A receiving unit installed at the other side of the ice reservoir body to receive the detection signal; And a controller for selecting a transmitter for transmitting the detection signal by transmitting a control signal to the transmitter, and determining whether the amount of ice stored in the ice storage body corresponds to full ice using the detection signal received by the receiver. can do.

Here, when the ice extraction signal for extracting the ice stored in the ice reservoir main body is input, the control unit accumulates the length of an input time for inputting the ice extraction signal or the input frequency for inputting the ice extraction signal, A transmitter to transmit the detection signal may be selected from among the plurality of transmitters by using an input time length and an input frequency.

The controller may select a transmitter located at an "upper" from the plurality of transmitters when the accumulated time is greater than or equal to a first reference time, and located at the "bottom" when the accumulated time is less than a third reference time. The transmitter may be selected, and when the accumulated time is less than the first reference time or more than the third reference time, the transmitter may be selected to be located at the "stop".

Herein, the controller selects a transmitter located at the “top” of the plurality of transmitters when the accumulated input frequency is greater than or equal to a first reference frequency, and selects a “bottom” when the accumulated input frequency is less than a third reference frequency. The transmitter may be located, and if the accumulated time is less than the first reference time or more than the third reference time, the transmitter may be selected to be “stopped”.

The controller may measure a temperature outside the ice reservoir through a temperature sensor and select a transmitter to transmit the detection signal from the plurality of transmitters according to the temperature outside.

The controller may select a transmitter located at a lower end of the plurality of transmitters when the measured external temperature is less than or equal to a first reference temperature, and, if the measured external temperature is greater than a third reference temperature, "upper". The transmitter may be selected to be located at "," and the transmitter located at "interrupted" may be selected if the measured external temperature is greater than the first reference temperature and less than the third reference temperature.

The controller may measure the brightness of the outside of the ice reservoir using an illuminance sensor, and when the measured value falls below a reference value, the controller may select a transmitter provided at a night ice making position among the plurality of transmitters.

Here, when the measured value rises above the reference value, the controller may recover to the transmitter selected before the transmitter provided at the night ice making position.

According to an ice reservoir according to an embodiment of the present invention, an ice reservoir body in which ice generated in an ice maker is stored; A transmitter configured to be installed at one side of the ice reservoir main body to transmit a detection signal; A plurality of receivers installed on the other side of the ice reservoir body in a height direction of the ice reservoir, and receiving the detection signal only in any one of the plurality of ice reservoirs according to a control signal; And a control unit which transmits a control signal to the receiving unit to select the receiving unit to receive the detection signal, and determines whether the amount of ice stored in the ice storage body corresponds to full ice using the detection signal received by the selected receiving unit. It may include.

Ice storage according to an embodiment of the present invention, since the amount of ice stored in the ice storage body can be adjusted to the amount of ice detected, it is possible to adjust the amount of ice stored in the ice storage body. Therefore, it is possible to adjust the amount of ice to be stored in the ice storage in accordance with the user's use, the user's usage pattern and seasons.

In addition, since the amount of ice to be stored in the ice storage can be adjusted according to the usage pattern, season, etc. of the user, it is possible to save energy required for ice generation and ice storage, and always provide fresh ice to the user.

In addition, the ice storage according to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the production cost by the simple process or configuration to adjust the amount of ice is detected as ice, the user can adjust the amount of ice only by a simple operation.

1 is a schematic view showing an ice reservoir according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 to 4 is a schematic diagram showing a position adjusting portion of the ice reservoir according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 and 6 is a schematic view showing a position adjusting portion of the ice reservoir according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 7 is a block diagram showing a control unit of the ice reservoir according to an embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a flow chart showing the amount of ice control according to the amount of ice used according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 9 is a flow chart showing the amount of ice control according to the season of the ice reservoir according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating ice level control according to night ice making of an ice reservoir according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art may easily implement the present invention. However, in describing the preferred embodiment of the present invention in detail, if it is determined that the detailed description of the related known function or configuration may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted. In addition, the same reference numerals are used throughout the drawings for parts having similar functions and functions.

In addition, throughout the specification, when a part is 'connected' to another part, it is not only 'directly connected' but also 'indirectly connected' with another element in between. Include. In addition, the term 'comprising' of an element means that the element may further include other elements, not to exclude other elements unless specifically stated otherwise.

Referring to FIG. 1, an ice reservoir according to an embodiment of the present invention may include an ice reservoir body 10, a transmitter 20, a receiver 30, a position controller 40, and a controller 50. Can be. Hereinafter, an ice reservoir according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1.

The ice reservoir body 10 may store ice generated by an ice maker (not shown). The ice maker may be an apparatus for generating ice by a freezing cycle, and the ice reservoir body 10 may be filled with ice generated by the ice maker. However, since the capacity of the ice reservoir body 10 has a limit, when the ice maker supplies the ice above the capacity of the ice reservoir body 10, the ice may overflow.

Although not shown, the ice reservoir body 10 may have a discharge port through which the stored ice is discharged, and when the ice extraction signal is input, the ice reservoir body 10 may open the discharge port to discharge the stored ice.

Although not shown, the detector may include a transmitter 20 and a receiver 30, and the detector is provided in the ice reservoir body 10 to detect whether ice is in the ice reservoir body 10. It may be.

Here, the transmitter 20 may be installed at one side of the ice reservoir body 10 to transmit a detection signal, and the receiver 30 may be installed at the other side of the ice reservoir body 10 to detect the detection signal. Can be received.

The transmitter 20 may transmit a laser light having a preset frequency, and the receiver 30 may receive the laser light. In addition, the transmitting unit 20 and the receiving unit 30 may be used as long as it can generally detect whether the ice storage.

The transmitter 20 and the receiver 30 correspond to each other, and the ice storage body 10 is filled with ice by using whether the detection signal transmitted by the transmitter 20 is received by the receiver 30. It can be determined.

Specifically, when the detection signal transmitted from the transmitter 20 is received by the receiver 30 without being blocked by the ice stored in the ice storage body 10, the ice storage body 10 is not iced. It can be seen as. On the contrary, if the detection signal transmitted by the transmitter 20 is not blocked by the ice stored in the ice storage main body 10 and is not received by the receiver 30, the ice storage main body 10 is considered to be full. Can be.

Since whether or not the ice is determined based on whether the detection signal is transmitted between the transmitter 20 and the receiver 30, the ice is not only the amount of ice stored in the ice storage body 10, Location of the transmitter 20 and receiver 30 may also be affected. Thus, by adjusting the position of the transmitter 20 and the receiver 30, the amount of ice in the ice reservoir body 10 can be adjusted.

The position controller 40 may be linked with at least one of the transmitter 20 and the receiver 30 to change the position of at least one of the transmitter 20 and the receiver 30.

Here, the position adjusting unit 40 may be used as long as it can change the position of the transmitter 20 and the receiver 30 in the height direction of the ice storage body 10, specific variable method Are shown in Figures 2-4 and 5-6.

First, referring to the position adjusting unit of the ice storage according to an embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the position adjusting unit 40 may include at least one of the transmitter 20 and the receiver 30. As including the rotating member 41 is located, the height of at least one of the transmitting unit 20 and the receiving unit 30 by the rotation of the rotating member 41 may be variable.

Positioning of the transmitter 20 and the receiver 30 may be by various methods, but as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the position of the receiver 30 is fixed and the transmitter ( By only adjusting the position of 20), the amount of ice in the ice reservoir body 10 can be adjusted.

In order to adjust the position of the transmitter 20, the transmitter 20 is positioned on the rotary member 41, and then the rotary member 41 is rotated to adjust the height of the transmitter 20. Can be.

That is, as shown in Figures 2 and 3, while the height of the transmitter 20 is variable, the detection signal transmitted by the transmitter 20 is transmitted to the receiver 30 in an inclined state not horizontal. Can be. Therefore, the amount of ice detected by the ice can be increased or decreased by the portion due to the slope.

Therefore, in order to increase the amount of ice in the ice reservoir body 10, the height of the transmitter 20 can be higher than the receiver 30 as shown in FIG. In this case, the detection signal transmitted from the transmitter 20 may be inclined over the receiver 30 and transmitted to the receiver 30. Therefore, the amount of ice may be increased by the amount of the inclination than when the transmitter 20 is at the same height as the receiver 30.

On the other hand, in order to reduce the amount of ice in the ice reservoir body 10, the height of the transmitter 20 can be lower than the receiver 30 as shown in FIG. In this case, the detection signal transmitted from the transmitter 20 may be inclined under the receiver 30 to be transmitted to the receiver 30. Therefore, the amount of ice may be reduced by the amount of the inclination than when the transmitter 20 is at the same height as the receiver 30.

Here, the position of the receiver 30 is fixed and only the position of the transmitter 20 is adjusted, but on the contrary, the position of the transmitter 20 may be fixed and the position of the receiver 30 may be changed. The amount of ice may be adjusted by simultaneously raising or lowering both the receiver 30 and the transmitter 20.

The position adjusting unit 40 may include a rotary dial 42 for rotating the rotary member 41. As shown in FIG. 4, three steps of A, B, and C may be displayed on the rotary dial 42. In the step A, the position of the transmitter 20 may be highest. In step B, the transmitter 20 may be horizontal to the receiver 30, and in step C, the position of the transmitter 20 may be lowest.

As described above, when the transmitter 20 is located at the A position by rotating the rotary dial, the maximum amount of ice may be set, and when the position C is located, the minimum amount of ice may be set. When the position is located in the B position, the amount of ice may be adjusted to a moderate amount.

The rotary dial 42 allows the user to manually rotate the rotary dial 42 to control the amount of ice, and the position adjusting unit 40 is a stepping motor (not shown) in addition to the rotary dial 42. It may be provided such as to automatically adjust the amount of ice. That is, the rotating member 41 may be rotated by using the stepping motor.

In the case of automatically adjusting the amount of ice using the stepping motor or the like, the position controller 40 adjusts the height of at least one of the transmitter 20 and the receiver 30 according to the input control signal. It can vary in multiple stages. Here, the positions of the transmitter 20 and the receiver 30 are distinguished into three stages of "up," "middle," and "bottom." However, the positions of the transmitter 20 and the receiver 30 are three steps. In addition, it may be divided into several steps, and the position of the transmitter 20 and the receiver 30 may be set continuously without distinguishing the steps.

Next, looking at the position adjusting unit of the ice reservoir according to another embodiment of the present invention shown in Figures 5 to 6, the position adjusting unit 40, at least any one of the transmitting unit 20 and the receiving unit 30 As one includes the control lever 43 is located, it may be to drive the control lever 43 up and down to vary the height of at least one of the transmitter 20 and the receiver 30.

5 to 6, the position adjusting unit 40 is different from the method of using the rotating member 41 described above, after positioning the transmitting unit 20 to the control lever 43, the control lever It is possible to adjust the height of the transmitter 20 by moving the 43 up and down in the height direction of the ice reservoir body 10.

When the height of the transmitter 20 is changed by using the control lever 43, the detection signal transmitted by the transmitter 20 may be transmitted to the receiver 30 in an inclined state rather than horizontally. In addition, the amount of ice during the ice may increase or decrease by the portion due to the slope.

In addition, the transmitter 20 may be fixed instead of the receiver 30, and the position of the receiver 30 may be changed by using the control lever 43, and the receiver 30 and the foot may be changed. It is also possible to adjust the amount of ice by raising or lowering all of the brides 20 at the same time.

And, as shown in Figure 6, the position adjustment unit 40 can be distinguished in three stages of the position A ', B', C 'of the control lever 43, in the A' step The position of the transmitter 20 is the highest and the position of the transmitter 20 is horizontal to the receiver 30 in the B 'step, and the position of the transmitter 20 is the lowest in the C' step. Can be positioned. Therefore, it is possible to adjust the amount of ice according to the position of the control lever 43. Similarly, even when the control lever 43 is used, it is possible to adjust the position of the transmitter 20 or the receiver 30 using a stepping motor, and the height can be distinguished in a plurality of stages by a control signal.

The controller 50 determines whether the amount of ice stored in the ice storage main body 10 corresponds to full ice using the detection signal received by the receiver 30. The transmitter 20 and the receiver ( The amount of ice detected by the ice sheet may vary according to the position of 30).

As described above, when the detection signal is blocked by the ice stored in the ice storage body 10, it can be seen that the ice is full, the control unit 50 checks whether the detection signal is input to the receiving unit 30 By determining whether the ice reservoir body 10 is full of ice.

Specifically, when the receiver 30 detects the detection signal, the ice storage body 10 is not iced, and when the receiver 30 does not detect the detection signal, the ice storage body 10 is iced. Can be determined.

As shown in FIG. 7, when the ice reservoir main body 10 is determined to be full, the controller 50 may transmit a control signal to the ice maker 80 to no longer generate ice. The ice maker 80 may no longer generate ice by the control signal.

On the contrary, if it is determined that the ice storage body 10 is not full, the ice maker 80 may not transmit a separate control signal or transmit a separate control signal to continuously generate ice.

In addition, the controller 50 sets the amount of ice, that is, the amount of ice that is detected as the amount of ice stored in the ice reservoir body 10, and the position controller 40 according to the set amount of ice. The control signal for controlling the operation of the position controller 40 may be transmitted. Accordingly, the controller 50 may control the amount of ice level according to the user's usage pattern, season and night ice making, which will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 7 to 10.

7 and 8, the controller 50 may receive an ice extraction signal p, and input time of the input ice extraction signal p or the number of times of input of the ice extraction signal p. By summing the ice usage of the user can be determined. Therefore, the amount of ice in the ice storage body 10 can be set in consideration of the ice usage of the user.

Here, the ice extraction signal p may be a control signal for opening the discharge port provided in the ice reservoir body 10, and the ice is discharged by an amount proportional to an input time at which the ice extraction signal p is input. Can be. Therefore, when the ice extraction signal is input, the controller 50 accumulates the length of the input time or the number of input times for inputting the ice extraction signal, and uses the length of the accumulated input time or the input frequency. A control signal for setting the position of at least one of the transmitter 20 and the receiver 30 may be transmitted to the position controller 40.

Here, the controller 50 sets the position of at least one of the transmitter 20 and the receiver 30 to "up" when the accumulated time is equal to or greater than the first reference time, and the accumulated time is set to zero. If the reference time is less than 3 times, at least one of the transmitter 20 and the receiver 30 is set to "low", and if the accumulated time is less than the first reference time than the third reference time, the transmitter At least one position of the 20 and the receiver 30 may be set to "medium".

In addition, the controller 50 sets the position of at least one of the transmitter 20 and the receiver 30 to "up" when the accumulated input frequency is equal to or greater than the first reference frequency, and the accumulated time is increased. If it is less than a third reference frequency, the position of at least one of the transmitter 20 and the receiver 30 is set to "low", and if the accumulated input frequency is less than the first reference frequency, the third reference frequency is greater than the above. At least one of the transmitter 20 and the receiver 30 may be set to “medium”.

Specifically, referring to FIG. 8, the controller 50 may accumulate an input time for inputting the ice extraction signal for a preset time, for example, 24 hours. First, by detecting whether the ice extraction signal is input (S81), when the ice extraction signal is input, the time at which the ice extraction signal is input, that is, the input time T may be accumulated (S82). The ice extraction signal input detection S81 and the input time T integration S82 may be repeatedly performed until 24 hours have elapsed (S83).

When the 24 hours have elapsed, the ice level of the ice reservoir body 10 may be adjusted using the accumulated input time T. Since the accumulated input time T is the sum of the ice extraction signals input by the user for 24 hours, this may be proportional to the extraction amount of the ice stored in the ice reservoir body 10. Therefore, the greater the accumulated input time T, the more the ice usage of the user can be seen, and the smaller the input time T, the smaller the ice usage of the user can be seen.

Specifically, if the input time (T) is 1 hour or more (S84), it can be seen that the ice usage of the user is high. Therefore, the location of at least one of the transmitter 20 and the receiver 30 may be set to “up” (S86) to increase the amount of ice stored in the ice reservoir body 10. The position corresponding to “up” may correspond to the positions A and A ′ in FIGS. 4 and 6. That is, in the case of a user with a large amount of ice, the amount of ice stored in the ice storage body 10 may be increased to supply the required amount of ice when the user needs it, and the ice may be supplied despite the need of the user. You can minimize the case of not providing. Here, the position of any one of the set transmitter 20 and the receiver 30 may be referred to as the full ice position.

When the input time (T) is 30 minutes or more and less than 1 hour (S85), since the user's ice consumption can be seen as a normal level, the ice level may be set to "medium" (S87). If the input time T is less than 30 minutes, since the ice usage of the user is small, the ice level may be set to "low" (S88). Here, the "full" position may correspond to positions B and B 'of FIGS. 4 and 6, and the lower position may correspond to positions C and C' of FIGS. 4 and 6.

Therefore, the ice storage can maintain a state in which the amount of ice required by the user is stored in the ice storage body 10 by the control, and prevents energy waste and freshness by generating and storing unnecessary ice. Ice provision may be possible.

Here, although the ice level is divided into three levels of upper, middle, and lower, the ice level may be divided into a plurality of stages such as five and ten stages in addition to the three stages. The frequency can vary.

7 and 9, the controller 50 measures the temperature of the outside of the ice reservoir through a temperature sensor 60, and determines the temperature of the transmitter 20 and the receiver 30 according to the temperature outside. The control signal for setting the position may be transmitted to the position adjusting unit 40.

That is, the controller 50 may be provided in the ice reservoir, and receive an external temperature from a temperature sensor 60 measuring a temperature outside the ice reservoir, and determine the current season through the measured external temperature value. I can figure it out. Therefore, the ice reservoir can adjust the amount of ice in the ice reservoir body 10 in consideration of the ice usage of the user according to the season.

In detail, the controller 50 sets the position of at least one of the transmitter and the receiver to “low” when the measured external temperature is equal to or less than a first reference temperature, and the measured external temperature is set to zero. At least one of the transmitter and the receiver is set to “up” when the reference temperature is higher than three reference temperatures, and at least one of the transmitter and the receiver when the measured external temperature is greater than or equal to the third reference temperature. One position can be set to "medium".

Referring to Figure 9, the description of the amount of ice control according to the season of the ice reservoir according to an embodiment of the present invention, first, the controller 50 uses the temperature sensor 60 to determine the external temperature (N) It can measure (S91).

If the measured external temperature is 15 degrees or less (S92), it can be determined that the room temperature is low in winter, and accordingly lower the amount of ice to the "lower" position of the transmitter 20 and the receiver 30 Either one can be located (S93).

On the other hand, if the measured outside temperature is more than 30 degrees, since the ice usage is a lot of summer, it can be placed in the "upper" position (S96). If the remaining 15 degrees or more than 30 degrees or less (S93), since the spring and autumn can be set to "mid" (S95).

Here, since the temperature is merely an example, the temperature values may vary, and the full ice position may be divided into a plurality of stages such as five stages, ten stages, and the like. In addition, since the temperature change may not be large when the ice storage is located indoors, the temperature difference according to the season may be set smaller.

7 and 10, the control unit 50 measures the brightness of the outside of the ice reservoir using an illuminance sensor 70, and when the measured value falls below a reference value, the transmitter 20 and A control signal for setting at least one position of the receiver 30 to the night ice making position may be transmitted to the position adjusting unit 40.

In addition, when the measured value rises above the reference value, the control unit 50 restores the control signal for restoring the transmitter 20 and the receiver 30 to the position before the night ice making position. 40).

Specifically, referring to FIG. 10, the controller 50 may measure the brightness of the outside of the ice reservoir using the illuminance sensor 70, and may distinguish night and day by comparing the brightness of the outside with a reference value. (S101).

In general, since the user uses less ice at night when the user goes to bed, the amount of ice stored in the ice storage may be reduced at night, thereby saving energy required to generate and store the ice. Therefore, at night, at least one of the transmitter 20 and the receiver 30 may be moved to a position one level lower than the currently set position, that is, the night ice making position (S102). For example, it is possible to reduce the amount of ice in the ice reservoir by lowering the transmitter 20 from the "up" position to one of the "middle" positions at night. Here, the night ice making position may be a position lower than the currently set position, and thus is not limited to the one position lower.

Then, when the external brightness detected by the illuminance sensor 70 is measured above the reference value, since it is changed from night to day, the position of the transmitter 20 or the receiver 30 is original from the night ice making position. The position can be recovered (S103). That is, the amount of ice stored in the ice storage is reduced only during the night, and the amount of ice in the ice storage is increased again during the day.

Therefore, according to an embodiment of the present invention shown in Figure 8, it is possible to control the amount of ice according to the night ice making.

Although not shown, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the transmitter may be provided in plural in the height direction of the ice reservoir, and a detection signal is detected only in any one of the plurality of transmitters according to a control signal input to the transmitter. Can be sent. That is, instead of adjusting the position of the transmitter through the position adjustment unit may be provided with a plurality of the transmitter.

Subsequently, the receiver may determine whether ice stored in the ice storage body is full based on whether one of the plurality of transmitters senses a detection signal transmitted.

The controller may select a transmitter to transmit the detection signal from among the plurality of transmitters, and determine whether the amount of ice stored in the ice storage body corresponds to the ice using the detection signal detected by the receiver. .

Specifically, when the ice extraction signal for extracting the ice stored in the ice reservoir body is input, the control unit accumulates the length of the input time for inputting the ice extraction signal or the input number of times the ice extraction signal is input, the integration The transmitter may select a transmitter to transmit the detection signal from the plurality of transmitters using the length of the input time and the number of times of input.

For example, if the accumulated time is greater than or equal to the first reference time, the transmitter may be selected from the plurality of transmitters located at the “top”. If the accumulated time is less than the third reference time, the transmitter may be located at the “bottom” If the accumulated time is less than the first reference time and more than the third reference time, it is possible to select a transmitter located in the "stop".

In addition, if the total number of input times is more than the first reference frequency is selected from the plurality of the transmitting unit is located at the "top", and if the integrated input number is less than the third reference frequency outgoing call located in the "lower" If the accumulated time is less than the first reference time and more than the third reference time, it is possible to select a transmitter located in the "stop".

Herein, the transmitter is divided into three stages of the top, middle, and bottom. However, the transmitter may be divided into a plurality of stages such as five stages and seven stages. In this case, the reference time and the reference frequency may be set differently. By the operation of the control unit as described above, the amount of ice in the ice storage body may be set in consideration of the user's ice usage.

The controller may measure a temperature outside the ice reservoir through a temperature sensor and select a transmitter to transmit the detection signal from the plurality of transmitters according to the temperature outside. For example, if the measured external temperature is less than or equal to a first reference temperature, the transmitter may be selected from the plurality of transmitters at a lower end, and if the measured external temperature is greater than a third reference temperature, the upper end may be selected. The transmitter may be selected to be located at, and when the measured external temperature is greater than or equal to the first reference temperature and less than or equal to the third reference temperature, the transmitter may be selected to be “interrupted”. Therefore, it is possible to distinguish the seasons according to the temperature, it is possible to adjust the ice storage amount of the ice storage.

As described above, the transmitter may be divided into a plurality of stages in addition to the three stages of the top, middle, and bottom, and in this case, the reference temperature may be set differently.

The controller may measure brightness of the outside of the ice reservoir using the illuminance sensor, and when the measured value falls below a reference value, the controller may select a transmitter provided at a night ice making position among the plurality of transmitters. In addition, when the measured value rises above the reference value, it may further include a function for recovering to the transmitter selected before the transmitter provided in the night ice making position. Therefore, it is possible to obtain the effect of reducing the energy required for ice production and storage at night when the ice usage amount is small.

Herein, the case where there are a plurality of transmitters has been described, but there may be a plurality of receivers, and a plurality of receivers and transmitters may be installed.

The present invention is not limited by the above-described embodiment and the accompanying drawings. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the appended claims, and that various forms of substitution, modification, and alteration are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the claims. Will be self-explanatory.

Claims

Ice storage body for storing the ice produced in the ice maker;

A sensing unit provided in the ice reservoir body and detecting whether ice is in the ice reservoir body; And

Ice reservoir comprising a position adjusting unit for adjusting the amount of the ice detected by the ice to vary the position of the detection unit.
The method of claim 1, wherein the detection unit

A transmitter configured to be installed at one side of the ice reservoir body to transmit a detection signal; And

Ice reservoir including a receiver installed on the other side of the ice reservoir body for receiving the detection signal.
According to claim 2, wherein the position adjusting unit

Ice storage in association with at least one of the transmitter and the receiver, the height of at least one of the transmitter and the receiver.
According to claim 3, wherein the position adjusting unit

And a rotating member for adjusting the position of at least one of the transmitting unit and the receiving unit, wherein the ice reservoir varies the height of at least one of the transmitting unit and the receiving unit by the rotation of the rotating member.
According to claim 3, wherein the position adjusting unit

And an adjustment lever for adjusting the position of at least one of the transmitter and the receiver, and driving the control lever up and down to vary the height of at least one of the transmitter and the receiver.
The method of claim 2,

And a control unit for determining whether the amount of ice stored in the ice storage body corresponds to full ice using the detection signal received by the receiving unit.
The method of claim 6, wherein the control unit

An ice reservoir for setting the amount of ice and transmitting a control signal to the position adjusting unit to control the operation of the position adjusting unit according to the set amount of ice.
The method of claim 7, wherein the position adjusting unit

According to the input control signal, the ice reservoir for varying the height of at least one of the transmitter and the receiver in a plurality of steps.
The method of claim 8, wherein the control unit

When an ice extraction signal for extracting ice stored in the ice storage body is input, the length of an input time for inputting the ice extraction signal or an input frequency for inputting the ice extraction signal is accumulated, and the length of the accumulated input time or The ice reservoir for transmitting a control signal for setting the position of at least one of the transmitter and the receiver using the accumulated input frequency to the position control unit.
The method of claim 9, wherein the control unit

If the accumulated time is greater than or equal to the first reference time, set the position of at least one of the transmitter and the receiver to “up”; and if the accumulated time is less than the third reference time, at least one of the transmitter and the receiver. Set the position of the "lower", and if the integrated time is less than the first reference time less than the third reference time to set the position of at least any one of the transmitter and the receiver to "medium".
The method of claim 9, wherein the control unit

Set the position of at least one of the transmitter and the receiver to "up" when the accumulated input frequency is greater than or equal to a first reference frequency, and at least one of the transmitter and receiver when the integrated input frequency is less than a third reference frequency. Ice storage for setting any one position to "lower", and if the integrated input number is less than the first reference number of times or more than the third reference number of times, at least one of the transmitter and the receiver is set to "medium" .
The method of claim 8, wherein the control unit

Measuring the temperature of the outside of the ice reservoir through a temperature sensor, the ice reservoir for transmitting a control signal for setting the position of the transmitter and the receiver according to the temperature outside the position controller.
The method of claim 12, wherein the control unit

If the measured external temperature is less than or equal to a first reference temperature, set the position of at least one of the transmitter and receiver to "low"; and if the measured external temperature is greater than a third reference temperature, the transmitter and receiver At least one of the position is set to "up", and if the measured external temperature is greater than the first reference temperature and less than the third reference temperature to set the position of at least one of the transmitter and the receiver to "medium" Ice cellar.
The method of claim 8, wherein the control unit

Measuring the brightness of the outside of the ice reservoir using an illuminance sensor, and when the measured value falls below the reference value, the position control unit for setting the control signal of at least one of the transmitter and the receiver to the night ice making position Transfer to an ice cellar.
The method of claim 14, wherein the control unit

When the measured value rises above the reference value, the ice reservoir for transmitting a control signal for restoring the transmitter and the receiver to the position before the night ice making position to the position adjusting unit.
The method of claim 1, wherein the position adjusting unit

Ice reservoir for varying the height of at least one of the transmitter and the receiver using a stepping motor.
An ice reservoir body in which ice generated in the ice maker is stored;

A plurality of transmitters installed at one side of the ice reservoir main body in a height direction of the ice reservoir, and configured to transmit a detection signal to only one of the plurality of ice reservoirs according to a control signal;

A receiving unit installed at the other side of the ice reservoir body to receive the detection signal; And

A control unit for transmitting a control signal to the transmitter and selecting a transmitter for transmitting the detection signal, and determining whether the amount of ice stored in the ice storage body corresponds to the ice using the detection signal received by the receiver. Ice storage.
The method of claim 17, wherein the control unit

When an ice extraction signal for extracting ice stored in the ice storage body is input, the length of an input time for inputting the ice extraction signal or the input frequency for inputting the ice extraction signal is accumulated, and the length of the accumulated input time and Ice storage for selecting a transmitter to transmit the detection signal from the plurality of transmitters using the number of input.
The method of claim 18, wherein the control unit

If the accumulated time is greater than or equal to the first reference time, select the transmitter located in the "top" of the plurality of transmitters, if the integrated time is less than the third reference time, select the transmitter located in the "lower", If the accumulated time is less than the first reference time and more than the third reference time, the ice storage for selecting the transmitter located in the "stop".
The method of claim 18, wherein the control unit

If the integrated number of inputs is equal to or greater than a first reference number, the transmitter selects a transmitter located at the top of the plurality of transmitters, and selects a transmitter located at the bottom if the accumulated number of inputs is less than a third reference frequency. And selecting the transmitting unit located at the “stop” when the accumulated time is less than the first reference time or more than the third reference time.
The method of claim 17, wherein the control unit

Measuring the temperature of the outside of the ice reservoir through a temperature sensor, ice storage for selecting the transmitter to transmit the detection signal from the plurality of transmitters in accordance with the temperature outside.
The method of claim 21, wherein the control unit

If the measured external temperature is less than the first reference temperature is selected from the plurality of transmitters located in the "lower" of the transmitter, if the measured external temperature is greater than the third reference temperature is located in the "upper" Selecting a unit, and if the measured outside temperature is greater than the first reference temperature and less than the third reference temperature, the ice storage for selecting the transmitter located in the "stop".
The method of claim 17, wherein the control unit

Measuring the brightness of the outside of the ice reservoir using an illuminance sensor, and if the measured value falls below the reference value, the ice reservoir for selecting the transmitter provided in the night ice making position from the plurality of transmitters.
The method of claim 23, wherein the control unit

If the measured value rises above the reference value, the ice storage to recover to the transmitter selected before the transmitter provided in the night ice making position.
An ice reservoir body in which ice generated in the ice maker is stored;

A transmitter configured to be installed at one side of the ice reservoir main body to transmit a detection signal;

A plurality of receivers installed on the other side of the ice reservoir body in a height direction of the ice reservoir, and receiving the detection signal only in any one of the plurality of ice reservoirs according to a control signal; And

A control unit which transmits a control signal to the receiving unit to select the receiving unit to receive the detection signal, and determines whether the amount of ice stored in the ice storage body corresponds to full ice using the detection signal received by the selected receiving unit. Ice storage.