WO2022048471A1

WO2022048471A1 - Ice maker

Info

Publication number: WO2022048471A1
Application number: PCT/CN2021/114175
Authority: WO
Inventors: 仓谷利治; 设乐真辅; 片桐贤宏
Original assignee: 海尔智家股份有限公司; 青岛海尔电冰箱有限公司; Aqua 株式会社
Priority date: 2020-09-02
Filing date: 2021-08-24
Publication date: 2022-03-10
Also published as: CN115997091A; EP4191167A4; JP2022042145A; EP4191167A1

Abstract

An ice maker (1), which is capable of efficiently making ice by using a simple structure. Moreover, the ice maker is easy to disassemble and assemble from a refrigerator. Provided is an ice maker (1) arranged inside a refrigerator (100). The ice maker (1) comprises: a cooling part (50) that has a cooling pipeline (40) through which cold air passing through an evaporator (140) of the refrigerator (100) flows, a radiator (10) that has a plurality of cooling fins (12) arranged in the cooling pipeline (40), and a metal plate (20) mounted so that a metal rod-shaped member (24) extends downward from the base end to the tip end, wherein the rod-shaped member (24) is cooled by means of the radiator (10); and a liquid container (60) that may store a liquid, wherein a predetermined region from the tip end of the rod-shaped member (24) is immersed in the liquid contained in the liquid container (60), and ice is generated around the rod-shaped member (24) that is cooled by means of the radiator (10).

Description

Ice maker

technical field

The present invention relates to an ice maker that freezes liquid to produce ice, and particularly relates to an ice maker that is arranged inside a refrigerator.

Background technique

Among the ice makers that freeze liquid to produce ice, there has been proposed an ice maker that cools a cooling protrusion that is immersed in a liquid in a tray using a refrigerant of a cooling system of a refrigerator, thereby Ice making is performed (for example, refer to Patent Document 1 - Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-150785). In the invention described in Patent Document 1, since ice is generated around the cooling projections immersed in the liquid in the tray, it is possible to efficiently make ice.

However, since the ice maker described in Patent Document 1 needs to be connected to the piping of the cooling system of the refrigerator, the structure becomes complicated, and the ice maker cannot be easily attached or detached.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and to provide an ice maker which can efficiently make ice with a simple structure and which can be easily detached from and attached to a refrigerator.

The ice maker of the present invention is an ice maker configured inside a refrigerator, the ice maker includes a cooling part and a liquid container for storing liquid, the cooling part includes:

a cooling duct through which the cold air passing through the evaporator of the refrigerator passes;

a radiator having a plurality of cooling fins disposed within the cooling duct;

a metal plate to which a metal rod-shaped member is connected, which extends downward from the base end to the tip;

wherein the rod-shaped member is cooled by the radiator,

When a predetermined region of the rod-shaped member from the tip portion is immersed in the liquid contained in the liquid container, ice cooled by the radiator is generated around the rod-shaped member.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the radiator which has cooling fins is cooled by the cold air which passed through the evaporator of a refrigerator, and ice can be generated around the rod-shaped member cooled by this radiator. Therefore, it is possible to efficiently generate ice while having a simple structure. In addition, since it is not connected to piping or the like of the refrigerator, the ice maker can be easily attached and detached.

In addition, the present invention is characterized in that the cold air flowing into the cooling duct crosses the extending direction of the cooling fin along the inner wall of the cooling duct on the side of one end of the cooling fin. flow in the direction of the cooling fins, and part of it flows between the cooling fins.

According to the present invention, cold air flows in a direction intersecting the extending direction of the cooling fins along the inner walls of the cooling ducts on the side of one end of the cooling fins, and a part thereof flows between the cooling fins. Thereby, cold air can flow into each cooling fin without bias, and the whole radiator can be cooled uniformly. Therefore, the metal plate cooled by the heat sink is also cooled equally, and the cooling temperature of each rod-shaped member can be made uniform. According to the above, the size of the ice generated around each rod-shaped member can be made uniform.

The angle at which the flow direction of the cold air and the extending direction of the cooling fins intersect may be substantially orthogonal, or may be an angle other than that.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that the cold air flowing between the cooling fins flows out into the refrigerator from the other end portion of the cooling fins.

According to the present invention, the cold air that flows between the cooling fins to cool the radiator flows inside the refrigerator, and returns to the lower side of the evaporator while cooling food and the like stored in the refrigerator. Thereby, efficient ice making by the ice maker and efficient cooling cycle of the refrigerator can be obtained.

In addition, the present invention is characterized by including:

a liquid supply part for supplying liquid to the liquid container;

a liquid removal section that removes at least a portion of the liquid remaining in the liquid container from the liquid container; and

a control part that controls the liquid supply part and the liquid removal part,

Through the control of the control unit, the ice-making process is repeated multiple times, and the ice-making process includes:

a liquid supply process in which the liquid supply part supplies liquid to the liquid container;

After the liquid supply process, the ice making process is maintained for a predetermined time, the rod-shaped member is cooled by the radiator, and the rod-shaped member is immersed in the liquid container in a predetermined region from the tip portion in liquids contained in; and

After the ice-making step, the liquid removing unit is a liquid removing step in which the liquid around the generated ice is removed.

According to the present invention, by repeating the ice-making process in which the liquid supply process, the ice-making process, and the liquid-removal process are performed a plurality of times, transparent ice that is frozen by a liquid with few impurities that is frequently newly supplied can be produced in a short time.

In addition, the present invention is characterized in that it also includes:

a heater in contact with the metal plate; and

a moving mechanism for moving the cooling part and the liquid container relatively,

Through the control of the control unit,

After repeating the ice making process several times,

a moving process in which the moving mechanism relatively moves the cooling portion and the liquid container so that the liquid container is not located on the lower side of the rod-shaped member; and

A deicing step in which the heater heats the metal plate and releases ice generated around the rod-shaped member from the rod-shaped member.

According to the present invention, the temperature of the rod-shaped member can be rapidly increased by the heater in a state where the liquid container is not located on the lower side of the rod-shaped member, thereby realizing deicing. Thereby, a short ice making cycle can be reliably realized.

Invention effect

As described above, in the present invention, it is possible to provide an ice maker which can efficiently make ice with a simple structure and which can be easily attached and detached from a refrigerator.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the ice maker according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a plan view showing the ice maker according to the embodiment of the present invention.

4 is an A-A cross-sectional view of FIG. 3 , particularly a side cross-sectional view schematically showing the configuration of a cooling portion, a liquid container, and a liquid supply and removal pipe.

5 is a block diagram showing a control structure of the ice maker according to the embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a side sectional view schematically showing a refrigerator including an ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 7( a ) and 7 ( b ) are plan views schematically showing a modification of the arrangement of the radiator 10 in the cooling duct 40 .

8A is a side cross-sectional view schematically showing a liquid supply process performed by the ice maker according to the embodiment of the present invention.

8B is a side cross-sectional view schematically showing an ice making process performed by the ice maker according to the embodiment of the present invention.

8C is a side cross-sectional view schematically showing a liquid removal process performed by the ice maker according to the embodiment of the present invention.

8D is a side cross-sectional view schematically showing an escape step performed by the ice maker according to the embodiment of the present invention.

8E is a side cross-sectional view schematically showing a deicing process performed by the ice maker according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an exemplary flowchart showing a control process of the ice making process shown in FIGS. 8A to 8E .

10(a) and 10(b) are diagrams (photographs) showing ice produced by a prototype ice maker.

detailed description

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, the ice maker and refrigerator described below are for embodying the technical idea of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the following contents unless otherwise specified. In each drawing, the same symbol may be attached|subjected to the member which has the same function. The size, positional relationship, and the like of the members shown in the drawings may be exaggerated in some cases to clarify the description. In the following description and drawings, the vertical direction is shown assuming that the ice maker and the refrigerator are installed on a horizontal plane.

(Ice maker according to one embodiment)

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the ice maker according to the embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 3 is a plan view showing the ice maker according to the embodiment of the present invention. 4 is an A-A cross-sectional view of FIG. 3 , particularly a side cross-sectional view schematically showing the configuration of a cooling portion, a liquid container, and a liquid supply and removal pipe. 5 is a block diagram showing a control structure of the ice maker according to the embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a side sectional view schematically showing a refrigerator including an ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, the outline|summary of the ice maker 2 which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated with reference to FIGS. 1-6.

The ice maker 2 includes a cooling portion 50 capable of freezing liquid to generate ice, a liquid container 60 capable of storing liquid, a moving mechanism 80 for rotating and moving the liquid container 60, a liquid supply portion 72 for supplying liquid to the liquid container 60, And the liquid removal part 74 which removes the liquid in the liquid container 60. 1 to 4 show the liquid supply and removal pipe 70 that actually supplies the liquid to the liquid container 60 and removes the liquid from the liquid container 60 . The liquid supply and removal pipe 70 is a member that realizes the functions of both the liquid supply part 72 and the liquid removal part 74 .

As an example shown in FIG. 6 , the ice maker 2 according to the present embodiment is arranged inside the refrigerator 100 , and is supplied with cold air generated by the cooling system 150 of the refrigerator 100 . The ice maker 2 further includes a control unit 90 (see FIG. 5 ) that controls the components of the ice maker 2 . As the liquid that freezes to generate ice, any liquid including drinking water can be used.

＜Cooling part＞

The cooling portion 50 includes the heat sink 10 , the Peltier element 30 and the metal plate 20 in this order from the upper side to the lower side. Further, the cooling part 50 is also provided with a cooling duct 40 in which the radiator 10 is arranged, and the radiator 10 is cooled by the cooling air flowing therein.

The heat sink 10 has a structure in which a plurality of cooling fins 12 are erected on a substrate 14, and the plurality of cooling fins 12 are arranged substantially parallel to each other with a predetermined interval therebetween. In the metal plate 20 , a plurality of rod-shaped members 24 are connected to the surface of the lower side of the plate-shaped base portion 22 . The Peltier element 30 is disposed between the heat sink 10 and the metal plate 20, and its upper surface is in contact with the lower surface of the heat sink (substrate 14) 10, and its lower surface is in contact with the upper surface of the metal plate (base 22).

As described later, the cool air generated by the cooling system 150 of the refrigerator 100 flows in the cooling duct 40 and between the cooling fins 12 of the radiator 10 arranged in the cooling duct 40 to cool the radiator 10 . By thermal conduction, the cooled heat sink 10 cools the metal plate 20 via the Peltier element 30, and the rod-shaped member 24 of the metal plate 20 is cooled to a temperature below freezing point. At this time, when a part of the rod-shaped member 24 is immersed in the liquid accommodated in the liquid container 60 , ice is generated around the rod-shaped member 24 .

The Peltier element 30 can heat the metal plate 20 by making the side in contact with the metal plate 20 a heat-releasing side, so that the ice generated around the rod-shaped member 24 can be detached from the rod-shaped member 24 . That is, the metal plate 20 can function as a heater. On the other hand, by setting the side in contact with the metal plate 20 as the heat-absorbing side, the metal plate 20 can be cooled by the Peltier element 30 in addition to the cooling by the heat sink 10 . The temperature of the rod-shaped member 24 of the metal plate 20 is further lowered.

[heat sink]

The heat sink 10 is formed of a metal with high thermal conductivity such as aluminum and copper. The substrate 14 is a plate-like member having a substantially rectangular planar shape. The cooling fins 12 are also plate-like members having a substantially rectangular planar shape. The respective cooling fins 12 are erected substantially perpendicular to the base plate 14, and are arranged substantially parallel to each other. Therefore, the plurality of cooling fins 12 have a substantially rectangular planar shape.

[Metal plate]

The metal plate 20 is formed of a metal with high thermal conductivity such as aluminum and copper. The metal plate 20 has a flat base portion 22 and a plurality of metal rod-shaped members 24 attached to the base portion 22 . The rod-shaped member 24 is mounted on the lower surface of the base portion 22 so as to extend downward from the base end portion to the tip end portion.

In FIG. 1 , the case where six rod-shaped members 24 are installed in the base 22 is shown. The rod-shaped member 24 has a circular cross-sectional shape, and an outer diameter of about 5 to 20 mm and a length of about 30 to 80 mm can be exemplified. The planar shape of the base portion 22 is determined by the size and the number of the rod-shaped members 24 to be attached. The heat sink 10 also adopts almost the same planar shape as the base portion 22 of the metal plate 20 . As the plane dimensions of the heat sink 10 and the base portion 22 of the metal plate 20, the vertical and horizontal dimensions can be exemplified as about 40 to 400 mm. The thickness of the base portion 22 can be exemplified as about 2 to 10 mm.

The metal plate 20 according to the present embodiment is provided with a male screw on the base end portion side of the rod-shaped member 24 , and is screwed with a female screw formed in a hole provided in the base portion 22 . With such a configuration, the rod-shaped member 24 can be easily replaced and attached. The rod-shaped member 24 according to the present embodiment has a circular cross-sectional shape, but is not limited to this, and can be replaced with a rod-shaped member having an arbitrary cross-sectional shape including a polygonal shape, a star shape, and a heart shape. In addition, the rod-shaped member 24 and the base portion 22 can also be joined by welding or brazing. When the cooling effect of the rod-shaped member 24 is considered, the solid rod-shaped member 24 is preferable, but the hollow rod-shaped member 24 can also be used in consideration of workability and the like.

[Peltier element]

The Peltier element 30 is an element utilizing the Peltier effect, which refers to the absorption/discharge of heat at the junction when two different metals or semiconductors are joined and current flows. When current is applied to the Peltier element 30 in a predetermined direction, one surface becomes the heat-absorbing side, and the other surface becomes the heat-emitting side. Then, when the current is applied to the Peltier element 30 in the opposite direction, the surface that becomes the heat-absorbing side and the surface that becomes the heat-emitting side are reversed. In the present embodiment, any known Peltier element can be used.

The width and depth of the Peltier element 30 according to the present embodiment can be exemplified as about 20 to 100 m, and the thickness can be exemplified as about 2 to 20 mm. It is also possible to arrange a plurality of Peltier elements 30 according to the size of the heat sink 10 or the metal plate 20 . In this embodiment, the case where three Peltier elements 30 are arranged between the heat sink 10 and the metal plate 20 is shown.

However, it is not limited to the case where the Peltier element 30 is used as the heater, and a heater having only the function of heating the rod-shaped member 24 for deicing can be used. As such a heater, a wire heater, a PTC (Positive Temperature Coefficient) heater, or a ceramic heater can be exemplified. When such a heater is used, not only the heater can be provided between the metal plate 20 and the heat sink 10 , but also the heater can be provided on the lower surface side of the metal plate 20 .

[Fixing structure of heat sink, Peltier element and metal plate]

It has a fixing structure in which both surfaces of the Peltier element 30 are in close contact with the lower surface of the heat sink 10 and the upper surface of the metal plate 20 . For example, the heat sink 10 and the metal plate 20 arranged to sandwich the Peltier element 30 can be fixed to each other using a connection member such as a bolt and nut. By tightening the bolts so as to apply tensile stress to the bolt shafts, the lower surface of the heat sink 10 and the upper surface of the Peltier element 30 can be brought into close contact, and the lower surface of the Peltier element 30 and the metal plate 20 can be brought into close contact with each other. on the top surface.

However, it is not limited to this fixing method, and other arbitrary fixing methods can be used to form the fixing structure of the cooling part 50 .

[cooling pipe]

The cooling duct 40 is formed of, for example, a resin material. The cooling duct 40 has a bottom face portion and three side wall portions erected so as to surround the bottom face portion, and one side face is open. In addition, in one side wall portion, the inflow port 40A into which the cold air flows is opened. The inflow port 40A has an inflow path that expands outward. The bottom surface portion of the cooling duct 40 has a slit-shaped opening, and the rod-shaped member 24 of the metal plate 20 protrudes downward from the cooling duct 40 through the opening. Then, the heat sink 10 , the Peltier element 30 and the base portion 22 of the metal plate 20 are arranged inside the cooling duct 40 surrounded by the three side wall portions.

The cooling duct 40 is further provided with four circular holes in the bottom surface, and a pin 46 having a head is inserted into the hole from the lower side, and the tip portion of the pin 46 is attached to the refrigerator 100 side. Thereby, the cooling part 50 can be attached to the inside of the refrigerator 100 as a whole. Since the cooling part 50 is not connected to the refrigerator 100 side by piping or the like, attachment and detachment of the cooling part 50 to the refrigerator 100 can be easily performed by attaching and detaching the pins 46 .

Next, the flow of cold air in the cooling duct 40 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4 . In Figures 3 and 4, the flow of gas is schematically shown by dashed arrows. The cool air passing through the evaporator 140 of the cooling system 150 of the refrigerator 100 flows into the cooling duct 40 from the inflow port 40A. A certain distance is provided between one end portion 12A of the cooling fin 12 and the inner wall 44 of the cooling duct 40 , and a flow path 42 through which cool air flows is formed. The extending direction of the flow passages 42 is substantially orthogonal to the extending direction of the cooling fins 12 . Moreover, the other end part 12B of the cooling fin 12 is arrange|positioned at the side surface which opens the cooling duct 40. That is, the other end portion 12B of the cooling fin 12 is opened to the inside of the refrigerator 100 .

The cold air that has flowed into the cooling duct 40 flows in a direction substantially orthogonal to the extending direction of the cooling fin 12 along the inner wall 44 of the cooling duct 40 on the side of the one end portion 12A of the cooling fin, while a part of the cooling air flows in a direction substantially perpendicular to the extending direction of the cooling fin 12 . It flows into between the cooling fins 12 . The cool air flowing between the cooling fins 12 flows out into the refrigerator 100 from the other end portion 12B of the cooling fins 12 .

As described above, the cold air passing through the evaporator 140 of the refrigerator 100 enters between the cooling fins 12 to cool the radiator 10 and generate ice around the rod-shaped member 24 of the metal plate 20 cooled by the radiator 10 . Therefore, it is possible to efficiently generate ice while having a simple structure. Moreover, since the ice maker 2 is not connected to the piping etc. of the refrigerator 100, the ice maker 2 can be easily attached and detached. Thereby, it is possible to provide the ice maker 2 which can efficiently make ice with a simple structure, and which can be easily attached and detached from the refrigerator 100 .

In particular, since the cool air flows along the inner wall 44 of the cooling duct 40 and a part thereof flows between the cooling fins 12 , the cool air can flow into the cooling fins 12 without bias. Thereby, the entire radiator 10 is uniformly cooled, and the metal plate 20 cooled by the cooling fins 12 is also uniformly cooled, so that the cooling temperature of each rod-shaped member 24 can be made uniform. Therefore, the size of the ice generated around each rod-shaped member 24 can be made uniform.

In addition, the cold air flowing between the cooling fins 12 to cool the radiator 10 flows inside the refrigerator 100 , and returns to the lower side of the evaporator 140 of the refrigerator 100 while cooling food and the like stored in the refrigerator. Thereby, the efficient ice making by the ice maker 2 and the efficient cooling cycle of the refrigerator 100 can be obtained.

＜Liquid container＞

The liquid container 60 is formed of, for example, an elastic resin material. The liquid container 60 has a liquid storage region R surrounded by a bottom surface portion and a side wall portion erected from the bottom surface portion. The upper part of the liquid storage area R is opened. The rod-shaped member 24 of the metal plate 20 is inserted into the liquid storage region R through the opening, and a predetermined region from the tip portion of the rod-shaped member 24 is arranged in the liquid storage region R. As shown in FIG.

In the ice maker 2 according to the present embodiment, the metal rod-shaped member 24 is brought to a sub-freezing temperature by cooling by the radiator 10 which is cooled by the cold air. Since a predetermined region from the tip of the rod-shaped member 24 is arranged in the liquid storage region R of the liquid container 60, ice can be generated around the portion of the rod-shaped member 24 immersed in the liquid. As the predetermined area, about 8 to 40 mm from the tip portion of the rod-shaped member 24 can be exemplified.

Furthermore, when the Peltier element 30 is included, in addition to the cooling by the heat sink 10, the cooling by the Peltier element 30 is added, so that the cooling can be performed at a lower temperature, and the Ice is generated around the rod-shaped member 24 of the metal plate 20 in a short time.

In the present embodiment, the six rod-shaped members 24 are arranged in a substantially straight line, and the liquid storage region R also extends slenderly along the same. As shown in FIG. 4 , the bottom surface part forming the bottom surface of the liquid storage area R and the side wall part forming the side surface are connected via a smooth curved part, and the upper part is opened, which shows the extension of the liquid storage area R. A section with approximately orthogonal directions.

As shown in FIG. 4 , in the region on the lateral side of the liquid storage region R, a shaft portion 62 extending along the extending direction of the liquid storage region R is provided. As shown in FIG. 2 , one end portion of the shaft portion 62 of the liquid container 60 is connected to a drive shaft of a moving mechanism 80 to be described later. On the other hand, the other end portion of the shaft portion 62 of the liquid container 60 is rotatably supported by the bearing portion 82 provided on the frame portion 84 of the ice maker 2 . With such a structure, the liquid container 60 can be rotated about the point C of the center of the shaft portion 62 as the rotation center. That is, the liquid container 60 can be rotationally moved with the point C located in the end region of the liquid container 60 as the rotation center by the driving force of the moving mechanism 80 .

＜Movement Mechanism＞

The moving mechanism 80 is configured to rotationally move the liquid container 60 . When the drive motor of the moving mechanism 80 is activated and the drive shaft rotates, the liquid container 60 rotates with the point C as the center of rotation. The moving mechanism 80 can rotationally move the liquid container 60 clockwise/counterclockwise by, for example, driving force of a driving motor (refer to the two arrows in FIG. 4 ).

The position of the liquid container 60 as shown in FIG. 4 is called an ice making position. When the liquid container 60 is in the ice-making position, the opening of the liquid container 60 faces upward, and liquid can be stored in the liquid storage region R, and the rod-shaped member 24 of the metal plate 20 is disposed in a predetermined region from the tip through the opening. in the liquid storage area R.

With the moving mechanism 80, the liquid container 60 can be rotated from the ice making position with the point C as the rotation center until the liquid container 60 is not positioned below the rod-shaped member 24 of the metal plate 20 (see FIG. 8C ). , 8D). The position of the liquid container 60 is referred to as an escape position. The rotation angle of the liquid container 60 between the ice-making position and the avoidance position mainly depends on the positional relationship between the rod-shaped member 24 of the metal plate 20 and the liquid container 60, and the position of the point C serving as the rotation center, but it is considered to be 70 degrees. A range to 120 degrees is suitable.

In the present embodiment, there is provided a mechanism that serves as both a liquid supply part 72 which supplies liquid into the liquid container 60 and a liquid removal part 74 which discharges the liquid from the liquid container 60 . The mechanism that doubles as the liquid supply part 72 and the liquid removal part 74 is mainly composed of a storage container for storing the liquid, a liquid supply and removal pump capable of reversing the suction direction and the discharge direction, a liquid supply and removal pipe 70, and a liquid supply and removal flow connecting them. road composition. By serving as both the liquid supply part 72 and the liquid removal part 74 , the number of parts is reduced. In particular, since only the liquid supply and removal pipe 70 is inserted into the liquid container 60 , the space around the liquid container 60 can be saved.

The liquid supply and removal pipe 70 is arranged outside the cooling pipe 40 to prevent the liquid flowing in the liquid supply and removal pipe 70 from freezing.

When the liquid supply and removal pump is driven to the liquid supply side by the control of the control unit 90 to be described later, the liquid in the storage container flows from the liquid supply and removal pump to the liquid supply and removal pipe 70 via the liquid supply and removal flow path, and is removed from the liquid supply and removal. The front end opening 70A of the liquid pipe 70 flows into the liquid container 60 .

When the liquid supply and removal pump is driven to the liquid removal side under the control of the control unit 90, the liquid in the liquid container 60 is sucked from the front end opening 70A of the liquid supply and removal pipe 70, and the liquid is sucked from the liquid supply and removal pipe through the liquid supply and removal flow path. 70 flows in the liquid supply and removal pump and flows into the storage container. At this time, it is preferable to pass the returned liquid through a filter before flowing into the storage container. The filtration function of the filter can suppress the increase in the concentration of the soluble matter or insoluble matter in the liquid in the storage container, and can realize the generation of high-quality ice.

However, the mechanism that doubles as the liquid supply unit 72 and the liquid removal unit 74 is an example, and a separate liquid supply pump, a liquid removal pump, and a separate liquid supply may be provided for each of the liquid supply unit 72 and the liquid removal unit 74. tube and removal tube.

In either case, the liquid container 60 can store liquid in the ice-making position, with an opening above. Therefore, since only the front end region of the liquid supply and removal pipe 70 (or the liquid supply pipe and the liquid removal pipe) is inserted into the liquid container 60 from the upper opening, when the liquid container 60 is rotated and moved, the member can be easily prevented from interference between. However, as is apparent from FIG. 4 , since the front end opening 70A of the liquid supply and removal pipe 70 is arranged at a position of height H from the bottom surface of the liquid container 60, even if the liquid supply and removal pump is driven to the liquid removal side, the The liquid remains in the region from the bottom surface to the height H.

Assuming that the liquid supply and removal port is provided in the bottom of the liquid container 60, the entire liquid in the liquid container 60 can be discharged. However, when the liquid container 60 is rotated and moved, there arises a problem that interference with other members increases and the handling of the liquid-removing hose becomes complicated.

(control unit)

Next, the control structure of the ice maker 2 according to the present embodiment including the control unit 90 will be described with reference to FIG. 5 .

The control unit 90 can form a temperature difference between the two surfaces by controlling the direction and magnitude of the current supplied to the Peltier element 30 so that one surface becomes the heat-absorbing side and the other surface becomes the heat-emitting side.

The control part 90 can rotate the liquid container 60 by driving control of the motor of the moving mechanism 80, and can rotate and move it between an ice making position and an escape position.

The control unit 90 can control the liquid supply and removal pump functioning as the liquid supply unit 72 to be driven to the liquid supply side, thereby supplying the liquid to the liquid container 60 . Similarly, the control unit 90 can control the liquid supply and removal pump functioning as the liquid removal unit 74 to drive it to the liquid removal side, thereby returning the liquid in the liquid container 60 to the storage container.

(Refrigerator according to one embodiment of the present invention)

Next, the refrigerator 100 in which the ice maker 2 according to the present embodiment is arranged in the refrigerator will be described with reference to FIG. 6 . In FIG. 6 , the flow of the gas is shown by the dashed arrow, and the flow of the refrigerant is shown by the one-dot chain arrow.

The refrigerator 100 includes a freezing compartment 102A and a refrigerating compartment 102B. On the rear sides of the freezing compartment 102A and the refrigerating compartment 102B, inlet-side flow paths 104A and B partitioned by a partition plate 106 are provided. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the case where the ice maker 2 is arrange|positioned in the freezer compartment 102A is shown. However, it is not limited to this, and the ice maker 2 may be arrange|positioned in the refrigerator compartment 102B.

The evaporator 140 is arranged in the inlet-side flow passage 104A on the side of the freezing compartment 102A, and the fan 170 is arranged above the evaporator 140 . The compressor 110 which communicates with the evaporator 140 is arrange|positioned in the equipment room outside the back side of 102 A of freezer compartments. A cycle is repeated in which the refrigerant (gas) compressed by the compressor 110 is liquefied by the condenser 120, decompressed when passing through the capillary, the boiling point is lowered, passes through the dryer 130, flows into the evaporator 140, and then, The refrigerant absorbs the heat of the gas inside the refrigerator in the evaporator 140 to be vaporized, and the vaporized refrigerant is compressed by the compressor 110 again. As described above, the cooling system 150 of the refrigerator in which the compressor 110, the condenser 120, the dryer 130, and the evaporator 140 communicate with each other is constructed.

When the compressor 110 and the fan 170 are driven, air flows, and the cool air that has passed through the evaporator 140 flows into the inflow port 40A of the cooling pipe 40 of the ice maker 2 from the opening 106A provided in the partition plate 106 . The partition plate 106 is further provided with the blower outlet which allows the cold air which has passed through the evaporator 140 to flow directly into the freezer compartment 102A together with the opening 106A.

The cold air that has flowed into the cooling pipes 40 enters between the cooling fins 12 and flows out of the ice maker 2 . The cold air flowing out of the ice maker 2 circulates in the freezer compartment 102A, and returns to the lower side of the evaporator 140 in the inlet-side flow path 104A again. By the flow of such a gas, together with the cooling for ice making in the ice maker 2, the foodstuffs etc. accommodated in the freezer compartment 102A can be cooled.

(Variation example of the arrangement of the radiator in the cooling duct)

FIG. 7 is a plan view schematically showing a modified example of the configuration of the radiator 10 within the cooling duct 40 . The flow of gas is shown with dashed arrows. Next, a modification of the arrangement of the radiator 10 in the cooling duct 40 will be described with reference to FIG. 7 .

In the above-described embodiment, the flow path 42 is provided so that the flow direction of the cold air flowing into the cooling duct 40 is substantially orthogonal to the extending direction of the cooling fins 12 . However, in the example shown in FIG.7(a), it flows in the direction which forms an angle which is not a right angle with respect to the extending direction of the cooling fin 12. In FIG. 7( a ), the cold air flowing into the cooling duct 40 changes its flow direction at an obtuse angle, and flows into between the cooling fins 12 . That is, the cold air flowing into the cooling duct 40 flows in a direction intersecting the extending direction of the cooling fin 12 along the inner wall 44 of the cooling duct 40 on the side of the one end portion 12A of the cooling fin 12 . At the same time, a part thereof flows between the cooling fins 12 .

In the example shown in FIG. 7( b ), the radiator 10 is arranged so that the flow direction of the cold air flowing into the cooling duct 40 is almost parallel to the extending direction of the cooling fins 12 . In this case, it is preferable to arrange|position the baffle plate 48 so that the quantity of the cool air which flows to each cooling fin 12 may become equal.

(Control Processing)

8A is a side sectional view schematically showing a liquid supply process performed by the ice maker 2 according to one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 8B is a side sectional view schematically showing an ice making process, and FIG. 8C FIG. 8D is a side cross-sectional view schematically showing an escape process, and FIG. 8E is a side cross-sectional view schematically showing a deicing process. Fig. 9 is a flowchart showing control processing of the ice making process shown in Figs. 8A to 8E. The control process in the case where the Peltier element 30 is included is shown in FIG. 9 . Next, with reference to FIGS. 8A to 8E and FIG. 9 , a description will be given of the control processing performed by the control section 90 .

(ice making process)

The following is an example of a case where the liquid container 60 is in the ice making position, starting from an initial state in which no liquid is stored in the liquid container 60 . 8A to 8C show that the ice making process is repeated a plurality of times under the control of the control part 90, and the ice making process performs the following steps, namely: a liquid supply process in which the liquid supply part 72 supplies liquid to the liquid container 60; After the liquid supply process, the ice making process of maintaining a state in which a predetermined region from the tip portion of the rod-shaped member 24 cooled by the radiator 10 is immersed in the liquid accommodated in the liquid container 60 for a predetermined time; and After the ice making step, the liquid removing unit 74 removes the liquid around the generated ice.

8D and 8E show a moving process in which the moving mechanism 80 relatively moves the cooling portion 50 and the liquid container 60 so that the liquid container 60 is not located on the lower side of the rod-shaped member 24 after the ice making process is repeated a plurality of times, And a deicing process in which the heater (for example, a Peltier element) 30 heats the metal plate 20 to release the ice generated around the rod-shaped member 24 from the rod-shaped member.

<Liquid Supply Step (refer to FIG. 8A )>,

The liquid supply part 72 supplies liquid to the liquid container 60 opened upward in the ice making position. Specifically, the drive motor of the liquid supply and removal pump of the liquid supply part 72 is driven in the liquid supply direction by the control of the control part 90 (refer to step S2 in FIG. 9 ). Thereby, the liquid supply and removal pump sucks the liquid in the storage container, and supplies the liquid to the liquid container 60 via the liquid supply and removal flow path and the liquid supply and removal pipe 70 . The control unit 90 stops the operation of the liquid supply and removal pump when it is determined that the height of the liquid in the liquid container 60 has reached a predetermined height based on the signal from the liquid level sensor or the timing of the timer. Steps S4 and S6 in FIG. 9 show a control process for stopping the operation of the liquid removing pump when the liquid level reaches the liquid level height H at which ice making is performed. By the liquid supply step, the predetermined region L from the tip portion of the rod-shaped member 24 of the metal plate 20 is converted into a state in which the predetermined region L from the tip portion is immersed in the liquid in the liquid container 60 .

After the above-described liquid supply step, an ice-making step is carried out for submerging a predetermined area L from the tip portion of the rod-shaped member 24 of the metal plate 20 to the ice-making temperature for a predetermined period of time. The state in the liquid contained in the liquid container 60 . Specifically, the radiator 10 is cooled by the cold air passing through the evaporator 140 of the refrigerator 100, and the rod-shaped member 24 of the metal plate 20 becomes the ice making temperature below the freezing point by the cooling of the radiator 10. Further, in the case where the Peltier element 30 is included, power is supplied to the Peltier element 30 under the control of the control unit 90 so that the side where the Peltier element 30 is in contact with the heat sink 10 becomes heat radiating side and the side in contact with the metal plate 20 becomes the heat-absorbing side (see step S8 in FIG. 9 ), ice can be generated around the rod-shaped member 24 of the metal plate 20 in a short time.

Then, when it is determined that the predetermined time T has elapsed by the time counting of the timer, the ice making process is terminated. As shown in FIG. 8B , and can be produced from the tip of the rod-shaped member 24 of the metal plate 20 to cover the predetermined area L, the ice G covering the surrounding area can be produced. The predetermined time T can be set to a different value depending on whether or not the Peltier element 30 is provided. When the Peltier element 30 is provided, the control unit 90 stops the power supply to the Peltier element 30 (see steps S10 and S12 in FIG. 9 ).

After the above-described ice-making process, the liquid removing unit 74 removes the liquid remaining in the liquid container 60 under the control of the control unit 90 . Specifically, the liquid supply and removal pump is driven in the liquid removal direction under the control of the control unit 90 (see step S14 in FIG. 9 ). Thereby, the liquid supply and removal pump sucks out the liquid in the liquid container 60 via the liquid supply and removal pipe 70 and the liquid supply and removal flow path, and returns it to the storage container. At this time, the liquid returned to the storage container is filtered through a filter arranged at the return path inlet of the storage container, and then flows into the storage container. Steps S16 and S18 in FIG. 9 show a control process for stopping the operation of the liquid removal pump when the liquid level reaches the liquid level height L at the time of completion of liquid removal.

As described above, since the front end opening 70A of the liquid supply and removal pipe 70 is arranged at the height H from the bottom surface of the liquid container 60 , the liquid remains at least in the region from the bottom surface to the height H. However, since the position of the lower end of the liquid supply and removal pipe 70 is much lower than the position of the lower end of the rod-shaped member 24, the liquid around the ice generated around the rod-shaped member 24 can be removed. Thereby, the first ice making process is completed, and the liquid supply process of the second ice making process is started (refer to the determination of NO in step S20 of FIG. 9 ). In this case, the fresh liquid with few impurities is filled around the ice generated around the rod-shaped member 24, and ice is generated on the surface thereof. Therefore, ice with low turbidity and high transparency can be obtained.

As described above, the control unit 90 repeats the ice making process a plurality of times (N times in the flowchart of FIG. 9 ), and the ice making process performs the steps of supplying the liquid to the liquid container 60 from the liquid supply section 72 . Liquid supply process: ice making in which a predetermined area from the tip portion of the rod-shaped member 24 cooled by the radiator 10 is maintained immersed in the liquid contained in the liquid container 60 for a predetermined period of time after the liquid supply process step; and a liquid removing step in which the liquid removing unit 74 removes the liquid around the generated ice after the ice making step. The size of the ice produced can be adjusted by the number of times the ice-creation process is repeated. This makes it possible to generate transparent ice in a short period of time, which is frozen by a liquid with few impurities that is frequently newly supplied.

When the above-described ice making process is performed a plurality of times and ice of a predetermined size is generated around the rod-shaped member 24, the ice making process is terminated, and the process moves to the avoidance process.

Under the control of the control unit 90 , the moving mechanism 80 rotationally moves the liquid container 60 from the ice making position to an escape position where the liquid container 60 is not positioned below the rod-shaped member 24 of the metal plate 20 . By driving the drive motor of the moving mechanism 80 , the liquid container 60 is rotated from the ice making position to the avoidance position in a range of 70 degrees to 120 degrees (see step S22 in FIG. 9 ). By moving the rotation angle in this way, even the ice G generated by falling from the rod-shaped member 24 of the metal plate 20 in the deicing process described later is not likely to interfere with the liquid container 60 .

In the case shown in FIG. 8D , the liquid remaining in the liquid container 60 can be drained by the drain unit 64 . The discharged liquid can be reused as the liquid supplied into the liquid container 60 by passing through a filter or the like.

<De-icing step (refer to FIG. 8E )>

After the escape step, the rod-shaped member 24 of the metal plate 20 is controlled by the control unit 90 to reach the deicing temperature, and the ice G generated around the rod-shaped member is dropped from the rod-shaped member 24 . The dropped ice G is stored in the ice storage container 66 arranged below.

In order to bring the rod-shaped member 24 of the metal plate 20 to the deicing temperature, when the Peltier element 30 is provided, the Peltier element 30 is energized so that the side in contact with the surface of the heat sink 10 becomes the suction The hot side and the side in contact with the surface of the metal plate 20 become the heat generating side, whereby the temperature of the rod-shaped member 24 of the metal plate 20 can be increased to quickly become the deicing temperature (see step S24 in FIG. 9 ). . When a heater other than the Peltier element 30 is used, by supplying electric power to the heater, the temperature of the rod-shaped member 24 of the metal plate 20 can be raised to become the deicing temperature. Steps S26 and S28 in FIG. 9 show the control process for stopping the energization of the Peltier element 30 after a predetermined time period that is sufficient for all the generated ice G to fall from the rod-shaped member 24 of.

As described above, after the ice making process is repeated a plurality of times, a process is performed in which the moving mechanism 80 relatively moves the cooling portion 50 and the liquid container 60 so that the liquid container 60 does not exist on the lower side of the rod-shaped member 24. process, and a de-icing process in which a heater (for example, a Peltier element) heats the metal plate 20 to release ice generated around the rod-shaped member 24 from the rod-shaped member 24 . Therefore, the temperature of the rod-shaped member 24 can be rapidly increased by the heater (for example, the Peltier element) 30 in a state where the liquid container 60 is not located on the lower side of the rod-shaped member 24, thereby realizing deicing. Thereby, a short ice making cycle can be reliably realized.

(test results)

The ice maker 2 is actually tested, and the above-mentioned ice making process is performed, whereby ice as shown in (a) and (b) of FIG. 10 can be produced. The ice-making time in one ice-making step is about 1 minute, and ice as shown in FIG. 10 can be produced in a total required time of about 35 minutes by the multiple ice-making steps and the avoidance and de-icing steps.

Although the embodiment and the embodiment of the present invention have been described, the disclosed contents can be changed in the details of the structure, and the elements in the embodiment and the embodiment can be realized without departing from the scope and spirit of the claimed invention. combination or sequence change, etc.

Claims

An ice maker, which is arranged inside a refrigerator, is characterized in that, the ice maker comprises:

Cooling parts and liquid containers for storing liquids;

The cooling section includes:

a cooling duct through which the cold air passing through the evaporator of the refrigerator passes;

a radiator having a plurality of cooling fins disposed within the cooling duct;

a metal plate to which a metal rod-shaped member is connected, which extends from a base end portion of the metal plate downward to a tip portion;

wherein the rod-shaped member is cooled by the radiator,

Ice cooled by the radiator plate is generated around the rod-shaped member in a predetermined region from the tip portion of the rod-shaped member immersed in the liquid accommodated in the liquid container.
The ice maker according to claim 1, wherein the cold air flowing into the cooling duct is at the side of one end portion of the cooling fin, along the inner wall of the cooling duct, at a distance from the cooling duct. The cooling fins flow in a direction intersecting the extending directions, and a part of the cooling fins flows between the cooling fins.
The ice maker according to claim 1, wherein the cold air flowing between the cooling fins flows out into the refrigerator from the other end of the cooling fins.
The ice maker of claim 1, comprising:

a liquid supply part for supplying liquid to the liquid container;

a liquid removal section that removes at least a portion of the liquid remaining in the liquid container from the liquid container; and

a control part that controls the liquid supply part and the liquid removal part,

Through the control of the control unit, the ice-making process is repeated multiple times, and the ice-making process includes:

a liquid supply process in which the liquid supply part supplies liquid to the liquid container;

After the liquid supply process, the ice making process is maintained for a predetermined time, the rod-shaped member is cooled by the radiator, and the rod-shaped member is immersed in the liquid container in a predetermined region from the tip portion in liquids contained in; and

After the ice-making step, the liquid removing unit is a liquid removing step in which the liquid around the generated ice is removed.
The ice maker of claim 4, further comprising:

a heater in contact with the metal plate; and

a moving mechanism for moving the cooling part and the liquid container relatively,

Through the control of the control unit,

After repeating the ice making process multiple times, it also includes:

a moving process in which the moving mechanism relatively moves the cooling portion and the liquid container so that the liquid container is not located on the lower side of the rod-shaped member; and

A deicing step in which the heater heats the metal plate and releases ice generated around the rod-shaped member from the rod-shaped member.
The ice maker according to claim 4, characterized in that it has a mechanism that doubles as a liquid supply part and a liquid removal part, comprising a storage container for storing liquid, a liquid supply and removal pump capable of reversing the suction direction and the discharge direction, and a liquid supply and removal pump. A liquid pipe, the liquid supply and removal pipe is inserted into the liquid container from the upper opening of the liquid container.
The ice maker according to claim 1, wherein a bottom surface portion of the cooling duct has a slit-like opening through which a rod-shaped member of a metal plate protrudes downward from the cooling duct, the radiator and the metal The base portion of the plate is arranged inside the cooling duct surrounded by the three side wall portions.
The ice maker according to claim 1, wherein the cooling duct has a bottom surface portion and three side wall portions erected so as to surround the bottom surface portion, and one side wall portion has an opening as an inflow port for cool air, The side on which the side wall portion is not provided serves as an outflow port of the cool air, and the inflow port has an inflow path that expands to the outside.
The ice maker according to claim 1, further comprising: a Peltier element disposed between the radiator and the metal plate, the two sides of the Peltier element being connected to the lower surface of the radiator and the metal plate The upper surface of the metal plate is in close contact to be able to cool the heat sink and increase the temperature of the rod-shaped member of the metal plate.
The ice maker according to claim 5, wherein the liquid container has a liquid storage area, and a shaft portion extending along an extending direction of the liquid storage area is provided in a lateral area of the liquid storage area, One end portion of the shaft portion of the liquid container is connected to a drive shaft of the moving mechanism, and the other end portion of the shaft portion of the liquid container is rotatably supported by a bearing portion provided in the frame portion of the ice maker, and is moved by moving The driving force of the mechanism rotates the liquid container.