CN1211713A - Automatic ice making equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

To execute an ice detecting operation even after an ice separation is conducted by carrying out the ice detecting operation before the ice separation. When an icemaking tray is forward rotated from a horizontal position, ice is separated. Meanwhile, when the tray is reversely rotated, an ice detecting lever is lowered, and whether ice in an ice storage case is fully filled or not is decided. In this case, a Hall integrated is turned on at the horizontal position and maximum twisted position of the tray. If the tray is in an ice detecting direction, the IC is turned off. When it is located in an ice detecting range, a position of the lever is sensed by the IC, and the lever senses the presence or absence of the ice.

Description

Automatic ice making equipment

The invention relates to an automatic ice making device installed in a refrigerator.

Automatic ice-making equipment is installed in the nearest refrigerator. The automatic ice making device supplies the water in the water tank to the ice making tray, and pours the ice generated in the ice making tray into the storage bin.

In order to control the automatic ice-making equipment, it is necessary to obtain information on the position of the ice-making tray and the amount of ice stored in the storage bin. The information on the position of the ice-making tray is used to control the rotation of the ice-making tray when pouring ice. The information on the amount of ice is used to judge whether ice can be prepared. Therefore, it is necessary to install two sensors, a position sensor for detecting the rotational position of the disk, and an ice level sensor for detecting the amount of stored ice.

The position sensor detects the horizontal position of the ice tray and the maximum twisted position of the ice tray due to ice pouring, and sends the detection signals to the control unit. The control part judges the detection signal from the position sensor. If the control part receives the detection signal after the tray is moved along the direction of pouring ice, then this position is the maximum twist position. After the control unit receives the signal, the position is the horizontal position.

The detection of the ice storage capacity is judged according to the ice level detection signal obtained by the ice level sensor detecting the position of the ice level rod. .

However, in order to carry out the above-mentioned control, the two sensors of the position sensor and the ice level sensor must be used at the same time, and it is unfavorable for the reduction of the entire volume of the automatic ice-making equipment used to increase the ice storage capacity, or the reduction of the cost. effect, therefore, it is best to integrate these sensors.

Then, as a means of integrating these two sensors, the following automatic ice maker is provided (JP-A-8-233419).

This automatic ice maker measures the ice level during the rotation of the ice tray when pouring ice, so that not only the position can be detected by a single sensor, but also the signal can be output in a short time when the ice is full. Thereby, full ice can be detected. That is, after the ice tray is rotated in the direction of pouring ice, if the only sensor sends out a signal, then the ice tray is rotated in the opposite direction at this time, and then after a certain period of time, when the sensor sends out a signal, then stop Rotation of the ice tray.

In addition, in the normal ice pouring situation where the ice storage volume does not reach the full value, since the full detection signal is not output during the rotation of the ice tray in the direction of ice dumping, the ice tray is rotated according to the signal at the maximum twist position. Rotate in reverse. When the level is restored, if the signal is only output when the ice storage reaches the full value when the ice is poured out, since the signal will last for a certain period of time, the device ignores the signal and resumes the signal that lasts for a certain period of time in accordance with the horizontal recovery position. Stop the ice maker tray from spinning.

On the other hand, when the ice storage capacity reaches the full value, if the ice making tray is rotated from the horizontal position in the direction of pouring ice, then in the process of rotation, after the full detection signal is output, the tray will be rotated from this position. Reverse rotation, after it returns to the horizontal position, output a signal at this position that can last for a certain period of time, thereby making the ice-making tray stop rotating.

That is, whether the ice tray is full of water can be judged by the time it takes to rotate the ice tray in the direction of pouring ice.

However, if the automatic ice-making equipment with the above-mentioned structure is adopted, under normal circumstances, during the rotation process of the ice-making tray along the direction of ice dumping and the rotation process of the horizontal restoration, the ice level rod moves up and down, and one ice dumping is performed twice. Therefore, this will have an adverse effect on the life of the ice level rod and its operating mechanism.

In addition, even on the premise that the ice level is measured before the ice is poured, when the ice level is measured before the water supply for the next ice preparation, the ice tray must be twisted if it is not full, so the The life of the ice tray is shortened.

In addition, since it is necessary to monitor the rotation time of the ice tray, or the duration of the signal from the sensor, the voltage of the motor driving the rotation of the ice tray must be lowered. Therefore, in the power supply circuit using a transformer, the voltage to the motor changes due to changes in the commercial power supply voltage or an increase in the motor current when the ice tray is twisted. This increases the size of the power supply circuit, which leads to problems such as increased heat generation. If a switching power supply or the like is used, there will be a problem of an increase in cost.

Therefore, the present invention is proposed in view of the above problems. The purpose of the present invention is to provide an automatic ice-making device, which can measure the ice level before pouring the ice, and can also measure the ice after pouring the ice. Bit action, and these actions can be realized with a single sensor.

The automatic ice-making equipment of the first aspect of the present invention includes an ice-making tray. In order to separate the prepared water, the ice-making tray rotates from the horizontal position along the direction of pouring ice, and from the horizontal position along the direction opposite to the direction of pouring ice Direction rotation; storage bin, the storage bin is set below the above-mentioned ice-making tray; ice-level rod, when the above-mentioned ice-making tray rotates in the direction of pouring ice, it can be rotated to be stored in the above-mentioned storage bin from above the ice contact; the control mechanism, the control mechanism controls the step of pouring ice and the step of measuring ice level. The ice-making tray rotates in the direction opposite to the ice pouring, so as to detect whether the above-mentioned storage bin is full of water through the above-mentioned ice level rod.

The automatic ice-making equipment of the second item of the present invention relates to the equipment of the first item above, the equipment includes a detection sensor, and the detection sensor outputs a signal when the above-mentioned ice-making tray rotates at a predetermined angle in the direction of pouring ice, and when the above-mentioned When the ice-making tray rotates in the direction of anti-ice pouring, a signal indicating the rotation state of the above-mentioned ice level rod is output; the control mechanism rotates the above-mentioned ice-making tray from a horizontal position in the direction of ice pouring in the above-mentioned step of pouring ice, and when the above-mentioned After detecting the signal sent by the sensor, the above-mentioned ice-making tray is returned to the horizontal position; in the above-mentioned step of measuring the ice level, the above-mentioned ice-making tray is rotated in the direction of anti-ice pouring, and through the signal sent by the above-mentioned detection sensor, it is detected whether there is a Fill it with water.

The automatic ice-making equipment of the third aspect of the present invention relates to the equipment of the above-mentioned second aspect, the equipment includes a motor that rotates the ice-making tray in the direction of pouring ice and the direction of pouring ice in the opposite direction, and detects the current sent to the motor A current detection mechanism; the detection sensor also outputs a signal when the ice tray is in a horizontal position; the control mechanism performs a horizontal restoration step of returning the ice tray to a horizontal position during an initialization process such as when the power is turned on; The horizontal recovery step includes: a first horizontal recovery step, which uses the motor to rotate the ice-making tray in the direction of pouring ice; a second horizontal recovery step, which is when the current detected by the current detection mechanism reaches a reference value , to make the above-mentioned ice-making tray rotate in the anti-ice pouring direction; the third horizontal recovery step, this step is to stop the above-mentioned ice-making tray at a horizontal position when the signal sent by the above-mentioned detection sensor is detected.

The automatic ice-making equipment of the fourth aspect of the present invention relates to the equipment described in the above-mentioned second aspect. The equipment includes a temperature sensor installed in the above-mentioned ice-making tray, which detects the above-mentioned temperature according to the temperature of the above-mentioned ice-making tray. Presence or absence of water in the ice tray; the control mechanism performs the following steps: a temperature detection step of detecting the water in the ice tray by the temperature sensor during initialization processing such as when the power is turned on. the presence or absence of; the horizontal restoration step, which step returns the ice tray to a horizontal position when it is determined in the temperature detection step that there is no water in the ice tray.

The automatic ice-making equipment of the fifth aspect of the present invention relates to the equipment described in the second aspect above, which includes a temperature sensor installed in the above-mentioned ice-making tray, which detects the temperature of the above-mentioned ice-making tray according to the temperature of the above-mentioned ice-making tray Presence or absence of water in the ice tray; the control mechanism performs the following steps: a temperature detection step of detecting the water in the ice tray by the temperature sensor during initialization processing such as when the power is turned on. the presence or absence of; the horizontal restoration step, this step is to return the above-mentioned ice-making tray to the horizontal position after the ice-making operation is completed when it is determined that there is water in the above-mentioned ice-making tray in the above-mentioned temperature detection step.

The automatic ice-making equipment of the above-mentioned item 1 is described below.

When the ice tray is used to generate ice and then perform the ice pouring operation, the control mechanism performs the ice pouring step of rotating the ice tray from the horizontal position in the ice pouring direction to perform the ice pouring operation.

In addition, in the case of detecting whether the storage bin is full of ice, the step of measuring the ice level is carried out. In this step, the ice making tray is rotated in the opposite direction of pouring ice, and the ice level is detected through the ice level rod.

The automatic ice-making equipment of the above-mentioned 2nd scheme is described below.

During the ice pouring step, the control mechanism rotates the ice making tray from the horizontal position along the ice pouring direction, and when detecting the signal from the detection sensor, determines that the ice making tray is at the maximum twisted position, and restores the ice making tray to the horizontal position. That is, the ice tray is rotated in the direction opposite to pouring ice.

On the other hand, in the step of measuring the ice level, the ice making tray is rotated in the direction opposite to the ice pouring direction, and the ice level rod is used to detect whether the storage bin is full of ice, and the judgment is made according to the signal sent by the detection sensor.

Thus, the detection in the ice pouring step and the ice level detection step can be performed by only one detection sensor.

In the automatic ice making apparatus described in item 3 above, the case where the ice tray is returned to the horizontal position during the initial processing such as when the power is turned on will be described.

The above-mentioned control mechanism performs the first horizontal recovery step, which uses the motor to drive the ice tray to rotate in the direction of pouring ice, and then, when the current detected by the current detection mechanism reaches the reference value, performs the second horizontal recovery step, so that the ice maker The ice tray rotates in the anti-ice pouring direction, and when a signal from the detection sensor is detected, a third horizontal recovery step is performed, which stops the ice tray at a horizontal position. Then, when the ice tray is rotated in the ice pouring direction to the maximum twist position, a load is applied to the motor, thereby increasing the current. As a result, the increase in the current is detected by the current detection means, and it is detected whether the ice tray is located at the maximum twist position.

The automatic ice-making equipment of the above-mentioned item 4 is described below.

When there is water in the ice tray, if the ice tray is rotated, the water may overflow.

For this reason, the control mechanism performs a temperature detection step during the initialization process, which detects the presence or absence of water in the ice tray through a temperature sensor, and only when it is determined that there is no water in the ice tray during the temperature detection step , the level restoration step of returning the ice tray to the horizontal position is performed.

The automatic ice-making equipment of the above-mentioned item 5 is described below.

As mentioned above, when there is water in the ice tray, if the ice tray is rotated, the water will overflow, but if the ice tray is rotated to some extent, the water will not overflow from the ice tray.

For this reason, the control mechanism performs a temperature detection step during the initialization process. This step detects the presence or absence of water in the ice tray through a temperature sensor. When there is water, after the ice-making operation is completed, a horizontal restoration step of returning the above-mentioned ice-making tray to a horizontal position is performed.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an ice making tray in a horizontal position in an automatic ice making apparatus showing one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a front view of the above-mentioned ice-making tray when it is in a horizontal position;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the ice tray in the state of pouring ice;

Fig. 4 is a front view of the ice tray when it is in the state of pouring ice;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view when the ice tray is in the ice detection state and the ice is not full;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the above-mentioned ice-making tray in the state of detecting ice and full of ice;

Fig. 7 is a front view of the occasion where the ice making tray is in the ice detection state;

Fig. 8 is a right side view showing the relationship between the first action part and the second action part;

Fig. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view of the middle section of the refrigerator of the present embodiment;

Fig. 10 is a longitudinal sectional view seen from the right side of the main body of the automatic ice making device;

Fig. 11 is a longitudinal sectional view seen from the back of the main body of the automatic ice making device;

Fig. 12 is the block diagram of automatic ice making equipment;

Fig. 13 is an explanatory diagram of the operating state of the automatic ice making device;

Fig. 14 is a table showing the rotation operation of the ice tray.

The automatic ice making device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

(Overall Structure of Automatic Ice Making Equipment 10)

FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view of the middle section of the refrigerator 12 in which the automatic ice making device 10 is installed.

In FIG. 9 , the refrigerator 12 includes a refrigerator compartment 14 , an ice storage compartment 16 and a freezer compartment 18 from the upper section down, and the automatic ice making device 10 is installed in the ice storage compartment 16 .

The automatic ice-making device 10 is composed of an ice-making tray 20 , a main body 22 rotatably supporting the ice-making tray, and an ice level rod 24 that can freely rotate relative to the main body 22 .

In addition, a water tank 26 for supplying water to the ice tray 20 is installed at the bottom of the refrigerator compartment 14, and the water provided by the water tank 26 is sent to the ice tray 20 through a water inlet pipe 30, and the water inlet pipe 30 is installed between the refrigerator compartment 12 and the storage tank. between the partition members 28 of the ice compartment 16 .

In addition, a storage bin 32 for storing ice falling from the ice making tray 20 is installed below the ice making apparatus 10 .

(Internal Structure of Automatic Ice Making Equipment 10)

The internal structure of the main body 22 of the automatic ice making device 10 will be described below according to FIGS. 10 and 11 . FIG. 10 is a longitudinal sectional view seen from the right side of the main body 22 , and FIG. 11 is a longitudinal sectional view seen from the back of the main body 22 .

As shown in FIG. 10 , the tray rotation shaft 34 of the ice making tray 20 passes through the rear of the main body 22 .

As shown in FIG. 11 , a disc 36 and a first gear 38 are coaxially attached to the disk rotating shaft 34 . The second gear 40 meshes with the first gear 38 , and the third gear 42 meshes with the second gear 40 . A motor 44 is provided between the circular plate 36 and the rear surface of the main body 22, and a worm 46 mounted on a rotating shaft of the motor 44 meshes with the third gear 42 described above.

Thus, when the motor 44 is driven, the worm 46 , the third gear 42 , the second gear 40 , and the first gear 38 rotate, and the circular plate 36 is driven to rotate accordingly, so that the ice tray 20 rotates.

On the other hand, the ice level rod 24 is hinged to the rod rotation shaft 48 on the right side of the main body 22 .

(Structure for rotating the ice tray 20)

The circular plate 36 and the ice level rod 24 for rotating the ice making tray 20 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1-8 . In addition, in FIGS. 1 to 8, since it is easy to illustrate the gears 38, 40, 42, 46 and the motor 44 that rotate the circular plate 36, their description is omitted.

First, the rotation direction of ice tray 20 will be described.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , "the horizontal state of the ice-making tray 20" refers to a state in which the ice-making surface is horizontal.

When the ice-making tray is performing an ice-dumping action, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 , it rotates in a positive direction, and the ice-making tray 20 is in a twisted state, so that ice can be poured out. Here, "positive rotation" refers to the A1 direction in FIGS. 3 and 4 .

Ice tray 20 rotates in reverse rotation direction A2 opposite to normal rotation direction A1 as shown in FIGS.

The rear surface of the circular plate 36 constitutes a first cam 50 , and the front surface of the circular plate 36 constitutes a second cam 52 .

Next, the structure and operation of the first cam 50 will be described.

As shown in FIGS. 2 , 4 , and 7 , a first cam groove 53 is formed in a substantially annular shape behind the circular plate 36 .

In front of the above-mentioned first cam 50, a long plate-shaped first operating member 54 is installed. The right end of the first operating member 54 can freely rotate around the pivot point 56, and the left end can freely move up and down. Moreover, the magnet 58 for position detection is attached to this left end part. In addition, a first protrusion 60 that fits into the first cam groove 53 is provided at the center of the first operating member 54 .

Thus, when the circular plate 36 (first cam 50) rotates, the first protrusion 60 moves up and down along with the rotation of the first cam groove 53, and the position detection magnet 58 located at the left end of the first operating member 54 Also move up and down.

Here, the first cam groove 53 is formed in such a manner that the magnet 58 for position detection of the first operating member 54 is positioned only when the ice tray 20 is positioned at about ±10° from the horizontal position. At the upper position, and only at this position, the first cam groove 53 is formed in the shape of a groove with a large diameter expanding upward (hereinafter, the above position of the ice tray is referred to as "horizontal area 62").

In addition, at a position rotated approximately 180° in the normal rotation direction, the first cam groove 53 is formed into a groove shape with a larger diameter in order to raise the first convex portion 60 upward again (hereinafter, this position is referred to as is the "maximum twist area 63" of the ice tray).

In addition, at other rotation angles, the magnet 58 for position detection is made into the shape of the groove with a small diameter so that it may be located in the downward position.

Next, the structure and operation of the second cam 52 will be described.

The second cam 52 is formed by an annular second cam groove 64 on the front surface of the circular plate 36 .

The second convex portion 66 is fitted into the second cam groove 64 , and the second convex portion 66 protrudes from the rod rotation shaft 48 of the ice level rod 24 .

When the ice tray 20 rotates about 45° in the reverse rotation direction, the second cam groove 64 is in the shape of a groove with a larger diameter so that the second protrusion 66 can move downward toward other positions (hereinafter, this position is referred to as It is the "ice measuring area 68" of the ice making tray).

Also, a second operating lever 70 is installed at the center of the lever rotating shaft 48, and a magnet 72 for ice storage detection is installed at the front end of the second operating member 70. The detection magnet 72 is located near the position detection magnet 58 .

The action of the second cam 52 will be described below. When the ice making tray 20 rotates about 45° in the reverse direction, the ice level measuring area 68 is located at the second convex portion 66 of the rod rotation shaft 48 . Thereby, at this position, the ice level is detected by the ice level rod 24. If the storage bin 32 is full of ice, the ice level rod 24 is in contact with the ice and cannot rotate. The second convex portion 66 on the rod rotating shaft 48 Cannot fall into the ice level area 68 . On the other hand, when there is no ice or the ice is not fully filled, the ice level rod 24 rotates downward due to gravity, and the second convex portion 66 falls into the ice level measuring area 68 . At this time, the ice storage detection magnet 72 also rotates with the lever rotation shaft 48 .

Hall integrated circuit 74 is housed in the inner side of the right side of main body 22 . When the Hall IC 74 approaches the magnet 58 for position detection described above, or the magnet 72 for detecting ice storage, it changes from the closed state to the open state.

(Circuit structure in the automatic ice making device 10)

The following describes the circuit structure of the automatic ice making device 10 according to the block diagram of FIG. 12 .

The control mechanism 78 for controlling the automatic ice making device 10 is composed of a microcomputer, which is connected with the Hall integrated circuit 74 , the temperature sensor 76 and the driving circuit 80 of the motor 44 . In addition, this mechanism is also connected to the current detection circuit 82 . This current detection circuit 82 detects the value of the current sent from the drive circuit 80 to the motor 44 .

Temperature sensor 76 is contained in the bottom surface of ice making tray 20, and it detects the temperature of this ice making tray 20, and sends its detection signal to control mechanism 78. The control mechanism 78 judges whether the ice making operation is completed or not based on the detection signal. Specifically, when the detected temperature is below -9.5°C for 2 hours, and when the detected temperature is below -12.5°C for 10 seconds, it is determined that the ice making operation is complete.

(Operating state of the automatic ice making device 10)

The operation state of the above-mentioned automatic ice making device 10 will be described below according to FIGS. 1 to 8 , 13 and 14 .

(1) When the ice tray 20 is in a horizontal position (see Figures 1, 2, 13, and 14)

When ice is produced in the ice tray 20 or when there is no water, the ice tray 20 remains stationary in a horizontal position.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 1 , in the second cam 52 , since the second convex portion 66 is located outside the ice level area 68 , the rod rotation shaft 48 is kept in a state of raising the ice level rod 24 upward. On the other hand, since the second operating member 70 is located away from the Hall IC 74 , the ice storage detection magnet 72 does not affect the Hall IC 74 .

As shown in FIG. 2, in the first cam 50, since the first protrusion 60 of the first action member 54 is located in the horizontal region 62 of the first cam groove 53, the position detection magnet 58 of the first action member 54 Located near the Hall integrated circuit 74, as shown in FIG. 13, the Hall integrated circuit 74 is in an open state.

(2) When the ice tray 20 performs the ice dumping operation (refer to Fig. 3, 4, 13, 14)

According to the temperature detection signal of the temperature sensor 76, it is judged whether the ice-making operation is completed. If the ice-making operation is completed, the motor 44 in the ice-dumping operation rotates the ice-making tray 20 in the positive rotation direction A1.

As shown in FIG. 4 , when the circular plate 36 (first cam 50 ) rotates, since the first protrusion 60 moves to a position other than the horizontal area 62 while rotating, the magnet 58 for position detection of the first operation member 54 It is separated from the Hall integrated circuit 74, and as shown in FIG. 13 , the Hall integrated circuit 74 is turned off.

As shown in FIG. 4 , the motor 44 continues to rotate, and when the motor 44 rotates to a position of about 180°, the first convex portion 60 moves to the maximum twist area 63 . Thereby, the magnet 72 for detection of ice storage in the 1st operating member 54 is located near the Hall IC 74 again, and as shown in FIG. 13, this Hall IC 74 is opened.

When the Hall integrated circuit 74 changes from the closed state to the open state again, as shown in FIG. Drive in the direction of rotation.

When the ice tray 20 is rotated in the reverse rotation direction to move away from the position of the maximum twist region 63, the hall IC 74 is in the off state, and this state is continuously maintained for a while. In addition, as shown in FIG. 13 , when reaching the horizontal area 62 , the Hall IC 74 is turned on again, so that the control mechanism 78 determines that the ice tray 20 has returned to the horizontal position, thereby stopping the motor 44 .

(3) When the ice level rod 24 measures the ice level (refer to Figures 5, 6, 7, 8, 13, and 14)

As shown in FIG. 13, the timer installed inside the control mechanism 78 is driven for a predetermined time t1 so that the ice tray 20 rotates about 45° in the reverse direction.

As shown in FIG. 7, in the first cam 50, since the first convex portion 60 reaches a position other than the horizontal region 62, the position detection magnet 58 of the first action member 54 is separated from the Hall integrated circuit 74, so that The Hall integrated circuit 74 is in an off state. In this state, the ice level area 68 is located at the position of the second convex portion 66 .

As shown in FIG. 6 , when the ice storage bin 32 is full of ice, the ice level rod 24 is in contact with the water and cannot rotate, and the second convex portion 66 a is in a state of floating relative to the ice level measuring area 68 . Thereby, since the ice storage detection magnet 72 of the second operating member 70 is also separated from the Hall IC 74, the Hall IC 74 is turned off.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7 , when there is no ice in the storage bin 32 and the ice level rod 24 descends, the second convex portion 66 b also falls downward into the ice level measuring area 68 . Then, the ice storage detection magnet 72 in the second operating member 70 approaches the Hall IC 74, and the Hall IC 74 is turned on. As shown in FIG. 13, the control mechanism 78 determines that there is no ice in the storage bin 32 due to returning to the above-mentioned open state.

As shown in FIG. 13 , in order to return the ice making tray 20 to the horizontal position, the motor 44 rotates the ice making tray 20 in the positive rotation direction again for t1 time. At this time, whether the ice tray 20 is restored is judged in this way. When the first convex portion 60 reaches the position of the horizontal region 62 and the Hall integrated circuit 74 is in an open state, the restored position is reached.

(4) Control of the sequence of ice level measurement action and ice pouring action

The sequence of the ice level measuring action and the ice pouring action is arbitrary.

For example, the ice pouring action can be performed after the ice level measuring action. When it is determined that the ice is not full through the ice level measurement action and the ice dumping action can still be performed, after the ice level measurement position is rotated along the positive rotation direction for t1 time, the ice dumping action can be continuously performed immediately.

In addition, when it is full of ice, the ice tray 20 may not be returned to the horizontal position, but the ice tray 20 may be in an inclining state of 45°, and wait for the ice to be used until the ice level bar 24 descends. In addition, once the ice tray 20 returns to the horizontal position, the opening and closing of the door or a certain time interval may be used as an opportunity to perform the ice level measurement operation again.

When the ice pouring operation is performed first, the ice level measurement operation is performed before the water for ice making is supplied next time. When it is detected that the ice is full through the ice level measurement operation, the water is not supplied until the ice is not full. The waiting method is the same as the above-mentioned situation where the ice level is measured first, and the ice tray 20 can also be placed in a tilted state to wait for the water to be used until the ice level rod 24 descends. In addition, once the ice tray 20 returns to the horizontal position, The opening and closing of the door, or a certain time interval can be used as an opportunity to measure the ice level again.

(performance of motor 44)

Next, the motor 44 will be described.

When pouring ice, it is determined by the Hall integrated circuit 74 whether the ice tray 20 is in the horizontal position or in the maximum twisted position, and it is not necessary to use a timer for time control at the same time. Thus, the action of pouring ice through the motor 44 has nothing to do with the voltage of the motor 44 . For example, the motor voltage can be in a wide range of 7-13V.

On the contrary, when carrying out the action of measuring ice level, only need make the second cam 52 rotate to the position that ice level bar 24 can detect ice level and just pass. In other words, since there is no load applied to the motor 44 in this case, there is basically no need for motor torque, so it will not have such a large impact on the variation of the power supply voltage. The variation of the rated value, such as a variation of ± 2V relative to 12V, does not affect the power supply voltage. There will be a problem, but it is possible to maintain a margin for the stability of the power supply voltage.

In addition, when performing the ice level measurement action, because the motor voltage can be a certain lower limit voltage that can realize the ice dumping action, this can improve the action accuracy of the ice level rod 24, and the price of using a transformer in the drive circuit 80 can be adopted. lower power.

(Horizontal Restoration Control Method of Ice Tray 20)

(1) 1st level recovery control method

Next, the first horizontal return control method for returning the ice tray 20 to the horizontal position when the refrigerator is initialized, such as when the power is turned on, will be described.

When performing the initialization process described above, the ice tray 20 is rotated in the forward direction for more than t1 time (for example, t1+1 second, hereinafter referred to as "t2 time").

Then, the ice making tray 20 is in a position between the horizontal position and the maximum twisted position, and then the ice making tray 20 is rotated in the reverse direction, and the above-mentioned Hall IC 74 returns to the open position, that is, returns to the horizontal position.

Also, during the period from the horizontal position to the maximum twisted position, when rotating in the forward direction for a time t2 longer than t1, since the ice making tray 20 rotates beyond the maximum twisted position, a stopper is installed in order to prevent its rotation from exceeding the maximum twisted position. Moving parts, or disengage the engagement between the gears 38-46, without restricting the rotation of the ice tray 20 as well.

(2) Second level recovery control method

Next, the second level restoration control method of the ice tray 20 will be described.

If the first horizontal return control method is adopted, in order to prevent the ice tray 20 from exceeding the maximum twist position, it is necessary to provide a stopper, and this stopper will cause stress to the gears 38-46. In addition, when the gears 38 to 46 are disengaged, disengagement noise is generated.

Therefore, in the second horizontal return control method, control is performed such that the current supplied from the drive circuit 80 to the motor 44 is controlled so as not to rotate the ice tray 20 beyond the maximum twist position.

Specifically, at the maximum twist position, the Hall IC 74 is in an open state, and at the same time, the torque caused by the twist acts on the motor 44, and the motor current increases. Therefore, when the Hall integrated circuit 74 is in the open state, and the current detection circuit 82 detects that the motor current exceeds the reference value, it is determined that the ice-making tray is at the maximum twisted position. At this time, even if the forward rotation does not reach the time t2 Under normal circumstances, it is still rotated in the opposite direction. Once the Hall integrated circuit 74 becomes the off state, when the ice-making tray rotates to the horizontal position where the Hall integrated circuit 74 is in the next open state, the its stopped.

(3) 3rd level recovery control method

Next, the third level recovery control method of the ice tray 20 will be described.

Instead of judging the motor current based on the reference value according to the second horizontal recovery control method, in the third horizontal recovery control method, the difference between the motor current during normal rotation and the current during forward rotation under horizontal recovery control is determined. Whether the difference is greater than the reference value, to judge whether the maximum torsion position is reached. Other points are the same as the second level restoration control method. By using this current difference, it is possible to eliminate the influence of individual differences in motors, changes over time, and changes in coil impedance due to temperature.

Specifically, the motor current during normal rotation is the current value when the forward rotation is performed for a time t2 and then the reverse rotation is performed for 1 second, and this is defined as the motor current during normal rotation.

This is because no torque acts on the ice tray 20 when rotating in the reverse direction even when the ice tray is at the maximum twisted position.

In addition, at this time, in order to detect the normal current before the forward rotation at time t2, it is necessary to rotate in the forward rotation for a reverse rotation time.

(4) 4th level recovery control method

Next, the fourth level restoration control method of the ice tray 20 will be described.

When the fourth level recovery control method detects that the Hall integrated circuit 74 and the current increase have reached the maximum twisted position, the ice tray 20 must be rotated in the forward direction regardless of the time t2 to the maximum twisted position, and then the It rotates in the opposite direction, returning to the horizontal state.

(5) 5th level recovery control method

By the above-mentioned method, it is of course possible to return the ice tray 20 to the horizontal position. However, if water enters the ice tray 20, there is a danger of water overflowing. For this reason, it is necessary to carry out the following control before the above-mentioned horizontal recovery operation.

The temperature of the ice tray 20 is detected by the temperature sensor 76, and when it is judged that the water preparation operation is completed, the above-mentioned horizontal recovery operation is performed. By adopting the above method, the phenomenon that water overflows from the ice making tray 20 can be prevented. In addition, when the power is turned on and the tray is cold (for example, the temperature sensor is below -9.5°C), it can be clearly determined that no water has entered, and the horizontal recovery operation can be performed without waiting for the completion of the ice making operation.

On the other hand, when water enters the ice tray 20, the ice tray 20 is in a horizontal position. At this time, even if the ice tray 20 is rotated by ±10°, the water will not overflow. Therefore, if after the initialization process, the position of the ice tray 20 is rotated in the opposite direction by about 10°, and the Hall IC 74 is turned off, since the ice tray 20 is not in the horizontal position, the return to the horizontal position is performed. Position the aforementioned horizontal recovery action. In addition, in other cases, since there may be water, the ice tray 20 is returned to the original position, and the device will end the operation of making ice regardless of the presence or absence of water, and then perform the horizontal recovery operation.

In addition, a pilot switch is combined with a magnet, or a cam is combined with a switch, so as to replace the Hall IC 74 in the above-mentioned embodiment.

If the automatic ice making equipment of the present invention is adopted, the ice pouring action and the ice level measurement action can be performed independently, and the ice level measurement action can be performed after the ice pouring action, and in addition, it can also be reversed, and the ice pouring action can be performed after the ice level measurement action action.

If the automatic ice-making equipment described in the second solution of the present invention is adopted, the ice pouring action and the ice level measuring action can be performed through one detection sensor.

If the automatic ice-making equipment described in the third aspect of the present invention is adopted, the ice-making tray can be surely restored to the horizontal position by performing the horizontal restoration action step after the initialization process.

If the automatic ice-making equipment described in the fourth item of the present invention is adopted, when it is determined that there is no water in the ice-making tray, the water will not overflow from the ice-making tray due to the horizontal recovery step.

If the automatic ice-making equipment described in the fifth item of the present invention is adopted, when it is determined that there is water in the ice-making tray, since the horizontal restoration step is performed after the ice-making action, the water will not overflow.

Claims (5)

1. automatic icing equipment is characterized in that it comprises:

Ice-making disc, for the ice that makes preparation breaks away from, this ice-making disc can be from horizontal level along icing the direction rotation, and can from horizontal level along with ice direction opposite to the rotation of instead ice direction;

The storage refrigerator, this storage refrigerator is arranged at the below of above-mentioned ice-making disc;

With an ice position bar, this ice position bar in above-mentioned ice-making disc along instead icing direction when rotating, rotatable to contact with ice being stored in above-mentioned storage refrigerator from the top;

Controlling organization, this controlling organization control is iced step and is surveyed the ice step, this ice in the step above-mentioned ice-making disc from horizontal level along icing the direction rotation, thereby fall the ice action, survey whether above-mentioned ice-making disc fills with ice along instead icing the direction rotation thereby detect above-mentioned storage refrigerator by above-mentioned ice position bar in the step of ice position.

2. automatic icing equipment according to claim 1 is characterized in that:

This equipment comprises 1 detecting sensor, and this detecting sensor is in above-mentioned ice-making disc output signal when icing direction rotation predetermined angular, and in above-mentioned ice-making disc when instead icing the direction rotation, the signal of the rotation status of the above-mentioned ice of output expression position bar;

Above-mentioned controlling organization is iced in the step above-mentioned, make above-mentioned ice-making disc from horizontal level along icing direction rotation, after detecting the signal that above-mentioned detecting sensor sends, make above-mentioned ice-making disc return to horizontal level;

In the step of above-mentioned survey ice position, make above-mentioned ice-making disc along instead icing the direction rotation, by the signal that above-mentioned detecting sensor is sent, detect in the above-mentioned storage refrigerator whether fill with ice.

3. automatic icing equipment according to claim 2 is characterized in that:

This equipment comprises makes above-mentioned ice-making disc along icing direction and instead icing the motor of direction rotation; And

The current detecting mechanism that the electric current that is sent to said motor is detected;

Above-mentioned detecting sensor is output signal when above-mentioned ice-making disc is positioned at horizontal level also;

In the initialization process process of above-mentioned controlling organization when power connection etc., make above-mentioned ice-making disc return the horizontal recovering step of horizontal level;

This horizontal recovering step comprises:

The 1st horizontal recovering step, this step makes above-mentioned ice-making disc along icing the direction rotation by said motor;

When the 2nd horizontal recovering step, this step reach a reference value at the detected electric current of above-mentioned current detecting mechanism, make above-mentioned ice-making disc along instead icing the direction rotation;

The 3rd horizontal recovering step, this step makes above-mentioned ice-making disc stop at horizontal level when detecting the signal that above-mentioned detecting sensor sends.

4. automatic icing equipment according to claim 2 is characterized in that:

This equipment comprises temperature sensor, and this temperature sensor is installed in the above-mentioned ice-making disc, and it is according to the temperature of above-mentioned ice-making disc, detects having or not of water in the above-mentioned ice-making disc;

Above-mentioned controlling organization carries out following step:

In the process of temperature detection step, this step initialization process when power connection etc.,, detect having or not of water in the above-mentioned ice-making disc by the said temperature sensor;

Horizontal recovering step, this step detect at said temperature to be judged in the step in the above-mentioned ice-making disc and to make above-mentioned ice-making disc return horizontal level when anhydrous.

5. automatic icing equipment according to claim 2 is characterized in that:

This equipment comprises temperature sensor, and this temperature sensor is installed in the above-mentioned ice-making disc, and it is according to the temperature of above-mentioned ice-making disc, detects having or not of water in the above-mentioned ice-making disc;

Above-mentioned controlling organization carries out following step:

In the process of temperature detection step, this step initialization process when power connection etc.,, detect having or not of water in the above-mentioned ice-making disc by the said temperature sensor;

Horizontal recovering step, this step is judged when in the above-mentioned ice-making disc water being arranged in said temperature detection step, after the ice making action finishes, is made above-mentioned ice-making disc return horizontal level.

Images