JP3483735B2 - Automatic ice making equipment - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic ice making device having an improved control structure for an ice removing operation after completion of ice making.

[0002]

Conventionally, in the automatic ice making device, when ice making is completed, the next ice removing operation is usually performed. That is, the ice tray in a horizontal state is rotated in the forward direction by a motor, for example, to be inverted downward, and the ice tray is twisted before it is turned downward so that the ice is easily removed from the ice tray. Due to such inversion and twist, the ice in the ice tray is released, and is dropped and stored in the ice storage container arranged below.

By the way, in this case, in a situation where a large amount of ice is stored in the ice storage container by the previous ice removing operation,
When a new ice removing operation is performed, the ice can no longer be stored. To prevent this from happening, the amount of ice storage is detected in advance. That is, since the detection lever is rotatably provided so as to come into contact with the ice in the storage container from above, and the rotation angle is different between the full state and the small amount state, the ice storage sensor for detecting the rotation angle. Is provided, and whether or not it is full is detected based on the output of this sensor.

Further, a plate sensor for detecting the horizontal position and the final reversal position of the ice tray is provided, and when the ice tray is reversed in the normal direction during the ice removing operation to reach the ice removal completion position, this is detected. When it is detected by the sensor, and the motor is rotated in the reverse direction based on this, and the motor returns to the original horizontal position, this is also detected by the dish sensor, and the motor is stopped based on this.

However, in the above conventional configuration, the number of sensors related to the ice removing operation is large and the electrical configuration becomes complicated. Moreover, since the number of sensors is large, the inspection becomes troublesome when a failure occurs.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to detect the ice storage amount and the dish state with a single sensor, and thus to reduce the number of sensors automatically. To provide an ice making device.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a motor capable of rotating normally and reversely, and an ice tray for producing ice and rotating the motor in the forward direction to remove the ice. An ice storage container that stores the released ice, a detection lever that is rotatably provided so as to come into contact with the ice stored in the ice storage container from above, and a first lever that interlocks with the motor.
A cam member having a cam portion and a second cam portion, a sensor provided at a stationary portion, and a first cam portion connecting portion that is connected to the first cam portion of the cam member. Is provided so as to be operated by the first cam portion, and when the ice tray is in a horizontal position and when the ice tray is in an ice removal completion position by the forward rotation of the motor, A portion for operating the sensor and a dish position detecting operator, and the rotation shaft of the detection lever, which is provided integrally with the second cam portion to allow rotation of the detection lever. A possible second cam connecting portion and a rotation shaft of the detection lever are provided integrally with each other, and the sensor is activated when the detection lever reaches a predetermined position with the rotation of the rotation shaft in the opposite direction. When the ice detecting element to be operated and the ice removal command are given, the motor is rotated in the reverse direction. However, it is determined whether or not the ice storage amount is full according to the presence or absence of a signal from the sensor, and when the ice storage amount is not full, control means for controlling the motor to rotate in the forward direction to perform ice removal. To be done.

In this structure, the ice tray is in a horizontal state during ice making (normal state). Then, when the deicing command is given to the control means, the control means causes the motor to rotate in the reverse direction. This reverse rotation causes the cam member to rotate.
That is, the first cam portion and the second cam portion rotate.
In this case, since the motor rotates in the reverse direction, the second cam portion and the second cam portion
The detection lever is rotated by the connection with the cam connection part. Here, if the ice storage container is low in ice, the detection lever reaches a predetermined position. Then, the ice detecting operator operates the sensor. If the ice storage container has a lot of ice, the detection lever comes into contact with the stored ice and stops before reaching the predetermined position, and the sensor does not operate. The control means determines whether or not the ice storage amount is full by the operation / non-operation of this sensor.

When the control means determines that it is not full, it executes ice-freezing control. That is, the motor is rotated in the forward direction. Then, the ice tray rotates, and a twist is applied during the rotation, so that the ice separates. In this case, when the motor rotates in the forward direction, the first cam portion of the cam member and the first connecting portion for the cam portion are connected to each other to operate the plate position detecting operator, and the ice tray is released from ice. One end activates the sensor when in the completed position. As a result, the completion of ice removal is detected.

In such a structure, it is possible to detect the amount of stored water and the position of the ice tray with a single sensor, and it is possible to reduce the number of sensors. Further, by switching between the reverse rotation and the normal rotation of the motor, it is possible to switch between the determination operation of fullness and the ice tray position detection operation, which facilitates the control.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a room for storing the ice storage container is provided with a door for opening and closing the ice storage container, and door opening / closing detection means for detecting the opening / closing of the door is provided. At the time of full detection, an opportunity to determine whether or not it is full is set at a predetermined timing, and when the door is opened / closed, the motor is controlled to return the detection lever to the original position, and at the next predetermined timing, it is full. It is characterized in that it is adapted to execute a judgment as to whether or not it is.

In this structure, when the door is opened and closed, the detection lever is returned to the original position, so that it is possible to perform the operation of determining whether or not the door is full from the initial position. Further, since the judgment operation of fullness is performed on condition that the door has been opened / closed, the full ice judgment operation can be performed at an appropriate time. In other words, the fact that the door is opened and closed is the main purpose for the user to take out ice from the ice storage container, so it is appropriate to judge whether the ice storage amount has decreased at the timing when the door was opened or closed. is there. By the way, if the fullness determination operation is performed every time the door is opened / closed, the ice removal operation is also sequentially performed each time it is detected that the door is not full, resulting in useless ice removal operation control from the beginning. However, in the above configuration, when the door is opened and closed,
Since it is determined whether or not it is full at the next predetermined timing, it is possible to eliminate useless ice removing operation.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a room for storing the ice storage container is provided with a door for opening and closing the ice storage container, and door opening / closing detection means for detecting the opening / closing of the door is provided. When full is detected, when it is detected that the door has been opened or closed thereafter, the motor is controlled so as to return the detection lever to the original position, and a certain time is counted from that point, and when the count is complete The feature is that the counting operation is continuously executed even if the door is opened / closed before the completion of the counting for the fixed time period.

In this structure, since the detection lever is returned to the original position when the door is opened or closed, it is possible to perform the operation of determining whether or not the door is full from the initial position. Further, it can be said that it is proper timing to perform the judgment operation of whether or not the door is full based on the opening / closing of the door, but if the door is opened / closed once, the operation is completed within a short time thereafter. Doors are often opened and closed several times. In this case, if the judgment operation as to whether or not it is full is performed immediately when the first door is opened and closed,
It is also predicted that the next door opening / closing (ice removal) and the operation of determining whether or not this is full overlap. In anticipation of this, in the above configuration, when it is detected that the door has been opened and closed, a certain period of time is counted from that point, and it is determined whether or not it is full at the time when the counting is completed. It will be eliminated as much as possible.

In this case, if the door is opened / closed during this counting and the door is opened / closed to reset the count (counting is performed from the beginning), when the door is opened / closed before counting up. In addition, there is a possibility that the operation of determining whether or not it is full is not performed at any time, or the timing of the operation of determining whether or not it is full is delayed.
However, in this configuration, even if the door is opened / closed before the completion of counting for a certain period of time, the first counting operation is continuously executed, and there is no such problem.

The invention of claim 4 is characterized in that the ice tray is designed to be twisted when the motor rotates in the reverse direction. In this structure, the ice on the ice tray is easily released, and the ice can be easily released thereafter by the normal rotation of the motor.

[0017]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A first embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an automatic ice making device provided in a refrigerator will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 shows a portion of the refrigerator related to the ice making device. In FIG. 2, an ice making chamber 2 is provided at the center of the refrigerator body 1. Cold air from a refrigerating cycle (not shown) is supplied into the ice making chamber 2, and the internal temperature is kept at, for example, -18 ° C. The front opening of the ice making chamber 2 is adapted to be opened and closed by a drawer type door 2a, and the ice storage container 3 is provided on the back side of the door 2a.
Are connected. This ice storage container 3 is designed to be taken in and out of the ice making chamber 2 in accordance with the opening and closing operation of the door 2a, and at the time of taking it in and out, the rear side wall portion 3a has an ice making device main body 7, an ice making tray 9, and a detection lever 11 which will be described later. It does not hit. A refrigerating room 4 is provided above the ice making room 2, and a freezing room 5 is provided below the ice making room 2.
Is provided. In addition, the door 2 is provided in the refrigerator body 1.
Door sensor 26 which is a door opening / closing detecting means for detecting opening / closing of a.
(Not shown in FIG. 2, see FIG. 4) is provided.

The automatic ice making device 6 comprises an ice making device main body 7 arranged on the ceiling of the ice making chamber 2 and a water supply device 8 arranged in the refrigerating chamber 4. The ice making device main body 7 is provided with an ice tray 9 on the back side of the machine body 7a, and the water from the water supply device 8 is supplied to the ice tray 9 in a fixed amount via a water supply hose 8a. At 9, ice is generated. Further, the water supply device 8 is supplied with the water as needed from a removable water storage tank (not shown). A tank sensor (not shown) for detecting the arrangement of the water storage tank is provided at the arrangement portion.

The ice tray 9 is made of elastically deformable plastic. When the ice making is completed, the ice tray 9 is rotated in the normal direction from the horizontal position by a mechanism described later to be about 18 degrees.
At the final stage of the rotation, the end of the ice tray 9 on the side opposite to the motor 12 comes into contact with a protrusion (not shown) provided at a stationary portion, and the end of the ice tray 9 is rotated by 0 °. The rotation of the ice tray 9 is blocked (the end of the ice tray 9 on the motor 12 side is rotated to the final position), and thus the ice tray 9 is twisted.
In this way, an ice removing operation of releasing ice is performed. A temperature sensor 10 for detecting the temperature of the ice tray 9 is attached to the back surface of the ice tray 9, so that it is possible to determine the completion time of ice making or the presence or absence of water supply based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 10. Has become. Then, on the side surface of the machine body 7a of the ice making device main body 7,
Detection lever 11 for detecting the amount of ice storage in the ice storage container 3
Is mounted rotatably up and down (in the directions of arrows A and B) about a shaft portion 11a serving as a rotation shaft.

Next, FIGS. 1 and 3 show the internal structure of the machine body 7a of the main body 7 of the ice making device. In the figure, a gear transmission mechanism 13 that rotates in response to the drive of the motor 12 is provided in the machine body 7a having a rectangular box shape, and the final output gear among the gears that constitute the gear transmission mechanism 13 is provided. 14
Of the output shaft 14a of the
The ice tray 9 is attached to 4a. This output gear 14 also serves as a cam member, and in FIG. 5, a first cam groove 15 which is a first cam portion is formed on the back surface and a second cam portion which is the second cam portion is formed on the front surface. Two cam grooves 16 are formed. The final output gear 14 is the motor 1
5 rotates in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 5 (which is referred to as the positive direction of the output gear 14 and the ice tray 9 which rotates integrally with the output gear 14) in response to the forward rotation of the motor 2 and the reverse rotation of the motor 12. 5 in the direction of the arrow D in FIG.
And the reverse direction of the ice tray 9 that rotates integrally therewith).

A printed circuit board 17 is provided on the right side of FIG. 3 inside the machine body 7a.
A Hall IC 18 as a sensor is mounted on 7. Further, inside the machine body 7a, a plate position detecting lever 19 as a plate position detecting operator is provided so as to be rotatable around a fulcrum 19a. The plate position detecting lever 19 is formed with a first pin portion 20 that is a first cam connecting portion that is fitted and connected to the first cam groove 15 of the output gear 14. A position detecting magnet 21 is attached to the one end 19a.

In this lever 19, the position detecting magnet 21 attached to one end of the lever 19 is vertically rotated by the rotation of the first cam groove 15 accompanying the rotation of the output gear 14. In this case, when the ice tray 9 is in the horizontal position and when the ice tray 9 is in the ice removal completion position due to the forward rotation of the motor 12, the position detecting magnet 21 moves the operating range of the Hall IC 18. Then, the Hall IC 18 outputs the detection signal.
That is, when the ice tray 9 is in the horizontal position, the first cam groove 16 is in the state shown in FIG. 5, and in this state, the large cam portion 15a of the first cam groove 15 has the pin portion 2 attached thereto.
0 is located, and the position detecting magnet 21 of the plate position detecting lever 19 is in the operating range of the Hall IC 18 at this position. From this state, the output gear 14 moves in the forward direction C by approximately 180
When rotated to the state shown in FIG. 8, the second large-diameter portion 15 is rotated.
The pin portion 20 is located at b, and the position detecting magnet 21 of the plate position detecting lever 19 reaches the operating range of the Hall IC 18 at this position.

Further, the shaft portion 11a of the detection lever 11 is provided with a second pin portion 22 which is a second cam groove connecting portion which is fitted and connected to the second cam groove 16. Further, an ice detecting arm portion 23, which is an ice detecting operator, is further formed. An ice detecting magnet 24 is attached to the tip of the ice detecting arm portion 23. The second pin portion 22
Is provided integrally with the detection lever 11, so that it is normally urged to rotate in the direction of arrow E in FIG. 1 by the weight of the detection lever 11, and the state shown in FIG. ), The second pin portion 22 is located in the small diameter portion 16a of the second cam groove 16, and in this position, the ice detecting arm portion 23 is located.
The ice detecting magnet 24 has not reached the operating range of the Hall IC 18. When the output gear 14 is rotated in the reverse direction D by approximately 45 ° from the state of FIG. 5 to the state of FIG.
When the pin portion 22 of the above-mentioned falls into the large diameter portion 16b of the second cam groove 16, the ice detecting magnet 24 of the ice detecting arm portion 23 reaches the operating range of the Hall IC 18.

FIG. 4 shows the electrical configuration, which is 25
Is a microcomputer as a control means for controlling the automatic ice making, and includes a temperature detection signal from the temperature sensor 10, a detection signal from the Hall IC 18, and a door opening / closing sensor 26 that detects opening / closing of the door 2a. Detection signal is input, and a control program is stored in the ROM. According to the control program, the motor 12 is controlled via the drive circuit 27 according to the input. There is.

The contents of the control program are shown in the flowchart of FIG. The operation of the above configuration will be described together with the control content of this flowchart. Figure 15
The flowchart of 1 starts when the power is turned on.
In step S1, it is determined whether or not the ice tray 9 is twisted (this is to rotate the motor 12 by a small angle in the forward and reverse directions and detect the motor current difference at that time (current detection means). Is not shown) to determine whether or not it is in a twisted state). If it is not in the twisted state, the dish non-horizontal flag is cleared (step S2), and if it is in the twisted state, the ice tray 9 is returned to the horizontal state (step S3). In this return control, the motor 12 is driven in the forward direction to rotate the output gear 14 in the forward direction C, and the Hall IC
The motor 12 is stopped when the position detection magnet 21 is operated.

Next, in step S4, a standby operation is performed for a predetermined time so as not to move the ice tray 9 for a predetermined time for ice making, and in step S5, ice making is completed based on a temperature detection signal from the temperature sensor 10. Judge whether or not. In this case, it is determined that the ice making is completed when the detected temperature of −9.5 ° C. or lower continues for 2 hours or when the detected temperature of −12.5 ° C. or lower continues for 10 seconds. This ice making completion judgment is issued as an ice removal command. When it is determined that the ice making is completed, the process proceeds to step S6.

In step S6, it is determined whether or not the dish non-horizontal flag is set. If not set (if horizontal), the door 2a is closed, as can be seen from steps S7 and S8. On the condition that the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 10 is lower than −9.5 ° C., as shown in step S9, it is determined whether or not the amount of ice in the ice storage container 3 is full. This processing operation is hereinafter referred to as "ice detecting operation", which is controlled as follows.

"Ice detecting operation" (1) In the initial state, the ice tray 9 is in the horizontal position and the position detecting magnet 21 operates the Hall IC 18 (hereinafter,
It is in a state of being turned on). (2) First, the motor 12 is rotated in the reverse direction.

(3) In this case, the output gear 14 has approximately 45
When this set time has elapsed when it is predicted that the Hall IC 18 has been rotated up to °, the operating state of the Hall IC 18 is read and it is determined whether or not it is full.

However, the reverse rotation of the motor 12 in the above (2) causes the output gear 14 to rotate in the reverse direction D from the state shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, and the second pin portion 22 causes the detection lever 11 to move.
Of the second cam groove 16 due to its own downward weight.
Try to fall. At this time, when the ice storage amount of the ice storage container 3 is small, the detection lever 11 rotates downward from a predetermined position, and therefore, as shown by the solid line in FIG. 6 or as shown in FIG. 22 is allowed to fall into the large-diameter portion 16a of the second cam groove 16, so that the ice detecting arm portion 23 rotates in the direction of arrow E and the ice detecting magnet 24 turns on the Hall IC 18. . Here, when the amount of ice storage in the ice storage container 3 is large, the detection lever 11 comes into contact with the ice from above and does not rotate downward (does not reach a predetermined position). Therefore, the second pin portion 22 is As indicated by reference numeral 22 'in FIG. 6 or as shown in FIG.
The second cam groove 16 is not allowed to fall into the large-diameter portion 16a, or the amount of depression is small, so that the amount of rotation of the ice detecting arm portion 23 in the direction of arrow E is small and the ice detecting magnet 24 is The Hall IC 18 is never turned on.

When the output gear 14 rotates in the reverse direction D, the plate position detecting lever 19 rotates downward (direction of arrow F) from FIG. 1, and the position detecting magnet 21 turns the Hall IC 18 on. It will be canceled.

Therefore, if the operating state of the Hall IC 18 is the ON operating state when the set time corresponding to the rotation of the output gear 14 by 45 ° has elapsed, it is determined that the Hall IC 18 is not in the full operating state, and the OFF operation state is set. If it is, it is judged that it is full.

Now, in the flow chart of FIG.
If it is detected that it is not full, the routine proceeds to step S10, where ice removal control and plate horizontal return control are executed.
This will be described in detail below. The motor 12 is rotated forward from the state shown in FIG. At this time, the ice tray 9 once returns to the horizontal state, the Hall IC 18 is turned on by the position detecting magnet 21, and then the normal rotation of the motor 12 is continued (the 60 ° state in the middle thereof is shown in FIG. 10). Then, as shown in FIG. 11, the ice tray 9 has about 18
When it is reversed by 0 °, the plate position detecting lever 19 rotates in the direction opposite to the arrow F, and the Hall IC 18 is turned on again by the position detecting magnet 21. Based on this ON operation, the microcomputer 25 stops the motor 12. During this normal rotation, the ice tray 9 is in the middle of its reversal,
Since it is twisted, the ice is released from the ice tray 9. Thereafter, when the motor 12 is rotated in the reverse direction and the hall IC 18 detects that the ice tray 9 is in the horizontal position, the motor 12 is stopped. The operation status of each part in the ice detecting operation and the ice removing operation is shown in FIG.

After that, on condition that the water storage tank is arranged (step S11), the process proceeds to step S12 to open the valve device (not shown) of the water storage tank to supply water to the water supply device 8 to make ice. Supply water to the dish 9. Then, when it is detected in step S13 that water is contained in the ice tray 9 (this is detected based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 10), the process returns to step S4 and the water is not contained. When it is detected (when it is detected that there is no water in the water storage tank and no water is supplied), the rearrangement of the water storage tank is waited for (step S14), and the process returns to step S11.

If it is determined in step S9 that the ice tray 9 is full, the process proceeds to step S15, and the motor 12 is moved so as to return the ice tray 9 from the 45 ° rotated state to the 15 ° angular position. Rotate forward. Then, in step S16, the predetermined timing "90
A timer (soft timer) for counting "minutes" is started, and it is determined in step S17 whether or not the ice tray 9 is horizontal. If the ice tray 9 is not horizontal (if it is in the above 15 ° state), the door 2a is It is determined whether or not the above “90 minutes” has elapsed by shifting to step S20 on condition that it is closed (step S18) and the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 10 is not higher than −9.5 ° C. (step S19). to decide. "90
If "minute" has not elapsed, the process returns to step S17.

If it is determined in step S18 that the door 2a is opened before the above "90 minutes" has elapsed, or if the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 10 is -9.5 ° C or higher in step S19. If it is determined that there is, step S
Moving to 22, the motor 12 is rotated in the forward direction so as to return the ice tray 9 from the 15 ° state to the horizontal position. At this time, the detection lever 1
1 is also returned to the original position above. In addition, this step S2
When "90 minutes" has elapsed without executing step 2 ("N" in step S20), the process proceeds to step S21, and it is determined whether the ice tray 9 is in the horizontal state.

Here, if it is not in the horizontal state (if it is still in the 15 ° state), the process returns to step S16 to restart the "90 minutes" timer. Step S2 above
If it is determined that the position is horizontal in step 1, the process returns to step S7 and the ice detecting operation control is executed again. When it is determined in step S17 that the ice tray 9 is horizontal, if the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 10 is equal to or higher than -9.5 ° C, the process returns to step S4. In addition, the step S
When it is determined in 6 that the dish non-horizontal flag is set, the process proceeds to step S24, and the motor 12 is driven so as to horizontally return the ice tray 9, and the flag is cleared.

FIG. 14 schematically shows the relationship between the control content and the operation of the detection lever 11 in and after step S15 when it is determined in step S9 that the sensor is full. In other words, when it is determined that it is full, there is an opportunity to determine whether or not it is full at a predetermined timing “90 minutes” cycle. In this case, when the door 2a is not opened or closed, that is, when there is no opportunity to take out ice, the ice detection operation is not executed even when the predetermined timing is reached, and when the door 2a is opened and closed, the ice detection is performed at the next timing. Performs ice action. When it is determined that the ice is full again in this ice detecting operation, the same operation is repeated, and when it is detected that the ice is not full (the ice is taken out), the ice removing operation is performed.

According to the present embodiment as described above, it becomes possible to detect the ice storage amount and the position of the ice tray 9 by using one Hall IC 18, and it is possible to reduce the number of sensors, and thus the electrical configuration. This can contribute to simplification, and also to easier inspection when a failure occurs. Further, by switching between the reverse rotation and the normal rotation of the motor 12, the ice detecting operation and the ice tray position detecting operation can be switched, and the control becomes easy.

Further, according to this embodiment, when it is determined that the door is full, an opportunity to determine whether or not the door is full is set at a predetermined timing (interval of "90 minutes"). Since the ice detecting operation is performed at a predetermined timing, that is, the ice detecting operation is performed on condition that the door 2a is opened and closed, the ice detecting operation can be performed at an appropriate time. That is, since opening and closing the door 2a is mainly intended for the user to take out the ice from the ice storage container 3, whether the amount of stored ice has decreased at the timing when the door 2a is opened and closed. It is proper to judge. By the way, if the ice detecting operation is performed each time the door 2a is opened and closed, the ice removing operation is also sequentially performed each time it is determined that the door 2a is not full, resulting in useless ice removing operation control from the beginning. However, in the above configuration, when the door 2a is opened / closed, ice detection (determination as to whether or not the door 2a is full) is executed at the next predetermined timing, so wasteful ice removing operation can be eliminated. Further, since the detection lever 11 is returned to the original position prior to this ice detection, the above-mentioned ice detection can be performed from the initial position.

The present invention may be carried out as follows. That is, FIG. 16 showing a second embodiment of the present invention.
As can be understood from the above, when it is determined that the door is full, after that, when it is detected that the door has been opened and closed, the fixed time T is counted, and when the counting is completed, the ice detecting operation is executed. Before the count of the fixed time T is completed, the count operation is continuously executed even if the door is opened and closed.

In the second embodiment, performing the ice detecting operation based on the opening and closing of the door can be said to be the ice detecting operation at the proper timing as described above, but opening and closing the door once If so, the door is often opened and closed several times within a short period of time. In this case, if the ice detecting operation is immediately performed at the time of opening and closing the first door, it is expected that the next door opening and closing (ice removal) and this ice detecting operation will overlap. In anticipation of this, in the above configuration, when it is detected that the door has been opened / closed, a fixed time is counted from that point, and the ice detecting operation is executed at the time of completion of counting,
The above problems are eliminated as much as possible.

In this case, if the door is opened and closed during this counting and the door is opened and closed to reset the count (counting is performed from the beginning), when the door is opened and closed before counting up. In addition, there is a possibility that the ice detecting operation will not be performed or the time of the ice detecting operation will be delayed. However, in this configuration, even if the door is opened / closed before the completion of counting for a certain period of time, the counting operation is continuously executed, and therefore such a problem does not occur.

Further, the present invention may be carried out such that the ice tray is twisted when the motor is rotated in the reverse direction. In this case, the ice in the ice tray is easily released, and the ice is removed by the normal rotation of the motor thereafter. Ice becomes easier. Further, the sensor is not limited to the Hall IC, and may be an optical sensor.

[0045]

As is apparent from the above description, the present invention can obtain the following effects. According to the invention of claim 1, the ice storage amount detection and the ice tray position detection can be performed by one sensor, and the number of sensors can be reduced. Further, the full ice detection operation and the ice tray position detection operation can be switched by switching between the reverse rotation and the normal rotation of the motor, which facilitates the control.

According to the second aspect of the invention, since the ice detecting operation is performed on condition that the door is opened and closed, the ice detecting operation can be performed at an appropriate time.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when it is detected that the door has been opened and closed, the fixed time is counted from that point, and the ice detecting operation is executed at the time when the counting is completed. Even if it is relatively frequent in time,
It is possible to effectively prevent the door opening / closing (ice removal) and this ice detecting operation from overlapping. According to the invention of claim 4, since the ice tray is twisted when the motor rotates in the reverse direction, the ice in the ice tray easily separates, and the ice separation by the normal rotation of the motor thereafter becomes easy.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of essential parts showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional side view of a portion related to an automatic ice making device in a refrigerator.

[Figure 3] Front view of the inside of the machine

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration.

FIG. 5 is a view showing an angular state of a cam groove when the ice tray is in a horizontal state.

FIG. 6 is a view showing an angular state of a cam groove when the ice tray is in a reverse rotation direction of approximately 45 °.

FIG. 7 is a view showing an angular state of the cam grooves when the ice tray is in a state of approximately 60 ° in the forward rotation direction.

FIG. 8 is a view showing an angular state of the cam grooves when the ice tray is in a state of approximately 180 ° in the forward rotation direction.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a main part when the ice tray is in a reverse rotation direction of approximately 45 ° and the ice storage amount is not full.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of essential parts when the ice tray is in a state of approximately 60 ° in the forward rotation direction.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a main part when the ice tray is in a state of approximately 180 ° in the forward rotation direction.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of essential parts when the ice tray is in a reverse rotation direction of approximately 45 ° and the ice storage amount is full.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an operation state of each part in an ice detecting operation and an ice removing operation.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the relationship between the control content and the operation of the detection lever when it is determined that the battery is full.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing control contents.

FIG. 16 is a view corresponding to FIG. 14 showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 is an ice making chamber, 3 is an ice storage container, 6 is an automatic ice making device, 7 is an ice making device main body, 9 is an ice making device, 10 is a temperature sensor, 11 is a detection lever, 11a is a shaft portion (rotating shaft), and 12 is a motor. 1
3 is a gear transmission mechanism, 14 is an output gear, 15 is a first cam groove (first cam portion), 16 is a second cam groove (second cam portion), 18 is a Hall IC (sensor), 19 Is a plate position detection lever (dish position detection operator), 20 is a first pin part (first cam part connection part), 21 is a position detection magnet, and 22 is a second pin part (second part). 2 continuous section for cam section), 2
3 is an arm for ice detection (ice detector), 24 is a magnet for ice detection, 25 is a microcomputer (control means),
Reference numeral 26 denotes a door sensor (door opening / closing detecting means).

Continuation of the front page (56) Reference JP-A-7-270007 (JP, A) JP-A-6-159875 (JP, A) JP-A-56-68769 (JP, A) JP-A-9-79715 (JP , A) JP-A-4-260764 (JP, A) JP-A-2-203179 (JP, A) JP-A-2-230076 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB (Name) F25C 5/18 302 F25C 1/10 302

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A motor capable of rotating in the normal and reverse directions, an ice making tray that generates ice and is rotated by the motor in the forward direction to remove the ice, and an ice storage container that stores the released ice. A detection lever rotatably provided so as to come into contact with the ice stored in the ice storage container from above, and a cam member which is interlocked with the motor and forms a first cam portion and a second cam portion. A sensor provided at a stationary portion and a first cam connecting portion that is connected to the first cam portion of the cam member, and is provided so as to be operated by the first cam portion, When the ice tray is in the horizontal position, and when the ice tray is in the ice removal completion position by the rotation of the motor in the forward direction, one end operates the sensor for plate position detection, The second cover is provided integrally with the rotation shaft of the detection lever. A second cam connecting portion capable of allowing the rotation of the detection lever by being connected to the rotation portion, and a rotation of the rotation shaft in the opposite direction provided integrally with the rotation shaft of the detection lever. When the detection lever reaches a predetermined position in response to the operation, the ice detecting operation element is operated, and when an ice removal command is given, the motor is rotated in the reverse direction, and the presence or absence of a signal from the sensor is detected. According to the above, it is determined whether or not the ice storage amount is full, and when it is not full, control means for controlling the motor to rotate in the forward direction to perform ice removal,
An automatic ice making device equipped with. 2. The room in which the ice storage container is housed is provided with a door for opening and closing it, and door opening / closing detection means for detecting opening / closing of the door is provided, and the control means is An opportunity to determine whether or not it is full is set at a predetermined timing, and when the door is opened or closed, the motor is controlled to return the detection lever to its original position, and at the next predetermined timing it is determined whether or not it is full. The automatic ice making device according to claim 1, wherein 3. A room for storing the ice storage container is provided with a door for opening and closing the ice storage container, and door opening / closing detection means for detecting the opening / closing of the door is provided. After that, when it is detected that the door has been opened / closed, the motor is controlled so as to return the detection lever to the original position, a certain time is counted from that point, and it is judged whether or not it is full when the counting is completed. The automatic ice making device according to claim 1, wherein the counting operation is continuously performed even if the door is opened and closed before the counting is completed and the fixed time is completed. 4. The automatic ice making device according to claim 1, wherein the ice tray is designed to be twisted when the motor rotates in the reverse direction.