JP3536082B2 - Drive control structure of ice tray - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a series of devices for storing ice-made ice in an ice storage box in an automatic ice making device of a refrigerator, and particularly detecting whether or not a predetermined amount of ice is present in the ice storage box, In this connection, the present invention relates to a drive control structure for an ice tray when transferring ice to an ice storage box.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various configurations have been disclosed in home refrigerators that detect the completion of ice making in an ice tray and store the ice in an ice storage box installed therebelow. The basic configuration of this technology detects that the ice tray water has frozen, then detects the remaining amount of ice in the ice storage box, and if the ice is full, does not remove ice from the ice tray, On the other hand, if it detects that there is no ice or a small amount of ice, it removes the ice from the ice tray to store the ice in the ice storage box. To complete the series of operations.

[0003]

By the way, in order to reliably perform the above-mentioned operation, it is determined whether the ice tray is in the ice making position, whether ice is present in the ice storage box, and the ice tray is deiced. Whether or not it is necessary to detect whether or not the ice tray is currently located, the correct operation cannot be performed.

As a technique related to this, for example, there is a technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-249556 and, as an improved technique thereof, there is a technique disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 6-78770. Similar to the present invention described below, these actuate the ice detection lever in conjunction with the rotation of the ice tray to obtain an ice level signal and control the rotation of the drive motor of the ice tray. When confirming the origin position of the ice tray, for example, when reversing the motor to return the ice tray to the origin after ice removal, etc., the timer is interlocked and the origin is determined by whether the signal has changed after a certain reversal time has elapsed. It was to confirm the position. At that time, since the rotation of the cam gear is mechanically locked, it is necessary to allow the rotation mechanism to continue to be locked while the motor is energized. It was a great burden on the drive system.

According to the present invention, in performing each of the above operations,
An object of the present invention is to provide an ice making device capable of detecting the current position of an ice making tray and performing a reliable and reliable operation.

[0006]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a drive control structure for an ice tray in which a sub gear is provided coaxially with a main gear that is directly connected to a tray rotation shaft, and each gear is a drive gear. And the sub gear is provided with an urging spring for urging in the positive direction to co-rotate with the main gear. The main gear has a second cam and an axial direction in the circumferential direction. A fourth cam is provided, a guide notch for activating the ice level detecting means is provided, a first cam and a third cam are provided in the sub gear in the axial direction, and when the co-rotating, the third cam and the second cam are provided. It is possible to configure a composite cam, and a pair of signal elements and detection elements are provided at a part of the switching bar that rotates in conjunction with each of the above-mentioned cam ridges and at a position facing this, depending on the length of the cam ridge. Control signal with a predetermined width Provided with a control circuit for outputting, ice level sensing lever the upper surface of the guide notch of the main gear
The slide piece provided on the rotating shaft of the
The exit lever is now in the ice storage box to detect the amount of ice.
Ru provided ice level sensing means, is obtained by adopting the configuration that.

More specifically, a tooth row which meshes with the drive gear over a certain area is provided on the outer circumference of the main gear provided at one end of the dish rotating shaft, and a second cam chamber is provided inside the tooth row. While the cam and the fourth cam are provided, a guide notch having an inclined surface is provided in a portion of the outer periphery where the above-mentioned tooth row is not provided, and the sub gear provided coaxially with this main gear is a tooth that meshes with the drive gear over a certain area. While providing a gear portion having a row, the first cam, the third
A cam and a detection protrusion are provided, which are urged in the forward direction by an urging spring attached to the main gear and pinched by the locking wall to enable co-rotation with the main gear. The two cams slightly precede each other so as to overlap with the third cam to form a composite cam, and a pair of signal elements are provided at a part of the switching bar that rotates in conjunction with each of the above-mentioned cam ridges and at a position facing the switching bar. And a detection element to provide a control circuit for outputting a control signal of a predetermined width according to the length of the cam crest, and the upper surface of the guide cutout of the main gear is provided with an ice level detection lever.
The slide piece provided on the rotating shaft of the
The exit lever is now in the ice storage box to detect the amount of ice.
Ru provided ice level detection means, has a configuration that.

In this case, a signal element is provided at the tip of the switching bar, and a supporting piece is provided at an intermediate portion between the rear end and the rotary shaft, while the assist lever projects into the cam chamber and the notch for the cam. A driven pin that slides on each cam surface is provided to enable rotation, and the above-mentioned support piece slides on the sliding surface of the assist lever to enable the switching bar to rotate according to the length of the cam peak. Further, a means is adopted in which the facing state of the sensing element provided at a position facing the signal element is changed, and the control circuit outputs a control signal of a predetermined width which differs depending on the difference of the facing state.

Further, in the ice level detecting means, a sliding piece provided at a tip of a drive rod provided on a rotation shaft of a lever holder for holding an ice level detecting lever slides along a guide notch of the main gear. I decided to do it.

Further, it is assumed that the sizes of the cam ridges of the first cam, the second cam, the composite cam, and the fourth cam increase or decrease in this order, and the detecting element is a hall element and the signal element is a magnet. It was supposed to be one piece.

According to the first or second aspect of the present invention, the main gear and the sub gear rotate or co-rotate independently of each other, and when the ice tray starts to rotate and is at the maximum twist position, and When detecting the ice level of the ice storage box during rotation, it outputs a signal with a different width according to each state, and the signal can surely grasp the state of the ice tray and the ice level of the ice storage box, The drive control of the ice tray can be accurately performed.

That is, the signal element is brought close to or away from the detection element by the driven pin and the switching bar of the assist lever which slides on the cam crest provided in each gear, and the signal in each state is obtained. At that time, by making the sizes of the cam peaks different from each other, it is possible to distinguish the signals. Further, the width of the signal is gradually increased or decreased to simplify the handling of the signal in the control circuit.

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 shows a unit for rotating and controlling an ice tray (not shown) in the automatic ice making device, and as shown in FIG. 1 (A), a front box 1a and a rear box 1b.
The drive control structure of the present invention described below is housed in the case 1 and is hermetically sealed to prevent cold air from entering the refrigerator. As a result, the occurrence of dew condensation in the case 1 can be prevented, and malfunctions and the like can be suppressed. Two
Is a plate rotating shaft for connecting the ice making plate and rotating the ice making plate at a constant angle to perform the ice removing operation. The flattened tip is provided so as to protrude from the front box 1a of the case 1. , Fig. 3
As shown in (A), the rear end of the dish rotating shaft 2 is coaxially connected to the main gear 3 in the case 1.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the main gear 3 is provided with tooth rows 4 only in a certain area (angle α = about 140 degrees) on the outer periphery, and a drive motor (not shown) is provided at this portion. Although the ice tray is rotated by a predetermined angle by meshing with a drive gear 5 that transmits the drive force transmitted through the transmission mechanism, the ice tray is placed in a horizontal posture at the time of starting. In some cases, as shown in FIG. 8, the tip 4a of the tooth row 4 is provided at a position immediately before the tooth row 4 meshes with the drive gear 5. This is because, as will be described below, only the sub gear is first rotated in advance at the time of starting to output the first signal T1 for confirming the start.

As shown in FIG. 3 (B), a cam chamber 6 is formed in a part of the main gear 3 in the circumferential direction of the inner shaft, and the second cam 7 and the fourth cam 7 having different peak lengths. 8 are provided at predetermined intervals. A guide notch 9 having an inclined surface 9a notched in the axial direction of the dish rotating shaft 2 is provided in a portion of the outer periphery of the main gear 3 where the tooth row 4 is not provided in order to operate the ice level detecting lever described below. To provide. Reference numeral 10 is a spring groove provided in the axial direction for accommodating a biasing spring described below. Further, reference numeral 11 is a locking wall with which the sub gear described below abuts when it rotates, and is provided so that the sub gear and the main gear 3 can rotate together.

Next, reference numeral 12 is a subgear provided coaxially with the main gear 3, and as shown in FIG. 4, cams 7 and 8 provided on the main gear 3 are axially overlapped with each other so as to overlap each other in the axial direction. Third cam 13 and first cam 1 with different mountain lengths
4 are provided at predetermined intervals. Of these, the third cam 13
As shown in FIG. 8, when the co-rotation with the main gear 3 is started, the second cam 7 of the main gear 3 slightly precedes and overlaps the first cam 14. It is provided at such a position that a composite cam 7'having different mountain lengths is formed. Further, a tooth row 16 capable of meshing with the drive gear 5 at the same diameter and pitch as the tooth row 4 of the main gear 3 is provided outside the cam with a cam recess portion 15 at a constant area (angle β = about 30).
The gear part 17 is provided for each gear. 18 is the main gear 3
In order to ensure that the sub gear 12 and the sub gear 12 rotate together to reach the maximum twist position, the tooth row provided at the same diameter as the tooth row 4 and at the same pitch as the tooth row 4 at a predetermined interval in order to surely continue the co-rotation. Is. Further, a guide protrusion 19 which is recessed in the spring groove 10 is provided on the back surface of the sub gear 12 in the axial direction, and one end 10a of the spring groove 10 and the rear end 1 of the guide protrusion 19 are provided.
A biasing spring 20 is attached between 9a in a tensioned state, and the sub gear 12 is biased to rotate counterclockwise in the drawing (this direction is the positive direction), as shown in FIGS. As described above, the leading edge 16a of the tooth row 16 contacts the teeth of the drive gear 5 at the time of starting. As will be described below, the biasing spring 20 ensures that the tooth row 16 of the sub gear 12 and the teeth of the drive gear 5 mesh with each other when the drive gear 5 starts to rotate, so that when the teeth are meshed with each other. Therefore, the play does not cause an error in the rotation start position of the sub gear. Further, after the main gear 3 starts to rotate, it has a role of rotating the main gear 3 and the sub gear 12 together. Reference numeral 21 is a detection projection that is provided in a radial direction of the shaft and contacts the sliding piece of the ice level detection structure described below during rotation, or does not contact it, so that the main gear 3 and The co-rotation of is to be stopped or continued.

A switching bar 22 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, a signal element 23 made of, for example, a magnet piece is provided at the tip of the bar, and a support piece 25 is provided at an intermediate portion between the signal element 23 and the rotary shaft 24 provided at the rear end. Reference numeral 26 is an assist lever, which can be rotated by a shaft 26a as shown in FIG. 6, and which is driven by a driven pin 26b which projects into the cam chamber 6 of the main gear 3 and the cam recess 15 of the sub gear 12 at the center of the lever. 1B, as shown in FIG. 1B, when the driven pin 26b abuts and slides on each cam and the composite cam, the sliding surface 26c of the lever abuts and slides on the supporting piece 25. Thus, the entire switching bar 22 is rotated. In addition, the assist lever 26 having the above-described configuration is provided and the supporting piece 25 is provided in the intermediate portion between the rotating shaft 24 and the signal element 23 because the movement of the driven pin 26b that moves up and down according to the cam peak is enlarged. This is to make it possible to clearly detect the signal to the detection element by using the movement of 23.

Reference numeral 27 denotes a substrate having a control circuit 28 for controlling input / output signals to other devices constituting the entire automatic ice making device, such as starting, stopping, and setting of the rotation direction of the drive motor, and the above switching.・ Bar 2
For example, a Hall element 29 is provided as a detection element at a position facing the signal element 23 provided at the tip of the second device. That is, the switching bar 22 rotates depending on the rotation position of the ice tray and the presence / absence of ice in the ice storage box, and as a result, the magnet piece 23 moves close to or away from the Hall element 29 for a certain period of time. Is output to the control circuit 28, and the control circuit 28 can detect the change in the signal from the Hall element 29 to determine the control method. The signal element and the sensing element may be known sensing means such as a combination of a light emitting diode and a phototransistor as long as the signal output changes depending on whether or not the signal element is in a position facing the sensing element. Can be adopted. Further, it is arbitrary which one of the signal element and the sensing element is provided, for example, which is provided in the switching bar.

Reference numeral 30 denotes a lever holder for fitting and holding an ice level detecting lever 31, which is rotatable by a rotating shaft 32.
As shown in FIG. 3, a sliding piece 34 is provided at the tip of a drive rod 33 provided coaxially in the case 1, and the sliding piece 34 slides on the upper surface of the guide notch 9 provided in the main gear 3. It rotates so that the ice level detection lever 31 is biased through the spring 35 so as to be recessed into the ice storage box (not shown) to detect the amount of ice. It constitutes the position detecting means. That is, as described below, when there is no or little ice in the ice storage box, the lever deeply moves into the ice storage box and the lever pivots largely, while when the ice is full, the lever rotates with ice. The amount of ice can be detected by the width of the rotation of the lever because the movement is blocked and the rotation does not occur much.

Next, a series of operations of the drive control structure of the ice tray according to the present invention having the above structure will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 8 shows the basic positions at the time of starting and at the time of final stop. It is assumed that the ice tray (not shown) connected to the tray rotating shaft 2 is in the horizontal posture and the ice making is completed. In addition, the ice level detection lever 31 is urged by a spring 35 shown in FIG. 1 (B) when the ice storage box does not have ice or there is little ice, and the ice storage box is recessed to the back of the ice storage box and the drive rod 33 is also guided in the guide notch 9. It is turning to. On the other hand, when the ice is full, the lever does not sink much and the drive rod 33 does not rotate.

First, when the drive motor (not shown) starts to rotate by the start signal from the control circuit 28, the drive gear 5 starts to rotate by the driving force sequentially transmitted through the transmission mechanism or the like. This signal is automatically output periodically or intermittently by a timer or the like. As the drive gear 5 starts rotating, the tooth row 16 of the sub gear 12 biased counterclockwise by the biasing spring 20 to contact the teeth of the drive gear 5 as shown in FIG. And the sub gear 12 starts to rotate around the dish rotating shaft 2. At this time, since the main gear 3 and the drive gear 5 are not meshed with each other, the main gear 3 does not rotate, and the connected ice tray remains in the horizontal posture.

As the sub gear 12 rotates, the first cam 14 pushes up the driven pin 26b of the assist lever 26 as shown in FIG. 8, and the sliding surface 26c interlocks with the supporting piece 25 of the switching bar 22 as shown in FIG. The magnet piece 23 at the tip of the bar 22 deviates from the position facing the Hall element 29, and the first signal T1 (signal width t = t1) is output only while it is pushed up and exceeds the length of the crest of the first cam 14. To be done. Therefore,
By detecting the first signal T1, it can be confirmed that the ice tray has started the ice removing work from the horizontal state.

Further, the sub gear 12 rotates to rotate the gear portion 17
When the tip end of the contact point abuts on the locking wall 11 of the main gear 3, the sub gear 12 pushes the main gear 3 in the positive direction as it is, and the main gear 3 and the sub gear 12 start to rotate together. 8,
As shown in FIG.
At the same time as the engagement with is released, it engages with the tooth row 4 of the main gear 3 and the main gear 3 rotates, so that the ice tray starts rotating in the ice separating direction via the plate rotation shaft 2. At this time, since the sub gear 12 is biased by the biasing spring 20 in the same rotation direction, even if the engagement with the drive gear 5 is released, the locking wall 11
It is clamped by the biasing spring 20 so as to be pressed against, and continues to rotate together with the main gear 3.

When the ice storage box has no or little ice, the ice level detection lever 31 is urged by the spring 35 and is recessed deep inside the ice storage box, so that the lever holder 30 is large as shown in FIG. The drive rod 33 which is rotated and provided coaxially with the rotation shaft 32 is rotated in the guide notch 9. Therefore, the detection protrusion 21 of the sub gear 12 that has rotated together with the main gear 3 and the sliding piece 34 at the tip of the drive rod 33 do not abut each other, and the main gear 3 and the sub gear 12 continue to rotate together.

In this state, the second cam 7 of the main gear 3 and the third cam 13 of the sub gear 12 are slightly advanced by the second cam 7 of the main gear 3 as shown in FIG. Overlap each other to form a composite cam 7'having a mountain length different from that of any of the above cams, so that the driven pin 26b of the assist lever 26 is pushed up only while the mountain of the composite cam 7'is overcome. The magnet piece 23 at the tip of the interlocking switching bar 22 is separated from the Hall element 29, and the third signal T3 (signal width t = t3) is output. This signal indicates that the ice box has detected no or little ice. The detection of the third signal T3 determines the continuation of the ice removing work.

In parallel with the above operation, the lever holder 3
As shown in FIG. 9, the guide bar 9 of the main gear 3 has a sliding piece 34 at the end of a drive rod 33 provided coaxially with the rotary shaft 32 of 0.
Slides on the inclined surface 9a of the lever, and as a result, the lever holder 3
With 0 as a center, the ice level detection lever is lifted in a horizontal direction against the biasing force of the spring 35. At this time, as shown in FIG. 9, since the tooth row 18 of the sub gear 12 is also meshed with the drive gear 5 together with the main gear 3, the sliding piece 34 slides on the sub gear 12 beyond the inclined surface 9a. Even if frictional resistance occurs, co-rotation of the main gear 3 and the sub gear 12 continues reliably.

When the ice is full, the drive rod 33 does not rotate much as shown in FIG. 11, so that the detection projection 21 of the sub gear 12 and the sliding piece 34 come into contact with each other to rotate the sub gear 12. The motion is stopped, which will be described later.

When the gears 3 and 12 further rotate,
As shown in FIG. 9, the fourth cam 8 of the main gear 3 pushes up the driven pin 26b of the assist lever 26, and the magnet piece 23 is removed from the Hall element 29 only while the length of the peak is exceeded via the switching bar 22. The fourth signal T4
(Signal width t = t4) is output. In this state, the ice tray is twisted at the maximum angle, and the ice is removed. Further, when the fourth signal T4 is detected, the drive motor is stopped via the control circuit 28, and the rotation of the ice tray is also stopped.

After confirming the release of ice by an appropriate means, the drive motor is rotated in the reverse direction to return the ice tray to the position at the time of starting, and the process is carried out by reversing the above-mentioned operation. That is, the main gear 3 and the sub gear 12 rotate in reverse, and the fourth signal T4 and the third signal T3 are output in that order by the respective cam crests. However, the lever holder 30 of the ice level detection lever 31 hardly moves down even if it is biased by the spring 35 as shown in FIG.

When the rotation further advances, the ice tray becomes horizontal again at the position shown in FIG. 8, and at that time, the engagement between the main gear 3 and the drive gear 5 is released, so that the ice tray stops at the horizontal position. To do. At that time, the sub gear 12 that was rotating together
Since the meshing between the drive gear 5 and the drive gear 5 has started, only the sub gear 12 further rotates, and the first cam 14 of the sub gear 12 moves.
Then, the driven pin 26b of the assist lever 26 is pushed up again, and the first signal T1 (t = t1) is output. By detecting the first signal T1, it can be confirmed that the ice tray is surely maintained in the horizontal posture, so that the drive motor can be stopped by the control circuit 28 to shift to the next water injection stroke or the like. .

Next, the case where the ice storage box is full of ice will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11, as described above.
In the state of 0, only the sub gear 12 first rotates and
The signal T1 is output. Then, the main gear 3 starts meshing with the drive gear 5 and starts co-rotation. When the ice is full, the drive rod 33 does not rotate much. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 11, the detection protrusion 21 of the rotated sub gear 12 remains in contact with the sliding piece 34 at the tip of the drive rod 33. The rotation of the sub gear 12 is stopped by making contact. At this time, the engagement between the sub gear 12 and the drive gear 5 is released and the drive gear 5 is released.
Only meshes with the main gear 3, and only the main gear 3 rotates.

In this state, unlike the above-mentioned case where there is no ice, the second cam 7 of the main gear 3 and the third cam 7 of the sub gear 12
Instead of overlapping a part of the cams 13 to form a composite cam 7 ', as shown in FIG. 11, only the second cam 7 of the main gear 3 advances to get over the cam mountain of the second cam 7. Since the driven pin 26b of the assist lever 26 is pushed up only for a while, the magnet piece 23 is separated from the hall element 29 and the second signal T2 (signal width t = t2) is output. The second signal T2 indicates that the ice storage box is detected to be full of ice. At this time, the ice tray is slightly tilted, but the ice has not been released. When the second signal T2 is detected, the drive motor is immediately stopped via the control circuit 28, the ice removing operation is stopped, and
The drive motor starts reversing so as to return the ice tray to the initial horizontal posture.

Then, the ice tray becomes horizontal again at the position shown in FIG. 10, at which point the main gear 3 and the drive gear 5 are disengaged and the ice tray is stopped, but the engagement with the sub gear 12 is already started. Therefore, only the sub gear 12 rotates excessively, the driven pin 26b is pushed up again by the first cam 14 of the sub gear 12, and the first signal T1 (t =
t1) is output. By detecting the first signal T1, it can be confirmed that the ice tray is surely maintained in the horizontal posture, and the signal T2 indicating that the ice storage box is full is also detected before that, so that the control circuit 28 is activated. Drive motor stops through, while on the other hand, does not shift to a new water injection stroke,
A signal for waiting is output.

As described above, due to the cam operation interlocked with the rotation of the ice tray, the magnet piece and the Hall element come close to or separate from each other, and the Hall element moves away from the Hall element as time passes.
A signal as shown in 2 can be obtained. Therefore, the above operation will be described again with reference to FIG. 12, focusing on this detection signal output from the Hall element. In FIG. 12, the output signal is shaped into a pulse signal.

That is, when the engine is started, first the first signal T having the width t1
1 is output, confirming that the ice removal work has started. The amount of ice in the ice storage box is detected in accordance with the rotation of the ice tray, and if there is no ice or a small amount of ice in the ice storage box, the third signal T3 of width t3 is output and the rotation of the ice tray is continued. Further rotation, when the fourth signal T4 having the width t4 is detected, it is confirmed that the ice tray is at the maximum twist position, and the drive motor is stopped and reversed. At the time of return, the fourth signal T4 and the third signal T3 are detected in this order, and if the first signal T1 having the width t1 is finally detected, it can be confirmed that the ice tray again maintains the horizontal posture. .

When the ice storage box is full of ice, the first
The second signal T2 having the width t2 is detected next to the signal T1. At this time, the drive motor is immediately stopped to stop the rotation of the ice tray, and the drive motor is reversed to return to the initial state. If the second signal T2 is detected again and finally the first signal T1 is detected, it can be confirmed that the ice tray has returned to the horizontal posture. At this time, it is instructed not to shift to a new water injection stroke in the order of the above signals.

In this case, the pulse width t of the signal is, for example, t1.
It is assumed that the value gradually increases as <t2 <t3 <t4, or conversely decreases. As a result, if the second signal T2 having a width t2 <t3 next to the first signal T1 is detected, it can be known that the ice storage box is full of ice, and the drive motor is stopped and the ice is removed. The ice operation can be stopped, and the method of judgment in the control circuit at that time can be simplified. Also, if you monitor the width of the signal at any time,
It is possible to easily understand which stage of the ice removing work is being performed.

The pulse widths t1 to t4 of this signal are
This can be easily set by the length of the peak of each cam that moves the magnet piece 23 up and down. That is, in the above configuration, the driven pin 26b deviates from the position facing the hall element 29 only while the cam ridges 14, 7 ', 8 and 7 are crossed, and the hall element 29 is turned off during that time. It can be a detection signal. Further, instead of the signals having the signal widths t1 to t4 or together with the signals, the widths t5 and t6 of the non-signal portion shown in FIG. It becomes possible to know.

[0039]

As described above, the control drive structure for the ice tray according to the first to third aspects provides the signals of different widths depending on the start of rotation of the ice tray and the maximum twist position, and the presence or absence of the ice level of the ice storage box. Since it is designed to output, by monitoring the output signal width in sequence, it is possible to ascertain where the ice tray is currently located or whether there is ice in the ice storage bin, depending on the signal width. It is possible to grasp the information, and it is possible to perform accurate control without waste when driving the ice tray.

Since the signal is obtained by moving the signal element close to or away from the detection element depending on the shape of the cam lobe, it varies depending on the state by arbitrarily selecting the size of the cam lobe. It is easy to output the width signal.

If the signal width is set to a width that gradually increases or decreases, the present position and the rotation direction of the ice tray are compared with the signal width at the previous stage. Can be grasped with certainty, and the configuration of the control circuit can be simplified.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1A is a side view of a case of a control unit accommodating the structure of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a front view of its internal structure.

FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged view showing a meshed state of a drive gear, a main gear, and a sub gear.

3A is a side view of a main gear, and FIG. 3B is a front view.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a sub gear.

5A is a front view of a switching bar, and FIG. 5B is a plan view.

FIG. 6A is a front view of the assist lever, and FIG. 6B is a side view.

7A is a plan view of a lever holder, and FIG. 7B is a side view.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing the operation of the ice tray from the start of rotation to the ice detecting position.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing the operation of the ice tray from the ice detecting position to the maximum twisting position.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing an operation when the ice storage box is full of ice, showing an operation from the start of rotation to the ice detecting position.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a state where the ice is full is detected.

FIG. 12 is a time chart of output signals.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 plate rotation axis 3 main gear 4 dentition 5 drive gear 6 cam room 7 second cam 7'composite cam 8 4th cam 9 guide notch 11 Locking wall 12 sub gear 13th cam 14 first cam 15 Cam recess 17 Gear 20 bias spring 21 Detection protrusion 22 switching bar 23 Signal element 25 Support pieces 26 Assist lever 26b Driven pin 28 Control circuit 29 Sensing element 30 lever holder 34 Sliding piece

Continuation of the front page (56) Reference JP-A-10-220940 (JP, A) JP-A-8-313129 (JP, A) JP-A-10-220943 (JP, A) JP-A-8-110135 (JP , A) JP-A-6-147708 (JP, A) JP-A-4-124570 (JP, A) JP-A-3-230067 (JP, A) Fukukaihei 4-125173 (JP, U) JP-B 46-12195 (JP, B1) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) F25C 1/10 301 F25C 1/10 302

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. A subgear is provided coaxially with a main gear that is directly connected to a dish rotating shaft, each gear is independently rotatable through a drive gear, and the subgear is attached in a positive direction. An urging spring for urging is provided to co-rotate with the main gear. The main gear is provided with a second cam and a fourth cam in the axial direction and guide notches for activating the ice level detecting means, and the sub gear is provided. A first cam and a third cam are provided in the axial direction, and a composite cam can be configured by the third cam and the second cam when co-rotating. A control circuit that outputs a control signal of a predetermined width according to the length of the cam peak is provided by providing a pair of signal elements and detection elements at a part of the bar and a position facing the bar, and the guide cutout of the main gear.
The upper surface of the slide slides on the rotating shaft of the ice level detection lever.
By doing so, the ice level detection lever falls into the ice storage box and ice
An ice tray drive control structure comprising an ice level detecting means for detecting the amount of ice . 2. A main gear directly connected to the dish rotation shaft is provided with a tooth row meshing with a drive gear over a predetermined area on the outer periphery of the main gear, and a second cam and a fourth cam are provided in a cam chamber penetrating inside thereof. On the other hand, a guide notch having an inclined surface is provided on a portion of the outer periphery where the tooth row is not provided, and the sub gear provided coaxially with the main gear has a gear portion having a tooth row that meshes with a drive gear over a certain area. On the other hand, the first cam, the third cam, and the detection protrusion are provided on the inner circumference of the shaft, separated by the cam recess, and are biased in the forward direction by the biasing spring attached to the main gear and are pinched by the locking wall. The main gear can be rotated together with the main gear.
The cam slightly precedes the third cam so as to form a composite cam, and a pair of signal elements and a pair of signal elements are provided at a position facing a part of the switching bar that rotates in conjunction with each of the cam peaks. provided with a control circuit for outputting a control signal of a predetermined width corresponding to the length of the cam lobes is provided a sensing element, the upper
Rotate the ice level detection lever on the upper surface of the guide cutout of the main gear.
The sliding piece provided on the shaft slides to allow the ice level detection lever to move.
Ice level when the ice crawls into the ice box and detects the amount of ice
A drive control structure for an ice tray, comprising a detection means . 3. A signal element is provided at the tip of the switching bar, and a support piece is provided at an intermediate portion between the rear end and the rotary shaft, while the assist lever projects into the cam chamber and the notch for the cam. A driven pin that slides on the cam surface is provided to enable rotation, and the supporting bar slides on the sliding surface of the assist lever to enable the switching bar to rotate according to the length of the cam lobe. 3. The control circuit according to claim 2, further comprising: a control circuit for outputting a control signal having a predetermined width which varies depending on a difference in the facing state so that a facing state of the detecting element provided at a position facing the signal element is changed. Drive control structure for ice tray. 4. The ice level detecting means comprises a slide piece provided at a tip of a drive rod provided on a rotation shaft of a lever holder for holding an ice level detection lever, along a guide notch of the main gear. The drive control structure for an ice tray according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: 5. The first cam, the second cam, the composite cam, and the fourth cam.
The drive control structure for an ice tray according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the cam peaks of the cam gradually increase or decrease in this order. 6. The drive control structure for an ice tray according to claim 1, wherein the detection element is a hall element and the signal element is a magnet piece.