JPH076724B2 - Automatic ice machine - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an automatic ice maker that can be incorporated in, for example, a refrigerator.

(Prior Art) An ice tray after completion of ice making is rotated by a drive source to perform an ice removing operation, and the ice ice is stored in an ice storage below the ice tray, and the ice tray after ice removing is made. There is known an automatic ice-making machine for supplying water, which is put into a refrigerator or the like for practical use. In such an automatic ice maker, it is not necessary to remove the ice from the ice tray when the ice is stored in the water storage. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 20 and FIG. 21, a lever-shaped ice detecting member 4 for detecting whether or not a predetermined amount of ice 6 is stored in the ice storage 5 in the ice storage chamber 1 is provided. Ice detecting member 4
The ice detecting operation is performed depending on whether the stop position changes due to contact with the ice 6 in the ice storage 5. Code 2
Is an ice making machine, 3 is an ice tray, and 7 is an ice outlet.

However, since the ice detecting member 4 in the conventional general automatic ice making machine is constantly in contact with the ice in the ice storage 5 as shown by the solid line in FIG. 20, the ice detecting member 4 interferes with the removal of the ice, There is a problem that the ice detecting member 4 is deformed during the taking-out operation, the ice detecting member 4 sinks under the ice 4 and malfunctions, and the ice detecting member 4 freezes together with the ice 6.

Therefore, as described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 54-17137, the ice detecting lever is rotated at the same time as the ice removing operation so that the ice detecting lever reaches the longest reaching position before the ice removing,
After releasing the ice, the ice detection lever is returned to its original position.If the ice is insufficient, the ice detection lever is returned by spring force to start the next ice making operation.When the ice is full, the ice detection lever returns due to the ice. An automatic ice maker has been proposed in which, when blocked, it waits until the ice detection lever returns and then stops the next ice making operation.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) According to the one described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 54-17137, when ice is in the ice storage, the ice detection lever hits the ice to prevent the ice from recovering. It is an obstacle and it is difficult to remove the ice. In addition, when the ice is taken out, there is a risk that the ice detection lever will return and hit your hand.

In addition, when ice is detected, the ice detection lever can be operated over the entire stroke required for ice detection.
The operation of the ice detection lever drive mechanism is performed, and it is then detected whether the ice detection lever comes into contact with the ice and stops halfway or operates over the entire stroke. There is a problem in that it is necessary to provide a means such as a timer for withholding the determination of the presence or absence of ice, which complicates the circuit configuration and requires a relatively long time to determine the presence or absence of ice.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the problems of the prior art, and when the ice detecting operation and the ice removing operation are staggered in order, the ice detecting operation is performed first when the necessity of the ice removing occurs. The automatic ice maker that normally stores the unnecessary ice detecting members for the user is made possible by selecting whether to proceed to ice removal or return to the original position according to the judgment result. The purpose is to provide.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an automatic ice maker that simplifies the control circuit and can perform simple and smooth control.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention relates to an automatic ice making machine, including a cam connected to a motor via a gear train, a slide member slidable by following the surface of the cam, and the slide member. An ice detection lever that is connected and goes into and out of the ice storage along with the slide, and an ice detection lever that has entered the ice storage contact the ice stored in the ice storage, and regardless of the rotation of the cam, a certain amount or more Of the ice-detecting lever accompanying rotation in one direction, the operating means operating when the displacement of the ice is not operated, and the switch means outputting a signal when operated by the operation of the operating means. When there is no output of the above signal at the time of approach operation, it rotates further in one direction to move the ice detection lever out and at the same time the ice tray is rotated to perform ice removal operation, and when the above signal is output, reverse direction Rotate to check It is characterized in that the rotation is controlled so as to perform the retreat operation of the ice lever.

The operation means includes an operation cam having a concave portion or a convex portion,
A slide contact portion with the operation cam and a switch operation portion are formed, and an operation lever that operates when the slide contact portion faces the concave portion or the convex portion and is operated by the switch means, and a slide member or a drive shaft of the ice tray. And an abutment portion that blocks the operation of the operation lever when it comes into contact with the operation lever, so that the operation lever can be operated in synchronization with the movement of the ice detection lever into the ice storage. Set the positional relationship between the sliding contact part of the lever and the concave part or the convex part of the operation cam.If the operation lever and the contact part do not displace by a predetermined amount or more when the ice detecting lever that has entered the ice storage Instead of abutting, when the ice detection lever is displaced by a predetermined amount or more, it may be abutted to prevent the operation lever from moving.

(Operation) The ice detecting operation is performed by driving the cam to operate the motor to drive the slide member, and the slide of the slide member causing the ice detecting lever to enter the ice storage. If there is more than a predetermined amount of ice in the ice storage, this ice limits the displacement of the ice detecting lever to operate the operating means, and the switch means immediately outputs a signal. If the ice in the ice storage is insufficient, the ice detecting lever operates over the entire range and the operation of the operating means is restricted, and the switch means does not output a signal. The rotation direction of the motor thereafter is determined depending on whether the signal is output or not. If no signal is output, rotate in the direction to perform ice removal operation. Whichever direction of rotation,
The withdrawal operation of the ice detecting lever is performed.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the automatic ice maker according to the present invention will be described.

First, an outline of an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The ice making machine control box 9 is provided with an ice making tray driving shaft 21 for driving the ice making tray 91 and an output shaft 32 which is a drying tray driving shaft for driving the drying tray 92, and further serves as a swing center of the ice detecting member 4. An ice detecting shaft 47 is provided. The ice tray 91 and the drying tray 92 can be rotated from the position indicated by the solid line to the inverted position indicated by the chain lines 91A and 92A. Water is supplied to the ice tray 91 from a water tank 77 by a water supply pump 73. Water is supplied from a water supply tank 78 to the water storage tank 77. The water supplied to the ice tray 91 is cooled and becomes ice, but before all the water becomes ice
By rotating 91 to remove ice, clear ice with no bubbles in the ice is obtained. The ice removing operation moves the ice to the drying plate 92 in a substantially horizontal position. At this time, the unfrozen water is drained from the drying dish 92 through the drainage member 29 to the outside. The ice in the drying dish 92 is further cooled and the surface is dried. The ice detecting member 4 swings in a range from a position shown by a solid line to a position shown by a chain line 4A at a predetermined time described later,
The amount of ice 10 in the ice storage box 90 is detected. As a result, if the amount of ice in the ice storage box 90 is below a certain amount, the drying tray 92
Is driven to rotate (the ice tray 91 has already returned to its original position at this point), and the ice is delivered to the ice storage box 90. The ice making machine described above is incorporated in a refrigerator, and the ice storage box 90 can be arbitrarily taken out of the refrigerator and mounted again.

2 to 5, a box is formed by the upper case 11 and the lower case 12, and the rib rising from the lower case 11 is a drive source for performing ice detecting and ice removing operations. The motor 13 is fitted in and fixed by being regulated in the vertical direction by a rib detected from the upper case 12. The output shaft 18 of the motor 13 is inserted into the shaft hole of the worm 14 and is relatively movable in the axial direction, and the pin 19 driven into the output shaft 18 is fitted into the engagement hole of the worm 14 to allow the output shaft 18 of the output shaft 18 to move. Rotational force is transmitted to the worm 14. Worm 14 meshes with worm wheel 15 and worm wheel 15
The rotational force of the spur gear 5 of the cam gear 5 is transmitted through the reduction gear trains 16 and 17.
Transmitted to 1. The cam gear 5 has two operation cams 6 and 7 on the outer side and the inner side of the upper surface, a gear 53 on the lower surface side, and a grooved cam 8 on the inner peripheral side thereof. The cam gear 5 also has a shaft 52 integrally formed at the center thereof, and the shaft 52 serves as a bearing 59 of the upper case 11.
And rotatably supported by the bearing portion 58 of the lower case 12.

As shown in FIG. 2, the outer peripheral surfaces of the cams 6 and 7 are cam surfaces. The cam 6 is a cam for detecting the amount of ice storage, and is formed in a substantially arc shape centering on the shaft 52 and has two concave portions 61, 64 recessed in the direction of the center of rotation at a central angle of approximately 180 °. There is. While the recess 61 is formed in a narrow area,
The concave portion 64 spreads over a relatively wide range, and both ends thereof are connected to the large diameter portion by inclined surfaces 63 and 65. On the other hand, the cam 7
Is a cam for displacing the slider, which will be described later, and is approximately 270 °
Is formed in an arc shape in the range of, and the remaining portion is a concave portion 71 recessed in the direction of the rotation center.

The cam 8 is a cam for detecting an operating position, and as shown in FIG. 3, it is formed in the order of a small diameter portion 81, a large diameter portion 83, a small diameter portion 84, and a large diameter portion 85 in the clockwise direction. Each small diameter part and large diameter part is a shaft
It is formed along a concentric circle centered on 52.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, the gear 53 is composed of a gear region 54 formed in a range of approximately 90 ° and the remaining toothless region 55. A projecting circumferential portion 56 projecting outward in the gear radial direction from the root circle of the gear region 54 is provided in the entire region of the toothless region 55. In the illustrated embodiment, the protruding circumferential portion 56 is projected outward in the radial direction so as to be substantially equal to the tip circle of the gear region 54. The thickness of the protruding circumferential portion 56 is approximately half the thickness of the gear 53. Thin teeth 57, 57 are provided at both ends of the protruding circumferential portion 56. The thickness of the thin teeth 57, 57 in the axial direction is approximately half the thickness of the gear 53, and the thickness of the end of the protruding circumferential portion 56 and the thin teeth 57
The thickness of the gear region 54 is the same as the thickness of the gear region 54.

When the gear 53 is the first gear, the second gear 20 and the third gear 25 that mesh with the gear region 54 of the gear 53 and follow the gear missing region 55 are the shafts. The position is different from the center of 52 by about 125 °. The second gear 20 has a thick tooth region 23 and a thin tooth region 22 formed so that the tooth thicknesses in the rotation axis direction are different. Here, it is assumed that the teeth of the thin tooth region 22 are b, c and d, respectively, and the pair of teeth of the thick tooth region 23 that sandwiches the thin tooth region 22 is a and e. Similarly, the third gear 25 also has a thick tooth region 27 and a thin tooth region 26. The teeth of the thin tooth region 26 are defined as h, i, j, and the pair of teeth of the thick tooth region 27 that sandwich the thin tooth region 26 are defined as g, k. FIG. 3 shows a state in which each member is in the original position.
The missing tooth region 55 of 53 faces the second gear 20 and the third gear 25, the teeth of the thin tooth regions 22 and 26 axially overlap the missing tooth region 55, and The pair of teeth a, e and g, k of the thick tooth regions 23 and 27 that sandwich the regions 22 and 26 are the protruding circumferential portion 5
It is possible to contact the outer circumference of 3.

The second gear 20 has a shaft 21 integrally. The shaft 21 projects through the lower case 12, and the ice tray 91 described with reference to FIG. 1 is integrally provided as an ice tray driving shaft. On the other hand, a gear 33 meshes with the third gear 25. The gear 33 integrally has a shaft 32. The shaft 32 projects through the lower case 12 and serves as a drying plate drive shaft.
The drying plate 92 described with reference to FIG. 1 is integrally provided.

As the ice tray 91 is driven to rotate, the ice removing operation is performed as described above. The ice tray 91 is rotatably driven to some extent and then a twisting operation is applied to perform the ice removing operation. However, since this ice removing mechanism itself is known, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In FIGS. 2 and 4, an operation lever 35 is rotatably fitted on the ice tray drive shaft 21. Lever 35 is the case
A coil spring 68 interposed between the pin 12 and the pin 12 urges it to rotate clockwise in FIG. One end side of the lever 35 is formed in a T shape, and the blade tip on the right side is a sliding contact portion 36 with respect to the cam surface of the cam 6 by the biasing force. The wing tip on the left side opposite to the sliding contact portion 36 is an operating position detection switch.
The switch operating portion 37 is formed by being bent so as to face the actuator 75. When the lever 35 is rotated by the urging force, the operating portion 37 presses the actuator of the switch 75, but in the original position shown in FIG.
The lever 35 is rotated against the biasing force by slidingly contacting the large diameter part of the switch, and the operation part 37 is separated from the actuator of the switch 75.

In FIG. 2 and FIG. 5, the ice detecting shaft 47 is rotatably supported between the upper and lower cases 11 and 12. A tongue piece 46 is integrally formed on the upper end portion of the ice detecting shaft 47. The ice detecting shaft 47 is urged to rotate clockwise by a coil spring 48 in FIG. A pin 45 is fixedly planted on the tongue piece 46.
One end of the slider 40 is rotatably connected by 45. The slider 40 has a long hole 42 in its longitudinal direction,
By fitting the elongated hole 42 on the outer periphery of the bearing 59, the bearing 59 can be used as a guide and moved in the longitudinal direction within the range allowed by the elongated hole 42. A pin 41 is fixed to the tip of the slider 40, and the pin 41 slides on the cam surface of the cam 7 to move the slider 40 downward in FIG. 2 based on the rotational bias of the tongue piece 46. Regulated.

One end of the ice detecting member 4 is integrally connected to the ice detecting shaft 47 as shown in FIG. The ice detecting member 4 swings in the ice storage box 90 with the rotation of the shaft 4 as shown by a chain line 4A, and when there is a predetermined amount of ice 6 or more in the ice storing box 90, the swing of the ice detecting member 4 is caused by the ice 6. The rotation of the shaft 47 and the lower piece 46 and the movement of the slider 40 are restricted. FIG. 2 shows the cam gear 5
Is in the original position, and the pin 41 is on the cam 7
The slider 40 is in a raised position by slidingly contacting the large-diameter portion, and the tongue piece 46 is in a position rotated counterclockwise against the biasing force. At this time, the ice detecting member 4 is retracted above the ice storage box 90 so as not to be an obstacle when taking out the ice from the ice taking-out port.

In FIGS. 2 and 4, a ring 110 is relatively rotatably fitted to the lower half of the outer periphery of the cam 7. 7 and 8
As shown in the figure, the ring 110 has a pair of arms 112 protruding to the outer peripheral side and a notch 113 between the pair of arms 112. The notch 113 is formed in the lower half of the ring 110 in the axial direction. A leaf spring 120 is held between the pair of arms 112, and an intermediate portion of the leaf spring 120 is passed through the notch 113 to allow the cam 7 to move.
Is pressed against the outer peripheral surface of. Thus the cam gear 5 and the ring
A kind of friction transmission mechanism is configured between the ring 110 and 110, and the ring 110 can also rotate as the cam gear 5 rotates. A projection 111 is also provided on the outer peripheral portion of the ring 110 so as to project in the axial direction. The protrusion 111 penetrates the window hole 43 formed in the slider 40. The window hole 43 is formed in an L shape and has a step portion 43a at the right side edge portion. As shown in FIG. 2, a protrusion 111 of the ring 110 can be engaged with the step portion 43a, and the slider 40 cannot slide downward when the protrusion 111 is engaged with the step portion 43a. When the ring 110 rotates in the clockwise direction together with the cam gear 5, the engagement state of the protrusion 111 with the stepped portion 43a is released.

The tongue piece 46 has a radial protrusion 44 on the opposite side of the pin 45 with respect to the shaft 47. The pin 38 at the other end of the lever 35 is located on the moving path of the protrusion 44. When the tongue piece 46 rotates clockwise over the entire range as shown by the solid line in FIG. 14, the protrusion 44 hits the pin 38 and restricts the rotation of the lever 35 in the biasing direction, and the switch operation of the lever 35 is performed. The part 37 does not press the actuator of the switch 75. On the other hand, if the clockwise rotation of the tongue piece 46 is restricted,
The projection 44 of the tongue piece 46 does not reach the position of the pin 38 of the lever 35 as shown by the chain line in FIG. 14, and the rotation of the lever 35 in the biasing direction is allowed, and the actuator of the switch 75 is operated by the operating portion 37. It can be pressed to output a detection signal.

As shown in FIG. 14, the concave portion 71 of the cam 7 is replaced by the concave portion 62 of the cam 6.
It is formed over a wider area and deeper than. Further, the positional relationship of these members is set such that when the pin 41 of the slider 40 faces the recess 71 of the cam 7, the sliding contact portion 36 of the lever 35 faces the recess 61 of the cam 6. Therefore, as the cam gear 5 rotates, first, the pin of the slider 40 is
The slider 41 starts to move first with 41 facing the recess 71 first, and then the sliding contact portion 36 of the lever 35 faces the recess 62 of the cam 6. As shown in FIG. 14, when the pin 41 of the slider 40 faces the recess 71 of the cam 7 and the slider 40 moves downward, the tongue piece 46 and the ice detecting shaft 47 swing together with the ice detecting member 4. Perform ice check operation. At this time, ice 10 in the ice storage box 90
Is insufficient and is below a certain amount, the rotation of the tongue piece 46 is not regulated, so that the slider 40 and the tongue piece 46 move to the maximum allowable position, and the projection 44 of the tongue piece 46 moves to the lever 35. pin
The rotation of the lever 35 is restricted by advancing onto the passage of 36, and the switch 75 is not switched. However, if the ice in the ice storage box 90 is in a predetermined amount or more and is full, the rotation of the ice detecting shaft 47 and the tongue piece 46 integrated with the ice detecting member 4 is restricted midway, and the protrusion 44 becomes the above. It does not reach the position of pin 38. Therefore, the lever 35 rotates until its sliding contact portion 36 falls into the bottom of the concave portion 61 of the cam 6, as shown by the chain line in FIG. 14, and the operating portion 37 pushes the actuator of the switch 75 to switch the switch 75. A detection signal is output by switching the switch 75. In addition, switch 75
Has a function as an ice amount detecting switch as described above, and also has a function as an operating position detecting switch by the combination of the lever 35 and the cam 6.

In FIGS. 3 and 5, a lever 87 for detecting an operating position is rotatably fitted to the outer periphery of the bearing portion of the lower case 12 that rotatably supports the ice tray drive shaft 21. A pin 88 is provided at the end of one arm of the lever 87, and the pin 88 is fitted in the groove cam 8. The other arm end portion of the lever 87 faces the actuator of the operating position detection switch 76. When the pin 88 of the lever 87 is in the large diameter portions 83, 85 of the groove cam 8, the switch 76 is turned on, and when the pin 88 is in the small diameter portions 81, 84 of the groove cam 8, the switch 76 is turned off. The switch 76 is a second operating position detecting switch, and the switch 75 is a first operating position detecting switch.

In the mechanism described above, the drive source for performing the ice detecting operation and the ice removing operation is the one motor 13 described above, and all of them are controlled by controlling the start and stop timings and the rotation direction of the motor 13. Is performed. As will be described later in detail, the motor 13 is started at the time of completion of ice making or the like, and is performed based on the operation of a door opening / closing switch which is interlocked with a door that opens / closes the ice outlet of the ice storage. This is because the ice 10 in the ice storage is not taken out unless the door is opened and closed, and if the ice 10 is not taken out, it is not necessary to perform ice detection and ice removal.

FIG. 9 shows a motor 13 which is a drive source for the above-mentioned mechanical portion.
An example of the control system of the drive motor of the water supply pump 73 is shown.
In FIG. 9, the controller 100 constitutes a control means for controlling the operations of the motor 13 and the drive motor 109 of the water supply pump 73. The controller 100 includes an ice storage door opening / closing switch 101, an ice storage box switch 102, a stop switch 103,
Continuous operation switch 104, water tank switch 105, temperature sensing element 106, first operating position detection switch 75 and second
The signals from the operating position detection switch 76 of the motor 13 are monitored, and the motor 13 is driven via the drive circuit 107 according to each of these input signals.
It controls the forward, reverse, and stop of the drive circuit 108.
The rotation and stop of the water supply pump drive motor 109 are controlled via. As described above, the rotation control of the motor 13 controls the operations of the ice tray 91, the drying tray 92, and the ice detecting lever 4,
In addition, the operating state of each operating position detection switch 75, 76 is determined according to the rotational position of the motor 13. Although the operating state of the ice detecting switch is determined according to the operating position of the ice detecting lever 4, the first operating position detecting switch 75 also serves as the ice detecting switch in the above-mentioned mechanism. The ice storage door opening / closing switch 101 detects the opening / closing operation of the ice storage door for taking out the ice stored in the ice storage to the outside of the ice storage, and constitutes a door opening / closing switch means. The ice storage box switch 102 is a switch for confirming the existence of the ice storage box 90. Stop switch
A switch 103 is used when the user wants to stop the ice making. The continuous operation switch 104 is a switch for continuously executing a series of operations of each part, for cleaning the ice tray 91, the drying tray 92, etc., or confirming whether or not the mechanism surely performs a predetermined operation. It is used for, for example. The water supply tank switch 105 is for confirming the existence of the water supply tank 78 since the water supply tank 78 is removable. The temperature-sensitive element 106 is attached to the ice tray 91 and detects whether or not water is supplied. If the temperature rises, it means that water has been supplied.

Next, the operation of the above-described embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 10 and subsequent figures.

The state shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 is the state of the reference position, which is the state where the ice making is started. The basic operation is as follows.

Water the ice tray 91.

Make ice in the ice tray 91.

Complete ice making. Here, in order to control the time from the start of ice making and to make clear ice, the time for which a part of the water in the ice making tray 91 is in an unfrozen state is set to complete the ice making.

The ice tray 91 is rotationally driven and a twist is applied to remove the ice, and the ice and a part of the water are transferred to the drying tray 92. The drying dish 92 separates ice from water and drains the water.

The ice detecting member 4 is rotated to detect the amount of ice in the ice storage box 90.

If the amount of ice storage is insufficient, leave the ice in the drying dish 92 for a certain period of time to freeze the surface and dry it.
Is rotated to turn it over, and the ice is discharged into the ice storage box 90, and then returned to the reference position to complete one cycle of operation. If it is determined that the ice storage capacity is insufficient, immediately make an ice tray.
Water is supplied to 91, and then ice making is started.

When the ice storage box 90 is full of ice 10 as a result of ice detection, a signal is output from the operating position detection switch 75 in response to the movement of the ice detection member 4, and this signal causes the motor 13 to reverse and return to the reference position. , Wait until the opening / closing signal of the ice storage door is output.

When the door open / close signal is output, ice detection is performed again, and depending on the result, the operation proceeds to or.

Next, a specific operation will be described.

Now, when the operation is started by powering on, first,
The motor 13 is rotationally driven and the initial original position confirmation operation shown in FIG. 16 is performed. The rotational force of the motor 13 is the wheel train 14, 15, 16, 17
Is transmitted to the cam gear 5 through the cam gear 5, and the cam gear 5 also rotates clockwise or counterclockwise according to the rotation direction of the motor 13. The above-mentioned initial original position confirmation operation is performed by using each member as shown in FIGS.
This is an operation to bring the reference position shown in the figure. In FIG. 16, first, the operation of the second operation position detection switch 76 is monitored,
If the switch 76 is off, the motor 13 is rotated clockwise so that the switch 76 is turned on. Next, monitor the state of the first operating position detection switch 75,
If 75 is off, the motor 13 is rotated clockwise to wait for the switch 75 to be turned on. When the switch 75 is turned on, the motor 13 is rotated counterclockwise, and the second operation position detection switch 76 is turned off and the first operation position detection switch 75 is turned on. When the switch 76 is turned off and the switch 75 is turned on, the motor 13 is rotated clockwise again and the second
After the operating position detection switch 76 turns on once,
After the 76 is turned off again, the overrun timer is started, and when the predetermined overrun time has elapsed, the motor is stopped and the operation is completed. This makes the first
Operating position detection switch 75 and second operating position detection switch 76
Is in the initial home position as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 when both are off. The second operating position detection switch 76 plays a role of defining the rotation limit of the cam gear 5 in one direction.

The initial home position confirmation operation as described above is performed by first driving the motor 13 to drive the cam gear 5 when the power failure is resolved or the outlet is inserted after a power failure or disconnection of the outlet during operation. It is necessary to set to the original position to avoid malfunction.

After the completion of the initial original position confirmation operation, water is supplied to the ice tray 91, and the ice making timer starts operating from this point. Second
At the reference position shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 3, when the ice making timer has timed out after a certain time has passed, after confirming that the ice storage door is closed, the drying tray 92 is rotated to move the ice 10 toward the ice storage 90. Then, the ice tray 91 is rotated to perform the ice removing operation, the ice is transferred to the drying tray 92, and the ice detecting operation is performed. The ice making timer is set to such a time that a part of the water remains in an unfrozen state.

FIG. 17 shows the details of the above-mentioned ice supply, ice removal and ice detection operations. Here, first, the motor 13 is driven to rotate clockwise,
The cam gear 5 is also driven to rotate in the clockwise direction in FIGS. 2 and 3, and the ice tray starts to be dispensed from the drying tray 92. The gear 53 rotates in the clockwise direction together with the cam gear 5, and one thin gear 57
Comes to the position of the tooth j in the thin tooth area 26 of the gear 25, the gear 25
The rotational force is transmitted to and the gear 25 is rotationally driven in the counterclockwise direction. The rotational force of the gear 25 is transmitted to the output shaft 32 via the gear 33, whereby the drying tray 92 is rotationally driven in the clockwise direction in FIG. 1 and the ice is supplied from the drying tray 92 to the ice storage 90. In this way, the sliding contact portion 36 of the lever 35 becomes the concave portion 64 of the cam 6.
When the lever 35 rotates in the urging direction and the first operating position detection switch 75 is turned on, and the second operating position detection switch 76 is turned on at the same time, the motor
Flip 13 counterclockwise to complete the ice donation operation.
In FIG. 15, this ice dispensing operation is shown at the left end.

2 and 3, as the cam gear 5 rotates in the clockwise direction, the ring 110 also rotates in the clockwise direction due to the frictional force of the leaf spring 120, and the projection 111 of the ring 110 rotates through the window hole 43 of the slider 40.
Escape from the step 43a. However, the slider 41 has its pin 41 slidably contacting the large-diameter portion of the cam 7 so that downward movement due to the biasing force is restricted. After the protrusion 111 comes into contact with the left edge of the window hole 43, the rotation of the ring 110 is blocked and the cam gear 5
Only rotate clockwise.

By rotating the motor 13 in the counterclockwise direction, the ice removing operation from the ice tray 91 to the drying tray 92 is performed as described below. The rotation of the motor 13 in the counterclockwise direction also rotates the cam gear 5 in the counterclockwise direction and passes the reference position shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. When the gear 53 rotates counterclockwise together with the cam gear 5 and one of the thin gear 57 reaches the position of the tooth b of the thin region 22 of the gear 20 as shown in FIG. This is transmitted and the gear 20 is rotationally driven in the clockwise direction. As a result, the ice tray 91 rotates clockwise in FIG. 1, and as described above, the ice removing operation is performed and the ice and a part of the water are transferred to the drying tray 92. Figure 12 shows the gears during ice removal.
The relationship between 53 and 20 is shown. During the counterclockwise rotation of the cam gear 5, the sliding contact portion 36 of the lever 35 falls into the recess 61 of the cam 6, and the lever 35 operates the switch 75 to output a signal. In this case, the output signal is It will be ignored. Further, the pin 41 of the slider 40 faces the concave portion 71 of the cam 7, but the projection 111 of the ring 110 rotated counterclockwise by frictional force as the cam gear 5 rotates counterclockwise has a window hole of the slider 40. 43 steps
43a is engaged, and the slider 40 cannot slide. At the time when the ice tray 91 rotates by the maximum angle, the pin 88 of the lever 87 is located at the small diameter portion 81 of the cam groove 8, the second operating position detection switch 76 is in the off state, and the sliding contact portion 36 of the lever 35.
Falls through the inclined surface 65 of the cam 6 into the recess 64, and the first operating position detection switch 75 is turned off. So switch 76
Is turned off and the switch 75 is turned on, and the ice removing operation is terminated, and the motor 13 is rotationally driven clockwise again.

With the clockwise rotation of the motor 13 and the cam gear 5 after the completion of the ice removing operation, the ring 110 also rotates clockwise due to frictional force, and the projection 111 thereof escapes from the step portion 43a of the window hole 43 of the slider 40. The slider 40 is made slidable by the urging force. When the cam gear 5 rotates clockwise, the lever
The pin 88 of 87 is located in the large diameter portion 85 of the cam groove 8, the second operation position detection switch 76 is turned on, and the ice detecting operation is started.

In the ice detecting operation, the first operating position detection switch 75 is continuously monitored and the second operating position detection switch 76 is also monitored,
If the switch 76 is off and the switch 75 is off, it is determined that the ice amount is insufficient. That is, if the amount of ice is insufficient, the tongue piece 46 and the slider 40 integrated with the ice detecting lever 4 rotate and slide with the maximum stroke as described above, and the projection 44 of the tongue piece 46 pushes the pin 38 of the lever 35. This is because even if the sliding contact portion 36 of the lever 35 faces the concave portion 61 of the cam 6, the lever 35 is rotated counterclockwise against the urging force to keep the switch 75 in the off state. On the other hand, if the switch 75 is on and the switch 76 is on, it is determined that the ice amount is full. That is, when the ice amount is full, the ice detecting lever 4 hits the ice during the stroke as described above, and the tongue piece 46 and the slider are moved.
This is because 40 is blocked in the middle of the stroke and the sliding contact portion 36 of the lever 35 falls in the concave portion 61 of the cam 6 to rotate in the biasing direction to turn on the switch 75. After determining whether the ice amount is insufficient or full in this way, the operation in each case proceeds.

If the amount of ice is insufficient, set the motor 13 and cam gear 5 to the second
In FIG. 3 and FIG. 3, the motor 13 is stopped by further rotating in the clockwise direction to overrun by a predetermined amount, withdrawing the ice detecting lever 4 from the ice storage 90. Next, the water supply pump drive motor 109 is activated to supply water to the ice tray 91, and the drying timer is started to dry the ice in the drying tray 92, and the delivery operation shown in FIG. 19 is proceeded to.

On the other hand, when the ice amount is full, the motor 13 and the cam gear 5 are rotated in the opposite direction, that is, counterclockwise, and the ice detecting lever 4 is withdrawn from the ice storage 90. When the cam gear 5 rotates counterclockwise, the sliding contact portion 36 of the lever 35 is pushed by the large diameter portion of the cam 6 so that the lever 35 rotates counterclockwise in FIG.
After the 75 is turned off, it is overrun by a predetermined amount and then stopped to wait for the opening and closing operation of the ice storage door.

FIG. 18 shows the operation when waiting for the opening and closing of the ice storage door. When the door is opened and then the door is closed, the motor 13 is started and the cam gear 5 is rotationally driven in the clockwise direction in FIGS. 2 and 3. This clockwise rotation of the cam gear 5 causes the sliding contact portion 36 of the lever 35 to face the recess 61 of the cam 6,
The pin 41 of the slider 40 faces the recess 71 of the cam 7,
The same operation as the ice detecting operation in the figure is performed. Then, depending on the presence or absence of the ice detection signal, the same operation as the above-described operation when the ice storage amount is insufficient or when the predetermined ice storage amount is satisfied is performed. That is, when the amount of ice is insufficient, the motor is stopped after the predetermined overrun process, and the water supply operation and the drying operation are performed. When the amount of ice is full, the motor is stopped at a predetermined standby position and the door is opened and closed. In either case, the ice detecting lever 4 exits from the ice storage 90 after the ice detecting operation. The reason why the ice detecting operation is performed based on the opening / closing operation of the door is that there is a high possibility that the ice has been taken out by the opening / closing of the door.

FIG. 19 shows the ice feeding operation after drying. When the drying is completed, the motor 13 is driven to rotate in the clockwise direction, and the cam gear 5 is also driven to rotate in the clockwise direction in FIGS.
The thin teeth 57 of 53 reach the thin teeth region 26 of the gear 25 to start meshing, and rotate the gear 25 counterclockwise and the drying tray drive shaft 28 clockwise. As a result, the drying plate 92 rotates clockwise in FIG. 1, and the ice in the drying plate 92 is stored in the ice storage box 90.
Donate to. During this period, the second operation position detection switch 76 is operated in the same manner as the operation from the delivery start to the delivery end described in FIG.
Is turned on and the first operating position detection switch 75 is turned on to rotationally drive the motor 13 and the cam gear 5 counterclockwise, the cam gear 5 returns to its original position and the switch 76 is turned off. After waiting for the predetermined overrun, the motor 13 is stopped and the operation is completed.

The left part from the center of FIG. 15 shows the operation when the ice is insufficient, and the right half part of FIG. 15 shows the operation when the predetermined ice storage amount is satisfied and the door open / close switch signal comes. . First
In FIGS. 15 to 19, “CW” indicates clockwise rotation, and “CCW” indicates counterclockwise rotation.

When the ice tray 91 is in the horizontal position, as shown in FIG. 10, the toothless region 55 of the gear 53 and the thin tooth region 22 of the gear 20 overlap each other so that the tooth of the thin tooth region 22 has a toothless region. 55 protruding circumference 56
While facing each other so as not to contact the outer periphery of the gear, the pair of teeth a and e of the thick tooth region 23 sandwiching the thin tooth region 22 are in a state of being capable of contacting the outer periphery of the protruding circumferential portion 56. The rotation of 20 is restricted by the contact between the outer circumference of the protruding circumferential portion 56 and the pair of teeth a and e. On the other hand, the relationship between the gear 53 and the third gear 25 is similar, and at the reference position, the rotation of the gear 25 is restricted by the contact between the pair of gears g and k and the outer circumference of the protruding circumferential portion 56. . In this way, by restricting the rotation of the gears 20 and 25, the ice tray 91 is correctly regulated to the horizontal position and the drying tray 82 is regulated to the predetermined tilt angle position, and water or ice is supplied. Even if a weight is applied, it is positioned without shifting from the horizontal position.

In the operation when the ice is full as shown in FIG. 15, the operation hold timer is started when the door is opened and closed, and when the timer expires, the ice detection operation is performed again. The reason for setting the operation hold time is that opening the door raises the temperature in the ice storage and the ice surface melts,
This is because if they are directly supplied to the ice storage box, the ice comrades may be fused together, so that the ice surface is frozen again after a certain period of time after the door is closed.

Repeated ice making by the above series of operations.If there is not enough ice, ice making box 90 is filled with ice 10,
When ice storage box 90 is filled with ice 10, it waits until the door open / close signal arrives, and does not make ice.
However, the dry tray 92 contains ice, and when the ice storage amount is insufficient, the ice is immediately delivered to the ice storage box.

The operation cam 6, the operation lever 35, and the contact portion 44 of the tongue piece 46 are
An operation means that operates when the ice detecting lever 4 that has entered the ice storage 90 contacts the ice stored in the ice storage 90 and the ice detecting lever 4 does not displace by a predetermined amount or more regardless of the rotation of the cam 6. Are configured.

In the operation example described above, the constant overrun process is performed after the reference position signal is detected. The reason for performing the overrun process is to avoid stopping the pin 88 of the lever 87 in the middle of the inclined surface of the cam 8 and surely stop the pin 88 at the lowest point of the inclined surface to stop the motor at a stable position. This is because.

The ice detecting member 4 in the above-described embodiment can be used for detecting the presence or absence of the ice storage box 90. Further, both of the ice storage amount detection and the ice storage box detection may be performed by using two members having the same configuration as the ice detection member. In the illustrated embodiment, the output shaft is two,
The ice made in the ice making tray was once transferred to a drying tray, dried, and then supplied to an ice storage.
The present invention is also applicable to a case where the output shaft is one shaft and the drying plate is omitted. The sliding contact portion 36 of the operation lever 35 is a concave portion of the operation cam 6.
Although the switch 75 is actuated by falling into 61, the switch 75 may be actuated by the sliding contact portion falling into the convex portion of the operation cam 6. Also,
The switch 75 may switch from on to off when the ice amount is full.

A member having the same function as the function of the contact portion 44 provided on the tongue piece 46 may be provided on the slider 40. That is, when the slider 40 slides a maximum stroke downward in FIG.
It suffices that a part of the slider 40 advances into the path of the pin 38 of the lever 35.

(Effect of the invention) According to the present invention, the ice detecting operation is performed by the ice detecting lever that moves in and out of the ice storage, and the ice detecting signal is generated when the ice detecting lever moves in one direction as the motor moves. When there is no output of, the motor rotates further in one direction to move the ice detection lever out, and the ice tray is rotated to perform the ice removal operation.When the ice detection signal is output, the motor reverses direction. Since it is rotated to the left to move the ice detection lever, it is possible to select whether to proceed to ice removal or return to the original position depending on the ice detection result. It can be stored, it will not interfere with the ice removal, and the ice detection lever will not return to the hands when the ice is taken out.

In addition, since it is possible to immediately determine whether the ice is full without operating the ice detection lever in the entire range, it is not necessary to provide a timer or the like to wait for the ice detection lever to operate in the entire range. The circuit can be simplified, and simple and smooth control can be performed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an outline of an embodiment of an automatic ice making machine according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of a main portion of the same embodiment as above, and FIG. 3 is a state in which a part of the same is removed as above. The plan view shown in FIG. 4, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along each axis of the above embodiment and shown in a developed state, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along a different axis from another angle and shown in a developed state. 6 is a perspective view showing the relationship between some gears and gears in the above embodiment, FIG. 7 is a plan view of the ring in the above embodiment, FIG. 8 is a partial sectional front view of the same as above, FIG. Is a block diagram showing an example of a control system applicable to the present invention, FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a state in which the gears shown in FIG. 6 are at the reference position, and FIG. 11 is the same as above. FIG. 12 is a plan view showing a state during the ice removing operation, FIG. 13 is a plan view showing a state during the ice removing operation, and FIG. FIG. 17 is a plan view showing the operation mode of the ice detecting mechanism portion in the above embodiment, FIG. 15 is a timing chart showing the operation of the above embodiment, FIG. 16 is a flow chart showing the initial setting operation of the above embodiment, and FIG. The same figure shows a flow chart showing the dispensing and ice detecting operation, FIG. 18 shows a flow chart showing the operation when opening and closing the door, FIG. 19 shows a flow chart showing the operation after completion of drying, and FIG. 20 shows a conventional automatic ice making machine. Fig. 21 is a front view schematically showing an example, and Fig. 21 is a sectional side view of the same. 4 ... Ice detecting lever, 5 ... Cam gear, 6 ... Operation cam, 10 ...
Ice, 13 ... Motor, 35 ... Operating lever, 36 ... Sliding contact part, 37 ... Switch operating part, 40 ... Slide member, 44 ... Abutting part, 75 ... Switch means, 90 ... Ice storage, 91 ... Ice tray.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An automatic ice making machine for storing ice-released ice in an ice storage provided below the ice making tray by rotating the ice making tray after the ice making by a motor to perform ice removing operation. A cam connected through a gear train, a slide member that is slidably provided by following the cam surface of the cam, and a slide member that is connected to the slide member and enters and exits the ice storage along with the slide. An ice detecting lever, and an operating means that operates when the ice detecting lever that has entered the ice storage box abuts the ice stored in the ice storage box and does not displace a predetermined amount or more regardless of the rotation of the cam. A switch means for outputting a signal when operated by the operation of the operation means, wherein the motor does not output the signal when the ice detecting lever enters the operation accompanying the rotation in one direction. When Further rotates in one direction to move the ice detecting lever out and rotate the ice tray to perform ice removing operation.When the signal is output, rotate in the opposite direction to move the ice detecting lever. An automatic ice maker characterized in that its rotation is controlled so as to perform an exit operation. 2. The operation means includes an operation cam which is connected to a motor through a gear train and has a concave portion or a convex portion, a sliding contact portion slidingly contacting the operation cam, and a switch operation for operating the switch means. And a slide lever is formed on the drive shaft of the slide member or the ice tray, which is operated when the sliding contact portion faces the concave portion or the convex portion to operate the switch means by the switch operating portion. And a contact portion that blocks the operation of the operation lever when it comes into contact with the operation lever, so that the operation lever can operate in synchronization with the movement of the ice detection lever into the ice storage. The arrangement relationship between the sliding contact portion of the operation lever and the concave portion or the convex portion of the operation cam is set, and the operation lever and the contact portion are displaced by a predetermined amount or more when the ice detecting lever that has entered into the ice storage is operated. When not doing Without contact, the automatic ice maker of claim 1, wherein the contact with the operation of the operating lever is arranged to be blocked when the ice detecting lever is a predetermined amount or more displacement.