Full ice sensing device of ice maker

Abstract

The utility model provides an ice maker full ice sensing device, including ice storage bucket, stirring subassembly, first sensing subassembly and control device, the ice storage bucket is suitable for storing the ice block that is conveyed by ice making subassembly, including bucket body and is suitable for closing bucket body, the stirring subassembly includes motor and stirring bar, the first sensing subassembly includes the motor and the stirring bar, and the control device includes the motor and the stirring bar. The motor drives the stirring rod to rotate so as to adjust the ice block stacking posture and prevent ice blocks from freezing, the first induction assembly is suitable for monitoring the ice block stacking height, and the control device is suitable for receiving signals of the first induction assembly and controlling the ice making assembly to start and stop according to the signals. The first sensing assembly comprises a first emitter suitable for emitting infrared light beams and a first receiver suitable for receiving the infrared light beams, the first emitter and the first receiver are oppositely arranged in the ice storage bucket, and when ice blocks block a propagation path of the infrared light beams between the first sensing assembly, the control device is suitable for controlling the ice making assembly to stop working. According to the utility model, the control device can intelligently control the start and stop of the ice-making assembly according to the signal of the first induction assembly, so that the automatic control of the ice-making process is realized.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model belongs to the technical field of ice makers, and particularly relates to an ice fullness sensing device for an ice maker. Background Art

[0002] In traditional ice makers, the storage and distribution of ice cubes usually rely on simple devices such as mechanical limit switches or float balls to sense the amount of ice cubes. These methods have certain limitations. For example, mechanical devices may not be able to accurately sense due to the irregular shape or stacking pattern of ice cubes, resulting in the ice maker being unable to stop making ice in time, causing energy waste and equipment wear. In addition, these traditional methods cannot effectively control the stacking posture of ice cubes, affecting the quality of ice cubes and the convenience of taking ice. The purpose of the utility model is to solve the deficiencies in the prior art, and the specific problems include: (1) how to accurately monitor the stacking height of ice cubes in the ice storage bucket to avoid ice cube overflow or the ice maker idling due to inaccurate sensing; (2) how to adjust the stacking posture of ice cubes in the ice storage bucket to optimize the shape and stacking density of ice cubes; provide an ice fullness sensing device that can accurately monitor the stacking height of ice cubes to achieve precise control of the ice maker. Summary of the Utility Model

[0003] Aiming at the defects of the above-mentioned prior art, the purpose of the utility model is to provide an ice fullness sensing device for an ice maker to meet the needs of users.

[0004] To achieve the above purpose, the utility model provides an ice fullness sensing device for an ice maker, including

[0005] An ice storage bucket, which is suitable for storing ice cubes transported by an ice making component, includes a bucket body and a bucket cover suitable for closing the bucket body,

[0006] A stirring component, which includes a motor and a stirring rod, and the motor drives the stirring rod to rotate to adjust the stacking posture of ice cubes and prevent ice cubes from freezing,

[0007] A first sensing component, which is suitable for monitoring the stacking height of ice cubes,

[0008] A control device, which is suitable for receiving the signal of the first sensing component and controlling the start and stop of the ice making component accordingly,

[0009] The first sensing component includes a first emitter suitable for emitting an infrared beam and a first receiver suitable for receiving the infrared beam. The first emitter and the first receiver are oppositely arranged inside the ice storage bucket. When an ice cube blocks the propagation path of the infrared beam between the first sensing components, the control device is suitable for controlling the ice making component to stop working.

[0010] Preferably: the infrared beam is suitable for being arranged along the height direction perpendicular to the ice storage bucket, where:

[0011] The first sensing component is disposed on the inner peripheral wall of the barrel body, or the sensing device is assembled on the side of the barrel cover facing the barrel body.

[0012] Preferably: the first transmitter and the first receiver are symmetrically arranged with respect to the central axis of the ice storage barrel, and the central axis is adapted to pass through the center of the barrel cover and the center of the barrel body.

[0013] Preferably: both the barrel body and the barrel cover are made of light-impermeable materials, and the barrel body and the barrel cover are hermetically fitted. The barrel body or the barrel cover is integrally formed or fixedly connected with a mounting cavity adapted to mount the first sensing component.

[0014] Preferably: an infrared absorption layer is covered on the inner surface of the barrel body and / or the side of the barrel cover facing the barrel body to reduce reflected light, and the infrared absorption layer includes at least one of metal oxides, carbon-based materials or ferroelectric materials.

[0015] Preferably: the metal oxide can be iron oxide, copper oxide or zinc oxide, the carbon-based material can be graphene or nano carbon black, and the ferroelectric material can be magnetite or strontium titanate.

[0016] Preferably: the distance between the first transmitter and the first receiver is not less than 0.5 times the diameter of the barrel body, and / or the distance between the first sensing component and the bottom of the barrel body is not less than 0.8 times the height of the ice storage barrel.

[0017] Preferably: the first transmitter includes an optical shaping element to converge the infrared beam, reduce beam divergence, and improve sensing accuracy. The optical shaping element includes at least one of a collimating lens, a beam shaping sheet or a beam shaping prism.

[0018] Preferably: the first receiver includes an infrared filter disposed facing the first transmitter, and the infrared filter is adapted to block or absorb reflected light.

[0019] Preferably: further includes a second sensing component, which includes a second transmitter adapted to emit an infrared beam and a second receiver adapted to receive the infrared beam. The second transmitter and the second receiver are oppositely arranged. The distance between the first sensing component and the bottom of the barrel body is not higher than 0.5 times the height of the ice storage barrel. When the ice block no longer blocks the propagation path of the infrared beam between the second sensing components, the control device is adapted to control the ice making component to start working.

[0020] Preferably: Define the time for the stirring assembly to rotate one full circle as a unit period. When the time that the first receiver does not receive the infrared beam exceeds at least one unit period, the control device is adapted to determine that the ice storage bucket is full of ice.

[0021] The beneficial effects of the present utility model are:

[0022] (1) By using the disconnection of the light beam between the first emitter and the second receiver as the monitoring signal for the excessive height of the ice block accumulation, it avoids the deficiencies of the mechanical sensing device, improves the sensing accuracy, and the control device can intelligently control the start and stop of the ice making assembly according to the signal of the first sensing component, realizing the automatic control of the ice making process.

[0023] (2) By rotating the stirring rod driven by the motor to adjust the accumulation posture of the ice blocks, making the ice block distribution more uniform, avoiding misjudgment caused by local excessive accumulation of ice blocks, and further setting the determination adjustment to that the light beam disconnection time exceeds at least one unit period, further improving the judgment accuracy.

[0024] (3) The barrel body and the barrel cover are made of light - impermeable materials and are hermetically fitted, and the inner surface is covered with an infrared absorption layer, reducing the interference of the light beam in the environment and the reflected light in the barrel on the receiver. And an infrared filter is provided on the first receiver to block or absorb the infrared light reflected by the ice blocks, which can also reduce the risk of false induction.

[0025] (4) By using the second sensing component to monitor whether the ice blocks no longer block the infrared beam, it realizes the control of the start of the ice making assembly, avoiding the frequent start and stop of the ice making assembly caused by only controlling through the first sensing component, and further improving the intelligence level of the control device. Description of the Drawings

[0026] Figure 1 It is a schematic cross - sectional view of an ice - full sensing device for an ice maker provided by the present utility model.

[0027] In the figure, barrel body 101, barrel cover 102, motor 103, stirring rod 104, first emitter 105, first receiver 106, installation cavity 107. Detailed Embodiments

[0028] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the present utility model clearer, the present utility model will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings and specific embodiments.

[0029] Here, it also needs to be noted that in order to avoid obscuring the present utility model due to unnecessary details, only the structures and / or processing steps closely related to the solution of the present utility model are shown in the drawings, while other details less related to the present utility model are omitted.

[0030] In addition, it should be noted that the term "comprising", "including" or any other variant thereof is intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article or apparatus comprising a series of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such process, method, article or apparatus.

[0031] As Figure 1 described, an ice full-sensing device for an ice maker includes an ice storage bucket adapted to store ice cubes conveyed by an ice-making assembly, a stirring assembly, a first sensing assembly adapted to monitor the height of the ice cube accumulation, and a control device. The ice storage bucket includes a bucket body 101 and a bucket lid 102 adapted to close the bucket body 101. Both the bucket body 101 and the bucket lid 102 are made of light-impermeable materials, and the bucket body 101 and the bucket lid 102 are sealingly fitted. The stirring assembly includes a motor 103 and a stirring rod 104. The motor 103 drives the stirring rod 104 to rotate to adjust the accumulation posture of the ice cubes and prevent the ice cubes from freezing. The first sensing assembly includes a first emitter 105 adapted to emit an infrared beam and a first receiver 106 adapted to receive the infrared beam. On the side of the bucket lid 102 facing the bucket body 101, there is an installation cavity 107 integrally formed and adapted to install the first sensing assembly. The first emitter 105 and the first receiver 106 are arranged opposite to each other. The infrared beam is adapted to be arranged in the height direction perpendicular to the ice storage bucket. The first emitter 105 and the first receiver 106 are symmetrically arranged about the central axis of the ice storage bucket, and the central axis is adapted to pass through the center of the bucket lid 102 and the center of the bucket body 101.

[0032] In this embodiment, the time for the stirring assembly to rotate one full circle is defined as a unit cycle. When the ice cubes block the propagation path of the infrared beam between the first sensing assembly and the first receiver 106 fails to receive the infrared beam for a time exceeding at least one unit cycle, the control device is adapted to determine that the ice storage bucket is full of ice and control the ice-making assembly to stop working.

[0033] In this embodiment, an infrared absorption layer is coated on the inner surface of the bucket body 101 and the side of the bucket lid 102 facing the bucket body 101 to reduce the reflected light. The infrared absorption layer is a carbon-based material. More specifically, the carbon-based material is graphene. The distance between the first emitter 105 and the first receiver 106 is 0.8 times the diameter of the bucket body 101, and the distance from the first sensing assembly to the bottom of the bucket body 101 is 0.9 times the height of the ice storage bucket.

[0034] In this embodiment, the first emitter 105 includes an optical shaping element to converge the infrared beam, reduce the beam divergence, and improve the sensing accuracy. Specifically, the optical shaping element is a collimating lens. The first receiver 106 includes an infrared filter arranged facing the first emitter 105, and the infrared filter is adapted to block or absorb the reflected light.

[0035] In some other embodiments, the full ice sensing device of the ice maker further includes a second sensing component, which includes a second emitter adapted to emit an infrared beam and a second receiver adapted to receive the infrared beam. The second emitter and the second receiver are arranged opposite to each other. The distance between the first sensing component and the bottom of the bucket body 101 is 0.3 times the height of the ice storage bucket. When the ice no longer blocks the propagation path of the infrared beam between the second sensing components, the control device is adapted to control the ice making component to start working.

[0036] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention rather than to limit them. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that the technical solutions of the present invention can be modified or equivalently replaced without departing from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the present invention.

Claims

1. An ice maker full ice sensing device, characterized in that, including an ice storage bucket, which is adapted to store ice cubes conveyed by an ice making assembly, including a bucket body and a bucket lid adapted to close the bucket body, a stirring assembly, which includes a motor and a stirring rod, and the motor drives the stirring rod to rotate to adjust the stacking posture of the ice cubes and prevent the ice cubes from freezing, a first sensing assembly, which is adapted to monitor the stacking height of the ice cubes, a control device, which is adapted to receive the signal of the first sensing assembly and control the start and stop of the ice making assembly accordingly, the first sensing assembly includes a first emitter adapted to emit an infrared beam and a first receiver adapted to receive the infrared beam, the first emitter and the first receiver are oppositely arranged inside the ice storage bucket, and when the ice cubes block the propagation path of the infrared beam between the first sensing assembly, the control device is adapted to control the ice making assembly to stop working.

2. The full ice sensing device of an ice maker according to claim 1, characterized in that, the infrared beam is adapted to be arranged along the height direction perpendicular to the ice storage bucket, wherein: the first sensing assembly is arranged on the inner peripheral wall of the bucket body, or the sensing device is assembled on the side of the bucket lid facing the bucket body.

3. The full ice sensing device of an ice maker according to claim 2, wherein both the bucket body and the bucket lid are made of light-impermeable materials, and the bucket body and the bucket lid are hermetically fitted, and the bucket body or the bucket lid is integrally formed or fixedly connected with a mounting cavity adapted to install the first sensing assembly.

4. The full ice sensing device of an ice maker according to claim 3, characterized in that, the inner surface of the bucket body and / or the side of the bucket lid facing the bucket body is covered with an infrared absorption layer to reduce the reflected light, and the infrared absorption layer includes at least one of metal oxides, carbon-based materials or ferroelectric materials.

5. The full ice sensing device of an ice maker according to claim 4, characterized in that, the metal oxide can be iron oxide, copper oxide or zinc oxide, the carbon-based material can be graphene or nano carbon black, and the ferroelectric material can be iron tetroxide or strontium titanate.

6. The full ice sensing device of an ice maker according to claim 2, characterized in that the distance between the first emitter and the first receiver is not less than 0.5 times the diameter of the bucket body, and / or the distance between the first sensing assembly and the bottom of the bucket body is not less than 0.8 times the height of the ice storage bucket.

7. An ice maker full ice sensing device according to claim 1, characterized in that, the first emitter includes an optical shaping element to converge the infrared beam, and the optical shaping element includes at least one of a collimating lens, a beam shaping sheet or a beam shaping prism.

8. The full ice sensing device of an ice maker according to claim 1, characterized in that, the first receiver includes an infrared filter arranged facing the first emitter, and the infrared filter is adapted to block or absorb the reflected light.

9. The full ice sensing device of an ice maker according to claim 1, characterized in that, further includes a second sensing assembly, which includes a second emitter adapted to emit an infrared beam and a second receiver adapted to receive the infrared beam, the second emitter and the second receiver are oppositely arranged, the distance between the first sensing assembly and the bottom of the bucket body is not higher than 0.5 times the height of the ice storage bucket, and when the ice cubes no longer block the propagation path of the infrared beam between the second sensing assembly, the control device is adapted to control the ice making assembly to start working.

10. A full ice sensing device for an ice maker according to any one of claims 1-9, characterized in that, defining the time for the stirring assembly to rotate one full circle as a unit period, when the time for the first receiver not to receive the infrared beam exceeds at least one unit period, the control device is adapted to determine that the ice storage bucket is full of ice.

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