Ice maker

Abstract

Even when the temperature inside the ice maker / storage compartment rises suddenly due to the influx of outside air after opening the door, the cooling operation to maintain the temperature inside the ice maker / storage compartment will be executed at the appropriate time. [Solution] When the ice maker 10 detects that the ice storage compartment 12 is filled with ice using the ice storage detector 42, it can perform a cooling operation to cool the inside of the ice storage compartment 12 by controlling the operation of the refrigeration device 30 based on temperature information regarding the temperature inside the ice storage compartment 12, which is obtained by accumulating the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 43 over time during standby mode, and when the door opening detectors 44 and 45 detect that the door 16 has been opened during standby mode, it can reset the temperature information calculated up to that point and start calculating new temperature information, and can perform a cooling operation to cool the inside of the ice storage compartment 12 based on this newly calculated temperature information.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an ice maker that manufactures ice in an ice making section provided in an ice making and storing refrigerator. When the ice making and storing refrigerator is filled with ice, the ice making section waits for ice making, and a cold storage operation is executed to cool the ice making section by a refrigeration device and keep the inside of the ice making and storing refrigerator cold.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses an invention of an ice maker that manufactures ice in an ice making section provided in an ice making chamber. This ice maker includes an ice making section that freezes ice-making water to manufacture ice, a refrigeration device that cools the ice making section with a refrigerant circulated and supplied by a compressor, a water supply means that sends ice-making water to the ice making section, an ice making chamber in which the ice making section is disposed, a storage ice chamber that is disposed below the ice making chamber and stores the ice manufactured by the ice making section, and a storage ice detector that detects that the storage ice chamber is filled with ice.

[0003] In this ice maker, an ice making operation is performed to manufacture ice by sending and freezing ice-making water by the water supply means in the ice making section cooled by the refrigeration device, and a defrosting operation is performed to detach ice from the ice making section by sending hot gas from the refrigeration device to the ice making section. By alternately performing these operations, ice is manufactured and stored in the storage ice chamber. When the storage ice detector does not detect that the ice is full, the ice making operation and the defrosting operation are alternately performed as an ice making mode to control the manufacture of ice stored in the storage ice chamber. When the storage ice detector detects that the ice is full, the ice making operation and the defrosting operation are not performed as a storage ice mode (standby mode), and the ice maker waits without manufacturing the ice stored in the storage ice chamber.

[0004] In this ice maker, an ice-making chamber temperature sensor is installed inside the ice-making chamber. When in ice storage mode, the operation of the refrigeration system is controlled based on the temperature detected by the ice-making chamber temperature sensor, enabling a cooling operation to suppress the rise in temperature inside the ice-making chamber. In the cooling operation of this ice maker, in order to prevent the compressor, which constitutes the refrigeration system, from starting and stopping for short periods of time, the cumulative temperature, which is calculated by accumulating the detected temperature detected by the ice-making chamber temperature sensor over time from the start of the cooling operation, is divided by the elapsed time since the start of the cooling operation, which is measured by a timer, to calculate the cumulative average temperature, which is the average temperature per unit time of the cumulative temperature. When this cumulative average temperature exceeds the set cooling temperature, the refrigeration system is activated to cool the ice-making section. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2024-054945 [Overview of the Initiative] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0006] In the cooling operation of the ice maker described in Patent Document 1, in order to prevent the compressor, which constitutes the refrigeration system, from starting and stopping for a short period of time, the cumulative temperature (temperature information), which is the average temperature per unit time of the cumulative temperature, is calculated by dividing the cumulative temperature, which is the cumulative temperature obtained by accumulating the detected temperature detected by the ice-making chamber temperature sensor over time from the start of the cooling operation, by the elapsed time since the start of the cooling operation, which is measured by a timer. When this cumulative average temperature exceeds the set cooling temperature, the refrigeration system is activated to cool the ice-making section. In addition, the ice-making storage compartment is provided with an outlet for taking out ice, and the door of the outlet is provided to be able to be opened and closed. When the door is opened, outside air flows into the ice-making storage compartment (ice-making storage compartment) from the outlet, and the temperature inside the ice-making compartment rises due to the incoming outside air.

[0007] In the ice maker described in Patent Document 1, the cooling operation is controlled to activate the refrigeration device and cool the ice-making section when the cumulative average temperature exceeds the set cooling temperature. However, even if the temperature inside the ice storage compartment rises due to outside air entering when the door is opened, the cumulative average temperature is the average of the temperatures accumulated up to that point, making it difficult to reach the set cooling temperature in a short time. As a result, the ice storage compartment, whose temperature has risen due to the influx of outside air, cannot be cooled quickly. The present invention aims to provide an ice maker that can perform a cooling operation to maintain the temperature inside the ice storage compartment based on temperature information related to the temperature inside the ice storage compartment, which is obtained by accumulating the temperature detected by a temperature sensor inside the ice storage compartment over time. The invention aims to ensure that the cooling operation to maintain the temperature inside the ice storage compartment is performed at an appropriate timing, even when the temperature inside the ice storage compartment rises suddenly due to the influx of outside air by opening the door that opens and closes the ice outlet. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] To solve the above problems, the present invention comprises an ice-making unit that freezes ice-making water to produce ice, an ice-making storage unit that is positioned above the ice-making unit and forms a space in which ice produced in the ice-making unit can be stored, a refrigeration device that cools the ice-making unit, a temperature sensor that detects the temperature inside the ice-making storage unit, an ice storage detector that detects when the ice-making storage unit is full of ice, a door that can be opened and closed to block the outlet for taking out ice from the ice-making storage unit, and a door open detector that detects when the door is open. When the ice storage detector does not detect that the ice-making storage unit is full of ice, the system controls the system to perform an ice-making operation in ice-making mode, in which the ice-making unit cooled by the refrigeration device freezes ice-making water to produce ice, thereby producing ice to be stored in the ice-making storage unit, and the ice storage detector detects when the ice-making storage unit is full of ice. This ice maker is characterized in that, when it detects a door opening, it is controlled to enter a standby mode and not perform ice-making operations, remaining in standby mode without producing ice to be stored in the ice-making storage compartment, and in standby mode, it is possible to perform a cooling operation to cool the ice-making section by controlling the operation of the refrigeration device based on temperature information regarding the temperature inside the ice-making storage compartment, which is obtained by accumulating the temperature detected by the temperature sensor over time, and when the door is opened by the door open detector in standby mode, the temperature information calculated up to that point is reset and the calculation of new temperature information is started, and in standby mode, it is possible to perform a cooling operation to cool the ice-making section by controlling the operation of the refrigeration device based on this newly calculated temperature information.

[0009] Although the temperature inside the ice-making and storage compartment tends to rise rapidly when the door is opened, the temperature information calculated up to that point is based on the cumulative value obtained by accumulating the temperature detected by the temperature sensor over time during standby mode, and therefore does not rise instantaneously as quickly as the temperature detected by the temperature sensor. For this reason, even if you try to perform a cooling operation based on the temperature information calculated up to that point, there is a risk that the cooling operation cannot be controlled to be performed quickly in response to the temperature fluctuations inside the ice-making and storage compartment. In the ice maker configured as described above, when the door opening is detected by the door opening detector during standby mode, the temperature information calculated up to that point is reset and the calculation of new temperature information is started. Based on this newly calculated temperature information, the operation of the refrigeration device is controlled to cool the ice-making section, thereby enabling a cooling operation to be performed to cool the inside of the ice-making and storage compartment. When the door opening is detected by the door opening detector during standby mode, the temperature information calculated up to that point is reset and the calculation of new temperature information is started, and the newly calculated temperature information will be close to the temperature inside the ice-making and storage compartment that has changed after the door was opened. By controlling the operation of the refrigeration system based on this newly calculated temperature information to cool the ice-making section, it becomes possible to perform a cooling operation to cool the inside of the ice-making and ice-storage compartment. This allows the cooling operation to be controlled based on temperature information that is close to the temperature inside the ice-making and ice-storage compartment that has changed after the door has been opened, and the inside of the ice-making and ice-storage compartment can be cooled by the cooling operation at the appropriate time.

[0010] In the ice maker configured as described above, the temperature information is the cumulative average temperature inside the compartment, which is the average value per unit time of the cumulative value obtained by accumulating the temperature detected by the temperature sensor over time during standby mode. When the door is opened by the door open detector during standby mode, the cumulative average temperature inside the compartment, which is used as the temperature information, is reset and a new calculation of the cumulative average temperature inside the compartment is started. Based on this newly calculated cumulative average temperature inside the compartment, the operation of the refrigeration device is controlled to cool the ice making section, thereby enabling a cooling operation to cool the inside of the ice making and storage compartment. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1]This is a perspective view of the ice maker of the present invention. [Figure 2] This is a schematic diagram of the ice maker of the present invention. [Figure 3] This is a schematic diagram showing the ice-making section and water tray. [Figure 4] This is a block diagram of the control device. [Figure 5] This is a time chart for when ice-making mode and standby mode are running. [Figure 6] This is a time chart showing the transition from standby mode to ice-making mode when the door is opened and ice is removed. [Figure 7] This is a time chart showing when the cooling operation is performed during standby mode due to the door being opened. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0012] An embodiment of the ice maker of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the ice maker 10 of the present invention is a so-called closed-cell type ice maker, and is equipped with an ice-making storage compartment 12 and a machine room 17 within a housing 11. The ice-making storage compartment 12 is equipped with an ice-making chamber 13 at the top where the ice-making mechanism 20 and the ice-making unit 21 are located to produce ice, and an ice-storage chamber 14 below the ice-making chamber 13 for storing the ice produced by the ice-making unit 21. The inside of the ice-making storage compartment 12 is partitioned by a drain pan (partition) 15 to allow ice and cold air to pass through. An insulating member (not shown) is provided on the outer surface of the ice-making storage compartment 12, and the ice-making storage compartment 12 is covered in an insulating state by the insulating member.

[0013] As shown in Figure 1, the front of the ice storage chamber 14 of the ice-making and ice storage unit 12 has two outlets 12a and 12b, which are openings used for taking out ice, and the outlets 12a and 12b are closed by a door 16 that can be opened and closed. In this embodiment, the door 16 has a first door 16a that can be opened and closed to close the upper outlet 12a, and a second door 16b that can be opened and closed to close the lower outlet 12b. The first door 16a uses two sliding doors and is supported on the upper front of the ice storage chamber 14 so as to be movable from side to side. The second door 16b uses a hinged door and its lower end is supported on the lower front of the ice storage chamber 14 so as to be rotatable around a horizontal axis. The machine room 17 is located on the upper part of the housing 11, adjacent to the ice-making chamber 13 in the horizontal direction, and contains mechanical parts such as the refrigeration device 30, excluding the evaporator 34 of the ice-making mechanism 20. In Figure 1, the ice in the ice storage chamber 14 is shown by a dashed line.

[0014] As shown in Figure 2, the ice maker 10 is equipped with an ice-making mechanism 20 that produces ice. The ice-making mechanism 20 includes an ice-making unit 21 that freezes ice-making water to produce ice, a refrigeration device 30 capable of cooling and heating the ice-making unit 21, and a water supply means 22 that supplies ice-making water to the ice-making unit 21. The ice-making unit 21 is located inside the ice-making chamber 13 and is a shallow, box-shaped structure with an open bottom. A grid-like partition member is provided inside the box to form multiple ice-making compartments 21a that open to the bottom. Ice-making water is sprayed into each ice-making compartment 21a from below, and block-shaped ice is formed inside each ice-making compartment 21a as the ice-making water freezes.

[0015] As shown in Figures 2 and 3, an evaporator 34, which constitutes the refrigeration system 30, is located on the upper surface of the ice-making unit 21. The refrigeration system 30 is capable of cooling or heating the ice-making unit 21 through cooling and heating operations, and is located in the machine room 17, except for the evaporator 34 which is located above the ice-making unit 21 in the ice-making chamber 13. As shown in Figure 2, the refrigeration system 30 includes a compressor 31 that compresses the refrigerant, a condenser 32 that cools and liquefies the refrigerant pumped from the compressor 31, an expansion valve 33 that expands the liquefied refrigerant liquefied in the condenser 32 to produce low-pressure liquefied refrigerant, and an evaporator 34 that vaporizes the liquefied refrigerant expanded by the expansion valve 33 to cool the ice-making unit 21. The refrigeration system 30 is configured as a refrigeration circuit by connecting the compressor 31, condenser 32, expansion valve 33, and evaporator 34 in a ring shape with refrigerant pipes. When the refrigeration unit 30 is put into cooling operation, the refrigerant pumped from the compressor 31 is cooled in the condenser 32 to become liquefied refrigerant. The liquefied refrigerant then becomes low-pressure liquefied refrigerant in the expansion valve 33, and the low-pressure liquefied refrigerant cools the ice-making unit 21 by the heat of vaporization when it evaporates in the evaporator 34.

[0016] To prevent repeated short-term starting and stopping (operation and deactivation), the compressor 31 has a minimum operating time (3 minutes in this embodiment) and a minimum stopping time (3 minutes in this embodiment). Therefore, in the cooling operation described later, a cooling operation time is set in which the refrigeration device 30 is operated to maintain cooling, and a cooling standby time is set in which the refrigeration device 30 is kept inactive, taking into account the minimum operating time and minimum stopping time of the compressor 31. The condenser 32 is equipped with a condenser fan 32a, and the refrigerant passing through the condenser 32 is cooled by the air blown by the condenser fan 32a. The condenser 32 is equipped with a condenser temperature sensor 32b, which is used to detect the temperature of the refrigerant passing through the condenser 32. The evaporator 34 is made of a tubular material with high thermal conductivity and is arranged in a meandering manner above the ice-making unit 21.

[0017] Further, the refrigeration device 30 includes a hot gas pipe (hot gas path) 35 that supplies hot gas to the evaporator 34. The hot gas pipe 35 connects the downstream of the compressor 31 and the upstream of the evaporator 34 to guide the hot gas from the compressor 31 to the evaporator 34. A hot gas valve 36 is interposed in the hot gas pipe 35, and the hot gas valve 36 enables the opening and closing of the hot gas pipe 35. When the refrigeration device 30 is in the heating operation, the hot gas sent out from the compressor 31 is guided to the evaporator 34 by the opening of the hot gas valve 36, and the hot gas heats the ice making section 21 when passing through the evaporator 34. Thus, the ice making section 21 is cooled by the evaporation of the refrigerant circulating by the cooling operation of the refrigeration device 30 in the evaporator 34, and is heated by the hot gas sent from the compressor 31 to the evaporator 34 by the heating operation of the refrigeration device 30.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 2, water supply means 22 for sending out ice making water is provided below the ice making section 21. The water supply means 22 includes a water tray 23 that closes the lower side of the ice making chamber 21a of the ice making section 21 in an openable and closable manner, a tank 24 that stores ice making water below the water tray 23, and a water supply pump 25 that sends the ice making water in the tank 24 to the ice making section 21. The water tray 23, the tank 24, and the water supply pump 25 are arranged in the ice making chamber 13 in the same manner as the ice making section 21. The water tray 23 is pivotally supported so as to be tiltable about a horizontal axis between a closed position (shown by the solid line in FIG. 2) that closes the lower side of the ice making chamber 21a and an open position (shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 2) that opens the lower side of the ice making chamber 21a. An opening and closing mechanism 26 is provided on the water tray 23, and the water tray 23 tilts between the closed position and the open position by the drive of the actuator motor 26a of the opening and closing mechanism 26 to open and close the lower side of the ice making chamber 21a. As shown in FIG. 3, an ice making water passage 23a for sending the ice making water sent out from the tank 24 to each ice making chamber 21a is formed in the water tray 23, and injection holes 23b for injecting the ice making water from the ice making water passage 23a into each ice making chamber 21a are formed on the upper surface of the water tray 23.

[0019] As shown in Figure 2, the ice-making mechanism 20 is equipped with a water supply means 27 that supplies water to the tank 24. The water supply means 27 includes a water supply pipe 27a that supplies water from a water source such as a tap as ice-making water, and a water supply valve 27b interposed in the water supply pipe 27a. The water inlet at the end of the water supply pipe 27a is located above the water tray 23, and the water from the water source is sent above the water tray 23 and sent into the tank 24 through a return port (not shown) formed in the water tray 23. The ice-making water in the tank 24 is sent to the ice-making water passage 23a of the water tray 23 by a water supply pump 25, and the ice-making water sent to the ice-making water passage 23a is injected into the ice-making chamber 21a from the injection hole 23b. The sprayed ice-making water is cooled in the ice-making chamber 21a and then returns to the tank 24 through the return port. The ice-making water circulates between the tank 24 and the ice-making chamber 21a, where it is cooled and freezes into ice within the ice-making chamber 21a.

[0020] As shown in Figure 2, a drain pan 15 is provided on the lower side of the tank 24. The drain pan 15 prevents dripping water from the ice-making mechanism 20 from falling into the ice storage chamber and also receives the ice-making water remaining in the tank 24 after ice-making operation. A drain pipe (not shown) is connected to the drain pan 15, and the ice-making water received in the drain pan 15 is discharged to the outside of the housing 11 through the drain pipe. The drain pan 15 also covers the lower side of the ice-making unit 21 and the water supply means 22, and functions as a partition separating the ice-making chamber 13 and the ice storage chamber 14, with a discharge port 15a for discharging ice produced by the ice-making unit 21 into the ice storage chamber 14. The discharge port 15a is an opening formed in the drain pan 15, and in this embodiment, it is formed at a position to the right of the center of the ice-making chamber 13 in the left-right direction, and spaced apart from the front and rear of the ice-making chamber 13.

[0021] As shown in Fig. 2, an ice-making section temperature sensor 41 is provided in the ice-making section 21. By detecting the temperature of the ice-making section 21, the ice-making section temperature sensor 41 can detect the completion of ice-making in the ice-making operation and the completion of defrosting in the defrosting operation, which will be described later. A stored ice detector 42 for detecting that the storage chamber 14 of the ice-making and storing reservoir 12 is filled with ice is provided in the storage chamber 14 of the ice-making and storing reservoir 12. The stored ice detector 42 is arranged across the discharge port 15a so as to extend from the ice-making chamber 13 to the storage chamber 14, and detects the ice deposited on the upper part in the storage chamber 14 below the discharge port 15a to detect that the storage chamber 14 is filled with ice. An internal temperature sensor 43 is provided in the storage chamber 14 of the ice-making and storing reservoir 12, and the internal temperature sensor 43 can detect the temperature inside the ice-making and storing reservoir 12. The internal temperature sensor 43 is used to detect the temperature inside the ice-making and storing reservoir 12 when performing the cold storage operation, which will be described later. Door opening detectors 44 and 45 are provided at the access ports 12a and 12b of the ice-making and storing reservoir 12, and the door opening detectors 44 and 45 detect that the first and second doors 16a and 16b are opened.

[0022] The ice maker 10 includes a control device 50. As shown in Fig. 4, this control device 50 is connected to a water supply pump 25, an actuator motor 26a of an opening and closing mechanism 26, a water supply valve 27b, a compressor 31, a condenser fan 32a, a condenser temperature sensor 32b, a hot gas valve 36, an ice-making section temperature sensor 41, a stored ice detector 42, an internal temperature sensor 43, and door opening detectors 44 and 45. The control device 50 has a microcomputer (not shown), and the microcomputer includes a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and a timer (all not shown), which are respectively connected via a bus. The control device 50 has an ice-making program for alternately and repeatedly executing an ice-making operation for freezing ice-making water in the ice-making section 21 to produce ice and a defrosting operation for detaching and defrosting the ice frozen in the ice-making section 21 by the ice-making operation.

[0023] As shown in Figure 5, when the ice storage detector 42 does not detect that the ice storage compartment 14 of the ice-making and ice-storage unit 12 is filled with ice, the control device 50 operates an ice-making program that alternately repeats ice-making and de-icing operations to produce ice for storage in the ice storage compartment 14. When the ice storage detector 42 detects that the ice storage compartment 14 is filled with ice, the control device 50 operates in standby mode without executing the ice-making program that alternates between ice-making and de-icing operations. During this standby mode, the control device 50 controls the operation of the refrigeration unit 30 to enable a cooling operation that cools the inside of the ice-making and ice-storage unit 12.

[0024] The purpose of the cooling operation is to maintain a low temperature inside the ice-making chamber 13 of the ice-making and ice-storage unit 12 to suppress the growth of microorganisms such as bacteria, and to prevent the ice from melting while preventing arching, which occurs when multiple ice cubes stored in the ice-storage chamber 14 of the ice-making and ice-storage unit 12 freeze and fuse together. The cooling operation cools the ice-making unit 21 by the cooling operation (activation) of the refrigeration unit 30, and the cooled ice-making unit 21 cools the ice-making chamber 13 and the ice-storage chamber 14 of the ice-making and ice-storage unit 12. By performing the cooling operation, the inside of the ice-making chamber 13 is cooled by the ice-making unit 21 cooled by the cooling operation of the refrigeration unit 30, and further, the inside of the ice-storage chamber 14 is cooled by the flow of cold air from inside the ice-making chamber 13. The ice-making chamber 13 is kept at a low temperature by the cooled ice-making section 21, which suppresses the growth of bacteria and other microorganisms, making it hygienic. In the ice storage chamber 14, the cold air that flows down from the ice-making chamber 13 through the discharge port 15a prevents the ice from melting.

[0025] In order to prevent the compressor 31 of the refrigeration unit 30 from starting and stopping (operating and stopping) in a short time, the cooling operation does not control the operation of the compressor 31 of the refrigeration unit 30 based on the instantaneous temperature detected by the internal temperature sensor 43 during standby mode, but rather controls the operation of the refrigeration unit 30 based on temperature information regarding the temperature inside the ice making and storage unit 12 using an integrated value obtained by accumulating the temperature detected by the internal temperature sensor 43 over time during standby mode. In this embodiment, the cooling operation calculates the internal integrated average temperature, which is the average value per unit time of the integrated value obtained by accumulating the temperature detected by the internal temperature sensor 43 over time during standby mode, and controls the operation of the refrigeration unit 30 based on the calculated internal integrated average temperature. That is, it controls the refrigeration unit 30 to operate when the calculated internal integrated average temperature is equal to or higher than the cooling set temperature. Furthermore, the cooling operation is controlled to be performed for a cooling operation time (for example, 3 to 5 minutes) that is set to be longer than the minimum operating time of the compressor 31.

[0026] By controlling the operation of the refrigeration unit 30 based on the cumulative average temperature inside the storage compartment calculated during standby mode, the ice-making and storage compartment 12 can be cooled stably even if the temperature of the ice-making and storage compartment 12 fluctuates greatly due to external factors. However, when the door 16 (at least one of doors 16a and 16b, hereinafter the same) is opened, outside air flows into the ice-making and storage compartment 12 from the outlets 12a and 12b (at least one of the outlets 12a and 12b, hereinafter the same), and the temperature inside the ice-making and storage compartment 12 may rise suddenly. As shown in Figure 6, when the door 16 is opened and a large amount of ice is taken out of the ice storage compartment 14 from the outlets 12a and 12b, the amount of ice stored in the ice storage compartment 14 decreases, so the ice storage detector 42 no longer detects that the ice storage compartment 14 is full of ice, and the system switches to ice-making mode and starts ice-making operation. In this case, the inside of the ice-making storage compartment 12 is cooled again by the ice-making unit 21, which is cooled when the refrigeration device 30 is activated during the ice-making operation.

[0027] In contrast, as shown in Figure 7, when the door 16 is opened and only the amount of ice remaining in the ice storage compartment 14 is checked, or when a small amount of ice is removed so that the ice storage detector 42 does not stop detecting that the ice storage compartment 14 is full of ice, the amount of ice stored in the ice storage compartment 14 remains almost unchanged, and the state in which the ice storage detector 42 detects that the ice storage compartment 14 is full of ice is maintained, thus maintaining the standby mode. Although the temperature inside the ice-making and ice storage compartment 12 rises due to the outside air flowing in from the outlets 12a and 12b, during standby mode, the system is controlled so that the cooling operation is executed when the cumulative average temperature inside the compartment exceeds the cooling set temperature. Therefore, if the cumulative average temperature inside the compartment does not immediately exceed the cooling set temperature when the door 16 is opened, the cooling operation is unlikely to be executed. In particular, when the temperature inside the ice-making and storage compartment 12 is lower than the set internal temperature, even if warm outside air flows into the ice-making and storage compartment 12 and the temperature inside the ice-making and storage compartment 12 rapidly rises to a temperature higher than the set cooling temperature, the cumulative average temperature inside the compartment, which has been calculated over a long period of time, is unlikely to rise to a temperature higher than the set cooling temperature.

[0028] In contrast, when the door opening detectors 44 and 45 detect that the door 16 has been opened while in standby mode, the previously calculated cumulative average temperature inside the storage compartment is reset, and a new calculation of the cumulative average temperature inside the storage compartment is started. Based on this newly calculated cumulative average temperature inside the storage compartment, the operation of the refrigeration unit 30 is controlled to control the cooling operation. When the door opening detectors 44 and 45 detect that the door 16 has been opened, even if the previously calculated cumulative average temperature inside the storage compartment is lower than the cooling set temperature, the newly calculated cumulative average temperature inside the storage compartment is the average of the temperature inside the ice maker / ice storage compartment 12 when the temperature rises after outside air flows in after the door 16 is opened. Therefore, the cooling operation can be performed based on a cumulative average temperature inside the storage compartment 12 that is close to the temperature inside the ice maker / ice storage compartment 12 that has changed after the door 16 has been opened, and the cooling operation to cool the inside of the ice maker / ice storage compartment 12 can be performed at an appropriate time.

[0029] Next, the ice-making program executed during ice-making mode will be described. As shown in Figure 5, when the control device 50 executes the ice-making program during ice-making mode, the ice-making unit 21 repeatedly performs ice-making and de-icing operations alternately. When the control device 50 performs ice-making operation, it cools the refrigeration unit 30, causing the refrigerant pumped from the compressor 31 to be liquefied in the condenser 32, which then expands in the expansion valve 33 to become low-pressure liquefied refrigerant. This low-pressure liquefied refrigerant vaporizes in the evaporator 34 and returns to the compressor 31, and the ice-making unit 21 is cooled by the vaporization of the liquefied refrigerant in the evaporator 34. In addition, the control device 50 tilts the water tray 23 to the closed position using the actuator motor 26a of the opening / closing mechanism 26, and opens the water supply valve 27b for a predetermined time according to the capacity of the tank 24, thereby storing the amount of ice-making water necessary to form ice in the ice-making unit 21 in the tank 24.

[0030] When the control device 50 operates the water supply pump 25 while the refrigeration unit 30 is in cooling operation, the ice-making water in the tank 24 is sprayed into each ice-making chamber 21a of the ice-making unit 21 by the operation of the water supply pump 25. The sprayed ice-making water is cooled in each ice-making chamber 21a and returns to the tank 24, and as the ice-making water circulates between the tank 24 and each ice-making chamber 21a, it is cooled and gradually freezes in each ice-making chamber 21a. When the amount of ice-making water in the tank 24 decreases and the ice-making water freezes in each ice-making chamber 21a to form block-shaped ice, and the temperature detected by the ice-making unit temperature sensor 41 falls below the ice-making completion temperature, the control device 50 terminates the ice-making operation and starts the de-icing operation.

[0031] During the de-icing operation after the ice-making operation, the control device 50 opens the hot gas valve 36 while the compressor 31 is operating, causing the refrigeration unit 30 to heat up, and the actuator motor 26a of the opening / closing mechanism 26 tilts the water tray 23 to the open position. When the refrigeration unit 30 is heated, the hot gas sent from the compressor 31 is guided through the hot gas pipe 35 to the evaporator 34, heating each of the ice-making compartments 21a of the ice-making unit 21. The temperature of the ice-making unit 21 gradually rises due to the hot gas introduced into the evaporator 34, and the ice frozen in each of the ice-making compartments 21a detaches, slides down the top surface of the water tray 23, and falls into the ice storage chamber 14 through the discharge port 15a. As the ice-making unit 21 gradually rises as the ice detaches, the control device 50 detects that there is no ice remaining in the ice-making chamber 21a of the ice-making unit 21, i.e., that de-icing is complete, and closes the hot gas valve 36 to end the de-icing operation. If the ice storage detector 42 has not detected that the ice storage chamber 14 is filled with ice, the control device 50 restarts the ice-making program which alternates between ice-making and de-icing operations as described above. In this way, the control device 50 controls the ice-making program to alternate between ice-making and de-icing operations in ice-making mode until the ice storage detector 42 detects that the ice storage chamber 14 is filled with ice.

[0032] When the system is controlled to execute an ice-making program that alternates between ice-making and de-icing operations, the ice-making compartment 14 of the ice-making storage unit 12 will be filled with ice produced by the ice-making unit 21. When the ice-storage detector 42 detects that the ice-storage compartment 14 is full of ice (when the ice-storage detector 42 turns ON (full) in Figure 5), the control device 50 terminates the ice-making mode and switches to standby mode, controlling the system to remain in standby mode without executing the ice-making program that alternates between ice-making and de-icing operations.

[0033] As shown in Figure 5, the control device 50 controls the system to perform a cooling operation at the start of the standby mode, when transitioning from the ice-making mode, if the temperature detected by the internal temperature sensor 43 is equal to or above the set cooling temperature (11°C in this embodiment) set as the temperature for cooling the inside of the ice-making storage compartment 12. The inside of the ice-making storage compartment 12 is cooled by the ice-making unit 21, which is cooled by the cooling operation of the refrigeration unit 30. After the cooling operation is performed in standby mode, the control device 50 starts calculating the internal cumulative average temperature, which is the average value per unit time of the cumulative value obtained by accumulating the temperature detected by the internal temperature sensor 43 over time. The temperature inside the ice-making storage compartment 12 gradually rises after the cooling operation, and the internal cumulative average temperature also gradually rises. After the minimum operating stop time (10 minutes in this embodiment), which is set to be equal to or above the minimum operating time of the compressor 31, has elapsed, and the internal cumulative average temperature is equal to or above the set cooling temperature, the control device 50 controls the system to perform the cooling operation again. Thus, during standby mode, the control device 50 controls the system to perform a cooling operation based on the cumulative average temperature inside the storage unit, which is the average value per unit time of the cumulative values ​​obtained by accumulating the temperatures detected by the internal temperature sensor 43 over time. The inside of the ice maker and ice storage unit 12 is cooled by performing a cooling operation during standby mode. It should be noted that the calculation of the cumulative average temperature inside the storage unit, which is the average value per unit time of the cumulative values ​​obtained by accumulating the temperatures detected by the internal temperature sensor 43 over time, is not limited to starting after the cooling operation is performed during standby mode. The calculation of the cumulative average temperature inside the storage unit, which is the average value per unit time of the cumulative values ​​obtained by accumulating the temperatures detected by the internal temperature sensor 43 over time, may be started from the start of the cooling operation during standby mode.

[0034] When the door 16 is opened while in standby mode, the door open detectors 44 and 45 detect that the door 16 has been opened. When the door open detectors 44 and 45 detect that the door 16 has been opened, the control device 50 resets the accumulated average temperature inside the storage compartment that has been calculated up to that point and starts calculating a new accumulated average temperature inside the storage compartment. Based on this newly calculated accumulated average temperature inside the storage compartment, the control device 50 controls the system to start the cooling operation. In other words, when the newly calculated accumulated average temperature inside the storage compartment becomes equal to or above the cooling set temperature, the system controls the system to start the cooling operation. As shown in Figure 6, when the door 16 is opened and a large amount of ice is taken out of the ice storage compartment 14 through the outlets 12a and 12b, the amount of ice stored in the ice storage compartment 14 decreases. As a result, the ice storage detector 42 no longer detects that the ice storage compartment 14 is full of ice, and the control device 50 switches from standby mode to ice making mode and starts the ice making operation. In this case, ice is produced in the ice-making section 21 in the ice-making chamber 13 of the ice-making storage unit 12, and the inside of the ice-making storage unit 12 is cooled by the ice-making section 21 during the ice-making operation.

[0035] In contrast, if, during standby mode, the door 16 is opened simply to check the remaining amount of ice in the ice storage compartment 14, or if a small amount of ice is removed by opening the door 16 so that the ice storage detector 42 does not stop detecting that the ice storage compartment 14 is full of ice, the temperature inside the ice-making and ice-storage compartment 12 may rise due to the influx of outside air from the outlets 12a and 12b. As described above, when the door opening detectors 44 and 45 detect that the door 16 has been opened, the control device 50 resets the accumulated average temperature inside the compartment that has been calculated up to that point and starts calculating a new accumulated average temperature inside the compartment. It then controls the system to perform a cooling operation based on this newly calculated accumulated average temperature inside the compartment; that is, it controls the system to start a cooling operation when the newly calculated accumulated average temperature inside the compartment becomes equal to or above the cooling set temperature.

[0036] As shown in Figure 7, the cumulative average temperature inside the storage compartment, which is the average value per unit time of the cumulative temperature detected by the internal temperature sensor 43 over time after the start of standby mode or after the end of cooling operation, does not easily rise above the set cooling temperature immediately, even when the door 16 is opened. However, the newly calculated cumulative average temperature inside the storage compartment is the average value per unit time of the cumulative temperature detected by the internal temperature sensor 43 over time after the door 16 is opened, so it approximates the temperature inside the ice maker / ice storage compartment 12 after the door 16 is opened. If the newly calculated cumulative average temperature inside the storage compartment is above the set cooling temperature, the control device 50 controls the system to execute the cooling operation. In this way, even when the temperature inside the ice maker / ice storage compartment 12 fluctuates due to the opening of the door 16 during standby mode, the cooling operation can be controlled based on temperature information close to the temperature inside the ice maker / ice storage compartment 12 that fluctuated after the door 16 was opened, and the inside of the ice maker / ice storage compartment 12 can be cooled by the cooling operation at an appropriate timing.

[0037] In the ice maker 10 configured as described above, when the ice storage detector 42 does not detect that the ice storage chamber 14 of the ice maker storage unit 12 is filled with ice, the ice maker 10 is controlled to perform an ice-making operation in ice-making mode, where the ice-making unit 21 cooled by the refrigeration device 30 freezes the ice-making water to produce ice, thereby producing ice to be stored in the ice storage chamber 14 of the ice maker storage unit 12. When the ice storage detector 42 detects that the ice storage chamber 14 of the ice maker storage unit 12 is filled with ice, the ice maker 10 is controlled to standby mode, where the ice-making operation is not performed, and the ice maker storage unit 12 remains on standby without producing ice to be stored. Furthermore, in this ice maker 10, during standby mode, it is possible to perform a cooling operation to cool the inside of the ice maker storage unit 12 by controlling the operation of the refrigeration device 30 based on the cumulative average temperature inside the ice maker storage unit 12, which is obtained by accumulating the temperature detected by the internal temperature sensor (temperature sensor) 43 over time.

[0038] Although the temperature inside the ice-making and storage compartment 12 tends to rise rapidly when the door 16 is opened, the cumulative average temperature inside the compartment calculated up to that point is based on the cumulative value obtained by accumulating the temperature detected by the internal temperature sensor 43 over time during standby mode. Therefore, it does not rise instantaneously as rapidly as the temperature detected by the internal temperature sensor 43. For this reason, even if the cooling operation is attempted based on the cumulative average temperature inside the compartment calculated up to that point, it may not be possible to control the cooling operation to be executed quickly in response to temperature fluctuations inside the ice-making and storage compartment 12.

[0039] In this ice maker 10, when the door 16 is detected to be open by the door open detectors 44 and 45 during standby mode, the previously calculated cumulative average temperature (temperature information) inside the compartment is reset and a new calculation of the cumulative average temperature (temperature information) inside the compartment is started. Based on this newly calculated temperature information, the operation of the refrigeration device 30 is controlled to cool the ice making unit 21, thereby enabling a cooling operation to be performed to cool the inside of the ice making and storage compartment 12. When the door 16 is detected to be open by the door open detectors 44 and 45 during standby mode, the previously calculated cumulative average temperature (temperature information) inside the compartment is reset and a new calculation of the cumulative average temperature (temperature information) inside the compartment is started. The newly calculated cumulative average temperature (temperature information) inside the compartment will be close to the temperature inside the ice making and storage compartment 12 that has changed after the door 16 was opened. By controlling the operation of the refrigeration unit 30 based on the newly calculated cumulative average temperature (temperature information) inside the storage unit, it is possible to perform a cooling operation. This allows the operation of the refrigeration unit 30 to be controlled based on temperature information close to the temperature inside the ice-making and ice-storage storage unit 12 that has changed after the door 16 has been opened, thereby cooling the ice-making unit 21 and allowing the inside of the ice-making and ice-storage storage unit 12 to be cooled by a cooling operation at an appropriate time.

[0040] In the ice maker 10 configured as described above, the internal temperature sensor 43 is located inside the ice storage chamber 14 of the ice making and storage unit 12. However, the system is not limited to this configuration, and the internal temperature sensor 43 may be located in the ice making chamber 13 and the ice storage chamber 14 of the ice making and storage unit 12 in locations where hygiene is particularly important. Locations where hygiene is particularly important include the ice making chamber 13, which is at a high height and therefore prone to temperature increases; the drain pan 15, where water tends to accumulate; the scoop holder (not shown) for storing the scoop (not shown) used to remove ice in the ice storage chamber 14; and locations in the ice storage chamber 14 where cold air does not easily flow down. The system may then control the cooling operation based on the temperature detected by the internal temperature sensor 43 located in these locations where hygiene is particularly important.

[0041] Furthermore, as described in the background art, in addition to performing a cooling operation based on the temperature detected by the ice-making unit temperature sensor 41, or instead of performing a cooling operation based on the temperature detected by the ice-making unit temperature sensor 41, one or more internal temperature sensors 43 may be installed in the ice-making compartment 13 and the ice-storage compartment 14 of the ice-making and ice-storage unit 12 in locations where it is particularly important to maintain hygiene, and the system may be controlled to perform a cooling operation based on the temperature detected by each of these temperature sensors. In this case, the system may be controlled to perform a cooling operation based on the cumulative average internal temperature, which is the average value per unit time obtained by accumulating the detected temperatures over time, or the system may be controlled to perform a cooling operation when each detected temperature exceeds the internal set temperature.

[0042] Furthermore, in addition to performing a cooling operation based on the temperature detected by the ice-making unit temperature sensor 41, if the cooling operation is also performed based on the temperature detected by the internal temperature sensor 43 installed in the ice storage chamber 14 of the ice-making storage unit 12, it becomes possible to perform a cooling operation that suppresses ice melting. For example, if the user wants to perform a cooling operation that focuses on cooling the ice-making chamber 13 of the ice-making storage unit 12, the ice-making chamber 13 of the ice-making storage unit 12 will be properly cooled by performing a cooling operation based on the temperature detected by the ice-making unit temperature sensor 41. On the other hand, if the user wants to suppress the melting of ice in the ice storage chamber 14 of the ice-making storage unit 12, the melting of ice in the ice storage chamber 14 of the ice-making storage unit 12 can be suppressed by performing a cooling operation based on the temperature detected by the internal temperature sensor 43. In this way, by selecting and executing a cooling operation based on the temperatures detected by the ice-making section temperature sensor 41 in the ice-making compartment 13 and the internal temperature sensor 43 in the ice-storage compartment 14, the ice-making compartment 13 or the ice-storage compartment 14 of the ice-making and ice-storage unit 12 can be appropriately cooled as deemed necessary by the user. Alternatively, an ice-making compartment temperature sensor that detects the temperature inside the ice-making compartment 13 may be used instead of the ice-making section temperature sensor 41.

[0043] Furthermore, if the ice storage chamber 14 of the ice-making and ice storage unit 12 is excessively cooled, there is a risk of arching, where multiple ice cubes stored in the storage chamber 14 freeze and fuse together. Therefore, when the system is controlled to perform a cooling operation based on the temperature detected by the ice-making unit temperature sensor 41, monitoring the temperature detected by the internal temperature sensor 43 installed in the ice storage chamber 14 of the ice-making and ice storage unit 12 makes it less likely for arching, where multiple ice cubes stored in the storage chamber 14 freeze and fuse together, to occur. The system is controlled to stop the cooling operation when the internal temperature sensor 43 detects a predetermined temperature (e.g., -3°C) set to prevent excessive cooling of the temperature inside the ice storage chamber 14, or when the predetermined temperature (e.g., -3°C) is continuously detected. This makes it less likely for the ice storage compartment 14 to become excessively cooled and cause multiple ice cubes stored in it to freeze and fuse together, even when the cooling operation is performed based on the temperature detected by the ice-making unit temperature sensor 41, by monitoring the temperature detected by the internal temperature sensor 43.

[0044] Furthermore, when two or more internal temperature sensors 43 are installed in locations that require particularly high hygiene, the system may be controlled to execute the cooling operation when the temperature detected by any one of the internal temperature sensors 43 or the cumulative average internal temperature reaches or exceeds the cooling set temperature. Also, when two internal temperature sensors 43 are installed in addition to the ice-making unit temperature sensor 41, and the cooling operation is controlled based on the temperatures detected by these temperature sensors, the system is controlled to execute the cooling operation when the temperatures detected by both the ice-making unit temperature sensor 41 and one of the internal temperature sensors 43 reach or exceed the cooling set temperature. Moreover, when another internal temperature sensor 43 is placed in a location that requires particular cooling, it is preferable to execute the cooling operation when the temperature detected by the internal temperature sensor 43 installed in the location requiring particular cooling reaches or exceeds the cooling set temperature, even if the temperatures detected by the other temperature sensors do not reach the cooling set temperature. In this way, by controlling the cooling operation based on the temperature detected by the internal temperature sensor 43 installed in a location that requires particular cooling, the locations in the ice-making and ice storage unit 12 that require particular cooling can be cooled preferentially.

[0045] In this embodiment, the ice maker 10 is capable of performing a cooling operation to cool the ice making and storage compartment 12 by controlling the operation of the refrigeration device 30 to cool the ice making unit 21, using the accumulated value obtained by accumulating the temperature detected by the internal temperature sensor 43 over time as temperature information regarding the temperature inside the ice making and storage compartment 12, which is the average value per unit time obtained by accumulating the temperature detected by the internal temperature sensor 43 over time as temperature information regarding the temperature inside the ice making and storage compartment 12. However, it is not limited to this, and it may also be possible to perform a cooling operation to cool the ice making and storage compartment 12 by controlling the operation of the refrigeration device 30 to cool the ice making unit 21, using the accumulated value obtained by accumulating the temperature detected by the internal temperature sensor 43 over time as temperature information regarding the temperature inside the ice making and storage compartment 12.

[0046] The ice maker 10 in this embodiment is a so-called closed-cell type ice maker, but is not limited to this. The invention can also be applied to other ice makers, such as so-called open-cell type ice makers or vertical type ice makers that flow ice-making water down into a horizontally opening ice-making compartment, as long as the ice maker controls itself to perform ice-making operation in ice-making mode when the ice storage detector 42 does not detect that the ice storage compartment 14 is full of ice, and does not perform ice-making operation in standby mode when the ice storage detector 42 detects that the ice storage compartment 14 is full of ice. In this embodiment of the ice maker 10, the ice-making storage compartment 12 is partitioned by a drain pan 15 to allow ice and cold air to pass between the ice-making compartment 13 and the ice storage compartment 14, but is not limited to this, and may not be partitioned by a drain pan 15. Furthermore, the descriptions of temperature and time in this embodiment are examples, and the present invention is not limited to these descriptions of temperature and time. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0047] 10...Ice maker, 12...Ice storage unit, 12a,12b...Dispensing outlet, 16...Door, 21...Ice making section, 30...Freezing unit, 42...Ice storage detector, 43...Temperature sensor (internal temperature sensor), 44,45...Door open detector.

Claims

1. The ice-making section freezes ice-making water to produce ice, An ice-making storage cabinet is provided, in which the ice-making unit is located at the top and a space is formed in which ice produced by the ice-making unit can be stored. A refrigeration device for cooling the ice-making section, A temperature sensor for detecting the temperature inside the ice-making and ice storage compartment, An ice storage detector that detects when the ice storage compartment is filled with ice, A door that can be opened and closed to block the ice removal opening in the ice-making and storage compartment, The system includes a door open detector that detects when the aforementioned door is open, When the ice storage detector does not detect that the ice-making storage compartment is filled with ice, the system controls the ice-making operation to produce ice by freezing the ice-making water in the ice-making section cooled by the refrigeration device, thereby producing ice to be stored in the ice-making storage compartment. When the ice storage detector detects that the ice-making storage compartment is filled with ice, it controls the system to enter standby mode and does not perform the ice-making operation, remaining in standby mode without producing ice to store in the ice-making storage compartment. An ice maker capable of performing a cooling operation to cool the ice-making section by controlling the operation of the refrigeration device based on temperature information relating to the temperature inside the ice-making storage compartment, which is obtained by accumulating the temperature detected by the temperature sensor over time during the standby mode, thereby cooling the inside of the ice-making storage compartment. An ice maker characterized in that, when the door is opened by the door open detector during the standby mode, the previously calculated temperature information is reset and the calculation of the temperature information is restarted, and the operation of the refrigeration device is controlled based on this newly calculated temperature information to cool the ice making section, thereby enabling a cooling operation to be performed to cool the inside of the ice making and storage compartment.

2. In the ice maker according to claim 1, The temperature information is the internal cumulative average temperature, which is the average value per unit time of the cumulative value obtained by accumulating the temperature detected by the temperature sensor over time during the standby mode. An ice maker characterized in that, when the door is opened by the door open detector during the standby mode, the internal cumulative average temperature, which is used as temperature information, is reset and the calculation of a new internal cumulative average temperature is started, and the operation of the refrigeration device is controlled based on this newly calculated internal cumulative average temperature to cool the ice making section, thereby enabling a cooling operation to cool the inside of the ice making and storage compartment.

Images