Ice maker

Abstract

In an ice maker that can maintain a cool temperature inside the ice storage compartment through a cooling operation, the tank is kept clean during standby mode. [Solution] When the ice maker 10 detects that the ice storage chamber 14 of the ice storage cabinet 12 is filled with ice using the ice storage detector 42 during the ice making mode, it returns the water tray 23 together with the tank 24 from the open position to the closed position, supplies water to the tank 24 using the water supply means 27, cools the water in the tank 24 by spraying it into the ice making chamber 21a of the ice making unit 21 which has been cooled by the refrigeration device 30, and then tilts the water tray 23 together with the tank 24 from the closed position to the open position while some of the newly cooled water remains in the tank 24, before transitioning to standby mode.

Description

Technical Field

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

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses an invention of an ice maker that manufactures ice in an ice-making unit. This ice maker includes an ice-making unit that freezes ice-making water in a plurality of ice-making compartments that open downward to manufacture ice, a cooling operation that cools the ice-making unit by evaporating the refrigerant pumped from a compressor and condensed by a condenser with an evaporator provided in the ice-making unit, a heating operation that heats the ice-making unit by sending hot gas refrigerant from the compressor to the evaporator, a water tray that is supported so as to be tiltable around a horizontal axis between a closed position that closes the opening of the ice-making compartment at the lower side of the ice-making unit and an open position that opens the opening of the ice-making compartment by tilting downward, a tank that is integrally provided below the water tray and can store ice-making water, and a water pump that sends the ice-making water in the tank to the ice-making compartment.

[0003] In this ice maker, when performing an ice-making operation to freeze ice-making water in the ice-making unit to manufacture ice, the water tray is in the closed position to block the opening of the ice-making compartment, and the ice-making water in the tank is sprayed into the ice-making compartment of the ice-making unit cooled by the cooling operation of the refrigeration device and frozen to manufacture ice. When performing a defrosting operation after the ice-making operation, the water tray is tilted to the open position below the ice-making unit, and the ice manufactured in the ice-making compartment is melted at the contact surface with the ice-making compartment by heating with the heating operation of the refrigeration device and detached from the ice-making compartment. By alternately repeating the ice-making operation and the defrosting operation, ice can be stored in the ice storage chamber.

[0004] In this ice maker, when the ice storage detector does not detect that the ice storage chamber is full of ice, it operates in ice-making mode, alternating between ice-making and de-icing operations to produce ice for storage in the chamber. When the ice storage detector detects that the ice storage chamber is full of ice, it switches to ice-storage mode, controlling the machine to not perform ice-making or de-icing operations, and remains in standby mode without producing ice for storage. When switching from ice-making mode to ice-storage mode, the refrigeration system is activated to cool the ice-making section, enabling a cooling operation to cool both the ice-making and ice-storage chambers. The ice-making and ice-storage chambers are kept cool by the cold air generated from the ice-making section cooled by the refrigeration system.

[0005] Patent Document 2 discloses an invention for an ice maker that produces ice in an ice-making section. This ice maker comprises an ice-making section that produces ice by freezing ice-making water in a plurality of ice-making chambers that open downwards; a refrigeration device capable of performing a cooling operation in which a refrigerant, which is pumped from a compressor and condensed by a condenser, is evaporated by an evaporator provided in the ice-making section to cool the ice-making section, and a heating operation in which hot gas refrigerant is sent from a compressor to the evaporator to heat the ice-making section; a water tray supported below the ice-making section so as to be tiltable around a horizontal axis between a closed position that closes the opening of the ice-making chambers and an open position that opens the opening of the ice-making chambers by tilting downwards; a tank integrally provided below the water tray and capable of storing ice-making water; and a water pump that sends the ice-making water in the tank to the ice-making chambers.

[0006] In this ice maker, when performing the ice-making operation, which involves freezing ice-making water in the ice-making section to produce ice, the water tray is closed to block the opening of the ice-making chamber. The ice-making water in the tank is then sprayed into the ice-making chamber of the ice-making section, which has been cooled by the cooling operation of the refrigeration unit, and frozen to produce ice. When performing the de-icing operation after the ice-making operation, the water tray is tilted to an open position along with the tank at the bottom of the ice-making section, leaving some of the ice-making water in the tank. The ice produced in the ice-making chamber is then heated by the heating operation of the refrigeration unit and detached. When the water tray is tilted to an open position along with the tank during the de-icing operation, some of the ice-making water remains in the tank. This remaining ice-making water, which is at a lower temperature during the ice-making operation, is used as part of the ice-making water when performing the ice-making operation after the de-icing operation. By repeatedly performing the ice-making and de-icing operations alternately, ice is stored in the ice storage chamber. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2024-054945 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2024-161875 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0008] In the ice maker described in Patent Document 1, when the machine transitions from ice-making mode to ice-storage mode (standby mode), the refrigeration device is operated to cool the ice-making section, thereby enabling a cooling operation to cool the ice-making chamber and ice-storage chamber (ice-making and ice-storage compartment). In the ice maker described in Patent Document 2, similar to the ice maker in Patent Document 1, a cooling operation can be performed to cool the ice-making chamber and ice-storage chamber (ice-making and ice-storage compartment) during ice-storage mode. In the ice maker described in Patent Document 2, when the water tray is tilted to the open position along with the tank during the de-icing operation, some of the ice-making water remains in the tank, and water is also flowed over the water tray to melt the ice remaining on the upper side of the tray. The water in the tank after the de-icing operation has been cooled during the ice-making operation, but because water has been added to melt the ice remaining on the upper side of the water tray, its temperature is higher than during the ice-making operation. In this state, when the ice storage detector detects that the tank is full of ice and switches from ice-making mode to ice-storage mode, the inside of the tank becomes highly humid due to the remaining ice-making water, and there is a risk that the inside of the tank cannot be kept clean even when the cooling operation is performed. The present invention aims to keep the inside of the tank clean in standby mode in an ice maker that tilts the water tray together with the tank to an open position below the ice-making unit when de-icing is performed, while some ice-making water remains in the tank. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] To solve the above problems, the present invention provides an ice-making unit that freezes ice-making water in a plurality of ice-making chambers opening downwards to produce ice, a refrigeration device for cooling the ice-making unit, a water tray supported below the ice-making unit so as to be tiltable around a horizontal axis between a closed position that closes the opening of the ice-making chambers and an open position that opens the opening of the ice-making chambers by tilting downwards, a tank integrally provided below the water tray for storing ice-making water, a water supply means for supplying water into the tank, a water pump for sending the ice-making water from the tank to the ice-making chambers, and an ice-making unit disposed at the top of the ice-making unit The system includes an ice-making storage compartment that forms a space for storing ice produced by the system, and an ice storage detector that detects when the ice-making storage compartment is full of ice. When performing the ice-making operation, which involves freezing ice-making water in the ice-making unit to produce ice, the water tray is placed in a closed position to block the opening of the ice-making chamber, and the ice-making water in the tank is sprayed into the ice-making chamber to freeze and produce ice. When performing the de-icing operation after the ice-making operation, with some ice-making water remaining in the tank, the water tray is tilted to an open position along with the tank at the bottom of the ice-making unit to release the ice produced in the ice-making chamber. The system is designed so that when the ice storage detector does not detect that the ice maker / storage compartment is full of ice, it operates in ice-making mode, alternating between ice-making and de-icing operations to produce ice for storage in the compartment. When the ice storage detector detects that the ice maker / storage compartment is full of ice, it operates in standby mode, controlling the system to prevent ice-making and de-icing operations from running, and remaining in standby mode without producing ice for storage. During standby mode, the system controls the operation of the refrigeration unit to cool the ice-making section, enabling a cooling operation to cool the inside of the ice maker / storage compartment. The present invention provides an ice maker characterized in that, when an ice storage detector detects that the ice storage compartment is filled with ice during the ice-making mode, after the de-icing operation, the water tray is returned to the closed position together with the tank, water is supplied to the tank by a water supply means, the water in the tank is cooled by spraying it into the ice-making chamber of the ice-making unit which has been cooled by a refrigeration device, and with some of the cooled water remaining in the tank, the water tray is tilted from the closed position to the open position together with the tank before transitioning to standby mode.

[0010] The ice-making water remaining after the ice-making operation in ice-making mode is at a low temperature, but its temperature rises during the de-icing operation. If the machine transitions directly to standby mode after the de-icing operation, the temperature inside the tank will rise, and the remaining ice-making water may cause high humidity, making it difficult to keep the tank clean. In contrast, in the ice maker of the present invention, when the ice storage detector detects that the ice-making storage compartment is filled with ice during the ice-making mode, the water tray is returned to the closed position from the open position along with the tank after the de-icing operation, water is supplied to the tank by the water supply means, the water in the tank is cooled by spraying it into the ice-making chamber of the ice-making unit which has been cooled by the refrigeration device, and the water tray is tilted from the closed position to the open position along with the tank while some of the cooled water remains inside the tank, before transitioning to standby mode. When transitioning to standby mode, the water in the tank has been newly cooled by spraying it into the ice-making chamber of the ice-making unit which has been cooled by the refrigeration device, so the inside of the tank is easily kept at a low temperature by the cooled water during standby mode, and can be kept clean, including cooling by the cooling operation. [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, water tray, and tank. [Figure 4] This is a schematic diagram showing the water tray tilted to the open position along with the tank. [Figure 5] This is a block diagram of the control device. [Figure 6] This is a time chart for when ice-making mode and standby mode are running. [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 heat of vaporization generated when the low-pressure liquefied refrigerant evaporates in the evaporator 34 cools the ice-making unit 21.

[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] Furthermore, the refrigeration system 30 is equipped with 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, guiding 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 allows the hot gas pipe 35 to be opened and closed. When the refrigeration system 30 is operated in heating mode, the hot gas sent 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 as it passes through the evaporator 34. In this way, the ice-making section 21 is cooled by the evaporation of the refrigerant circulating in the evaporator 34 during the cooling operation of the refrigeration system 30, and heated by the hot gas sent from the compressor 31 to the evaporator 34 during the heating operation of the refrigeration system 30.

[0018] As shown in Fig. 2, a 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 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 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 and Fig. 3) 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 and Fig. 4) 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 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 Figs. 3 and 4, a tank 24 capable of storing ice-making water is integrally provided below the water tray 23, and the tank 24 also tilts integrally when the water tray 23 is tilted. In addition, an overflow pipe (not shown) for discharging water above the upper limit water level is provided at the upper part of the tank 24. When the water tray 23 is tilted to the open position together with the tank 24 after the execution of the ice-making operation described later, a part of the water in the tank 24 is discharged from the overflow pipe and a certain amount of water remains. Since the ice-making water remaining in the tank 24 is cooled during the ice-making operation, it is used as part of the ice-making water for the ice-making operation that is executed again after the defrosting operation.

[0020] As shown in Fig. 2, the ice-making mechanism 20 includes a water supply means 27 for supplying water to the tank 24. The water supply means 27 includes a water supply pipe 27a for supplying water from a water supply source such as a water supply to the ice-making water, and a water supply valve 27b interposed in the water supply pipe 27a. The water supply port at the tip of the water supply pipe 27a is arranged above the water tray 23, and the water from the water supply source is sent out 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 the water pump 25, and the ice-making water sent to the ice-making water passage 23a is jetted from the jet holes 23b into the ice-making chamber 21a. The jetted 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 is circulated between the tank 24 and the ice-making chamber 21a and frozen into ice while being cooled in the ice-making chamber 21a.

[0021] As shown in Fig. 2, a drain pan 15 is provided below the tank 24. The drain pan 15 prevents the dripping water from the ice-making mechanism 20 from falling into the ice storage chamber 14, and is configured to receive the ice-making water remaining in the tank 24 after the ice-making operation. A drain pipe (not shown) is connected to the drain pan 15, and the ice-making water received by the drain pan 15 is discharged outside the housing 11 through the drain pipe. Further, the drain pan 15 covers the lower sides of the ice-making section 21 and the water supply means 22, and functions as a partition portion that partitions the ice-making chamber 13 and the ice storage chamber 14 in a state having a discharge port 15a for discharging the ice produced by the ice-making section 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 closer to the right side than the central portion in the left-right direction of the ice-making chamber 13 and separated from the front and rear portions of the ice-making chamber 13.

[0022] As shown in Figure 2, the ice-making unit 21 is equipped with an ice-making unit temperature sensor 41, which detects the temperature of the ice-making unit 21, enabling detection of the completion of ice-making during the ice-making operation and the completion of ice-removal during the de-icing operation, as described later. The ice-making unit temperature sensor 41 also detects that the water in the tank 24 has been cooled before entering standby mode by detecting the temperature of the ice-making unit 21. The ice storage chamber 14 of the ice-making and ice storage unit 12 is equipped with an ice storage detector 42 that detects when it is filled with ice. The ice storage detector 42 is positioned to extend from the ice-making chamber 13 to the ice storage chamber 14, straddling the discharge port 15a, and detects the ice accumulated in the upper part of the ice storage chamber 14 below the discharge port 15a, thereby detecting when the ice storage chamber 14 is filled with ice. The ice storage chamber 14 of the ice-making and ice storage unit 12 is equipped with an internal temperature sensor 43, which can detect the temperature inside the ice-making and ice storage unit 12.

[0023] The ice maker 10 is equipped with a control device 50, which, as shown in Figure 5, is connected to the water supply pump 25, the actuator motor 26a of the opening / closing mechanism 26, the water supply valve 27b, the compressor 31, the condenser fan 32a, the condenser temperature sensor 32b, the hot gas valve 36, the ice making section temperature sensor 41, the ice storage detector 42, and the internal temperature sensor 43. The control device 50 has a microcomputer (not shown), which comprises a CPU, RAM, ROM, and timer (all not shown) connected via a bus. The control device 50 has an ice making program that alternately and repeatedly executes an ice making operation, which freezes the ice making water in the ice making section 21 to produce ice, and an ice removal operation, which removes the ice frozen in the ice making section 21 by the ice making operation.

[0024] As shown in Figure 6, 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.

[0025] The ice-making operation involves closing the water tray 23 together with the tank 24, opening the water supply valve 27b to supply water from the water source through the water supply pipe 27a into the tank 24 from the top of the water tray 23, while simultaneously running the refrigeration device 30 to cool the ice-making unit 21. The water in the tank 24 is then injected by the water supply pump 25 through the injection holes 23b of the water tray 23 into the ice-making chamber 21a of the ice-making unit 21, where it is cooled and then returned to the tank 24. The water in the tank 24 is circulated between the tank 24 and the ice-making chamber 21a, and the water freezes in the ice-making chamber 21a to produce ice.

[0026] The de-icing operation involves tilting the water tray 23 to the open position and heating the refrigeration unit 30 to heat the ice-making unit 21. This melts the ice produced in the ice-making chamber 21a of the ice-making unit 21 at the contact surface with the ice-making chamber 21a, causing it to detach from the ice-making chamber 21a. Additionally, when the water tray 23 is tilted to the open position during the de-icing operation, the water supply valve 27b is opened to allow water from the water source to flow over the water tray 23 through the water supply pipe 27a. Any remaining ice in the water tray 23 during the ice-making operation is melted by the water flowing over the water tray 23.

[0027] 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.

[0028] The cooling operation is controlled to be performed based on the temperature detected by the internal temperature sensor 43, which detects the temperature inside the ice maker / storage compartment 12 during standby mode. In this embodiment, the cooling operation is controlled to be performed when the calculated internal cumulative average temperature, 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 during standby mode, is equal to or greater than the cooling set temperature. Furthermore, the cooling operation is controlled to be performed for a cooling operation time (e.g., 3 to 5 minutes) that is set to be equal to or greater than the minimum operating time of the compressor 31. Alternatively, the cooling operation may be controlled to be performed when the temperature detected by the internal temperature sensor 43 is equal to or greater than the cooling set temperature.

[0029] After the ice-making operation, ice-making water remains in the tank 24. When the de-icing operation is performed and the water tray 23 is tilted to the open position together with the tank 24, some of the ice-making water in the tank 24 is discharged into the drain pan 15, and some of the ice-making water remains in the tank 24. During the de-icing operation, water from the water source is directed to flow over the water tray 23, and the ice-making water flowing over the water tray 23 also flows into the tank 24. Therefore, the water remaining in the tank 24 after the ice-making operation is sufficiently cooled by circulating between the tank and the ice-making chamber 21a, but the water remaining in the tank 24 after the de-icing operation has a higher temperature due to the influx of water from the water source flowing over the water tray 23. However, after the de-icing operation, the water in the tank 24, although receiving water flowing over the top of the water tray 23, is at a lower temperature than the water supplied from the water source. Therefore, when performing the ice-making operation again after the de-icing operation, the water remaining in the tank 24 can be used as part of the new ice-making water, thereby shortening the time it takes for the ice-making water in the tank 24 to freeze in the ice-making chamber 21a.

[0030] As described above, the water remaining in the tank 24 after the ice-making operation is sufficiently cooled by circulating between it and the ice-making chamber 21a. However, the water remaining in the tank 24 after the de-icing operation has a higher temperature due to the inflow of water from the water source flowing over the top of the water tray 23. When the system transitions to standby mode without performing an ice-making operation after the de-icing operation, the inside of the tank 24 becomes highly humid due to the heated ice-making water during the standby mode process, which may make it impossible to keep the inside of the tank 24 clean. Therefore, in this ice maker 10, when the ice storage detector 42 detects that the ice storage chamber 14 of the ice making storage cabinet 12 is filled with ice during the ice making mode, the water tray 23 is returned to the closed position from the open position together with the tank 24 after the de-icing operation, water is supplied to the tank 24 by the water supply means 27, the water in the tank 24 is cooled by spraying it into the ice making chamber 21a of the ice making unit 21 which has been cooled by the refrigeration device 30, and the water tray 23 is tilted from the closed position to the open position together with the tank 24 while some of the cooled water remains in the tank 24, before transitioning to standby mode.

[0031] When cooling the water in tank 24, it is not necessary to supply the same amount of water to tank 24 as when performing ice-making operation, since it is not for producing ice in the ice-making chamber 21a during ice-making operation. For this reason, when supplying water to tank 24 by the water supply means 27, a smaller amount of water is supplied to tank 24 than when performing ice-making operation (for example, an amount that does not cause air to get trapped in the water supply pump 25 when circulating the water in tank 24 between it and the ice-making chamber 21a, which is less than when performing ice-making operation). In addition, the water in tank 24 is cooled to a water cooling set temperature (for example, 0°C, but not limited to this) that is set to keep the inside of tank 24 clean during standby mode. When transitioning to standby mode, the water in tank 24 is newly cooled by being sprayed into the ice-making chamber 21a of the ice-making unit 21 which has been cooled by the refrigeration device 30. Therefore, during standby mode, the inside of tank 24 is easily kept at a low temperature by the cooled water and can be kept clean, including cooling by the refrigeration operation.

[0032] Next, the ice-making program executed during ice-making mode will be described. As shown in Figure 6, when the ice-making program is executed during ice-making mode, the control device 50 controls the ice-making unit 21 to repeatedly perform 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, the liquefied refrigerant to expand in the expansion valve 33 to become low-pressure liquefied refrigerant, the low-pressure liquefied refrigerant to vaporize in the evaporator 34 and return 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 controls the water supply valve 27b to be opened for a predetermined time according to the capacity of the tank 24 while the water tray 23 is tilted to the closed position by the actuator motor 26a of the opening / closing mechanism 26, so that the amount of ice-making water necessary to form ice in the ice-making unit 21 is stored in the tank 24.

[0033] 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 controls the system to terminate the ice-making operation and start the de-icing operation.

[0034] During the de-icing operation after the ice-making operation, the control device 50 operates the compressor 31 and opens the hot gas valve 36 to heat the refrigeration device 30, while controlling the actuator motor 26a of the opening / closing mechanism 26 to tilt the water tray 23 to the open position. The tank 24 tilts together with the water tray 23, and after the ice-making operation, a portion of the ice-making water in the tank 24 is discharged into the drain pan 15, leaving a certain amount of ice-making water in the tank 24. After tilting the water tray 23 to the open position, the water supply valve 27b is opened for a predetermined time to allow water from the water supply source to flow over the top of the water tray 23. The water in the tank 24 after the de-icing operation is lower in temperature than the water supplied from the water supply source because, although water flows over the top of the water tray 23, some of the ice-making water cooled during the ice-making operation remains. Therefore, the water in the tank 24 after the de-icing operation is used as part of the ice-making water when the ice-making operation is performed after the de-icing operation.

[0035] When the refrigeration unit 30 is operated in heating mode, the hot gas sent from the compressor 31 is guided through the hot gas pipe 35 to the evaporator 34, heating each ice-making chamber 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 ice-making chamber 21a detaches and slides down the top surface of the water tray 23, falling into the ice storage chamber 14 through the discharge port 15a. As the temperature of the ice-making unit 21 gradually rises due to the detachment of ice, when the temperature detected by the ice-making unit temperature sensor 41 reaches or exceeds the de-icing completion temperature, the control device 50 detects that there is no ice remaining in the ice-making chambers 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 control device 50 has not detected that the ice storage chamber 14 is filled with ice using the ice storage detector 42, it will again execute the ice-making program that alternately performs the ice-making operation and de-icing operation described above. In this way, the control device 50 controls the ice-making program to alternately repeat the ice-making operation and de-icing operation in ice-making mode until it detects that the ice storage chamber 14 is filled with ice using the ice storage detector 42.

[0036] 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 6), 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.

[0037] After the ice-making operation, the water remaining in the tank 24 is sufficiently cooled by circulating between it and the ice-making chamber 21a. However, after the de-icing operation, the water remaining in the tank 24 has a higher temperature due to the inflow of water from the water source flowing over the top of the water tray 23. If the system switches to standby mode in this state, the humidity inside the tank 24 may increase and it may not be kept clean. For this reason, the actuator motor 26a of the opening / closing mechanism 26 returns the water tray 23 to the closed position together with the tank 24 from the open position, and the water supply valve 27b is opened for a certain period of time to supply water into the tank 24 from the water supply pipe 27a, thereby running the refrigeration device 30 in a cooling operation to cool the ice-making unit 21. After supplying water to the tank 24, the water supply pump 25 is activated to inject the water from the tank 24 into the ice-making chamber 21a of the ice-making unit 21, which has been cooled by the cooling operation of the refrigeration device 30. The water in tank 24 is injected into the ice-making chamber 21a of the ice-making unit 21, which has been cooled by the refrigeration device 30, and then returns to tank 24. The water in tank 24 is cooled as it circulates between the tank 24 and the ice-making chamber 21a of the ice-making unit 21. When the ice-making unit temperature sensor 41 detects a temperature below the water cooling set temperature (e.g., 0°C), it is detected that the water in tank 24 has been sufficiently cooled, and the operation of the water supply pump 25 is stopped. At the same time, the actuator motor 26a of the opening / closing mechanism 26 tilts the water tray 23 together with tank 24 from the closed position to the open position. A portion of the water cooled to the water cooling set temperature in tank 24 is discharged into the drain pan 15 to cool the upper surface of the drain pan 15, and water cooled to the water cooling set temperature remains in tank 24. In this way, after the ice-making mode ends, the water in tank 24 is cooled to the water cooling set temperature before the system switches to standby mode.

[0038] As shown in Figure 6, the control device 50 controls the system to perform a cooling operation when the standby mode starts, transitioning from the ice-making mode, if the temperature detected by the internal temperature sensor 43 is equal to or higher than the set cooling temperature (11°C in this embodiment) set as the temperature for cooling the inside of the ice-making and ice storage compartment 12. When the refrigeration system 30 performs a cooling operation in the cooling operation, the refrigerant pumped from the compressor 31 is liquefied in the condenser 32 to become liquefied refrigerant, which expands in the expansion valve 33 to become low-pressure liquefied refrigerant, which 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. The cold air generated in the ice-making unit 21 flows down into the ice storage compartment 14 while cooling the inside of the ice-making compartment 13.

[0039] After the cooling operation is performed in standby mode, the control device 50 starts calculating 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 temperature inside the ice maker and ice storage unit 12 gradually rises after the cooling operation, and the cumulative average temperature inside the storage unit also gradually rises. After the minimum operating stop time (10 minutes in this embodiment), which is set to be longer than the minimum operating time of the compressor 31, has elapsed, and the cumulative average temperature inside the storage unit is equal to or higher than the cooling set temperature, the control device 50 controls the unit to perform the cooling operation again. In this way, during standby mode, the control device 50 controls the unit to perform the 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, and the inside of the ice maker and ice storage unit 12 is cooled by performing the cooling operation during standby mode. Furthermore, the calculation of the cumulative average internal temperature, 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 in standby mode has been performed. It is also possible to start calculating the cumulative average internal temperature, 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, from the start of the cooling operation in standby mode.

[0040] In the ice maker 10 configured as described above, when performing an ice-making operation in the ice-making section 21 to freeze ice-making water and produce ice, the water tray 23 is placed in the closed position to block the opening of the ice-making chamber 21a of the ice-making section 21, and the ice-making water in the tank 24 is sprayed into the ice-making chamber 21a of the ice-making section 21 to freeze and produce ice. When performing a de-icing operation after the ice-making operation, with some ice-making water remaining in the tank 24, the water tray 23 is tilted together with the tank 24 to the open position below the ice-making section 21 to release the ice produced in the ice-making chamber 21a. In the ice maker 10, when the ice storage detector 42 does not detect that the ice storage compartment 14 of the ice maker storage unit 12 is filled with ice, the ice maker operates in ice-making mode, alternating between ice-making and de-icing operations to produce ice for storage in the ice storage compartment 14 of the ice maker storage unit 12. When the ice storage detector 42 detects that the ice storage compartment 14 of the ice maker storage unit 12 is filled with ice, the ice maker operates in standby mode, not performing ice-making or de-icing operations, and remains in standby mode without producing ice for storage in the ice storage compartment 14 of the ice maker storage unit 12.

[0041] The ice maker 10 configured as described above can perform a cooling operation to cool the inside of the ice storage compartment 12 by controlling the operation of the refrigeration device 30 during standby mode to cool the ice making unit 21. The ice water remaining after the ice making operation in ice making mode is at a low temperature, but the temperature rises when water flows in to melt the remaining ice on the upper side of the water tray 23 during the de-icing operation. If the system immediately switches to standby mode after the de-icing operation, the temperature inside the tank 24 will rise and the remaining ice water may cause high humidity, making it difficult to keep it clean. In contrast, in this ice maker 10, when the ice storage detector 42 detects that the ice storage chamber 14 of the ice making storage compartment 12 is filled with ice during the ice making mode, the water tray 23 is returned to the closed position from the open position together with the tank 24, water is supplied to the tank 24 by the water supply means 27, the water in the tank 24 is cooled by being sprayed into the ice making chamber 21a of the ice making unit 21 which has been cooled by the refrigeration device 30, and the water tray 23 is tilted from the closed position to the open position together with the tank 24 while some of the cooled water remains in the tank 24, before transitioning to standby mode. As a result, when transitioning to standby mode, the water in the tank 24 has been cooled by being sprayed into the ice making chamber 21a of the ice making unit 21 which has been cooled by the refrigeration device 30, so the inside of the tank 24 is easily maintained at a low temperature by the newly cooled water during standby mode and can be kept clean, including cooling by the cooling operation.

[0042] 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]

[0043] 10...Ice maker, 12...Ice storage unit, 21...Ice making section, 21a...Ice making chamber, 23...Water tray, 24...Tank, 25...Water pump, 27...Water supply means, 30...Refrigeration device, 42...Ice storage detector.

Claims

[Claim 1] An ice-making unit that produces ice by freezing ice-making water in multiple ice-making chambers that open downwards, A refrigeration device for cooling the ice-making section, A water tray is supported below the ice-making section so as to be tiltable around a horizontal axis between a closed position that closes the opening of the ice-making chamber and an open position that opens the opening of the ice-making chamber by tilting downwards, A tank is integrally provided below the water tray and capable of storing ice-making water, A water supply means for supplying water into the tank, A water pump that sends the ice-making water from the tank to the ice-making chamber, 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. The system includes an ice storage detector that detects when the ice storage compartment is filled with ice, When performing the ice-making operation in the ice-making section, which involves freezing ice-making water to produce ice, the water tray is placed in the closed position to block the opening of the ice-making chamber, and the ice-making water in the tank is sprayed into the ice-making chamber to freeze and produce ice. When performing the de-icing operation after the ice-making operation, the water tray is tilted together with the tank to the open position below the ice-making section while some ice-making water remains in the tank, thereby separating the ice produced in the ice-making chamber. If the ice storage detector does not detect that the ice-making storage compartment is filled with ice, the ice-making mode alternately executes the ice-making operation and the de-icing operation to produce ice to be stored in the ice-making storage compartment. When the ice storage detector detects that the ice-making and ice storage compartment is filled with ice, the system is controlled to enter standby mode, and the ice-making and de-icing operations are not performed, so that it does not produce ice to be stored in the ice-making and ice storage compartment. An ice maker capable of performing a cooling operation to cool the inside of the ice storage compartment by controlling the operation of the refrigeration device during the standby mode to cool the ice making section, An ice maker characterized in that, when the ice storage detector detects that the ice storage compartment is filled with ice during the ice-making mode, after the de-icing operation, the water tray is returned together with the tank from the open position to the closed position, water is supplied to the tank by the water supply means, the water in the tank is cooled by spraying it into the ice-making compartment of the ice-making unit which has been cooled by the refrigeration device, the water tray is tilted together with the tank from the closed position to the open position while some of the cooled water remains in the tank, and then the machine transitions to the standby mode.

Images