JP2021014925A - Refrigerator and automatic ice making machine - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a refrigerator having an automatic ice making machine which can be common in use in a variety of types of refrigerators, and provide the automatic ice making machine.SOLUTION: A refrigerator 10 comprises a refrigerator main body 20 having a refrigeration chamber 26 and a freezing chamber 28, and an automatic ice making machine 50 which can perform an automatic ice making operation. The automatic ice making machine 50 has a water supply part 52 arranged in the refrigeration chamber 26, an ice making part 54 arranged in the freezing chamber 28, and an ice making control part 58. The water supply part 52 has a water supply tank 70 and a pump 80, and the ice making part 54 comprises an ice chipper tray 92 and a motor 94a. In the refrigerator 10, the ice making control part 58 independently controls the pump 80 and the motor 94a with respect to the refrigerator main body 20.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to, for example, refrigerators and automatic ice makers.

Conventionally, a refrigerator provided with an automatic ice making device as disclosed in Patent Document 1 below has been provided. The automatic ice making device used in this refrigerator includes an ice tray, a driving means for driving the ice tray, a pump for supplying water to the ice tray, and the like. In this refrigerator, in addition to controlling the operation for cooling the refrigerating room and the freezing room (cooling operation) by the control board provided in the refrigerator body, the driving means of the automatic ice making device, the operation of the pump, etc. (Ice making operation) will also be controlled.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2014-145319

Here, in recent years, various types of refrigerators having different capacities, presence / absence of automatic ice making devices, quantity of refrigerating rooms, layout, etc. have been provided. Assuming that manufacturing costs and selling prices can be kept low while providing a wide variety of refrigerators in this way, it is desirable to share the configuration as much as possible in each compatible refrigerator.

Based on this knowledge, the present inventors have diligently studied and found that it is desirable to make the automatic ice making device compatible with various types of refrigerators. Further, the present inventors are provided with a control device for controlling the operation of a driving means of the automatic ice making device, a pump, etc., and if the configuration is such that the refrigerator body can be controlled independently, the automatic ice making device is provided. We have come to the conclusion that it will be possible to manufacture a type of refrigerator equipped with an automatic ice making device based on a type of refrigerator that has not been used, and it will be possible to provide a wider variety of refrigerators.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator equipped with an automatic ice making device that can be shared by various types of refrigerators, and an automatic ice making device.

The refrigerator of the present invention provided to solve the above-mentioned problems includes a refrigerator main body provided with a refrigerating room and a freezing room, and an automatic ice making device capable of performing an automatic ice making operation. It has a water supply unit provided in the refrigerator compartment, an ice making unit provided in the freezer chamber, and a control unit, and the water supply unit uses the water supply tank and the water stored in the water supply tank as the ice making unit. The ice making unit has an ice tray that can receive the water supplied from the water supply unit and a motor that applies a rotational force to the ice tray, and the control unit. However, it is characterized in that the pump and the motor are controlled independently of the refrigerator main body.

The refrigerator of the present invention includes a control unit that can independently control the pump and motor of the automatic ice making device with respect to the refrigerator body. Therefore, the refrigerator of the present invention can be used as a shared part such as a configuration of a refrigerator compartment and a freezer compartment with a refrigerator of a type not provided with an automatic ice making device, or a refrigerator of another type and an automatic ice making device. It is possible to make common parts. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a wide variety of refrigerators at even lower cost.

In the refrigerator of the present invention described above, it is preferable that the automatic ice making device includes a switch capable of independently switching the operating state of the automatic ice making operation with respect to the refrigerator main body.

According to this configuration, the operating state of the automatic ice making operation can also be adjusted by the switch on the automatic ice making device side without depending on the configuration on the refrigerator main body side. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the need to make the control device or the like on the refrigerator main body side special in order to provide the automatic ice making device in the refrigerator.

In the refrigerator of the present invention described above, it is preferable that the automatic ice making device has a display unit for displaying the operating state of the automatic ice making operation.

According to such a configuration, it is possible to display the operating state of the automatic ice making operation by the display unit on the automatic ice making device side without depending on the configuration on the refrigerator main body side. Therefore, according to the present invention, in order to provide the automatic ice making device in the refrigerator, it is possible to further reduce the need to make the display device provided on the refrigerator main body side special.

In the refrigerator of the present invention described above, the refrigerator body has a partition portion between the refrigerating chamber and the freezing chamber, in which a heat insulating material made of foamable resin is incorporated, and the automatic ice making device provides the water supply. It is preferable that the water supply pipe for supplying the water from the pump of the part to the ice tray of the ice making part is provided, and the water supply pipe is closely integrated with the heat insulating material of the partition part.

According to such a configuration, as compared with the case where the water supply pipe is retrofitted to the partition portion, the work man-hours and the number of parts required for installing the water supply pipe can be suppressed, and the manufacturing cost of the refrigerator can be reduced. Further, as described above, by closely integrating the water supply pipe with the heat insulating material of the partition portion, it is easy to secure the cooling performance and improve the heat insulating performance, which can contribute to the improvement of energy efficiency.

In the refrigerator of the present invention described above, it is preferable that the automatic ice making device can be attached to the existing refrigerator main body.

According to such a configuration, for example, it is possible to make shared parts such as the configuration of a refrigerator compartment and a freezer compartment with a refrigerator of a type not equipped with an automatic ice making device, or to automatically make a refrigerator of a type not equipped with an automatic ice making device. By adding ice-making equipment, it is possible to improve specifications and added value.

The automatic ice making device of the present invention can carry out an automatic ice making operation, and is transferred from a water supply tank, a water supply unit provided with a pump for transferring water stored in the water supply tank, and the water supply unit. It has an ice tray that can receive water and an ice tray equipped with a motor that applies a rotational force to the ice tray. The water supply unit is installed in a refrigerator's refrigerating chamber, and the ice tray is It is characterized in that it is provided with a control unit capable of independently controlling the pump and the motor with respect to the refrigerator while being installed in the freezer compartment of the refrigerator.

The automatic ice making device of the present invention can be added to, for example, a type of refrigerator that does not have an automatic ice making function to improve the specifications of the refrigerator, improve the added value, and the like. Further, according to the automatic ice making device of the present invention, it is possible to easily and inexpensively provide a refrigerator of a type in which an automatic ice making device is added while using a refrigerator of a type not provided with the automatic ice making device as a base.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a refrigerator provided with an automatic ice making device that can be shared by various types of refrigerators, and an automatic ice making device.

It is a perspective view which shows the state which the refrigerator which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention is seen from the front side. It is an exploded perspective view of the refrigerator of FIG. It is a side sectional view of the refrigerator of FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a main part in which a portion provided with an automatic ice making device is enlarged. It is a perspective view which shows the automatic ice making apparatus adopted in the refrigerator of FIG. It is a perspective view which showed the automatic ice making apparatus adopted in the refrigerator of FIG. 1 together with the storage container. It is a perspective view which shows the ice tray and the drive source of the automatic ice making apparatus adopted in the refrigerator of FIG. It is a circuit diagram which shows the circuit structure adopted in the refrigerator of FIG.

Hereinafter, the refrigerator 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following description, first, the configuration of the refrigerator 10 will be outlined, and then the feature portions will be described in detail. In the following description, the positional relationship between the top, bottom, left, right, front, back, etc. will be described based on the state in which the refrigerator 10 is normally installed, unless otherwise specified.

<< About the outline configuration of the refrigerator 10 >>
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the refrigerator 10 has a refrigerator main body 20, a cooling device 40, and an automatic ice making device 50. The refrigerator main body 20 has two storage chambers including a refrigerating chamber 26 and a freezing chamber 28 formed by partitioning the inside of the refrigerator by a partition portion 24 provided in the housing 22. The refrigerator 10 adjusts the internal temperature (internal temperature) of the refrigerator main body 20 to a predetermined low temperature state by the cooling device 40 described in detail later, and puts the storage object such as food stored in the refrigerator main body 20 in a low temperature atmosphere. Can be stored at.

The housing 22 has a housing body 30 formed so as to open toward the front, and a door 32 (omitted in FIGS. 2 and 3) provided on the front side of the housing body 30. The housing body 30 has a structure in which a heat insulating material 38 is filled between the exterior portion 34 and the inner box (interior portion) 36.

The exterior portion 34 is a box-shaped member that constitutes the exterior of the housing body 30 and is provided so as to open forward. The exterior portion 34 is formed of a metal such as an iron plate. Further, the inner box 36 constitutes the interior of the housing body 30, and is arranged inside the exterior portion 34. The inner box 36 is made of a resin such as ABS.

The inner box 36 may be a single inner box, but a plurality of inner boxes 36 may be provided depending on the number of storage chambers formed in the refrigerator. In the present embodiment, two inner boxes 36 are provided, a refrigerating chamber box 36a for forming the refrigerating chamber 26 and a freezing chamber box 36b for forming the freezing chamber 28. The refrigerating chamber box 36a and the freezing chamber box 36b are arranged at positions separated from the outer peripheral surface of the exterior portion 34 by a predetermined interval, respectively. Further, the refrigerating chamber box 36a and the freezing chamber box 36b are arranged at positions separated by a predetermined interval in the vertical direction.

The heat insulating material 38 is a member having heat insulating properties filled between the outer portion 34 and the inner box 36 in order to suppress heat transfer. The heat insulating material 38 can be, for example, a foamable resin such as hard urethane. The heat insulating material 38 is filled between the outer portion 34 and the inner box 36. Specifically, the heat insulating material 38 is filled between the exterior portion 34 and the refrigerating chamber box 36a, between the exterior portion 34 and the freezing chamber box 36b, between the refrigerating chamber box 36a and the freezing chamber box 36b, and the like. Has been done.

The partition portion 24 is for partitioning a plurality of storage chambers formed inside the housing body 30. In the present embodiment, a partition portion 24 is provided between the refrigerating chambers 26 and the freezing chambers 28 arranged vertically. The partition portion 24 includes a wall surface of the refrigerating chamber box 36a forming the refrigerating chamber 26 (bottom surface in the present embodiment) and a wall surface of the freezing chamber box 36b forming the freezing chamber 28 (top surface in the present embodiment). It is composed of a heat insulating material 38 filled in between.

The refrigerating chamber 26 is a storage chamber formed inside the above-mentioned refrigerating chamber box 36a. The refrigerating room 26 is a space for accommodating an object to be accommodated such as food. The refrigerating chamber 26 can be adjusted so that the temperature inside the refrigerator becomes a predetermined low temperature atmosphere suitable for refrigeration by operating the cooling device 40 described in detail later.

The freezing chamber 28 is a storage chamber formed inside the above-mentioned freezing chamber box 36b. The freezing room 28 is a space for storing an object to be stored, such as food, in a lower temperature atmosphere than the above-mentioned refrigerating room 26. The freezing chamber 28 can be adjusted so that the temperature inside the freezing chamber becomes a predetermined low temperature atmosphere suitable for freezing by operating the cooling device 40 described in detail later. That is, the freezing chamber 28 can be adjusted so as to have a low temperature atmosphere of 0 degrees Celsius or less by operating the cooling device 40.

Members such as drawer-type and pocket-type storage containers and shelves can be arranged in the refrigerator compartment 26 and the freezer compartment 28. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, drawer-type storage containers 28a and 28b are provided in the freezing chamber 28. The storage container 28a is arranged below the storage container 28b, and has a larger capacity than the storage container 28b. The storage container 28a can store, for example, frozen foods. The storage container 28b is arranged on the top surface side of the freezing chamber 28. The storage container 28b has an ice container portion 28c capable of receiving ice formed by the automatic ice making device 50 described in detail later.

The door 32 is for closing the opening portion provided on the front side of the housing body 30 and opening and closing the storage chamber (refrigerator chamber 26 and freezer compartment 28 in this embodiment). The door 32 has, for example, a single door that can be opened and closed by a hinge or the like provided on one side of the housing body 30 in the width direction, or a double door that can be opened and closed by a hinge or the like provided on both sides in the width direction. It can be an appropriate one, such as a sliding one that can be opened and closed via a rail or the like.

The cooling device 40 is for setting the temperature (internal temperature) of the storage chamber provided in the refrigerator main body 20 to a predetermined low temperature state. The cooling device 40 can be arranged at an appropriate place such as the back side, the top surface side, or the bottom surface side of the refrigerator body 20. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the cooling device 40 is arranged in the space provided behind the freezing chamber 28 on the back side of the refrigerator main body 20. Similar to the conventionally known one, the cooling device 40 includes a refrigerating cycle in which a compressor, a condenser, a heat radiating pipe, a capillary tube, and a cooler are sequentially connected in an annular shape and a refrigerant is sealed. The cooling device 40 is connected to the refrigerating chamber 26 and the freezing chamber 28 so that the air flow can be circulated. Further, the cooling device 40 includes a blower fan. Therefore, the cooling device 40 is capable of adjusting each storage chamber to a predetermined low temperature atmosphere by supplying the cold air generated in the cooler to the storage chambers such as the refrigerating chamber 26 and the freezing chamber 28.

The operation of the cooling device 40 is controlled by the main body control device 35 provided in the refrigerator main body 20. The main body control device 35 operates each member and a blower fan that form a refrigerating cycle according to the temperature inside the refrigerating chamber 26 and the freezing chamber 28 so that the refrigerating chamber 26 and the freezing chamber 28 reach a predetermined set temperature. Can be controlled to.

The automatic ice making device 50 can carry out an operation of automatically supplying water to make ice (automatic ice making operation). The refrigerator 10 can store the ice formed by the automatic ice making device 50 in the storage container 28b. Hereinafter, the configuration of the automatic ice making device 50 will be described in more detail.

≪About automatic ice making device 50≫
As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the automatic ice making device 50 includes a water supply unit 52, an ice making unit 54, a water supply pipe 56, an ice making control unit 58 (control unit), an ice making switch 60 (switch), a display unit 62, and the like. I have. By preparing water in the water supply unit 52, the automatic ice making device 50 can automatically supply water from the water supply unit 52 to the ice making unit 54 to make ice.

The water supply unit 52 is installed in the refrigerator compartment 26. The water supply unit 52 includes a water supply tank 70 and a pump unit 72. The water supply tank 70 has a tank portion 74 provided so as to be removable inside the refrigerating chamber 26, and a lid portion 76. The tank portion 74 is a container that has a bottom and has an opening on the top surface side. The water supply tank 70 is capable of storing water for ice making by appropriately removing the tank portion 74. The lid portion 76 closes the opening provided on the top surface side of the tank portion 74. A suction pipe 78 is provided on the lid portion 76. By attaching the lid portion 76 to the tank portion 74, the suction pipe 78 is inserted into the tank portion 74 through the opening on the top surface side of the tank portion 74. The suction pipe 78 is open at the lower end portion so that water can be sucked out from the tank portion 74. The other end side of the suction pipe 78 is provided so as to project outward from the back surface of the lid portion 76, and is inserted and connected to the pump portion 72 described later. A locking means may be provided to maintain the state in which the other end of the suction pipe 78 is inserted into the pump portion 72.

The pump unit 72 is assumed to accommodate the pump 80 and the pipe 82 inside the pump cover 84. The pump 80 exerts a suction force for sucking water from the tank portion 74, and supplies the water stored in the water supply tank 70 toward the ice making portion 54. Further, the pipe 82 has a suction side pipe portion 82a and a discharge side pipe portion 82b. The suction side piping portion 82a is connected to the suction pipe 78 on the water supply tank 70 side at one end side, and is connected to the suction port of the pump 80 at the other end side. Further, one end side of the discharge side piping portion 82b is connected to the discharge port of the pump 80, and the other end side is connected to the water supply pipe 56 which will be described in detail later.

The pump cover 84 is a cover for accommodating the pump 80 and the pipe 82. The shape and internal structure of the pump cover 84 can be appropriately adjusted, but in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the pump cover 84 is divided into a plurality of spaces 84a to 84c in the vertical direction (three in the present embodiment). ing. The pump 80 is housed in a space 84b in the middle portion in the vertical direction. Further, among the pipes 82, the suction side piping portion 82a has a suction side piping portion 82a rather than the outer diameter of the other end of the suction pipe 78 so that the other end of the suction pipe 78 can be inserted from the front side of the pump cover 84. The inner diameter is set large. Further, the discharge side piping portion 82b is arranged downward from the space 84b through the space 84c below.

The ice making section 54 is provided in the freezing chamber 28. The ice making section 54 can be provided at any place in the freezing chamber 28, but is provided at a position on the top surface side of the freezing chamber 28 and above the ice container section 28c provided in the storage container 28b. Has been done. The ice making section 54 includes an ice making section main body 90, an ice tray 92, a drive source 94, an ice inspection device 96, and the like.

The ice making section main body 90 is a portion forming a frame of the ice making section 54. The ice making unit main body 90 has an ice tray arranging portion 90a in which the ice tray 92 is arranged, and a driving source arranging portion 90b in which the driving source 94 is arranged. In the ice tray arranging portion 90a, the ice making portion main body 90 has a shape in which the top surface side and the bottom surface side are open. Further, the ice tray arranging portion 90a is sized to accommodate the ice tray 92 in a posture in which the longitudinal direction of the ice tray 92 faces the depth direction of the refrigerator 10. The ice tray arranging portion 90a has a size that allows the ice tray 92 to rotate in a direction upside down about a predetermined rotation axis extending in the longitudinal direction thereof. Further, the drive source arranging portion 90b is provided at a position adjacent to the front side of the refrigerator 10 with respect to the ice tray arranging portion 90a.

As shown in FIG. 7 and the like, the ice tray 92 is a dish-shaped member formed so that a plurality of recesses 92a are arranged in the longitudinal direction and the lateral direction (width direction). The recess 92a is a recess that opens toward the top surface and can store water for forming ice. As described above, the ice tray 92 is supported so as to be rotatable in the ice tray arrangement portion 90a. By directing the ice tray 92 so that the opening of the recess 92a faces upward, the ice tray 92 is in a state where water for ice making can be introduced into the recess 92a. Further, by inverting the ice tray 92 so that the opening of the recess 92a faces downward, the ice formed in the recess 92a can be discharged to the ice container portion 28c under the ice tray 92.

The drive source 94 is arranged in the drive source arrangement unit 90b described above. The drive source 94 includes a motor 94a, a drive mechanism (not shown), and the like. The drive source 94 is capable of transmitting the power output from the motor 94a directly or indirectly to the ice tray 92 or the ice inspection device 96 via a drive mechanism or the like. This makes it possible to rotate the ice tray 92 in the upside down direction and operate the ice inspection device 96. An ice tray 92 is connected to the drive source 94, and by operating the motor 94a, the ice tray 92 is opened in a state in which the recess 92a is opened upward and in a state in which the recess 92a is inverted in the opposite direction. The ice tray 92 can be rotated in this way.

The ice inspection device 96 is a device for detecting the storage state of ice in the ice container portion 28c. The ice inspection device 96 includes an ice inspection lever 96a. The ice test lever 96a is always arranged on the side of the ice tray 92 described above. Further, the ice detection lever 96a is connected to the drive source 94 on one end side. Therefore, the ice inspection lever 96a can swing in the vertical direction on the side of the ice tray 92. The ice tester 96 is provided with ice on the condition that it is detected that the ice test lever 96a has hit the ice while the ice test lever 96a is swung downward by a predetermined amount from the lateral position of the ice tray 92. It can be detected that there is sufficient ice in the container portion 28c. On the other hand, on the condition that the ice inspection lever 96a is not detected to hit the ice even if the ice inspection lever 96a is swung downward by a predetermined amount from the lateral position of the ice tray 92, the ice is formed in the ice container portion 28c. Can be detected as lacking.

As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 and the like, a water supply pipe 56 is provided between the water supply unit 52 and the ice making unit 54 described above. The water supply pipe 56 is a pipe for forming a water flow path for supplying the water sucked from the water supply tank 70 to the ice tray 92 of the ice making unit 54 by operating the pump 80 of the water supply unit 52. The water supply pipe 56 is attached to a portion forming the partition portion 24 in the manufacturing process of the refrigerator main body 20, and is closely integrated with the heat insulating material filled in the partition portion 24.

One end of the water supply pipe 56 is connected to the first pipe connecting portion 100 provided on the bottom surface of the refrigerating chamber 26, and the other end side is connected to the second pipe connecting portion 102 provided on the top surface of the freezing chamber 28. .. The first pipe connecting portion 100 is provided on the back side (rear side) in the refrigerating chamber 26. The end of the pipe 82 (discharge side pipe 82b) provided in the water supply 52 is connected to the first pipe connection 100. Further, the second pipe connecting portion 102 is provided in the freezer chamber 28 above the ice tray arranging portion 90a and the ice tray 92. The second pipe connecting portion 102 is open toward the ice tray arranging portion 90a and the ice tray 92. With such a configuration, the automatic ice making device 50 can supply the water sucked out from the water supply tank 70 to the ice making dish 92 through the pipe 82 and the water supply pipe 56 by operating the pump 80. .. The water supply pipe 56 is, for example, a metal pipe made of an aluminum alloy and has a relatively high rigidity. As a result, when the partition portion 24 is filled and solidified with the heat insulating material 38 (for example, a foamable resin such as hard urethane) in the manufacturing process of the refrigerator main body 20, the water supply pipe 56 (metal pipe) yields to the pressure of the heat insulating material 38. The shape of the water supply pipe 56 (metal pipe) can be maintained without being crushed, and water can flow smoothly.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, a heater 104 is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the water supply pipe 56. The heater 104 generates heat when energized. The heater 104 is embedded in a portion forming the partition portion 24 together with the water supply pipe 56. The heater 104 is electrically connected to the main body control device 35, and is capable of generating heat by receiving electric power from the main body control device 35. Since the water supply pipe 56 is a metal pipe and has excellent thermal conductivity, the heater 104 is locally provided on the freezing chamber side of the water supply pipe 56 without covering the outer peripheral portion with the heater 104 over the entire length of the water supply pipe 56. , The freezing of the water in the water supply pipe 56 may be suppressed.

As shown in FIG. 8, the ice making control unit 58 is electrically connected to the pump 80 constituting the automatic ice making device 50, the drive source 94, and the like, and controls their operations. The ice making control unit 58 can independently control the pump 80, the drive source 94, and the like with respect to the refrigerator main body 20 (main body control device 35).

The substrate forming the ice making control unit 58 is provided inside the pump cover 84 of the water supply unit 52 described above. The ice making control unit 58 is provided in the space 84a in the pump cover 84, which is further above the space 84b in which the pump 80 is housed. The ice making control unit 58 is electrically connected to the terminal 110 provided on the back side of the pump cover 84. The terminal 110 is electrically connected to the main body control device 35. Therefore, the ice making control unit 58 is electrically connected to the main body control device 35 by connecting to the terminal 110. Further, the ice making control unit 58 can receive electric power by connecting to the terminal 110. The ice making control unit 58 can operate by the electric power supplied through the terminal 110, and can supply power to the pump 80 connected to the ice making control unit 58, the drive source 94, and the like. Although not shown, the ice making control unit 58 may be provided in the ice making unit 54.

The ice making switch 60 (see FIGS. 3 and 4) is electrically connected to the ice making control unit 58. By operating the ice making switch 60, the operating state of the automatic ice making operation can be switched independently of the refrigerator main body 20.

The display unit 62 (see FIGS. 3 and 4) displays the operating state of the automatic ice making operation. The display unit 62 is electrically connected to the ice making control unit 58. The display unit 62 can be, for example, one that can be displayed by using an LED, one that can be displayed by using a display device such as a liquid crystal, or the like. Although not shown, the ice making switch 60 and the display unit 62 may be provided at different positions of the pump unit 72, and when the ice making control unit 58 is provided in the ice making unit 54, the ice making switch 60 and the display unit 62 may be provided. May be provided in the ice making section 54.

As described above, the refrigerator 10 of the present embodiment includes an ice making control unit 58 in addition to the main body control device 35, and the ice making control unit 58 causes the pump 80, the drive source 94, and the like of the automatic ice making device 50 to the refrigerator main body 20. On the other hand, it is supposed to be able to be controlled independently. Therefore, the refrigerator 10 of the present embodiment can be made into a shared part such as a configuration of a refrigerator compartment 26 and a freezer compartment 28 with another refrigerator of a type not provided with an automatic ice making device 50, or another type. It is possible to make the refrigerator and the automatic ice making device 50 into common parts. Therefore, according to the configuration shown in the present embodiment, it is possible to provide a wide variety of refrigerators 10 at even lower cost.

As described above, in the refrigerator 10 of the present embodiment, the automatic ice making device 50 includes an ice making switch 60, and the automatic ice making operation by the automatic ice making device 50 can be independently switched with respect to the refrigerator main body 20. .. Therefore, the refrigerator 10 can switch the operation of the automatic ice making operation by the ice making switch 60 on the automatic ice making device 50 side without depending on the configuration on the refrigerator main body 20 side.

In the present embodiment, an example in which the ice making switch 60 is provided in the automatic ice making device 50 is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the ice making switch 60 may not be provided. Further, the ice making switch 60 is not limited to one having a function of switching on / off of the automatic ice making operation, and may be, for example, one capable of changing the adjustment of the ice making speed in multiple steps or steplessly.

As described above, in the refrigerator 10 of the present embodiment, the automatic ice making device 50 is provided with a display unit 62, and the operating state of the automatic ice making operation can be displayed by the display unit 62. With such a configuration, the refrigerator 10 can also display the operating state of the automatic ice making operation by the display unit 62 without depending on the configuration on the refrigerator main body 20 side. As a result, it is possible to prevent the configuration of the refrigerator main body 20 from becoming complicated in order to provide the automatic ice making function.

In the present embodiment, the automatic ice making device 50 includes the display unit 62, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the automatic ice making device 50 may not include the display unit 62. Further, the refrigerator 10 may be provided with a leaving device such as a buzzer in place of the display unit 62 or in addition to the display unit 62.

As described above, in the refrigerator 10 of the present embodiment, the partition portion 24 forming the boundary between the refrigerating chamber 26 and the freezing chamber 28 is provided with a heat insulating material made of a foamable resin. Further, in the automatic ice making device 50, by providing the water supply pipe 56 over the partition portion 24, water can be supplied from the water supply portion 52 to the ice making portion 54, and the water supply pipe 56 is closely integrated with the heat insulating material of the partition portion 24. It is said to be a modified configuration. Since this configuration is used, the work man-hours and the number of parts required to install the water supply pipe 56 can be suppressed as compared with the case where the water supply pipe 56 is retrofitted to the partition portion 24, and the manufacturing cost of the refrigerator 10 can be reduced. Can contribute to reduction. Further, by closely integrating the water supply pipe 56 with the heat insulating material of the partition portion 24, it is easy to secure the cooling performance and improve the heat insulating performance, which can contribute to the improvement of the energy efficiency of the refrigerator 10.

In the present embodiment, the configuration in which the water supply pipe 56 is incorporated in the partition portion 24 in advance in the manufacturing process is illustrated, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the water supply pipe 56 is attached to the refrigerator main body 20. It may be installed later. Further, in the present embodiment, an example is shown in which the water supply pipe 56 is closely integrated with the heat insulating material of the partition portion 24 to ensure the cooling performance and improve the heat insulating performance, but the present invention is limited to this. Instead, the water supply pipe 56 and the heat insulating material may be separated from each other.

In the refrigerator 10 of the present embodiment, the automatic ice making device 50 can be attached to the existing refrigerator body 20. Specifically, the automatic ice making device 50 installs a member forming a water supply unit 52 in the refrigerating chamber 26 and an ice making unit 54 in the freezing chamber, and electrically connects the ice making control unit 58 to the terminal 110 provided on the refrigerator body 20 side. By connecting the pipe 82 to the water supply pipe 56, the automatic ice making device 50 can be attached to the existing refrigerator body 20. It is also possible to remove the automatic ice making device 50 from the refrigerator main body 20 by the reverse procedure. With such a configuration, it is possible to retrofit the automatic ice making device 50 to the refrigerator body 20 of a type that does not have the automatic ice making function.

The present invention is not limited to the configuration described in the above-described embodiment, and the design can be appropriately changed without departing from the scope of the technical idea of the present invention. The components of each of the above-described embodiments and modifications may be arbitrarily selected and combined. Further, any component of each embodiment or modification, a means for solving the invention, any component described in the mode for carrying out the invention, a means for solving the invention, the invention is implemented. Any component described in the form or the like may be arbitrarily combined with the embodied component. We also intend to acquire the rights to these in the present application or divisional applications based on the present application.

The present invention can be suitably used in refrigerators in general.

10: Refrigerator 20: Refrigerator body 24: Partition 26: Refrigerator room 28: Freezer room 35: Main body control device 50: Automatic ice making device 52: Water supply unit 54: Ice making unit 56: Water supply pipe 58: Ice making control unit (control unit)
60: Ice making switch (switch)
62: Display 70: Water supply tank 80: Pump 92: Ice tray 94a: Motor

Claims (6)

Refrigerator body with refrigerator and freezer
Equipped with an automatic ice making device that can carry out automatic ice making operation
The automatic ice making device
The water supply unit provided in the refrigerator compartment and
The ice making section provided in the freezer and
Has a control unit,
The water supply unit has a water supply tank and a pump that supplies water stored in the water supply tank to the ice making unit.
The ice making section has an ice tray that can receive water supplied from the water supply section, and a motor that applies a rotational force to the ice tray.
A refrigerator characterized in that the control unit controls the pump and the motor independently of the refrigerator body. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the automatic ice making device has a switch capable of independently switching the operating state of the automatic ice making operation with respect to the refrigerator main body. The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the automatic ice making device has a display unit for displaying an operating state of the automatic ice making operation. The refrigerator body has a partition portion between the refrigerating chamber and the freezing chamber, in which a heat insulating material made of a foamable resin is incorporated.
The automatic ice making device has a water supply pipe for supplying water from the pump of the water supply unit to the ice tray of the ice making unit.
The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the water supply pipe is closely integrated with the heat insulating material of the partition portion. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the automatic ice making device can be attached to the existing refrigerator main body. It is an automatic ice making device that can carry out automatic ice making operation.
A water supply tank, a water supply unit equipped with a pump for transferring water stored in the water supply tank, and a water supply unit.
It has an ice tray that can receive water transferred from the water supply unit, and an ice tray equipped with a motor that applies a rotational force to the ice tray.
With the water supply unit installed in the refrigerator's refrigerating chamber and the ice making unit installed in the refrigerator's freezer compartment, a control unit capable of independently controlling the pump and the motor with respect to the refrigerator is provided. An automatic ice making device characterized by being equipped.

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