KR100257823B1 - Auto ice maker of refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An automatic ice maker for refrigerator is provided to supply desired amount of ice making water to the ice making tray regardless of tap water pressure, by accurately measuring the amount of water being supplied to the ice making tray. CONSTITUTION: An automatic ice maker comprises a function selection and display unit(21) having a plurality of function selection switches to allow a user to select an automatic ice making function, and a display lamp which is turned on when the function selection switch is operated; a water supply valve(23) mounted at a water supply hose and which controls the amount of ice making water being supplied to an ice making tray; a water amount sensor(22) mounted at the water supply valve so as to sense the amount of water being supplied to the ice making tray through the water supply hose; and a control unit(24) for controlling opening time of the water supply valve in accordance with the signal output from the function selection and display unit and the water amount sensor.

Description

Auto ice maker of refrigerator {AUTO ICE MAKER OF REFRIGERATOR}

The present invention relates to an auto ice maker of a refrigerator used by connecting tap water, and more particularly, to a refrigerator capable of supplying ice water for a predetermined amount to an ice tray without being affected by a difference in tap water pressure. It's about an auto ice maker.

In general, an auto ice maker is installed in a freezer compartment of a refrigerator to automatically supply ice-making water to an ice tray and check an ice-making state, and when ice making is completed, the ice-making ice is automatically removed from the ice tray to be loaded into an ice making container. As a device, since it is very convenient because there is no user's separate operation for the ice making operation, it has become an essential component of the refrigerator.

The conventional auto ice maker will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 as follows.

1 is a schematic block diagram showing a conventional auto ice maker, FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of the water valve of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the dip switch of FIG. 1.

The auto ice maker is provided with a plurality of function selection switches for allowing a user to select an automatic ice making function, and a function selection and display unit 1 having a display lamp unit which is turned on when the function selection switch is operated; A dip switch (2) for setting a water supply time of the ice making water supplied to the ice tray, a water valve (3) connected to the water supply hose to adjust the water supply of the ice making water supplied to the ice tray, and a function selection and It consists of the control part 4 for operating the water valve 3 according to the signal from the display part 1 and the dip switch 2.

The water valve 3 has two water outlets 7, 8, that is, a water outlet 7 to which the dispenser water hose 5 is connected, and a water outlet 8 to which the ice maker water hose 6 is connected. A water supply hose connected to the faucet is connected to an inlet portion (not shown) of the water valve 3, and blocking packings 11 and 12 are provided to open and close the respective water outlet portions 7 and 8. Each plunger 9, 10 is adapted to be operated up and down in the state shown in FIG. 2 by the application of a current to the coils 13, 14 by a signal from the control unit 4.

The water valve 3 configured as described above is fixedly attached to the machine room of the refrigerator (not shown) by the bracket 15.

On the other hand, the dip switch 2 for setting the water supply time of the ice-making water is generally installed on the PCB (not shown) of the refrigerator, the first to third water supply time setting switches (SW1, SW2, SW3) Equipped.

The dip switch 2 is electrically connected to the control unit 4, and the control unit 4 discharges water from the water valve 3 according to the on / off states of the respective water supply time setting switches SW1, SW2, and SW3. By controlling the opening time of the section 8, the water supply time for supplying the ice making water to the ice tray is programmed.

Table 1 below shows the water supply time according to the operation state of the dip switch 2, the control unit 4 is a water valve during the water supply time set in accordance with the on / off state of the first to third setting switches (SW1 to SW3) Opening the water outlet (8) of (3) to supply ice-making water to the ice tray. In general, when the product (refrigerator) is shipped, only the first setting switch SW1 is turned on so that the water supply time is set to 5 seconds. have.

Table 1

Dip switch Watering time SW1 SW2 SW3 change off off off 6sec on off off 5sec off on off 7sec on on off 8sec off off on 9sec on off on 12sec off on on 15 sec on on on 23sec

The conventional auto ice maker having the configuration as described above is operated by operating a function selection switch and a function selection switch (not shown) arranged in the display unit 1, and supplying ice ice water by operating the function selection switch. When the signal is input to the controller 4, the controller 4 receives the on / off state of each of the first to third water supply time setting switches SW1 to SW3, and then the first to third water supply time. The water maker 8 for the ice maker is opened by applying a current to the coil 14 of the water valve 3 to operate the plunger 10 during the water supply time set by the setting switches SW1 to SW3.

Accordingly, ice making water is supplied to the ice tray to make ice.

As described above, the amount of ice making water supplied to the ice tray of the auto ice maker is controlled by the water valve controlled by the controller.

In general, however, the water pressure supplied to each home varies greatly depending on the region or type of house, and the amount of ice making water supplied to the ice tray also varies according to the difference in water pressure. Problems such as a decrease or a decrease occur.

In more detail, the problem is that if the amount of ice-making water supplied to the ice tray is large, the water surface rises above the cells of the ice tray composed of the lattice, and the ice is not properly formed, and the amount of ice-making water supplied to the ice tray If there is little, the problem that the size of ice becomes small will arise.

However, according to the auto ice maker of the refrigerator configured as described above, since the dip switch for setting the water supply time is installed on the PCB, it is not easy for the general user to change the water supply time, and thus, the ice tray There was a problem in that the water supply amount of the ice-making water supplied cannot be adjusted.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an auto ice maker of a refrigerator capable of supplying ice water for a predetermined amount to an ice tray without being affected by the difference in tap water pressure.

1 is a block diagram of an auto ice maker according to the prior art.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of the water valve of FIG. 1. FIG.

3 is a perspective view of the dip switch of FIG.

Figure 4 is a block diagram of an auto ice maker according to the present invention.

5 is an installation state diagram of a flow rate detecting means according to the present invention;

6 is a flowchart of a water supply time control of the control unit according to the present invention.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

21: function selection and display unit 22: flow rate detection means

23: water valve 24: control unit

25: water supply hose for ice maker 26: water outlet

27: coil 28: plunger

29 magnet 30 propeller

31: Hall sensor

In order to achieve the above object, an auto ice maker of a refrigerator according to the present invention includes a plurality of function selection switches for allowing a user to select an automatic ice making function, and a display lamp unit which is turned on when the function selection switch is operated. A function selection and display unit, a water valve connected to a water supply hose to control an amount of ice making water supplied to the ice tray, and a water supply amount of the ice making water supplied to the tray through the water supply hose. And a flow control unit for controlling the opening time of the water valve in accordance with a signal from the function selection and display unit and the flow detection unit.

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of an auto ice maker of a refrigerator according to the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings in detail as follows.

4 is a block diagram of an auto ice maker according to the present invention.

The auto ice maker is provided with a plurality of function selection switches for allowing the user to select an automatic ice making function, and a function selection and display unit 21 having a display lamp unit which is turned on when the function selection switch is operated, and water supply. A flow rate detecting means 22 for detecting the water supply amount of the ice making water supplied to the tray through the hose, a water valve 23 connected to the water supply hose to control the water supply amount of the ice making water supplied to the tray, and a function selection and It is comprised by the control part 24 which supplies the ice-making water to an ice tray through the water supply hose for ice makers by operating the water valve 23 according to the signal from the display part 21 and the flow volume detection means 22. As shown in FIG.

The water valve 23 for controlling the water supply amount of the ice-making water supplied to an ice tray is fixedly installed in the machine room, and the water outlet part 26 in which the water maker hose for ice-maker of the water valve 23 is installed is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the flow rate detecting means 22 is provided, and the flow rate detecting means 22 is provided with magnets 29 having different polarities at one end of the rotating shaft and is discharged to rotate in accordance with the flow of ice making water. Comprised of the propeller 30 installed in the interior of the unit 26, and the Hall sensor 31 for detecting the rotational speed of the propeller 30, the Hall sensor 31 is electrically connected to the control unit 24 have.

When the propeller 30 is rotated by the ice making water passing through the water outlet part 26 of the water valve 23, the flow rate detecting means 22 configured as described above has a magnet attached to the rotating shaft of the propeller 30 ( The Hall sensor 31 detects that the polarity of the 29 is changed and outputs it to the controller 24 as an electric signal.

Setting the cross-sectional area of the water outlet 26 and the ice making water to be supplied to the ice tray in the controller 24 which rectifies the signal of the hall sensor 31 as a square wave and receives the rotation of the propeller 30 as an on / off signal. The amount (about 100 cc) and the rotation speed of the propeller 30 necessary for supplying the set amount of ice making water to the ice tray are stored.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a water supply time control flowchart of the refrigerator control unit according to the present invention.

The control unit 24 determines whether an ice making water supply signal according to the function selection and the display unit 21 is input (S10), and when the ice making water supply signal is input, the coil 27 of the water valve 23 is input. ) By operating the plunger 28 to open the water outlet 26 by applying a current (S20).

Next, the on / off signal received through the Hall sensor 31 of the flow rate detection means 22 is counted (S30), and the count value of the on / off signal is compared with the set value. (S40).

In step S40, when the count value is smaller than the set value, it is determined that the ice making water has not been supplied to the ice tray by the set amount (about 100 cc), and when the count value is larger than the set value, the ice making water is iced. After determining that the tray is supplied by the set amount (about 100 cc), the water supply unit 26 is closed by cutting off the current applied to the coil 27 of the water valve 23 (S50), and then the count value is initialized (S60). ).

As a result, it is possible to accurately control the amount of ice making water supplied to the ice tray irrespective of the tap water pressure.

According to the auto ice maker of the refrigerator according to the present invention configured as described above, since the water supply amount of the ice making water supplied to the tray through the water supply hose can be accurately measured, it is affected by the difference in the water pressure supplied to each household It is possible to supply a predetermined amount of ice making water to the ice tray without using.

Claims (1)

A function selection and display unit including a plurality of function selection switches to allow a user to select an automatic ice making function, and a display lamp unit to be turned on when the function selection switch is operated; A water valve connected to the water supply hose so as to control the amount of ice making water supplied to the ice tray; Flow rate detecting means installed in the water valve to detect a water supply amount of the ice making water supplied to the tray through the water supply hose; And a control unit for controlling the opening time of the water valve according to the function selection and display unit and the signal from the flow rate detecting unit. The flow rate detecting means may include: a propeller installed on the water outlet of the water valve via a rotating shaft having magnets of different polarities and rotating as the ice making water flows; A hall sensor installed in the water outlet to detect the number of revolutions of the propeller and outputting an on / off signal to the controller according to the rotation of the propeller, wherein the controller counts the on / off signal to An auto ice maker of a refrigerator, characterized in that the water outlet part is closed when the count value of the on / off signal is equal to or larger than a set value.

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