KR100271357B1 - Refrigerator and its control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A refrigerator is provided to reduce costs required for components and to enhance reliability. CONSTITUTION: A refrigerator is comprised of: an opening sensor switch(38) mounted in contact with an operating lever(37) to detect opening rotation of the operating lever; a delay cam(43) having a cam profile consisting of a long and a short radial portion corresponding to an opening and a closing position of the operating lever respectively, mounted in contacted with the operating lever; and a cam motor(53) for contacting the long or the short radial portion of the delay cam with the operating lever depending on turning on/off of the opening sensor switch. When the opening sensor switch is turned off, the cam motor rotates the delay cam at specific delay speed to contact the short radial portion with the operating lever. Therefore, the operating lever is returned with the delay speed to isolate an ice discharge port.

Description

Refrigerator and its control method

The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to open and close a main body having a cooling chamber, a door for opening and closing a front opening of the cooling chamber, an ice tray provided in the cooling chamber, and an ice discharge port provided at the front of the door. It relates to a refrigerator having a baffle, an opening lever for pressing the baffle to open the ice discharge port, and an operation lever for opening and closing the baffle in a return direction in which the baffle blocks the ice discharge port.

The refrigerator has a main body in which a freezer compartment and a refrigerating compartment are formed with an intermediate partition therebetween, and a freezer compartment door and a refrigerating compartment door that open and close front openings of the freezer compartment and the refrigerating compartment. Some of these refrigerators are provided with a dispenser on the front of the door to provide an ice tray in the freezer compartment and a water storage tank in the refrigerating compartment to supply ice and water to the outside.

6 is an exploded perspective view of a dispenser area of a conventional refrigerator, FIG. 7 is a side cross-sectional view of the operating lever installation area of FIG. 6, and FIG. 8 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the pneumatic cylinder mechanism of FIG. 6. As shown in these figures, the freezing chamber door 107 has a door outer plate 119 forming an appearance and a door inner plate 121 spaced apart from the door outer plate 119 at a filling interval of the heat insulating material. Door caps (not shown) are coupled to upper and lower ends of the outer plate 119 and the door inner plate 121 to be coupled to block the upper and lower ends.

An opening 120 is formed in the central region of the door outer plate 119, and the dispenser accommodating part 124 recessed from the plate surface is formed in the door inner plate 121 corresponding thereto. The dispenser accommodating part 124 is coupled to the dispenser case 125 having a substantially rectangular cylindrical shape, and a dispenser cover 122 having an operation panel 123 for operating an apparatus is formed on the front side of the dispenser case 125. Are combined.

A cylindrical ice guide member 127 is formed in the upper region of the dispenser case 125. An ice discharge port 129 is formed at the end of the ice guide member 127, and the support bracket 130 is coupled to the front edge of the ice discharge port 129, and the support pin 130 has a pivot pin 133. Baffle 131 for rotating and opening the ice discharge port 129 is coupled to the axis. The pivot pin 133 of the baffle 131 is coupled with a spring 135 for applying an elastic force to the baffle 131 in the direction in which the baffle 131 blocks the ice discharge port 129.

On the other hand, the baffle 131 is coupled to the operation lever 137 so that the baffle 131 is spaced apart from the ice discharge port 129 so that the ice discharge port 129 is open, and rotatable, on one side of the operation lever 137 A locking pin 141 protruding parallel from the rotation shaft 139 and parallel to the rotation shaft 139 is formed. The locking pin 141 applies resistance to the rotation of the operating lever 137 so that the ice can be completely discharged from the ice discharge port 129 during the return direction rotation in which the baffle 131 rotates to block the ice discharge port 129. The pneumatic cylinder mechanism 143 is coupled.

The pneumatic cylinder mechanism 143 has a cylindrical cylinder 145 and a piston 147 accommodated to slide in the cylinder 145. The piston rod 149 is coupled to the piston 147, and the other end of the piston rod 149 is coupled to the locking pin 141 of the operation lever 137 so as to be relatively movable. The piston 147 is provided with an air passing hole 151 along the shaft center, and the air passing hole 151 is opened and closed by a blocking member 153 provided at the end of the piston rod 149.

By such a configuration, when the operation lever 137 is pressurized inwardly, the operation lever 137 rotates about the rotation shaft 139 by the shaft, whereby the baffle 131 rotates the ice pin 133 around the ice discharge port 129. Rotate so as to be spaced apart from) so that the ice discharge port 129 is opened. When the operation lever 137 is released from pressure, the operation lever 137 rotates the rotation shaft 139 back to the axis. At this time, the pneumatic cylinder mechanism 143 coupled to the locking pin 141 of the operation lever 137 is rotated. ) Adds resistance to the return rotation of the operation lever 137.

That is, the air passing hole 151 of the piston 147 is opened at the time of the open rotation of the operation lever 137 to smoothly rotate the operation lever 137, and the air passage at the time of the return rotation of the operation lever 137. The ball 151 is blocked by the blocking member 153 to compress the air to apply resistance to the return rotation of the operating lever 137.

By the way, in such a conventional refrigerator, a pneumatic cylinder mechanism that resists rotation of the operating lever so that ice can be completely discharged from the ice discharge port is dependent on imports, and the purchase cost is relatively high, and the inner diameter of the cylinder Since the outer diameter portions of the piston are in sliding contact with each other, the airtightness may be degraded as the service period elapses. Therefore, when the airtightness is lowered, there is a problem that it is difficult to maintain a constant return rotation speed of the operation lever, which may lower the reliability of the product.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator and a control method thereof, which can reduce component costs and improve reliability.

1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator according to the present invention;

2 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of the dispenser region of FIG. 1;

3 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of the operating lever region of FIG. 2;

Figure 4 is a side cross-sectional view for explaining the operating state of the delay cam of FIG.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a control method of a refrigerator according to the present invention;

6 is an exploded perspective view of a dispenser area of a conventional refrigerator;

7 is an enlarged side cross-sectional view of FIG. 6;

8 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the pneumatic cylinder mechanism of FIG. 6.

* Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings

1: body 3: freezer

5: refrigerator compartment 7: freezer door

25: dispenser case 29: ice discharge outlet

31: baffle 33: rotating pin

37: operation lever 38: opening detection switch

41: action pin 43: delay cam

47: worm wheel 49: worm gear

53: worm drive motor

According to the present invention, there is provided a main body having a cooling chamber, a door for opening and closing a front opening of the cooling chamber, an ice tray provided in the cooling chamber, and a baffle for opening and closing an ice discharge port provided at the front of the door; And a control lever configured to pressurize the baffle to open and close the baffle to open the ice discharge port, and to open and close the baffle in a return direction to block the ice discharge port. And a camping profile having an open detecting switch for detecting a predetermined open rotation of the operating lever, a long radius corresponding to the open position of the operating lever, and a short radius corresponding to the closed position of the operating lever. And a delay cam installed to contact the operation lever, and a length of the delay cam when the open detection switch is turned on. And a cam driving motor for allowing a neck portion to contact the operation lever, and rotating the delay cam at a predetermined delay speed such that the short radius portion of the delay cam contacts the operation lever when the opening detection switch is turned off. Achieved by a refrigerator.

Here, it is preferable to include a worm wheel connected to the delay cam so as to be integrally rotatable with the delay cam, and a worm gear engaged with the worm wheel.

In addition, it may be effective that the operation pins protruding from the operation lever act on the delay cam.

On the other hand, according to another field of the invention, in the control method of the refrigerator having the configuration as described above, the step of detecting the open rotation of the operation lever, the step of making the long radius of the delay cam in contact with the operation lever And detecting a return rotation of the operation lever, and returning and rotating the delay cam at a predetermined delay speed.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail with respect to the present invention.

1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of the dispenser region of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of the operating lever region of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a delayed cam of FIG. 3. Side cross-sectional view for explaining the operation state, Figure 5 is a flow chart for explaining a control method of a refrigerator according to the present invention. As shown in these figures, the refrigerator includes a main body 1 having a freezer compartment 3 and a refrigerating compartment 5 formed at right and left sides with an intermediate partition 2 therebetween, and a main body 1 for opening and closing the front opening thereof. It has a freezing chamber door (7) and the refrigerating chamber door (9) respectively coupled to the front left and right regions of the front.

In the upper region of the refrigerating compartment 5, a plurality of shelves 10 are installed along the vertical direction to divide the space in the refrigerating compartment 5, and the lower region of the refrigerating compartment 5 can store and store vegetables and fruits. A plurality of storage drawers 12 are provided. Behind these drawers 12, a water storage tank (not shown) is installed to store water.

An ice making tray 13 for ice making is installed in an upper region of the freezing compartment 3, and an ice storage container 15 is provided below the ice making tray 13 to store ice that has been de-iced from the ice making tray 13. ) Is provided. An ice passage opening 17 is formed on the lower front surface of the ice storage container 15 to penetrate the plate surface so that the ice stored in the ice storage container 15 can be discharged.

On the other hand, the freezer door 7 has a door outer plate 19 to form an appearance and a door inner plate 21 spaced apart from the door outer plate 19 at a filling interval of the heat insulating material, and the door outer plate 19 and the door are spaced apart from each other. Door caps (not shown) are coupled to upper and lower ends of the inner plate 21 to be coupled to block the upper and lower ends.

An opening 20 is formed in the central region of the door outer plate 19 through the plate surface, and the dispenser accommodating portion 24 recessed from the plate surface is formed in the door inner plate 21 corresponding thereto. The dispenser accommodating part 24 is coupled with a dispenser case 25 having a substantially rectangular cylindrical shape, and a dispenser cover 22 having an operation panel 23 for operating an apparatus is formed on the front side of the dispenser case 25. Are combined.

In the central region of the dispenser case 25, a supply space 26 recessed from the plate surface is formed, and in the upper region, a cylindrical ice guide member 27 for guiding the ice from the ice passage opening 17 is formed. . The support bracket 30 is coupled to the front edge of the ice discharge port 29 formed at the end of the ice guide member 27, and the support bracket 30 is connected to the ice discharge port 29 with the pivot pin 33 as the axis. The baffle 31 which opens and closes is rotatably coupled. The pivot pin 33 of the baffle 31 is coupled with a spring 35 for applying an elastic force to the baffle 31 in the direction in which the baffle 31 blocks the ice discharge port 29.

The baffle 31 is coupled to the operation lever 37 so that the baffle 31 is spaced apart from the ice discharge port 29 so that the ice discharge port 29 is opened, and the operation lever 37 is provided at the rear side of the operation lever 37. An open detecting switch 38 for contacting 37 and detecting rotation of the operating lever 37 is protruded toward the operating lever 37.

On the other hand, on one side of the operating lever 37, a working pin 41 is formed to protrude in parallel with the rotation shaft 39 spaced apart from the rotation shaft 39. The actuating pin 41 is provided with a delay cam 43 having a camp profile having a long radius portion and a short radius portion to be rotatable in contact, and a worm wheel 47 is formed on the rotation shaft 45 of the delay cam 43. It is. The worm wheel 47 is engaged with the worm gear 49 so as to be capable of relative movement with each other, and the worm drive motor 53 capable of forward and reverse rotation is coupled to the rotating shaft 51 of the worm gear 49.

By such a configuration, when the operating lever 37 is pressed to rotate the pivot shaft 39 to the axis, the baffle 31 which contacts the operating lever 37 rotates the pivot pin 33 to the axis to discharge the ice outlet ( Spaced from 29) to allow the ice outlet (29) to open. At this time, the open detecting switch 38 protruding from the rear of the operating lever 37 is in contact with the operating lever 37 to detect the open rotation of the operating lever 37 (S10). Then, the control unit not shown rotates the worm drive motor 53 so that the long radius portion of the delay cam 43 is in contact with the action pin 41 of the operating lever 37 (S20).

Next, when the operation lever 37 is released by a predetermined ice supply time and then returns to rotation by the elastic force of the spring 35 of the baffle 31, the control unit detects the return rotation from the open detection switch 38. On the basis of the signal, the worm drive motor 53 is caused to reverse rotation with a predetermined delay speed. Accordingly, the action pin 41 in contact with the long radius portion of the delay cam 43 is rotated gradually at a predetermined delay speed along the outer circumferential surface of the delay cam 43, and in conjunction with this, the baffle 31 has an ice discharge port 29 ) Will be blocked slowly.

In this way, an opening detecting switch which is installed to be in contact with the operating lever and detects a predetermined open rotation of the operating lever, a long radius corresponding to the open position of the operating lever, and a short radius corresponding to the closed position of the operating lever. A camping profile having a portion is formed, and a delay cam installed to contact the operation lever, and a long radius portion of the delay cam to contact the operation lever when the opening detection switch is turned on, turn off of the opening detection switch. By operating the cam driving motor for rotating the delay cam at a predetermined delay speed so that the short radius portion of the delay cam contacts the operation lever, the operating lever rotates back with a predetermined delay speed to discharge the ice discharge port. Can be blocked.

As described above, according to the present invention, there is provided a refrigerator and a control method thereof, which can reduce component costs and improve reliability.

Claims (4)

A main body having a cooling chamber, a door for opening and closing the front opening of the cooling chamber, an ice tray provided in the cooling chamber, a baffle for opening and closing the ice discharge port provided at the front of the door, and the baffle being pressed A refrigerator having an opening direction for opening the ice discharge port and an operation lever for opening and closing the baffle in the return direction in which the baffle blocks the ice discharge port, An opening detecting switch installed to be in contact with the operating lever and detecting a predetermined opening rotation of the operating lever; A delay profile cam having a long radius portion corresponding to the open position of the operation lever and a short radius portion corresponding to the closed position of the operation lever, the delay cam being provided to be in contact with the operation lever; When the open detection switch is turned on, the long radius portion of the delay cam is brought into contact with the operation lever, and when the open detection switch is turned off, the delay cam is rotated at a predetermined delay speed such that the short radius portion of the delay cam is in contact with the operation lever. A refrigerator comprising a cam driving motor for rotating back. The method of claim 1, And a worm wheel connected to the delay cam so as to be integrally rotatable with the delay cam, and a worm gear engaged with the worm wheel. The method of claim 2, The operation lever is a refrigerator, characterized in that the action pin acting on the delay cam is formed protruding. In the control method of the refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, Detecting an open rotation of the operation lever; Making the long radius portion of the delay cam contact the operating lever; Detecting a return rotation of the operation lever; And rotating the delay cam back at a predetermined delay speed.

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