KR20080108188A - Ice making apparatus for refrigerator and control method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

An ice maker of a refrigerator and a control method thereof are provided to improve ice making performance by controlling ice making operation smoothly and preventing the increase of temperature in an ice making chamber. A control method for an ice maker for a refrigerator include the steps of determining whether an ice bank is full of ice or not in the process of ice separation(403,404), and stopping ice making operation for a predetermined standby time if so(405), wherein the standby time is extended to be longer than a normal standby time(407).

Description

Ice making apparatus for refrigerator and control method

1 is a perspective view showing an ice making apparatus and a refrigerator provided with the same according to the present invention.

2 is a cutaway perspective view showing an ice maker for a refrigerator according to the present invention.

3 is a control block diagram of an ice maker for a refrigerator according to one embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a control flowchart illustrating a control process of an ice maker for a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

* Description of symbols on the main parts of the drawings *

200 ... refrigerator ice maker 210 ... ice maker

220 ... Ice-covering unit 230. Ice tray

240 ... Ejector 250 ... Heater

260 De-icing sensor 290 Ice bank

310 ... signal input 320 ... control part

330 ... Drive

The present invention relates to a refrigerator ice maker and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to a refrigerator ice maker and a control method thereof in which a waiting time can be set differently according to whether ice banks are full.

In general, a refrigerator has a refrigerator compartment for storing various foods or beverages and a freezer compartment for freezing and storing frozen foods. The refrigerator compartment and the freezer compartment are partitioned into different spaces by partition walls, and are opened and closed by different doors.

Recently, a refrigerator having an ice maker for automatically forming ice in a refrigerator compartment or a freezer compartment has been developed. Recently, an ice maker has been installed in a door to minimize the reduction of storage space inside the refrigerator compartment or freezer compartment due to the installation of the ice maker. Installed refrigerators have been developed.

Conventional refrigerator ice makers are composed of an ice maker for making ice by receiving water from the outside, and an ice storage unit for storing ice iced from the ice maker, and such refrigerator ice makers have a set temperature detected by the ice maker. The ice inside the ice tray is extracted by driving the heater and the motor. At this time, by operating the ice level lever to detect the amount of ice stored in the ice storage unit to determine whether the ice stored in the ice storage unit, if the ice stored in the ice storage unit is ice, stop ice making.

After a predetermined normal waiting time has elapsed, when the temperature detected by the ice making sensor reaches a set temperature again, the heater and the motor are driven to determine whether or not the ice is full.

However, in the conventional refrigerator ice maker, since the heater and the motor must be driven periodically to determine whether the ice is full, the temperature of the ice making chamber is increased by the heat of the heater, and the phenomenon of agglomeration of ice stored in the ice storage unit occurs. There was a problem.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, the refrigerator ice-making apparatus and its control that can prevent the rise of the temperature and ice agglomeration phenomenon by setting the waiting time differently depending on whether the ice bank is full of ice The purpose is to provide a method.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator ice maker and a control method thereof which can improve the ice making ability by smoothly controlling the operation of the ice maker when an input signal is input from the user during the waiting time. .

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention determines whether the ice bank is full of ice during driving, and if the ice bank is full ice, stop the ice making operation for a predetermined waiting time, but the waiting time is longer than the normal waiting time. Configure to

When an input signal is input from the user, the remaining time of the waiting time is compared with the normal waiting time, and when the remaining time of the waiting time is larger than the normal waiting time, the waiting time is reset to the normal waiting time.

In addition, when the remaining time of the waiting time is less than or equal to the normal waiting time, the waiting time is maintained.

The present invention for achieving the above object is an ice bank in which the ice made in the ice maker is stored; Ice detection unit for detecting the amount of ice stored in the ice bank; The ice bank determines whether the ice bank is full, and if the ice bank is full, the controller includes a control unit to stop the ice making operation for a predetermined waiting time, but the waiting time is configured to extend from the normal waiting time.

Here, when an input signal is input from the user, the controller compares the remaining time of the waiting time with the normal waiting time and resets the waiting time to the normal waiting time when the remaining time of the waiting time is larger than the normal waiting time.

In addition, when an input signal is input from the user, the controller compares the remaining time of the waiting time with the normal waiting time, and maintains the waiting time when the remaining time of the waiting time is less than or equal to the normal waiting time.

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

First, Figure 1 is a perspective view showing an ice making apparatus and a refrigerator having the same according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the refrigerator according to the present invention includes a main body 100 in which a freezing compartment 110 and a refrigerating compartment (not shown) are partitioned, and a freezing compartment 110 and a refrigerating compartment (not shown). Ice making apparatus 200 having a freezing chamber door 120 and a refrigerating chamber door 130 coupled to the rotation, and the ice bank 290 provided in the freezing chamber door 120 to generate ice, and for storing the generated ice. )

The main body 10 is opened in the front and the interior is partitioned into a freezer compartment 110 and a refrigerating chamber (not shown) by the partition wall 140. Each of the freezing chamber door 120 and the refrigerating chamber door 130 is hinged to the main body 100 to open and close the freezing chamber 110 and the refrigerating chamber (not shown).

The refrigerator according to the present invention includes an evaporator, a compressor, an expander, and a condenser constituting a refrigeration cycle, and a configuration constituting the refrigeration cycle corresponds to a publicly known art, and thus description thereof will be omitted.

In addition, the refrigerator according to the present invention may cool both the freezer compartment 110 and the refrigerating compartment using one evaporator, and of course, the freezer compartment and the refrigerating compartment may be independently cooled using a plurality of evaporators.

The ice bank 290 is installed in the freezer door 120.

The ice bank 290 is provided below the ice maker 200, and the iced ice drops and is stored in the ice bank 290. In addition, although not shown, an ice transfer device is provided inside the ice bank 290 to transfer the stored ice to a dispenser (not shown) according to a user input signal. Such an ice conveying apparatus and a dispenser are the same as those commonly used, and drawings and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In addition, the ice conveying apparatus in the ice bank 290 may be omitted, and in this case, the dispenser may also be omitted to allow the user to directly take out the ice stored in the ice bank 290.

2 is a cutaway perspective view showing an ice maker of the refrigerator according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, the ice maker 200 generates ice and delivers the generated ice to the ice bank 290, and the ice lever 221 for measuring the amount of ice stored in the ice bank. And the ice-covering unit 220 including the ice-covering sensor 222 and a control unit 320 (see FIG. 1) for controlling the driving of each element of the ice making apparatus 200.

The ice maker 210 includes an ice making tray 230 having a space where ice is formed, and an ejector 240 that separates the ice frozen in the ice making tray 230 and delivers the ice to the ice bank 290.

A lower portion of the ice making tray 230 is provided with a heater 250 and an ice making sensor 260 that heat the ice so that the ice can easily fall from the bottom surface of the ice making tray 230. The heater 250 heats the bottom surface of the ice making tray 230 before the ejector 240 is operated so that ice can be smoothly discharged by the ejector 240, and the ice making sensor 260 is the ice making tray 230. ) Sense the temperature.

The ice sensor 220 is composed of an ice lever 221 and a ice sensor 222, the ice lever 221 is rotated downward from the bottom of the ice maker 210 to detect the amount of ice filled in the ice bank. The hinge is fixed so that the ice sensor 222 is installed on the ice lever 221 to detect whether the ice bank 290 is full.

In addition, a water supply pipe 270 for supplying water to the ice making tray 230 is installed at an upper portion of the ice maker 200 for the refrigerator, and an ice bank for storing the generated ice at the lower portion of the ice maker 200 for the refrigerator. (290: see FIG. 1) is installed.

3 is a control block diagram of a refrigerator ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, the refrigerator ice maker includes a signal input unit 310, a controller 320, and a driver 330. Include.

First, the signal input unit 310 receives an input signal from the user when the user wants to acquire ice.

That is, when the user selects the ice acquisition button installed on the outside of the refrigerator, the input signal is input to the controller through this.

The control unit 320 is a microcomputer that controls the refrigerator ice maker 200 according to the information input from the signal input unit 310, the ice maker sensor 260, and the ice sensor 220, for example, an ice maker sensor 260. If it is determined that ice making is completed when the detected temperature is -7.5 degrees, when the temperature of the ice making tray 230 detected by the ice making sensor 260 is -7.5 degrees, the controller 320 determines that ice making is completed. The driving unit 330 is controlled to drive the ice.

In addition, the controller 320 determines whether the ice bank is full by using the ice detector 220 while the ice is iced by the ice ice driving operation. When the ice bank is determined to be full ice, the ice making operation is stopped for a predetermined waiting time. Control as possible.

That is, it is determined whether the ice bank is full of ice, and when the ice bank is full of ice, the ice making operation is stopped for a predetermined waiting time.

At this time, the predetermined waiting time is configured to extend longer than the normal waiting time.

Here, the normal standby time generally refers to a waiting time which is a preset reference for adjusting the amount of ice stored in the ice bank. For example, when the normal standby time is 38 minutes, the controller 320 may determine a predetermined waiting time. The standby time is set to be 3 hours to 4 hours, as described above, it is possible to prevent the temperature rise and ice agglomeration of the ice-making chamber by prolonging the standby time than the normal standby time to suppress the operation of the heater to the maximum.

On the other hand, when the input signal is input from the user through the signal input unit 310, the controller 320 compares the remaining time of the waiting time and the normal waiting time, if the remaining time of the waiting time is larger than the normal waiting time, Reset to normal standby time.

In more detail, when the normal standby time is 38 minutes and the remaining time of the waiting time is 2 minutes and 30 minutes, since the remaining time of the waiting time is larger than the normal waiting time, the controller 320 resets the waiting time to 38 minutes. By controlling the ice making operation to start after 38 minutes, the ice can be produced quickly by advancing the ice making operation.

In addition, the controller 320 maintains the waiting time when the remaining time of the waiting time is equal to or smaller than the normal waiting time.

For example, if the normal standby time is 38 minutes and the remaining time of the waiting time is 30 minutes, since the remaining time of the waiting time is smaller than the normal waiting time, the waiting time is maintained at 30 minutes and the ice making operation is started after 30 minutes. As a result, the ice can be produced quickly by advancing the ice making operation.

As such, when an input signal is input from the user, the refrigerator ice maker is efficiently operated by comparing the remaining time of the waiting time with the normal waiting time.

The driver 330 drives the heater 250, the ejector 240, the ice level lever 222, the water supply pipe 270, and the motor 280 according to the drive control signal of the controller 320.

Hereinafter, an operation process and an effect of the control method of the icemaker for a refrigerator configured as described above will be described.

4 is a control flow chart for explaining a control process of the icemaker for a refrigerator according to the present invention, when the power is turned on (400), the water supply proceeds (401).

After the water supply proceeds, the ice making operation 402 and the ice making operation 403 are sequentially performed. At this time, it is determined whether the ice bank is full of ice (404).

In more detail, when water supplied from an external water supply source is supplied to an ice making tray through a water supply pipe, iced water is subjected to ice making by cold air in a freezer compartment. If the temperature detected by the ice making sensor reaches the set heater driving temperature, the heater is driven. When the temperature detected by the ice making sensor reaches the set motor driving temperature, the motor is driven to extract ice, and the extracted ice is iced. Stored in the bank.

At this time, it is determined whether the ice bank is full of ice through the ice detection unit.

If the ice bank is full of ice, ice making is stopped for a predetermined waiting time (405).

At this time, the predetermined waiting time is configured to extend longer than the normal waiting time.

As described above, by extending the standby time longer than the normal standby time, the operation of the heater can be suppressed to the maximum, thereby preventing the rise of the ice making room temperature and the aggregation of ice.

In addition, it is determined whether an input signal is input from the user while the ice making is stopped (406), and if an input signal is input from the user, it is determined whether the remaining time of the waiting time is larger than the normal waiting time (407).

If the remaining time of the waiting time is larger than the normal waiting time, the waiting time is reset to the normal waiting time (408).

If the remaining time of the waiting time is less than or equal to the normal waiting time in step 407, the waiting time is maintained (409).

In operation 406, when the input signal is not input from the user, it is determined whether the waiting time has elapsed (410). When the waiting time has elapsed, the water is supplied or the ice making operation is performed.

In step 404, if the ice bank is not full ice, ice making is stopped during the normal waiting time (411), the normal waiting time is elapsed (412), and when the normal waiting time has elapsed, the water supply or the ice making operation to proceed. do.

As described above, according to the refrigerator ice maker and the control method thereof, when the ice bank is full of ice, the standby time is extended longer than the normal standby time to suppress the driving of the heater to the maximum, thereby raising the temperature of the ice maker and the ice. There is an advantage that can prevent the aggregation phenomenon.

In addition, when an input signal is input from the user during the waiting time, the operation of the ice making apparatus may be smoothly controlled to improve the ice making ability.

Claims (6)

While driving, determine whether the ice bank is full of ice, If the ice bank is full of ice, stop the ice making operation for a predetermined waiting time, The standby time is a control method of the icemaker for a refrigerator extended than the normal standby time. The method of claim 1, When an input signal is input from the user, the remaining time of the waiting time is compared with the normal waiting time, And if the remaining time of the waiting time is greater than the normal waiting time, resetting the waiting time to the normal waiting time. The method of claim 1, When an input signal is input from the user, the remaining time of the waiting time is compared with the normal waiting time, If the remaining time of the waiting time is less than or equal to the normal waiting time, the control method of the icemaker for a refrigerator to maintain the waiting time. An ice bank in which ice made in the ice maker is stored; An ice-covering unit detecting an amount of ice stored in the ice bank; The control unit determines whether the ice bank is full of ice and controls the ice making operation to be stopped for a predetermined waiting time when the ice bank is full of ice. The icemaker for a refrigerator extending the standby time than the normal standby time. The method of claim 4, wherein The control unit, When an input signal is input from the user, the remaining time of the waiting time is compared with the normal waiting time, If the remaining time of the waiting time is greater than the normal waiting time, the refrigerator ice making apparatus for resetting the waiting time to the normal waiting time. The method of claim 4, wherein The control unit, When an input signal is input from the user, the remaining time of the waiting time is compared with the normal waiting time, When the remaining time of the waiting time is less than or equal to the normal waiting time, the ice maker for a refrigerator to maintain the waiting time.

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