ICE MAKER FOR PREVENTING FREEZING

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application claims benefit of priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2024-0044773 filed on Apr. 2, 2024 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The present disclosure relates to an ice maker for preventing freezing.

2. Description of Related Art

An ice maker is a device manufacturing ice and supplying the ice to users.

In general, an auger-type ice maker allows cold refrigerant to flow into the refrigerant pipe on the outer wall of the cylinder, freezes the water inside the cylinder, and creates thin ice on the inner wall of the cylinder. The ice created at this time is scraped off by the auger rotating and transferred to the upper part to be compressed and cut. The ice created thereafter is transferred to a storage tank and stored.

During ice creation, the ice created inside the cylinder should maintain a slush state, and to this end, the temperature of the refrigerant flowing in the refrigerant pipe should be appropriately maintained and ice-making water should also be smoothly supplied to the inside of the cylinder. If the ice-making water is not supplied smoothly due to a problem in the ice-making water supply line, a water outage during operation, or the like, the temperature of the refrigerant will drop rapidly, and as a result, the ice created inside the cylinder will harden.

At this time, if the ice transported by the auger inside the cylinder hardens, the rotation of the auger may be overloaded, and as a result, problems such as loud noise inside the product or a malfunction in the gear motor may occur.

SUMMARY

An aspect of the present disclosure is to provide an ice maker for preventing freezing that controls water supply in real time according to a water level of an ice-making water storage container through a water level sensor to enable a smooth supply of ice-making water.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the following ice maker for preventing freezing is provided.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, an ice maker for preventing freezing includes an ice production unit generating ice by exchanging heat with a refrigerant; an ice storage unit storing ice generated in the ice production unit; an ice-making water supply unit including an ice-making water storage container receiving and storing ice-making water from a water supply source through a water supply valve, the ice-making water supply unit supplying the ice-making water stored in the ice-making water storage container to the ice production unit; a water level sensor installed inside the ice-making water supply unit and detecting a water level of the ice-making water stored inside the ice-making water storage container; and a control unit receiving a water level detection signal from the water level sensor and controlling the water supply valve.

The water level detection signal may include a low water level detection signal and a full water level detection signal. The water level sensor may transmit the low water level detection signal to the control unit when detecting a first position, a preset position inside the ice-making water storage container, and may transmit the full water level detection signal to the control unit when detecting a preset second position.

The control unit may be configured to open the water supply valve and supply the ice-making water to the ice-making water storage container when the water level sensor transmits the low water level detection signal. The control unit may be configured to close the water supply valve and stop supplying the ice-making water when the water level sensor transmits the full water level detection signal.

The water level sensor may include a main body provided by penetrating through one surface of the ice-making water storage container; a first detection member and a second detection member connected to the main body, and rising and falling according to a water level of the ice-making water supplied into the ice-making water storage container; and a position detection sensor embedded in the main body and detecting the first position and the second position.

A section where the first detection member and the second detection member rise and fall may be divided by a plurality of stoppers.

The ice production unit may include a cylinder having a hollow shape; an auger provided coaxially with the cylinder and rotating inside the cylinder; and a refrigerant pipe provided to surround an outer circumference of the cylinder, and having a refrigerant inlet formed at one end and a refrigerant outlet formed at the other end based on a height direction of the cylinder.

The ice maker may further include a driving unit connected to the ice production unit and driving the auger, and the control unit may further be connected to the driving unit and may control a number of rotations and a rotational speed of the auger.

The ice maker may further include a temperature sensor installed in the refrigerant pipe, measuring a temperature of the refrigerant pipe, and performing a freezing detection operation.

The freezing detection operation may include a first operation of measuring an average temperature of the refrigerant pipe; a second operation of setting a reference temperature using the average temperature; a third operation of comparing a current temperature of the refrigerant pipe with the reference temperature; and a fourth operation of measuring a duration during which the current temperature is lower than or equal to the reference temperature. The temperature sensor may transmit a freezing detection signal to the control unit when the duration is a preset first time or more, and may perform the first operation again when the duration is shorter than the preset first time.

The temperature sensor may perform the first operation again when the current temperature is higher than the reference temperature in the third operation, and may perform the fourth operation when the current temperature is lower than or equal to the reference temperature.

The water level sensor may transmit a water supply error signal to the control unit when a low water level or a full water level is not detected for a preset second time after the water supply valve is opened.

The water level sensor may transmit an ice-making time exceeding error signal to the control unit when the low water level is not detected within a preset third time after detecting the full water level.

The ice maker may further include a full ice detection sensor provided in the ice storage unit and detecting an amount of ice stored inside the ice storage unit, and the full ice detection sensor may transmit an ice-making stop signal to the control unit when the amount of ice inside the ice storage unit is more than a preset amount.

The control unit may stop an operation of the driving unit when receiving any one of the freezing detection signal, the water supply error signal, the ice-making stop signal, or the ice-making time exceeding error signal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of the present disclosure will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an ice maker for preventing freezing according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an ice maker for preventing freezing according to an embodiment when viewed from a first direction;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an ice-making water supply unit and a water level sensor according to an embodiment when viewed from a second direction;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a water level sensor according to an embodiment detecting a low water level;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a water level sensor according to an embodiment detecting a full water level;

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating a control process of an ice maker for preventing freezing according to an embodiment; and

FIG. 7 is a flow chart of a freezing detection operation according to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, detailed embodiments will be described with reference to the attached drawings. However, the idea of the present disclosure is not limited to the presented embodiments, and those skilled in the art who understand the idea of the present disclosure may easily propose other retrospective inventions or other embodiments included within the scope of the idea of the present disclosure by adding, changing, or deleting other components within the scope of the same idea, but this is also included within the scope of the idea of the present disclosure.

In addition, throughout the specification, the term “connected” to another component means not only the case where these components are “directly connected” but also the case where they are “indirectly connected” with another component therebetween. In addition, “including” a component means that other components may be included rather than excluding other components unless specifically stated otherwise.

In addition, components with the same function within the scope of the same idea illustrated in the drawings of each embodiment are described using the same reference numerals.

FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 illustrate an ice maker for preventing freezing 10 according to an embodiment. In more detail, FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an ice maker for preventing freezing 10 according to an embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the ice maker for preventing freezing 10 according to an embodiment when viewed in a first direction. At this time, the first direction in the specification of the present disclosure may mean the X-direction of FIG. 1, the second direction may mean a direction perpendicular to the first direction, and a Y-direction of FIG. 1, and the third direction may mean a direction perpendicular to the first and second directions and a Z direction of FIG. 1. Hereinafter, an ice maker for preventing freezing 10 according to an embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2.

An ice maker for preventing freezing 10 according to an embodiment includes an ice production unit 100, an ice storage unit 200, an ice-making water supply unit 300, a water level sensor 400, and a control unit (not illustrated). The ice production unit 100 includes a hollow cylinder 110 formed to extend in the third direction, an auger 120 provided coaxially with the cylinder 110 and rotating inside the cylinder 110, and a refrigerant pipe 130 formed to surround the outer circumference of the cylinder 110. At this time, the cylinder 110 may use a stainless steel pipe for piping, and the auger 120 transfers ice produced inside the cylinder 110 to one end as it rotates. Meanwhile, the refrigerant pipe 130 has a refrigerant inlet 131 formed at one end and a refrigerant outlet 132 formed at the other end, based on the third direction, the height direction of the cylinder 110 and the Z direction of FIG. 2.

The ice production unit 100 further includes a pressurizing head 140 that is located at one end of the cylinder 110 and pressurizes the produced ice, and a cutter 150 that cuts the ice pressurized by the pressurizing head 140 into a desired size. For example, the ice formed inside the cylinder 110 is in the form of a slush, a mixture of ice and water, and the pressurizing head 140 pressurizes the slush-shaped ice, and the hardened ice is transferred to the ice storage unit 200 through an ice discharge portion 600 described below. The ice storage unit 200 is a quadrangular-shaped container, and has a storage space (not illustrated) in which ice is stored inside, and the ice hardened by the pressurizing head 140 at one end of the cylinder 110 is transferred to and stored in the storage space (not illustrated).

The ice-making water supply unit 300 includes an ice-making water storage container 310 receiving and storing ice-making water from a water supply source (not illustrated) through a water supply valve 320, and supplies the ice-making water stored in the ice-making water storage container 310 to the ice production unit 100. The ice-making water storage container 310 includes an ice-making water storage space 311 in which ice-making water is stored, and a water level sensor 400 is installed inside the ice-making water storage container 310. The ice-making water stored inside the ice-making water storage container 310 is supplied to the ice production unit 100 through an ice-making water supply line 330, and the ice-making water supply line 330 may be branched off into and connected to a drain line 331 on the opposite side to the side connected to the ice production unit 100. At this time, the ice-making water storage container 310 is positioned parallel to the ice production unit 100 in the third direction, the height direction, and the ice-making water stored inside the ice-making water storage container 310 may be supplied to the ice production unit 100 by its own weight.

The water level sensor 400 detects the water level of the ice-making water stored inside the ice-making water storage container 310 and transmits the detected water level to the control unit (not illustrated), and in more detail, the water level detection signal includes a low water level detection signal in which the water level of the ice-making water in the ice-making water storage space 311 is a low water level or a full water level detection signal in which the water level of the ice-making water in the ice-making water storage space 311 is a full water level, and the low water level and the full water level vary according to a preset reference position to be described later.

The control unit (not illustrated) receives the water level detection signal from the water level sensor 400 and controls the water supply valve 320. For example, according to an embodiment, the ice maker for preventing freezing 10 may open the water supply valve 320 to supply ice-making water to the ice-making water storage container 310 when the water level sensor 400 transmits the low water level detection signal, and close the water supply valve 320 to stop the supply of the ice-making water when the water level sensor 400 transmits the full water level detection signal.

Since the ice-making water stored inside the ice-making water storage container 310 is supplied to the ice production unit 100 by its own weight, when the ice-making water inside the ice-making water storage container 310 is at a low water level, the ice-making water supplied inside the ice production unit 100 decreases, resulting in a decrease in the temperature inside the ice production unit 100. For example, the ice inside the ice production unit 100 should be transported in the third direction in the form of slush, for example, a mixture of water and ice. However, if the temperature inside the ice production unit 100 decreases, the ice hardens, causing defects such as overloading the drive motor (not illustrated) or loud noises inside the product.

In the ice maker for preventing freezing 10 according to an embodiment, the water level sensor 400 may continuously detect the water level inside the ice-making water storage container 310 and control the supply of ice-making water, so that the freezing problem caused by an insufficient supply of ice-making water during ice making may be prevented, and when ice-making water is excessively stored in the ice-making water storage container 310, overflow is prevented, thereby controlling an appropriate amount of ice-making water storage.

Furthermore, the ice maker for preventing freezing 10 according to an embodiment includes a driving unit 500 that is connected to the ice production unit 100 and drives the auger 120, and the driving unit 500 has a driving motor (not illustrated) installed therein. At this time, the control unit (not illustrated) is connected to the driving unit 500, and may control the rotation number and rotational speed of the auger 120 by controlling the driving motor (not illustrated).

In this case, the ice maker for preventing freezing 10 according to an embodiment transmits a stop signal to the control unit (not illustrated) when the water level sensor 400 does not detect a low water level or a full water level for a preset time, and when the control unit (not illustrated) receives the stop signal, the control unit may control the driving unit 500 to stop the rotation of the auger 120. For example, since the ice maker for preventing freezing 10 may have a problem in that excessive ice-making water is stored in the ice-making water storage container 310 due to a defect in the water level sensor 400, causing the ice-making water to overflow, or the temperature inside the ice production unit 100 may rapidly drop due to the ice-making water not being supplied even at a low water level, causing ice to form hard; the ice maker for preventing freezing 10 according to an embodiment may stop the rotation of the auger 120 to stop the production of ice if the water level sensor 400 does not detect the water level for a preset time. In addition, the ice maker for preventing freezing 10 according to an embodiment may further include a temperature sensor (not illustrated) provided in the refrigerant pipe 130, and the temperature sensor (not illustrated) may measure the temperature of the refrigerant pipe 130 to detect freezing of the refrigerant pipe 130 and transmit a detection signal to the control unit (not illustrated). For example, when the measured temperature on the refrigerant outlet 132 side is lower than the preset reference temperature, the temperature sensor (not illustrated) transmits a stop signal to the control unit (not illustrated), and the control unit (not illustrated) controls the driving unit 500 to stop the rotation of the auger 120.

In addition, the ice maker for preventing freezing 10 according to an embodiment may further include an ice discharge portion 600. The ice discharge portion 600 is provided between the ice production unit 100 and the ice storage unit 200, and transmits ice produced in the ice production unit to the ice storage unit 200. At this time, the ice discharge portion 600 includes a cover portion 610, and a passage portion 620 that is coupled to the cover portion 610 and connects the ice production unit 100 and the ice storage unit 200. The passage portion 620 may be provided to be inclined downward, toward the ice storage unit 200, based on the third direction, thereby easily delivering the produced ice. The ice discharge portion 600 may further include a flange 630 formed at one end of the ice production unit 100, for example, on a side connected to the passage portion 620, and having catch portions formed convexly on both sides thereof, and may further include a fixing wire 640 that fixes the cover portion 610 and the passage portion 620 to the flange 630. The fixing wire 640 may have both ends caught on and fixed to the catch portions, and may rotate around the catch portion to fix the cover portion 610 and the passage portion 620 to the flange 630. Accordingly, the ice discharge portion 600 may facilitate the assembly and disassembly of the cover portion 610 and the passage portion 620 by releasing the fixing of the fixing wire 640 with one touch, and internal management thereof is also easy, thereby resolving the hygiene problem.

FIGS. 3 to 5 illustrate a control process of an ice maker for preventing freezing 10 according to an embodiment. In more detail, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an ice-making water supply unit 300 and a water level sensor 400 according to an embodiment when viewed from a second direction, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which the water level sensor 400 according to an embodiment detects a low water level, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which the water level sensor 400 according to an embodiment detects a full water level. Hereinafter, a description will be made with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5.

An ice-making water supply unit 300 according to an embodiment includes an ice-making water storage container 310 and an ice-making water storage space 311 in which ice-making water is accommodated inside the ice-making water storage container 310, and includes a supply hole 330H provided on one side and connected to the ice-making water supply line 330. At this time, the water level sensor 400 according to an embodiment is provided by penetrating the ice-making water storage container 310, and in more detail, the water level sensor 400 includes a first detection member 410, a second detection member 420, a main body 430, and a position detection sensor 440. The main body 430 is provided to penetrate one surface of the ice-making water storage container 310, and the first detection member 410 and the second detection member 420 are coupled to the main body 430 and rise and fall according to the level of ice-making water supplied into the ice-making water storage container 310.

At this time, the first detection member 410 and the second detection member 420 rise and fall in rising and falling sections divided by a plurality of stoppers 431 and 432. The position detection sensor 440 is built into the main body 430 and detects a first position 441 and a second position 442. At this time, the first position 441 is a preset low water level setting position, and the second position 442 is a preset full water level setting position. The first detection member 410 and the second detection member 420 are raised and lowered in respective rising and falling sections thereof defined by the plurality of stoppers 431 and 432. In more detail, the first detection member 410 is raised and lowered between the first stopper 431 and the second stopper 432, and the second detection member 420 is raised and lowered between the second stopper 432 and the inner end of the main body 430. In addition, the first detection member 410 may be provided with a first sensor 411 for detecting the position of the first detection member 410 therein, and the second detection member 420 may be provided with a second sensor 421 for detecting the position of the second detection member 420 therein.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, when the ice-making water inside the ice-making water storage container 310 is at a low water level, the first detection member 410 and the second detection member 420 are positioned in contact with the plurality of stoppers 431 and 432 due to their own weight, so that the first sensors 411 are positioned parallel to each other in the X-direction at the first position 441 in the first detection member 410. Accordingly, the position detection sensor 440 may detect that the first sensors 411 are positioned parallel to each other at the first position 441 in the X-direction to detect the low water level, and may transmit the low water level detection signal to the control unit (not illustrated). Therefore, in the ice maker for preventing freezing 10 according to an embodiment, the control unit (not illustrated) receives the low water level detection signal to open the water supply valve 320 and thus supply ice-making water into the ice-making water storage container 310.

Meanwhile, as illustrated in FIG. 5, when the ice-making water is at a high level, the first detection member 410 may rise and be positioned in contact with the second stopper 432, and the second detection member 420 may rise and the second sensors 421 may be positioned parallel to each other at the second position 442 in the X-direction. Accordingly, the position detection sensor 440 may detect the second sensors 421 being parallel to each other at the second position 442 in the X-direction, to detect the full water level, and may transmit the full water level detection signal to the control unit (not illustrated). In the ice maker for preventing freezing 10 according to an embodiment, supplying ice-making water into the ice-making water storage container 310 may be stopped by closing the water supply valve 320 when the control unit (not illustrated) receives the full water level detection signal.

Therefore, the ice maker for preventing freezing 10 according to an embodiment may detect the water level inside the ice-making water storage container 310 and supply ice-making water when the water level is low, and stop supplying ice-making water when the water level is full, so that the amount of ice-making water supplied to the ice production unit 100 may be maintained at a constant level. Accordingly, the ice maker for preventing freezing 10 may prevent problems such as the formation of hard ice due to insufficient ice-making water in the ice production unit 100, a malfunction of the auger 120, and loud noises inside the product.

FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 are flowcharts illustrating the control process of the ice maker for preventing freezing 10 according to an embodiment. In more detail, FIG. 6 is a control flowchart of the ice maker for preventing freezing 10 according to an embodiment, and FIG. 7 is a detailed flowchart of the freezing detection operation (S150) according to an embodiment. Hereinafter, the control process of the ice maker for preventing freezing 10 according to an embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7.

The ice maker for preventing freezing 10 according to an embodiment may further include a full ice detection sensor (not illustrated) equipped in the ice storage unit 200. The full ice detection sensor (not illustrated) may perform a full ice detection operation (S110) for detecting the amount of ice stored inside the ice storage unit 200, and in the full ice detection operation (S110), when the amount of ice inside the ice storage unit 200 is greater than a preset amount, the full ice detection sensor (not illustrated) may transmit an ice-making stop signal to the control unit (not illustrated).

According to an embodiment, the ice maker for preventing freezing 10 may perform a full water level detection operation (S120) for detecting a full water level of ice-making water stored inside the ice-making water storage container 310 by the water level sensor 400. At this time, the control unit (not illustrated) may be configured to perform an ice-making operation when the water level sensor 400 transmits the full water level detection signal, and the ice-making operation may include the operation of the compressor (not illustrated) and the operations of the gear motor (not illustrated) and the fan (not illustrated). In contrast, if the full water level detection signal is not transmitted, the control unit (not illustrated) may open the water supply valve 320 to supply ice-making water into the ice-making water storage container 310.

Then, the water level sensor 400 performs a low water level detection operation (S125) to detect whether the ice-making water is at a low water level, and when the water level sensor 400 transmits the low water level detection signal, the control unit (not illustrated) may open the water supply valve 320 to supply ice-making water into the ice-making water storage container 310, and when the water level sensor 400 does not transmit the low water level detection signal, the ice-making time detection operation (S140) and the freezing detection operation (S150) described below may be performed.

The water level sensor 400 according to an embodiment may further perform a water supply error detection operation (S130), and in more detail, in the water supply error detection operation (S130), when the water level sensor 400 does not detect a low water level or a full water level for a preset second time period after the water supply valve 320 is opened, the water level sensor 400 may transmit the water supply error signal to the control unit (not illustrated). At this time, the second time period may refer to a time period applied to the water supply error detection operation (S130), and for example, if the water level sensor 400 does not detect a low water level within 20 seconds or does not detect a full water level within 180 seconds after the water supply valve 320 is opened, the water supply error signal may be transmitted.

The Ice maker for preventing freezing 10 according to an embodiment may perform the ice-making time detection operation (S140), and in the ice-making time detection operation (S140), when the water level sensor 400 fails to detect the low water level within a preset third time after detecting the full water level, the water level sensor 400 may transmit the ice-making time exceeding error signal to the control unit (not illustrated). For example, when the Water level sensor 400 fails to detect the low water level within 30 minutes after detecting the full water level, the ice-making time exceeding error signal may be transmitted.

At this time, the Ice maker for preventing freezing 10 according to an embodiment may stop the driving unit 500 from operating when the control unit (not illustrated) receives any one of the freezing detection signal, the water supply error signal, the ice-making stop signal, or the ice-making time exceeding error signal. At this time, the driving stop process of the driving unit 500 may be performed by stopping the operation of the compressor (not illustrated) that compresses the refrigerant after a predetermined time interval after receiving any one of the freezing detection signal, the water supply error signal, the ice-making stop signal, or the ice-making time exceeding error signal, and then stopping the operations of the fan (not illustrated) and the gear motor (not illustrated) rotating the auger 120 after a predetermined time interval. However, the driving stop process may immediately stop the operation of the gear motor (not illustrated) if the ice-making process may be stopped, and is not limited thereto.

As set forth above, according to an embodiment, an ice maker for preventing freezing may be provided, enabling a smooth supply of ice-making water by controlling water supply in real time according to a water level of an ice-making water storage container through a water level sensor.

In addition, according to an embodiment, an ice maker for preventing freezing may be provided, which may detect an error of an ice maker through several sensors, thereby controlling operations to operate or to be stopped.

While example embodiments have been illustrated and described above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications and variations could be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims.