JP7469789B2 - Ice maker and refrigerator equipped with ice maker - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an ice maker that freezes liquid to produce ice, and a refrigerator equipped with this ice maker.

Among ice makers that freeze liquid to produce ice, there is one that makes ice by cooling protrusions immersed in liquid in a tray using the refrigerant from the refrigerator's cooling system (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2004-150785 A

However, in the ice maker described in Patent Document 1, any liquid remaining in the tray other than the liquid that has frozen around the cooling protrusions is discharged. Therefore, when making new ice, new uncooled liquid must be supplied to the tray, resulting in low cooling efficiency and a long ice making cycle.

Therefore, the object of the present invention is to solve the above problems and to provide an ice maker that has high cooling efficiency and can make ice in a short time, and a refrigerator equipped with this ice maker.

The ice maker of the present invention comprises:
a heat sink having a flow path through which a coolant flows;
a cooling section including a metal plate to which a metal rod-shaped member is attached so as to extend downward from a base end to a tip end, the cooling section cooling the rod-shaped member by the heat sink;
A liquid container capable of storing liquid;
a liquid supply unit that supplies liquid to the liquid container;
a moving mechanism for rotating and moving the liquid container;
a control unit for controlling the temperature of the rod-shaped member, the operation of the liquid supply unit, and the operation of the movement mechanism;
Equipped with
Under the control of the control unit,
a liquid supplying step in which the liquid supplying unit supplies liquid to the liquid container, the liquid container having an open upper portion at an ice making position;
an ice making step of immersing a predetermined area of the rod-shaped member, which has been heated to an ice making temperature, in the liquid contained in the liquid container for a predetermined time after the liquid supply step;
a retreat step in which, after the ice making step, the moving mechanism rotates and moves the liquid container from the ice making position to a retreat position where the liquid container is not present below the rod-shaped member while keeping the remaining liquid stored in the liquid container;
an ice-removing step in which the rod-shaped member is heated to an ice-removing temperature after the retreating step, and ice generated around the rod-shaped member is dropped from the rod-shaped member;
a return step in which, after the ice removing step, the moving mechanism rotates and moves the liquid container from the retreat position to the ice making position while keeping the remaining liquid stored in the liquid container;
The ice making process is repeated several times.
The liquid container is characterized by having a structure capable of containing a predetermined amount of liquid in the retracted position.

According to the present invention, the liquid remaining in the liquid container from the previous ice-making process can be used in the next ice-making process, so ice can be made using low-temperature liquid cooled in the previous ice-making process. This makes it possible to provide an ice-making machine that has high cooling efficiency and can make ice in a short time.

The present invention also provides a method for producing a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device comprising the steps of:
a liquid removal unit that removes liquid remaining in the liquid container;
Under the control of the control unit,
The method is characterized in that after the ice making process, the liquid removal unit performs a liquid removal process to remove a portion of the liquid remaining in the liquid container to reduce the amount of liquid remaining in the liquid container to below the predetermined amount, and then the evacuation process is performed.

According to the present invention, the amount of liquid remaining in the liquid container can be reduced to a predetermined amount or less by the liquid removal unit, so that the liquid container can be rotated to the waiting position while reliably storing the remaining liquid in the liquid container.

The present invention also provides a method for producing a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device comprising the steps of:
After repeating the ice making process several times,
Under the control of the control unit,
a residual liquid freezing step of freezing the residual liquid remaining in the liquid container at the ice making position or the retreat position in a freezing environment;
a residual liquid freezing step in which, after the residual liquid freezing step, the moving mechanism further rotates and moves the liquid container while constraining a part of the liquid container having elasticity, thereby twisting the liquid container and causing the frozen residual liquid to fall from the liquid container;
The present invention is characterized by carrying out the following steps.

According to the present invention, after the ice making process is completed, the remaining liquid can be frozen and released from the liquid container without spilling out, realizing a highly efficient ice making cycle.

The present invention also provides a method for producing a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device comprising the steps of:
a Peltier element disposed between the heat sink and the metal plate, one surface of which contacts a surface of the heat sink and the other surface of which contacts a surface of the metal plate opposite to the surface to which the rod-shaped member is attached;
In the ice making process, the rod-shaped member is further cooled to the ice making temperature by supplying power to the Peltier element so that the side of the Peltier element that contacts the heat sink becomes a heat dissipation side and the side of the Peltier element that contacts the metal plate becomes a heat absorption side;
In the ice-removal process, power is supplied to the Peltier element so that the side of the Peltier element in contact with the heat sink becomes the heat absorption side and the side in contact with the metal plate becomes the heat dissipation side, thereby heating the rod-shaped member to the ice-removal temperature.

According to the present invention, the Peltier element absorbs heat from the metal plate having the rod-shaped member and dissipates it to the heat sink side, so in addition to the cooling by the heat sink having a flow path through which the refrigerant flows, the Peltier element also cools, making it possible to lower the temperature of the rod-shaped member of the metal plate to a temperature lower than the temperature when only a refrigerant is used. This allows ice to be produced around the rod-shaped member of the metal plate in a short period of time. Furthermore, by reversing the direction of current flow through the Peltier element, the temperature of the rod-shaped member can be quickly raised, allowing ice to be removed. This ensures a short ice-making cycle.

The present invention also provides a method for producing a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device comprising the steps of:
In the ice removing step, the liquid container is rotated from the ice making position to the retreat position through a range of 70 degrees to 120 degrees around an end region of the liquid container as a rotation center,
The liquid container is provided with a rib that is connected to a side wall portion that constitutes the liquid container and partially covers the upper opening, and in the retracted position, the predetermined amount of liquid is blocked within the liquid container by the rib.

According to the present invention, by providing a rib that partially covers the upper opening of the liquid container, a predetermined amount of liquid can be stored in the liquid container reliably in the retracted position, despite the simple structure.

In addition, the refrigerator of the present invention is
Equipped with the above ice maker,
The present invention is characterized in that a refrigerant is branched off from a cooling system for cooling the interior of the refrigerator and supplied to the heat sink of the ice maker.

The present invention provides a refrigerator that has high cooling efficiency and can make ice in a short time.

As described above, the present invention provides an ice maker that has high cooling efficiency and can make ice in a short time, and a refrigerator equipped with this ice maker.

1 is a perspective view of an ice making machine according to one embodiment of the present invention, seen obliquely from above. 1 is a perspective view of an ice making machine according to one embodiment of the present invention, seen obliquely from below. FIG. 1B is a side view taken along the arrows AA in FIG. 1A. FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 1A, which is a side cross-sectional view that illustrates a schematic diagram of an ice making machine according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view showing the same cross section as FIG. 3, and is a schematic diagram showing a modified example of an ice making machine according to one embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic diagram of a planar shape of a heat sink and a cooling system connected to the heat sink according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of an ice making machine according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view showing a liquid supply process performed in an ice making machine according to one embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a side cross-sectional view showing a schematic diagram of an ice-making process performed in an ice-making machine according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view showing a liquid removing process performed in an ice making machine according to one embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a side cross-sectional view showing a schematic diagram of an evacuation process performed in an ice making machine according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view showing a schematic diagram of an ice removal process performed in an ice making machine according to one embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a side cross-sectional view showing a schematic diagram of a return process performed in an ice making machine according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 11 is a side cross-sectional view that illustrates a liquid supply step in the next ice-making process performed in an ice-making machine according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view showing a schematic diagram of a residual liquid freezing process carried out in an ice-making machine according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional side view that shows a schematic diagram of a liquid container being twisted during a residual liquid ice-releasing process performed in an ice-making machine according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional side view that shows a schematic diagram of frozen residual liquid being dropped from a liquid container during a residual liquid ice-releasing process performed in an ice-making machine according to one embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a side cross-sectional view illustrating a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Below, an embodiment for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the ice maker and refrigerator described below are intended to embody the technical concept of the present invention, and unless otherwise specified, the present invention is not limited to the following. In each drawing, components having the same function may be given the same reference numerals. The size and positional relationship of components shown in each drawing may be exaggerated to clarify the explanation. In the following description and drawings, the up and down directions are shown assuming that the ice maker and refrigerator are installed on a horizontal surface.

(Ice maker according to one embodiment)
FIG. 1A is a perspective view of an ice-making machine 2 according to an embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from an obliquely upper side. FIG. 1B is a perspective view of an ice-making machine 2 according to an embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from an obliquely lower side. FIG. 2 is a side view as viewed from the arrow A-A in FIG. 1A. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B in FIG. 1A, and is a side cross-sectional view that typically shows an ice-making machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the same cross section as FIG. 3, and is a side cross-sectional view that typically shows a modified example of an ice-making machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram that typically shows the planar shape of a heat sink according to an embodiment of the present invention and a cooling system connected to the heat sink. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the control configuration of an ice-making machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.
First, an overview of an ice making machine 2 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1A, 1B, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.

The ice maker 2 includes a cooling unit 40 capable of freezing liquid to produce ice, a liquid container 50 capable of storing liquid, a moving mechanism 60 that rotates and moves the liquid container 50, a liquid supply unit 72 that supplies liquid to the liquid container 50, and a liquid removal unit 74 that removes the liquid in the liquid container 50. Figures 1A and 1B show a liquid supply/removal pipe 70 that actually supplies liquid to the liquid container 50 and removes liquid from the liquid container 50. The liquid supply/removal pipe 70 is a member that fulfills the functions of both the liquid supply unit 72 and the liquid removal unit 74.
Ice maker 2 according to the present embodiment is configured as an independent ice maker, and includes a cooling system 80 for supplying a refrigerant to cooling unit 40. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and as will be described later, it may be incorporated in a refrigerator and a refrigerant may be supplied from the cooling system of the refrigerator. Ice maker 2 further includes a control unit 90 that controls the components of ice maker 2. Any liquid, including drinking water, may be used as the liquid to be frozen to produce ice.

<Cooling section>
The cooling unit 40 has different components depending on the modified example of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 and the embodiment shown in FIG.
[One embodiment]
In one embodiment, the cooling unit 40 includes, from top to bottom, a heat sink 10 and a metal plate 20, and the bottom surface of the heat sink 10 is joined to the top surface of the metal plate 20. The metal plate 20 has a plurality of rod-shaped members 24 attached to the bottom surface of a plate-shaped base portion 22.
[Modification]
In the modified example, the cooling unit 40 includes, from top to bottom, a heat sink 10, a Peltier element 30, and a metal plate 20. The metal plate 20 has a plurality of rod-shaped members 24 attached to the lower surface of a plate-shaped base portion 22. The Peltier element 30 is disposed between the heat sink 10 and the metal plate 20, with one surface (upper surface) contacting the surface (lower surface) of the heat sink 10 and the other surface (lower surface) contacting the surface (upper surface) of the metal plate 20 opposite to the surface to which the rod-shaped members 24 are attached.

[heat sink]
The heat sink 10 has a flat plate shape and is made of a metal with high thermal conductivity such as aluminum or copper. The heat sink 10 has a flow path 12 inside through which a liquid or mist-like coolant flows. In FIG. 5, the flow of the coolant is indicated by dotted arrows. In FIG. 5, the flow path 12 is shown to be substantially M-shaped with three turning parts in a plan view, but is not limited to this. Depending on the size of the heat sink 10, a flow path with one turning part or a flow path with more than three turning parts can also be used. Connecting pipes 14A and 14B are attached to both ends of the flow path 12.
Examples of the structure of the heat sink 10 include a metal plate having groove-shaped flow paths formed therein, and a metal plate having a cooling pipe that serves as a flow path joined thereto. In the latter case, the cooling pipe may be joined to one side of the metal plate, or the metal plate may be joined to cover the cooling pipe. In consideration of thermal conduction, it is preferable that the cooling pipe and the metal plate are in surface contact. Examples of the thickness of the metal plate are about 1 to 20 mm. The planar dimensions of the heat sink 10 are the same as those of the metal plate 20 described below.

In the cooling system 80 according to this embodiment, the high-pressure refrigerant gas compressed in the compressor 82 releases heat in the condenser 84 and returns to liquid, and while passing through the capillary tube, the pressure is reduced and the boiling point is lowered, and the gas passes through the dryer 86 and enters the flow path 12 of the heat sink 10 from the connecting tube 14A. While passing through the flow path 12, the liquid or mist refrigerant absorbs heat from the surroundings and evaporates. The evaporated refrigerant passes through the connecting tube 14B and the piping of the cooling system 80, returns to the compressor 82, and is compressed again, repeating this cycle. This cooling cycle allows the heat sink 10 to be cooled to a temperature below freezing.

[Metal plate]
The metal plate 20 is made of a metal with high thermal conductivity such as aluminum or copper. The metal plate 20 has a flat base portion 22 and a plurality of metal rod-shaped members 24 attached to the base portion 22. The rod-shaped members 24 are attached to the lower surface of the base portion 22 so as to extend downward from a base end portion 24A to a tip end portion 24B.

Figures 1A and 1B show a case where six rod-shaped members 24 are attached to the base portion 22. The rod-shaped members 24 have a circular cross-sectional shape, and can have an outer diameter of about 5 to 20 mm and a length of about 30 to 80 mm. The planar shape of the base portion 22 is determined by the size of the rod-shaped members 24 and the number of rods attached. The heat sink 10 also adopts a planar shape substantially similar to that of the base portion 22 of the metal plate 20. The planar dimensions of the heat sink 10 and the base portion 22 of the metal plate 20 can be, for example, approximately 40 to 400 mm in length and width. The thickness of the base portion 22 can be, for example, approximately 2 to 10 mm.

The metal plate 20 according to this embodiment has a male screw on the base end 24A side of the rod-shaped member 24, which is adapted to screw into a female screw formed in a hole provided in the base portion 22. This structure allows the rod-shaped member 24 to be easily replaced and attached. The rod-shaped member 24 according to this embodiment has a circular cross-sectional shape, but this is not limited thereto, and it can be replaced with a rod-shaped member having any cross-sectional shape, including a polygonal, star-shaped, or heart-shaped shape. The rod-shaped member 24 can also be joined to the base portion 22 by welding or brazing. Considering the cooling effect of the rod-shaped member 24, a solid rod-shaped member 24 is preferable, but considering workability, etc., a hollow rod-shaped member 24 can also be used.

[Peltier element]
The Peltier element 30 is an element that utilizes the Peltier effect, in which heat is absorbed and released at the junction when two different types of metals or semiconductors are joined and a current is passed through them. When a current is passed through the Peltier element 30 in a specific direction, one surface becomes the heat absorption side and the other surface becomes the heat release side. When a current is passed through the Peltier element 30 in the opposite direction, the surfaces that become the heat absorption side and the heat release side are reversed. In this embodiment, any known Peltier element can be used.
The Peltier element 30 according to the present embodiment may have a width and depth of about 20 to 100 mm, and a thickness of about 2 to 20 mm. A plurality of Peltier elements 30 may be disposed according to the size of the heat sink 1 and the metal plate 20.

[Cooling unit fixing structure]
In the case where the Peltier element 30 is not provided, the lower surface of the heat sink 10 and the upper surface of the metal plate 20 can be fixed to each other using fastening members such as bolts and nuts so that they are in close contact with each other.
On the other hand, when the Peltier element 30 is provided, the Peltier element 30 has a fixing structure in which both sides of the Peltier element 30 are in close contact with the underside of the heat sink 10 and the upper surface of the metal plate 20. For example, the heat sink 10 and the metal plate 20, which are arranged to sandwich the Peltier element 30, can be fixed to each other using fastening members such as bolts and nuts. By fastening the Peltier element 30 so that a tensile stress is applied to the bolt shaft, the lower surface of the heat sink 10 and the upper surface of the Peltier element 30 can be in close contact with each other, and the lower surface of the Peltier element 30 and the upper surface of the metal plate 20 can be in close contact with each other.
However, the fixing method is not limited to this, and any other fixing means can be used to form the fixing structure of the cooling part 40.

<Liquid container>
The liquid container 50 is formed, for example, from an elastic resin material. The liquid container 50 has a liquid storage region R surrounded by a bottom surface portion 50A and a side wall portion 50B erected from the bottom surface portion 50A. The upper part of the liquid storage region R is open. The rod-shaped member 24 of the metal plate 20 is inserted into the liquid storage region R through this opening, and a predetermined region from the tip end 24B of the rod-shaped member 24 is arranged within the liquid storage region R.

In ice maker 2 according to this embodiment, metal rod member 24 is cooled below freezing point by the cooling from heat sink 10 cooled by the refrigerant. A predetermined area from tip 24B of rod member 24 is arranged within the liquid storage area of liquid container 50, so that ice can be produced around the portion of rod member 24 that is immersed in the liquid. An example of the predetermined area is approximately 8 to 40 mm from tip 24B of rod member 24.
Furthermore, when the Peltier element 30 is provided, cooling by the Peltier element 30 is added to cooling by the heat sink 10, allowing cooling to be performed at an even lower temperature, and ice can be generated around the rod-shaped member 24 of the metal plate 20 in a short period of time.

In this embodiment, six rod-shaped members 24 are arranged in a substantially straight line, and the liquid storage region R extends in an elongated manner along the line. As shown in Figures 3 and 4, which show cross sections substantially perpendicular to the extension direction of the liquid storage region R, the bottom surface portion 50A forming the bottom surface of the liquid storage region R and the side wall portion 50B forming the side surface are connected via a smooth curved portion, and are open at the top. Furthermore, a rib 50C is provided that is connected to the side wall portion 50B constituting the liquid container 50 and partially covers the upper opening.

In the side view shown in Fig. 2, a shaft portion 52 extending along the extension direction of the liquid storage region R is provided in a region on the side of the liquid storage region R. As shown in Figs. 1A and 1B, one end of the shaft portion 52 of the liquid container 50 is connected to a drive shaft of a moving mechanism 60 described later. Meanwhile, the other end of the shaft portion 52 of the liquid container 50 is rotatably supported by a bearing portion 62 provided in a frame portion of the ice making device 2. With this configuration, the liquid container 50 is rotatable around a point C at the center of the shaft portion 52. In other words, the liquid container 50 can be rotated around the point C located in the end region of the liquid container 50 by the driving force of the moving mechanism 60.
Furthermore, liquid container 50 is provided with protrusions 54. As will be described later, by rotating liquid container 50 by movement mechanism 60 with protrusions 54 in contact with the frame of ice-making device 2, liquid container 50, which has elasticity, can be twisted to release the ice within liquid container 50.

<Moving mechanism>
The moving mechanism 60 is configured to rotationally move the liquid container 50. When the drive motor of the moving mechanism 60 is started and the drive shaft rotates, the liquid container 50 rotates about point C as the center of rotation. The moving mechanism 60 can, for example, use the driving force of the drive motor to rotationally move the liquid container 50 clockwise and counterclockwise (see the double arrows in FIG. 1B ).

3 and 4 is referred to as the ice-making position. When liquid container 50 is in the ice-making position, the opening of liquid container 50 faces upward, allowing liquid to be stored in liquid storage region R, and a predetermined area from the tip of rod-shaped member 24 of metal plate 20 is disposed in liquid storage region R through this opening.
The movement mechanism 60 can rotate the liquid container 50 from the ice-making position around point C as the center of rotation until the liquid container 50 is no longer present below the rod-shaped member 24 of the metal plate 20, as shown in Figure 2. This position of the liquid container 50 is referred to as the retreat position. The rotation angle of the liquid container 50 between the ice-making position and the retreat position mainly depends on the relative positions of the rod-shaped member 24 of the metal plate 20 and the liquid container 50, and the position of point C, which is the center of rotation, but it is considered appropriate to rotate it at an angle between 70 degrees and 120 degrees.

The moving mechanism 60 can rotate the liquid container 50 from the ice-making position around point C as the center of rotation, past the waiting position, and to a position in which the opening of the liquid container 50 faces downward, as shown in Figures 8B and 8C, as described below. In this case, the protrusions 54 on the outer surface of the liquid container 50 come into contact with the frame of the ice-making device 2, and by further rotating the liquid container 50 in this state using the moving mechanism 60, the elastic liquid container 50 can be twisted, and the ice frozen near the bottom surface 50A of the liquid container 50 can be released.

<Liquid supply section/Liquid removal section>
In this embodiment, there is a mechanism that serves both as a liquid supply unit 72 that supplies liquid into the liquid container 50 and as a liquid removal unit 74 that discharges liquid from inside the liquid container 50. This mechanism that serves both as a liquid supply unit 72 and a liquid removal unit 74 is mainly composed of a storage container that stores liquid, a liquid supply/removal pump that can reverse the suction and discharge directions, a liquid supply/removal pipe 70, and a liquid supply/removal flow path that connects them. By using a combined mechanism that serves both as the liquid supply unit 72 and the liquid removal unit 74, the number of parts is reduced, and in particular, since only the liquid supply/removal pipe 70 is inserted into the liquid container 50, space around the liquid container 50 can be saved.

When the supply/removal pump is driven to the supply side under the control of the control unit 90 described later, the liquid in the storage container flows from the supply/removal pump through the supply/removal flow path to the supply/removal tube 70, and then flows into the liquid container 50 from the tip opening 70A of the supply/removal tube 70.
When the supply/removal pump is driven to the liquid removal side under the control of the control unit 90, the liquid in the liquid container 50 is sucked in from the tip opening 70A of the supply/removal pipe 70, and flows through the supply/removal flow path from the supply/removal pipe 70 to the supply/removal pump and into the storage container. At this time, it is preferable to pass the returning liquid through a filter before allowing it to flow into the storage container. The filtering function of the filter suppresses an increase in the concentration of soluble or insoluble matter in the liquid in the storage container, thereby realizing the production of high-quality ice.
However, the mechanism that serves as both the liquid supply unit 72 and the liquid removal unit 74 is just one example, and each of the liquid supply unit 72 and the liquid removal unit 74 may be provided with its own individual liquid supply pump and liquid removal pump, as well as its own individual liquid supply pipe and liquid removal pipe.

In either case, the liquid container 50 is capable of storing liquid in the ice making position and is open at the top. Therefore, the tip region of the liquid supply/removal tube 70 (or the liquid supply tube and liquid removal tube) is simply inserted into the liquid container 50 from the upper opening, so that interference between the components can be easily prevented when the liquid container 50 is rotated. However, as is clear from Figures 3 and 4, the tip opening 70A of the liquid supply/removal tube 70 is located at a height H from the bottom surface of the liquid container 50, so that even if the liquid supply/removal pump is driven to the liquid removal side, liquid will remain in the region from the bottom surface to height H.
If the liquid supply/removal port were provided at the bottom of the liquid container 50, it would be possible to drain all of the liquid from the liquid container 50. However, when the liquid container 50 is rotated, there would be more interference with other components, and the layout of the liquid supply/removal hose would become complicated.

(Control Unit)
Next, a control configuration of ice making machine 2 according to this embodiment, including control unit 90, will be described with reference to Fig. 6. Here, a control configuration including Peltier element 30 will be described as an example.
The control unit 90 can control the drive of the motor of the moving mechanism 60 to rotate the liquid container 50 and move it between the ice-making position and the waiting position, and can also twist the liquid container 50 to release the ice.

The control unit 90 can supply liquid to the liquid container 50 by controlling the liquid supply/removal pump functioning as the liquid supply unit 72 and driving it to the liquid supply side. Similarly, the control unit 90 can return the liquid in the liquid container 50 to the storage container by controlling the liquid supply/removal pump functioning as the liquid removal unit 74 and driving it to the liquid removal side. Furthermore, in the case where a Peltier element 30 is provided, the control unit 90 can create a temperature difference between the two sides so that one side becomes the heat absorption side and the other side becomes the heat dissipation side by controlling the direction and magnitude of the power supplied to the Peltier element 30.

As described above, the ice maker 2 according to this embodiment includes a heat sink 10 having a flow path 12 through which a refrigerant flows, a cooling section 40 having a metal plate 20 to which a metallic rod-shaped member 24 made of metal is attached so as to extend downward from a base end 24A to a tip end 24B, a liquid container 50 capable of storing liquid, a liquid supply section 72 that supplies liquid to the liquid container 50 in the ice-making position, a moving mechanism 60 that rotates and moves the liquid container 50 between the ice-making position and the waiting position, and a control section 90, and a predetermined area from the tip end 24B of the rod-shaped member 24 is arranged within the liquid storage area of the liquid container 50.

Under the control of the control unit 90, the liquid supply unit 72 supplies liquid into the liquid storage area of the liquid container 50 in the ice making position. The control unit 90 controls, for example, a switching valve in the cooling system 80 to flow the refrigerant cooled in the cooling system 80 into the heat sink 10. The cooling by the heat sink 10 through which the low-temperature refrigerant flows can bring the rod-shaped member 24 of the metal part 20 to an ice making temperature below freezing. This allows ice to be generated around the area of the rod-shaped member 24 that is immersed in the liquid.

Furthermore, when a Peltier element 30 is provided, in addition to the cooling provided by the heat sink 10 through which a low-temperature refrigerant flows, cooling can also be provided by the Peltier element 30 disposed between the heat sink 10 and the metal plate 20, so that cooling can be achieved at an even lower temperature than in a configuration in which the rod-shaped member 24 is cooled using only a refrigerant, and ice can be generated around the rod-shaped member 24 on the metal plate 20 in a short period of time.

The control unit 90 controls the moving mechanism 60 to rotate and move the liquid container 50 from the ice making position to a waiting position where the liquid container 50 is not present below the rod-shaped member 24 of the metal plate 20. The control unit 90 then causes the rod-shaped member 24 to have an ice release temperature higher than the freezing point, causing the produced ice to fall from the rod-shaped member 24. The fallen rod-shaped member 24 is stored in the ice storage container 56 located below.

If the Peltier element 30 is not provided, one possible method of bringing the rod-shaped member 24 to the ice-release temperature is to have the control unit 90 switch the switching valve in the cooling system 80 so that the high-temperature refrigerant immediately after leaving the compressor 82 flows into the heat sink 10, instead of the refrigerant that has been cooled by passing through the condenser 84 and the capillary tube. This causes the temperature of the heat sink 10 to rise, and the temperature of the rod-shaped member 24 of the metal part 20 also rises through thermal conduction, reaching a temperature higher than the freezing point.

When the Peltier element 30 is provided, the control unit 90 applies electricity to the Peltier element 30 so that the side in contact with the surface of the heat sink 10 becomes the heat absorption side and the side in contact with the surface of the metal plate 20 becomes the heat generation side, thereby raising the temperature of the rod-shaped member 24 of the metal plate 20 and quickly bringing it to the ice-release temperature. In this case, even when the refrigerant cooled to a low temperature by the cooling system 80 is flowing through the heat sink 10, the Peltier element 30 can raise the temperature of the rod-shaped member 24 to the ice-release temperature.

(Control Processing)
Next, the control process by the control unit 90 will be described. Figures 7A to 7G are side cross-sectional views that typically show each process carried out in an ice maker according to one embodiment of the present invention, with Figure 7A showing a liquid supply process, Figure 7B showing an ice making process, Figure 7C showing a liquid removal process, Figure 7D showing a retraction process, Figure 7E showing an ice removal process, Figure 7F showing a return process, and Figure 7G showing a liquid supply process in the next cooling process.

(Ice making process)
An example will be described in which liquid container 50 is in the ice-making position and starts from an initial state in which no liquid is stored in liquid container 50. Here, a detailed description will be given of the ice-making process, which is repeated multiple times and includes a liquid supply step of supplying liquid to liquid container 50, an ice-making step of forming ice around rod-shaped member 24, a retraction step of rotating liquid container 50 from the ice-making position to a retraction position, an ice release step of dropping the formed ice from rod-shaped member 24, and a return step of rotating liquid container 50 from the retraction position to the ice-making position.

<Liquid supply step (see FIG. 7A)>
The liquid supply unit 72 supplies liquid to the liquid container 50, which is open at the top in the ice making position. Specifically, under the control of the control unit 90, the drive motor of the liquid supply/removal pump of the liquid supply unit 72 is driven in the liquid supply direction. As a result, the liquid supply/removal pump sucks up the liquid in the storage container and supplies the liquid to the liquid container 50 via the liquid supply/removal flow path and the liquid supply/removal pipe 70. When the control unit 90 determines that the height of the liquid in the liquid container 50 has reached a predetermined height based on a signal from the liquid level sensor or timing of the timer, it stops the operation of the liquid supply/removal pump. Through the liquid supply process, a predetermined area L from the tip 24B of the rod-shaped member 24 of the metal plate 20 is immersed in the liquid in the liquid container 50.

<Ice making process (see Fig. 7B)>
After the liquid supply process, an ice-making process is performed in which a predetermined region L from the tip 24B of the rod-shaped member 24 of the metal plate 20 at the ice-making temperature is immersed in the liquid contained in the liquid container 50 for a predetermined time. Specifically, under the control of the control unit 90, the refrigerant cooled to a low temperature by the cooling system 80 is caused to flow into the heat sink 10. The rod-shaped member 24 of the metal plate 20 reaches the ice-making temperature below the freezing point due to cooling by the heat sink 10, which has reached a temperature below the freezing point due to evaporation of the refrigerant flowing through the internal flow path 12.

On the other hand, when the Peltier element 30 is provided, the control unit 90 controls the Peltier element 30 so that the side of the Peltier element 30 in contact with the heat sink 10 becomes the heat dissipation side and the side in contact with the metal plate 20 becomes the heat absorption side, thereby further cooling the rod-shaped member 24 to the ice-making temperature.
In other words, the Peltier element 30 absorbs heat from the metal plate 20 having the rod-shaped members 24 and dissipates the heat to the heat sink 10, so that in addition to the cooling by the heat sink having a flow path through which a low-temperature refrigerant flows, the Peltier element 30 also provides cooling, making it possible to lower the temperature of the rod-shaped members 24 of the metal plate 20 to a temperature lower than the temperature when only a refrigerant is used. This allows ice to be generated around the rod-shaped members 24 of the metal plate 20 in a short period of time.

Then, when it is determined by the timer that the predetermined time T has elapsed, the ice making process ends. As shown in FIG. 7B, ice G can be produced so that it covers the periphery of a predetermined area L from the tip of the rod-shaped member 24 of the metal plate 20. The predetermined time T can be set to a different value depending on whether or not a Peltier element 30 is provided. If a Peltier element 30 is provided, the control unit 90 stops the power supply to the Peltier element 30.

<Liquid Removal Step (see FIG. 7C)>
After the above ice making process, liquid removal unit 74 removes the liquid remaining in liquid container 50 under the control of control unit 90. Specifically, under the control of control unit 90, the liquid supply/removal pump is driven in the liquid removal direction. As a result, the liquid supply/removal pump sucks out the liquid in liquid container 50 via liquid supply/removal pipe 70 and the liquid supply/removal flow path, and returns it to the storage container. At this time, the liquid returning to the storage container flows into the storage container after being filtered by a filter arranged at the return path inlet of the storage container.

As described above, tip opening 70A of liquid supply/removal tube 70 is located at height H from the bottom surface of liquid container 50, so liquid remains at least in the area from the bottom surface to height H. In the retraction step described below, liquid container 50 is rotated to the retraction position, and in the retraction position, liquid container 50 has a structure that can hold a predetermined amount of liquid. Even after the liquid removal step, the amount of liquid remaining in liquid container 50 in the area from the bottom surface to height H is equal to or less than the predetermined amount that can be stored in liquid container 50 in the retraction position.
If the specified amount that can be stored in the liquid container 50 in the waiting position is greater than the amount of liquid in the area from the bottom of the liquid container 50 to height H, the operation of the liquid supply/removal pump can be stopped when the remaining amount of liquid in the liquid container 50 falls below the specified amount.

As described above, in the liquid removal process, after the ice making process, liquid removal unit 74 removes a portion of the liquid remaining in liquid container 50 to reduce the amount of liquid remaining in liquid container 50 to a predetermined amount or less. In this way, liquid removal unit 74 can reduce the amount of liquid remaining in liquid container 50 to a predetermined amount or less, so that in the evacuation process and return process described below, liquid container 50 can be rotated while the remaining liquid remains reliably stored in liquid container 50.
If the specified amount of liquid that can be stored in the liquid container 50 in the retreated position is greater than the total amount of liquid remaining in the liquid container 50 at the end of the ice making process, the liquid removal process may not be performed.

<Retraction process (see FIG. 7D )>
After the above ice-making process, under the control of the control unit 90, the moving mechanism 60 rotates and moves the liquid container 50 from the ice-making position to a retracted position where the liquid container 50 is not present below the rod-shaped member 24 of the metal part 20, while leaving the remaining liquid stored in the liquid container 50. By driving the drive motor of the moving mechanism 60, the liquid container 50 is rotated in a range of 70 degrees to 120 degrees from the ice-making position to the retracted position. Due to this movement and rotation angle, even if the ice G made from the rod-shaped member 24 of the metal part 20 is dropped in the ice-releasing process described below, there is no risk of it interfering with the liquid container 50.

The liquid container 50 is provided with a rib 50C that is connected to a side wall portion 50B constituting the liquid container 50 and partially covers the upper opening, so that in the retracted position, a predetermined amount of liquid is blocked within the liquid container 50 by the rib 50C. Due to this structure of the liquid container 50, there is no risk of liquid spilling out of the liquid container 50 during the rotational movement of the liquid container 50 in the retraction process, when the liquid container 50 is in the retracted position in the ice removal process described below, and during the rotational movement of the liquid container 50 in the return process described below. This makes it possible to prevent problems such as liquid splashing around and spilled liquid freezing and solidifying.
In this manner, by providing rib 50C which partially covers the upper opening of liquid container 50, a predetermined amount of liquid can be stored in liquid container 50 reliably in the retracted position, despite the simple structure.

<Ice removal process (see FIG. 7E)>
After the retreat step, the control unit 90 controls the rod-shaped member 24 of the metal part 20 to be at an ice-release temperature, causing the ice G formed around the rod-shaped member to fall from the rod-shaped member 24. The fallen ice G is stored in the ice storage container 56 disposed below.
In order to raise the rod-shaped member 24 of the metal part 20 to the freezing temperature, if a Peltier element 30 is not provided, instead of a low-temperature refrigerant, high-temperature refrigerant immediately after leaving the compressor 82 is passed through the heat sink 10 to raise the temperature of the heat sink 10, and the temperature of the rod-shaped member 24 of the metal part 20 is raised through thermal conduction, thereby making it possible to raise the freezing temperature to a level higher than the freezing point.

On the other hand, when a Peltier element 30 is provided, the temperature of the rod-shaped member 24 of the metal plate 20 can be raised to the ice-release temperature quickly by passing electricity through the Peltier element 30 so that the side in contact with the surface of the heat sink 10 becomes the heat absorption side and the side in contact with the surface of the metal plate 20 becomes the heat generation side. This ensures a short ice-making cycle. In this case, the temperature of the rod-shaped member 24 can be raised to the ice-release temperature by the Peltier element 30 while the refrigerant cooled to a low temperature by the cooling system 80 is still flowing through the heat sink 10.

<Restoring step (see FIG. 7F)>
After the above ice-removing step, under the control of the control unit 90, the moving mechanism 60 rotates and moves the liquid container 50 from the retreat position to the ice-making position while leaving the remaining liquid stored in the liquid container 50. The drive motor of the moving mechanism 60 is driven in the opposite direction to the retreat step, and the liquid container 50 is rotated in the opposite direction by a range of 70 degrees to 120 degrees, returning it to the original ice-making position. This ends the first ice-making process, and the liquid supply step of the second ice-making process is carried out.

<Second and subsequent ice making processes (see FIG. 7G)>
In the liquid supply step of the second ice-making process, similarly to the above, the drive motor of the liquid supply/removal pump of liquid supply unit 72 is driven in the liquid supply direction under the control of control unit 90 to supply liquid to the upwardly open liquid container 50. Figure 7G shows the state in which the supply of liquid to liquid container 50 is completed in the liquid supply step of the next ice-making process.
In the liquid supply step of the second or subsequent ice-making process, liquid is already stored in an area of liquid container 50 at height H or more from the bottom before liquid supply begins. Therefore, the amount of liquid supplied to liquid container 50 in the liquid supply step of the second ice-making process is less than that in the first ice-making process by the amount of remaining liquid. The remaining liquid has been cooled by rod-shaped member 24 of metal plate 20 in the previous ice-making process, and is at a lower temperature than the newly supplied liquid. Therefore, in the ice-making step of the second or subsequent ice-making process, the temperature of the liquid to be frozen is already low, so ice can be made efficiently in a short time.

As described above, the ice making machine according to this embodiment includes a heat sink 10 having a flow path 12 through which a refrigerant flows, a metal plate 20 to which a metallic rod-shaped member 24 made of metal is attached so as to extend downward from a base end 24A to a tip end 24B, and includes a cooling section 40 in which the rod-shaped member 24 is cooled by the heat sink 10, a liquid container 50 capable of storing liquid, a liquid supply section 72 that supplies liquid to the liquid container 50, a moving mechanism 60 that rotates and moves the liquid container 50, and a control section 90 that controls the temperature of the rod-shaped member 24, the operation of the liquid supply section 72, and the operation of the moving mechanism 60. Under the control of the control section 90, the liquid supply section 72 performs a liquid supply process in which the liquid supply section 72 supplies liquid to the liquid container 50 that is open at the top at the ice making position, and after the liquid supply process, The ice making process is repeated multiple times, which includes an ice making process in which a predetermined area L from the tip 24B of the rod-shaped member 24, which has been heated to ice making temperature, is immersed in the liquid contained in the liquid container 50 for a predetermined time, a retreat process in which the moving mechanism 60 rotates the liquid container 50 from the ice making position to a retreat position where the liquid container 50 is not present below the rod-shaped member 24 while keeping the remaining liquid stored in the liquid container 50 after the ice making process, an ice releasing process in which the rod-shaped member 24 is heated to the ice releasing temperature after the retreat process, and the ice generated around the rod-shaped member 24 falls from the rod-shaped member 24, and a return process in which the moving mechanism 60 rotates the liquid container 50 from the retreat position to the ice making position while keeping the remaining liquid stored in the liquid container 50 after the ice releasing process. At this time, the liquid container 50 has a structure capable of storing a predetermined amount of liquid at the retreat position.

This allows the liquid remaining in the liquid container 50 from the previous ice-making step to be used in the next ice-making step, making it possible to make ice using low-temperature liquid cooled in the previous ice-making process. This provides an ice-making machine with high cooling efficiency and capable of making ice in a short time.
The above-mentioned ice making process is repeated several times until a desired amount of ice G is stored in the ice storage container 56, and then the series of ice making processes is completed.

(Processing upon completion of multiple ice making processes)
Figures 8A to 8C are side cross-sectional views showing the processing at the completion of the ice making process performed in ice maker 2 according to one embodiment of the present invention, where Figure 8A shows the residual liquid freezing process, Figure 8B shows the liquid container 50 being twisted in the residual liquid release process, and Figure 8C shows the frozen residual liquid being allowed to fall from liquid container 50 in the residual liquid release process.

<Residual liquid freezing process (see FIG. 8A)>
In the residual liquid freezing step, after a series of ice making processes are completed, a process is performed to freeze the residual liquid remaining in the liquid container 50. Fig. 8A shows the residual liquid being frozen with the liquid container 50 in the ice making position.

One possible means for freezing the residual liquid is to provide multiple fins on the outer surface of the heat sink 10 of the cooling unit 40 and use a fan to blow cold air that has passed between the fins of the cooling unit 40 onto the residual liquid. The residual liquid can be frozen by blowing the cold air, which has been cooled to below zero by passing between the fins, onto the residual liquid. It is also possible to blow cold air that has been cooled using a heat sink or Peltier element other than the cooling unit 40 onto the residual liquid.

Furthermore, it is also possible to form the bottom portion 50A of the liquid container 50 from a metal with good thermal conductivity and connect it to the cooling unit 40 with a member with high thermal conductivity, or to move the liquid container 50 so that it comes into contact with the cooling unit 40. Also, as described below, if the ice maker 2 is installed in a refrigerator, the remaining liquid can be easily frozen by placing the liquid container 50 in the freezer compartment of the refrigerator.

<Residual liquid ice-removal process (see Figs. 8B and 8C)>
After the residual liquid freezing step, the control unit 90 drives the drive motor of the moving mechanism 60 in the same direction as the retraction step to rotate and move the liquid container 50. This time, the liquid container 50 is rotated further to about 180 degrees beyond the retraction position rotated from 70 degrees to 120 degrees. At this time, the protrusion 54 provided at the end region of the liquid container 50 abuts against the frame of the ice making machine 2. When the drive motor is continued to be driven to further rotate the liquid container 50 in a state in which a part of the liquid container 50 having elasticity is restrained by this abutment, the liquid container 50 is twisted. The liquid container 50 is deformed by being twisted, and the frozen residual liquid falls off the liquid container 50 as shown in FIG. 8C. The fallen frozen residual liquid is stored in the ice storage container 56 arranged below.

In the example shown in Figure 8A, when liquid container 50 is in the ice making position, residual liquid present near bottom portion 50A is frozen. As a result, when liquid container 50 is twisted, bottom portion 50A is an area that undergoes relatively large deformation, making it easier to remove frozen residual liquid from liquid container 50. Furthermore, since the frozen residual liquid that has been removed from liquid container 50 falls almost straight down, there is little risk of it interfering with other components.
However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the remaining liquid may be frozen while the liquid container 50 is in the retreated position. The means for removing the frozen remaining liquid from the liquid container 50 is not limited to the above, and any known ice removing means for an ice tray may be used.

As described above, when the ice making process is completed after repeating a plurality of ice making processes, the control unit 90 controls the remaining liquid container 50 at the ice making position or the waiting position to be placed in a freezing environment to freeze the remaining liquid, and the remaining liquid ice-releasing process to drop the frozen remaining liquid from the liquid container 50.
As a result, after the series of ice making processes is completed, the remaining liquid can be frozen and released from the liquid container 50 without flowing out of the liquid container 50, thereby realizing a highly efficient ice making cycle.

(Refrigerator according to one embodiment of the present invention)
Fig. 9 is a side cross-sectional view showing a refrigerator 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention. In Fig. 9, the flow of a refrigerant is indicated by dotted arrows. The refrigerator 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 9. The refrigerator 100 includes the ice maker 2 according to the embodiment described above.

The refrigerator 100 includes a freezer compartment 102A and a refrigerator compartment 102B. The rear sides of the freezer compartment 102A and the refrigerator compartment 102B are provided with inlet flow paths 104A and B separated by a partition plate 106. An evaporator 140 is disposed in the inlet flow path 104A on the freezer compartment 102A side, and a fan 170 is disposed above it. A compressor 110 communicating with the evaporator 140 is disposed in an external machine room on the rear side of the freezer compartment 102A. The refrigerant (gas) compressed by the compressor 110 is liquefied in the condenser 120, and the pressure is reduced while passing through the capillary tube, lowering the boiling point, and the refrigerant passes through the dryer 130 and reaches the three-way valve 160. In FIG. 9, the dryer 130 is shown in the machine room, but in reality it is disposed near the three-way valve 160.

Three-way valve 160 switches the refrigerant between a flow path that flows directly into evaporator 140 of refrigerator 100 and a flow path that flows through heat sink 10 of ice maker 2 and then flows into evaporator 140. When ice making is not performed in ice maker 2, the refrigerant flows directly into evaporator 140. The refrigerant then absorbs heat from the gas inside the refrigerator in evaporator 140 and vaporizes, and the vaporized refrigerant is compressed again in compressor 110, repeating this cycle. As described above, refrigerator cooling system 150 is constructed in which compressor 110, condenser 120, dryer 130, evaporator 140, etc. are connected.

When ice is made by ice maker 2, three-way valve 160 is switched so that the refrigerant flows into flow path 12 of heat sink 10 via connecting pipe 14A. While passing through flow path 12, a portion of the liquid or mist refrigerant absorbs heat from the surroundings and evaporates, and the vaporized refrigerant reaches the inlet side of evaporator 140 via connecting pipe 14B. Since the amount of refrigerant vaporized in heat sink 10 is small compared to the volume of refrigerant circulating in cooling system 150, the refrigerant as a whole remains in a liquid or mist state at the time of entering evaporator 140. Thus, the refrigerant absorbs heat from the gas in the container in evaporator 140 and vaporizes, and the vaporized refrigerant is compressed again in compressor 110, repeating this cycle.
It is also possible to always have a flow of refrigerant flowing directly into the evaporator 140 and a flow of refrigerant passing through the heat sink 10 before flowing into the evaporator 140 without switching using the three-way valve 160.

A damper 180 is disposed between the inlet flow path 104A on the freezing compartment 102A side and the inlet flow path 104B on the refrigerating compartment 102B side. In Fig. 9, the damper 180 is shown in a closed state.
When the damper 180 is closed, the compressor 110 and the fan 170 are driven, causing the gas in the freezing chamber 102A to flow, and the cold air that has passed through the evaporator 140 flows into the freezing chamber 102A from the air outlet 106A provided in the partition plate 106. As shown by the dashed-dotted arrow in Fig. 9, the gas that has flowed in circulates inside the freezing chamber 102A and returns again to the lower side of the evaporator 140 in the inlet flow path 104A. This circulation of the gas that has passed through the evaporator 140 and been cooled can cool the inside of the freezing chamber 102A. When the damper 180 is open, cold air also circulates to the refrigerator chamber 102B side.

As described above, refrigerator 100 according to this embodiment includes ice maker 2 according to the above embodiment, and is capable of supplying a liquid or mist-like low-temperature refrigerant to heat sink 10 of ice maker 2 by branching off from cooling system 150 for cooling the interior of the refrigerator. This allows rod-shaped members 24 of metal plate 20 of cooling unit 40 to be heated to an ice-making temperature.
Furthermore, when ice maker 2 is equipped with Peltier element 30, in addition to cooling by heat sink 10 utilizing cooling system 150 of refrigerator 100, cooling by Peltier element 30 is also performed, so that the ice-making temperature of rod-shaped member 24 can be further lowered than when only a refrigerant is used.

In the ice-removing process, a switching valve (not shown) can be used to supply high-temperature refrigerant from the compressor 110 to the heat sink 10 of the ice-making machine 2. This allows the rod-shaped member 24 of the metal plate 20 of the cooling unit 40 to have a releasing temperature higher than the freezing point.
In addition, when the ice maker 2 is equipped with a Peltier element 30, by reversing the direction of current flow to the Peltier element 30 from that during ice making while keeping the cooling system 150 supplying low-temperature refrigerant to the heat sink 10, the temperature of the rod-shaped member 24 of the metal plate 20 can be raised, allowing ice to be quickly removed.
In addition, during the ice removal process, the three-way valve 160 can be switched so that the refrigerant is not supplied to the heat sink 10.

As described above, refrigerator 100 is equipped with the above-mentioned ice maker 2, and branches off from cooling system 150 for cooling the interior of the refrigerator to supply refrigerant to heat sink 10 of ice maker 2, so that the cooling efficiency is high and ice can be made in a short time.
In particular, since liquid container 50 of ice maker 2 is disposed within freezing chamber 102A, the residual liquid in liquid container 50 can be easily frozen in the residual liquid freezing step described above.

Although the embodiments and modes of implementation of the present invention have been described, the disclosed contents may vary in the details of the configuration, and the combination and order of elements in the embodiments and modes of implementation may be changed without departing from the scope and concept of the claimed invention.

2 Ice maker 10 Heat sink 12 Flow path 14A, 14B Connection pipe 20 Metal plate 22 Base portion 24 Rod-shaped member 24A Base end portion 24B Tip portion 30 Peltier element 40 Cooling portion 50 Liquid container 50A Bottom surface portion 50B Side wall portion 50C Rib 52 Shaft portion 54 Protrusion 56 Ice storage container 60 Movement mechanism 62 Bearing portion 70 Liquid supply/removal pipe 72 Liquid supply portion 72A Tip opening 74 Liquid removal portion 80 Cooling system 82 Compressor 84 Condenser 86 Dryer 90 Control portion 100 Refrigerator 102A Freezer compartment 102B Refrigerating compartments 104A, B Inlet flow path 106 Partition plate 106A Air outlet 110 Compressor 120 Condenser 130 Dryer 140 Evaporator 150 Cooling system 160 Three-way valve 170 Fan 180 damper

Claims (5)

a heat sink having a flow path through which a coolant flows;
a cooling section including a metal plate to which a metal rod-shaped member is attached so as to extend downward from a base end to a tip end, the cooling section cooling the rod-shaped member by the heat sink;
A liquid container capable of storing liquid;
a liquid supply unit that supplies liquid to the liquid container;
a moving mechanism for rotating and moving the liquid container;
a control unit for controlling the temperature of the rod-shaped member, the operation of the liquid supply unit, and the operation of the movement mechanism;
Equipped with
Under the control of the control unit,
a liquid supplying step in which the liquid supplying unit supplies liquid to the liquid container, the liquid container having an open upper portion at an ice making position;
an ice making step of immersing a predetermined area of the rod-shaped member, which has been heated to an ice making temperature, in the liquid contained in the liquid container for a predetermined time after the liquid supply step;
a retreat step in which, after the ice making step, the moving mechanism rotates and moves the liquid container from the ice making position to a retreat position where the liquid container is not present below the rod-shaped member while keeping the remaining liquid stored in the liquid container;
an ice-removing step in which the rod-shaped member is heated to an ice-removing temperature after the retreating step, and ice generated around the rod-shaped member is dropped from the rod-shaped member;
a return step in which, after the ice removing step, the moving mechanism rotates and moves the liquid container from the retreat position to the ice making position while keeping the remaining liquid stored in the liquid container;
The ice making process is repeated several times.
the liquid container has a structure capable of containing a predetermined amount of liquid in the retracted position,
a liquid removal unit that removes liquid remaining in the liquid container;
Under the control of the control unit,
an ice making machine characterized in that, after the ice making process, a liquid removal process is performed in which the liquid removal unit removes a portion of the liquid remaining in the liquid container to reduce the amount of liquid remaining in the liquid container to less than the predetermined amount, and then the evacuation process is performed . a heat sink having a flow path through which a coolant flows;
a cooling section including a metal plate to which a metal rod-shaped member is attached so as to extend downward from a base end to a tip end, the cooling section cooling the rod-shaped member by the heat sink;
A liquid container capable of storing liquid;
a liquid supply unit that supplies liquid to the liquid container;
a moving mechanism for rotating and moving the liquid container;
a control unit for controlling the temperature of the rod-shaped member, the operation of the liquid supply unit, and the operation of the movement mechanism;
Equipped with
Under the control of the control unit,
a liquid supplying step in which the liquid supplying unit supplies liquid to the liquid container, the liquid container having an open upper portion at an ice making position;
an ice making step of immersing a predetermined area of the rod-shaped member from the tip end thereof in the liquid contained in the liquid container at an ice making temperature for a predetermined time after the liquid supply step;
a retreat step in which, after the ice making step, the moving mechanism rotates and moves the liquid container from the ice making position to a retreat position where the liquid container is not present below the rod-shaped member while keeping the remaining liquid stored in the liquid container;
an ice-removing step in which the rod-shaped member is heated to an ice-removing temperature after the retreating step, and ice generated around the rod-shaped member is dropped from the rod-shaped member;
a return step in which, after the ice removing step, the moving mechanism rotates and moves the liquid container from the retreat position to the ice making position while keeping the remaining liquid stored in the liquid container;
The ice making process is repeated several times.
the liquid container has a structure capable of containing a predetermined amount of liquid in the retracted position,
After repeating the ice making process several times,
Under the control of the control unit,
a residual liquid freezing step of freezing the residual liquid remaining in the liquid container at the ice making position or the retreat position in a freezing environment;
a residual liquid freezing step in which, after the residual liquid freezing step, the moving mechanism further rotates and moves the liquid container while constraining a part of the liquid container having elasticity, thereby twisting the liquid container and causing the frozen residual liquid to fall from the liquid container;
An ice maker characterized by performing the above steps. a Peltier element disposed between the heat sink and the metal plate, one surface of which contacts a surface of the heat sink and the other surface of which contacts a surface of the metal plate opposite to the surface to which the rod-shaped member is attached;
In the ice making process, the rod-shaped member is further cooled to the ice making temperature by supplying power to the Peltier element so that the side of the Peltier element that contacts the heat sink becomes a heat dissipation side and the side of the Peltier element that contacts the metal plate becomes a heat absorption side;
The ice making machine described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that in the ice removal process, power is supplied to the Peltier element so that the side of the Peltier element in contact with the heat sink becomes the heat absorption side and the side in contact with the metal plate becomes the heat dissipation side , thereby heating the rod-shaped member to the ice removal temperature. In the ice removing step, the liquid container is rotated from the ice making position to the retreat position through a range of 70 degrees to 120 degrees around an end region of the liquid container as a rotation center,
An ice making machine as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the liquid container is provided with a rib that is connected to a side wall portion that constitutes the liquid container and partially covers an upper opening, and in the retracted position, the predetermined amount of liquid is blocked within the liquid container by the rib . The ice making machine according to any one of claims 1 to 4 is provided,
A refrigerator characterized in that a refrigerant is branched off from a cooling system for cooling an interior of the refrigerator and supplied to the heat sink of the ice maker.
A refrigerator characterized by supplying

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