REFRIGERATOR WITH ICEMAKER, AND WATER INJECTION CONTROL METHOD

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a refrigerator with an ice maker, an ice maker ice-overturning control method, and an ice maker water injection control method. The refrigerator in the present disclosure can: perceive whether the ice cube tray is already taken out to avoid continued water injection after the ice cube tray is taken out; and perceive a temperature of ice in the ice cube tray to accurately determine a current situation of ice making so as to perform accurate control for the ice maker, thereby avoiding ice cube lumping due to unsuccessful overturning in the refrigerator, and greatly improving the ice making efficiency. Further, the refrigerator can accurately determine whether the ice tray is mounted to be in place, so as to complete a series of water injection and ice making operation accurately.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of International Patent Application No. PCT/CN2020/088736 with a filing date of May 6, 2020, designating the United States, now pending, and further claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. CN 202010066347.1, titled as REFRIGERATOR WITH ICE MAKER AND ICE MAKER MOUNTING METHOD, filed on Jan. 20, 2020, Chinese Patent Application No. CN 202010067809.1 titled as REFRIGERATOR WITH ICE MAKER AND ICE MAKER ICE-OVERTURNING CONTROL METHOD, filed on Jan. 20, 2020, Chinese Patent Application No. CN202010067823.1 titled as REFRIGERATOR WITH ICE MAKER AND ICE MAKER WATER INJECTION CONTROL METHOD, filed on Jan. 20, 2020, Chinese Patent Application No. CN202010136659.5 titled as REFRIGERATOR WITH ICE MAKER, filed on Mar. 2, 2020, Chinese Patent Application No. CN202010137740.5 titled as REFRIGERATOR WITH ICE MAKER, filed on Mar. 2, 2020, Chinese Patent Application No. CN202020130385.4 titled as REFRIGERATOR WITH ICE MAKER, filed on Jan. 20, 2020, Chinese Patent Application No. CN202020130425.5 titled as REFRIGERATOR WITH ICE MAKER, filed on Jan. 20, 2020, and Chinese Patent Application No. CN202020131640.7 titled as REFRIGERATOR WITH ICE MAKER, filed on Jan. 20, 2020, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to the field of refrigerator technologies, and in particular to a refrigerator with an icemaker, an ice maker mounting method, an ice overturning control method, and a water injection control method.

BACKGROUND

Along with continuous improvement of living level of people, refrigerators have become a necessary article in lives of people. The refrigerators maintain their interiors at a lower temperature through cooling effect and therefore may not only store foods but also make ice by use of a simple ice making device, which fully meets the requirements of people for ice cubes.

SUMMARY

According to a first example of the present disclosure, there is provided a refrigerator with an ice maker, including: a refrigerator body, where a cryogenic storage compartment is disposed in the refrigerator body, and the cryogenic storage compartment includes a refrigerating compartment and a freezing compartment; a partition plate disposed in an inner liner of the refrigerator body to partition the cryogenic storage compartment; a water supply assembly disposed in the refrigerating compartment; and an ice maker disposed in the freezing compartment and connected with the water supply assembly; the ice maker including: an ice maker rack disposed on the partition plate; an ice tray rack detachably mounted into the ice maker rack; an ice cube tray fixedly mounted into the ice tray rack; an ice-overturning motor disposed at an end of the ice maker rack to overturn the ice cube tray; an ice storage box disposed below the ice cube tray; a magnet disposed on the ice tray rack; and a magnetism-sensitive switch disposed at the bottom of the partition plate to perceive whether the ice cube tray is already taken out in cooperation with the magnet.

The present disclosure further provides an ice maker mounting method for the refrigerator with an ice maker provided in the first example, where the method includes: assembling an ice maker rack, an ice tray rack, an ice cube tray, an ice-overturning motor, an ice storage box, a magnet, a handle, a knob, and an ice detection rod into an ice maker by combination; mounting an infrared sensor and a magnetism sensitive switch at the bottom of a partition plate; mounting the ice maker at the bottom of the partition plate; and mounting the assembled partition plate and ice maker together into a freezing compartment of a refrigerator body.

According to a third example, there is provided a refrigerator with an ice maker, including: a refrigerator body where a cryogenic storage compartment is disposed in the refrigerator body; a partition plate disposed on an inner liner of the refrigerator body to partition the cryogenic storage compartment; an ice maker disposed in the cryogenic storage compartment; the ice maker including: an ice maker rack fixedly mounted on the partition plate; an ice tray detachably mounted on the ice maker rack; a magnet disposed on the ice tray; a magnetism-sensitive switch disposed at the bottom of the partition plate to control whether water is injected into the ice cube tray by means of induction with the magnet.

The present disclosure further provides an ice maker water injection control method for the refrigerator of the third example, including: monitoring whether the magnetism-sensitive switch disposed on the partition plate senses the magnet on the ice tray; if the magnetism-sensitive switch senses the magnet, controlling the magnetism-sensitive switch to generate a disconnection signal and controlling the ice tray to perform water injection based on the disconnection signal; if the magnetism-sensitive switch does not sense the magnet, controlling the magnetism-sensitive switch to generate a closing signal and controlling the ice tray to stop performing water injection based on the closing signal.

According to a fourth example, there is provided a refrigerator with an ice maker, including: a refrigerator body, where a cryogenic storage compartment is disposed in the refrigerator body, and the cryogenic storage compartment includes a refrigerating compartment, a green vegetable preservation compartment and a freezing compartment; a partition plate disposed on an inner liner of the refrigerator body to partition the cryogenic storage compartment; a water supply assembly disposed in the refrigerating compartment; an ice maker disposed in the freezing compartment; a water supply tube communicating the water supply assembly with the ice maker; a water storage mechanism in communication with the water supply tube disposed above an water outlet of an end of the water supply tube close to the ice maker to store water flowing out of the water supply tube in case of the water outlet of the tube being frozen up.

According to a fifth example, there is provided a refrigerator with an ice maker, including: a refrigerator body, where a cryogenic storage compartment is disposed in the refrigerator body, and the cryogenic storage compartment includes a refrigerating compartment, a green vegetable preservation compartment and a freezing compartment; a partition plate disposed at an inner liner of the refrigerator body to partition the cryogenic storage compartment; a water supply assembly disposed in the refrigerating compartment; an ice maker disposed in the freezing compartment; a water supply tube communicating the water supply assembly with the ice maker; a fourth tube communicating the water supply tube with the water supply assembly so that the water supply assembly, the water supply tube and the fourth tube form a circulation passage when a water outlet at an end of the water supply tube close to the ice maker is frozen up.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to describe the technical solution of the present disclosure more clearly, the accompanying drawings involved in the examples will be briefly introduced. Apparently, those skilled the art may also obtain other drawings according to these drawings without paying creative work.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of whole structure of a refrigerator with an ice maker according to some examples of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a refrigerator with an ice maker according to some examples of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along A-A in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of assembling of a partition plate and an ice maker in a refrigerator with an ice maker according to some examples of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of a partition plate and an ice maker in a refrigerator with an ice maker according to some examples of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a structural schematic diagram of a mechanical control structure for water injection of an exemplary ice maker.

FIG. 7 is an illustrative change diagram of a mechanical control structure for water injection of an exemplary ice maker.

FIG. 8 is a structural schematic diagram of a magnetism-sensitive switch control structure for water injection of an exemplary ice maker.

FIG. 9 is an illustrative change diagram of a magnetism-sensitive switch control structure for water injection of an exemplary ice maker.

FIG. 10 is a top view of assembling of a partition plate and an ice maker in a refrigerator with an ice maker according to some examples of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken along B-B in FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a bottom view of a partition plate in a refrigerator with an ice maker according to some examples of the present disclosure.

FIG. 13 is a sectional view taken along C-C in FIG. 12.

FIG. 14 is an enlarged view of position C in FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of assembling of an ice cube tray and a magnet in a refrigerator with an ice maker according to some examples of the present disclosure.

FIG. 16 is a top view of assembling of an ice cube tray and a magnet in a refrigerator with an ice maker according to some examples of the present disclosure.

FIG. 17 is a sectional view taken along E-E in FIG. 16.

FIG. 18 is a structural schematic diagram of a partition plate in a refrigerator with an ice maker according to some examples of the present disclosure.

FIG. 19 is a structural schematic diagram of an infrared sensor in a refrigerator with an ice maker according to some examples of the present disclosure.

FIG. 20 is an enlarged view of position B in FIG. 3.

FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram of mounting of an ice maker in a refrigerator with an ice maker according to some examples of the present disclosure.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart of an ice maker ice-overturning control method according to some examples of the present disclosure.

FIG. 23 is a detailed flowchart of S300 in an ice maker ice-overturning control method according to some examples of the present disclosure.

FIG. 24 is another detailed flowchart of S300 in an ice maker ice-overturning control method according to some examples of the present disclosure.

FIG. 25 is yet another detailed flowchart of S300 in an ice maker ice-overturning control method according to some examples of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

In order to help those skilled in the art to understand the technical solution of the present disclosure better, the technical solution of the present disclosure will be fully and clearly described below in combination with the accompanying drawings of the examples of the present disclosure. Apparently, the described examples are merely some of the present disclosure rather than all examples. All other examples obtained by those skilled in the art based on these examples of the present disclosure without paying creative work shall fall with the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

In the description of the present disclosure, it is to be understood that orientations or positional relationships indicated by terms such as “upper” , “lower” , “front” , “back” , “bottom” , “inside” , “outside” , are based on orientations or positional relationships shown in the drawings and are used only for convenience and simplification of descriptions of the present disclosure, rather than indicate or imply that the indicated apparatus or element shall have a specific orientation and be configured or operated in a specific orientation. Thus, the terms shall not be understood as limiting of the present disclosure.

Further, the terms “first” , “second” are used only for the purpose of descriptions and shall not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Thus, a feature defined with “first” and “second” may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the feature. In addition, it is understood that the terms such as “including” or “having” are used herein and shall be intended to indicate the presence of features, digits, steps, functions, several assemblies or their combinations disclosed in the present disclosure and also be understood as that more or fewer of the features, digits, steps, functions, several assemblies or their combinations may be used.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of entire structure of a refrigerator with an ice maker according to some examples of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a front view of a refrigerator with an ice maker according to some examples of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in the refrigerator with an ice maker in an example of the present disclosure, the refrigerator may include a refrigerator body with a cryogenic storage compartment and a partition plate for partitioning adjacent cryogenic storage compartments, and the cryogenic storage compartment may include a refrigerating compartment 20, a green vegetable preservation compartment 30, and a freezing compartment 40. The refrigerating compartment 20 may keep foods in a cold storage state, the green vegetable preservation compartment 30 may store foods with green leaves at an applicable temperature, and the freezing compartment 40 may keep foods in a frozen state. The refrigerating compartment 20 may be disposed at an upper side of the green vegetable preservation compartment 30, and the green vegetable preservation compartment 30 may be disposed at an upper side of the freezing compartment 40.

The partition plates 1 are used to partition the refrigerating compartment 20, the green vegetable preservation compartment 30 and the freezing compartment 40, that is, a partition plate 1 is disposed between the refrigerating compartment 20 and the green vegetable preservation compartment 30, and a partition plate 1 is disposed between the green vegetable preservation compartment 30 and the freezing compartment 40. In this way, food storage is facilitated.

As shown in FIG. 3, the refrigerator also includes a water supply assembly disposed in the refrigerating compartment 20 and an ice maker 14 disposed in the freezing compartment 40 and connected with the water supply assembly. The water supply assembly is used to supply water to the ice maker 14 so that the ice maker makes water into ice cubes. An air supply opening 13 is disposed at a position in the freezing compartment 40 and close to the ice maker 14 to supply cooling capacity to the ice maker 14. That is, an independent air supply opening is disposed for the ice maker 14 to supply cooling capacity to the ice maker 14, thereby facilitating ice making of the ice maker 14.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the ice maker 14 includes an ice maker rack 18, an ice tray and an ice storage box 15. The ice tray includes an ice tray rack 22, an ice cube tray 23, and an ice-overturning motor 19. The ice maker rack 18 is mounted on the partition plate 1 to fix the ice maker 14 onto the partition plate 1. The ice tray rack 22 is detachably mounted in the ice maker rack 18, and the ice cube tray 23 is fixedly mounted in the ice tray rack 22. That is, the ice maker rack 18 is used to carry the ice tray rack 22 and the ice tray rack 22 is used to carry the ice cube tray 23. The ice tray rack 22 and the ice cube tray 23 may move back and forth in the ice maker rack 18. If a user desires to take out the ice cube tray 23, the ice tray rack 22 may be pulled forward and then taken out of the ice maker rack 18, thereby helping the user to clean the ice cube tray 23. If the user desires to put back the ice tray rack 22, the ice tray rack 22 may be pushed backward to be mounted into the ice maker rack 18. After being injected into the ice cube tray 23, water will form into ice cubes under the action of the cooling capacity in the freezing compartment 40.

It is required to accurately control water injection into the ice cube tray 23 during ice making of the ice cube tray 23. At present, the common control method of the ice maker for controlling water injection into the ice tray includes a mechanical control manner and a magnetism-sensitive switch control manner. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the mechanical control manner is as follows: the ice maker includes a rack 01, a motor 02, an ice detection rod 03, a control card 04, and an ice tray 05; the control card 04 is mounted in the ice tray 05; when the ice tray 05 is mounted to be in place, the control card 04 is driven to be level, the motor 02 disposed on the rack 01 is timed to drive the ice detection rod 03 to normally rotate based on the set degree so as to detect the ice storage in the ice storage box and determine whether to continue water injection and perform overturning for the ice tray; when the ice tray 05 is taken out, the control card 04 will freely rotate down due to no structure limitation of the ice tray 05 to limit the rotational movement of the ice detection rod 03, and a feedback signal indicates no need to continue water injection. But when a rotary shaft of the control card 04 freezes, the control card 04 cannot rotate to be in place by use of gravity after the ice tray 05 is taken out, and thus cannot limit further downward movement of the ice detection rod 03, and the feedback signal indicates water injection can be continued. In this case, water is injected into the ice storage box and frozen, bringing user complaints.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the magnetism-sensitive switch control manner is as follows: the ice maker includes a rack 01, a knob 06, an ice detection rod 03, and an ice tray 05; a magnetism-sensitive switch is disposed on the rack 01, and a magnet is disposed on the knob 06; when the ice tray 05 is mounted to be in place, the knob 06 rotates down to be level and the magnetism-sensitive switch senses at the same time, and water injection, ice detection and ice overturning are performed as normal; when the ice tray is taken out, the knob 06 rotates clockwise by 90 degrees, the magnetism-sensitive switch is disconnected, and water injection is no more performed. However, when the ice tray 05 is taken out for cleaning, the knob may be loosened and will not be in the vertical direction and fall to be level due to wearing arising from long-time use, and at this time, water will be injected to the ice storage box and frozen up, bringing user complaints. In addition, after the ice tray is cleaned, the user forgets to rotate the knob 0 to level, resulting in that the feedback signal indicates that the ice tray is taken out, and therefore normal water injection cannot be performed for ice making. In this example, a new magnetism-sensitive switch mounting manner is designed for the ice maker. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the ice maker further includes a magnet 26 and a magnetism-sensitive switch 17. The magnet 26 is disposed on the ice tray rack 22, and the magnetism-sensitive switch 17 is disposed at the bottom of the partition plate 1. The magnet 26 and magnetism-sensitive switch 17 are in correspondence to realize mutual induction so as to perceive whether the ice tray 23 is taken out cooperatively and determine whether to perform water injection. In this way, a series of water injection and ice making operations are correctly completed with high reliability.

Specifically, the magnet 26 is disposed on the ice tray rack 22, the magnetism-sensitive switch 17 is fixedly mounted at the bottom of the partition plate 1. The magnetism-sensitive switch 17 and the magnet 26 may cooperatively perceive whether to perform water injection for the ice tray. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 12, 13 and 14, a first groove 101 is disposed at the bottom of the partition plate 1, a switch cover plate 171 is disposed on the magnetism-sensitive switch 17, a first buckling groove 172 and a second buckling groove 173 are disposed at both ends of the switch cover plate 171 respectively, a first buckle 102 and a second buckle 103 are disposed at an opening of the first groove 101 respectively, the first buckling groove 172 is fitted with the first buckle 102, and the second buckling groove 173 is fitted with the second buckle 103. In this case, the magnetism-sensitive switch 17 is fixedly mounted in the first groove 101 to perceive the position of the magnet 26. Further, the magnetism-sensitive switch is detachable and thus has high repairability.

As shown in FIGS. 15, 16 and 17, a mounting groove is disposed at a side wall of the ice tray rack 22, the mounting groove corresponds to the first groove 101, and the magnet 26 is fixedly fitted into the mounting groove. Thus, the magnet 26 is fixedly mounted on the ice tray rack 22. In this case, the magnet may be mounted and dismounted along with the ice tray rack 22.

In some examples, a water inlet is further disposed on the partition plate 1. The water inlet is located above the ice tray, that is, the water inlet corresponds to the ice tray. Water injection is performed for the ice tray through the water inlet, thereby realizing a series of water injection and ice making operations. The first groove 101 where the magnetism-sensitive switch 17 is located is close to the water inlet so that the first groove 101 and the mounting groove are in correspondence up and down, and the magnetism-sensitive switch 17 and the magnet 17 are exactly opposed, thereby ensuring the magnet 26 is exactly opposed to the magnetism-sensitive switch 17 when the ice tray is mounted to be in place.

In some examples, the ice maker 14 further includes a controller. The magnetism-sensitive switch 17 and the magnet 26 cooperatively perceive the position of the ice tray and feed back a signal for stopping/starting water injection to the controller. When the ice tray is mounted to be in place, the magnet 26 is exactly opposed to the magnetism-sensitive switch 17, the magnetism-sensitive switch 17 is disconnected after sensing the magnet 26 and feeds back a signal for continuing water injection to the controller, and thus water injection, ice making and ice detection can be normally performed. When the ice tray is taken out, the magnet 26 is also taken out, the magnetism-sensitive switch 17 cannot sense the magnet 26 and thus is in a closed state, and feeds back a signal for stopping water injection to the controller so as to stop injecting water to the ice tray.

In the refrigerator with an ice maker in the present disclosure, the magnetism-sensitive switch 17 is fixedly mounted at the bottom surface of the partition plate 1 and the magnet 26 is mounted at a side wall of the ice tray rack 22, so that the magnet can be mounted or taken out along with the ice tray rack 22. When the ice tray rack 22 is slidably mounted to be in place on the ice maker rack 18, the magnet 26 is exactly opposed to the magnetism-sensitive switch 17, the magnetism-sensitive switch 17 is in a disconnected state after sensing the magnet 26, and feeds back a signal for continuing water injection so as to perform water injection, ice making and ice detection normally. When the ice tray rack 22 is slidably taken out from the ice maker rack 18, the magnet 16 is also taken out, the magnetism-sensitive switch 17 is in a closed state after failing to sensing the magnet 26 and feeds back a signal for stopping water injection so as to immediately stop injecting water to the ice cube tray 23. In this case, whether the ice tray rack 22 and the ice cube tray 23 are mounted to be in place can be determined accurately by use of the magnetism-sensitive switch 17 and the magnet 26 so that a series of water injection and ice making operations are completed accurately, thus avoiding continuing water injection to the ice cube tray 23 after the ice cube tray 23 is taken out. Further, with fewer interference factors and higher reliability, the accurate control of the water injection of the ice maker is greatly improved.

The ice cube tray 23 includes a plurality of ice-making lattices and various ice-making lattices are in communication with each other. Water supplied by the water supply assembly is injected into one ice-making lattice to fill up the entire ice cube tray through communication openings between various ice-making lattices.

The ice-overturning motor 19 is disposed at an end of the ice maker rack 18 and connected with the ice cube tray 23 to overturn the ice cube tray 23. After the ice cube tray 23 makes water into ice cubes, the ice-overturning motor 19 overturns the ice cube tray 23 to transfer the ice cubes in the ice cube tray 23 to the ice storage box 15, and then overturns the ice cube tray 23 back to original position to continue ice making. The above operations may be repeated until the ice storage box 15 is full of ice cubes.

The ice maker 14 further includes an infrared sensor 16. The infrared sensor 16 is mounted at the bottom of the partition plate 1 to detect a temperature of the ice cubes in the ice cube tray 23 so as to determine whether the ice cubes in the ice cube tray 23 are already made and whether the ice-overturning is to be performed. If the infrared sensor 16 detects the temperature in the ice cube tray 23 is continuously maintained at a low level, it indicates that the ice cubes in the ice cube tray 23 are already made. The ice-overturning motor 19 is controlled to overturn the ice cube tray 23 to transfer the ice cubes in the ice cube tray 23 to the ice storage box 15.

As shown in FIGS. 18 and 19, a second groove 104 is disposed at the bottom of the partition plate 1, a third buckle 105 is disposed in the second groove 104, and a mounting hole 161 corresponding to the third buckle 105 is disposed on the infrared sensor 16. When the infrared sensor 16 is to be mounted, the infrared sensor 16 is mounted into the second groove 105 and fixed by matching the third buckle 105 with the mounting hole 161.

A line terminal is further disposed in the second groove 104. The line terminal is connected with the infrared sensor 16 and a line connected with the line terminal is located in the partition plate 1 to supply power to the infrared sensor 16. Further, the infrared probe of the infrared sensor 16 faces the ice cube tray 23 so as to realize accurate detection of temperature of ice or water in the ice cube tray 23.

The refrigerator further includes a controller. The controller is connected with the infrared sensor 16 and the ice-overturning motor 19 respectively. The controller is configured to: control water injection to the ice cube tray 23; obtain the temperature and the ice making time detected by the infrared sensor, determine whether the ice making is completed based on the temperature and the ice making time detected by the infrared sensor, and control the ice-overturning motor 19 to perform ice-overturning operation if the ice making is completed; and continue performing ice making operation if the ice making is not completed.

The process of controlling water injection to the ice cube tray by the controller is as follows:

1. No water injection is performed in the first ice making period after being powered on, and in other circumstances, the water pump is powered on to start water injection after the ice overturning process is ended.

2. When the water injection time exceeds 6 s, the water pump is powered off to stop water injection and water is evenly distributed (initialization).

3. If the temperature detected by the infrared sensor within four minutes subsequent to water injection is less than 3° C. higher than the temperature prior to water injection, it is thought that water injection fails. The water injection failure does not cause alarm but can be queried. The process of controlling, by the controller, ice-overturning based on the temperature and the ice making time detected by the infrared sensor is as follows:

1) When the temperature detected by the infrared sensor is Tice≤−12° C. after the ice making time tZB≥80 min (water injection failure is 180 min), the controller controls the ice-overturning motor to perform ice overturning operation.

2) When the temperature detected by the infrared sensor is Tice≤−20° C. and continues for 30 min (water injection failure is 180 min), the controller controls the ice-overturning motor to perform ice-overturning operation.

3) When the infrared sensor fails, a temperature in the freezing compartment is detected. When the temperature detected by the sensor in the freezing compartment is Tfe≥−12° C. and continues for 200min, the controller controls the ice-overturning motor to perform ice overturning operation.

By the infrared sensor, the temperature of water or ice in the ice cube tray of the ice maker is directly detected to accurately determine the current situation of the ice making, and the controller then performs determination based on a set program to accurately control the ice maker to perform water injection or ice overturning. The ice maker herein has significant advantages over the existing ice maker with single time control function on the market, preventing ice cube lumping resulting from overturning following unsuccessful ice making in the refrigerator, and greatly improving the ice making efficiency.

The ice maker further includes a handle 24 and a knob 25. The handle 24 is disposed at an end of the ice tray rack 22 away from the ice-overturning motor 19. Further, the handle 24 and the ice maker rack 18 are in a same plane. A user may take out the ice tray rack 22 by the handle 24, facilitating user operation. Apart from facilitating taking out the ice tray rack 22 by the user, the handle 24 may also prevent the ice tray rack 22 from being squeezed out of the ice maker 14 during ice overturning process.

The knob 25 is disposed at an end of the ice maker rack 18 to rotatably lock or unlock the handle 24 and the ice maker rack 18. The knob 25 is rotatably mounted on an end surface of the ice maker rack 18. When the user rotates the knob 25, the ice tray rack 22 and the ice maker rack 18 may be locked to further prevent the ice tray rack 22 from being squeezed out of the ice maker during ice overturning process. When the user rotates the knob 25 in another direction, the ice tray rack 22 and the ice maker rack 18 may be unlocked to assist the user in taking out the ice cube tray 23.

When the user desires to clean the ice cube tray 23, the user may firstly rotate the knob 25 to unlock the ice tray rack 22 and the ice maker rack 18 and then pull forward the ice tray rack 22 by the handle 24 and then take it out of the ice maker rack 18. The magnet 26 and the magnetism-sensitive switch cooperatively perceive that the ice cube tray 23 is already taken out, and control the water supply assembly to stop supplying water. Then, cleaning may be performed for the ice cube tray 23. After cleaning of the ice cube tray 23, the user may firstly push back the ice tray rack 22 into the ice maker rack 18, and then rotate the knob 25 to lock the ice tray rack 22 and the ice maker rack 18. The magnetism-sensitive switch 17 and the magnet 26 cooperatively perceive that the ice cube tray 23 is placed back, and control the water supply assembly to perform water injection so as to continue ice making.

The ice maker 14 further includes an ice detection rod 21. The ice detection rod 21 is disposed on the ice-overturning motor 19 to detect whether the ice storage box 15 is full of ice cubes. The ice detection rod 21 detects the ice cubes in the ice storage box 15 by moving down from top under the drive of an ice detection shaft. When the ice storage box 15 is full of ice cubes, a descending angle of the ice detection rod 21 is small. On the other hand, when there is no or no sufficient ice in the ice storage box, the descending angle of the ice detection rod 21 is large. Thus, the amount of ice may be determined according to the change of the descending angle of the ice detection rod 21. If the ice detection rod determines that the ice storage box is full of ice, the water supply assembly is controlled to stop water injection, avoiding overflowing of ice in the ice storage box 15. If the ice detection rod determines that the ice storage box 15 is not full of ice, the water supply assembly is controlled to continue water injection so as to continue ice making and overturning.

As shown in FIG. 20, the water supply assembly includes a water tank 2, a filter 3, a water pump 7 and a water supply tube. The water tank 2 is disposed in the refrigerating compartment 20, and a water tank cover 5 is disposed at an upper opening of the water tank 2 to cover the water tank 2. The water tank cover 5 is covered on the opening of the water tank 2. When a user needs to add water, the user may simply push back the water tank cover 5 to expose the water inlet of the water tank, facilitating the user operation. Further, a sealing rubber strip 4 is disposed at the opening of the water tank 2 to seal the water tank cover 5 and the water tank 2, thus preventing water tank 2 from leaking water.

The filter 3 is disposed in the water tank 2 and fitted onto the water tank cover 5 by rotation so as to filter water in the water tank 2. Water in the water tank 2 is filtered by the filter 3 and flows out of the water tank 2 through the water outlet of the filter. The water inlet of the water pump 7 is connected with the water outlet of the filter to pump the filtered water. The water outlet of the water pump 7 is connected with an end of the water supply tube, and the other end of the water supply tube is connected to the ice cube tray 23. Thus, the water pumped by the water pump 7 is delivered to the ice cube tray 23 for ice making through the water supply tube.

In order to facilitate connection between the water outlet of the filter and the water inlet of the water pump 7, a water inlet rubber tube is connected between the water inlet of the water pump 7 and the water outlet of the filter. The hard water outlet of the filter and the hard water inlet of the water pump are connected by the soft water inlet rubber tube to avoid direct connection of the hard water inlet of the water pump and the hard water outlet of the filter.

The water supply tube includes a water outlet rubber tube 8, a water outlet PE tube, and a water outlet aluminum tube 12. An end of the water outlet rubber tube 8 is connected with the water outlet of the water pump 7, that is, the soft water outlet rubber tube 8 is connected with the hard water outlet of the water pump 7. The other end of the water outlet rubber tube 8 is connected with an end of the water outlet PE tube 9, the other end of the water outlet PE tube 9 is connected with an end of the water outlet aluminum tube 12, and the other end of the water outlet aluminum tube 12 is connected to the ice cube tray 23. In this way, the water in the water tank 2 is filtered by the filter 3 and then pumped by the water pump 7, and then passed through the water outlet rubber tube 8, the water outlet PE tube 9 and the water outlet aluminum tube 12 into the ice cube tray 23. In addition, a sealing rubber sleeve 11 is disposed between the water outlet PE tube 9 and the water outlet aluminum tube 12 to seal the connection of the water outlet PE tube 9 and the water outlet aluminum tube 12, thereby ensuring unobstructed water flow.

In this example, the water supply tube passes through the refrigerating compartment 20, the green vegetable preservation compartment 30 and the freezing compartment 40 in sequence, and the water supply tube is located outside of the internal air duct of the refrigerator body 10 to prevent the water in the water supply tube to freeze in a cold environment, thereby ensuring the water in the water tank 2 can be injected smoothly into the ice cube tray 23.

In the refrigerator of the examples of the present disclosure, the ice-making principle is as follows:

The water tank is disposed in the refrigerating compartment of the refrigerator. When the ice-making function of the refrigerator is enabled, the filtered water is pumped by the water pump from the water tank, and then injected into the ice cube tray through the water supply tube. The water in the ice cube tray is made into ice under the action of the cooling capacity from the air supply opening of the freezing compartment. The infrared sensor on the partition plate determines whether ice is already made or not based on the detected temperature. If the ice making is completed, the ice-overturning motor is controlled to overturn the ice cube tray to transfer the ice cubes in the ice cube tray into the ice storage box, and then overturn the ice cube tray back to continue ice making. After one ice making cycle, it is required to clean the ice cube tray. At this time, the user rotates the knob clockwise by 90 degrees to unlock the ice tray rack and the ice maker rack, and then pull forward the ice tray rack by the handle to take the ice tray rack and the ice cube tray out of the refrigerator for cleaning. When the ice tray rack is pulled forward, the magnet on the ice tray rack and the magnetism-sensitive switch on the partition plate cooperatively perceive that the ice cube tray is already taken out, and then the water supply assembly is controlled to stop supplying water. After the user completes cleaning the ice cube tray, the user may push back the ice tray rack by the handle to mount the ice tray rack into the ice maker rack, and then rotate the knob counterclockwise by 90 degrees to lock the ice tray rack and the ice maker rack. The magnet on the ice tray rack and the magnetism-sensitive switch on the partition plate cooperatively perceive that the ice cube tray is already placed back, and then the water supply assembly is controlled to start supplying water so as to continue ice making.

In the refrigerator, the ice cube tray can be dismounted by detachable connection of the ice tray rack and the ice maker rack, and thus, the structure is simple and operation is easy to do. In addition, the magnet on the ice tray rack and the magnetism-sensitive switch on the partition plate cooperatively perceive whether the ice cube tray is taken out so as to determine whether to stop water injection, thereby realizing accurate control of water injection, avoiding continued water injection to the ice cube tray after the ice cube tray is taken out, resulting in irregular ice cubes.

Based on the refrigerator with an ice maker in the above examples of the present disclosure, the examples of the present disclosure further provide an ice maker mounting method.

As shown in FIG. 21, when an ice maker is mounted in the refrigerator, an ice maker rack 18, an ice tray rack 22, an ice cube tray 23, an ice-overturning motor 19, an ice storage box 15, a magnet 26, a handle 24, a knob 25 and an ice detection rod 21 are firstly assembled into an ice maker 14 by combination; then, a partition plate 1 is inverted, and a magnetism-sensitive switch 17 and an infrared sensor 16 are mounted in corresponding grooves at the bottom of the partition plate 1; then the ice maker is mounted at the bottom of the partition plate 1 and connected to the partition plate 1 by a buckle; then after the partition plate 1 and the ice maker 14 are assembled, the assembly is stored for later use; finally, the partition plate 1 and the ice maker 14 are mounted into the refrigerator body together, which specifically includes: supporting the backs of the partition plate 1 and the ice maker 14 on a rear air duct of the freezing compartment 40 and then mounting them rotatably to horizontal along the dotted line with the contact point of the partition plate 1 and the air duct as a support point.

In the current mounting process of the ice maker, the partition plate 1 is firstly mounted, and then the ice maker is mounted to the partition plate 1 on the production line. Because the freezing compartment 40 is generally is located below, staff is required to crouch down to reach his hand into the refrigerator body 10 for mounting. Because the components of the ice maker are small and there is blind spot, it is difficult to observe and mount them, which thus slows down the mounting speed. Further, these components are possibly not mounted to be in place even with much manpower.

In some examples of this disclosure, firstly foaming is performed for the partition plate 1 between the green vegetable preservation compartment 30 and the freezing compartment 40, and then the ice maker 14 is mounted onto the partition plate 1, and finally the ice maker 14 and the partition plate 1 already assembled are together mounted into the freezing compartment 40 of the refrigerator on a production line. In this mounting manner, the partition plate 1 and the ice maker 14 are assembled off production line so that the ice maker can be mounted on a stationary production line during the whole mounting process, avoiding the phenomenon of improper mounting caused by limited operation space, inconvenience and limited range of sight in the moving production line and refrigerator body. It is required for the staff to simply mount the integrated partition plate and ice maker into the refrigerator on the production line, simplifying staff operation, reducing problems arising from the mounting process, improving the mounting efficiency of the staff, reducing the blind spot, saving manpower and increasing mounting quality.

In this example, when the refrigerator with an ice maker is mounted, the water supply assembly is firstly mounted, that is, the water tank 2, the filter 3 and the water tank cover 5 and the like are mounted, where the water supply assembly can be wholly pulled out for adding water or dismounted; then, the water pump 7 is connected to the water inlet rubber tube 6 and the water outlet rubber tube 8, and then mounted to the partition plate between the refrigerating compartment 20 and the green vegetable 30, the water outlet rubber tube 8 is connected to the water outlet PE tube 9, and the sealing rubber sleeve 11 of the water outlet PE tube 9 is connected to the water outlet aluminum tube 12; then, the ice maker is mounted as described in the above examples. In this way, the tedious mounting process of the staff in the production line is simplified, the mounting quality is improved and mounting efficiency is increased.

After the ice maker is mounted, the examples of the present disclosure further provide an ice maker water injection control method. The ice maker water injection control method includes: mounting the magnetism-sensitive switch 17 at the bottom of the partition plate 1 in the freezing compartment, fixedly mounting the magnet 26 on the side wall of the ice tray rack 22, and ensuring the magnet 26 exactly faces the magnetism-sensitive switch 17 when the ice tray rack 22 and the ice cube tray 23 are mounted to be in place; monitoring, in real time, whether the magnetism-sensitive switch 17 senses the magnet 26; if the magnetism-sensitive switch 17 senses the magnet 26, it indicates that the ice tray is mounted to be in place, the magnetism-sensitive switch 17 is controlled to generate a disconnection signal that is sent to the controller, and the controller controls water injection to be continued for the ice tray according to the disconnection signal, so as to complete a series of water injection and ice making operations. If the magnetism-sensitive switch 17 fails to sense the magnet 26, it indicates that the ice tray is already taken out, the magnetism-sensitive switch 17 is controlled to generate a closing signal that is sent to the controller, and the controller controls the water injection to be discontinued for the ice tray according to the closing signal. In this way, it is avoided that the water injection is still continued after the ice tray is taken out, resulting in ice cube lumping in the ice storage box 15.

In the present disclosure, whether the ice tray is mounted to be in place can be determined accurately by the magnetism-sensitive switch 17 and the magnet 26 so as to complete a series of water injection and ice making operations, avoiding continued water injection after the ice tray is taken out. Further, interference factors are fewer, reliability is high, thus greatly improving the accurate control of the water injection of the ice maker.

After the water injection is performed for the ice tray, the water in the ice cube tray 23 will be frozen up under the action of the cooling capacity of the freezing compartment. It is required to perform ice overturning operation after the ice is made. The examples of the present disclosure provide an ice maker ice-overturning control method.

As shown in FIG. 22, the ice maker ice-overturning control method in the examples of the present disclosure includes the following steps.

At step S100, a temperature of ice cubes in the ice cube tray is detected by the infrared sensor.

In this example, the infrared sensor is mounted at the bottom of the partition plate between the green vegetable preservation compartment and the freezing compartment to perceive the temperature of water or ice in the ice cube tray in real time.

At step S200, the temperature and the ice making time detected by the infrared sensor are obtained.

After detecting the temperature of water or ice in the ice cube tray, the infrared sensor sends it to the controller, and the controller receives the temperature information; in addition, the controller further obtains the ice making time. The value of the ice making time tZB is obtained based on the following rule:

1) In a defrosting state, the ice making time tZB is not counted.

2) After the ice maker starts to make ice (for example, power on for 10 mins each time), the temperature detected by the infrared sensor is obtained; if the temperature detected by the infrared sensor reaches the second preset temperature (Tice≤−3° C.), the ice making time tZB starts to be calculated from zero; if Tice>−1° C., the ice making time tZB is cleared to zero.

3) When the ice maker starts to run and does not expire, if the freezing start or stop point is less than −21° C., the ice making time tZB is controlled based on a set value; otherwise, the ice making time tZB is controlled based on the set value −21° C.

At step S300, it is determined whether the ice-overturning motor performs ice-overturning operation according to the temperature and the ice-making time detected by the infrared sensor.

After obtaining the temperature and the ice making time from the infrared sensor, the controller performs determination based on the set procedure to control the ice maker to perform ice-overturning operation. The determination procedure is as shown in FIG. 23:

At step S301, it is determined whether the ice making time exceeds the first preset time.

At step S302, if the ice making time exceeds the first preset time, it is determined whether the temperature detected by the infrared sensor reaches the first preset temperature.

At step S303, the temperature detected by the infrared sensor reaches the first preset temperature, the ice-overturning motor is controlled to perform ice-overturning operation.

When the ice making time obtained by the controller exceeds the first preset time (for example, 80 min, in case of water injection failure time, 180 min), the controller obtains the temperature Tice detected by the infrared sensor; if the temperature Tice detected by the infrared sensor reaches the first preset temperature (e.g. −12° C.), the controller determines the ice cube in the ice cube tray is already made and may control the ice maker to perform ice-overturning operation.

The determination procedure may also be as shown in FIG. 24.

At step S311, it is determined whether the temperature detected by the infrared sensor reaches the third preset temperature.

At step S312, if the temperature detected by the infrared sensor reaches the third preset temperature, the duration of the temperature is recorded.

At step S313, it is determined whether the duration of the temperature reaches the second preset time.

At step S314, if the duration of the temperature reaches the second preset time, the ice-overturning motor is controlled to perform ice-overturning operation.

When the temperature detected by infrared sensor and obtained by the controller reaches the third preset temperature (e.g. −20° C.), the duration of the temperature is started to be recorded, and it is determined whether the duration of the temperature reaches the second preset time (e.g. 30 min, in case of water injection failure, 180 min); the duration of the temperature reaches the second preset time, it is determined that the ice cubes in the ice cube tray are already made and the ice maker is controlled to perform ice-overturning operation. That is, when the temperature of water or ice in the ice cube tray reaches a given value and changes little in a very long time, it indicates that the ice cubes in the ice cube tray are already made.

The determination procedure may also be as shown in FIG. 25:

At step S321, the temperature of the cryogenic storage compartment where the ice maker is located is obtained.

At step S322, it is determined whether the temperature of the cryogenic storage compartment reaches the fourth preset temperature.

At step S323, if the temperature of the cryogenic storage compartment reaches the fourth preset temperature, the duration of the temperature is recorded.

At step S324, it is determined whether the duration of the temperature reaches the third preset time.

At step S325, if the duration of the temperature reaches the third preset temperature, the ice-overturning motor is controlled to perform ice-overturning operation.

The infrared sensor on the partition plate may fail. When the infrared sensor fails, whether the ice making is completed by the temperature of the freezing compartment where the ice maker is located, that is, by obtaining the temperature of the freezing compartment. If the temperature of the freezing compartment reaches the fourth preset temperature (e.g. 0-12° C.), the duration of the temperature of the freezing compartment is started to be recorded, and it is determined whether the duration of the temperature reaches the third preset time (e.g. 20 min). If the duration of the temperature reaches the third preset time, it is determined that ice cubes in the ice cube tray are already made, and the ice maker is controlled to perform ice-overturning operation.

In the ice maker ice-overturning control method of the examples of the present disclosure, the infrared sensor directly senses the temperature of water or ice in the ice cube tray so as to accurately determine the current situation of the ice making based on the temperature. Due to high sensitivity, complete formation of the ice cubes can be guaranteed, so that the ice maker is controlled accurately to perform ice-overturning operation, thereby avoiding ice cube lumping due to unsuccessful overturning in the refrigerator, and greatly improving the ice making efficiency.

It is noted that in the present disclosure, the terms “including”, “containing” and any other variations are intended to encompass non-exclusive inclusion, so that a circuit structure, article or device including a series of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not listed explicitly or those elements inherent to such a circuit structure, method, article or device. Without more limitations, an element defined by the statement “including a . . . ” shall not be precluded to include additional same elements present in a circuit structure, method, article or device including the elements.

Other implementations of the present disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the present disclosure herein. The present disclosure is intended to cover any variations, uses, modification or adaptations of the present disclosure that follow the general principles thereof and include common knowledge or conventional technical means in the related art that are not disclosed in the present disclosure. The specification and examples are considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the present disclosure being indicated by the following claims.

The examples of the present disclosure described above do not constitute limitation to the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A refrigerator with an ice maker, comprising:

a refrigerator body, having a cryogenic storage compartment;

a partition plate, disposed at an inner liner of the refrigerator body to partition the cryogenic storage compartments;

an ice maker disposed in the cryogenic storage compartment; the ice maker comprising:

an ice maker rack, fixedly mounted on the partition plate;

a ice tray rack, detachably mounted in the ice maker rack;

a magnet, disposed on the ice tray rack;

a magnetism-sensitive switch, disposed at the bottom of the partition plate to perceive whether the ice tray is injected with water in cooperation with the magnet.

2. The refrigerator with an ice maker according to claim 1, wherein a groove is disposed at the bottom of the partition plate, and the magnetism-sensitive switch is fixedly mounted in the groove.

3. The refrigerator with an ice maker according to claim 2, wherein a water inlet is disposed on the partition plate, the water inlet corresponds to the ice tray, and the groove is close to the water inlet.

4. The refrigerator with an ice maker according to claim 2, wherein a switch cover plate is disposed on the magnetism-sensitive switch, a first buckling groove and a second buckling groove are disposed on both ends of the switch cover plate respectively, a first buckle and a second buckle are disposed at an opening of the groove respectively, the first buckling groove is fitted with the first buckle, and the second buckling groove is fitted with the second buckle.

5. The refrigerator with an ice maker according to claim 2, wherein a mounting groove is disposed at a side wall of the ice tray, the mounting groove corresponds to the groove, and the magnet is clamped into the mounting groove.

6. The refrigerator with an ice maker according to claim 1, wherein the refrigerator further comprises a controller, and the magnetism-sensitive switch perceives a position of the ice tray in cooperation with the magnet to send a signal for starting or stopping water injection to the controller.

7. The refrigerator with an ice maker according to claim 1, wherein the ice tray comprises:

an ice tray rack detachably mounted in the ice maker rack;

an ice cube tray disposed in the ice tray rack;

an ice-overturning motor disposed at a side of the ice tray rack;

an ice detection rod disposed on the ice-overturning motor.

8. The refrigerator with an ice maker according to claim 7, wherein the magnet is disposed on the ice tray rack.

9. An ice maker water injection control method, being applied to the refrigerator with an ice maker according to claim 1, comprising:

monitoring whether a magnetism-sensitive on a partition plate senses a magnet on an ice tray;

if the magnetism-sensitive switch senses the magnet, controlling the magnetism-sensitive switch to generate a disconnection signal and controlling the ice tray to perform water injection according to the disconnection signal;

if the magnetism-sensitive switch fails to sense the magnet, controlling the magnetism-sensitive switch to generate a closing signal and controlling the ice tray to stop performing water injection according to the closing signal.

10. A refrigerator with an ice maker, comprising:

a refrigerator body, having a cryogenic storage compartment comprising a refrigerating compartment, a green vegetable preservation compartment and a freezing compartment;

a partition plate, disposed at an inner liner of the refrigerator body to partition cryogenic storage compartments;

a water supply assembly disposed in the refrigerating compartment;

an ice maker disposed in the freezing compartment;

a water supply tube communicating the water supply assembly with the ice maker;

wherein a water storage mechanism in communication with the water supply tube is disposed above a water outlet of an end of the water supply tube close to the ice maker to store water flowing out of the water supply tube in a case of the water outlet of the water supply tube being frozen up.

11. The refrigerator with an ice maker according to claim 10, wherein the water supply tube comprises:

a first tube connected with a water outlet of the water supply assembly and penetrated through the partition plate between the refrigerating compartment and the green vegetable preservation compartment;

a second tube connected with an upper end of the first tube, where the water storage mechanism is sleeved at an outer side of the second tube and communicates with the second tube;

a sealing sleeve connected with the second tube, where a lower end of the second tube is embedded in the sealing sleeve; and

a third tube connected with the sealing sleeve, where an outer side of the sealing sleeve is embedded on an upper end of the third tube, and a lower end of the third tube is in communication with the ice maker.

12. The refrigerator with an ice maker according to claim 11, wherein the water storage mechanism comprises a water storage tube, and a water storage amount of a water storage zone formed by the water storage tube and the second tube is greater than the water amount of one injection of the ice maker.

13. The refrigerator with an ice maker according to claim 12, wherein the second tube is provided with a water hole through which the water storage tube is in communication with the second tube.

14. The refrigerator with an ice maker according to claim 13, wherein a flow rate of the water hole is greater than a flow rate of a water inlet of the second tube.

15. The refrigerator with an ice maker according to claim 13, wherein a lower end of the water storage tube is funnel-shaped and the water hole is disposed at a tube wall of the second tube close to the funnel.

16. The refrigerator with an ice maker according to claim 12, wherein a plurality of support ribs are disposed between an inner wall of the water storage tube and an outer wall of the second tube.

17. The refrigerator with an ice maker according to claim 12, wherein the water storage tube and the second tube are in one-piece structure.

18. The refrigerator with an ice maker according to claim 12, wherein the water storage tube is close to the lower end of the second tube.

19. The refrigerator with an ice maker according to claim 11, wherein the first tube is a rubber tube, the second tube is a PE tube, and the third tube is an aluminum tube.