Operation method for automatic ice maker

Abstract

Disclosed is an automatic ice maker which surely removes ice cubes from an ice-making unit and improves an ice-making efficiency. When the automatic ice maker starts a deicing operation, a hot gas is supplied to an evaporator and deicing water is supplied to the ice-making unit from a deicing water sprinkler to turn the frozen state at the frozen surfaces between the ice-making unit and ice cubes to a liquefaction state. When the deicing operation makes some progression and a temperature detecting unit detects that the temperature of the evaporator has reached a set temperature, a circulation pump is driven after elapse of the first set temperature to supply ice-making water to the ice-making unit from an ice-making sprinkler, promoting further separation of the ice cubes.

1 . An operation method for an automatic ice maker comprising the steps of:
 in an ice-making operation, cooling an ice-making unit by supplying a refrigerant to an evaporator of the ice-making unit and generating ice cubes by supplying ice-making water to the ice-making unit via a circulation pump;   in a deicing operation, supplying a hot gas to the evaporator and supplying deicing water to the ice-making unit from a deicing water supply unit to remove the ice cubes from the ice-making unit; and   driving the circulation pump to start supplying the ice-making water to the ice-making unit when a first set time elapses after a temperature detecting unit has detected the temperature of the evaporator in a deicing operation having reached a predetermined set temperature.   
   
   
       2 . The operation method according to  claim 1 , wherein supply of the deicing water from the deicing water supply unit is stopped by driving the circulation pump. 
   
   
       3 . The operation method according to  claim 1 , wherein supply of the deicing water from the deicing water supply unit is stopped when a second set time set shorter than the first set time elapses after a temperature detecting unit has detected the temperature of the evaporator having reached the predetermined set temperature. 
   
   
       4 . An operation method for an automatic ice maker comprising the steps of:
 at a time of performing an ice-making operation, supplying ice-making water to top sides of ice-making plates by an ice-making water supply unit and supplying a refrigerant to an evaporator disposed in a zigzagged form between bottom sides of the ice-making plates;   when an operation shifts to a deicing operation upon detection of generation of ice cubes on the top sides of the ice-making plates, stopping supplying the ice-making water to the top sides of the ice-making plates and the refrigerant to the evaporator, and thereafter supplying deicing water to the bottom sides of the ice-making plates to thereby promote melt separation of the ice cubes from the ice-making plates; and   causing a controller to control the ice-making water supply unit in such a way as to supply the ice-making water to the top sides of the ice-making plates before terminating the deicing operation so that ice cubes remaining on the top sides of the ice-making plates are removed by the ice-making water.   
   
   
       5 . The operation method according to  claim 4 , wherein the controller controls the ice-making water supply unit to start supplying the ice-making water when an ice-making-water supply start detecting unit detects a preset ice-making-water supply start condition before a deicing completion detecting unit which detects completion of the deicing operation detects completion of deicing. 
   
   
       6 . The operation method according to  claim 4  or  5 , wherein in a case of supplying the ice-making water to the top sides of the ice-making plates before terminating the deicing operation, the controller controls the ice-making water supply unit to intermittently supply the ice-making water. 
   
   
       7 . The operation method according to  claim 4  or  5 , wherein when supply of the ice-making water to the top sides of the ice-making plates is started before terminating the deicing operation, the controller controls the deicing water supply unit which supplies the deicing water, thereby stopping supplying the deicing water to the bottom sides of the ice-making plates. 
   
   
       8 . The operation method according to  claim 6 , wherein when supply of the ice-making water to the top sides of the ice-making plates is started before terminating the deicing operation, the controller controls the deicing water supply unit which supplies the deicing water, thereby stopping supplying the deicing water to the bottom sides of the ice-making plates.