Refrigeration – Processes – Congealing flowable material – e.g. – ice making
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-08
2001-08-21
Tapolcai, William E. (Department: 3744)
Refrigeration
Processes
Congealing flowable material, e.g., ice making
C062S233000, C062S338000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06276146
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to a method for controlling the purified water passage of a refrigerator with a water purifying filter and, more particularly, to a method for controlling the purified water passage of a refrigerator with a water purifying filter, which is capable of protecting the filter from being damaged.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As well known to those skilled in the art, some refrigerators have water purifying filters in their interiors, thereby supplying water purified by the filters to the outside of the refrigerators or producing ice using water purified by the filters.
FIG. 1
is a schematic perspective view showing the purified water passage of a conventional refrigerator with a water purifying filter. The conventional refrigerator comprises a refrigerator compartment
10
and a freezer compartment
20
that are partitioned by a barrier BR. A machine room
30
is positioned under the refrigerator compartment
10
and the freezer compartment
20
.
A first valve
32
and a second valve
34
are mounted to the machine room
30
. The first valve
32
serves to arrest water entering the interior of the refrigerator from a water pipe when an old filter is exchanged for a new one, and the second valve
34
serves to dispense purified water to the various portions of the refrigerator. The first and second valves
32
and
34
are solenoid valves, and are opened or closed by means of the attraction of a magnetic field that is generated when electric current is applied to the valves
32
and
34
.
A water purifying filter
12
that is mounted to the refrigerator compartment
10
is connected to the first valve
32
via a connecting conduit D
1
. The filter
12
serves to purify water that has entered the refrigerator. A tank
14
is positioned on one side of the refrigerator compartment
10
and connected to the water purifying filter
12
and the second valve
34
respectively via a connecting conduit D
2
and a connecting conduit D
3
. Water that has been purified in the filter
12
is stored in the tank
14
temporarily before it is supplied to a dispenser (will be described).
A refrigerator compartment door switch
16
a
is mounted to the refrigerator compartment door
16
and serves to inform a Central Processing Unit (CPU, will be described) whether the refrigerator compartment door is opened or not.
In the meantime, an ice-making unit
24
is mounted to the freezer compartment
20
and connected to the second valve
34
via a connecting conduit D
4
. An ice-making unit switch
24
a
that is positioned on one side of the ice-making unit
24
transmits a signal to the CPU when purified water is needed so as to make ice.
The dispenser
22
is mounted to one side of the freezer compartment
20
so as to supply the purified water to the outside of the refrigerator, and connected to the tank
14
via a connecting conduit D
5
. A dispenser switch
22
a
that is mounted to one side of the dispenser
22
transmits a signal to the CPU so as to supply the purified water to the outside of the refrigerator.
A freezer compartment door switch
26
a
is mounted to the freezer compartment door
16
and serves to inform the CPU whether the freezer compartment door
26
is opened or not.
With reference to
FIGS. 2 and 3
, a conventional method for controlling the purified water passage of the refrigerator with a water purifying filter will be described in detail.
Referring to
FIG. 2
, the CPU controls a first valve control
32
a
and a second valve control
34
a
in accordance with a preset control program in response to signals from the refrigerator compartment door switch
16
a
, the freezer compartment door switch
26
a
, the dispenser switch
22
a
and the ice-making unit switch
24
a
. That is, the first and second valve
32
and
34
are opened or closed in response to the signals of the refrigerator compartment door switch
16
a
, the freezer compartment door switch
26
a
, the dispenser switch
22
a
and the ice-making unit switch
24
a.
FIG. 3
is a flowchart showing the conventional method for controlling the purified water passage of the refrigerator with a water purifying filter so as to control the opening of the first and second valves
32
and
34
.
In accordance with the flowchart, the conventional purified water passage control method starts from the step of determining whether the refrigerator compartment door switch
16
a
is OFF (STEP
110
). If the refrigerator compartment door switch
16
a
is OFF, that is, the refrigerator compartment door
16
is opened, the first and second switches
32
and
34
are closed (STEP
111
). The reason why the first valve
32
is closed while the refrigerator compartment door
16
is opened is to prevent water from being supplied to the filter
12
when an old filter is exchanged for a new one.
On the other hand, if the refrigerator compartment door switch
16
a
is ON (NO in STEP
110
), the step of determining whether the freezer compartment door switch
26
a
is OFF (STEP
112
) is performed. If the freezer compartment door
26
is opened, and so the freezer compartment door switch
26
a
is OFF, the first valve
32
is opened and the second valve
34
is closed (STEP
113
). That is, water that has passed through the opened first valve
32
is supplied to the filter
12
of the refrigerator compartment
10
via the connecting conduit D
1
. Additionally, water that is purified in the filter
12
is supplied to the second valve
34
of the machine room
30
via the connecting conduit D
2
. In such a case, since the second valve
34
is closed, purified water is not supplied to the ice-making unit
24
and the dispenser
22
while the refrigerator compartment door
26
is opened. The reason why the second valve
34
is closed while the freezer compartment door is opened is to prevent water from being leaked via the dispenser
22
.
If the freezer compartment door switch
26
a
is ON (NO in STEP
112
), the step of determining whether the dispenser switch
22
a
and the ice-making unit switch
24
a
are OFF (STEP
114
) is performed. If the dispenser switch
22
a
and the ice-making unit switch
24
a
are OFF, the first valve
32
is opened and the second valve
34
is closed (STEP
116
). As a result, since the first valve
32
is opened when water supply to the dispenser
22
and the ice-making unit
24
is not needed while the freezer compartment door
26
is closed, water is supplied to the filter
12
and is not supplied to the dispenser
22
and the ice-making unit
24
.
On the other hand, when at least one of the dispenser switch
22
a
and the ice-making unit switch
24
a
is ON because water supply to at least one of the dispenser
22
and the ice-making unit
24
is needed, the first and second valves
32
and
34
are opened (STEP
115
), so that water is supplied to the dispenser switch
22
and the ice-making unit
24
.
The conventional method for controlling the purified water passage of the refrigerator constructed above has the following defects.
As known from the flowchart of
FIG. 3
, the opening and closing of the first valve
32
depends upon whether the refrigerator compartment door
16
is opened or not. That is, the first valve
32
is closed when the refrigerator compartment door
16
is opened, while the first valve
32
is opened when the refrigerator compartment door
16
is closed. Therefore, regardless of whether the second valve
34
is opened or not, or when water supply to the refrigerator is not needed, the first valve
32
is opened, so that water is continuously supplied to the filter
12
that is connected to the first valve
32
. In such a case, since water is continuously supplied while water that has passed through the filter
12
is intercepted by the second valve
34
, high water pressure is exerted on the filter
12
. Since the filter
12
is mostly made of a minute material that is weak and subject to impact damage, such high water pressure may cause the filter
12
to be damaged.
Additionally, since water
Kim Ill Shin
Kim Si-Jae
Kwon Yong-Chol
LG Electronics Inc.
Tapolcai William E.
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