EP2126489B1 - Refrigeration device comprising an ice dispenser - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a refrigeration device, in particular a household freezer or fridge-freezer combination device, with an ice dispenser and an assembly for such a refrigeration device.

On off US 4 176 627 A The known ice dispenser comprises a storage container for ice pieces, a stirring tool which is rotatable about an axis extending through the storage container, a comminuting chamber which extends the storage container in the direction of the axis, and a rotatable slide in the form of a plurality of rotatably coupled in the comminuting chamber to the stirring tool blades mounted in parallel on the axle, which in the course of its rotation conveyed ice, which has penetrated into the crushing chamber, to a discharge opening, possibly crushing it. The stirring tool is formed on a part of its length as a helix and on another, the output chamber adjacent part as a screw conveyor, so that by a rotation of the stirring ice pieces are conveyed into the crushing chamber. If the agitating tool were rotated without allowing ice to be dispensed from the crushing chamber, the ice would accumulate in the crushing chamber and block rotation. Rotation of the stirring tool without simultaneous dispensing of ice is therefore not possible. If ice is not removed for an extended period of time, there is a risk of the ice pieces in the storage container freezing to one another and blocking the rotation, so that the ice dispenser must be removed from the refrigeration device and defrosted to make it usable again.

US 5,273,219 Proposes an ice dispenser comprising an assembly mountable in a refrigerator having a storage compartment for ice pieces, a stirring tool rotatable about an axis extending through the storage container for moving ice pieces contained in the storage compartment, and an output chamber Choice of the user shredded or crushed ice pieces are issued from the assembly. The stirring tool has the shape of a zigzag bent bar in a plane. An arranged between the pantry and the crushing chamber conveying and metering drum is coupled via a planetary gear to the rotation of the stirring tool and always transported when the latter rotates, ice in the Crushing chamber. Therefore, the stirrer may only rotate when ice is to be dispensed. The period of time between successive actuations of the stirring tool can therefore be very long, and there is also the risk that pieces of ice in the storage chamber freeze and block the stirring tool.

To counteract the risk of blockage of the stirring tool, a very powerful drive motor for the stirring tool can be provided, and the entire assembly can be designed with high mechanical strength to allow breakage of the pieces of ice even after prolonged disuse. In this way, although the risk of blocking the ice dispenser or reduce the time of disuse, after which a blockage occurs extend, but this approach is associated with considerable costs, and there is a risk that pieces of ice in the pantry undesirably minced become. However, the larger the proportion of small fragments on the ice of the storage chamber, the greater is its tendency to freeze, and the greater the force required to break the ice.

US 4,856,381 proposes to solve the problem of freezing by a stirring tool and a screw conveyor are mounted separately in the reservoir of an ice dispenser and each driven by its own motor. Thus, the stirring tool can be actuated to separate the ice pieces from each other, without at the same time is issued by the screw auger ice. A problem of this design is the large space requirement of the stirring tool and the separate screw conveyor and its drive motors, which makes this solution essentially only for commercial, exclusively for ice making devices interesting.

EP 1 707 906 A2 discloses an ice container according to the preamble of claim 1 and shows an ice container having a conveyor, a grinding unit and a rotatable closure for selectively opening and closing an ice dispenser on the ice storage container.

EP 1 482 262 A1 discloses an ice storage for storing ice pieces, an ice delivery unit for transporting ice pieces in the width direction of the ice storage, and a crushing unit for crushing the ice pieces.

US 6 093 312 A discloses an ice dispensing system comprising an air cooler on the ice storage container for preventing ice clotting.

DE 10 2005 021 556 A1 discloses a storage device for ice cubes having a receiving space for the ice cubes, which has a bottom, and at least one movable stirrer for the ice cubes, wherein the stirrer is free of draft.

US 4,942,983 A discloses an ice container for storing ice which has a sloped bottom and a conveyor for moving the ice up the sloped bottom to an ice discharge port. The ice dispensing opening has a flap flap, which can be opened or closed by a lever arm and a drive motor.

An object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator with an ice dispenser, in which the freezing of stored pieces of ice can be reliably prevented and in which the ice dispenser nevertheless has a compact, cost-effective construction. Another object is to provide an assembly for such a refrigeration device.

The object is achieved by a refrigeration device having the features of claim 1 or an assembly as specified in claim 14.

In a refrigeration device having a housing enclosing an interior, an assembly arranged in the interior, which comprises a storage chamber for ice pieces and a stirring tool which is rotatable about an axis extending through the storage chamber, to ice pieces contained in the storage chamber against each other and to a Moving through the housing extending discharge passage, a closable flap between the storage chamber and the discharge passage is arranged, the possibility is created to operate the stirring tool, without simultaneously leading to the release of ice. That is, the agitator can depending on the state - open or closed - the flap for conveying and dispensing ice or for loosening stored in the reservoir ice pieces serve. By the flap on the way of the ice before the output passage, that is arranged within the cooled interior, it is ensured that any ice attached to the flap does not thaw and thus no condensation runs out of the discharge passage in an uncontrolled manner.

According to the invention, in order to be able to drive a movement of the flap in opposite directions, the pivotable arm expediently engages in a slot on the flap with a slot acting as a gate.

The closable flap is expediently part of the assembly.

To facilitate the dispensing of crushed ice, the assembly preferably includes a crushing chamber housing tools for chopping the ice cubes. In this case, the flap may be located between the pantry and the crushing chamber so that in the closed position it prevents ice from entering the crushing chamber; However, it may also be arranged between the crushing chamber and the output passage. The second variant has the advantage that by closing the flap the output of ice is stopped immediately, whereas a flap mounted between the pantry and the crushing chamber can not prevent it from closing the flap has passed into the crushing chamber is still issued after closing the flap.

The flap disposed between the crushing chamber and the discharge passage is preferably arranged to form an opening in a circumferential surface of the Essentially cylindrical crushing chamber to close. To convey ice through the crushing chamber, the latter preferably contains a slide rotatable about its cylinder axis.

It is further preferred that the slider comprises a first set of fingers, and that a second set of fingers is provided in the dispensing chamber, at least one of the sets comprising at least two axially spaced fingers, and that upon rotation of the slider one finger of the other Sentence passes a gap between the two fingers of the one sentence. Pieces of ice between the two sets of fingers are crushed between the fingers, resulting in small fragments for delivery. In order to improve the crushing promotion, the fingers are preferably sharp-edged, especially in the form of knife blades executed. The flap is pivotable between its open and closed positions about a first axis.

Such a flap is preferably lockable in its closed position by a self-locking mechanism.

Such a self-locking mechanism is easily realized by a pivotable arm about a second axis, wherein in a flap locking position of the arm an imaginary line connecting a flap-contacting point of the arm with the second axis, substantially parallel to the direction of movement of the Point of the arm is touched point of the flap in the unlocked state. The Pivoting movement of the flap is driven by a rotation of the arm, wherein the flap always reaches a closed position corresponding end point of their freedom of movement, when the imaginary line is exactly parallel to the direction of movement of the touched point. Small deviations from parallelism are acceptable as long as they do not result in a noticeable open state of the flap in a locked state.

The arm can be freely rotatable about the second axis. This makes it possible, for example, to put the arm in the arresting position and back into a non-locking position by rotating in the same direction, which simplifies the drive of the arm movement.

Alternatively, the arm may be rotatable about the second axis between two stops at an angular interval. Then, while it is necessary to be able to switch the direction of rotation of an arm drive, there is no need to monitor the position of the arm to detect when it is in the arresting position. The angular interval in which the arm is rotatable expediently includes an orientation of the imaginary line exactly parallel to the direction of movement of the contact point of the flap.

• Fig. 1 einen schematischen Schnitt durch ein Haushaltskältegerät, das mit einer erfindungsgemäßen Baugruppe ausgestattet ist;
• Fig. 2 eine perspektivische Ansicht einer entlang einer Mittelebene halbierten Vorratskammer der Baugruppe;
• Fig.3 eine perspektivische Ansicht einer vollständigen entlang derselben Ebene halbierten Baugruppe;
• Fig. 4 einen Schnitt durch die Zerkleinerungskammer der in Fig. 3 gezeigten Baugruppe bei geschlossener Klappe;
• Fig. 5 einen Schnitt durch die Zerkleinerungskammer bei offener Klappe;
• Fig. 6 einen zu Fig. 4 analogen Schnitt gemäß einer zweiten Ausgestaltung die nicht Teil der Erfindung ist;
• Fig. 7 einen Längsschnitt der Baugruppe gemäß einer dritten Ausgestaltung die nicht Teil der Erfindung ist;
• Fig. 8 eine Ansicht einer Stirnwand eines Vorratsbehälters der in Fig. 7 gezeigten Baugruppe und einer an der Stirnwand verschiebbaren Klappe;
• Fig. 9 einen Längsschnitt durch eine Baugruppe gemäß einer vierten Ausgestaltung; und
• Fig. 10 einen Schnitt durch ein vergrößertes Detail einer Baugruppe gemäß einer fünften Ausgestaltung.

Further features and advantages will become apparent from the following description of embodiments with reference to the accompanying figures. Show it:

• Fig. 1 a schematic section through a household refrigerator, which is equipped with an assembly according to the invention;
• Fig. 2 a perspective view of a halved along a central plane storage chamber of the assembly;
• Figure 3 a perspective view of a complete along the same plane halved assembly;
• Fig. 4 a section through the crushing chamber of in Fig. 3 shown assembly with the flap closed;
• Fig. 5 a section through the crushing chamber with open flap;
• Fig. 6 one too Fig. 4 analogous section according to a second embodiment which does not form part of the invention;
• Fig. 7 a longitudinal section of the assembly according to a third embodiment which is not part of the invention;
• Fig. 8 a view of an end wall of a reservoir of in Fig. 7 shown assembly and a sliding on the end wall flap;
• Fig. 9 a longitudinal section through an assembly according to a fourth embodiment; and
• Fig. 10 a section through an enlarged detail of an assembly according to a fifth embodiment.

This in Fig. 1 shown in a schematic section refrigeration device has a heat-insulating body 1 and a door 2, which define an interior space 3. The interior 3 is maintained at a temperature below 0 ° C by an evaporator, which is housed in an upper part of the body 1 divided evaporator chamber 4. An automatic ice maker 5 is arranged in the immediate vicinity of the evaporator chamber 4 in the interior 3, so that it can preferably be acted upon by cold air from the evaporator chamber 4. The ice maker 5 comprises in a known manner, not shown in detail in the figure, a plurality of mold containers, means for automatically dosing water into the mold containers and means for automatically ejecting the finished ice cubes from the mold containers. Below the ice maker 5, an upwardly open storage chamber 6 of an assembly designed as assembly 7 is arranged, which receives the ejected pieces of ice. The assembly 7 extends over a majority of the depth of the interior 3 and may for example be injection molded in one piece of plastic or assembled from a plurality of injection molded elements. In a rear niche 8 of the assembly 7, an electric motor for driving a stirring rod 9 is housed. The electric motor may be permanently mounted in the refrigeration device, or it may be integrated into the assembly and be removable therewith. The stirring rod 9 extends in the depth direction of the inner space 3 or in the longitudinal direction of the storage chamber 6 through the latter and through a comminution chamber 10 adjoining the storage chamber 6 and adjacent to the door 2.

The stirring rod 9 is a metal rod, which is bent in a zigzag shape in its section extending through the storage chamber 6 in a plane parallel to its axis of rotation. At the engaging into the crushing chamber 10 portion of the stirring rod 9 blades 11 of a grinder are attached so that they rotate with the rotation of the stirring rod 9.

As in particular in the FIGS. 3 to 5 To recognize, the crushing chamber 10 has substantially the shape of a horizontal cylinder, in which the knife 11 carrying portion of the stirring rod 9 extends coaxially. Each four knives 11 are integrally formed on a cutter disk 44, and a plurality of cutting discs 44 are mounted in rotation against each other on the stirring rod 9. Between two adjacent cutter disks 44 two spaced apart by a gap elastic buffer rings 45 are arranged on the stirring rod (see Fig. 10 ).

In the crushing chamber 11 also knives 12 are housed, which are switchable between a rotatable together with the knives 11 state in which they act like this only as a slide for located in the crushing chamber 10 pieces of ice, and a stationary state in which they interact grind ice with the knives 11 in the crushing chamber 10. The knives 12 are in the form of sharp-edged, approximately quarter-circular plates. The plates are rigidly connected at their outer periphery by two transverse struts 46, and their tips facing the stirring rod 9 are, as in FIG Fig. 10 shown trapped in the gaps between the buffer rings 45. The clamping is so strong that the knife 12 are taken from the rotation of the rake 9, if they are not by a bolt 43 (please refer Fig. 4, 5 ), which acts through an opening in the wall of the crushing chamber 10 on one of the transverse struts 46, are prevented.

On the cylindrical outer wall of the crushing chamber 10 is an in Fig. 1 invisible flap attached, of which various embodiments are described in more detail below. When the flap is open, ice is transported from the storage chamber 6 into the crushing chamber 10 by a rotation of the stirring rod 9, optionally, depending on the position of the bolt 43, comminuted in the crushing chamber 10 and discharged into a passage 13 which extends through a Insulating material layer of the door 2 extends and opens into an open towards the outside of the door 2 niche 14. Another flap 15 keeps the passage 13 normally closed to prevent the ingress of hot air into the interior 3; the flap 15 is opened only as long as the stirring rod 9 rotates to deliver ice through the passage 13 into a container placed in the recess 14.

A water tank 16 is embedded on the rear wall of the niche 14 in the insulating material of the door 2. The water tank 16 is on the one hand as the icemaker 5 via a supply line 17 and a check valve 18 connected to the drinking water network and on the other hand to a tap 19 in the niche 14.

Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of a shell 20 of the assembly 7, which limits the storage chamber 6 together with a substantially mirror-symmetrical, not shown counterpart to her. On a rear side of the shell 20, the niche 8 receiving the motor, not shown, can be seen. A recess on one of the niche 8 facing the rear wall 25 of the shell 20 forms together with its counterpart a circular window 21 which is provided to receive a substantially cylindrical coupling piece 22 rotatably. The coupling piece 22 has at its the viewer in Fig. 2 facing a slot 23 into which an angled end portion 24 (see Fig. 3 ) of the stirring rod 9 can be inserted. Not shown recesses on the back of this coupling piece 22 allow a positive engagement of the motor.

The storage chamber 6 has a longitudinally sloping from the rear wall 25 to an end wall 26, in cross-section transverse to the axis of rotation of the stirring rod 9 semicircular Bottom 27. The semicircular cross-sectional shape of the bottom 27 prevents pieces of ice from wedging in a corner of the storage chamber 6 and blocking the rotation of the stirring rod 9; the downward slope towards the end wall 26 causes pieces of ice displaced by the rotation of the stirring bar 9 to slip onto the end wall 26 and into the circular window 28 formed therein Fig. 2 not shown crushing chamber 10 enter.

A projecting from the front wall 26 forward pin 29 serves as a pivot axis for the already mentioned, the crushing chamber 10 occlusive flap.

Fig. 3 again shows the shell 20, the stirring rod 9 with the angled end portion 24 and the knives 11, 12, and, centered in half, a front housing part 30, which forms the walls of the crushing chamber 10. A recess 31 formed in the end face of the housing part 30 above the crushing chamber 10 serves as a handle niche to facilitate removal of the assembly 7 from the interior 3.

Fig. 4 shows a section through the crushing chamber 10 transversely to the axis of rotation of the stirring rod 9, wherein the here designated 32, the crushing chamber 10 occlusive flap is shown in the closed position. In this position, the flap 32 fills an opening formed in the cylindrical outer wall of the crushing chamber 10 exactly. From the outer surface of the flap 32 is a rib 33 from which is extended to a pivotally mounted on the pin 29 arm 34. The flap 32 is held in the closed position by a self-locking mechanism, here by a cooperating with a slot acting as a slot 36 of the rib 33 toggle lever 35 (see Fig. 2 ) is formed. The toggle lever 35 has two mutually collinear end portions 37, 38, of which the one 37 is rotatably supported in a recess, not shown, of the front housing part 30 and the other 38 is received in a slot 39 of the end wall 26. Two lever arms 40 each connect the end sections 37, 38 with an eccentric section 41 of the toggle lever 35 extending through the slot 36.

In the in Fig. 4 the rotation axis of the toggle lever 35 defined by the end portions 37, 38, the eccentric portion 41 and the axis of rotation of the stirring rod 9 in a same, by a dashed line in Fig. 4 indicated level. An acting from the inside against the flap 32 pressure, which may occur, for example, when ice between the rotating blades 11 and the flap 32 is clamped, is so caught by the toggle lever 35 and introduced into the end wall 26 and the front housing part 30, without that a significant torque occurs, which could push out the toggle lever 35 from its position. Thus, by rotating the stirring rod 9 from time to time with the flap closed, it is possible to prevent the ice pieces in the storage chamber 6 from being frozen together without ice being dispensed at the same time.

Fig. 5 shows the crushing chamber 10 with the flap 32 open. The toggle lever 35 is opposite to in Fig. 4 shown rotated position by 180 °, so that in the lower region of the crushing chamber 10, an opening 42 is formed, through which the release of ice into the passage 13 is possible. Since the eccentric portion 41 of the toggle lever 35 engages in the slot 36, when turning the toggle lever 35 train on the flap 32 are exercised so that they can be opened if necessary even if they are frozen in places on the wall of the crushing chamber 10 is.

In the in Fig. 5 In the configuration shown, the knives 12 are fixed by the slidable latch 43 in a position bridging the opening 42, so that ice which has entered the crushing chamber 10 is crushed between the knives 11, 12 before passing through the opening 42. When the latch 43 is pulled out of the crushing chamber 10, the blades 12 rotate together with the knives 11, so that pieces of ice which have passed through the simultaneous rotation of the stirring bar 9 into the crushing chamber 10 are intactly discharged through the opening 42.

Fig. 6 shows you one Fig. 4 analogous section through the crushing chamber 10 according to a second embodiment. The pivotable flap 32 is here replaced by a sliding flap 56. The arc-shaped curved flap 56 is in grooves 57 on the end wall 26 of the shell 20 and the (in Fig. 6 not shown) front housing part 30 between the position shown, in which it covers the opening 42 of the crushing chamber 10, and an open position, in which they are adjacent to an opening 42 wall portion of the crushing chamber 10th is applied. Structure and function of the blades 11, 12 are the same as in the first embodiment.

Fig. 7 shows a schematic section through the assembly 7 according to a third embodiment. While in the two embodiments described above, each one flap 32 and 56 was provided at an output of the crushing chamber 10, is in the embodiment of Fig. 7 a flap 61 in the storage chamber 6 at the end wall 26 vertically displaceable. Fig. 8 shows a view of the end wall 26 seen from the interior of the storage chamber 6 ago. The flap 61 is shown in a raised, open position as a solid outline. Lateral edges 62 of the flap are guided in vertical grooves. In its lower half, the flap 61 has a rounded contour to match the course of the bottom 27 of the storage chamber 6. A vertical slot 63 in the lower half of the flap 61 allows the flap 61 to extend beyond the window 28 of the end wall 26 Push rake 9 out down until it closes the window 28 in the position shown as a dotted outline substantially. The end wall 26 may be provided with a web 64 projecting from below into the window 28, which fills the slot 63 when the flap 61 is in the lowered, closed position.

It is not always possible to lower the flap 61 when the stirring rod 9 is at rest, as pieces of ice will generally be in the area of the window 28 and block the path of the flap 61. However, by rotating the stirring bar 9 during the lowering of the flap 61, it is possible to gradually lower the flap 61 until the window 28 is completely closed.

Fig. 9 shows one too Fig. 7 analogous schematic representation of the assembly according to a fourth embodiment. In this embodiment, the height of the storage chamber 6 in comparison to the embodiment of Fig. 7 reduced, so that it is not possible to lift a window 28 of the end wall 26 closing flap 61 in a straight line to open the window 28. The flap 61 is therefore in the embodiment of Fig. 9 each provided at its edges with two projecting pins 65, which in in Fig. 9 schematically shown as dashes, curved grooves 66, 67 are performed. The course of the grooves 66, 67 is set so that the flap 61 from its the window 28th closing, vertical position on a curved path in a continuously weaker inclined position passes.

Fig. 10 shows a section through the crushing chamber 10 and its surroundings according to a fifth embodiment of the assembly 7. Below the down to the crushing chamber 10 downwardly sloping bottom 27 of the storage chamber 6, a receiving chamber 70 is formed for a flap 71, similar to a roller shutter of a plurality of longitudinally rigid, mutually flexibly connected webs 72 is composed. The webs 72 may be integrally with each other and z. B. be connected by film hinges. They are guided in two opposing grooves 73 of the two shells 20, each having a substantially horizontal leg 74 within the receiving chamber 70 and a vertical leg 75 extending in front of the window 28 of the end wall 26. Ice pieces that are located between the two vertical legs 75 during the closing of the flap 71, can escape the pressure of the flap 71 upwards, so that there is no risk that the movement of the flap 71 is blocked. It is therefore not necessary to rotate the stirring rod 9 during the opening and closing of the flap 71. The stirring bar 9 therefore has a highly eccentric portion 76 in the plane defined by the vertical legs 75, and rotation of the stirring bar 9 is always terminated in an orientation in which the eccentric portion 76 is at the highest point of its path, as in FIG Fig. 10 shown is located. In this position, the rake 9 does not interfere with the closing of the flap 71, and it is not the flap weakening slot as the slot 63 of Fig. 8 required to allow the flap 71 to close.

Claims (13)

1. Refrigeration appliance having a housing (1,2) enclosing an interior (3), an assembly (7) arranged in the interior (3) which comprises a storage compartment (6) for chunks of ice and a stirrer (9) which is rotatable about an axis that extends through the storage compartment (6) to move chunks of ice contained in the storage compartment (6) in relation to each other and toward a dispensing passage (13) that extends through the housing (1,2), and a closable flap (32; 56; 61; 71) is interposed between the storage compartment (6) and the dispensing passage (13), characterised in that a pivotable arm (40) engages in a longitudinal hole (36) embodied on the flap (32) and functioning as a connecting link in order to be able to drive a movement of the flap in opposite directions.
2. Refrigeration appliance according to claim 1, characterised in that the closable flap (32; 56; 61; 71) is part of the assembly (7).
3. Refrigeration appliance according to claim 2, characterised in that the assembly (7) has a crushing compartment (10) in which tools (11, 12) for crushing the chunks of ice are accommodated, and in that the flap (61; 71) is arranged between the storage compartment (6) and the crushing compartment (10).
4. Refrigeration appliance according to claim 2, characterised in that the assembly (7) has a crushing compartment (10) in which tools (11, 12) for crushing the chunks of ice are accommodated, and in that the flap (32; 56) is arranged between the crushing compartment (10) and the dispensing passage (13).
5. Refrigeration appliance according to claim 4, characterised in that the flap (32, 56) is arranged to close an opening (42) in a circumferential surface of the substantially cylindrical crushing compartment (10).
6. Refrigeration appliance according to one of claims 3 to 5, characterised in that the crushing compartment (10) contains a slide that is rotatable about its cylinder axis.
7. Refrigeration appliance according to claim 6, characterised in that the slide comprises a first set of fingers (11), that a second set of fingers (12) is provided in the crushing compartment (10), wherein at least one of the sets (11, 12) comprises at least two axially spaced fingers, and that one finger of the second set passes a gap between the two fingers of the first set when the slide is rotated.
8. Refrigeration appliance according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterised in that the flap (32) can be pivoted about a first axis (29) between an open position and a closed position.
9. Refrigeration appliance according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the flap (32) can be locked in its closed position by a self-locking mechanism (35, 36).
10. Refrigeration appliance according to claim 9, characterised in that the self-locking mechanism (35, 36) has an arm (40) that can be pivoted about a second axis (37, 38), wherein in a position of the arm (40) locking the flap (32), an imaginary line, which connects a point of the arm (40) that contacts the flap (32) to the second axis, is substantially parallel to the direction of movement of a point of the flap (32) contacted by the point of the arm (40) when the flap is not locked.
11. Refrigeration appliance according to claim 10, characterised in that the arm (40) can be rotated about the second axis (37, 38) without a stop.
12. Refrigeration appliance according to claim 10, characterised in that the arm can be rotated about the second axis between two stops in an angular interval which includes an orientation of the imaginary line exactly parallel to the direction of movement of the contacted point of the flap when it is not locked.
13. Refrigeration appliance according to one of claims 10 to 12, characterised in that the pivotable arm (40) engages in a connecting link (36) formed on the flap (32).

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