JP2000074533A - Automatic ice making machine for refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve an ice separating effect by a simple structure without enlarging a device, increasing the power consumption of an actuator and extending ice separating time due to the increase of gear ratio. SOLUTION: An automatic ice making machine for a refrigerator comprises an ice making tray 1, a support shaft 5 for rotatably supporting one end of the ice making tray 1, an actuator 2 for rotating the ice making tray 1 about the support shaft 5, and a stopper shaft 7 for stopping the rotation of the ice making tray 1 upon reverse thereof to separate ice from the tray by twisting the ice making tray l. A rotation input member 4 is provided for connecting the other end of the ice making tray 1 to the output shaft 3 of the actuator 2 and setting a rotation input position relative to the ice making tray 1 so that a line for connecting the rotation input position to a rotation regulating position by the stopper shaft 7 upon removal of ice strides over the center axis of rotation of the support shaft 5.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention belongs to the technical field of an automatic ice machine for a refrigerator mainly installed in an ice making room of a home refrigerator.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an automatic ice maker for refrigerators, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 5-306858 and 61-23 / 1986.
No. 5,661, JP-A-2-89973, and JP-A-8-247592 are known.
This conventional source includes an ice tray 11 as shown in FIG.
A support shaft 15 for rotatably supporting the ice tray 11; a motor actuator 12 for rotating the ice tray 11 about the support shaft 15; and an actuator output shaft for the ice tray 11 when the ice tray 11 is turned off. 13
A stopper means 17 for twisting the ice tray 11 to separate ice by stopping the rotation at the end opposite to the rotation input side end in the axial direction. Output shaft 13 for ice tray 11
The rotation input position from the support shaft 15 in the ice tray 11
Are described as being coaxial with the center of rotation of.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional automatic ice maker for a refrigerator, the rotation input position from the actuator output shaft 13 to the ice tray 11 is determined by the rotation of the support shaft 15 in the ice tray 11. Since the ice tray 11 is twisted at the time of ice removal, a torsion axis connecting the rotation input position and the rotation restricting position is formed only on the opposite side of the ice tray 11 because the ice tray 11 is twisted at the time of ice removal. As a result, the amount of deformation of the entire ice tray 11 at the time of ice removal tends to be small, so that there is a problem that a sufficient ice removing action cannot be obtained.
Therefore, in order to obtain a sufficient amount of deformation of the ice tray 11 during ice removal, it is necessary to increase the torsional force. In this case, it is necessary to use a motor actuator 12 having a large output and a large gear ratio. For this reason, the product size is increased, the effective storage volume in the refrigerator is reduced, the power consumption for driving the actuator is increased, and the time required for ice removal is increased due to an increase in the gear ratio. A problem had arisen.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, without causing problems such as an increase in the size of the device, an increase in the power consumption of the actuator, and an increase in the ice-removal time due to an increase in the gear ratio. It is intended to improve the de-icing effect with a simple configuration.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION To achieve the above object, the present invention provides an ice tray, a support shaft for rotatably supporting the ice tray at one end of the ice tray, and the other end of the ice tray. An automatic refrigerator for refrigerators, comprising: an actuator for rotating the ice tray; and stopper means for stopping the rotation at one end of the ice tray when the ice tray is inverted to twist the ice tray and release ice. In the ice making machine, the other end of the ice tray is connected to the actuator output shaft so that a line connecting the rotation input position and the rotation restriction position by the stopper means at the time of ice removal crosses the rotation center axis by the support shaft. A rotation input member for setting a rotation input position with respect to the ice tray is provided. In addition, as described in claim 2, it is preferable that the rotation input member is configured to form a rotation input position at two positions at both ends in the width direction of the ice tray at the other end of the ice tray.

[0006]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS (Embodiment 1) An automatic ice maker for a refrigerator according to Embodiment 1 corresponds to the first and second aspects of the present invention. First, the configuration will be described. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an automatic ice maker for a refrigerator according to the first embodiment, FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the automatic ice maker for a refrigerator according to the first embodiment, and FIG. It is a figure which shows the ice making state (a) and the ice separation state (b).

1 and 2, 1 is an ice tray, 2 is a motor actuator, 3 is an actuator output shaft, 4 is a rotation input member, 5 is a support shaft, 6 is a shaft support wall, and 7 is a stopper shaft (stopper means). ) And 8 are automatic ice making controllers, and 9 is a harness.

The ice making tray 1 is a dish for pouring water into a concave portion of the dish in a state of returning to the original position after ice separation and cooling the same to produce ice. The ice making tray 1 is deformed by applying an external force to release the external force. And is formed of a flexible material that can return to its original state. As shown in both figures, a support shaft 5 integrally provided at the center in the width direction of one end of the ice tray 1 is rotatably supported on a shaft support wall 6, and the other end of the ice tray 1. The end is supported by an actuator output shaft 3 connected via a rotation input member 4.

The rotation input member 4 moves the rotation input position of the ice tray 1 from the actuator output shaft 3 to the center of the rotation of the support shaft 5 in the ice tray 1 at both ends in the width direction of the end surface of the ice tray 1. It is a member for setting at two places, and is provided with an arm 4a parallel to the end face width direction of the ice tray 1 and projecting from both ends of the ice tray 1 and integrally connected to both ends of the arm 4a. And connecting shafts 4b and 4c.
, An actuator output shaft 3 is integrally fixed.

[0010] The stopper shaft 7 is engaged with one end of the ice tray 1 to stop the rotation thereof when the ice tray 1 is turned over and the ice tray 1 is turned off, so that the ice tray 1 is twisted and separated. And is provided in a state of protruding from the shaft support wall 6.

The motor actuator 2 includes a motor housed in a box-shaped case 2a and an output gear provided on an actuator output shaft 3 from an input gear provided on the motor shaft. The ice tray 1 supported on the actuator output shaft 3 via the rotation input member 4 is rotated by driving a motor.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the twist of the ice tray 1 is such that the actuator output shaft 3 (the rotation input member 4 side) has one twist.
While it rotates to 70 °, the actuator output shaft 3
When the stopper shaft 7 set on the opposite side stops the rotation of the support shaft 5 at the position of 135 °, a twist angle of 35 ° is given. Then, the connecting shaft 4 of the rotation input member 4
b is disposed at a diagonal position with respect to the rotation restricting position by the stopper shaft 7 when the ice tray 1 is inverted and ice is removed, and a torsion line connecting the rotation restricting position and the connection shaft 4b is formed by a torsion line. , So as to straddle the center of rotation. Note that an ice storage container (not shown) is disposed directly below the ice tray 1.

The automatic ice making controller 5 has a microcomputer, an input circuit, and a driver.
Is connected via a harness 9 to control driving of a motor (not shown). This automatic ice making controller 5 includes:
A command to rotate the ice tray 1 in the direction indicated by the white arrow in FIG. 1 is output to the motor based on the ice release timing determined by the time condition or the temperature condition, and when the actuator output shaft 3 rotates 170 °, Control software for reversing the ice tray 1 and returning to the home position is provided.

Next, the function and effect will be described.

[At the time of ice making] First, in the state of returning to the origin position, that is, as shown in FIG. I do.

[At the time of ice release] Next, the automatic ice making controller 8
3 moves the ice tray 1 clockwise in FIG. 3 from the horizontal ice-making state of FIG. 3A based on the ice release timing determined by the time condition, temperature condition, and the like after the water is poured into the ice tray 1. 3 is output to a motor (not shown) provided in the case 2a.
As shown by the solid line (b), first, when the actuator output shaft 3 and the ice tray 1 are rotated by 135 °, the ice tray 1 is rotated.
In this state, one end in the width direction of the end on the side of the support shaft 5 abuts on the stopper shaft 7 so that the rotation of the end on the side of the support shaft 5 is stopped. From this state, the actuator output shaft 3 is further turned clockwise. By rotating by 35 °, the actuator output shaft 3 in the ice tray 1 is rotated as shown by the dotted line in FIG.
Only 35 ° at the side edge (1 ° from horizontal ice making)
(70 °) clockwise, whereby the ice tray 1 is twisted by 35 ° between both ends in the axial direction, as shown by the solid line and the dotted line, so that the ice tray 1 is in a torsional state.

In the twisting section of the ice tray 1,
Since the torsional torque due to the rotation of the actuator output shaft 3 is input from the arm 4a of the rotation input member 4 to both ends in the width direction of the ice tray 1 via the two connection shafts 4b and 4c,
A large torsional moment acts on the ice tray 1, and in this case, a torsion line connecting the rotational power input position from the connecting shaft 4 b and the rotation restricting position by the stopper shaft 7 becomes the rotation center axis of the support shaft 5. On the other hand, the crossing causes the amount of twist of the ice tray 1 to increase. Therefore, a high deicing efficiency can be obtained with a small rotating power.

When the actuator output shaft 3 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 3 from the twisted ice-free state, the ice tray 1 is gradually released from the twisted state.
The twisted state is completely released at the time of the reverse rotation of 5 °, and at least at this time, the ice separated from the ice tray 1 is dropped and stored in an ice storage container (not shown) disposed immediately below the ice making tray, Thereafter, the ice making tray 1 is returned to the horizontal ice making state shown in FIG. Thereafter, the above ice making and deicing are repeated.

In the automatic ice making machine for a refrigerator according to the first embodiment, as described above, the ice tray 1 can be largely twisted with a small rotating power at the time of de-icing.
Even if a small output device is used, a sufficient de-icing effect can be exhibited, whereby the effect that the motor actuator 2 can be formed in a small size and the internal volume of the refrigerator can be expanded can be obtained. An effect is obtained in that it is possible to reduce the amount of consumption and the ice-removal time by reducing the gear ratio.

(Embodiment 2) An automatic ice maker for a refrigerator according to Embodiment 2 corresponds to the first aspect of the present invention. That is, the automatic ice maker for a refrigerator according to the second embodiment is different from the automatic ice maker for a refrigerator according to the first embodiment in that the configuration of the rotation input member 4 is different. Since the configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. Only different points will be described.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an automatic ice maker for a refrigerator according to the second embodiment, FIG. 5 is a plan view showing an automatic ice maker for the refrigerator according to the second embodiment, and FIG. It is a figure which shows the ice making state (a) and the ice separation state (b) in an ice making machine.

That is, the rotation input member 4 of the automatic ice maker for a refrigerator according to the second embodiment sets the rotation input position of the ice tray 1 from the actuator output shaft 3 to the rotation center of the support shaft 5 of the ice tray 1. The arm 4a is set at a position deviated in the direction of one corner of the ice tray 1 and is provided integrally with the actuator output shaft 3 and disposed in parallel along the end face width direction of the ice tray 1. And a connection shaft 4b protruding from the widthwise end of the other end surface of the ice tray 1 are integrally connected.

Therefore, when the ice tray 1 is rotated from the horizontal ice making state shown in FIG. 6A to the ice releasing state shown in FIG. 6B, the stopper shaft 7 and the connecting shaft 4b are connected to the ice tray. 1
The ice tray 1 is efficiently and largely twisted in a diagonally opposed position above.

(Other Embodiments) In the first and second embodiments, an example is shown in which only one stopper shaft 7 constituting the stopper means is provided, but it may be provided at two places. Further, in Embodiment 1, when a stopper having a structure for stopping the rotation of the support shaft 5 is used, the torsion line is
The ice tray 1 is formed in a V-shape with the rotation center axis interposed therebetween, so that the ice tray 1 can be efficiently deformed at the time of ice removal.

[0025]

According to the first and second aspects of the present invention, when the ice tray is automatically inverted, the rotation of the ice tray is stopped at one end side of the ice tray by the stopper means, so that the ice tray can be moved. In an automatic ice maker for a refrigerator configured to twist to separate ice, the other end of the ice tray is connected to an actuator output shaft, and a rotation input position and a rotation restriction position by stopper means are connected at the time of ice removal. Since the rotation input member for setting the rotation input position with respect to the ice tray is provided so that the line straddles the rotation center axis of the support shaft, the ice tray can be screwed with less force than before in ice removal. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a sufficient deicing effect without increasing the output of the actuator and the gear ratio of the gear mechanism for transmitting the output. Therefore, it is possible to make the configurations of the actuator and the drive transmission portion compact, to increase the size of the refrigerator, to reduce the power consumption of the actuator, and to shorten the ice release time.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the rotation input member is configured to form a rotation input position at two positions at both ends in the width direction of the ice tray at the other end of the ice tray. The input points for the dish are at two places at both ends in the width direction, and an effect is obtained that the ice tray can be efficiently deformed from two places away from the rotation center axis.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an automatic ice maker for a refrigerator according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the automatic ice maker for a refrigerator according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram (a) showing an ice making state and a diagram (b) showing an ice releasing state in the automatic ice machine for a refrigerator according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an automatic ice maker for a refrigerator according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing an automatic ice maker for a refrigerator according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram (a) showing an ice making state in the automatic ice maker for a refrigerator according to the second embodiment and a diagram (b) showing an ice releasing state.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a conventional automatic ice maker for a refrigerator.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ice tray 2 Motor actuator 2a Case 3 Actuator output shaft 4 Rotation input member 4a Arm 4b Connection shaft 4c Connection shaft 5 Support shaft 6 Shaft support wall 7 Stopper shaft (stopper means) 8 Automatic ice making controller 9 Harness

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An ice tray, an axis for rotatably supporting the ice tray at one end of the ice tray, an actuator for rotating the ice tray from the other end of the ice tray, and an ice tray inverted. Stopper means for stopping the rotation of the ice tray at one end at the time, and twisting the ice tray to separate the ice from the ice tray, and an automatic ice maker for a refrigerator, comprising: Concatenate,
A rotation input member for setting the rotation input position with respect to the ice tray so that a line connecting the rotation input position and the rotation restriction position by the stopper means at the time of ice removal crosses the rotation center axis of the support shaft. An automatic ice machine for refrigerators. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rotation input member is configured to form a rotation input position at two positions at both ends of the ice tray in the width direction at the other end of the ice tray. 2. The automatic ice machine for refrigerators according to 1.