JP2000283614A - Ice making machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an ice making machine capable of switching the amount of supply water wherein water can be supplied to each ice making compartment of an ice making pan uniformly, and ice pieces with different sizes are made in response to the amount of water stored in the ice making pan. SOLUTION: Water in a water supply tank 1 is supplied to a water supply section 5 through a water supply pipe 4. The supplied water falls down through a plurality of fine holes 6 in a bottom surface of the water supply section 5, whereby there is stored only the amount of water supply corresponding to an applied voltage to each ice making compartment 8 of the ice making pan 7. The water in each ice making compartment 8 is frozen and ice having a desired size is made.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ice machine for producing ice contained in a home refrigerator or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 14 is a block diagram of a conventional ice maker used in, for example, a home refrigerator and the like. FIG. 15 shows a control unit of a conventional ice maker disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 6-3009. FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a state of ice making with a change in the amount of water supply in a conventional ice making machine.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a water supply tank for storing water for ice making in advance, 2 denotes an electric pump for drawing water from the water supply tank 1, 3 denotes a water supply motor which is a driving part of the electric pump 2, 4 denotes a water supply motor A water supply pipe for guiding water from the water supply tank 1 to an ice tray 7 (described later), 7 is an ice tray for storing water in an ice making section 8 and ice of a predetermined shape is formed, 9 is an ice tray 7 rotated vertically. This is an ice storage box that stores the ice that has fallen from.

Reference numeral 15 denotes a power supply of a control unit, 16 denotes a control circuit for controlling the ice maker, 17 denotes a motor drive element for supplying water to the ice tray 7, and 18 denotes a diode connected in series to the water supply motor 3. , 19 is a flow-through diode for protecting the motor drive element 17, and 20 is a changeover switch for changing the amount of water supply to change the size of ice.

Next, the operation will be described. The water stored in the water supply tank 1 is supplied to the ice tray 7 through the water supply pipe 4 by the water supply motor 3 in the electric pump 2, as shown in FIG. here,
When the user switches the changeover switch 20, the applied voltage value to the water supply motor 3 in the electric pump 2, that is, the rotation speed of the water supply motor 3 is changed. Thus, the amount of water supplied to the ice tray 7 through the water supply pipe 4 is changed, and
It is to obtain ice of different sizes according to the amount of water stored in the ice.

However, for example, when the amount of water supply is halved and ice of half the size is to be obtained, FIG.
As shown in the figure, water can be supplied to the ice making section 8a near the water supply pipe 4 of the ice tray 6 because the water directly falls, but the other ice making sections 8 away from the water supply pipe 4 can be supplied with water.
Because water does not fall directly, it is difficult to supply water,
The water overflowing from the ice making section 8a near the water supply pipe 4 is stored in the adjacent ice making section 8b, and then the water overflowing from the ice making section 8b is stored in the next ice making section 8c, and the overflow is repeated. As water accumulates in the ice making sections 8a, 8b and 8c, only half of the ice of the same size is made, and it is not possible to obtain ice of half the desired size.

[0007]

In the above-described conventional ice maker, when water is supplied to the ice tray 7 through the water supply pipe 4, water is easily stored in the ice making section 8 near the water supply pipe 4. Since it is difficult to supply water to the ice making section 8 distant from the water supply pipe 4, even if the amount of water to be supplied from the water supply tank 1 is changed, ice having a different size according to the amount of water stored in the ice tray 7 is changed. There was a problem that cannot be made.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems. In an ice making machine capable of switching the amount of water supply, water can be uniformly supplied to each ice making section of an ice tray. An object of the present invention is to obtain an ice maker capable of producing ice of different sizes according to the amount of water stored in a dish.

[0009]

In the ice making machine according to the present invention, a fine hole is provided at the bottom of the ice tray corresponding to each ice making compartment, and water from the water supply pipe is supplied to each of the ice trays. It is provided with a water supply section for distribution to the ice making section.

In addition, a cylindrical portion is provided upright from each of the fine holes, and a water storage portion for temporarily holding water from the water supply pipe is formed in the water supply portion.

Further, a height difference is formed at the upper end of the cylindrical portion.

[0012] Further, a water supply pipe is provided standing upright from each of the fine holes, and has a tubular water supply pipe whose lower end is cut obliquely.

Further, a purifying filter is provided on the lower surface of the water supply section.

[0014] Further, the water supply section is provided above the ice tray and provided with a purifying filter provided on the lower surface of the filter so that water from the water supply pipe can uniformly fall into each ice making section.

Further, the ice tray is provided with a notched water flow portion on the adjacent surface of each ice making section.

[0016]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiment 1 1 is a configuration diagram of an ice maker according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a water supply unit and an ice tray of the ice maker, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a water supply unit and an ice tray of the ice maker. is there.

In the drawing, 1 is a water supply tank for storing water for ice making, 2 is an electric pump for drawing water from the water supply tank 1, 3 is a water supply motor which is a driving part of the electric pump 2, 4 is water supply. A water supply pipe 5 serving as a water distribution path from the tank 1 to a water supply unit 5 (described later) has a box shape having an open upper surface, and is used for distributing water to each ice making section 8 (described later) of an ice tray 7 (described later). A water supply section 6 has a plurality of pores provided on the bottom surface of the water supply section 5 so that water falls into each ice making section 8, and 7 has an ice making section 8, and water is formed in each ice making section 8 to make ice. It is an ice tray to store in. The control unit used in this ice maker has a changeover switch 20 for changing the amount of water supply and changing the size of ice, by diverting FIG.

Next, the operation will be described. First, the user operates the changeover switch 20, sets the voltage applied to the water supply motor 3, and selects the size of ice. The water supply motor 3 in the electric pump 2 is driven at a rotation speed according to the applied voltage set by the changeover switch 20, and supplies the water in the water supply tank 1 to the water supply unit 5 through the water supply pipe 4.
The supplied water falls through a plurality of pores 6 on the bottom surface of the water supply section 5 and is stored in each ice making section 8 of the ice tray 7 by a water supply amount corresponding to the number of rotations by the applied voltage. Then, the water in each ice making section 8 is frozen, and becomes ice of a desired size.

As described above, by providing the water supply section 5 having the pores 6 between the water supply pipe 4 and the ice making tray 7,
The water from the water supply pipe 4 can be evenly supplied to each ice making section 8 of the ice tray 6, so that the amount of water stored in each ice making section 8, that is, the size of the ice Can be made. In addition, since ice stored in each ice-making section 8 of the ice tray 7 does not come into contact with water in other ice-making sections 8, the ice thus made can have a smooth and beautiful shape.

Embodiment 2 4 and 5 are sectional views of a water supply section of an ice making machine according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the water supply section. In the figure, 10 is a water storage unit, 1
1A is a circular tube-shaped cylinder provided in each of the pores 6 and erected upward from the bottom surface of the water supply unit 5, and the upper end is cut horizontally. 11B is a circular tube-shaped tube provided in each of the pores 6 and erected upward from the bottom surface of the water supply unit 5, the upper end is obliquely sliced, and has a tube high side 11a and a tube low side 11b,
A height difference is formed. Furthermore, the opening of the cylinder 11 </ b> B is cut so as to be opposite to the water supply pipe 4. Other configurations of the ice making machine are the same as those in the first embodiment.

Next, the operation will be described. First, a description will be given with reference to FIG. Operations other than the water supply unit 5 are the same as those in the first embodiment. When water is supplied to the water supply unit 5 through the water supply pipe 4, the water is stored in the water supply unit 5 until the water surface in the water supply unit 5 reaches the upper surface of the cylinder 11, and the water from the water supply pipe 4 is temporarily stored. Hold. Thereafter, when the water surface exceeds the upper surface of the cylinder 11, the water falls from the pores 6 into the respective ice making compartments 8 and is stored, and ice is made.

Next, a description will be given with reference to FIG. When water is supplied to the water supply unit 5 through the water supply pipe 4, the water is stored in the water supply unit 5 until the water surface in the water supply unit 5 reaches the low side 11 b of the cylinder, and the water from the water supply pipe 4 is temporarily stored. Hold. Thereafter, when the water surface exceeds the lower side 11b of the cylinder, the water falls from the pores 6 into the respective ice making sections 8 and is stored therein, and ice is made.

As described above, the water supply section 5 is provided by the cylinder 11A.
Since the water supplied from the water supply pipe 4 is temporarily held as the water storage part 10, a large amount of water can be prevented from dropping from the pores 6 near the water supply pipe 4, and the pores 6 and the water supply pipe can be prevented. Irrespective of the distance of 4, the water can be supplied to each ice making section 8 of the ice tray 7 more evenly.

Further, by providing a height difference at the upper end as in the case of the cylinder 11B, the effect of preventing a large amount of water from dropping at once can be made more reliable. Furthermore, by making the opening portion of the cylinder 11B which is cut into a circle in the opposite direction to the water supply pipe 4, when the water is not temporarily held in the water storage section 10, the water supplied from the water supply pipe 4 is supplied from the lateral direction. Even if it hits the cylinder 11B directly, the cylinder 11B
Can be prevented from dropping into the ice making section 8 from the water.

Embodiment 3 FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a water supply section of an ice making machine according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the water supply section. In the drawing, reference numeral 12 denotes a circular pipe-shaped water supply pipe which is provided in each of the fine holes 6 and stands vertically downward from the bottom surface of the water supply section 5, and has an obliquely round end at the end. Other configurations of the ice making machine are the same as those in the first and second embodiments.

Next, the operation will be described. Operations other than the water supply pipe 12 are the same as those in the first or second embodiment. When water is supplied to the water supply section 5 and falls from the pores 6 to the respective ice making sections 8, the water is transmitted through the water supply pipes 12 and falls from the end of the water supply pipe 12 to the respective ice making sections 8.

As described above, from the water supply section 5 to each ice making section 8
When the water is dropped, water is prevented from flowing from the pores 6 to the lower bottom surface of the water supply unit 5 by passing through the water supply pipe 12, and water can be more uniformly supplied to each ice making section 8 of the ice tray 7. it can.

Embodiment 4 FIG. 9 is a sectional view of a water supply section of an ice making machine according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention, and FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the water supply section. In the figure, reference numeral 13 denotes a purification filter provided on the entire bottom surface of the water supply unit 5, which is made of, for example, a paper filter, and in which the permeation speed of the water supplied from the water supply unit 5 is greater in the horizontal direction than in the vertical direction (downward). (Transverse direction) has the property of being faster, and can temporarily hold water. Other configurations of the ice making machine are the same as those in the first embodiment.

Next, the operation will be described. Operations other than the water supply unit 5 are the same as those in the first embodiment. When water is supplied to the water supply unit 5 through the water supply pipe 4, the water in the water supply unit 5 is temporarily held by the purification filter 13. Thereafter, the water drops from the pores 6 to the respective ice making sections 8 at a speed at which the purification filter 13 filters water.

As described above, from the water supply section 5 to each ice making section 8
When the water is dropped, the water is temporarily held in the water supply unit 5 by passing through the purification filter 13 to prevent much water from dropping from the vicinity of the water supply pipe 4 to the ice tray 7.
Regardless of the position of the water supply pipe 4, the ice tray 7 is more evenly distributed.
Water can be supplied to each of the ice making sections 8, and purified and clean ice can be produced.

In the fourth embodiment, water is supplied to each ice making section 8 from the pores 6 on the bottom of the water supply unit 5 through the purification filter 13. It is opened, a support member such as a wire is provided, and only the purification filter 13 is installed on the support member.
May be configured so that the water falls uniformly from the lower surface of the.
Further, in the above-described first to fourth embodiments, one in which one pore 6 corresponding to one ice making section 8 is provided is shown. However, a plurality of pores 6 may be provided, and a similar effect may be obtained. it can.

Embodiment 5 In the first to fourth embodiments, the water supply unit 5 is provided, so that the water is uniformly stored in each ice making section 8 of the ice tray 7. However, in the fifth embodiment, the water supply unit 5 is provided. One that stores water uniformly in each ice making section 8 without any water is shown.

FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram of an ice maker according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 12 is a perspective view of an ice tray of the ice maker,
FIG. 13 is a sectional view of an ice making tray of the ice making machine. In the figure, the same or corresponding parts as those in the above embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. 14 is each ice making section 8 of the ice tray 7
Are provided on the adjacent surface of the water flowing portion and are cut out in a concave shape.

Next, the operation will be described. First, the user operates the changeover switch 20, sets the voltage applied to the water supply motor 3, and selects the size of ice. The water supply motor 3 in the electric pump 2 is driven at a rotation speed based on the applied voltage set by the changeover switch 20, and feeds water in the water supply tank 1 through the water supply pipe 4 in a specific range located below the water supply pipe 4. It is supplied to the ice making section 8. The supplied water is sequentially supplied to the adjacent ice making sections 8 through the flowing water section 14, and the water is evenly distributed to all the ice making sections 8. Then, the water in each ice making section 8 is frozen and becomes ice of a desired size.

As described above, the water from the water supply pipe 4 can be uniformly supplied to each ice making section 8 of the ice tray 6 through the flowing water section 14, whereby the water stored in each ice making section 8 can be supplied. Of ice, that is, the size of ice according to the amount of water supply.

In this embodiment, the cut-out shape of the flowing water portion 14 for passing water through each ice making section is shown as a concave shape, but a circular shape or the like penetrates between adjacent ice making sections. Needless to say, other shapes may be used.

In the first to fifth embodiments, the means for switching the amount of water supply is described as changing the voltage applied to the water supply motor 3. However, the means for switching the amount of water supply to the water supply motor 3 may be changed. It goes without saying that the water supply amount may be changed by changing the diameter of the path or the like.

[0038]

Since the present invention is configured as described above, it has the following effects.

A pore is provided at the bottom of the ice tray corresponding to each ice making section, and a water supply section for distributing water from a water supply pipe to each ice making section of the ice tray is provided. Water can be supplied evenly, and ice of a desired size corresponding to the amount of water supply can be produced.

Further, since a cylindrical portion is erected upward from each of the pores, and a water storage portion for temporarily holding water from the water supply pipe is formed in the water supply portion, water is uniformly dropped from each of the pores. And water can be more evenly supplied to each ice making section.

Further, since a height difference is formed at the upper end of the cylindrical portion, water can be more uniformly dropped from each of the pores, so that a large amount of water is prevented from dropping at once, and water is supplied to each ice making section. It can be supplied more evenly.

Further, since a cylindrical water supply pipe is provided standing upright from each of the fine holes and has a lower end portion cut obliquely, it is possible to prevent water dripping from the fine holes to the lower bottom surface of the water supply part.

Further, since a purifying filter is provided on the lower surface of the water supply section, water can be supplied to each ice making section uniformly through the eyes of the filter, and the water can be purified to produce clean ice.

Further, since the water supply section is provided above the ice tray and provided on the lower surface with a purifying filter for lowering the water from the water supply pipe to each ice making section evenly, each of the ice making sections can be provided only by the purifying filter. Water can be supplied evenly, water can be purified, and clean ice can be made. In addition, the number of parts can be reduced, and costs can be reduced.

Further, a notched running water portion is provided on the adjacent surface of each ice making section of the ice tray, so that the water supplied to the ice tray spreads to each section of the ice tray regardless of the amount of water supply. The desired size of ice can be made according to the conditions.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an ice making machine according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a water supply unit and an ice tray of the ice making machine according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a water supply unit and an ice tray of the ice making machine according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a water supply section of an ice making machine according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a water supply part of an ice making machine according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a water supply unit of an ice making machine according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a water supply section of an ice making machine according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a water supply unit of the ice making machine according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of a water supply section of an ice making machine according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a water supply unit of an ice making machine according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram of an ice making machine according to Embodiment 5 of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of an ice tray of an ice making machine according to Embodiment 5 of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a sectional view of an ice tray of an ice making machine according to Embodiment 5 of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a configuration diagram of a conventional ice making machine.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a control unit of a conventional ice making machine.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a state of ice making according to a change in a water supply amount in a conventional ice making machine.

[Explanation of symbols]

4 water supply pipe, 5 water supply section, 6 pores, 7 ice tray, 8 ice making section, 10 water storage section, 11A
Cylinder, 11B cylinder, 11a cylinder high side, 11b cylinder low side, 12 water supply pipe, 13 purification filter, 14
Running water department.

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An ice making machine comprising: an ice tray having a plurality of ice making compartments; and a water supply pipe for supplying water to the ice tray, wherein the ice making machine is capable of switching a water supply amount from the water supply pipe. And a water supply unit that is disposed above the water supply unit, has a pore at a bottom position corresponding to each ice making section, and distributes water from the water supply pipe to each ice making section of the ice tray. Machine. 2. The water supply part according to claim 1, wherein a cylindrical part is erected upward from each of the fine holes, and a water storage part for temporarily holding water from the water supply pipe is formed in the water supply part. Ice machine. 3. The ice making machine according to claim 2, wherein a height difference is formed at an upper end of the cylindrical portion. 4. The ice making machine according to claim 1, further comprising a cylindrical water supply pipe which stands downward from each of said fine holes and has a lower end portion cut off diagonally. 5. The ice making machine according to claim 1, wherein a purifying filter is provided on a lower surface of the water supply unit. 6. An ice making machine comprising: an ice tray having a plurality of ice making sections; and a water supply pipe for supplying water to the ice tray, wherein the ice making machine is capable of switching a water supply amount from the water supply pipe. And a water supply unit provided on a lower surface of the water supply unit, the water supply unit being disposed above the water supply pipe and configured to evenly drop water from the water supply pipe into each ice making section. 7. An ice making machine comprising: an ice tray having a plurality of ice making sections; and a water supply pipe for supplying water to the ice tray, wherein the ice making machine is capable of switching a water supply amount from the water supply pipe. An ice making machine, comprising: a running water portion cut out on an adjacent surface of each ice making section.