JP2002228334A - Freezer/refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a freezer/refrigerator in which ice blocks do not become lean. SOLUTION: The freezer/refrigerator comprises an automatic ice maker having an ice making compartment provided with an ice making pan and a driver for turning the ice making pan to separate ice blocks, and an ice storage box disposed beneath the ice making pan while opening upward. Since a duct surrounding the ice making pan is employed so that the chill flowing into the ice making chamber flows only through the ice making pan and the vicinity thereof, the chill flows into the duct to cool the ice making pan quickly thus shortening the ice making time and saving energy. Furthermore, ice blocks can be prevented from becoming lean because the chill scarcely touch the ice blocks in the ice storage box.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a refrigerator having an automatic ice making device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A refrigerator having an automatic ice maker in an ice maker and capable of automatically storing predetermined ice is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-101544.

[0003] In such a refrigerator, an ice tray of an automatic ice maker is arranged in an ice making room, and an ice storage box having an upper portion opened downward is arranged in the ice tray. .

[0004]

In the above-mentioned refrigerator, since the cold air is supplied to the entire ice making chamber, the cold air comes into contact with the stored ice, so that the odor in the cold air adheres to the ice, which is not delicious. I was In addition, by being exposed to cold air, the sublimation of ice into a gas directly without passing through water is likely to occur, which causes the ice to be thinned (smaller).

[0005] The present invention provides a refrigerator which hardly loses ice.

[0006]

According to the present invention, there is provided an automatic ice making apparatus in which an ice tray and a driving device for rotating the ice tray and deicing the ice tray are arranged in an ice making room, and an upper portion is opened below the ice tray. A refrigerator having an ice storage box, wherein the cool air flowing into the ice making chamber flows only into the ice tray and the vicinity of the ice tray.

[0007] Further, a structure is provided in which the cool air flows only to the ice tray and the vicinity of the ice tray, and a duct surrounding the ice tray is provided.

In addition, a door which can be opened and closed is provided at a lower portion of the duct, and a drive device for automatically opening the door when deicing is provided.

Further, a heater is provided on the duct or the door which can be opened and closed.

Further, a damper mechanism is provided for reducing the flow rate of the cool air flowing through the duct when ice making is not performed.

Further, an automatic ice making device having an ice making room, and deicing ice from an ice tray downward into the ice making room, and a freezing device provided below the automatic ice making device and containing an ice storage box for containing the ice. In the refrigerator, a configuration is provided in which cold air circulating in the ice making chamber is prevented from entering the ice storage box.

Further, the above-mentioned configuration is a lid that allows the opening of the ice storage box to be freely opened and closed.

Further, the lid is opened and closed by its own weight of ice deiced from the ice tray.

In addition, a drive device for automatically opening the lid when deicing is provided, or a heater is provided on the door.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 to 3 show a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a front view of a refrigerator, 1 is a door for opening and closing the front of the uppermost storage room, 2 is a door of a refrigerator room, and 3 is a bottle room for storing plastic bottles and drinking water. The door 4 is an ice room door for storing ice, 5 is a freezer door, and 6 is a freezer door.

Reference numeral 7 denotes a display unit, and reference numeral 8 denotes a cover which is also called a kick plate.

The doors 1 and 2 are pivotal doors that are pivotally supported on the right side and open on the left side with the right side as a fulcrum. The doors 3, 4, 5, and 6 are drawer-type doors. Can be put in and out of storage.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing a state in which the doors 1 and 2 are opened. Reference numeral 9 denotes an uppermost storage room, and reference numeral 10 denotes a storage container arranged in the storage room. It is formed of a transparent or translucent material so that it can be formed.
The storage container and the door are formed separately, and the door is attached to the refrigerator body. 11 is a refrigerator room controlled at 3 ° C., for example, 12 is a vegetable room formed in the lower part of the storage room, 13 is a bottle room, 14 is an ice room controlled at about −20 ° C., for example, an automatic ice machine or ice storage. Boxes are arranged. Numerals 15 and 16 are freezer compartments each controlled at about −20 ° C.

The lower end of the uppermost storage compartment 9 is approximately 161
cm, and as described later, the storage container 10
Since the storage container 10 is configured so as to descend by 0 cm, the position of the storage container 10 at the time of putting in and taking out the storage item is about 141 cm in height. The person who frequently uses the refrigerator is a woman, who has an average height of about 157 cm, so that the storage container is slightly below the position of the eyes, making it relatively easy to put in and out the stored items. It will be.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the refrigerator, in which 20 is a heat insulating box, 21 is a refrigerant compressor, 22 is a fan for a freezer compartment,
23 is a refrigerator air blower. In the refrigerant compressor 20, a condenser, a decompression device, and an evaporator for cooling cold air in the refrigerator are sequentially connected in a ring shape by a refrigerant pipe to form a refrigerant circuit, but are not shown in this drawing. . The refrigerant circuit is filled with, for example, R134a and is used as a refrigerant.

FIGS. 4 to 6 show examples in which a duct surrounding an ice tray is provided, which will be described with reference to the drawings.

Reference numeral 25 denotes a duct surrounding the ice tray 26, and an opening 27 is formed below the duct. The opening 25 is closed by a door 28 that can be freely opened and closed. 29 is a cool air outlet, 30 is a cool air return passage, 31 is a cool air inlet, the inlet 29 and the outlet 31 are formed at substantially the same height, and cool air flows only in this duct 25. It has become. Cold air may leak to the outside of the duct 25, but slightly.

Reference numeral 32 denotes a driving device constituted by a motor or the like for rotating the ice tray, and reference numeral 33 denotes a door for moving the door 28 in synchronization with the rotation of the ice tray 26.
A connecting rod 34 is provided on the door 28 for preventing frost or melting the frost to prevent the door 28 from moving due to frost. 3
5 is a water supply pipe, 36 is an ice detection lever, and 37 is an ice storage box.

In the refrigerator having the above-described structure, at the time of ice making, as shown in FIG. 4, cool air is blown out from the outlet 29 to cool the ice tray 26 in the duct 25, and then through the return duct 30. It is sucked through the suction port 31. The ice tray 26 that requires cooling and the configuration in which the cold air flows only in the vicinity of the ice tray 26 can reduce the time required for ice making.

Further, since the structure is such that almost no cool air flows near the ice storage box 37, the risk of the ice becoming thin and the risk of the odor in the cool air adhering to the ice can be extremely reduced. Further, the ice in the ice storage box 37 does not necessarily need to be maintained at a temperature substantially equal to the temperature of the ice tray 26, and may be cooled to such an extent that the formed ice is not melted.
It is sufficient to cool with cold air or the like leaking from the container. At this time, the temperature in the vicinity of the ice storage box 37 is about -10 ° C., which is a temperature at which the stored ice does not melt.

When cold air is supplied to the ice tray 26 or the vicinity thereof, frost is formed on the duct 25 and the door 28, and particularly when the door 28 is excessively frosted, the door 28 may not move. However, since the frost on the door 28 is melted by the heater 34 or the temperature is controlled so that the frost does not adhere to the door 28, it is prevented that the door 28 cannot be opened and closed due to the frost.

At this time, the duct 25 is inclined slightly forward or backward so that the water dissolved in the heater 34 is guided forward or backward and dripped, so that the water treatment is facilitated. Alternatively, water may not be dropped on the ice storage box 37.

When ice is formed on the ice tray 26, the driving device 32
When the ice tray 26 is rotated, the door 28 automatically rotates at the same time, and the door 28 is opened to allow ice to be stored. The ice in the ice tray 26 falls to the ice storage box 37 by the ice tray 26 being almost inverted and being twisted. When the ice is dropped, the ice tray 26 and the door 28 are inverted to predetermined positions, water is supplied from the water supply pipe 35, and ice making is started again.

Although not shown, a damper mechanism for controlling the flow rate of the cool air flowing through the duct 25 may be provided, and when ice is not made, the damper mechanism may be used to reduce or stop the cool air. . In this case, since the set temperature of the entire ice making room can be reduced to a temperature at which the ice in the ice storage box 37 does not melt (for example, about -10 ° C.), energy can be saved.

It is considered that it is best to provide a duct as shown in FIGS. 4 to 6. For example, a cold air outlet is provided on the ice storage box side of the ice tray, and the duct is opposite to the ice storage box of the ice tray. By forming a cool air suction port on the side so that the cool air does not easily flow into the ice storage box, the cool air flowing into the ice making room may flow only to the vicinity of the ice tray.

FIG. 7 shows a different embodiment, which will be described with reference to FIG. The lid shown in FIG. 7 is for opening and closing the upper opening of the ice storage box, and is different from the door for opening and closing the lower opening of the duct shown in FIGS.

Reference numeral 40 denotes a lid for opening and closing the upper opening of the ice storage box 37, which is attached to the ice tray 26 by a connecting member 41 so as to be opened and closed by the movement of the ice tray 26.

In the refrigerator having the above-described configuration, the door 40 closes the opening of the ice storage box 37 during ice making so that the cold air flowing near the ice tray 26 does not easily come into contact with the ice. The lid 40 automatically moves in conjunction with the movement of the ice tray 26, and the opening of the ice storage box 37 is opened so that ice can be stored in the ice storage box 37.

Although not shown, a heater is provided on the lid 40,
Frost formation may be prevented or frost may be melted to prevent the lid from moving due to frost.

FIG. 8 shows a different embodiment. Reference numeral 45 denotes an openable and closable lid which is opened when the own weight of ice is applied, and which is axially fixed so as to close the upper opening of the ice storage box 37 in other cases.

When such a door 45 is used, a driving device for driving the lid 45 is not required at all, so that a simple, inexpensive, and freely openable and closable lid can be constructed.

In the apparatus shown in FIG. 8, a heater may be provided to prevent the lid from opening and closing due to frost.

[0039]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, since the cool air flowing to the ice making chamber flows only to the ice tray and the vicinity of the ice tray, the cool air flows near the ice tray. The ice tray can be cooled rapidly to shorten the ice making time, and the ice can be manufactured in a short time, so that energy can be saved. In addition, since the cold air hardly touches the ice in the ice storage box, it is possible to prevent the ice from becoming thin and odorous.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the configuration is such that the cool air flows only to the ice tray and the vicinity of the ice tray.
Since a duct surrounding the ice tray is provided, cool air flows near the ice tray in the duct, and the ice tray is rapidly cooled, thereby shortening the ice making time. It can be. In addition, since the cold air hardly touches the ice in the ice storage box, it is possible to prevent the ice from being thinned or having an odor.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, a door which can be opened and closed is provided at the lower portion of the duct, and a driving device which automatically opens the door when deicing is provided. In such a case, the door can be enclosed by a door so that cold air hardly leaks from the inside of the duct, and the door can be automatically opened by a driving device at the time of deicing, and ice can be stored in the ice storage box.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the heater is provided on the duct or the door which can be opened and closed, it is possible to prevent the door which can be opened and closed from being opened and closed due to frost.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, when the ice making is not performed, the damper mechanism for reducing the flow rate of the cool air flowing through the duct is provided. It can be.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, since a structure is provided for suppressing infiltration of the cool air circulating in the ice making chamber into the ice storage box, the cool air can be made hard to touch the ice of the ice storage box, It is possible to prevent the ice from becoming thin and odorous.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, since the lid for making the opening of the ice storage box freely openable and closable is configured to suppress the entry of the cold air circulating in the ice making chamber into the ice storage box, In addition, it can be covered with a lid so that the cold air does not touch the ice in the ice storage box, making it difficult for the cold air to touch the ice in the ice storage box,
It is possible to prevent the ice from becoming thin and odorous.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, since the lid of the ice storage box is opened and closed by its own weight of the ice deiced from the ice tray, a drive device or the like is not required and the ice storage box can be opened and closed. In addition, cold air can be covered with a lid so that it is hard to touch the ice of the ice storage box.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, since the driving device for automatically opening the lid when deicing is provided, the lid is automatically opened by the driving device when deicing and the ice is opened. Can be stored in an ice storage box.

According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, since the heater is provided on the lid, it is possible to prevent the door that can be opened and closed from being opened and closed due to frost.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a refrigerator-freezer according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a door of the refrigerator is opened.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the refrigerator.

FIG. 4 is a plan view schematically showing the vicinity of an ice tray.

FIG. 5 is a side view schematically showing the vicinity of an ice tray.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing movement of an ice tray and a door.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing movement of a door of the ice storage box and an ice tray.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between an ice storage box and a door.

[Explanation of symbols]

 14 ice making room 25 duct 26 ice making tray 28 door 32 drive unit 34 heater 37 ice storage box 40 lid 45 lid

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continuing on the front page (72) Hiroyuki Sai 2-5-5 Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Miyuki Kawamura 2-5-2 Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka No. 5 Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Mayumi Shimada 2-5-5 Keihan Hondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka 2-5 Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Jin Hoshino 2 Keihan-hondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka 5-5-5 Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yoshihiro Mochizuki 2-5-5 Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. An automatic ice making apparatus in which an ice making tray and a driving device for rotating the ice making tray to deice the ice are provided in an ice making room.
A refrigerator having an ice storage box having an upper part opened below the ice tray, wherein the cool air flowing into the ice making chamber flows only to the ice tray and the vicinity of the ice tray. 2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the configuration in which the cool air flows only to the ice tray and the vicinity of the ice tray includes a duct surrounding the ice tray. 3. The refrigerator according to claim 2, further comprising a door that can be opened and closed at a lower portion of the duct, and a drive device that automatically opens the door when deicing. 4. The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein a heater is provided on the duct or the door that can be opened and closed. 5. The refrigerator according to claim 2, further comprising a damper mechanism for reducing a flow rate of cool air flowing through the duct when ice making is not performed. 6. An automatic ice making device having an ice making room, and defrosting ice from an ice tray down into the ice making room, and an ice storage box provided below the automatic ice making device and containing the ice. In the refrigerator, the refrigerator is provided with a configuration for suppressing infiltration of cold air circulating in the ice making chamber into the ice storage box. 7. The refrigerator according to claim 6, wherein the lid is configured to open and close the opening of the ice storage box. 8. The refrigerator according to claim 7, wherein the lid is opened and closed by its own weight of ice deiced from the ice tray. 9. The refrigerator according to claim 6, further comprising a drive device for automatically opening the lid when deicing. 10. The refrigerator according to claim 7, wherein a heater is provided on the lid.