JP2005326035A - Automatic ice making device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize an automatic ice making device capable of easily separating ice without using a heater or twisting an ice tray in separating ice, and shortening an ice making cycle with an inexpensive constitution. <P>SOLUTION: An ice making face of a solid ice tray having a hole on its bottom part is covered by a soft elastic material of high ice separating property and high tear propagation property to form the ice tray having a deformable bottom part, the cover of the elastic material is deformed by pressing the bottom part of the ice tray of which the opening part is faced downward to automatically separate ice without cracking and chipping, and the plurality of ice trays are used to improve the ice making cycle with the inexpensive constitution. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an ice making device that performs operations of water supply, ice making, and ice discharging, and relates to an improvement of an automatic ice making device that is provided in a freezer and repeatedly executes ice making according to a predetermined sequence.

  In a conventional automatic ice making device, water is poured into a solid ice making tray having a predetermined shape as in the example of Patent Document 1, and after making ice by cooling the ambient temperature, the ice is removed from the ice making plate. Heat is applied to the ice tray using a heater, the ice is melted while melting the boundary of the ice in contact with the ice tray, and the ice is finally scraped by rotating the ice discharge arm connected to the motor. The method is used.

  In addition, in the automatic ice making devices disclosed in Patent Literature 2 and Patent Literature 3, a twisting force is applied to the ice tray to easily release the ice made from the ice tray, and the adhesion between the ice tray and ice is released. Then, the method of transferring ice to the ice storage box is adopted.

Furthermore, the automatic ice making device disclosed in Patent Document 4 is typified by a bimetal element or shape memory element that causes a shape change at a temperature lower than 0 ° C. on the bottom surface side of each of the plurality of recessed ice chambers provided in the ice tray. A temperature-sensitive displacement element is placed, and a method of deicing ice made by the deformation force of this element is adopted.
US Patent No. 5,010,738 JP-A-49-56233 JP-A 49-104242 JP 2003-161554 A

  However, in an automatic ice making apparatus equipped with a deicing heater as in the prior art, heat is applied to the ice tray using the heater in the freezer, which increases the power consumption of the freezer and is inconvenient for the user. This contributes to an increase in costs.

  In addition, the method of twisting the ice tray to release the ice from the ice tray results in frequent stress on the ice tray due to repeated water supply, ice making, and ice removal, which not only causes problems in durability. , Ice breakage and chipping are likely to occur due to the weak ice removal force at the bottom corner of the ice chamber.

  The conventional example disclosed in Patent Document 4 is an example in which such cracking or chipping of ice is improved. However, it is necessary to install individual temperature-sensitive displacement elements on the respective bottom surfaces of a plurality of ice chambers. As an expensive ice tray.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described drawbacks, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic ice making device having a configuration in which the ice removing heater is eliminated and the ice made in the ice tray can be easily removed. Objective.

  The present invention covers the ice making surface of a solid ice tray having a hole in the bottom with a highly tearable and flexible elastic material having high ice detachability, thereby forming an ice tray in which the bottom of the ice tray can be deformed. , When the opening of the ice tray is rotated downward, the elastic material portion covering the bottom of the ice tray is deformed by pressing, and the ice is automatically detached from the ice tray. is there.

  In addition, by providing two ice trays at the top and bottom with the rotation center as an axis, the ice made from the other ice tray is automatically deiced simultaneously when water is supplied to one ice tray. To do.

  As described above, the automatic ice making device of the present invention eliminates the need to heat the ice making tray with a heater when the ice made is detached from the ice making tray, and thus reduces power consumption caused by using the heater in the freezer. It is possible to prevent an increase in cost that is inconvenient for users who are wasted.

  In addition, since it is not necessary to twist the ice tray when deicing, it is possible to prevent the problem of durability of the ice tray that has been caused by twisting the ice tray, and to prevent cracking and chipping of the ice that has left the ice. It becomes.

  Furthermore, it is not necessary to install individual temperature-sensitive displacement elements on the bottom surfaces of the plurality of ice chambers, and as a result, it is possible to provide an automatic ice making device configured with an inexpensive ice tray. In addition to the above effects, the ice making cycle can be shortened.

  In the automatic ice making device of the present invention, an ice tray that can change the shape of the bottom that contacts the ice, a drive mechanism that supports and rotates the ice tray, and an opening of the ice tray is directed downward. The main feature is that ice rotation means is provided at the center of rotation of the ice tray to rotate the shape of the bottom of the ice tray toward the opening when rotated.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 shows the configuration of an embodiment of an automatic ice making device according to the present invention. In the figure, the solid ice tray 1 is provided with a plurality of ice chambers having holes in the bottom portion 2-1 of the ice chamber, and the water contact surface of each ice chamber has a good deicing property of the ice made and It is in a state of being covered with a coating 2 made of a highly tearable and flexible elastic material such as a silicone rubber material. Further, a temperature sensor 10 for monitoring the ice making state is provided on the outer surface of the ice tray.

  The ice tray 1 is carried on a rotating housing 13 connected to a drive mechanism 8, and the ice tray 1 is also configured to be rotatable about the rotation center axis 4 by the rotation of the drive mechanism 8. An eccentric shaft 6 having a large convex portion on the lower side around the rotation center axis 4 is fixed so as not to rotate. Between the eccentric shaft 6 and the bottom portion 2-1 of each ice chamber of the ice tray 1, The pusher 5 is supported by the support shaft 11 so as to be in contact with this part, and the pusher 5 is arranged so as to be movable only in the vertical direction to constitute an ice pushing means. When ice making is started in this state, water is poured from the water supply pipes 9 into the ice chambers, and a predetermined amount of water 3 is stored and ice making is started.

  FIGS. 2 and 3 are diagrams illustrating the details of the ice chamber and the ice pushing means in the AA direction sectional view of FIG. 1 in order to explain the process of water storage and de-icing. Here, FIG. 2 shows a state in which a predetermined amount of water 3 is stored in the ice chamber of the ice tray 1. At this time, the pusher 5 supported by the support shaft 11 penetrating the long hole 12 is in contact with the small convex portion of the eccentric shaft 6 and is substantially in contact with the coating 2 exposed at the bottom portion 2-1 of the ice tray 1. The coating 2 is designed so as not to deform. When the cooling of the water 3 is advanced in this state and the completion of ice making is detected by the temperature sensor 10, the drive mechanism 8 rotates the rotating housing 13 around the rotation center shaft 4 until the opening of the ice tray 1 faces downward.

  FIG. 3 shows a state where the opening of the ice tray 1 is directed downward. Since the pusher 5 moves along the outer periphery of the fixed eccentric shaft 6, the pusher 5 slides with respect to the support shaft 11 while being guided by the elongated hole 12 at the same time, and finally moves by the large convex portion of the eccentric shaft 6. Since it is regulated, the coating 2 is deformed to the opening side of the ice tray 1 at the bottom portion 2-1 of the ice tray 1, and the ice made ice 3A is pushed out. Since the coating 2 is made of a flexible elastic material with good deicing properties and high tearability as described above, the ice 3A is easily released from the ice tray 1 without cracking or chipping.

  FIG. 4 shows a state of the entire automatic ice making device when the ice making is completed and the ice 3 </ b> A is moved to the ice storage box 7. When the drive mechanism 8 rotates the rotary housing 13 from this state and returns to the state shown in FIG. 1, the next ice making cycle starting from the water supply can be executed.

  The present invention is also possible when a plurality of ice trays 1 are used in the same manner as described above. As an example, an embodiment in which the ice tray 1 and the ice tray 1A are arranged vertically with the rotation center shaft 4 as a boundary is illustrated. FIG. 6 shows a state in which water supply to an empty ice chamber and deicing of the made ice are performed simultaneously. Each component has the same function as that described in detail in the first embodiment.

  5 and 6, when ice making of the ice tray 1A is completed and the rotating housing 13 is rotated so that the opening of the ice tray 1A faces downward, the pusher 5A whose vertical movement is restricted by the eccentric shaft 6 is moved to the ice tray. The bottom portion 2-1A of 1A is pushed out, and the ice 3A thus made is deiced. At this time, the opening of the other ice tray 1 is upward and empty, and water is supplied from the water supply pipe 9 immediately. As a result, water supply and de-icing are performed at the same time, making it possible to shorten the ice making cycle, contributing to the improvement of ice making capacity.

  It is possible to prepare for a section of a freezer and can be applied to an automatic ice making device that automatically creates ice in a predetermined ice making cycle.

It is explanatory drawing which showed the implementation method of the automatic ice making apparatus of this invention. Example 1 It is explanatory drawing which detailed one implementation method of the ice extrusion means mounted in the automatic ice making apparatus of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which detailed the deicing effect | action by an ice extrusion means. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state at the time of deicing of the automatic ice making apparatus of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which showed the implementation method of the automatic ice making apparatus of this invention. (Example 2) It is explanatory drawing which detailed the state which performs water supply and deicing simultaneously at the time of using two ice trays.

Explanation of symbols

1,1A ice tray 2,2A coating 3 water 3A ice 4 rotation center axis of ice tray 5,5A pusher 6 eccentric shaft 7 ice storage box 8 drive mechanism 9 water supply pipe 10 temperature sensor 11, 11A support shaft 12 long hole 13 rotation housing

Claims (2)

  In an apparatus capable of automatically making ice that can be provided in a section of a freezer, an ice tray that can change the shape of the bottom that contacts the ice, and a drive mechanism that carries and rotates the ice tray , And an ice push-out means that acts to change the shape of the bottom of the ice tray toward the opening when the ice tray is rotated so that the opening is downward. Automatic ice making equipment.   The automatic ice making apparatus according to claim 1, wherein two ice trays are provided above and below the rotation center portion as an axis.