JP2006250486A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a refrigerator with an automatic ice making device having an ice making tray easy to detach during cleaning. <P>SOLUTION: The refrigerator comprises a drive mechanism 10 arranged in an ice making chamber 2 at its upper part behind a freezing chamber door in its opposite direction and the ice making device 4 where ice made in the ice making tray 5 is stored in an ice storage box on the lower side with the rotating drive of the drive mechanism 10. A cold air discharge duct 17 is provided on a heat insulating partition wall 18 on the upper part of the drive mechanism 10 for introducing cold air from the refrigerator into the ice making tray 5, allowing simple and easy detachment/attachment of the ice making tray 5 from/to a refrigerator body. The cold air discharge duct 17 is simplified for cooling the ice making tray 5, improving the cleaning efficiency of the ice making tray 5. A simple cooling air duct structure increases the inner capacity of a freezing chamber 2. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigerator provided with an ice making device.

A conventional refrigerator equipped with this type of ice making apparatus is disclosed in Patent Document 1. That is, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, an automatic ice making device 42 is installed in the freezer compartment 41 of the refrigerator body 40. The automatic ice making device 42 is mainly cooled by a cooler 43 and cooled by a fan 44 to cool water with cold air circulating in the freezer compartment 41 to produce ice, and the ice making plate 45 is rotated by a drive shaft 46. A drive device 47 is provided that deforms and separates the ice from the ice tray 45, and an ice storage box 48 that stores the ice separated and released from the ice tray 45. The ice tray 45 is fitted with a front shaft 49 in a downward U-shaped groove 52 provided in a front end portion 51 of an L-shaped frame 50 whose rear end portion is fixed to a driving device 47 fixed to the freezer compartment 41. The rear engaging portion 53 is detachably engaged with the drive shaft 46. In addition, the front shaft 49 of the ice tray 45 is fitted with detachment prevention claws 57, 58 provided on the back surface of the decorative cover 56, which is secured to the front end portions of the partition walls 54 on both sides with screws 55. The groove 52 is prevented from coming off. 59 and 60 are anti-detachment claws provided on the back surface of the decorative cover 56 that supports the front end portion 51 of the frame 50, 61 is a door of the freezer compartment 41, and 62 is a bendable temperature sensor integrally extended from the drive unit 47. Thus, it is longer than the drive shaft 46 and is positioned in the engaging portion 53 of the ice tray 45.
JP-A-6-323702

  In the above conventional configuration, when the ice tray 45 is removed for the purpose of cleaning or the like, the following operation is performed. First, the door 61 is opened and the ice making chamber 41 is opened. Next, the screw 55 is removed with a tool, and the decorative cover 56 is removed from the partition plate 54. Further, the ice storage box 48 is taken out from the freezer compartment 41, and a hand is put out from the lower space which is widened, and while holding the ice tray 45, the ice storage tray 45 is slightly pulled out to the front side and the engaging portion 53 on the rear side of the ice tray 45 is driven. After removing from 46, the front side of the ice tray 45 is lowered downward to remove the front shaft 49 from the groove 52, and when the upper end of the ice tray 45 is lowered from the front end portion 51 of the frame 50, it is pulled out and bent. The ice tray 45 can be taken out of the freezer compartment 41 only after the engaging portion 53 is removed from the temperature sensor 62. As described above, the ice tray 45 cannot be removed unless many operations are performed.

  In addition, when the ice tray 45 is reinstalled, it is needless to say that the operation is performed in the reverse order as described above. In particular, the engaging portion 53 on the rear side of the ice tray 45 is not visible from the front side. Insertion and engagement of the temperature sensor 62 and the engaging portion 53 to the drive shaft 46 are not easy, and it is very difficult to remove and attach them by a general customer who uses a refrigerator.

  The present invention solves the above-described conventional problems, and can easily and easily remove and attach the ice tray provided in the freezer compartment of the refrigerator main body without using a tool or the like, and an ice making device It aims at providing the refrigerator which can simplify the periphery.

  In order to solve the above-described conventional problems, the refrigerator of the present invention has a freezer compartment provided with an ice making machine in the refrigerator body, and an ice tray that is supplied with water and the supplied water are frozen to produce ice. A driving device that applies a force to the ice when separated to separate the ice from the ice tray, an ice storage box that is disposed below the ice tray and stores ice, and a control unit that controls the driving device In the automatic ice making device of the refrigerator, the ice tray is integrally formed with a holding body having a holding portion that supports or grips the shaft portion provided at the front and rear, and is detachably connected to the rotation shaft of the drive device. The holding body can be taken out of the freezing chamber while holding the ice tray, and constitutes a duct for guiding cool air from the cooler to the top of the ice tray.

  As a result, the ice tray provided in the ice making chamber can be attached to and detached from the rotating shaft of the drive device of the ice making device as a holding body integrated with the rotating support portion. And a duct for cooling the ice tray can be simplified.

  The refrigerator of the present invention can easily and easily remove and attach the ice tray from the refrigerator body, and can simplify the duct for cooling the ice tray, improving the cleanability of the ice tray, By using a simple cooling air passage configuration, the internal volume in the freezer compartment can be increased.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the freezer compartment provided with the ice making machine is configured in the refrigerator main body, and the ice making tray to which water is supplied and the supplied water is frozen to produce ice when the water is frozen. An automatic ice making device for a refrigerator, comprising: a drive device that applies force to separate ice from the ice tray; an ice storage box that is disposed below the ice tray to store ice; and a control unit that controls the drive device. The ice tray is integrally formed with a holding body having a holding portion for supporting or gripping a shaft portion provided at the front and the rear, and is detachably connected to a rotating shaft of the driving device, and the holding body is the ice making machine. The duct can be taken out of the freezer compartment while holding the dish, and a duct that guides the cold air from the cooler is constructed at the top of the ice tray. The ice tray can be easily removed from the refrigerator body and attached. As well as ice making It is possible to simplify the duct for cooling and thereby improves cleaning of the ice tray, by a simple cooling air passage structure, it is possible to increase the internal volume of the refrigeration compartment.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the driving device is provided behind the frame fixed to the upper part of the freezer compartment, and a cold air discharge duct for guiding the cold air from the cooler is provided above the driving device. It is configured to send cold air to the upper part of the ice tray, and the ice tray can be removed and attached more easily and easily.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a cold air discharge duct is formed in the heat insulating partition wall on the top surface of the freezer compartment, and the duct for cooling the ice tray is further simplified. can do.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first or third aspect of the invention, the ice tray is configured on the back side and the driving device is disposed on the near side, and the holding body is fixed by a lock mechanism provided in the driving device. At the same time, cold air is introduced from the inner side of the ice tray, and the duct for cooling the ice tray can be simplified.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the first or third aspect of the present invention, an automatic ice making device comprising an ice tray, a driving device, a frame, and a holding body is disposed with the left and right sides in the freezer compartment as the longitudinal direction, A discharge duct is provided in the inner surface of the freezer compartment, and cool air is introduced from the side surface of the ice tray. Further, the duct for cooling the ice tray can be simplified.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of a refrigerator equipped with an ice making device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

(Embodiment 1)
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 is a schematic sectional side view of a refrigerator according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the ice making device according to the embodiment, FIG. 3 is a front view of the ice making device according to the embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the ice making device in FIG. 3 taken along line AA, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the ice making device in FIG. 3 taken along line BB, and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the refrigerator in the same embodiment. FIG.

  In FIG. 1, 1 is a refrigerator main body, which has a freezer compartment 2 and a refrigerator compartment 3, and has a freezer compartment door 2a and a refrigerator compartment door 3a, respectively. An ice making device 4 is arranged in the upper part of the freezer compartment 2, and this ice making device 4 has a drive device 10 arranged behind the freezer compartment door in the direction opposite to the door, and the ice made in the ice tray 5 is a drive device. 10 is removed from the ice tray 5 by the rotational drive from 10 and stored in the ice storage box 6 in the lower part. A water supply tank 7 for storing ice-making water is disposed in the refrigerator compartment 3, and water in the water supply tank 7 is supplied to the ice tray 5 by a water supply pump 8 through a water supply pipe 9. Yes.

  Next, the structure of the ice making device 4 will be described in detail. 2 to 5, the driving device 10 is fixed to the upper part of the freezer compartment 2 and is installed at the end of the frame 11, and the driving shaft 10 a that rotates in conjunction with the driving source of the driving device 10 is substantially at the center. An ice detection lever 12 for detecting whether or not the ice storage box 6 is full of ice and a control unit (not shown) for controlling the drive source are provided. Yes. The ice tray 5 is integrally configured via a holding jig 13a with a holding body 13 that has rotatable shaft portions 5a and 5b and has a holding portion that supports both shaft portions. It can be detachably connected to 10a. The holding body 13 has a substantially U-shaped handle portion 13d that is attached to and removed from the frame 11. Reference numeral 14 denotes a microswitch as a detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of the holding body 13 integrally formed with the ice tray 5, and has an inclination at a predetermined position of the frame 11, as shown in FIG. The holding body 13 which is fixed at 30 ° and is located oppositely has an inclined portion 13 b similar to the mounting inclination angle of the microswitch 14.

  The temperature sensor 15 is provided at a predetermined position of the frame 11 to detect the temperature of the ice making chamber 2 and to detect the correlation with the completion temperature of ice making. The mounting position is provided at the flow outlet of the cold air that controls ice making. Good. Reference numeral 16 denotes a holding body 13 integrally formed with the ice tray 5, in which the piercing portion 16 b is rotatably fixed to the groove portion 11 a of the frame 11 via a spring 16 a at the end of the frame 11 opposite to the driving device 10. The projection 16c of the lid 16 and the recess 13c of the holding body 13 are joined by the force of the spring 16a to regulate the attachment / detachment of the holding body 13, and an operation portion 16d is provided. The union can be canceled. As shown in FIG. 6, the sliding portion between the frame 11 and the holding body 13 is provided with a receiving portion 11c for sliding the holding body 13 in the front-rear direction of the freezer compartment door 2a, and the holding body 13 is slid. By providing a convex rib portion 13d in the moving portion, the contact area between the sliding portion of the frame 11 and the holding body 13 is reduced.

  In FIG. 6, a cold air discharge duct 17 is provided in the heat insulating partition wall 18 on the top surface of the freezer compartment 2, and the cold air cooled by the cooler 19 passes through the upper part of the driving device 10 to the upper part of the ice tray 5. The cooling air is sent uniformly.

  The ice making operation will be described in the above configuration. Water is supplied to the ice tray 5, water is cooled by the cold air from the cold air discharge duct 17, and ice making is performed. When the temperature sensor 15 detects that the ice making is completed, the rotation shaft 10a is rotated by the drive control of the driving device 10 to rotate the ice tray 5, and at the same time, the ice detection lever 12 controls the amount of ice in the ice storage box 6. Judging from the lowering angle of the lever, if the ice is not full, the ice tray 5 is turned over and twisted to release the ice, and when the rotary shaft 10a is in a predetermined position, the drive motor is stopped to complete the ice removal. . The deiced ice is stored in the ice storage box 6 below.

  Next, the operation | movement at the time of taking out the holding body 13 comprised integrally with the ice tray 5 of the ice making apparatus 4 for the objective of washing | cleaning the ice tray 5 etc. is demonstrated. First, an ice making stop button (not shown) for stopping the ice making operation provided in the main body of the refrigerator 1 is operated to stop the ice making device 4, and then the ice making door 2a of the ice making chamber 2 is opened. Next, the operation part 16d of the lid 16 provided on the frame 11 of the ice making device 4 is lifted from below, and the convex part 16c of the lid 16 and the concave part 13c of the holding body 13 are removed from each other, and then with one hand. When the handle portion 13d of the holding body 13 is pulled out and moved to the front, the ice tray 5 integrally formed with the holding body 13 by sliding left and right of the receiving portion 11c of the frame 11 and the convex rib portion 13d of the holding body 13 is: Since it moves while being held in a state where ice making is possible, the shaft portion 5b which is the connecting portion of the ice tray 5 is smoothly separated from the rotating shaft 10a of the driving device 10. At the same time, the fact that the ice tray 5 has been taken out by the micro switch 14 serving as the detecting means of the holding body 13 provided in the frame 11 is transmitted to the control device of the refrigerator body 1 to notify the user that the ice tray has been removed and for ice making. The operation of the ice making device is stopped, such as the supply of water and the operation of the driving device.

  On the contrary, in order to attach the ice tray 5, an operation reverse to the above is basically performed. If the holding body 13 is inserted with the holding part 13 and the sliding part of the frame 11 together with one hand, even if it is greatly inclined, the receiving part 11c of the frame 11 and the convex rib part 13d of the holding body 13 alone. It can be mounted in a predetermined position by being horizontally balanced by sliding left and right. When the holding body 13 is pushed backward with the handle 13d, the shaft portion 5b, which is the connecting portion of the ice tray 5, is engaged with the rotating shaft 10a of the driving device 10 so as to be held substantially horizontally including a small inclination. The ice tray 5 is surely corrected horizontally and installed in a state where ice making is possible. At the same time, the fact that the ice tray 5 is attached by the micro switch 14 that is a detecting means of the holding body 13 provided on the frame 11 is transmitted to the control device of the refrigerator main body 1 to notify the user of the installation of the ice tray, and Release the stop operation.

  The cool air discharge duct 17 is provided in the heat insulating partition wall 18 on the top surface of the freezer compartment 2, and the cool air cooled by the cooler 19 passes through the upper part of the driving device 10 and is uniformly cooled on the upper part of the ice tray 5. Since the ice tray can be easily and easily removed and attached from the refrigerator body, the duct for cooling the ice tray can be simplified, and the cleanability of the ice tray is improved. A simple cooling air passage configuration is possible, and the internal volume of the freezer compartment can be increased.

  Further, by providing a dedicated cold air discharge duct 17 for the ice tray 5 on the top of the freezer compartment, the ice making device 4 such as the ice tray 5, the frame 11, and the holding body 13 to be removed and cleaned can be simplified and complicated. Therefore, it is possible to prevent unnecessary frosting caused by handling of cold air and to make uniform by suppressing the variation in ice making time of each ice in the ice tray.

  In addition, by providing a cool air discharge duct inside the heat insulating partition wall 18 on the top surface of the freezer compartment, the freezer compartment can be made to have a very refreshing structure without irregularities, and unnecessary frosting and duct air leakage seals can be made. These parts are no longer necessary, and it is easy and easy to clean.

  In the present embodiment, the driving device 10 is described as being provided behind the frame 11 fixed to the upper portion of the freezer compartment 2, but the driving device 10 of the frame 11 fixed to the upper portion of the freezer chamber 2 is described. The holding body may be fixed by a locking mechanism provided in front and provided in the driving device. In this case, the duct for cooling the ice tray can be further simplified.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional side view of the refrigerator in the second embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, an automatic ice making device 4 comprising an ice tray 5, a driving device 10, a frame 11, and a holding body 13 is arranged with the left and right sides in the freezer compartment as the longitudinal direction. The cold air discharge duct 17 is provided in the heat insulating partition wall 18 on the top surface from the back surface of the freezer compartment 2, and the cold air cooled by the cooler 19 is uniformly sent from the side surface of the ice tray 5 to the upper portion. It is said.

  With the above configuration, the length of the cold air discharge duct 17 that further cools the ice tray 5 can be shortened, and the effective internal volume in the freezer compartment can be increased by simplifying the structure.

  As described above, the refrigerator of the present invention simply and easily removes and securely attaches the ice making tray of the automatic ice making device provided in the freezer compartment of the refrigerator body for the purpose of cleaning and the like without using a tool or the like. Therefore, a general consumer who uses the refrigerator can easily clean it on a daily basis, and the refrigerator can be a very favorable refrigerator.

Schematic side sectional view of the refrigerator in the first embodiment of the present invention. The exploded perspective view of the ice making device in the embodiment Front view of ice making device in the embodiment Sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 3 of the ice making device according to the embodiment. Sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 3 of the ice making device according to the embodiment. Schematic side sectional view of the refrigerator in the same embodiment Schematic side sectional view of the refrigerator in the second embodiment of the present invention. Longitudinal sectional view of the ice making unit of a refrigerator equipped with a conventional ice making device Perspective view of ice tray part in conventional ice making device

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Refrigerator main body 2 Freezer compartment 4 Ice making apparatus 5 Ice making tray 10 Drive apparatus 11 Frame 13 Holding body 17 Cold air discharge duct 18 Heat insulation partition wall

Claims (5)

  A freezer compartment provided with an ice making machine is configured in the refrigerator main body, and an ice tray that is supplied with water, and when the supplied water is frozen and ice is generated, force is applied to the ice to generate ice from the ice tray. In the automatic ice making device of the refrigerator, which is composed of a drive device that separates the ice, an ice storage box that is disposed below the ice tray and stores ice, and a control unit that controls the drive device, the ice tray is front and rear And a holding body that includes a holding portion that supports or grips the shaft portion provided in the head, and is detachably connected to the rotating shaft of the driving device, and the holding body is taken out of the freezer compartment while holding the ice tray. A refrigerator characterized in that a duct for guiding cold air from a cooler is formed at the top of an ice tray.   2. The drive device according to claim 1, wherein the drive device is provided behind a frame fixed to the upper part of the freezer compartment, and a cool air discharge duct that guides cool air from a cooler passes through the upper part of the drive device and sends cool air to the upper part of the ice tray. The refrigerator described.   The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a cold air discharge duct is formed in a heat insulating partition wall on the top surface of the freezer compartment.   The ice tray is configured on the back side, the drive device is configured on the front side, and the holding body is fixed by a lock mechanism provided in the drive device, and cold air is introduced from the back side of the ice tray. 3. The refrigerator according to 3.   An automatic ice making device composed of an ice tray, a drive unit, a frame, and a holding body is arranged with the left and right sides of the freezer compartment as the longitudinal direction, and a cold air discharge duct is provided at the back of the freezer compartment to introduce cold air from the side of the ice tray The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 3, wherein

Images