JP2006258311A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ice-making device of a refrigerator with low cost and high reliability having no anxiety of leakage of water, capable of easily attaching/detaching a part of a water-feeding route and absorbing dimension difference even if the dimension difference in assembling and in specification of a product exists. <P>SOLUTION: In the refrigerator 100, a first partition wall 5 and a second partition wall 6 for partitioning the inside of the refrigerator 100 to upper and lower parts, the first partition wall 5 is arranged above the second partition wall 6, a tank 11 for storing water for ice-making is arranged above the first partition wall 5 and an ice-making chamber 4 provided with an ice-making tray 8 is arranged below the second partition wall 6. A water passage 22 reaching from the first partition wall 5 to the ice-making tray 8 is formed and a conduit 21 for leading water fed from the tank 11 is arranged in the water passage 22. The conduit 21 is made detachable from the refrigerator 100 and it is detached while absorbing dimension difference by dividing the water passage 22 and connecting it at a height adjustment part 25. Thereby, a sanitary ice-making device of the refrigerator having the washable water-feeding route can be provided. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an ice making device for a refrigerator configured to supply water in a water supply tank to an ice tray through a water supply path.

  There exist some which were described in patent document 1, for example in this kind of conventional ice making apparatus. FIG. 5 shows a refrigerator main body equipped with a conventional ice making device disclosed in Patent Document 1. In the ice making device shown in FIG. 5, the refrigerator body 1 is provided with a refrigerator compartment 2, a vegetable compartment 3, and a freezer compartment 4 in order from the top. A partition plate 5 is provided between the refrigerator compartment 2 and the vegetable compartment 3, and a heat insulating partition plate 6 is provided between the vegetable compartment 3 and the freezer compartment 4.

  An ice making tray 8 and an ice removing mechanism 9 constituting an automatic ice making device 7 are disposed on the freezer compartment 4. The water supply apparatus 10 includes a water supply path 12 for guiding ice-making water in a water supply tank 11 serving as a water supply container disposed on a side wall portion of the refrigerator compartment 2 to an ice tray 8. A detachable lid 13 is attached to the water supply tank 11. A water supply pump unit 14 is integrally fixed to the lid portion 13, and has a pump portion 15 provided so as to be positioned at a concave portion of the bottom surface portion of the water supply tank 11. An impeller sorbed on a disk-shaped magnet plate is accommodated in the pump unit 15 and is rotated by a magnetic force by a motor unit (not shown) provided outside to supply water.

The water in the water supply tank 11 is discharged by the pump unit 15, temporarily received by the water receiving unit 17, and from the opening 6 a of the heat insulating partition plate 6 at the lower part of the vegetable chamber 3 through the water supply pipe 18 and the guide pipe 19. Water is supplied to the ice tray 8. The water supply pipe 18 is configured to be inserted into the water supply path 12 and is configured to be detachable together with the water receiver 17. When the water supply path 12 is constituted by the guide pipe 19 itself, the water supply pipe 18 is inserted into the guide pipe 19.
JP 2001-41625 A

  In the ice making device for a refrigerator configured as described above, the water supply pipe 18 can be removed and cleaned, but the refrigerator compartment 2 and the freezer compartment 4 are separated by the vegetable compartment 3, so that the dimensions in the height direction are particularly large. Error is likely to occur. For this reason, when the ice making device is forcibly assembled, each member of the water supply path 12 is subjected to an excessive force, and there is a concern that the water supply function may be impaired due to detachment or damage.

  Moreover, when the internal volume of the vegetable compartment 3 differs depending on the product specifications and the dimensions in the height direction of the vegetable compartment 3 are different, it is necessary to prepare a water supply path 12 having a dedicated length for each product. Manufacturing cost was a factor.

  The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, there is no fear of water leakage, a part of the water supply path can be easily attached and detached, and even if there is a dimensional error during assembly, assembly is easy. Furthermore, it aims at providing the ice making apparatus of the refrigerator which can aim at standardization of the water supply path | route for every product specification.

  In order to solve the above conventional problems, an ice making device for a refrigerator according to the present invention is provided with a first partition wall and a second partition wall that partition the inside of the refrigerator up and down, and water for ice making is provided above the first partition wall. In a refrigerator in which an ice making chamber having an ice tray is arranged below the second partition wall, a water channel is formed from the first partition wall to the ice tray, and the tank is placed in the water channel. A conduit for guiding the water to be supplied is disposed, and the water channel has a height adjusting portion between the first partition wall and the second partition wall.

  As a result, in the height adjustment unit, the difference in the height direction between the first partition wall and the second partition wall due to the product specification difference, and the height between the first partition wall and the second partition wall due to manufacturing, etc. It is possible to standardize the water channel specifications and improve the reliability of the arrangement by absorbing the dimensional variation in the vertical direction.

  In the ice making device for a refrigerator of the present invention, in the height adjustment unit, the height difference between the first partition wall and the second partition wall due to the product specification difference, the first partition wall and the second for manufacturing etc. Since the dimensional variation in the height direction between the partition walls can be absorbed, it is possible to standardize the specification by sharing the waterway constituent members and improve the reliability during assembly.

  The invention according to claim 1 is provided with a first partition wall and a second partition wall that partition the inside of the refrigerator up and down, and the first partition wall is disposed above the second partition wall, In the refrigerator in which a tank containing ice-making water is disposed above the first partition wall, and an ice making chamber having an ice tray is disposed below the second partition wall, the ice tray from the first partition wall is disposed. A conduit that guides water supplied from the tank is disposed in the water channel, the conduit is detachable from the refrigerator, and the water channel includes a first partition wall and a second wall. It has a height adjustment part between the partition walls. In this height adjustment part, the difference in the height direction between the first partition wall and the second partition wall due to the product specification difference, Absorbing the dimensional variation in the height direction between the first and second partition walls, It is possible to achieve the-reliability improvement.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein the water channel is divided between a first partition wall and a second partition wall, and the height adjusting portion It is a connecting member to be connected, and by selecting a connecting member with an appropriate size and adjusting the height, it is possible to ensure the placement reliability while standardizing the divided water channel, and it is divided and compact As a result, the assembly workability is improved.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein the height adjusting portion is a bellows portion provided between the first partition wall and the second partition wall of the water channel. Yes, the height can be adjusted by the expansion and contraction of the bellows part, and even if it is a continuously formed water channel, it can be standardized by absorbing the dimensional difference in the height direction by adjusting the expansion and contraction of the bellows part at the time of wearing. The arrangement reliability can be improved.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the same components as those in the conventional example are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

(Embodiment 1)
1 is a longitudinal sectional view of an ice making device for a refrigerator according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a water supply path of the ice making device for the refrigerator according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a water channel and a conduit of the ice making device for the refrigerator according to the embodiment.

  In the refrigerator 100 of FIG. 1, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the structure same as the structure of the conventional refrigerator main body 1 of FIG. That is, the refrigerator 100 is provided with the refrigerator compartment 2, the vegetable compartment 3, and the freezer compartment 4 (ice making room) in order from the top. The refrigerator compartment 2 and the vegetable compartment 3 are partitioned by a partition plate 5 (first partition wall), and the vegetable compartment 3 and the freezer compartment 4 are partitioned by a heat insulating partition plate 6 (second partition wall).

  The refrigerator 100 is provided with an automatic ice making device 7. The automatic ice making device 7 includes a water supply tank 11 for storing water for ice making, a water supply pump unit 14 for sending the water in the water supply tank 11 to the ice tray 8, and water discharged from the water supply pump unit 14 to the ice tray 8. The water supply path 18 (the pipe line 21 and the water path 22) to guide, the ice tray 8 which can be rotated by the drive motor 24 (ice removal mechanism), and the tray 23 which stores the ice produced | generated by the ice tray 8 are comprised. .

  In the refrigerator compartment 2 above the partition plate 5, a water supply tank 11 and a water supply pump unit 14 are arranged. An ice tray 8 and a tray 23 are arranged in the freezer compartment 4. The water channel 22 is configured by connecting three pipe-like members (an upper end side member 22a, an intermediate member 22b, and a guide pipe 19). An upper end side member 22 a of the water channel 22 is fixed to a through hole 26 provided in the partition plate 5, and the guide pipe 19 penetrates the heat insulating partition plate 6 and is fixed to the heat insulating partition plate 6. The upper end of the intermediate member 22b is connected to the upper end side member 22a and the height adjusting portion 25 while maintaining watertightness from the outer diameter side, and the lower end is connected to the upper end of the guide pipe 19 and the rubber joint 28, for example. Keep connected. Therefore, the water channel 22 has a configuration that can be separated vertically. The height adjusting unit 25 is made of soft vinyl chloride or rubber, and a material that is not easily deteriorated in a low temperature environment is selected.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, an inclined surface 5 a is formed on the upper surface of the partition plate 5 so that the opening portion of the through hole 26 of the partition plate 5 can be seen when the door 20 (FIG. 1) is opened. An opening 26a of the through hole 26 is formed in the inclined surface 5a. Discharge port 14a of feed water pump unit 14 is arranged vertically above opening 26a. That is, the discharge port 14a enters the vertical projection plane of the opening 26a.

  Moreover, as shown in FIG. 3, the pipe line 21 is configured by combining an upper funnel 21a and a lower pipe 21b. The funnel 21a is provided with a hook (not shown) so that the pipe line 21 can be fixed to the side wall of the refrigerator compartment 2, and a hook hole (not shown) is formed in the side wall of the refrigerator compartment 2 corresponding to the hook. Is provided. Therefore, the pipe line 21 can be disengaged from the hook by slightly lifting the funnel 21a, and can be attached to and detached from the refrigerator compartment 2 with one touch. In order to facilitate the insertion of the pipe 21b, the diameter of the through hole 26 is preferably formed slightly larger in the vicinity of the opening 26a and smaller in diameter toward the inside.

  The capacity of the funnel 21a is set so that all the water discharged from the pump 14 can be received. If the amount of water discharged from the pump 14 flows into the ice tray 8 through the pipe 21b per unit time is taken into consideration, the capacity of the funnel 21a does not have to be the same as that of the ice tray 8; The capacity can be smaller than the capacity. Of course, the capacity of the funnel 21a and the capacity of the ice tray 8 may be matched. By setting the capacity of the funnel 21a in this way, all the water discharged from the pump 14 is contained in the funnel 21a.

  The pipe 21b of the conduit 21 has a smaller diameter than the water channel 22 disposed in the through hole 26, and is inserted into the water channel 22 when mounted. The length of the pipe 21b may be determined as appropriate. However, if the lower end of the pipe 21b is set so as to reach the heat insulating partition plate 6 (second partition wall), the length of the detachable pipe 21b becomes longer and can be cleaned. The ratio of becomes higher.

  Therefore, the water supply path 12 has a double structure in which the pipe 21 is disposed in the water path 22. Therefore, there is no worry that water will leak into the vegetable room 3 by any chance. Further, it is not necessary to consider the watertightness between the water channel 22 and the pipeline 21.

  If the water channel 22 is integrally formed when the refrigerator 100 is assembled, the height dimension between the position of the through hole 26 provided in the partition plate 5 and the position of the upper end portion of the guide pipe 19 varies in the assembly. May cause deviation (that is, a dimensional error occurs), and if the dimension is widened, an excessive force is applied to the fixing of the upper and lower sides of the water channel 22, which may cause detachment or breakage. However, there is a problem that an easy bending portion or the like is likely to cause insertion workability of the pipe line 21, water droplets, or foreign matter remaining. However, as in the present embodiment, the height adjustment unit 25 is connected in the middle. Then, the shift | offset | difference of a height direction can be absorbed and the assembly of the refrigerator 100 and the attachment / detachment operation of the pipe line 21 become easy. Further, since the assembly accuracy is increased, it is not necessary to apply excessive force to the water channel 22 itself, the partition plate 5 and the heat insulating partition plate 6, and the durability reliability of the refrigerator 100 and the quality of the water supply channel can be improved.

  Moreover, if the length of the height adjustment part 25 is set sufficiently by providing the height adjustment part 25 as a separate member, the height resulting from the internal volume of the vegetable compartment 3 due to the product specification difference during this period It is possible to absorb the dimensional difference in the direction and to draw out the standardization merit by sharing the parts between products.

  When a soft material such as vinyl chloride, natural rubber, or synthetic rubber is used for the height adjusting portion 25, the above-described dimension error absorption margin can be formed. By connecting with such a soft height adjusting portion 25 (joint member), it is possible to avoid applying an excessive force to the water channel 22 even if the water channel 22 expands and contracts due to a temperature change.

  Water in the water supply tank 11 is discharged toward the funnel 21 a by the water supply pump unit 14, reaches the ice tray 8 through the pipe line 21 and the guide pipe 19, and is made into ice. When the ice is made, the ice tray 8 is rotated by the drive motor 24 (ice removing mechanism), and the ice falls into the tray 23.

  Although the capacity | capacitance of the funnel 21a is smaller than the capacity | capacitance of the ice tray 8, since the water supplied by the water supply pump unit 14 immediately flows in the pipe line 21, it does not overflow from the funnel 21a. The water supply pump unit 14 sets the discharge time to 3 to 10 seconds if the discharge amount of water is time-controlled. For example, if the discharge amount for 3 to 10 seconds corresponds to the capacity of the ice tray 8. Thus, water can be supplied to the ice tray 8 without excess or deficiency.

  When cleaning the pipeline 21, the hook that fixes the funnel 21a is removed, and the pipeline 21 is removed from the refrigerator 100 (FIG. 1). When the conduit 21 is removed, the upper end of the water channel 22 is exposed in the opening 26a. Here, if the channel cross-sectional area at the upper end of the water channel 22 (or the area viewed from the vertical of the opening 26a) is set to be larger than the discharge port of the water supply pump unit 14, the pipe 21 after cleaning should be used. Even if the user forgets to wear the water, the water can flow through the water channel 22 and reach the ice tray 8 to make the ice.

  In the said embodiment, the three-stage refrigerator 100 was illustrated and the refrigerator compartment 2 provided with the water supply tank 11 and the freezer compartment 4 provided with the automatic ice making apparatus 7 (ice tray 8) were separated by the vegetable compartment 3. Although the example which has shown was shown, even if the refrigerator compartment 2 and the freezer compartment 4 are separated by two or more chambers, this invention can be implemented.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a water channel and a pipeline of the refrigerator ice making device according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. In FIG. 4, unlike the first embodiment, the water channel 29 is integrally formed without being divided, and a bellows portion that is a height adjusting portion that can expand and contract a portion corresponding to the height adjusting portion 25 of the first embodiment. It is replaced with 30.

  Even when the water channel 22 is integrally formed when the refrigerator 100 is assembled, the height dimension can be adjusted by the expansion / contraction allowance of the bellows portion 30, so that a deviation in the height direction can be absorbed, and the refrigerator 100 Assembling and attaching / detaching operations of the pipe line 21 are facilitated. Further, since the assembly accuracy is increased, it is not necessary to apply excessive force to the water channel 22 itself, the partition plate 5 and the heat insulating partition plate 6, and the durability reliability of the refrigerator 100 and the quality of the water supply channel can be improved.

  Moreover, since the water channel 22 can be integrally formed including the height adjusting portion 30, it is possible to reduce the cost without using a separate member for height adjustment, and the component that absorbs the difference in use of dimensions in the height direction. It can be a rational configuration that can be shared.

  As described above, the ice making device for a refrigerator according to the present invention arranges the water supply pipe in the water channel, so that it can be easily attached to and detached from the water channel, and has dimensions due to product specification differences and assembly variations. Since the difference can be absorbed and the reliability can be improved, the present invention can be widely applied as a configuration of a water supply path of an ice making machine, a cooling device or the like equipped with a water supply device for an automatic ice making device.

1 is a longitudinal sectional view of an ice making device for a refrigerator according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The perspective view of the water supply path of the ice making apparatus of the refrigerator of the embodiment The perspective view of the water channel and pipe line of the ice making apparatus of the refrigerator of the embodiment The perspective view of the water channel and pipe line of the ice making apparatus of the refrigerator of Embodiment 2 of this invention Longitudinal sectional view of a conventional refrigerator ice making device

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Refrigerator body 2 Refrigerated room 3 Vegetable room 4 Freezer room 5 Partition plate (1st partition wall)
6 Insulation partition (second partition wall)
7 Automatic ice making device 8 Ice making tray 9 Ice removing mechanism 10 Water supply device 11 Water supply tank 12 Water supply path 14 Water supply pump unit 17 Water receiving part 18 Water supply pipe 19 Guide pipe 20 Door 21 Pipe line 22, 29 Water path 25 Height adjustment part 26 Through Hole 26a opening 30 bellows part (height adjustment part)

Claims (3)

  A first partition wall and a second partition wall that divide the inside of the refrigerator vertically are provided, the first partition wall is disposed above the second partition wall, and is used for ice making above the first partition wall In a refrigerator in which an ice-making chamber having an ice-making tray disposed below the second partition wall is formed, forming a water channel from the first partition wall to the ice-making tray, the water channel A conduit that guides water supplied from the tank is disposed therein, and the conduit is detachable from the refrigerator, and the water conduit has a height adjusting portion between the first partition wall and the second partition wall. An ice making device for a refrigerator.   2. The ice making of a refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the water channel is divided between a first partition wall and a second partition wall, and the height adjusting unit is a connecting member that connects the divided water channels. apparatus.   The ice making device for a refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the height adjusting portion is a bellows portion provided between the first partition wall and the second partition wall of the water channel.

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