JP2006349207A - Ice crusher and refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a miniaturizable ice crusher and a refrigerator, capable of easily providing ice of a reasonable size without requiring a complicated transfer mechanism, and carrying out recovery by itself even when a motor gets locked. <P>SOLUTION: The ice crusher 1 has at least one pair of blades (a rotary blade 9a and a stationary blade 10a), and at least one blade (the rotary blade 9a) of the pair of blades is driven to crush ice. It is characterized by that the one blade (the rotary blade 9a) is supported so it can swivel around a spindle 2, and a first opening 11 opened at least in a swivel locus of the one blade (the rotary blade 9a) in a direction of the spindle 2 is provided for ejecting crushed ice. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an ice crusher and a refrigerator that perform crushed ice, and more particularly to those that can be miniaturized.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, ice crushers that perform ice crushing include an ice crusher that crushes ice conveyed to an ice crushing portion by sandwiching it between a movable blade and a fixed blade that are rotated by a motor (see Patent Document 1).

  More specifically, the transport mechanism for transporting ice to the ice breaking unit includes a box for temporarily storing ice, a rotating drum for sending ice to the ice breaking unit, a spiral unit for transporting ice in the box to the rotating drum, have. The opening on the spiral portion side of the rotating drum is provided with a plate for connecting the rotating drum and the rotating shaft, and by this plate, the amount of ice conveyed into the rotating drum is limited to a certain amount, A large amount of ice is prevented from being sent to the ice breaking section at once.

  A movable blade and a fixed blade that are rotated by a motor are provided inside the ice breaking portion to which ice is fed, and among these, the movable blade can be crushed by sandwiching the ice fed to the ice breaking portion with the fixed blade. It rotates only in a predetermined direction on the vertical plane. In addition, a discharge port for discharging the crushed ice is provided below the rotating drum, and a lid that can be opened and closed is disposed in the discharge port. This lid is opened and closed by an open / close rod, for example.

JP-A-10-292965 (FIG. 1)

  However, the ice crusher described in Patent Document 1 described above has the following problems.

  In the ice crusher described in Patent Document 1, an openable / closable lid is disposed at the outlet for discharging the crushed ice (that is, the openable / closable lid is configured to protrude in the radial direction). A space high enough to open the lid is required.

  In addition, as described above, the ice crusher described in Patent Document 1 has a spiral portion for conveying the ice in the box to the rotating drum, or prevents a large amount of ice from being fed into the ice breaking portion at once. If a plate is provided, a complicated transport mechanism is required to transport a certain amount of ice to the ice breaking section. In addition, if a large amount of ice or hard ice enters the ice breaker, and if the motor locks due to being caught on the rotating blade due to insufficient torque, it cannot be recovered by itself, causing failure. .

  This invention is made | formed in view of such a point, The objective is to provide the refrigerator provided with the ice crusher which can achieve size reduction of a radial direction, and the ice crusher. It is another object of the present invention to provide an ice crusher and a refrigerator that can recover by themselves even when the motor is locked without requiring a complicated transport mechanism.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides the following.

  (1) In an ice crusher that has at least a pair of blades and that crushes ice by driving at least one of the pair of blades, the one blade is supported to be swingable about a support shaft, An ice crusher comprising a first opening that opens in the direction of the support shaft and discharges crushed ice, at least in a swing locus in the support shaft direction.

  According to the present invention, it is assumed that the ice crusher is provided with at least a pair of blades (for example, a rotary blade and a fixed blade), and at least one of the pair of blades (for example, the rotary blade) is driven to break the ice. As described above, the one blade is supported so as to be swingable about the support shaft, and opens in the direction of the support shaft at least in the swing trajectory of the support shaft direction to discharge the crushed ice. Since the opening is provided, it is possible to reduce the size in the radial direction.

  Here, the first opening is provided in the swing locus of at least one of the blades (for example, the rotary blade). This is because the first opening is included in the swing locus. This is intended to include both the case where a part of the first opening is included in the swing locus. In addition, the other blade of the pair of blades may be fixed, or may be provided so as to be drivable (can swing) (that is, according to the present invention, the other blade is fixed). Not intended to be limited). Further, the phrase “a pair of blades (for example, a rotary blade and a fixed blade) are superposed” means that a part of the pair of blades intersects the support shaft direction.

  (2) An output gear that swings the one blade is provided, and the output gear is formed in a fan shape and is supported so as to be swingable around the support shaft, and is supported by the first opening. The ice crusher according to (1), wherein the ice crusher swings in a range where polymerization is not performed in the axial direction.

  In the case where the blade is driven over 360 ° like the conventional ice crusher described in Patent Document 1, the final gear must be formed in a circular shape in the plane direction. At this time, in order to form the opening for discharging the crushed ice in the direction of the spindle like the first opening described above, the final gear must be configured not to overlap the opening and the direction of the spindle. Therefore, it is necessary to arrange the final gear inward from the radially inner end of the opening, or to separate the opening from the opening in the axial direction because it is necessary to secure an area for discharging ice from the opening. There is a need to. However, in the former case, if the diameter of the final gear is increased, the apparatus becomes larger in the radial direction, and in the latter case, the apparatus becomes larger in the axial direction.

  On the other hand, in the ice crusher according to the present invention, an output gear for swinging one of the blades is provided, and the output gear is formed in a fan shape and supported so as to be swingable around a support shaft. Since the range that does not overlap with the first opening in the direction of the support shaft is swung, the output gear does not get in the way when the crushed ice passes through the first opening, and the support of the output gear The drive unit can be installed in the swinging locus in the axial direction, and thus downsizing in the radial direction can be achieved. Further, in addition to miniaturization in the radial direction, miniaturization in the axial direction can also be achieved.

  (3) The ice crusher according to (2), further comprising a rocking restricting means for restricting the rocking motion of the one blade to a certain range.

  According to the present invention, the above-described ice crusher is provided with the rocking restricting means for restricting the rocking motion of one blade to a certain range (for example, a range of 110 ° as the rocking angle). It is possible to limit the operation area of the blade, and it is possible to reduce the size in the radial direction by installing the drive unit outside the swing locus of one blade.

  (4) The swing restricting means includes a cam formed on the output gear, a lever whose one end slides on a side surface of the cam in accordance with a swing operation of the output gear, and a movement of the lever. The ice crusher according to (3), further comprising: a switch that outputs an electrical signal as an opportunity.

  According to the present invention, the above-described swing restricting means includes the cam formed on the output gear, the lever whose one end slides on the side surface of the cam in accordance with the swing operation of the output gear, and the movement of the lever. As a trigger, a switch that outputs an electrical signal (for example, a tact switch) is provided, so that the position of the output gear can be grasped directly (directly), and thus the detection accuracy can be improved. .

  That is, instead of indirectly grasping the position of the output gear from the gear provided until the power is transmitted to the output gear, the cam formed on the output gear and the side surface of the cam slide. Since the position can be directly grasped from the movement of the output gear itself using the lever, the detection accuracy can be improved.

  (5) A second opening that opens in the direction of the support shaft and introduces ice is provided in the swing locus of the one blade, and the rear of the one blade has a second opening from the second opening. The ice crusher according to any one of (1) to (4), wherein a blocking portion that blocks the introduction of ice is formed.

  According to the present invention, the second opening that opens in the direction of the support shaft and introduces ice is provided in the swing locus of one blade, and the second opening is provided behind the one blade. Since the blocking portion for blocking the introduction of ice from the portion is formed, the introduction of ice from the rear of one blade (for example, a rotating blade) is blocked, and the first opening is made without ice breaking. It can be prevented from being discharged from the section. Thereby, the ice of the moderate magnitude | size crushed ice can be obtained easily.

  (6) A refrigerator equipped with the ice crusher according to any one of (1) to (5), wherein the ice crusher is attached so that the support shaft is substantially parallel to the direction of gravity. Features a refrigerator.

  According to the present invention, since the ice crusher is attached to the refrigerator so that the support shaft is substantially parallel to the gravity direction, the size of the refrigerator in the height direction is prevented from being increased due to the ice crusher. Can do. That is, the ice crusher according to the present invention is optimal for installation on the partition wall of a household refrigerator.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the size in the radial direction by discharging the crushed ice through the first opening that opens in the direction of the support shaft. Further, it is possible to provide an ice crusher and a refrigerator that can be recovered by themselves even when the motor is locked without requiring a complicated transport mechanism.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[Operation overview]
FIG. 1 is a plan view of an ice crusher 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention as viewed from above. In particular, FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B show a state when the rotary blade 9a comes to one end when the rotary blade 9a swings, and a state when it comes to the other end. Is shown. In FIG. 1A, the gap between the rotary blade 9a and the fixed blade 10a is set to a size that allows approximately one piece of ice cubes to pass.

  In FIG. 1, an ice crusher 1 introduces ice by a rotary blade 9a supported so as to be swingable about a support shaft 2, a fixed blade 10a, a first opening 11 for discharging crushed ice, and ice. 2nd opening part 12 (refer FIG.1 (c)). A dotted line L in FIGS. 1A and 1B is a line drawn at a position corresponding to the second opening 12 formed in the ice tray 13 shown in FIG. 1C. That is, when the ice tray 13 is attached so as to cover the rotary blade 9a and the fixed blade 10a, the second opening 12 is positioned above the dotted line L (before the paper surface).

  When the rotary blade 9a swings to the position shown in FIG. 1A, the second opening 12 is not blocked, so that one piece of ice from the second opening 12 follows the gravity (on the paper surface). Introduced in the back direction). In other words, the size of one piece of ice is formed so as to be introduced one by one from the second opening. Next, when the rotary blade 9a rotates counterclockwise from FIG. 1A to FIG. 1B, the introduced ice is sandwiched between the rotary blade 9a and the fixed blade 10a to be crushed. The crushed ice is discharged from the first opening 11. Thereafter, the rotary blade 9a rotates clockwise from FIG. 1 (b) to FIG. 1 (a) to prepare for the next ice break. In this way, the rotary blade 9a moves back and forth between the position shown in FIG. 1A and the position shown in FIG. 1B, and performs a swinging operation for breaking the ice.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 2 (a), a blocking portion 9a 'is formed behind the rotary blade 9a shown in FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b). The blocking portion 9a ′ prevents the ice from the rear of the rotary blade 9a from entering when the rotary blade 9a rotates toward the fixed blade 10a. In other words, the presence of the blocking portion 9a ′ prevents the introduction of ice from the second opening 12 to the rear of the rotary blade 9a. As a result, the ice is caught between the rear of the rotary blade 9a and the fixed blade 10a. Prevents locking. In addition, the rotary blade in this embodiment consists of two pieces, the rotary blade 9a and the rotary blade 9b (refer FIG. 4), the rotary blade 9a is located above a spindle direction, and the prevention part 9a 'is located in the rotary blade 9a. Is formed. The present invention is not intended to limit the number of rotating blades and the vertical position of the rotating blades, and may be any number / position.

  In the present embodiment, the blocking portion 9a ′ is formed behind the rotary blade 9a. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and, for example, as shown in FIG. 2B, the blocking portion 9a ′ is not formed. It is good as well. Further, as shown in FIG. 2 (c), not only the blocking portion 9a ′ is not formed, but also a certain blade may be provided behind the rotary blade 9a and a certain blade paired therewith may be disposed. Thereby, even if the rotary blade 9a is rotated in any direction, the ice can be crashed.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, although the 1st opening part 11 from which the crushed ice is discharged | emitted is comprised from the part of the oblique line part X and the oblique line part Y with respect to the rotary blade 10a, for example, of the oblique line part X You may be comprised only from the part. As in the present embodiment, by opening the hatched portion Y, the ice pushed out from between the fixed blades 10a, 10b, and 10c by the rotary blade 9a can be surely discharged, and as a result, the ice is crushed. The ice can be prevented from entering the drive unit.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the ice receiver 13 is provided with an inclination such that the second opening 12 is lowered, and the ice slides to the second opening 12 regardless of the position of the ice receiver 13. It is possible to go. Thereby, ice can be sent into the 2nd opening part 12, without requiring a complicated conveyance mechanism. In addition, although the 2nd opening part 12 is made into the substantially square shape here, the shape is not ask | required.

  Hereinafter, the mechanism by which the rotary blade 9a swings will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

[Mechanical structure]
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the mechanical structure of the ice crusher 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the mechanical structure of the ice crusher 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 shows the inside of the ice crusher 1 as viewed from below.

  3 and 4, the ice crusher 1 is used as means for transmitting the driving force of the DC motor 3 as spur gears 7a to 7c, a fan-shaped output gear (fan gear) 6, and a support shaft (output shaft). 2 has a switch 5, a sliding contact lever 4 and a cam 8 as rocking restricting means for restricting the rocking motion of the rotating blade, and as means for breaking ice, the rotating blade 9a, the rotating blade 9b, and the fixed blade 10a. -10c, the first opening 11, the spacer 14, and the spacer 15.

  The DC motor 3 converts electrical energy into rotational kinetic energy, and swings the output gear 6 via the spur gears 7a to 7c. More specifically, each of the spur gears 7a to 7c is a combination of circular spur gears having different diameters, and the power from the DC motor 3 is increased in order from the large-diameter spur gear having a smaller number of teeth (7a , 7b, 7c). Here, the combination of large-diameter spur gears is not necessarily limited to this order, and may be in any order. Then, the teeth of the spur gear 7 c mesh with the teeth formed on the outer peripheral side wall surface of the output gear 6, and the power from the DC motor 3 is transmitted to the output gear 6. Here, the DC motor 3 can rotate in a desired rotation direction based on a control signal from a host device such as a microcomputer. Accordingly, when the DC motor 3 is rotated clockwise, the spur gear 7a rotates counterclockwise, the spur gear 7b rotates clockwise, and the spur gear 7c rotates counterclockwise, and finally the output gear 6 rotates clockwise. On the other hand, when the DC motor 3 is rotated counterclockwise, the spur gear 7a rotates clockwise, the spur gear 7b rotates counterclockwise, and the spur gear 7c rotates clockwise. Finally, the output gear 6 can be operated in the counterclockwise direction (counterclockwise). In this manner, the DC motor 3 that can rotate in a desired rotation direction can swing the output gear 6 with the ends of FIGS. 1A and 1B as both ends via the spur gears 7a to 7c. it can.

  Here, the output gear 6 is provided at a place other than the first opening 11 on the horizontal plane (horizontal plane) including the first opening 11 (see FIG. 3), and the swing locus thereof is the first opening. 11 is installed in a place where it can be swung so as not to block. That is, the output gear 6 has a fan shape with a central angle of 120 °, and can swing about 120 ° from a thick line (solid line) to a thin line (two-dot chain line) in FIG. It has become. And the 1st opening part 11 is provided in the range of the remaining 120 degrees (= 360 degrees -240 degrees). Therefore, the swing locus of the output gear 6 does not block the first opening 11.

  Note that the spur gears 7a to 7c may be deformed gears, screw gears, or the like other than the spur gears, and their shapes, functions, and combination methods are not limited. The gear may not be a gear as long as the power of the DC motor 3 can be transmitted.

  The support shaft 2 has an oval cross section, and has a function of transmitting the power from the DC motor 3 transmitted to the output gear 6 to the rotary blades 9a and 9b, and is synchronized with the swinging operation of the output gear 6. Then, the rotary blades 9a and 9b are swung. The rotary blades 9a and 9b engage with the support shaft 2 and rotate integrally. Specifically, the support shaft 2 has an oval cross-sectional portion engaged with an oval through hole formed in the rotary blades 9a and 9b. Therefore, the rotary blades 9 a and 9 b are rotated integrally with the rotation of the support shaft 2. On the other hand, the oval cross-sectional portion of the support shaft 2 is also engaged with the through holes formed in the fixed blades 10a to 10c, but the through holes formed in the fixed blades 10a to 10c are connected to the support shaft 2. It is formed larger than the rotation trajectory of the oval section. Therefore, the rotation of the support shaft 2 is not restricted by the fixed blades 10a to 10c.

  The spacer 14 is a support material for keeping the rotary blades 9a and 9b and the fixed blades 10a to 10c at a constant interval, and is disposed between these blades. The spacer 15 is a support member for keeping one end of the fixed blades 10a to 10c at a constant interval, and is disposed between these blades.

  The cam 8 is formed on the lower surface of the output gear 6 and includes a right switching portion 8a, an arc portion 8b, and a left switching portion 8c (see FIG. 3). The sliding contact lever 4 is rotatably supported by the shaft of the spur gear 7a, has a biasing spring 20 for biasing in the side direction of the cam 8, and has one end on the side of the cam 8 (right switching portion 8a, arc Each of the part 8b and the left switching part 8c), and plays a role of detecting the position of the cam 8. As a result, it is possible to confirm the positions of the rotary blades 9a and 9b that are swinging in conjunction with the cam 8.

  More specifically, when one end of the sliding contact lever 4 is in contact with the left switching portion 8c of the cam 8, the sliding contact lever 4 is pressing the switch 5 by the elastic force of the coil spring 20 (ON state). )become. Then, when the output gear 6 rotates slightly clockwise (clockwise) and one end of the sliding contact lever 4 rides on the arc portion 8b from the left switching portion 8c of the cam 8, the sliding contact lever 4 Contrary to the elastic force 20, the spur gear 7 a rotates clockwise around the rotation axis of the spur gear 7 a connected at the other end, and is turned off by separating from the switch 5. Thereafter, when the output gear 6 rotates further clockwise (clockwise) and one end of the sliding contact lever 4 slides from the arc portion 8b of the cam 8 to the right switching portion 8a, the sliding contact lever 4 Based on the elastic force of the coil spring 20, it rotates counterclockwise around the rotation axis of the spur gear 7 a, and the sliding contact lever 4 presses the switch 5 (ON state).

  Here, it can be seen that the output gear 6 is in the limit position for swinging so that the swing trajectory does not block the first opening 11 when the switch 5 is turned on. Accordingly, the host device such as a microcomputer transmits a control signal to the DC motor 3 based on the electric signal output from the switch 5 every time the switch 5 is turned on, thereby swinging the output gear 6. To a certain range. As described above, the output gear 6 is installed at a place where the swing trajectory does not block the first opening 11 so that the output gear 6 can swing, so that the size of the ice gear 1 can be reduced in the radial direction. Can be achieved.

  The rotary blades 9a and 9b and the fixed blades 10a to 10c all have a wedge shape (see FIG. 3), and the rotary blades 9a and 9b supported and connected to the support shaft 2 so as to be swingable are output gears. On the other hand, the fixed blades 10a to 10c fixed with the spacer 15 interposed therebetween do not swing. Then, the crushed ice sandwiched between these blades is discharged from the first opening 11 as it is according to gravity.

  In the present embodiment, the fixed blades 10a to 10c do not swing at all. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the fixed blades 10a to 10c are provided so as to be drivable (can swing). May be.

[Abnormal processing]
Next, an abnormality process when the ice crusher 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention is motor-locked will be described. More specifically, a description will be given of a situation in which when the DC motor 3 is locked, it can be recovered by itself by executing an abnormality process.

  FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the rotation angle of the rotary blade 9a when the motor is locked. 5 (a) and 5 (b) show the same plan views as FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b).

  At normal times, the rotary blade 9a starts swinging from the position shown in FIG. 5A (hereinafter referred to as “origin position”) and rotates counterclockwise by about 110 ° as shown in FIG. 5B. A position (hereinafter referred to as “crash end point position”) is reached. At this time, the sliding contact lever 4 presses the switch 5 (the switch 5 is turned on). Then, with this as an opportunity, the rotary blade 9a starts to rotate clockwise (at this time, the switch 5 is in the OFF state), and when the rotary blade 9a returns to the origin position, the sliding contact lever 4 presses the switch 5 again. (Switch 5 is turned on). In this way, the rotary blade 9a performs a swinging operation. The rotation angle of the rotary blade 9a in the normal state is illustrated in FIG. 5C. In FIG. 5C, the vertical axis represents time and the horizontal axis represents the rotation angle of the rotary blade 9a.

In FIG.5 (c), at the time 0, the rotary blade 9a exists in an origin position (it exists in the 0 degree position on the basis of an origin position). When the rotary blade 9a is rotated counterclockwise, the rotation angle of the rotary blade 9a is gradually increased, at time t _1, the rotary blade 9a is 110 ° rotation to the the rotating (home position to the crashes terminal position as a reference ) The rotary blade 9a triggered by the switch 5 is turned ON starts rotating clockwise, the rotation angle of the rotary blade 9a is gradually reduced, the time t _2, the rotary blade 9a is returned to the origin position .

On the other hand, FIG.5 (d) has illustrated the rotation angle of the rotary blade 9a at the time of abnormality. More specifically, in FIG. 5D, at time 0, the rotary blade 9a is at the origin position (positioned at 0 ° with respect to the origin position). When the rotary blade 9a is rotated counterclockwise, the rotation angle of the rotary blade 9a is gradually increased, at time t _3, the rotary blade 9a is not completely crashed ice, was stopped at 60 ° rotated position to the origin position as a reference And At this time, rotary blade 9a waits until the time t _4, the time t ₄ has passed, the rotary blade 9a is begin to rotate clockwise. That is, if the operation time of the forward path and the return path of the rotary blade 9a is set in advance and the sliding contact lever 4 does not press the switch 5 even after the operation time has passed, it is determined that the lock is locked, I do. The operation time here is preferably set with a margin in view of the fact that the rotational speed of the DC motor is not constant. Such abnormality processing will be further described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a waveform diagram showing an electrical signal output from the switch 5.

6 (a), the normal at time t ₁ as described above, the rotary blade 9a is rotated counterclockwise until the crash end position, the switch 5 is turned ON. Then, this opportunity, rotary blade 9a begins to rotate clockwise, at a time t _2, the rotary blade 9a is returned to the origin position, the switch 5 is turned ON again.

Meanwhile, in FIG. 6 (b), the abnormality, in order to stop in the middle of the rotary blade 9a is at as the time t ₃ of the above (at the home position and 60 ° rotated based on position), becomes a time t ₁ However, the switch 5 is not turned on. At this time, a host device such as a microcomputer that has detected that no electrical signal is output from the switch 5 determines that it is in an abnormal state, waits for a predetermined time (here, t ₄ -t ₁ ), and then sets the rotary blade 9 a to the origin. Control to return to the position. That is, a control signal is transmitted to the DC motor 3 so that the rotary blade 9a rotates clockwise. In this way, the abnormality process is completed, and the stopped rotary blade 9a starts to rotate in the rotation direction (clockwise) for releasing the crash. Then, after the switch 5 is turned on again (time t ₂ ), the rotary blade 9a tries to crash (break ice) again.

Incidentally, the rotary blade 9a is here, are returning to the home position at time t _2, the present invention is not limited thereto, but may be returned at any time. That is, here, the standby time is (t ₄ -t ₁ ), but this standby time can be variously changed.

  Based on the abnormality processing described above, the flow of control for swinging the ice crusher 1 will be described below. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a control flow for swinging the ice crusher 1.

  In FIG. 7, first, the rotary blade 9a is rotated counterclockwise from the origin position (step S1). More specifically, a host device such as a microcomputer transmits a control signal for causing the DC motor 3 to rotate counterclockwise. Thereby, the DC motor 3 rotates counterclockwise, and the rotary blade 9a connected to the support shaft 2 is rotated counterclockwise from the origin position via the spur gear 7a to the spur gear 7c and the output gear 6.

Next, the host device such as a microcomputer determines whether or not the rotary blade 9a is locked (step S2). More specifically, the host device such as a microcomputer determines whether or not the rotary blade 9a is locked by determining whether or not an electrical signal is output from the switch 5 after a predetermined time has elapsed. As shown in FIG. 6A, after an elapse of a predetermined time (t ₁ ), if an electrical signal is output from the switch 5, it is determined that it is a normal time, and the rotation of the rotary blade 9a is continued as it is. .

The rotary blade 9a is rotated counterclockwise until the crash end position, when the switch 5 is turned ON (at time t _1), the first switching process is performed (step S3). More specifically, when an upper signal device such as a microcomputer receives an electrical signal from the switch 5, the control device transmits a control signal to the DC motor 3 so that the rotary blade 9 a rotates clockwise in response to the electrical signal. As a result, the rotary blade 9a can be rotated clockwise from the crash end point position (step S5).

On the other hand, in step S2, as shown in FIG. 6B, even if a predetermined time (t ₁ ) elapses, if an electrical signal is not output from the switch 5, it is an abnormal time (motor lock time). A determination is made and abnormality processing is performed (step S4). More specifically, as shown in FIGS. 5D and 6B, the host device such as a microcomputer waits for a predetermined time (here, t ₄ -t ₁ ), and then sets the rotary blade 9a to the origin position. A control signal is transmitted to the DC motor 3 so as to return (so that the rotary blade 9a rotates clockwise). In this way, when the abnormality process is completed, the rotary blade 9a rotates clockwise (rotation direction for releasing the crash) from the motor-locked position (step S5).

  Finally, when the rotary blade 9a returns to the origin position, a second switching process is performed (step S6). More specifically, when receiving an electrical signal from the switch 5, the host device such as a microcomputer transmits a control signal to the DC motor 3 so that the rotary blade 9 a rotates counterclockwise again.

As described above, according to the flowchart shown in FIG. 7, the processing from step S1 to step S5 is sequentially repeated, and even if the DC motor 3 is locked due to ice clogging or the like, it is rotated by the swinging operation. Since the operating directions of the blades 9a and 9b are switched at a predetermined timing (time t _{4 in} FIGS. 5 (d) and 6 (b)), the operation direction can be recovered by one's own force, resulting in less failure.

  As described above, according to the ice crusher 1 according to the present embodiment, the rotary blade 9a (or the rotary blade 9b) supported so as to be swingable about the support shaft 2 is the fixed blade 10a (or the fixed blade). 10b, 10c) (where the first opening 11 is not blocked by the rotary blade 9a) and the position where it overlaps with the fixed blade 10a (at this time, 1 opening portion 11 is closed by the rotary blade 9a), while the crushed ice sandwiched between the rotary blade 9a and the fixed blade 10a remains as it is according to gravity. 11 in the horizontal plane (horizontal plane) including the first opening 11, the output gear 6 that swings the rotary blade 9 a is provided at a place other than the first opening 11. Can reduce the size It can be miniaturized. In addition, since the rotary blade 9a swings in a horizontal plane (horizontal plane), the dimension in the height direction can be suppressed in this respect, which contributes to downsizing. Moreover, the ice crusher 1 miniaturized in this way is optimal for installation on the partition wall of a household refrigerator.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the ice is crushed by being sandwiched between the rotary blade 9a (or the rotary blade 9b) and the fixed blade 10a (or the fixed blades 10b, 10c), and the crushed ice is left as it is according to gravity. Since it discharges | emits from the 1st opening part 11, the ice of moderate magnitude | size can be obtained easily, without requiring a complicated mechanism.

  Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, the rotary blade 9a swings between a position where almost one piece of ice cube is stored between the rotary blade 9a and a position where the rotary blade 9a overlaps with the fixed blade 10a. Approximately one piece of ice is sandwiched between the rotary blade 9a and the fixed blade 10a by one swinging motion, and a large amount of ice is less likely to be sandwiched between the rotary blade 9a and the fixed blade 10a. Can prevent troubles that are locked. Even if the DC motor 3 is locked, the operation direction of the rotary blade 9a is switched at a predetermined timing by the swinging operation (because it rotates counterclockwise in some cases and clockwise in some cases), for a while. Then, the lock is released, and the rotary blade 9a tries to crash (break ice) again. At this time, the ice condition is likely to be different from the previous crash (for example, cracked ice), so the conditions may differ from the previous crash. it can. In this way, the ice crusher according to the present invention is less likely to lock the motor due to insufficient torque, and can be recovered by itself even if locked, resulting in less failure.

  The ice crusher and refrigerator according to the present invention can easily obtain ice of an appropriate size without requiring a complicated transport mechanism, and can recover by itself even when the motor is locked. It can be used and can be miniaturized.

It is the top view which looked at the ice crusher which concerns on embodiment of this invention from the top. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the modification of a rotary blade. It is a cross-sectional view which shows the mechanical structure of the ice crusher which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the mechanical structure of the ice crusher which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the rotation angle of the rotary blade when a motor lock is carried out. It is a wave form diagram which shows the electric signal output from a switch. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of control which rocks an eye crusher.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ice crusher 3 DC motor 4 Sliding contact lever 5 Switch 6 Output gear 8 Cam 11 1st opening part 12 2nd opening part

Claims (6)

In an ice crusher that has at least a pair of blades and drives at least one of the pair of blades to crush ice,
The one blade is supported so as to be swingable about a support shaft,
An ice crusher comprising a first opening that opens in the direction of the support shaft and discharges crushed ice, at least in a swing locus in the support shaft direction. An output gear that rocks the one blade;
2. The ice according to claim 1, wherein the output gear is formed in a fan shape and is supported so as to be swingable about the support shaft, and swings in a range not overlapping in the direction of the first opening and the support shaft. Crusher.   The ice crusher according to claim 2, further comprising a rocking restricting means for restricting the rocking motion of the one blade within a certain range.   The swing restricting means includes a cam formed on the output gear, a lever whose one end slides on a side surface of the cam as the output gear swings, and triggered by the movement of the lever. The ice crusher according to claim 3, further comprising: a switch that outputs a signal. In the swing trajectory of the one blade, a second opening that opens in the direction of the support shaft and introduces ice is provided.
The ice crusher according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a blocking portion for blocking the introduction of ice from the second opening is formed behind the one blade. A refrigerator equipped with the ice crusher according to claim 1,
The refrigerator is characterized in that the ice crusher is attached so that the support shaft is substantially parallel to the direction of gravity.