JP2017101883A - Cell type ice making machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a cell type ice making machine capable of effectively preventing ice-making water from leaking from both air holes of an air introduction hole to make air flow into a cell in ice separation, and an air supply hole, and consequently, hardly causing a trouble caused by leakage of ice-making water, and making a design freedom of a passage layout of a refrigerant passage high, and excellent in cooling efficiency of an ice making case.SOLUTION: A group of cell rows C of a straight line row is formed in a block frame 36 constituted of a vertical frame 37 and a lateral frame 38 included in an ice making case 10. An introduction hole 45 is formed on a base plate 19 of a cell 11 positioned on the edge of each of the cell rows C, and an air supply hole 46 is formed in the vertical frame 37 or the lateral frame 38 dividing the adjacent cells 11 constituting each of the cell rows C. The air introduction hole 45 is provided by avoiding an area facing a nozzle hole 12 on the base plate 19. A stop water region for receiving ice-making water is formed on the top edge of the vertical frame 37 or the lateral frame 38, and the air supply hole 46 is provided below the stop water region.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an ice making case including a group of cells that open downward, and a cell type ice making machine that includes a water supply tray that ejects ice making water toward the cells. The ice making case of the ice making machine of the present invention is provided with an air hole for allowing air to flow into the cell at the time of deicing.

  This type of cell-type ice making machine is disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example. In the ice tray described in Patent Document 1, the ice plate and the refrigerant plate provided with meandering recesses serving as the refrigerant passage are joined, and the partition plate assembled in a lattice shape is joined to the lower surface of the ice making plate, An ice tray (ice making case) having a group of ice making chambers (cells) is formed. Air inlet holes (air holes) are opened in the wall portions corresponding to the ice making chambers of the refrigerant plate and the ice making plate, and when the ice is removed, air flows into the ice making chamber from each air introducing hole, so that the ice making chamber is By eliminating the negative pressure state, the ice is smoothly removed from the ice making chamber. In the ice tray disclosed in Patent Document 2, an air introduction hole (air hole (see reference numeral 7: see FIG. 4)) is formed on one side plate, and an air supply hole is formed on a partition plate that defines cells in a lattice shape. (Air hole (reference numeral 11: see FIG. 2)) is formed, and at the time of deicing, the air flowing into the cell from the air introduction hole of the side plate is transferred to the adjacent cell via the air supply hole of the separator plate. In order to eliminate the negative pressure in the cell, the ice is smoothly deiced from the cell.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-205943 Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 61-9320

  In the ice tray of Patent Document 1, air introduction holes are opened in the refrigerant plate and the ice making plate forming the refrigerant passage, and air introduction holes are provided for each cell, so that a large number of air introduction holes should be avoided. It is necessary to arrange a refrigerant passage in the. For this reason, in the ice tray of patent document 1, it is inevitable that the restriction | limiting of the path | route layout of the refrigerant path in a refrigerant plate etc. will arise, and there exists a limit in the improvement of the cooling efficiency of an ice tray. That is, in the ice tray disclosed in Patent Document 1, since it is necessary to arrange the refrigerant passage in the refrigerant plate or the like so as to avoid the air introduction hole, it is difficult to freely set the path layout of the refrigerant passage. There is a limit to the improvement of cooling efficiency. Such inconvenience is particularly noticeable in an ice tray provided with a small-sized ice making chamber.

In that respect, in the ice tray of Patent Document 2, since the air introduction hole (air hole 7) is provided in a portion other than the bottom plate where the refrigerant passage is arranged, specifically, the side wall, the presence of the air introduction hole is caused by the refrigerant path. Therefore, it is possible to cool the ice tray more efficiently. However, since the air introduction hole is formed at a position in contact with the bottom plate, when the ice making water sprayed from the water supply tray collides with the bottom plate and flows sideways, the ice making water is made from the air introduction hole to the outside of the ice tray. There is a risk that water will spout and the ice making water may leak into the ice making chamber. If the ice making water leaks out from the air introduction hole in this way, it may adhere to the ice stored in the ice making chamber and partially melt it. If ice making water scatters in the ice making chamber, adjacent ices in the ice making chamber may be bound together.
Similarly, in the ice tray of Patent Document 2, since the air supply hole is formed at a position in contact with the bottom plate, when the ice making water sprayed from the water supply tray collides with the bottom plate and flows sideways, There is also a possibility that the ice making water leaks from the supply hole toward the adjacent cell. If ice making water leaks out from the air supply hole in this way, the flow of ice making water in the cell will be disturbed, and the ice will not grow sufficiently, such as ice that is not cube-shaped or that contains air inside. Proper ice may be generated.

  The present invention has two air holes, an air introduction hole and an air supply hole, and is a cell-type ice making device that can smoothly eliminate ice by accurately eliminating the negative pressure inside the cell during deicing. In the machine, it is possible to effectively prevent the ice making water from leaking out from both the air introduction hole and the air supply hole, so that inconvenience caused by the leakage of the ice making water hardly occurs, and the route layout of the refrigerant passage The goal is to obtain a cell-type ice making machine with a high degree of design freedom and excellent cooling efficiency for ice trays (ice making cases).

The present invention includes an ice making case 10 having a group of cells 11 opening downward in an ice making chamber 1, and a group of nozzle holes that are disposed opposite to the lower surface side of the ice making case 10 to eject ice making water toward the cells 11. A cell type ice making machine including a water supply tray 13 having 12 is intended. The ice making case 10 includes a base plate 19, a refrigerant passage 20 disposed on the upper surface of the base plate 19, and a partition 21 that is disposed on the lower surface of the base plate 19 and partitions the group of cells 11. The partition body 21 includes an outer frame 35 and a partition frame 36 that partitions the inside of the outer frame 35. The partition frame 36 is composed of a vertical frame 37 and a horizontal frame 38, and a group of straight cell arrays C is formed in the partition frame 36. An air introduction hole 45 for introducing air into the cell 11 is formed in the base plate 19 of the cell 11 located at the end of each cell row C. Adjacent cells constituting each cell row C An air supply hole 46 for sending air introduced from the air introduction hole 45 to the adjacent cell 11 is formed in the vertical frame 37 or the horizontal frame 38 that divides 11. An air introduction hole 45 provided in the base plate 19 of the cell 11 is provided so as to avoid a region facing the nozzle hole 12 in the base plate 19. The vertical frame 37 or the horizontal frame 38 having the air supply holes 46 has a water stop for receiving ice-making water that has flowed laterally along the wall surface of the base plate 19 at the upper end portion of the boundary with the base wall 19. An area is formed, and an air supply hole 46 is provided below the water stop area.
Here, “the air introduction hole 45 is provided so as to avoid a region facing the nozzle hole 12 in the base plate 19” specifically, a region defined by the opening edge of the air introduction hole 45. Means that it does not overlap the area defined by the opening edge of the nozzle hole 12 projected onto the wall surface of the base plate 19.

  The nozzle hole 12 may be arranged so as to face the substantially center of the wall surface of the base plate 19 facing the cell 11, and the air introduction hole 45 may be provided at the inner corner on the outer frame 35 side.

  The refrigerant passage 20 includes a plurality of straight passages 26 extending in a direction intersecting the cell row C, and a semicircular arcuate return passage 27 that connects the ends of the adjacent straight passages 26, meanderingly on the upper surface of the base plate 19. Is arranged. The straight passage 26 a at one end of the refrigerant passage 20 is connected to a supply pipe 28 that supplies the refrigerant to the refrigerant passage 20, and the straight passage 26 b at the other end is connected to a recovery pipe 29 that collects the refrigerant from the refrigerant passage 20. Yes. The straight passage 26 a connected to the supply pipe 28 can be arranged so as to overlap the wall surface of the base plate 19 facing the cell 11 in which the air introduction hole 45 is formed.

  The air supply hole 46 is formed in a round hole shape, and the vertical distance h from the lower surface of the base plate 19 to the upper edge of the air supply hole 46 is ¼ or more of the height dimension H of the cell 11 and is 2/3. It is preferable to set the following.

  An auxiliary introduction hole 47 for introducing air into the cell 11 is formed in the cell 11 in the middle of the cell row C. The area defined by the opening edge of the nozzle hole 12 and the area defined by the opening edge of the introduction hole 45 overlap the auxiliary introduction hole 47 projected on the wall surface of the base plate 19 facing the water supply tray 13 in the cell 11. Provide so as not to become.

  The refrigerant passage 20 includes a base plate 19 and a passage plate 24 that is fixed to the upper surface of the base plate 19 and includes a bulging portion 25 that defines the passage.

  In the cell-type ice making machine according to the present invention, an air introduction hole 45 for introducing air into the cell 11 and the air introduced from the air introduction hole 45 are fed into the adjacent cell 11 into the ice making case 10. Two types of air holes of the air supply hole 46 are provided. According to this, at the time of deicing, the air in the ice making chamber 1 is caused to flow from the air introduction hole 45 into the cell 11 positioned at the end of the cell row C, and the air in the cell 11 is adjacent to the air supply hole 46. It becomes possible to sequentially flow into the cell 11. As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to accurately eliminate the negative pressure inside the cell 11 during deicing, so that the deicing operation can be performed smoothly.

  In addition, in the present invention, an air introduction hole 45 is formed in the base plate 19 facing the cell 11 located at the end of each cell row C. According to this, since the air introduction hole 45 can be positioned in the vicinity of the edge of one side of the base plate 19, the design of the route layout of the refrigerant passage 20 can be freely performed as compared with the form in which the air introduction hole is formed for each cell. It is possible to improve the degree. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to realize a route layout of the refrigerant passage 20 having excellent cooling efficiency so that the ice making case 10 can be cooled more efficiently. That is, according to the present invention, the air introduction hole 45 is formed in the base plate 19 facing the cell 11 positioned at one end of each cell row C, so that the route layout of the refrigerant passage 20 is optimized and the cooling efficiency is excellent. An ice making case 10 can be obtained. In addition, the said effect is especially useful in the ice making case 10 provided with the small-sized cell 11 with which the design freedom of the path | route layout of the refrigerant path 20 is scarce.

In addition, in the present invention, the air introduction hole 45 provided in the base plate 19 of the cell 11 is provided so as to avoid a region facing the nozzle hole 12 in the base plate 19. It is possible to effectively prevent the ice making water sprayed from the air from directly flowing into the air introduction hole 45. In other words, in the present invention, the air introduction hole 45 is provided so as to avoid the region facing the nozzle hole 12 in the base plate 19, so that the ice making water sprayed from the nozzle hole 12 enters the air introduction hole 45. Thus, it is possible to effectively prevent the ice making case 10 from being blown out or leaking out from the ice making case 10.
Further, in the present invention, the ice making water that has flowed laterally along the wall surface of the base plate 19 is received at the upper end portion of the vertical frame 37 or the horizontal frame 38 having the air supply hole 46 and the boundary portion with the base wall 19. A water stop region is formed, and an air supply hole 46 is provided below the water stop region. According to this, in the initial stage of ice making, the ice making water that collides with the wall surface of the base plate 19 above the nozzle holes 12 and flows laterally along the wall surface of the base plate 19 so as to spread in all directions is received in the water stop region. Since it can be prevented from flowing directly into the supply hole 46, it is possible to effectively prevent the ice making water jetted from the nozzle hole 12 from being jetted out or leaking out from the air supply hole 46.
As described above, according to the present invention, the two types of air holes of the air introduction hole 45 and the air supply hole 46 are provided in the ice making case 10, and the problem of leakage of ice making water from the air introduction hole 45 and the air supply hole 46 is solved. It is possible to obtain a cell type ice making machine with excellent reliability that can be surely eliminated.

  The nozzle hole 12 can be arranged so as to face the substantially center of the wall surface of the base plate 19 facing the cell 11, and the air introduction hole 45 can be provided at the inner corner on the outer frame 35 side. According to this, since a group of the air introduction holes 45 can be concentrated and positioned closer to the edge of the ice making case 10, it is possible to further improve the degree of freedom in designing the route layout of the refrigerant passage 20. Further, by adopting the above configuration, the distance between the collision point in the base plate 19 of the ice-making water jetted from the nozzle hole 12 and the air introduction hole 45 can be increased. It is possible to more reliably prevent entry.

  When the straight passage 26a connected to the supply pipe 28 of the serpentine refrigerant passage 20 is disposed so as to overlap the wall surface of the base plate 19 facing the cell 11 in which the air introduction hole 45 is formed, the ice can be removed during deicing. When the ice making case 10 is heated with the hot gas supplied to the refrigerant passage 20, the melting starts from the adhering surface on one end side of the cell row C where the air introduction holes 45 are formed. Melting can proceed toward the other side of the film. More specifically, when hot gas is supplied to the refrigerant passage 20, first, the ice adhering surface of the cell 11 in which the air introduction hole 45 is formed is melted, and air is introduced into the cell 11 from the air introduction hole 45. In addition, air can be sequentially introduced from the air supply hole 46 to the adjacent cells 11 as the melting progresses. As described above, since the air can be promptly introduced into each cell 11 at the time of deicing, the deicing operation from the cell 11 can be promoted. Furthermore, since it can be deiced in a shorter time, it is possible to prevent the ice at the time of deicing from being excessively melted. Therefore, there is an advantage that the shape of the ice is not easily broken and the occurrence of defective ice making can be prevented.

  The air supply hole 46 is formed in a round hole shape, and the vertical distance h from the lower surface of the base plate 19 to the upper edge of the air supply hole 46 is ¼ or more of the height dimension H of the cell 11 and is 2/3. It is preferable to set the following. When the vertical distance h is less than ¼ of the height dimension H of the cell 11, the ice making water flowing along the wall of the base plate 19 collides with the vertical frame 37 or the horizontal frame 38 at the upper edge of the air supply hole 46. However, the distance between the lower surface of the base plate 19 and the upper edge of the air supply hole 46 is not so large that the ice making water may enter the air supply hole 46. If the vertical distance h exceeds 2/3 of the height dimension H of the cell 11, the adhering surface of the ice contacting the wall of the cell 11 at the time of deicing is not melted greatly, so that it is adjacent to the air supply hole 46. Since air does not flow into the matching cells 11, the shape of the ice is distorted, and ice making defects that become ice smaller than the size to be made are likely to occur. On the other hand, when the vertical distance h from the lower surface of the base plate 19 to the upper edge of the air supply hole 46 is set to 1/4 or more and 2/3 or less of the height dimension H of the cell 11, It is possible to appropriately make ice without significantly melting the ice adhering surface while effectively preventing the air from entering the air supply hole 46. In addition, it is possible to promote deicing.

  An auxiliary introduction hole 47 for introducing air into the cell 11 can be formed in the cell 11 in the middle of the cell row C. According to this, air can be introduced into the cell 11 not only from the air introduction hole 45 but also from the auxiliary introduction hole 47. That is, air can flow into the cell 11 from both the air introduction hole 45 and the auxiliary introduction hole 47 at the time of deicing. As described above, according to the present invention, air can be introduced into the ice making case 10 from the two introduction holes of the air introduction hole 45 and the auxiliary introduction hole 47, so that the inside of the cell 11 is in a negative pressure state. It can be resolved more quickly and smoother ice removal can be achieved. In particular, the auxiliary introduction hole 47 may be provided at a position where the region defined by the opening edge of the auxiliary introduction hole 47 does not overlap the region defined by the opening edge of the nozzle hole 12 projected onto the wall surface of the base plate 19. Desirably, according to this, it is possible to effectively prevent the ice making water sprayed from the nozzle hole 12 from entering the auxiliary introduction hole 47 during ice making. That is, similarly to the air introduction hole 45, it is possible to reliably prevent the ice making water sprayed from the nozzle hole 12 from being directly ejected from the auxiliary introduction hole 47 toward the outside of the ice making case 10 or leaking out.

  When the refrigerant passage 20 is constituted by the base plate 19 and the passage plate 24 that is fixed to the upper surface of the base plate 19 and includes the bulging portion 25 that defines the passage, for example, a copper pipe bent in a meandering manner is used as the base plate. Compared to the case where the refrigerant passage 20 is disposed on the upper surface of the base plate 19, the refrigerant passage 20 can be disposed on the upper surface of the base plate 19 by simply fixing the plates 19 and 24 together. Further, since the contact area between the refrigerant and the base plate 19 can be remarkably increased by bringing the refrigerant directly into contact with the base plate 19, the ice making case 10 can be efficiently cooled.

It is a vertical front view of the ice making case of the cell type ice making machine according to the present invention, and is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. It is an internal front view of a cell type ice making machine. It is a disassembled perspective view of an ice making case. It is a top view of an ice making case. It is a bottom view of the unit cell which shows the opening position of an air hole and a nozzle hole. It is a vertical front view of an ice making unit. It is a front view which shows the state which the water supply tray inclined downward. It is explanatory drawing which shows the inflow state of the air at the time of deicing. It is a bottom view which shows the modification of the opening position of an air hole and a nozzle hole.

(Example) FIGS. 1-8 shows the Example of the cell type ice making machine based on this invention. In the present embodiment, “front / rear”, “left / right”, and “upper / lower” follow the cross arrows shown in the drawing and the front / rear, left / right, and upper / lower indications shown in the vicinity of each arrow.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the cell-type ice making machine includes an upper ice making chamber 1 configured as a heat insulating box and a machine room 2 defined on the lower side of the ice making chamber 1. An ice making unit 3 is arranged. Inside the machine room 2, cooling units such as a compressor 4, a condenser 5, and a blower fan 6 are arranged. Although not shown, an outlet for removing ice stored in the bottom of the ice making chamber 1 is opened at the front of the ice making chamber 1, and this outlet is opened and closed by a swingable door that can be opened and closed. it can.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, the ice making unit 3 is supported by a unit base 9 fixed to the ceiling inner surface of the ice making chamber 1, and an ice making case 10 fixed to the lower surface of the base 9, A water supply tray 13 having a group of nozzle holes 12 for supplying ice making water to the provided group of cells 11 and a water supply tank 14 provided on the lower surface of the water supply tray 13 are configured. In addition to the previous members, the ice making unit 3 includes a tray operating mechanism 15 that tilts the water supply tray 13 and the water supply tank 14 up and down between the ice making position and the deicing position, and ice water at room temperature in the water supply tray 13 and the water supply tank 14. And a drain pan 17 for draining ice-making water remaining in the water supply tank 14 without being made of ice and washing water for the water supply tray 13. The ice making unit 3 alternately performs an ice making process and an ice removing process to generate cube-shaped ice and stores it in the ice making chamber 1.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the ice making case 10 is disposed on a square plate-shaped base plate 19, a refrigerant passage 20 that functions as an evaporator, and is disposed on the lower surface of the base plate 19. Thus, a partition body 21 that partitions the group of cells 11 is provided. During ice making, the refrigerant liquid fed from the condenser 5 and decompressed and expanded by an expansion valve (not shown) is vaporized in the refrigerant passage 20 to cool the ice making case 10 below the freezing point. At the time of deicing, the hot gas supplied from the compressor 4 is supplied to the refrigerant passage 20 to heat the ice making case 10, and the cube-shaped ice generated in the cell 11 adheres to the ice making case 10. The surface is melted to facilitate the separation of ice from the ice making case 10. As shown in FIG. 6, the ice making case 10 is fixed to the unit base 9 via two posts 22 at the front and rear.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the refrigerant passage 20 includes a base plate 19 and a passage plate 24 fixed to the upper surface of the plate 19. The passage plate 24 is formed of a copper plate as a raw material, and the refrigerant passage 20 is formed by the one-stroke bulge portion 25 formed on the plate surface and the base plate 19. The flat portion of the passage plate 24 and the base plate 19 are brazed and joined together to integrate the both 19 and 24, and the space surrounded by the base plate 19 and the bulging portion 25 functions as the refrigerant passage 20. The refrigerant passage 20 is arranged in a meandering manner with eight (plural) straight passages 26 extending in the front-rear direction and a semicircular arcuate return passage 27 connecting the ends of a pair of adjacent straight passages 26. The straight passage 26 a on the upstream side (one end) of the refrigerant passage 20 is connected to a supply pipe 28 that supplies the refrigerant to the refrigerant passage 20, and the straight passage 26 b on the downstream side (the other end) extends from the refrigerant passage 20 to the refrigerant. Is connected to a recovery pipe 29 for recovering. In this embodiment, in order to avoid interference between a drive arm 67 of the tray operation mechanism 15 and a recovery pipe 29, which will be described later, an S-shaped pipe line 30 is formed integrally with the downstream end of the refrigerant path 20, and S The downstream straight passage 26b is connected to the recovery pipe 29 via the character line 30 (see FIG. 4).

  As described above, when the refrigerant passage 20 is constituted by the base plate 19 and the passage plate 24 having the bulging portion 25 that defines the one-stroke writing meandering passage, the plates 19 and 24 are brazed and integrated. It is possible to simply arrange the refrigerant passage 20 on the upper surface of the base plate 19 simply by joining the two. Further, since the contact area between the refrigerant and the base plate 19 can be remarkably increased by bringing the refrigerant into direct contact with the base plate 19, the ice making case 10 can be efficiently cooled.

  When the refrigerant passage 20 is constituted by the base plate 19 and the passage plate 24 joined to the upper surface of the plate 19 by brazing, the distance between the base plate 19 and the brazed portion of the passage plate 24 is 3.8 mm or more. Preferably there is. This is because if the distance of the brazing part is less than 3.8 mm, the brazing strength for joining both the plates 19 and 24 is insufficient, so that the brazing material of the part is cracked by the pressure of the refrigerant supplied to the refrigerant passage 20. This is because peeling occurs and the refrigerant leaks from that portion.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the partition body 21 includes an outer frame 35 and a partition frame 36. The outer frame 35 is formed in a square frame shape by a pair of front and rear frames 33 and a pair of left and right frames 34. The partition frame 36 is composed of 13 vertical frames 37 along the front-rear direction and 25 horizontal frames 38 along the left-right direction, forming a group of straight cell rows C, and a group of cells 11. Are partitioned in a grid pattern. Each of the frames 33, 34, 37, and 38 constituting the outer frame 35 and the partition frame 36 is made of an aluminum strip, and the front and rear frames 33 and the left and right frames 34 are made of a strip having a thickness of 3 mm. The frame 37 and the horizontal frame 38 are made of a strip having a thickness of 2 mm. Slits 39, 40, 41, and 42 are formed in the frames 33, 34, 37, and 38, respectively. The outer frame 35 and the partition frame 36 are assembled using the slits 39, 40, 41, and 42. After being assembled in a child shape, it is integrated by brazing and joining. The partition body 21 is joined to the lower surface of the base plate 19 by brazing and is integrated with the base plate 19. Incidentally, the base plate 19 is made of a clad material in which a copper plate material and an aluminum plate material are joined up and down in order to improve the brazing strength between the passage plate 24 joined to the upper surface and the partition body 21 joined to the lower surface. .

  A group of cells 11 is arranged in a lattice form with 26 (plural) rows of cell rows C composed of 14 (plural) cells 11 arranged in one direction (left-right direction). Thus, the ice making case 10 includes 364 cells 11 that open downward. The cell size of this example has a front-rear dimension of 14 mm, a left-right dimension of 19 mm, and a vertical dimension of 20 mm. In addition, the nozzle hole 12 of the water supply tray 13 that ejects ice-making water toward the cell 11 to be described later is arranged so as to face the substantial center of the wall surface of the base plate 19 facing the cell 11.

  As shown in FIGS. 1, 4, and 5, air is allowed to flow into the cell 11 from the outside of the ice making case 10 to the base plate 19 to eliminate the negative pressure in the cell 11 during deicing. An air introduction hole 45 is opened. The air introduction hole 45 includes a region defined by the opening edge of the nozzle hole 12 projected on the wall surface of the base plate 19 facing the water supply tray 13 in the cell 11 in which the hole 45 is opened, and the opening edge of the air introduction hole 45. Are opened so as not to overlap with each other (see FIG. 5). The air introduction hole 45 is opened to the base plate 19 facing the cell 11 at the end of the cell row C located on the side (the left side of the ice making case 10) where the linear passage 26a connected to the supply pipe 28 described above is disposed. Further, the cell 11 is opened near the inner corner on the outer frame 35 side. An exposure opening 45 a for exposing the air introduction hole 45 to the outer surface of the ice making case 10 is opened at a position facing the air introduction hole 45 of the passage plate 24.

  As described above, when the air introduction hole 45 for introducing air into the cell 11 is formed in the base plate 19 facing the cell 11 positioned at one end of each cell row C, the base plate 19 is formed in the vicinity of the edge on one side. The air introduction hole 45 can be located. According to this, since the degree of freedom in design of the layout of the refrigerant passage 20 can be markedly improved as compared with the case where the air introduction hole is formed for each cell, the ice making case 10 can be cooled more efficiently. Thus, it is possible to realize the route layout of the refrigerant passage 20 having excellent cooling efficiency. Even when the brazing distance described above is set to 3.8 mm or more, the route layout of the refrigerant passage 20 having excellent cooling efficiency can be set. Even in the case of the ice making case 10 provided with the small-sized cells 11 that could not set the route layout of the refrigerant passage 20 capable of exhibiting sufficient cooling capacity by improving the design freedom of the route layout of the refrigerant passage 20. In addition, the optimum route layout of the refrigerant passage 20 that can exhibit sufficient cooling capacity can be set, and the ice making case 10 having excellent cooling efficiency can be obtained.

  Further, when the air introduction hole 45 is provided so as to avoid the region facing the nozzle hole 12 in the base plate 19, more specifically, the region defined by the opening edge of the air introduction hole 45 is projected onto the wall surface of the base plate 19. If the air introduction hole 45 is provided at a position that does not overlap the area defined by the opening edge of the nozzle hole 12, the ice making water sprayed from the nozzle hole 12 directly goes out of the ice making case 10 from the air introduction hole 45. Will not erupt. Further, in the initial stage of ice making, the ice making water that collides with the wall surface of the base plate 19 above the nozzle hole 12 and flows laterally across the wall surface of the base plate 19 so as to spread in four directions crosses the opening surface of the air introduction hole 45. Therefore, the ice-making water flowing along the wall surface of the base plate 19 can be prevented from entering the air introduction hole 45.

  Further, when the air introduction hole 45 is provided in the inner corner on the outer frame 35 side with respect to the nozzle hole 12 arranged so as to face the substantially center of the wall surface of the base plate 19 facing the cell 11, A group can be located together by the edge of the ice making case 10. Thereby, the further improvement of the design freedom of the path | route layout of the refrigerant path 20 can be aimed at. Moreover, the space | interval dimension of the collision location in the base plate 19 of the ice making water injected from the nozzle hole 12 and the air introduction hole 45 can be enlarged. Thereby, since the ice making water having a weak water flow as compared with that immediately after the collision flows across the opening surface of the air introduction hole 45, the ice making water can be further suppressed from entering the air introduction hole 45.

  The straight passage 26 a connected to the supply pipe 28 of the refrigerant passage 20 is disposed so as to overlap the wall surface of the base plate 19 facing the cell 11 in which the air introduction hole 45 is formed. As described above, when the straight passage 26a is arranged so as to overlap the wall surface of the base plate 19 facing the cell 11 in which the air introduction hole 45 is formed, when hot gas is supplied to the refrigerant passage 20 at the time of deicing, first, The ice adhering surface of the cell 11 in which the air introduction hole 45 is formed is melted, and air can be caused to flow into the cell 11 from the air introduction hole 45. Further, as the melting progresses, the air supply hole 46 is provided. Can be sequentially introduced into the adjacent cells 11. As a result, air can be promptly introduced into each cell 11 at the time of deicing, so that the deicing operation from the cell 11 can be promoted. Furthermore, since it can be deiced in a shorter time, it is possible to prevent the ice at the time of deicing from being excessively melted. Therefore, there is an advantage that the shape of the ice is not easily broken and the occurrence of defective ice making can be prevented.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an air supply hole 46 through which air in a cell 11 flows into the adjacent cell 11 is formed in a vertical frame 37 (partition frame 36) between adjacent cells 11 in each cell row C. Yes. Each air supply hole 46 is formed in a round hole shape, and more than a region where the ice-making water that has flowed sideways along the wall surface of the base plate 19 facing the cell 11 in the initial stage of ice making collides with the vertical frame 37 (water stop region). It is provided below. As described above, when the air supply hole 46 is provided below the water stop region where the ice making water collides with the vertical frame 37, the ice making water that has flowed sideways along the wall surface of the base plate 19 is directly adjacent to the air supply hole 46. There is no spout toward the matching cell 11. In the initial stage of ice making, the ice making water collides with the vertical frame 37 or the horizontal frame 38 and flows downward, but the flowing ice making water flows so as to cross the opening surface of the air supply hole 46, so the vertical frame 37 or the horizontal frame 38. It is possible to suppress the ice making water flowing down after the collision into the air supply hole 46.

  The vertical distance h from the lower surface of the base plate 19 to the upper edge of the air supply hole 46 is preferably set to 1/4 or more and 2/3 or less of the height dimension H of the cell 11 (see FIG. 1). . When the vertical distance h is less than ¼ of the height dimension H of the cell 11, the upper edge of the air supply hole 46 is below the region where the ice-making water flowing along the wall surface of the base plate 19 collides with the vertical frame 37. Although it is located, the distance between the lower surface of the base plate 19 and the upper edge of the air supply hole 46 is not so large, and the ice making water may enter the air supply hole 46. Further, when the vertical distance h exceeds 2/3 of the height dimension H of the cell 11, it is adjacent from the air supply hole 46 unless the ice adhesion surface in contact with the wall of the cell 11 at the time of deicing is greatly melted. Since air does not flow into the cell 11, the shape of the ice is distorted, and ice making defects that are smaller than the size to be made are likely to occur. On the other hand, when the vertical distance h is set to 1/4 or more and 2/3 or less of the height dimension H of the cell 11, ice making water is effectively suppressed from entering the air supply hole 46, while Ice making can be performed properly without greatly melting the adhered surface, and ice removal can be promoted. In this embodiment, the vertical distance h is 8 mm (2/5) with respect to the height dimension H20 mm of the cell 11.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, auxiliary introduction holes 47 for introducing air into the cells 11 are formed in the cells 11 in the middle of the cell row C excluding the front row and the last row. The auxiliary introduction hole 47 is provided so that the region defined by the opening edge of the nozzle hole 12 projected on the wall surface of the base plate 19 facing the water supply tray 13 and the region defined by the opening edge of the introduction hole 45 do not overlap. It has been. In the present embodiment, an auxiliary introduction hole 47 is opened in the ninth cell 11 from the left end of the cell row C (see FIG. 1). Similar to the air introduction hole 45, an exposure opening 47 a for exposing the auxiliary introduction hole 47 to the outer surface of the ice making case 10 is opened at a position facing the auxiliary introduction hole 47 of the passage plate 24. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 48 denotes a fixing hole for fixing the post 22.

  When the auxiliary introduction hole 47 is formed in the cell 11 in the middle part of the cell row C, air can also flow into the cell 11 from the auxiliary introduction hole 47. According to this, at the time of deicing, air can be caused to flow into the cell 11 from both the air introducing hole 45 and the auxiliary introducing hole 47, so that the negative pressure state in the cell 11 can be eliminated more quickly. Can be promoted. In addition, the auxiliary introduction hole 47 is provided at a position where the region defined by the opening edge of the auxiliary introduction hole 47 does not overlap the region defined by the opening edge of the nozzle hole 12 projected onto the wall surface of the base plate 19. Therefore, it is possible to effectively prevent the ice making water sprayed from the nozzle hole 12 from entering the auxiliary introduction hole 47 during ice making. That is, the ice making water sprayed from the nozzle hole 12 does not directly blow out of the ice making case 10 from the auxiliary introduction hole 47, and the ice making water flowing along the lower surface of the base plate 19 enters the auxiliary introduction hole 47. You can suppress the entry.

  In this embodiment, the auxiliary introduction hole 47 is provided in the ninth cell 11 from the left end of each cell row C. However, the auxiliary introduction hole 47 may be provided in the cell 11 having a different position in each cell row C. For example, the auxiliary introduction hole 47 can be formed in the cell 11 that approaches or moves away from the cell 11 in which the air introduction hole 45 is formed from the front-rear center to the front and rear cell rows C. In this case, the auxiliary introduction holes 47 are formed in a reverse letter shape or in a letter shape in the plan view of the ice making case 10. Further, the auxiliary introduction holes 47 can be provided in two or more cells 11 in each cell row C so as to avoid the refrigerant passage 20.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the water supply tray 13 is formed of a plastic molded product including a square dish-shaped tray body 50 that opens downward and a water channel frame 51 that is fixed to the lower surface of the water supply tray 13. The water channel frame 51 includes a branch water channel 52 that branches in correspondence with the group of cells 11, and a group of ice supply water that spouts and supplies ice-making water toward the cell 11 on the upper wall of the tray body 50 that faces each branch water channel 52. Nozzle holes 12 are opened. As described above, the nozzle hole 12 is arranged so as to face substantially the center of the opening surface of the cell 11, and around the nozzle hole 12, a return hole that causes the ice-making water in the cell 11 to flow down to the water supply tank 14. 54 is provided (see FIG. 1). A discharge channel 56 of a pressurizing pump 55 provided in the water supply tank 14 is connected to the proximal end portion of the water channel frame 51. When the pressurizing pump 55 is driven during ice making, the ice making water in the water supply tank 14 is pressurized by the pressurizing pump 55 and fed to each branch water channel 52 and ejected from the nozzle hole 12 into the cell 11. . The ice making water that has not frozen in the cell 11 is returned to the water supply tank 14 through the return hole 54.

  The water supply tank 14 is formed of a square dish-shaped plastic molded product that opens upward, and the bottom wall 59 is formed so as to be inclined downward toward the suction port 60 of the pressure pump 55. The water supply tank 14 inclines downward along with the water supply tray 13 at the time of deicing, but on the rear wall side of the lower end of the inclination, a drainage basin that discharges ice making water that has not been consumed in the ice making process or tray washing water to the drain pan 17 61 is provided.

  The water supply tray 13 and the water supply tank 14 are fixed to a tray bracket 64 and are pivotally supported by a tilt shaft 65 provided at the upper end of the bracket 64 so as to be tiltable up and down. The water supply tray 13 and the water supply tank 14 are moved up and down around the tilting shaft 65 by the tray operating mechanism 15, the ice making position (see FIG. 6) where the water supply tray 13 faces the lower surface of the ice making case 10, and the water supply tray 13 makes ice making. It tilts up and down between the de-icing positions (see FIG. 7) that are inclined away from the case 10. As shown in FIG. 7, the tray operating mechanism 15 includes a tilt motor 66, a pair of front and rear drive arms 67 that are reciprocally tilted by the motor 66, and a tension coil type that is hooked between the drive arm 67 and the water supply tray 13. The interlocking spring 68 or the like. When the tilting motor 66 is driven forward and backward in response to a command signal from the control unit, the water supply tray 13 and the water supply tank 14 can tilt up and down between the ice making position and the ice removing position.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the water supply unit 16 includes a water supply pipe 71 disposed above the tilting base end of the water supply tray 13, a raw water passage 72 that connects the water supply pipe 71 and a water pipe (not shown), and a raw water passage 72. It is composed of the provided electromagnetic valve 73 and the like. A group of water supply holes 74 for supplying ice-making water (tap water) toward the water supply tray 13 is opened on the lower surface of the water supply pipe 71. By supplying tap water at room temperature from the water supply pipe 71, a predetermined amount of ice making water can be stored in the water supply tank 14 in the ice making process, or the upper surface of the water supply tray 13 is washed in the ice removing process. Water can be supplied.

The cell-type ice making machine configured as described above generates cube-shaped ice by alternately performing the ice making process and the ice removing process, and stores them in the ice making chamber 1.
(Ice-making process) When the ice-making process is started, the water supply tray 13 and the water supply tank 14 at the deicing position are lifted and tilted to the ice making position by the tray operating mechanism 15. At the ice making position, the upper surface of the water supply tray 13 faces the lower surface of the ice making case 10 as shown in FIG. 6, and the nozzle holes 12 and the return holes 54 face each cell 11. Simultaneously with reaching the ice making position, the electromagnetic valve 73 is opened, and ice making water is supplied to the water supply tray 13 and the water supply tank 14. The electromagnetic valve 73 is closed when a predetermined time has elapsed since the opening of the timer, and the supply of the ice making water is stopped. After the electromagnetic valve 73 is closed, the pressurizing pump 55 is activated, and ice-making water in the water supply tank 14 is ejected from the nozzle hole 12 into the cell 11 through each branch water channel 52. A refrigerant liquid is supplied to the refrigerant passage 20 just before the electromagnetic valve 73 is closed or at the same time as the electromagnetic valve 73 is closed to cool the ice making case 10.

  The ice-making water sprayed into the cell 11 from the nozzle hole 12 collides with the base plate 19 and flows laterally so as to spread in four directions, and then flows into the vertical frame 37 which is the side wall of the cell 11 and It collides with the upper part of the horizontal frame 38, that is, the vertical frame 37 and the horizontal frame 38 near the lower surface of the base plate 19. The ice making water that has collided with the vertical frame 37 and the horizontal frame 38 flows down the surfaces of the vertical and horizontal frames 37 and 38. At this time, the ice making water is cooled in the ice making case 10 and gradually freezes on the inner surface of the cell 11. The ice making water which has not been frozen flows down from the return hole 54 to the water supply tank 14 and is again sprayed into the cell 11 from the nozzle hole 12. Thereafter, ice making water is ejected from the nozzle hole 12 into the cell 11 until the ice is gradually frozen and cube-shaped ice grows inside each cell 11 (about 20 to 30 minutes). Simultaneously with the completion of the ice making process, the pressurizing pump 55 is stopped to stop the supply of ice making water. In the state where the ice making is completed, the ice grows to the outside of the cell 11 and the lower surface of each ice is bound and integrated as a plate chocolate-like lump as shown by an imaginary line in FIG.

(Ice Removal Process) When the ice removal process is started, the tray operation mechanism 15 switches the water supply tray 13 and the water supply tank 14 from the ice making position to the ice removal position, and drops ice blocks from the cell 11 onto the water supply tray 13. Furthermore, it slides down to the ice making chamber 1 along the water supply tray 13 inclined downward. At this time, in order to promote the separation, hot ice is supplied from the compressor 4 to the refrigerant passage 20 to heat the ice making case 10, thereby melting the ice adhering surface in contact with the cell 11. When the ice-adhering surface is melted by heating the ice-making case 10, the ice tends to fall by its own weight, and the air in the ice-making chamber 1 enters the cell 11 from the air introduction hole 45 opened in the base plate 19 as shown in FIG. And flows in. Subsequently, air between the ice and the wall of the cell 11 (base wall 19, vertical frame 37 and horizontal frame 38) flows into the adjacent cell 11 from the air supply hole 46. Thereafter, air sequentially flows into the adjacent cell 11 from the air supply hole 46, the negative pressure state in the cell 11 is eliminated, the ice falls smoothly, and the deicing is completed. In addition, the ice bound in the shape of a plate chocolate is divided into individual ices by an impact when it falls to the upper surface of the water supply tray 13 or the bottom of the ice making chamber 1.

  When an ice removal sensor (not shown) detects the fall of ice, the hot gas supply to the refrigerant passage 20 is stopped and the electromagnetic valve 73 is opened for a predetermined time to wash away ice pieces remaining on the water supply tray 13. . The ice piece washing water flows from the end of the tray into the water supply tank 14 and is discharged from the drain 61 to the drain pan 17. Thereafter, the ice making process and the ice removing process are repeated. When a full ice sensor (not shown) detects that the amount of ice making exceeds the amount of ice used and the amount of ice stored in the ice making chamber 1 has reached a predetermined amount, the ice making process is stopped and a transition is made to the standby mode.

  FIG. 9 shows a modification in which the nozzle hole 12 is opened at a position offset from the approximate center of the opening surface of the cell 11. The air introduction hole 45 is opened at a position away from the upper inner corner of the cell 11. In this way, the opening positions of the air introduction hole 45 and the nozzle hole 12 can be freely set as long as the areas defined by the respective opening edges do not overlap in a plan view.

  As described above, according to the cell-type ice making machine according to the present embodiment, the route layout of the refrigerant passage 20 can be optimized, and the ice making case 10 having excellent cooling efficiency can be obtained. Further, at the time of ice making, ice making water sprayed from the nozzle hole 12 blows out or leaks out from the air introduction hole 45, and ice making water flowing along the wall surface of the base plate 19 blows out from the air supply hole 46 or leaks. It can be effectively prevented. Further, at the time of deicing, air is allowed to flow into the cell 11 through the air introduction hole 45 and the air supply hole 46, so that the negative pressure inside the cell 11 is accurately eliminated, and the deicing is performed. Can promote. Thus, according to the cell type ice making machine according to the present embodiment, two types of air holes, the air introduction hole 45 and the air supply hole 46, are provided in the ice making case. It is possible to obtain a reliable cell type ice making machine that can reliably solve the problem of leakage of ice making water.

  In the above-described embodiment, cube-shaped ice is generated, but it may be a columnar body, a polygonal columnar shape, or a columnar body having a contour shape of a character or character in plan view. In these cases, the partition body 21 is configured so that the planar shape of the cell 11 becomes a desired shape. The refrigerant passage 20 does not need to be composed of the base plate 19 and the passage plate 24, and can function as the refrigerant passage 20 by integrally fixing a heat exchange pipe made of a copper tube to the upper surface of the base plate 19. The air supply hole 46 may be a tapered round hole whose diameter is increased or reduced in the air inflow direction, in addition to the linear round hole. Further, the cross-sectional shape may be a polygonal shape. The material constituting the ice making case 10 is not limited to copper and aluminum, but may be selected from materials excellent in thermal conductivity including alloys.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ice making chamber 10 Ice making case 11 Cell 12 Nozzle hole 13 Water supply tray 19 Base plate 20 Refrigerant passage 21 Partition body 24 Passage plate 25 Swelling portion 26 Straight passage 26a Straight passage 26b on one end Straight passage 27 on the other end Folding passage 28 Supply Pipe 29 Collection pipe 35 Outer frame 36 Partition frame 37 Vertical frame 38 Horizontal frame 45 Air introduction hole 46 Air supply hole 47 Auxiliary introduction hole C Cell row h Vertical distance H from the lower surface of the base plate to the upper edge of the air supply hole H cell Height dimension

Claims (6)

An ice-making case (10) having a group of cells (11) opening downward in the ice-making chamber (1), and an ice-making water facing the cell (11) are disposed opposite to the lower surface side of the ice-making case (10). In a cell type ice making machine comprising a water supply tray (13) having a group of nozzle holes (12) that squirt upward upward,
The ice making case (10) is disposed on the base plate (19), the refrigerant passage (20) disposed on the upper surface of the base plate (19), and on the lower surface of the base plate (19), so that the group of cells (11). A partition body (21) for partitioning
The partition body (21) includes an outer frame (35) and a partition frame (36) that partitions the inside of the outer frame (35),
The partition frame (36) is composed of a vertical frame (37) and a horizontal frame (38), and a group of straight cell rows (C) is formed in the partition frame (36).
An air introduction hole (45) for introducing air into the cell (11) is formed in the base plate (19) of the cell (11) located at the end of each cell row (C),
In the vertical frame (37) or the horizontal frame (38) separating adjacent cells (11) constituting each cell row (C), air introduced from the air introduction hole (45) is passed to the adjacent cell (11). And an air supply hole (46) for feeding
The air introduction hole (45) provided in the base plate (19) of the cell (11) is provided so as to avoid a region facing the nozzle hole (12) in the base plate (19),
The vertical frame (37) or the horizontal frame (38) having the air supply hole (46) flows laterally along the wall surface of the base plate (19) to the upper end of the boundary with the base wall (19). A cell type ice making machine, wherein a water stop region for receiving ice making water is formed, and an air supply hole (46) is provided below the water stop region. The nozzle hole (12) is arranged so as to face the center of the wall surface of the base plate (19) facing the cell (11).
The cell type ice making machine according to claim 1, wherein the air introduction hole (45) is provided at an inner corner on the outer frame (35) side. The refrigerant passage (20) includes a plurality of straight passages (26) extending in a direction intersecting the cell row (C), and a semicircular arcuate return passage (27) connecting ends of adjacent straight passages (26). And is arranged in a meandering manner on the upper surface of the base plate (19),
The straight passage (26a) at one end of the refrigerant passage (20) is connected to a supply pipe (28) that supplies the refrigerant to the refrigerant passage (20), and the straight passage (26b) at the other end is connected to the refrigerant passage (20). Connected to a recovery pipe (29) for recovering refrigerant from
The linear passage (26a) connected to the supply pipe (28) is arranged so as to overlap the wall surface of the base plate (19) facing the cell (11) in which the air introduction hole (45) is formed. Or the cell type ice making machine of 2.   The air supply hole (46) is formed in a round hole shape, and the vertical distance (h) from the lower surface of the base plate (19) to the upper edge of the air supply hole (46) is the height of the cell (11). The cell type ice making machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the size (H) is set to 1/4 or more and 2/3 or less. An auxiliary introduction hole (47) for introducing air into the cell (11) is formed in the cell (11) in the middle of the cell row (C),
The auxiliary introduction hole (47) is defined by the opening edge of the nozzle hole (12) projected on the wall surface of the base plate (19) facing the water supply tray (13) in the cell (11), and the introduction hole ( The cell type ice making machine according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the area defined by the opening edge of 45) is provided so as not to overlap.   The refrigerant passage (20) includes a base plate (19) and a passage plate (24) having a bulging portion (25) fixed to the upper surface of the base plate (19) and defining the passage. The cell type ice making machine according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

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