JP2019124418A - Ice maker - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an ice maker in which whether water is frozen or not can be easily discriminated from external appearance.SOLUTION: An ice maker 10 includes: an ice making container 21 having a first ice making space S1; an auxiliary container 50 for supporting the ice making container 21 in a state where the lower part of the ice making container 21 is stored, and having a second ice making space S2 communicating with the first ice making space S1 via a lower hole part 42 formed in the ice making container 21; a locking part 47 locked to the auxiliary container 50; and an elastic deformation part 46 which is located between the locking part 47 and the ice making container 21, and which, when the water filled in the first ice making space S1 and the second ice making space S2 is frozen, elastically deforms so as to allow the ice making container 21 to move from a position P1 before freezing to a position P2 after freezing located in the direction being separated further from the second ice making space S2 than the position P1 before freezing.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to an ice maker.

  DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART Conventionally, the ice maker which produces spherical ice with high transparency is known. For example, as described in Patent Document 1, this type of ice making device includes, from the inner bottom surface of the ice making device, a spherical ice making separation portion composed of an upper hemisphere and a lower half of the hemisphere and the ice forming separation portion submerged. And a cylindrical position holding unit which holds the fixed height.

Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 2004-45002

  In the configuration described in Patent Document 1 described above, it is difficult to determine from the appearance whether or not the water in the ice making machine is frozen.

  The present invention is made in view of the above-mentioned situation, and an object of the present invention is to provide an ice maker which can easily judge from the appearance whether water is frozen or not.

  In order to achieve the above object, an ice maker according to the present invention supports an ice making container having a first ice making space, and at least a part of the ice making container, and supports the ice making container and forms the ice making container. Between the locking portion and the ice-making container, an auxiliary container having a second ice-making space communicating with the first ice-making space via the formed lower hole, a locking portion locking to the auxiliary container, and the locking portion and the ice-making container When the water filled in the first ice making space and the second ice making space is frozen, the ice making container is from the pre-icing position to the second ice making space than the pre-icing position. And E. an elastically deformable portion that elastically deforms to allow movement to a post-icing position located in a separating direction.

  Further, a valley portion is formed in the elastically deformable portion at a position visually recognized by the user, and the depth of the valley portion is such that the ice making container moves from the pre-icing position to the post-icing position It is preferable that the end portion on the side of the ice making container in the elastically deformable portion be shallowed as the elastic deformation portion is pulled.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the said ice-making container is provided with an upper container and the lower container main-body part which forms the said 1st ice-making space by attaching the said upper container.

  Further, it is preferable that the lower container main body, the locking portion, and the elastically deformable portion be integrally formed of an elastic material.

  Further, a plurality of the lower holes are formed in the lower portion of the lower container main body, and in the auxiliary container, a plurality of lower holes in the lower container main body are not formed. It is preferable that a corresponding non-water-filled space not filled with water is formed.

  Preferably, the ice maker is provided with a fitting wall which is integrally formed with the lower container main body and formed of an elastic member and which is in contact with the upper container while surrounding the outer periphery of the upper container.

  Further, the lower container main body portion is positioned in the auxiliary container in a state where the ice making container is supported by the auxiliary container, and the upper container is in a state where the ice making container is supported by the auxiliary container. It is preferable to expose outside.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the said icemaker is equipped with the heat insulation container which has a vacuum heat insulation structure surrounding the outer periphery of the said auxiliary container.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, in an icemaker, it can be easily discriminate | determined from an external appearance whether water frozen.

It is sectional drawing of an icemaker when the ice-making container which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention exists in the position before freezing. It is sectional drawing of an icemaker when the ice-making container which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention exists in the position after freezing. It is an exploded perspective view of an ice maker concerning one embodiment of the present invention.

One embodiment of an ice maker according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
(Constitution)
As shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the ice maker 10 according to this embodiment includes an ice making container unit 20 that produces transparent ice of a desired shape, and an auxiliary attached to the lower side of the ice making container unit 20. The container 50 and the heat insulation container 60 attached so as to cover the outer side of the auxiliary container 50 are provided.

The ice making container unit 20 includes an upper container 30 and a lower container unit 40.
The upper container 30 has a hemispherical cup shape, and is formed of a hard resin such as polypropylene (PP).
The upper container 30 has an upper hole 31 located at the top of the head, and a fitted portion 33 provided on the lower end side of the outer surface 32 of the upper container 30 and fitted with a fitting wall 44 of the lower container unit 40 described later. Have.
The upper hole portion 31 has a circular shape when viewed from the height direction H of the ice making device 10 and penetrates in the height direction H. The upper hole portion 31 is provided to put water into the first ice making space S1. The upper hole portion 31 has an annular collar portion 31a extending upward at the outer peripheral edge thereof. Even if the lower end portion of the collar portion 31a is filled with water in the first ice making space S1, the collar portion 31a causes the water in the first ice making space S1 to spill out due to the vibration applied to the ice making device 10 during operation. Suppress.

  The fitted portion 33 is formed lower on the center side of the upper container 30 than the area of the outer surface 32 of the upper container 30 other than the fitted portion 33. In other words, the thickness of the fitted portion 33 in the upper container 30 is formed thinner than the thickness of the upper container 30 other than the fitted portion 33. As a result, the fitted portion 33 becomes clear and can be easily found out when a positional deviation or the like occurs when it is fitted with the fitting wall 44.

  The lower container unit 40 is formed of, for example, an elastic material such as silicone rubber. The lower container unit 40 includes a lower container main body 41 which constitutes the ice making container 21 together with the upper container 30, a fitting wall 44 which is fitted to the upper container 30, and a locking portion 47 which is locked to the auxiliary container 50; And an elastically deformable portion that elastically deforms so as to allow movement of the ice making container with the freezing of water in the first ice making space S1 and the second ice making space S2. The ice making container 21 is composed of an upper case 30 and a lower case main part 41, and has a hollow spherical shape having a first ice making space S1.

The lower container main body 41 is located in the auxiliary container 50, and the upper container 30 is exposed to the outside of the auxiliary container 50.
The lower container main body 41 has a hemispherical cup shape like the upper container 30. A hole non-formation region B is formed on the opening surface side of the lower container main body 41, and a plurality of lower holes 42 penetrating in the height direction H below the hole non-formation region B in the lower container main body 41. Is formed.
Each pilot hole 42 extends along the height direction H and is formed of a circular hole as viewed from the height direction H. The plurality of pilot holes 42 are arranged at equal angular intervals so as to surround the singular pilot hole 42 a located at the lower vertex of the lower container main body 41 and the pilot hole 42 a (in this example, 8) lower holes 42b, and a plurality of (12 in this example) lower holes 42c arranged at equal angular intervals so as to surround the plurality of lower holes 42b.

The fitting wall 44 fits into the fitted portion 33 of the upper container 30. The fitting wall 44 has an annular shape that decreases in diameter toward the upper side along the fitted portion 33. The fitting wall 44 is formed of an elastic material such as silicone rubber, and thus closely contacts the mating portion 33 so as to be in surface contact. The adhesion that the fitting wall 44 is in close contact with the fitting part 33 is fitted by the fact that no water leaks from the first ice making space S1 to the outside at the time of non-freezing and the upper container 30 is pulled upward by the user. It is desirable that the upper container 30 is set so as to be disengaged from the lower container main body 41 by the engagement portion 33 sliding on the fitting wall 44.
Further, the contact surface A1 of the fitting wall 44 and the fitting portion 33 extends in a direction perpendicular to the contact surface A2 of the lower end portion of the upper container 30 and the upper end portion of the lower container main portion 41. Therefore, even if the water in the first ice making space S1 enters into the contact surface A2, leakage of water to the outside is suppressed by the close contact surface A1 of the fitting wall 44 and the fitting portion 33. Ru.
In addition, the method of fitting of the upper container 30 and the lower container main-body part 41 may not be the above, for example, may be hook fastening or screw fitting.

  The elastic deformation portion 46 is formed in an annular shape so as to surround the outer periphery of the upper end portion of the lower container main body portion 41, and is formed between the lower container main body portion 41 and the locking portion 47. The elastic deformation portion 46 is elastic from the lower container main body 41 when the ice making container 21 is at the pre-icing position P1 shown in FIG. 1 without the water in the first ice making space S1 and the second ice making space S2 freezing. It extends obliquely so as to approach upward as it goes radially outward of the deformation portion 46. In the elastically deformable portion 46, a valley portion 46a which is recessed downward is formed on the upper surface of the elastically deformable portion 46 when the ice making container 21 is at the pre-icing position P1. The valley portion 46 a extends annularly over the entire area of the elastic deformation portion 46, and has a triangular cross section. This triangular shape has an oblique side extending obliquely along the elastically deformable portion 46, a base along the outer surface of the fitting wall 44, and a horizontal line extending radially inward from the radially outer end of the elastically deformable portion 46 Make a substantially right triangle.

  The locking portion 47 is formed in a U-shape or U-shape that opens inward. The locking portion 47 includes a locking recess 47 d that locks to a flange portion 53 of the auxiliary container 50 described later. Specifically, the locking portion 47 extends downward from the radially outer end of the first side 47 a and the first side 47 a linearly extending radially outward from the radially outer end of the elastically deformable portion 46. And a third side 47 c linearly extending inward in the radial direction from the lower end of the second side 47 b.

The auxiliary container 50 is formed of a hard resin material such as polypropylene (PP), for example, and supports the ice making container 21 and has a lower half of the first ice making space S1 and a second ice making space S2 in its inner space. . The second ice making space S2 communicates with the first ice making space S1 of the ice making container 21 and the plurality of lower holes 42 of the lower case main body 41.
Specifically, the auxiliary container 50 includes an auxiliary container body 51 surrounding the lower container body 41 from the outside, and a flange 53 extending outward from the upper edge of the auxiliary container body 51.
The auxiliary container main portion 51 has a bottomed cylindrical shape having a bottom portion which bulges downward in a dome shape. The flange portion 53 is formed around the entire upper edge of the auxiliary container main portion 51, and has an annular shape extending outward and orthogonal to the side peripheral wall of the auxiliary container main portion 51.

The heat insulation container 60 is formed in the bottomed cylindrical shape which upper part opened so that the lower container main-body part 41 may be enclosed from the outer side, supporting the auxiliary container 50. As shown in FIG. The heat insulation container 60 has a vacuum heat insulation structure. That is, the heat insulation container 60 has the bottomed cylindrical outer container 61 and the inner container 62 which consist of stainless steel etc., for example. The heat insulation container 60 is comprised by the container of the double structure which joined each other the upper edge part in the state which accommodated the inner container 62 inside the outer container 61. As shown in FIG. A vacuum heat insulating layer 70 is provided between the outer container 61 and the inner container 62. The vacuum heat insulating layer 70 can be formed, for example, by closing a degassing port (not shown) provided at the center of the bottom surface of the outer container 61 in a high vacuum reduced pressure (vacuum) chamber. . Since the heat insulation container 60 has a vacuum heat insulation structure, it has a space saving and high heat insulation performance as compared with the heat insulation structure by, for example, expanded polystyrene or air insulation. Therefore, it contributes to the miniaturization of the ice maker 10.
The outer circumferential surface of the heat insulating container 60 may be painted or printed.

(Assembly method)
Next, an example of a method of assembling the ice maker 10 will be described. The assembly of the ice maker 10 is performed by the user.
As shown in FIG. 3, in a state where the components of the ice making device 10 are disassembled, the fitted portion 33 of the upper container 30 is first inserted into the fitting wall 44 of the lower container unit 40. Under the present circumstances, in order to enable insertion of the to-be-fitted part 33 of the upper container 30, the fitting wall 44 of the lower container unit 40 elastically deforms to radial direction outer side. Thereby, the assembly of the ice making container unit 20 is completed.
Next, as shown in FIG. 1, the flange portion 53 of the auxiliary container 50 is fitted into the locking recess 47 d of the locking portion 47 of the lower container unit 40. Thus, the ice making container unit 20 is attached to the auxiliary container 50.
Finally, the auxiliary container 50 to which the ice making container unit 20 is attached is fitted into the heat insulation container 60. Thereby, the assembly of the ice maker 10 is completed.
The order of assembly is not limited to the above. For example, the ice making vessel unit 20 may be attached to the auxiliary vessel 50 after the auxiliary vessel 50 is fitted in the heat insulating vessel 60.

(Ice making method)
Next, a method of ice making in the ice maker 10 will be described.
First, as shown in FIG. 1, water is poured into the first ice making space S <b> 1 from the upper hole portion 31 of the assembled ice maker 10. The water in the first ice making space S1 enters the second ice making space S2 through the plurality of lower holes 42. Thus, the first ice making space S1 and the second ice making space S2 are filled with water. And the icemaker 10 is stored in the freezer compartment whose indoor space was set to 0 degrees C or less. In this state, all the water in the first ice making space S1 and the second ice making space S2 is present as a liquid, and in the liquid, air or impurities are evenly distributed over the entire area.

  The water in the first ice making space S1 and the second ice making space S2 is cooled in the freezing chamber and begins to freeze when the temperature becomes below freezing. Here, the upper container 30 is exposed to the outside (freezing chamber space), and the lower container main body 41 and the auxiliary container 50 are covered with the heat insulating container 60. Therefore, in the lower part of the first ice making space S1 and the second ice making space S2 covered by the heat insulation container 60, the cold air in the freezing chamber is less likely to be transmitted than the upper part of the first ice making space S1. As a result, the water in the upper part of the first ice making space S1 starts freezing earlier than the water in the lower part of the first ice making space S1 and the second ice making space S2, and gradually freezes downward. proceed. At this time, air or impurities contained in the water of the first ice making space S1 gradually move downward in the unfrozen water and are pushed out to the second ice making space S2 through the plurality of lower holes 42. . After air or impurities are pushed out, all the water in the first ice making space S1 is frozen to form transparent spherical ice in the first ice making space S1.

  As described above, the thermal conductivity of the material of the lower container unit 40 and the auxiliary container 50 is desirably equal to or less than the thermal conductivity of the material of the upper container 30 in order to advance the freezing toward the lower side. However, when the heat insulation effect by the heat insulation container 60 is high, the heat conductivity does not necessarily have to be as described above.

  Here, due to its physical properties, water is expanded to expand its volume by freezing. Due to the expansion of the water, a force is uniformly applied to the inner surface of the auxiliary container 50 and the freezing surface of the outer surface of the lower container body 41. As described above, the auxiliary container 50 is made of a hard material, and the inner bottom surface of the auxiliary container 50 is hemispherical. Therefore, the auxiliary container 50 is difficult to be deformed by the expansion force F1. On the other hand, since the lower container unit 40 is formed of an elastic material, the ice making container 21 is lifted upward by the expansion force F2. As a result, the ice making container 21 moves from the pre-icing position P1 shown in FIG. 1 to the post-icing position P2 shown in FIG. 2 located above the pre-icing position P1. Under the present circumstances, while the latching | locking part 47 hold | maintains the state latched to the flange part 53 of the auxiliary container 50, as the elastic deformation part 46 is shown to arrow C of FIG. It deforms so as to be reversed in the height direction H with respect to the posture of the elastic deformation portion 46 at a given time. In other words, the elastic deformation portion 46 elastically deforms so that the ice making container 21 can be moved. As the ice making container 21 approaches the post-icing position P2 from the pre-icing position P1, the end of the elastic deformation portion 46 on the ice-making container 21 side is pulled, and the depth of the valley portion 46a becomes shallower. Then, when the ice making container 21 reaches the post-freezing position P2, as shown in FIG. 2, the valley portion 46a disappears, and elastic deformation is performed according to the volume ratio of the first ice making space S1 and the second ice making space S2. The portion 46 is flat or convex upward. Whether the water freezing has been completed can be easily identified visually through the change in position of the ice making container 21 and the change in shape of the valley portion 46a. As a result, it is possible to visually identify whether or not the freezing is completed with the ice maker 10 placed in the freezing room without removing the ice making machine 10 from the freezing room and checking.

  When the ice is completed, the locking recess 47d of the locking portion 47 is removed from the flange portion 53 of the auxiliary container 50, and the ice container unit 20 including ice formed in the first ice making space S1 is removed from the auxiliary container 50 Be Then, with regard to the ice making container unit 20, the upper container 30 can be removed from the lower container unit 40 by the fitting wall 44 of the lower container unit 40 being pushed outward in the radial direction with respect to the lower container body 41. At this time, the ice in the first ice making space S1 adheres to either the upper container 30 or the lower container body 41. The adhered ice is removed from the upper container 30 or the lower container body 41. Thereby, clear spherical ice can be taken out.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1, even if the first ice making space S1 and the second ice making space S2 are filled with water, holes in the lower case main body portion 41 are not formed in the auxiliary case 50. A non-water-filled space S3 not filled with water is formed corresponding to the region B. By forming the non-water-filled space S3, the area in which the ice in the second ice making space S2 contacts the lower container main body 41 can be reduced. Thereby, even when freezing of water is completed, the ice making container unit 20 can be easily removed from the auxiliary container 50.

  The lower hole portion 42 of the lower container unit 40 extends in the height direction H. Thereby, the air or the impurities contained in the water of the first ice making space S1 are pushed out to the second ice making space S2 without being caught by the lower container unit 40. Further, when the ice making container unit 20 is removed from the auxiliary container 50 when the water freezing is completed, pillar-shaped ice long in the height direction H formed in each lower hole 42 contacts the lower hole 42 Thus, damage to the vicinity of the lower hole portion 42 is suppressed.

  The air or impurities pushed into the second ice making space S2 freeze in the second ice making space S2 and become white cloudy ice. This cloudy ice is disposed of.

(effect)
According to the embodiment described above, the following effects can be obtained.

(1) The ice maker 10 supports the ice making container 21 in a state where the ice making container 21 having the first ice making space S1 and the lower part of the ice making container 21 are accommodated, and the lower hole portion 42 formed in the ice making container 21 is An auxiliary container 50 having a second ice making space S2 communicating with the first ice making space S1, a locking portion 47 locking to the auxiliary container 50, and a position between the locking portion 47 and the ice making container 21 When the water filled in the first ice making space S1 and the second ice making space S2 is frozen, the ice making container 21 is separated from the pre-icing position P1 from the second ice making space S2 more than the pre-icing position P1. And an elastically deformable portion 46 which elastically deforms to allow movement to the post-icing position P2 positioned in the direction.
According to this configuration, when the freezing of the water is completed, by positioning the ice making container 21 at the post-icing position P2, it is possible to easily determine from the appearance whether the water is frozen or not.

(2) The elastically deformable portion 46 is formed with a valley 46 a recessed at a position visually recognized by the user. The depth of the valley portion 46a becomes shallower as the end of the elastic deformation portion 46 on the side of the ice making container 21 is pulled as the ice making container 21 moves from the pre-icing position P1 toward the post-icing position P2.
According to this configuration, it is possible to easily determine from the appearance whether the water is frozen or not by visually observing the depth of the valley portion 46a.

(3) The ice making container 21 includes the upper container 30 and the lower container main body 41 that forms the first ice making space S1 by attaching the upper container 30.
According to this configuration, the upper container 30 is configured to be removable from the lower container main body 41.

(4) The lower case body 41, the locking portion 47, and the elastic deformation portion 46 are integrally formed of the elastic material as the lower case unit 40.
According to this configuration, the lower container unit 40 can be configured simply. Moreover, the handling of the lower container unit 40 is facilitated.

(5) The plurality of lower holes 42 are formed in the lower portion of the lower container main body 41, and the auxiliary container 50 includes a hole non-formed area in which the plurality of lower holes 42 in the lower container main body 41 is not formed. A non-water-filled space S3 not filled with water is formed corresponding to B.
According to this configuration, by forming the non-water-filled space S3, the area in which the ice in the second ice making space S2 contacts the lower container main body 41 can be reduced. Thereby, even when freezing of water is completed, the ice making container unit 20 can be easily removed from the auxiliary container 50.

(6) The ice maker 10 is integrally formed with the lower container body 41 and formed of an elastic member, and includes a fitting wall 44 that faces the upper container 30 while surrounding the outer periphery of the upper container 30.
According to this configuration, the water in the first ice making space S <b> 1 is prevented from leaking to the outside of the ice making container 21 when the fitting wall 44 makes surface contact with the upper container 30.

(7) The lower container main body 41 is positioned in the auxiliary container 50 in a state where the ice making container 21 is supported by the auxiliary container 50. The upper container 30 is exposed to the outside with the ice making container 21 supported by the auxiliary container 50.
According to this configuration, it is possible to advance freezing of water from the upper part in the first ice making space S1 downward. Thereby, the ice making container 21 can be lifted upward by the expansion force F2 generated when the water is frozen.
Further, since the upper container 30 is exposed to the outside, the ice in the second ice making space S2 adheres only to the lower container body 41. Thereby, even if freezing is completed, it is easy to remove the ice making container unit 20 from the auxiliary container 50.

(8) The ice maker 10 is provided with the heat insulation container 60 which has a vacuum heat insulation structure surrounding the outer periphery of the auxiliary container 50.
According to this configuration, the ice maker 10 can be configured to be compact by providing the heat insulation container 60. Therefore, the ice maker 10 can make ice with a small space without occupying a large space in the freezing room. Therefore, the convenience of the ice maker 10 can be improved.

(9) The auxiliary container 50 is provided with the auxiliary container main body 51 having a bottomed cylindrical shape, and the flange portion 53 extending in the direction orthogonal to the side wall of the auxiliary container main body 51 from the upper edge of the auxiliary container main body 51 . The locking portion 47 includes a first side 47a along the upper surface of the flange 53, a second side 47b along the side of the flange 53, and a third side 47c along the lower surface of the flange 53. .
According to this configuration, even when the ice making container 21 moves from the pre-icing position P1 to the post-icing position P2, detachment of the locking portion 47 from the flange portion 53 of the auxiliary container 50 is suppressed.

(Modification)
In addition, the said embodiment is not necessarily limited to the said embodiment, It is possible to add a various change in the range which does not deviate from the meaning of this invention. For example, the said embodiment can be implemented in the following forms which changed this suitably.

  In the said embodiment, although the upper container 30 was formed by hard resin, such as a polypropylene (PP), for example, you may be formed by the metal material whose heat conductivity is higher than resin. In this case, the cooling of the water in the first ice making space S1 can be quickened, and the freezing time can be shortened. Further, the upper container 30 may be formed of an elastic material such as silicon. In this case, the upper container 30 can be easily removed from the completed transparent spherical ice.

  In the said embodiment, although the ice-making container 21 had spherical 1st ice-making space S1, the shape of 1st ice-making space S1 is not limited to this. For example, the first ice making space S1 may be a rectangular parallelepiped, an ellipsoid, a bowl or a shell type, or may have a shape imitating an animal, a character, a plate or the like.

  In the above embodiment, the lower container main body portion 41 is integrally formed with the elastically deformable portion 46 and the locking portion 47. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The lower container main body portion 41 is separately formed from the elastically deformable portion 46 and the locking portion 47 It may be done. In this case, for example, the lower container main body portion 41 is formed of a hard resin, and an integrally elastic deformation portion 46 and a locking portion 47 formed of an elastic material such as silicon are mounted around the lower container main body portion 41 Be done.

  In the above embodiment, the valleys 46 a are formed in the elastically deformable portion 46, but the valleys 46 a may not be formed. In this case, for example, the elastically deformable portion 46 may be formed in a planar shape extending outward in the radial direction of the lower container main body 41 when the ice making container 21 is at the pre-icing position P1.

  In the said embodiment, although the upper container 30 was exposed to the exterior of the auxiliary container 50, not only this but you may be located in the auxiliary container 50. As shown in FIG.

  Although the non-water-filled space S3 is formed in the auxiliary container 50 in the above embodiment, the non-water-filled space S3 may be omitted. In this case, the lower hole 42 is formed over the entire lower container main body 41.

  In the said embodiment, although the auxiliary container 50 was equipped with the flange part 53, the flange part 53 may be abbreviate | omitted. In this case, the locking portion 47 may be configured such that the locking recess 47 d faces downward, and the locking recess 47 d is fitted to the upper end of the auxiliary container main portion 51.

  The shape of the elastically deformable portion 46 in the above embodiment can be changed as appropriate. For example, the inclination angle of the elastic deformation portion 46 may be changed so as to make the depth of the valley portion 46a deeper than that of the above embodiment. As a result, the amount of water in the second ice making space S2 can be reduced, and time can be shortened by speeding up freezing without wasting water.

  The size or shape of the upper hole portion 31 and the collar portion 31 a in the above embodiment can be changed as appropriate. For example, the collar portion 31a may have a funnel shape in which the diameter of the upper end side may be increased to facilitate the entry of water.

  In the above embodiment, the lower hole portion 42 of the lower container unit 40 extends in the height direction H, but may extend in a direction inclined with respect to the height direction H. Moreover, the arrangement | positioning aspect of the several lower hole part 42 can be suitably changed not only in the said embodiment.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Ice maker, 20 ... Ice-making container unit, 21 ... Ice-making container, 30 ... Upper container, 31 ... Upper hole part, 31a ... Collar part, 32 ... Outer surface, 33 ... To-be-fitted part, 40 ... Lower container unit, 41 Lower container body portion 42, 42a, 42b, 42c Lower hole portion 44 Fitting wall 46 Elastic deformation portion 46a Valley portion 47 Locking portion 47d Locking recess 50 Auxiliary Container 51 sub-container main body portion 53 flange portion 60 heat insulation container 61 outer container 62 inner container 70 vacuum heat insulation layer B non-hole forming area F1, F2 expansion power P1 ... Pre-icing position, P2 ... Post-freezing position, S1 ... First ice making space, S2 ... second ice making space, S3 ... Water non-filling space.

Claims (8)

An ice making container having a first ice making space;
An auxiliary container having a second ice making space, which supports the ice making container in a state in which at least a part of the ice making container is accommodated, and communicates with the first ice making space through a lower hole formed in the ice making container. When,
A locking portion for locking to the auxiliary container;
The ice-making container is located between the locking portion and the ice-making container, and when the water filled in the first ice-making space and the second ice-making space is frozen, the ice-making container is An elastic deformation portion elastically deformed so as to allow movement to a post-icing position located in a direction away from the second ice making space rather than the position;
An ice maker characterized by The elastically deforming portion is formed with a recessed portion recessed at a position visually recognized by the user,
The depth of the valley becomes shallower by pulling the end of the elastic deformation portion on the ice making container side as the ice making container moves from the pre-icing position toward the post-icing position.
An ice maker according to claim 1, characterized in that. The ice-making container comprises an upper container, and a lower container body that forms the first ice-making space by attaching the upper container.
An ice maker according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that. The lower container main body, the locking portion, and the elastically deformable portion are integrally formed of an elastic material.
An ice maker according to claim 3, characterized in that. The plurality of lower holes are formed in the lower portion of the lower container main body,
In the auxiliary container, a water non-filling space not filled with water is formed corresponding to a non-hole forming area in which the plurality of lower holes in the lower container main body are not formed.
The ice maker according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that: It is formed of an elastic member integrally with the lower container main body, and is provided with a fitting wall which is in surface contact with the upper container while surrounding the outer periphery of the upper container.
Icemaker according to any one of claims 3 to 5, characterized in that. The lower container main body portion is located in the auxiliary container, with the ice making container supported by the auxiliary container,
The upper container is exposed to the outside with the ice making container supported by the auxiliary container.
The ice maker according to any one of claims 3 to 6, characterized in that. The heat insulation container which has a vacuum heat insulation structure surrounding the outer periphery of the said auxiliary container,
The ice maker according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that.

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