JP2590795Y2 - Ice storage device - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ice storage device for storing ice made by an automatic ice making machine, and more particularly, to an ice storage device for efficiently storing relatively large brick-like ice and for removing ice very easily. It is about.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Various types of ice storage devices have been conventionally proposed. Many of such ice storage devices aim at storing ice produced by an ice maker as it is. Is generally provided integrally with the ice making machine. For example, Japanese Utility Model 2-28058
Discloses an ice making machine in which an ice making mechanism and an ice storage are integrally provided in an ice making machine, and relatively small cube-shaped ice produced by the ice making mechanism is sequentially dropped and stored in the ice storage. Have been. Since the cube-shaped ice produced by the ice making mechanism of such an ice making machine is not so heavy, there is almost no possibility that the ice is broken even when the ice is sequentially dropped into the storage, and therefore the commercial value of the ice is extremely high. Hardly decreases.

In Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 59-96571 and the like, an ice maker is disposed above an ice storage body having an ice storage room in which a floor plate can be raised and lowered, and a scraping device is provided above the inside of the ice storage room. There is described an ice storage device that stores ice in an ice storage room while crushing ice produced by an ice maker through a scraping device. As described above, if the floor plate of the ice storage room can be moved up and down, a relatively large amount of crushed ice can be stored in the ice storage room.

[0004]

However, the above-mentioned conventional ice making machine aims at making and storing relatively small ice. As described above, in such an ice maker, there is almost no problem in storing relatively small cube-shaped ice, but on the other hand, in storing relatively large ice such as brick-shaped ice, the brick-shaped ice is not used. Because of its heavy weight, if it is dropped and stored in an ice storage sequentially, there is a possibility that it will break due to collision between ices. Thus, if the ice breaks, its commercial value will be extremely reduced.

According to the above-mentioned conventional ice storage device, a relatively large amount of crushed ice can be stored by making the floor plate of the ice storage room movable up and down. It is not specifically intended to carry out storage of the. Therefore, it is difficult to apply such an ice storage device to storage of large ice such as bricks. Furthermore,
This ice storage device is provided with a horizontal transfer means for taking out ice from the ice storage room. Such a horizontal transfer means is for taking out crushed ice, and thus was used as an ice storage device for brick-like ice. In such a case, the ice cannot be easily taken out, and the work for taking out the ice becomes extremely complicated. The present invention has been made in order to solve the problems of the prior art, and can store relatively large ice, such as bricks, efficiently and reliably in an aligned state, and it is extremely easy to remove the stored ice. It is intended to provide an ice storage device.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, an ice storage device according to the present invention comprises a ceiling panel (2) and a bottom wall panel.
(3), between the ceiling panel (2) and the bottom wall panel (3)
A pair of side wall panels (4,5) placed facing each other, front
Ice storage composed of a front panel and a rear panel in a cuboid shape
An apparatus body (1) and ice storage formed on the front panel
Mouth (A) and an ice outlet formed in the rear panel
(B), a cooler (6) provided in the ice storage device main body (1) , and an inner wall surface of each of the side wall panels (4, 5).
I and rotatably disposed a linear member (8,8), while being secured between said each linear member (8,8) is moved in accordance with rotation of the linear member (8,8) Ice container (1
2) and a driving device for rotating the linear member (8, 8)
(M, 10, 7), and the ice container (12)
An outer frame member (13) having a horizontal plate (15), while being rotatably disposed in the outer frame member (13), horizontal plate
A bottom plate (14A) opposed to (15), and a bottom plate (14A);
Back plate (14B) formed substantially at right angles to the bottom plate (14
A) is formed to protrude downward from the edge of A) and has a lower end thereof.
Such as a protrusion (14C) that abuts on the horizontal plate (15)
The bottom of the outer frame member (13) with respect to the horizontal plate (15).
The plate (14A) is inclined at a certain angle via the protrusion (14C)
And an inner frame member (14) arranged in a
And the linear member (8, 8) is a driving device (M, 1).
0, 7) and the ice container (12) is
At the time of ice storage facing the storage port (A), the bottom plate (14)
A) is such that the protrusion (14C) is in contact with the horizontal plate (15).
To the inside of the ice storage device body (1)
Position in the state of being inclined at a certain angle so that
And the linear members (8, 8) are driven by the driving devices (M, 10,
7) The ice container (12) is rotated through
When removing the ice facing the mouth (B), the bottom plate (14)
A) is such that the protrusion (14C) is in contact with the horizontal plate (15).
To the outside of the ice storage device body (1)
Position in the state of being inclined at a certain angle so that
It is characterized by being performed.

[0007]

In the ice storage device of the present invention having the above-described structure, first, the linear member is rotated by the driving device, and the ice storage device is moved until it faces the ice storage opening provided in the ice storage device main body. Thereafter, the brick-shaped ice is stored in the ice storage unit including the bottom plate and the back plate by the inner frame member of the ice storage device from the ice storage port. At the time of storing such ice, the bottom plate of the inner frame member is based on the fact that the protrusion is in contact with the horizontal plate,
Constant angle so that it becomes lower toward the inside of the ice storage device body
Degrees and is positioned in a tilted state, therefore, the ice is reliably accommodated in accommodating the ice into ice compartment. The ice stored in the ice storage device is stored while being cooled by the cooler.

On the other hand, when ice is taken out from the ice outlet of the ice storage device main body, the linear member is rotated by the driving device,
The inner frame member of the ice container is composed of a bottom plate and a back plate.
The ice storage section to be made faces the ice outlet. During the movement of such ice storage unit, the bottom plate of the inner frame member, the protruding portion is a horizontal plate
On the outside of the ice storage device body (1)
Position at a certain angle so that it becomes lower toward the side.
Because it is-decided Mesa, never ice during the movement of the ice storage unit will slide down from the ice storage part of the inner frame member, the ice accommodating container is securely housed ice in an ice storage portion of the inner frame member It is opposed to the ice outlet. When removing ice from the ice outlet, the inner frame member is rotated relatively to the outer frame member. As a result, the ice storage section of the inner frame member is turned to the ice outlet side in a state where the ice is stored and is opposed to the ice storage section.
The ice stored in the ice storage section of the inner frame member is taken out of the ice storage device body from the ice outlet.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. First, FIGS. 1 and 2
The schematic configuration of the ice storage device will be described with reference to FIG. 1 is a front view of the ice storage device with the front panel removed, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the ice storage device with the front panel removed, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the lower portion of the ice storage device.

In these figures, an ice storage device main body 1 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and is disposed opposite to each other between a ceiling panel 2, a bottom wall panel 3, and both ceiling panels 2 and a bottom wall panel 3. And a pair of left and right side wall panels 4 and 5, a front panel for closing the front and rear of the ice storage device main body 1, and a rear panel (the front panel and the rear panel are removed in FIGS. 1 to 3). . A cooler 6 is provided on the lower surface of the ceiling panel 2. The cooler 6 is supplied with a refrigerant from a known refrigerating device, and cools the inside of the ice storage device main body by the latent heat of evaporation of the refrigerant. An ice storage port A (see FIGS. 2 and 3) is provided on the front panel side, and an ice outlet B (see FIGS. 4 and 5) is provided on the rear panel side. Further, a switch box S provided with a start switch S1 for starting rotation of the drive motor M (described later) and a stop switch S2 for stopping rotation of the drive motor M is provided on the right side wall panel 5.

On the inner walls of the pair of left and right side wall panels 4, 5, six sprockets 7 are rotatably disposed at respective apexes of a hexagonal shape (a hexagonal shape extended vertically). (Although not shown in the left side wall panel 4, six sprockets 7 are arranged similarly to the right side wall panel 5). Further, a drive chain 8 is mounted around each sprocket 7. The right wall panel 5
The left side wall panel 4 and the left side wall panel 4 have basically the same configuration. Therefore, the configuration of the right side wall panel 5 will be mainly described below.

A plurality of ice containers 12 are provided between the drive chains 8 on the side wall panels 4 and 5 via fixing members 11.
The ice container 12 has an outer frame 13 and an inner frame 14 rotatably disposed on the outer frame 13 as described later.
It is composed of Further, a drive shaft 9 is provided between the side wall panels 4 and 5, and a drive gear 10 is fixed to a right end of the drive shaft 9 and a drive gear 10 (see FIG. (Not shown) is fixed and rotatably supported by the left side wall panel 4. Also, the drive shaft 9
Is rotationally driven by a drive motor M (see FIG. 1) fixed to the outer wall of the right side wall panel 5. Further, the drive gear 10 is meshed with a gear portion 7A provided on the lowermost sprocket 7 supported by the right side wall panel 5. Thus, the drive shaft 9 is rotated by rotating the drive motor M, and the drive gear 10 is rotated with the rotation of the drive shaft 9. Further, the rotation of the drive gear 10 is transmitted from the gear portion 7A to the lowermost sprocket 7, and as a result, the drive chain 8 is rotated via the lowermost sprocket 7, and accordingly, each drive chain is rotated. The ice container 12 fixed between the 8 is moved vertically.

Next, referring to FIG. 4 and FIG.
Structure 2 will be described. FIG. 4 is a side sectional view schematically showing a state before the inner frame 14 of the ice container 12 facing the ice outlet B is rotated with respect to the outer frame 13, and FIG. It is a side sectional view showing typically the state where inner frame 14 of ice container 12 was rotated with respect to outer frame 13. In each of the drawings, an ice container 12 has an outer frame 13 having a U-shape in a front view and an inner frame 14 rotatably provided in a U-shaped portion of the outer frame 13.
It is composed of The outer frame 13 has a horizontal plate 15 integrally and is formed in a U-shape in a front view. The inner frame 14 is formed in a side view L-shape such that the bottom plate 14A and the back plate 14B becomes substantially perpendicular, such bottom plate 14A and the back plate 14
B constitutes an ice storage section C. The ice storage section C stores brick-like ice ICs in a stacked state.

At the front edge (right edge in FIG. 4) of the bottom plate 14A, a projecting portion 14C projecting downward is formed, and the lower end of the projecting portion 14C is placed on the horizontal plate 15 of the outer frame 13. Have been. Thereby, the bottom plate 14A of the inner frame 14 is
As shown in FIG.
(In the case of the present embodiment, α is 3 to 5 degrees), the positioning is performed in an inclined state. Therefore, the ice IC can be securely stored in the ice storage section C, and the ice IC is stored in the ice storage section C. While the brick-like ice IC is moving the ice container 12, the ice container 1
2 is prevented from slipping off.

Further, at the lower part of the back plate 14B of the inner frame 14,
In view of the fact that the bottom plate 14A is inclined by the protruding portion 14C as described above, the gap member 16 is fixed, and the hanging portion 1 suspended at the rear end of the gap member 16 and the outer frame 13 is provided.
The hinge member 17 is attached between the hinge member 17 and 3A. The inner frame 14 is connected to the outer frame 1 via the hinge member 17.
3 can be relatively rotated. In FIG. 5, after the ice container 12 is opposed to the ice outlet B,
4 shows a state in which the brick 4 is relatively rotated with respect to the outer frame 13, whereby the brick-like ice IC stored in the ice storage portion C of the inner frame 14 can be taken out very easily. .

Next, the operation of the ice storage device configured as described above will be described. First, a brick-shaped ice IC is made by an ice maker (not shown). Here, it is desirable that the ice making machine and the ice storage device are linked to each other, and the brick-shaped ice discharged to the outside of the ice making device through the ice discharging mechanism of the ice making device is automatically transferred from the ice storage port A to the inside of the ice storage device. Most preferably, both ice making machines and ice storage devices are arranged so that they can be stored in the same.

After the ice IC made by the ice maker and discharged through the ice discharge mechanism, the brick-like ice IC is made to face the ice storage device 12 from the ice storage device A after the ice storage device 12 is opposed to the ice storage device A. Is stored. And the brick-shaped ice IC is the ice storage 1
The two inner frames 14 are stored in the ice storage section C in four rows and four layers (a total of 16 ice ICs can be stored in the ice storage section C). The storage of the IC ends. At this time, when the ice IC is stored, the bottom plate 14A of the inner frame 14 is angled so as to be lowered toward the inner side of the ice storage device main body 1 with respect to the horizontal plate 15 of the outer frame 13 by the action of the projection 14C. The ice IC once stored in the storage section C does not slide down from the bottom plate 14A.

Next, the start switch S1 of the switch box S is depressed to drive the drive motor M to rotate. As the drive motor M rotates, the drive shaft 9 and the two drive gears 10 fixed to both ends of the drive shaft 9 also rotate. Each drive gear 10 is connected to the lowermost sprocket 7 via a gear portion 7A.
(Supported by each of the left and right side wall panels 4, 5)
, Whereby each drive chain 8 is rotated upward or downward by each sprocket 7 supported by the left and right side wall panels 4 and 5. Thus chain 8
Is rotated, the ice container 12 fixed between the chains 8 is moved upward or downward in accordance with the rotation of the chain 8. Even when the ice container 12 moves, since the bottom plate 14A of the inner frame 14 in the ice container 12 is inclined by the angle α with respect to the horizontal plate 15 of the outer frame 13, the ice container C of the inner frame 14 ICs stored in layers
Does not slip off the ice storage section C. Then, when the next new ice storage device 12 faces the ice storage opening A, the stop switch S2 of the switch box S is pressed. Thereafter, the ice ICs are stored in the respective ice containers 12 in the same manner as described above.

Subsequently, a case where the ice IC is taken out from each ice container 12 will be described. First, as shown in FIG. 4, the ice container 12 containing the ice IC moves through the drive chain 8 by driving the drive motor M by the start switch S1 or the stop switch S2 of the switch box S. And is made to face the ice outlet B. After this,
The inner frame 14 is rotated counterclockwise relative to the outer frame 13 via the hinge member 17. This state is shown in FIG. 5, in which the inner frame 14 is exposed outward from the ice outlet B, and the back plate 14B is locked with such an inclination that the ice IC does not slide down from the ice storage section C. Is done. In this state, each ice IC is sequentially taken out of the ice storage device.
At this time, the inner frame 14 is rotatable relative to the outer frame 13 by the hinge member 17, and
Since B is locked with an appropriate inclination, the ice IC stored in the ice storage section C can be very easily taken out without the ice IC sliding down from the ice storage section C of the inner frame 14. It is.

After the removal of the ice IC from one ice container 12 is completed, each switch S of the switch box S is again
1. Drive motor M is driven by S2 and drive chain 8
A new ice container 12 in which the ice IC is stored is opposed to the ice outlet B via the. Then, in the same manner as described above, the ice ICs stored in a stacked state in the ice storage device 12 are taken out of the ice storage device. The ice IC is taken out from each ice container 12 by repeatedly performing such an operation.

As described above in detail, in the ice storage device according to the present embodiment, each sprocket 7 is provided on the left and right side wall panels 4 and 5.
A plurality of ice containers 12 are fixed by a fixing member 11 between the driving chains 8 mounted on the driving chain 8 and the driving chain 8 is rotated via the driving motor M, the driving shaft 9, the driving gear 10, and the sprocket 7. Each of the ice containers 12 can be moved in the vertical direction by moving the ice container 12, and the brick-shaped ice ICs are arranged and stored in the ice storage portion C of the ice container 12 in a stacked state. A large ice IC can be stored efficiently.

Further, the bottom plate 14A of the inner frame 14 of the ice container 12 is connected to the horizontal plate 15 of the outer frame 13 via the protrusion 14C.
The ice storage device 12 is tilted so that the bottom plate 14A is lowered toward the inside of the ice storage device main body 1 at a position where the ice storage device 12 faces the ice storage opening A. Ice I from the mouth A to the ice storage section C of the inner frame 14
Even when the ice ICs are stacked and stored when storing C, the ice ICs can be prevented from slipping down, and the brick-shaped ice ICs can be securely stored and stored. is there. Further, since the bottom plate 14A is positioned in an inclined state as described above, the bottom plate 14A is stored in the ice storage portion C of the inner frame 14 even during the movement of each ice storage device 12 via the drive chain 8. It is possible to reliably prevent the falling ice IC from sliding down.

Further, each ice container 12 is connected to the outer frame 13 and the inner frame 1.
4 and the inner frame 14 is connected to the hinge member 17.
The outer frame 13 is rotatable relative to the outer frame 13, so that when taking out each ice IC from the ice storage portion C of the inner frame 14 in the ice container 12, the inner frame 14 is moved through the hinge member 17. By rotating and exposing it outside the ice outlet B, the ice IC can be taken out very easily. In particular, since the back plate 14B of the inner frame 14 is locked at such an angle that each ice IC does not slide down, the ice IC slides down from the back plate 14B when the ice IC is taken out from the ice outlet B. Can be prevented. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it is needless to say that various improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0024]

As described above, the present invention provides an ice storage device that can store brick-shaped or other relatively large ice efficiently and reliably in an aligned state, and that can easily remove the stored ice. Yes, the effect is great.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of an ice storage device with a front panel removed.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the ice storage device with a front panel removed.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view showing a lower portion of the ice storage device.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view schematically showing a state before the inner frame of the ice container facing the ice outlet is rotated with respect to the outer frame.

FIG. 5 is a side sectional view schematically showing a state in which the inner frame of the ice container facing the ice outlet is rotated with respect to the outer frame.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ・ ・ ・ Ice storage device body, 4, 5 ・ ・ ・ Side panel, 6 ・
..Coolers, 7 ... Sprockets, 7A ... gear parts,
Reference numeral 8: drive chain, 9: drive shaft, 10: drive gear, 11: fixing member, 12: ice container, 1
3 ・ ・ ・ Outer frame, 14 ・ ・ ・ Inner frame, 14C ・ ・ ・ Protrusion,
15: Horizontal plate, 17: Hinge member, A: Ice storage port, B: Ice outlet, C: Ice storage section, M:
Drive motor

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] (1)Ceiling panel (2), bottom wall panel (3),
Mutually arranged between the ceiling panel (2) and the bottom wall panel (3)
A pair of side panels (4, 5) facing the front panel and
Ice storage device body composed of a rectangular parallelepiped and a rear panel
(1) and An ice storage port (A) formed in the front panel; An ice outlet (B) formed in the rear panel; The ice storage device body(1)Cooler installed inside(6)
And each of the side wall panels(4,5)ofAlong the inner wallPivotable
Linear member(8,8)And each of the linear members(8,8)Between the line and
Shaped member(8,8)Container moved according to the rotation of the ice
(12)And the linear member(8,8)Drive to rotate(M, 1
0,7)WithThe ice container (12) Horizontal plate(15)Outer frame member having(13)And saidOuter frame member (13)To be rotatable
ToA bottom plate (14A) facing the horizontal plate (15);
(14A) and a back plate (14B) formed at a substantially right angle,
It protrudes downward from the edge of the plate (14A) and
A protrusion (14) whose lower end abuts on the horizontal plate (15)
C) and the horizontal plate (15) of the outer frame member (13)
On the other hand, the bottom plate (14A) is constant via the protrusion (14C)
From the inner frame member (14) that is arranged at an angle
Is composed of The linear members (8, 8) serve as drive devices (M, 10, 7).
The ice container (12) is rotated through
The bottom plate (14A) during ice storage opposite to (A)
Means that the protrusion (14C) is in contact with the horizontal plate (15).
And lowers toward the inside of the ice storage device body (1).
So that
And The linear members (8, 8) serve as drive devices (M, 10, 7).
The ice container (12) is rotated through the
At the time of taking out the ice opposite to (B), the bottom plate (14)
A) is such that the protrusion (14C) is in contact with the horizontal plate (15).
To the outside of the ice storage device body (1)
In the state inclined at the constant angle so as to be lower Positioning
Be done An ice storage device characterized by the above-mentioned.