JP3103713B2 - Ice making equipment - 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 making device incorporated in a refrigerator or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, an ice machine is often used in a refrigerator. As this type of ice making device, for example, a configuration disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 51-3082 is known. Hereinafter, a conventional ice making device disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 51-3082 will be described. FIG.
It is the schematic of the ice making apparatus of a prior art.

A conventional ice making device 200 is roughly divided into an ice making tray 201 and a reversing device 202 installed in a freezing room.
And a water supply tank 203 and a pump 204 in the refrigerator compartment,
Water supply mechanism 20 including measuring tank 205 and piping 206
7.

The ice tray 201 is a tray for freezing the water inside. The reversing device 202 has a built-in gear train, and functions to invert the ice tray 201 and to twist the ice tray 201 to separate ice.

[0005] The water supply tank 203 has a lid 208 provided on a closed tank body. The lid 208 is provided with an on-off valve 209.

The water supply tank 203 is filled with water, placed on the measuring tank 205 with the lid 208 down, and a part of the on-off valve 209 comes into contact with the bottom of the measuring tank 205. The water in the water supply tank 203 is filled in the measuring tank 205.

Then, water is pumped up by a pump 204 inserted into the measuring tank, and supplied to the ice tray 201 through a pipe 206. After this, the ice tray 2
By performing ice making and de-icing at 01, ice is automatically made sequentially until the water in the water supply tank 203 runs out.

[0008]

However, in the above configuration, as a means for informing the user of an empty state of water in the water supply tank 203 after a series of ice making operations, a complicated detecting means and a control circuit are used. Although the method of notifying by the lamp was adopted, the cost increases and the water tank 20
There was a problem that the reduction level of water in 3 could not be determined.

As another method, a water supply tank 203 is used.
Although there was a method of making itself transparent, the water supply to the ice tray 201 is not always performed, and the water remains in the water supply tank 203 for a considerable period of time depending on the amount of ice consumed. Therefore, a substance called an antibacterial agent for silver thread was added to suppress water decay, and the water supply tank 203 was molded. Therefore, it could not be made transparent. Furthermore, when the water supply tank 203 was made transparent, the internal components were exposed and the appearance was extremely poor.

[0010]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an ice making apparatus according to the present invention is provided with an ice tray and a reversing device installed in a freezing room, a water supply tank molded of resin in a refrigerator room, and a water supply tank. A water supply mechanism is provided to supply water in the tank to the ice tray,
A water level window having a thin flange formed on the outer periphery of a transparent resin molded integrally with the water supply tank in a part of the water supply tank.

[0011] is provided with a plurality of minute protrusions of about 0.1mm thin meat flange surface.

[0012] The present invention is also an ice making device having a water supply tank formed by forming a groove in the water level window on the inner surface side of the water supply tank.

Further, a water supply tank is formed by providing a projection on the outer surface of the water supply tank in a water level manner.

[0014]

With the above structure, the user can see at a glance the amount of water in the water supply tank by the transparent resin water level window molded integrally with the water supply tank.

Further, since a thin flange is formed on the outer periphery of the water level window, the adhesion of the resin to the water supply tank main body is increased, and the resin does not come off even when an external force is applied to the water level window.

Further, since a plurality of minute projections are provided on the surface of the thin flange, the resin in the water supply tank is melted and the water in the water supply tank is prevented from penetrating from around the water level window, thereby preventing water leakage. it can.

Further, since the groove is formed on the inner surface side of the water supply tank of the water level window, the water in the water supply tank enters the groove, so that the amount of water can be easily recognized from the outside.

Further, since the water level window is provided with a projection on the outer surface of the water supply tank, the water supply tank can be molded with a mold at the time of molding.
The water level window is easy to set in the mold, and there is no problem that the water level window moves during molding.

[0019]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIGS. 1 to 11 show an ice making apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, the basic configuration of the ice making device 1 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 2 which is a schematic configuration diagram. The ice making device 1 includes an ice tray 2, an inverting device 3, a water storage container 4, a water supply tank 5, and a water supply mechanism 9 including a pump 6 and pipes 7 and 8.

The ice making device 1 of the present embodiment is arranged in a refrigerator. More specifically, of the above components, the ice tray 2, the reversing device 3, and the water storage container 4 are located in the lower freezer compartment 10, and the water supply tank 5 and the pump 6 serving as the water supply mechanism 8 are located in the upper refrigerator compartment. 11. The pipe 7 connects the water supply tank 5 and the pump 6. On the other hand, the pipe 8 connects the pump 6 and the ice tray 2. Here, the pipe 7
The nozzles 12 are opened on the upper surface of the ice tray 2, and the pipes 8 are configured to be continuously connected without gaps, and water is injected from the nozzle 12 into the ice tray 2.

Among the components of the ice making device 1 described above, the ice making tray 2, the reversing device 3, and the water storage container 4 are not different from known ones. Briefly, the ice tray 2 is a tray for freezing the water inside. The reversing device 3 has a built-in gear train, and functions to reverse the ice tray 2 and release ice. The water storage container 4 is located below the ice tray 2 and stores ice dropped from the ice tray 2.

Next, the water supply tank 5 will be described. The water supply tank 5 is a tank body 13 made of ABS resin or the like.
And a lid 14 and a lock member 15 which are also formed of an ABS resin or the like.

Here, the tank body 13 is a container having an open upper surface. A packing receiving portion 17 is formed around the opening 16 of the tank body 13. Further, a water level window 18 made of a transparent resin and formed integrally with the tank body 13 is formed in the tank body 13 in the front direction of the refrigerator body.

The lid 14 is a plate-like member having a shape matching the opening 16 of the tank body 13, and a rubber-like packing 19 abutting against the packing receiving portion 17 of the tank body 13 is fitted around the cover 14. A packing groove 20 is provided.

On the side surface of the cover 14, four projections 2 are provided.
1 is provided. The projections 21 are arranged at positions facing each other in pairs. A hole (not shown) is provided on the opposite surface of the projection 21. Protrusion 21
, A lock member 15 as shown in FIG. 1 is rotatably attached.

The lid 14 is provided with another hole 23 for water injection, and a cap 24 is mounted in the hole 23. Further, the cover 14 is provided with a discharge pipe 30 and is provided integrally with the suction pipe section 31.
The suction pipe section 31 has a long tubular shape, and its end reaches the bottom of the tank body 13.

Next, the frame 32 will be described. The pump 6 is attached to the frame 32, and the pipe joint member 33 is connected by the pipe 7. A seal member 34 is inserted into the pipe joint member 33, and the seal member 34 and the discharge pipe 30 of the lid 14 are fitted. That is, a sealing action is performed by the sealing member 34 to prevent water leakage when water flows.

Here, the water supply tank 5 which is a feature of the present invention is described.
The water level window 18 provided in the tank body 13 will be described in detail. The water level window 18 is made of a transparent resin so that the water in the water supply tank 5 can be seen. The water level window 18 is set in a mold before molding the tank body 13, and then the tank body 13 is molded. In addition, since the resin is molded integrally with the tank body 13, internal stress is generated by shrinkage of the resin at the time of molding, and the tank body 13 is made of ABS resin so that minute cracks and peeling do not occur in the water level window 18 or the tank body 13. In this case, the water level window 18 is formed of an AS resin or a polystyrene resin having a small difference in molding shrinkage.

Further, a thin flange 18 a is formed on the outer periphery of the water level window 18, and has a shape sandwiched by the resin of the tank body 13. Therefore, even when an external force is applied to the water level window 18, the water level window 18 does not easily come off. Further, a plurality of minute projections 18b of about 0.1 mm are formed on the surface of the thin flange 18a. Due to the minute projections 18b, the tank body 13 and the resin are partially melted, and a strong and good sealing property is secured.

A groove 18c is formed in the water level window 18 on the inner surface side of the water supply tank 5. This is the water tank 5
This is because the amount of water, that is, the water level can be seen well from the outside of the water supply tank 5 when the water inside enters the groove 18c.

Further, a projection 18d is formed on the outer surface of the water supply tank 5 of the water level window 18. This is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, when the tank body 5 is molded with resin, the water level window 18 can be easily set in the mold A by fitting the protrusion 18d into the mold A and then flowing the resin in the tank body 5. Also, the problem that the water level window 18 moves during molding is prevented.

With the above configuration, the water in the water supply tank 5 passes through the pump 6 from the suction pipe section 31, the discharge pipe 30, the pipe joint member 30, and the pipe 7 by the operation of the pump 6,
Water is supplied to the ice tray 2 by a pipe 8. After that, after being frozen in the ice tray 2 as described above, the ice is separated into the ice storage air 4. During this series of operations, the water in the water supply tank 5 gradually decreases, but the user can easily see the remaining amount of water in the water supply tank 5 by the water level window 18 provided in the water supply tank body 13. Can be done.

[0034]

As described above, the ice making apparatus of the present invention has an ice tray and a reversing device installed in a freezing room, and a water tank made of resin in a cold room and an ice tray made of water in the water tank. And a water level window having a thin flange formed on the outer periphery of a transparent resin molded integrally with the water supply tank at a part of the water supply tank.

Further, a plurality of minute projections of about 0.1 mm are provided on the surface of the thin flange.

An ice making apparatus having a water supply tank in which a groove is formed on the water level window inside the water supply tank.

Further, since the water supply tank is constituted by providing a projection on the outer surface of the water supply tank with respect to the water level window, the following effects can be obtained.

The user can see at a glance the amount of water in the water supply tank by the transparent resin water level window molded integrally with the water supply tank.

Further, since the thin flange is formed on the outer periphery of the water level window, the adhesiveness of the resin to the water supply tank body is increased, and the resin does not come off even when an external force is applied to the water level window.

Further, since a plurality of minute projections are provided on the surface of the thin flange, the resin in the water tank is melted and the water in the water tank is prevented from permeating from around the water level window, thereby preventing water leakage. it can.

Further, since the water level window is formed with a groove on the inner surface side of the water supply tank, the water in the water supply tank enters the groove so that the amount of water can be easily recognized from the outside.

Furthermore, since the water level window is provided with a projection on the outer surface of the water supply tank, the water supply tank can be molded with a mold.
The water level window can be easily set in the mold, and the water level window does not move during molding.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a water supply tank of an ice making device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the ice making device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the ice making device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a water supply tank used in the ice making device of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a front view of the water supply tank of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a main part of the water supply tank of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a water level window of the water supply tank of FIG. 3;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a water level window of the water supply tank of FIG. 3;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged sectional view of a water level window.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of a mold showing a state in which a water level window is set.

FIG. 11 is a front, plan, and side view of a water level window.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a conventional ice making device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 ice making device 2 ice making tray 3 inverting device 5 water supply tank 9 water supply mechanism 13 tank body 14 lid 18 water level window 18a thin flange 18b minute projection 18c groove 18d projection

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Yasuo Nakamura 3-22, Takaidahondori, Higashiosaka-shi, Osaka Matsushita Refrigeration Machinery Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-5-280848 (JP, A) 4-203870 (JP, A) JP-A-6-300402 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) F25C 1/24

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. An ice tray installed in a freezer compartment, a reversing device for moving the ice tray to release ice, a water supply tank formed of a resin installed in a refrigerator compartment, and a water tank inside the water supply tank. A water supply mechanism for supplying water to the ice tray, and a transparent resin outer periphery molded integrally with the water supply tank at a part of the water supply tank;
An ice making device comprising a water level window formed with a thin flange on the top . 2. The ice making device according to claim 1, comprising a water supply tank having a water level window provided with a plurality of minute projections of about 0.1 mm on the surface of the thin flange. 3. An ice making tray installed in a freezing room, and the ice making tray
A reversing device that moves the dishes to remove the ice and a refrigerator
Water tank made of molded resin and the inside of this water tank
A water supply mechanism for supplying water to the ice tray, and a water supply tank for the water supply tank.
An ice making device comprising a water level window having a groove formed on the inner surface side of the water supply tank and made of a transparent resin integrally molded with the water supply tank. 4. An ice making tray installed in a freezer, and the ice making tray
A reversing device that moves the dishes to remove the ice and a refrigerator
Water tank made of molded resin and the inside of this water tank
A water supply mechanism for supplying water to the ice tray, and a water supply tank for the water supply tank.
An ice making device comprising a water level window having a projection formed on the outer surface side of the water supply tank and made of a transparent resin integrally molded with the water supply tank.