JP3426402B2 - refrigerator - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a refrigerator with an automatic ice maker, and more particularly to a refrigerator in which a refrigerator compartment, a vegetable compartment and a freezer compartment are arranged in this order from the top.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A refrigerator equipped with an automatic ice maker which is generally commercially available will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a main part of a refrigerator incorporating a conventional automatic ice making mechanism.

In FIG. 5, reference numeral 31 is a refrigerator main body, and the refrigerator main body 31 has a freezer compartment 32 above and a refrigerator compartment 3 below.
Have three. 34 is an ice making unit installed on the freezer compartment 32 side, and the ice making unit 34 is a mechanical unit 36 for automatically removing ice made from the ice making tray 35, and an ice storing the ice made in the ice making tray 35. It is composed of banks 37 and the like.

Reference numeral 38 is a water supply unit installed on the refrigerating compartment 33 side. The water supply unit 38 is composed of, for example, a water supply bottle 39 containing nearly 2 liters of water, a fixed quantity plate 40, a water supply pump 41 for guiding the water in the fixed quantity plate 40 to the ice tray 35, a cover 42, and the like. Reference numeral 43 is a water supply conduit for guiding the ice in the fixed quantity dish 40 to the ice tray 35.

A refrigerator with an automatic ice maker equipped with this type of ice making unit 34 and water supplying unit 38 automatically repeats a series of known operations of water supply-ice making-water supplying-ice making.

A conventional example of this type is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-313665.

[0008]

The conventional refrigerator with an automatic ice maker having such a structure has the following problems.
From the top, the freezing compartment and the refrigerating compartment (or vice versa) are arranged in that order, so in consideration of the ease of use by the customer, the ice making section is located in front of the freezing compartment and the water supply section is located in front of the refrigeration compartment. Therefore, the water supply conduit is installed at the back of the freezer compartment and the refrigerator compartment, and all parts must be removed when removing the water supply conduit.
Could not be replaced or cleaned. In addition, there were cases where the water supply conduit could not be removed when it was buried in urethane.

In the conventional refrigerator, since the freezing room is on the upper side and the refrigerating room is on the lower side, or vice versa, the height of the partition wall which divides each room is about 30 to 50, and the water supply conduit is also in urethane. In some cases, it was not necessary to replace the water supply pipe because it could be buried and the water flowing in the water supply pipe was less likely to accumulate in the pipe. However, in a refrigerator in which another room (for example, a vegetable room) is arranged between the refrigerating room and the freezing room, if the water supply conduit is embedded in urethane, the total length (total height) of the water supply conduit becomes long,
When water stains or the like adhere to the inside of the water supply pipe, it becomes impossible to remove the water supply pipe, and there is a problem that hygiene considerations are lacking.

An object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator that is easy to use.
To provide.

[0011]

To achieve the above object, a refrigerator according to the present invention comprises a refrigerating compartment, a vegetable compartment located below the refrigerating compartment, and a freezing compartment located below the vegetable compartment. Room, a drawer-type container arranged to occupy most of the space in the vegetable compartment and attached to the door, and a water bottle arranged in the refrigerating compartment through the vegetable compartment into the freezing compartment A water supply pipe for supplying water to the placed ice tray is provided, and this water supply pipe is provided outside the urethane in the vegetable compartment.
Disposed in the back portion of the deployed drawer type container, said vegetable
It can be installed and removed from the room .

Further, a vegetable compartment provided inside the inner box,
A refrigerating room provided above the vegetable compartment, a freezing room provided below the vegetable compartment , and most of the vegetable compartment
Pulls arranged to occupy space and attached to the door
A stock container and a water supply pipe for supplying water from a water supply bottle arranged in the refrigerating compartment to the ice tray arranged in the freezing compartment through the vegetable compartment, wherein the water supply pipe is outside the urethane disposed in the back portion of the pull-out container positioned within the chamber, the mounting from the vegetable compartment, removable and
And, in which it is fixed by member provided in said box. Further, the water supply pipe is arranged in the vegetable compartment .
It is placed behind the drawer type container.

[0013]

The function of the above construction is as follows.

The water supply pipe of the present invention is provided between the refrigerating room and the freezing room.
It is provided inside the vegetable room provided in. And
It is installed in the void space inside the container inside this vegetable compartment
It

Further , the water supply pipe is provided for fixing on the inner box.
It is fixed at the back of the container by the member.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a refrigerator with an automatic ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of a cold room water supply section, and FIG.
Is an explanatory view of the vegetable compartment and the upper part of the freezing compartment, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the vegetable compartment.

First, in FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 is a refrigerator body in which a refrigerating compartment 2, a vegetable compartment 3 and a freezing compartment 4 are arranged in this order from the top. 5, 6, 7
Is a door that closes the front opening of the refrigerator compartment 2, the vegetable compartment 3, and the freezer compartment 4. The vegetable compartment 3 and the freezing compartment 4 are formed by drawer containers 8 and 9 attached to doors 6 and 7.

Reference numeral 10 denotes a water supply section provided at the bottom of the refrigerating compartment 2. The water supply section 10 is composed of a water supply bottle 11, a water pedestal 12 and the like.

Reference numeral 15 denotes an ice making section provided in the freezer compartment 4. The ice making section 15 is composed of an ice making tray 16, a machine section 17, a water supply conduit with a heater 18, an ice bank 19, and the like.

Reference numeral 20 denotes a bellows-like water supply conduit provided in the vegetable compartment 3 and is provided for connecting the water supply conduit 13 on the refrigerating compartment 2 side and the water supply conduit 18 with a heater on the freezing compartment 4 side. The vegetable compartment 3 is composed of a vegetable container 8, a water supply conduit fixing bush 21 described later, and the like.

First, the water supply section 10 installed in the refrigerator compartment 2
The structure of will be described with reference to FIG. A water bottle 11 is formed by injection molding, and has a constricted portion 11a and a threaded portion 11.
A water supply port having b is provided, and 22 is a water supply bottle 1
The cap is detachably fastened to the threaded portion 11b of the water supply port 1. Reference numeral 23 is a valve incorporated in the cap 22, and the valve 23 has a push rod 23a of a valve rod and a spring 23b. Further, 24 is a water receiving stand, and the water receiving stand 24 is located below the water supply port of the water supply bottle 11. 14 is a water pedestal 2
With the solenoid incorporated in No. 4, the iron core 14a is at a position facing the push rod 23a of the valve 23.

Reference numeral 25 is a baffle, and the baffle 25 is a water supply conduit 1
It is provided so as to surround the upper part of the No. 3 and has a small hole 25a at the bottom. The small holes 25a are for restricting the amount of water or slowing the speed of the flowing water because the water flowing through the water receiving base 24 reaches the water supply conduit 13 through the small holes 25a of the baffle plate 25. . If the speed of the flowing water is high, the problem of water scattering from the ice tray occurs.

Next, the ice making section 15 installed in the freezer compartment 4
The structure will be described with reference to FIG. Reference numeral 18 denotes a water supply conduit with a heater, which is connected to a bellows-like water supply conduit 20 described later, and is located directly above the ice tray 16. The heater 18c is attached in a range from the partition wall 26 that partitions the vegetable compartment 3 and the freezer compartment 4 to the upper portion of the ice making unit 15, and the water supply conduit 1
8 is intended to prevent freezing. Further, the flange 1 is provided on the lower surface portion 27 of the vegetable compartment 3 which is the end portion of the water supply conduit 18 with a heater.
8a has a convex portion 1 on a part of the flange portion 18a.
8b. The convex portion 18b is fitted into the concave portion 26a of the partition wall 26 that divides the vegetable compartment 3 and the freezer compartment 4, and serves both to prevent rotation of the water supply conduit with heater 18 and to position it. 1
Reference numeral 6 denotes an ice tray, which has a mechanical portion 17 for detecting the edge ice in the ice bank 19 at the end portion.

Next, the water supply conduit 1 protruding from the refrigerating compartment 2 side
3 and a water supply conduit 18 with a heater protruding from the freezer compartment 4 side
The structure inside the vegetable compartment 3 having the bellows-like water supply conduit 20 for connecting the components will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

As shown in FIG. 4, a container 8 attached to a door 6 occupies most of the space inside the vegetable compartment 3 as shown in FIG. 20
Although not shown in the drawing by a bush 29 fixed to the inner box 28, the bush 29 is fixed at a position about half of the total height of the vegetable compartment 3. Next, FIG. 3 will be described. Reference numeral 20a denotes an end portion of the water supply conduit having a bellows shape, and is fitted with the water supply conduit 18 protruding from the freezer compartment 4, and therefore has an inner diameter slightly larger than the outer shape of the water supply conduit 18. Also, the other end 2
Reference numeral 0b has a cap for detachably fastening to the end screw portion 13a of the water supply conduit 13 protruding from the refrigerating chamber 2. When the bellows-shaped water supply conduit 20 is attached, first, it is fastened to the water supply conduit 13 on the upper refrigerating compartment 2 side, and then inserted and installed to the water supply conduit 18 on the lower freezing compartment 4 side. Of course, when removing the bellows-like water supply conduit 20 for servicing or cleaning, it can be easily done by performing the reverse operation. Example above
Then, from the top, the refrigerator compartment, the vegetable compartment, and the freezer compartment are arranged in that order.
A water bottle is provided on the refrigerating room side, and a cooling bottle with an ice making part is provided on the freezing room side
In the storage, the water supply conduit protruding from the freezer compartment and the refrigerator compartment side
On the vegetable compartment side as a connecting pipe for the water supply conduit protruding from
A water supply conduit in the vegetable compartment to make the structure easy to remove
Was set up. In addition, the water supply guide installed in the vegetable room
The pipe is outside the urethane, inside the so-called refrigerator.
Installed in the void space inside the vegetable compartment
It was to so.

[0027]

According to the present invention, the refrigerator is easy to use.
Can be provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a main part of a refrigerator with an automatic ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of a cold room water supply unit.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of the vegetable compartment and the upper part of the freezer compartment.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the vegetable compartment.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a main part of a refrigerator incorporating a conventional automatic ice making mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 ... Refrigerator room, 3 ... Vegetable room, 4 ... Freezer room, 13 ... Water supply conduit, 15 ... Ice making part, 16 ... Ice making plate, 17 ... Machine part, 18
... water supply conduit with heater, 18a ... flange, 18b ... flange convex portion, 18c ... heater, 19 ... ice bank, 2
0 ... bellows-like water supply conduit, 20a ... bellows-like water supply conduit end, 20b ... bellows-like water supply conduit end, 26 ... partition wall, 2
6a ... partition wall recess, 27 ... vegetable compartment lower surface.

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A refrigerating compartment, a vegetable compartment disposed below the refrigerating compartment, a freezing compartment disposed below the vegetable compartment, and a compartment occupying most of the space in the vegetable compartment. A drawer type container attached to the door; and a water supply pipe for supplying water from the water supply bottle arranged in the refrigerating compartment to the ice tray arranged in the freezing compartment through the vegetable compartment,
This water supply pipe is placed outside the urethane inside the drawer-type container placed inside the vegetable compartment and attached from the vegetable compartment.
A refrigerator that can be removed . 2. A vegetable compartment provided inside the inner box, a refrigerating compartment provided above the vegetable compartment, a freezing compartment provided below the vegetable compartment, and most of the space inside the vegetable compartment. A drawer type container arranged to occupy and attached to the door, and a water supply pipe for supplying water from the water supply bottle arranged in the refrigerating compartment to the ice tray arranged in the freezing compartment through the vegetable compartment, The water supply pipe is arranged in the inner part of the pull-out type container outside the urethane and is arranged in the vegetable compartment, is attached and detached from the vegetable compartment, and is fixed by a member provided in the inner box. refrigerator. 3. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the water supply pipe is arranged deeper than a drawer type container arranged in the vegetable compartment.