JP3435149B2 - 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 buried water supply conduits urethane, also to provide a refrigerator having improved serviceability.

[0011]

To achieve the above object, the refrigerator of the present invention comprises a refrigerating compartment, a vegetable compartment located below the refrigerating compartment, and a freezing compartment located below the vegetable compartment. And a drawer-type container that is arranged so as to occupy most of the space in the vegetable compartment and is attached to the door; and a conduit, the water supply conduit is disposed at the back portion of the pull-out container outside of urethane in vegetable compartment disposed in the vegetable compartment, the field
It is a joint pipe that can be attached and detached from the vegetable room .

Further, in order to achieve the above object, the refrigerator of the present invention is provided with a vegetable compartment provided inside the inner box, a refrigerating compartment provided above the vegetable compartment, and below the vegetable compartment. Freezer compartment, and a drawer type container arranged to occupy most of the space in the vegetable compartment and attached to the door, and an ice tray arranged in the freezer compartment from a water bottle arranged in the refrigerating compartment And a water supply conduit for supplying water to
The water supply conduit is a urethane pipe in the vegetable compartment and is located at the back of a drawer-type container arranged in the vegetable compartment , is a joint pipe that can be attached to and detached from the vegetable compartment, and is attached to the inner box. It is fixed by the provided member.

[0013]

The function of the above construction is as follows.

[0014]

[Action] water supply conduits of the present invention, in the vegetable compartment U
Of the pull-out container placed inside the vegetable compartment outside the lettuce
Since it is a splicing pipe placed in the back, it can be easily attached and detached, improving serviceability.

[0015]

[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.

In the above embodiment, the refrigerator compartment, the vegetable compartment, and the freezer compartment are arranged in this order from the top, and the water bottle is provided on the refrigerator compartment side.
A refrigerator with an ice making section on the freezer side, installed in the vegetable compartment
Install the water supply pipe outside the urethane inside the so-called refrigerator.
I made it possible.

[0028]

According to the present invention, without embedding the water supply conduits urethane, also possible to provide a refrigerator having improved serviceability.

[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 (7)

(57) [Claims] 1. A refrigerating compartment, a vegetable compartment located below the refrigerating compartment, a freezing compartment located below the vegetable compartment, and a compartment occupying most of the space in the vegetable compartment, A drawer type container attached to a door and a water supply conduit for supplying water from a water supply bottle arranged in the refrigerating compartment to an ice tray arranged in the freezing compartment, wherein the water supply conduit is provided outside the urethane in the vegetable compartment. It is arranged at the back of the drawer type container arranged in the vegetable compartment,
A refrigerator that is a connecting pipe that can be installed and 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. Is arranged so as to occupy, a drawer-type container attached to the door, and a water supply conduit for supplying water from a water supply bottle arranged in the refrigerating compartment to an ice tray arranged in the freezing compartment, wherein the water supply conduit is A connecting pipe that is arranged outside the urethane inside the vegetable compartment and inside the pull-out container arranged inside the vegetable compartment and that can be attached to and detached from the vegetable compartment . Refrigerator fixed by a member provided in. 3. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the water supply conduit is arranged deeper than a drawer type container arranged in the vegetable compartment. 4. A refrigerating compartment, a vegetable compartment located below this refrigerating compartment, a freezing compartment located below this vegetable compartment, and a compartment occupying most of the space inside said vegetable compartment, A drawer type container attached to a door, and a water supply conduit for supplying water from a water supply bottle arranged in the refrigerating compartment to an ice tray arranged in the freezing compartment, the water supply conduit being a water supply conduit on the refrigerating compartment side. , A water supply conduit on the side of the freezer and the two water supply conduits are connected to each other, and it is arranged outside the urethane inside the vegetable compartment and is arranged at the back of the drawer type container arranged inside the vegetable compartment, and is attached to and removed from the vegetable compartment. A refrigerator composed of a water supply conduit that is a possible joint pipe. 5. The refrigerator according to claim 4, wherein the water supply conduit on the refrigerating compartment side and the water supply conduit serving as the joint pipe are detachable. 6. The water supply conduit on the refrigerating compartment side and the water supply conduit serving as the joint pipe are removable, and the water supply conduit on the freezing compartment side and the joint pipe are also removable. Refrigerator described. 7. The refrigerator according to claim 4, wherein a heater is attached to the water supply conduit on the freezing compartment side.