JP4004479B2 - Refrigerator with automatic ice machine - Google Patents

Description

  Example 1 relates to a refrigerator with an automatic ice maker and a water supply container. In particular, the present invention relates to a natural drop type water supply type water supply container and a refrigerator with an automatic ice making machine employing the water supply container.

  The freezer compartment and the refrigerator compartment are partitioned by a partition wall so that the refrigerator compartment is located in the upper part of the refrigerator body, and the ice-making water in the water supply tank (water supply container) disposed in the refrigerator compartment penetrates the partition wall. There is a refrigerator with an automatic ice making machine that is supplied to an ice making container of an automatic ice making machine disposed in the freezer compartment through a water supply pipe (see Patent Document 1).

  Patent Document 1 provides a valve that opens and closes a water supply port formed at the bottom of the water supply tank in order to supply ice making water to the water supply tank without using a pump. ing. As an opening / closing mechanism for this valve body, one end of a connecting lever whose shaft is supported at the intermediate portion corresponds to this valve body, the other end of the connecting lever is connected to a solenoid, and the connecting lever is rotated by the operation of the solenoid. When the valve is pushed up, the water supply port formed at the bottom of the water supply tank is opened.

By the way, in the case of the natural drop type, the amount of water supplied to the ice tray changes depending on the amount of remaining water in the water supply tank even if the valve opening time is the same. In order to reduce this fluctuation, it is known to divide the water supply tank into a main tank part and an auxiliary tank part (supply tank part) (see Patent Document 2). By providing this auxiliary tank portion and supplying water, the aforementioned fluctuation can be reduced.
JP 2001-311574 A JP-A-6-185842

  However, providing this auxiliary tank portion makes the water supply container complicated and difficult to manufacture.

  Furthermore, air must be supplied to the auxiliary tank portion during water supply, and an air pipe portion (air supply portion) that acts as an air vent for the auxiliary tank portion other than during water supply must be created, resulting in a complicated structure.

  The present invention provides a water supply container having a simple structure and a refrigerator including the same.

  The present invention includes a main tank portion (9B) and an auxiliary tank portion (9C) provided in the water supply container (9), a water supply port (60) provided at the bottom of the auxiliary tank portion (9C), and the water supply port. An open / close valve (61) that opens and closes (60) and discharges water in the auxiliary tank (9C) downward due to natural fall when water is supplied, and air for supplying air to the auxiliary tank (9C) when water is supplied In a refrigerator with an automatic ice maker provided with a passage portion (9E), the water supply container (9) has a double bottom structure by fitting a main tank container (9B) in a tank main body container (9A), and the main tank container ( The inside of 9B) is the main tank portion (9B), and the double bottom structure portion (9C) is the auxiliary tank portion (9C).

  The present invention also opens and closes the main tank portion (9B), the auxiliary tank portion (9C), the water supply port (60) provided at the bottom of the auxiliary tank portion (9C), and the water supply port (60). An on-off valve (61) for discharging water in the auxiliary tank section (9C) downward by natural fall when water is supplied, and an air passage section (9E) for supplying air to the auxiliary tank section (9C) at the time of water supply In a water supply container (9) of a refrigerator with an automatic ice making machine, a main tank container (9B) is fitted into a tank body container (9A) to form a double bottom structure, and the main tank container (9B) is the main tank A portion (9B) is used, and the double bottom structure portion (9C) is the auxiliary tank portion (9C).

  Further, in the present invention, a gap (9E) is formed between the tank main body container (9A) and the main tank container (9B), and the gap (9E) is used as the air supply section (9E). It is characterized by.

  Further, the present invention is characterized in that a plurality of the gap portions (9E) are formed.

  Further, the present invention is characterized in that the gap (9E) is formed before and after the water supply container (9).

  In the present invention, the water supply container (9) has a double bottom structure, and the double bottom is formed by fitting the main tank container (9B) in the tank main body container (9A). Thus, the main tank part (9B) and the auxiliary tank part (9C) can be formed. Furthermore, since they are only fitted together, cleaning can be performed easily.

  Furthermore, in the present invention, since the gap portion (9E) is formed between the tank main body container (9A) and the main tank container (9B), the air passage portion (9E) can be formed with a simple structure. . Furthermore, cleaning can be performed easily.

In the present invention, the main tank portion (9B) and the auxiliary tank portion (9C) provided in the water supply container (9), the water supply port (60) provided at the bottom of the auxiliary tank portion (9C), and the water supply port An open / close valve (61) that opens and closes (60) and discharges water in the auxiliary tank (9C) downward due to natural fall when water is supplied, and air for supplying air to the auxiliary tank (9C) when water is supplied With a passage part (9E),
The water supply container (9) has a double bottom structure by fitting a main tank container (9B) in a tank main body container (9A), the main tank container (9B) is the main tank part (9B), and the two Examples of the present invention in which the heavy bottom structure portion (9C) is the auxiliary tank portion (9C) will be described below.

  Next, Example 1 of the present invention will be described. 1 is a front view of the refrigerator of Example 1, FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of the refrigerator main body of Example 1, viewed from the front, FIG. 3 is a longitudinal side view of the refrigerator of Example 1, and FIG. FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the water supply container and the water supply channel portion of the first embodiment, FIG. 6 is an explanatory view with a cross-section in a state where the on-off valve of the water supply container of the first embodiment is closed, and FIG. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an operating member of the first embodiment. FIG.

The refrigerator 1 according to the first embodiment has a configuration in which a front opening of the main body 2 is partitioned to form a plurality of storage chambers, and the front surfaces of these storage chambers can be opened and closed by doors. The refrigerator body 2 has a heat insulating structure in which a foam heat insulating material 2C is filled between an outer box (outer wall plate) 2A and an inner box (inner wall plate) 2B. In the refrigerator main body 2, a refrigerator compartment 3, a freezer compartment 5, and a vegetable compartment 4 are partitioned and provided from above.

  The front opening of the refrigerator compartment 3 is opened and closed by a revolving refrigerator door 10 that is rotated laterally by a hinge device on one side of the refrigerator body 2. The front opening of the vegetable compartment 4 is blocked by a pull-out door 11 that is drawn forward together with a vegetable container 15 supported so as to be able to be pulled out in the front-rear direction by a support device 18 using left and right rails and rollers provided in the vegetable compartment 4. Yes. The front opening of the freezer compartment 5 is closed at one side of the refrigerator body 2 by a pivotable door 12 that pivots laterally by a hinge device. The container supported so that it can be pulled out in the front-rear direction with respect to the provided left and right rails may be configured to be pulled out together with the door 12.

  20 is a refrigerant compressor for the refrigeration cycle, and 21 is a refrigerant condenser for the refrigeration cycle. Reference numeral 22 denotes an evaporating dish for evaporating defrosted water, which will be described later, by the heat of the condenser 21. The evaporating dish 22 is placed on the condenser 21 and can be pulled out from the lower front of the refrigerator body 2. The compressor 20, the condenser 21, and the evaporating dish 22 are installed in a machine room 23 provided in the lower part of the refrigerator body 2. Reference numeral 24 denotes a refrigerant evaporator (cooler) installed in a cooler chamber 26 formed on the back surface of the freezer compartment 5. A blower 25 circulates the cold air cooled by the evaporator (cooler) 24 to the freezer compartment 5, the refrigerator compartment 3, and the vegetable compartment 4. Reference numeral 27 denotes a glass tube heater for defrosting the evaporator (cooler) 24. The defrosted water in the evaporator (cooler) 24 is guided to the evaporating dish 22 through the drain pipe and is evaporated there.

  The refrigerating chamber 3 positioned at the upper part and the freezing chamber 5 positioned at the lower part thereof are partitioned by a heat insulating partition wall 28, and the heat insulating partition wall 28 is composed of an injection molded synthetic resin upper plate 29 and an injection molded synthetic resin. A heat insulating structure in which a heat insulating material 31 such as styrofoam previously formed into a predetermined shape is sandwiched between the lower plate 30 and the lower plate 30 is formed. Such a heat insulating partition wall 28 is formed in a groove formed in the front-rear direction on the left and right side walls of the inner box (inner wall plate) 2B of the refrigerator body 2 and a front opening groove formed in the rear wall of the inner box (inner wall plate) 2B. It is the structure inserted and attached from the front opening part of the refrigerator main body 2. FIG.

  Reference numeral 32 denotes a back wall member of the refrigerator compartment 3 disposed on the front side of the back wall of the refrigerator main body 2, which is configured by combining a synthetic resin back plate and a heat insulating material such as styrene foam attached to the back side thereof. A cold air supply passage 35 in the vertical direction is formed on the back side of the air flow, and a cold air passage 35A is formed on the left and right sides thereof.

  In the rear part of the heat insulating partition wall 28, a cold air supply passage 36 penetrating up and down the heat insulating partition wall 28 is formed. The cold air supply passage 36 has a lower portion serving as an introduction portion of the cold air supplied from the blower 25, and an upper portion thereof. The arrangement communicates with the cold air supply passage 35. A damper device 50 is attached to the cold air supply passage 36, and the damper device 50 operates to open and close the cold air supply passage 36 by the control circuit unit based on temperature sensing of a sensor that senses the temperature of the refrigerator compartment 3. The refrigerator compartment 3 is controlled to a predetermined temperature by the opening / closing operation of the damper device 50.

  In the freezer compartment 5, an ice making chamber 6 having a front opening that is kept at the freezing temperature on the left side by a partition plate 47 and a freezing compartment 5A that is kept at the freezing temperature on the right side are partitioned and formed in the ice making chamber 6. An automatic ice maker 7 is disposed, and an ice storage container 8 having an upper surface opening is disposed below the automatic ice maker 7. The ice storage container 8 is provided on the left and right side walls of the ice making chamber 6 and supported by the rail 6A so as to be drawn out in the front-rear direction. The automatic ice making machine 7 includes an ice tray 7B that is rotationally driven by an electric mechanism 7A. The ice making chamber 6 has its front opening opened by opening the door 12, and the ice storage container 8 can be taken out forward. The front opening of the ice making chamber 6 and the freezer compartment 5A may be configured to be openable and closable by separate doors.

  Reference numeral 9 denotes a water supply container (also referred to as a water supply tank or a water storage container) for storing ice making water to be supplied to the automatic ice making machine 7 which will be described later. The water supply container 9 has a rectangular shape whose depth is longer than the horizontal width. It is arranged in a small chamber 46 formed by partitioning with the above, and is cooled at the temperature in the refrigerator compartment 3, and can be taken out forward with the handle 9S by opening the front door 10 of the refrigerator compartment 3.

  The ice making water is supplied from the water supply container 9 to the ice making tray 7B of the automatic ice making machine 7 through the water supply channel 51A by a natural drop method. The ice tray 7B is a synthetic resin in which 8 to 12 square ices are made by dividing into a plurality of ice making chambers such as four rows, two rows, six rows and two rows with the longitudinal direction as the row direction. It is made. The ice storage container 8 is made of a white, transparent, translucent or other color synthetic resin, and has a box shape with a top opening that is longer than the left and right widths.

  If the ice-making water in the water supply container 9 is simply supplied over a certain period of time, the amount of water supplied in a certain period of time varies greatly between when the water for ice-making in the water supply container 9 is full and when the water level drops. It is not preferable.

  In order to solve this problem, the first embodiment provides a configuration in which the supply time for ice making water required for one ice making is relatively short and the fluctuation in supply amount is small even if the supply method for a fixed time is adopted. Therefore, the auxiliary tank unit 9C is provided in the water supply container 9, and the auxiliary tank unit 9C stores ice making water in an amount necessary for ice making several times by the automatic ice making machine 7. The amount required for one ice making is a specified amount of water that makes the ice tray 7B almost full.

  The water supply container 9 according to the first embodiment is close to or substantially adjacent to the front, rear, left, and right walls of the tank main body container 9A so as to close the upper surface opening of the tank main body container 9A having a rectangular upper surface opening whose depth is longer than the lateral width. The main tank container 9B having an upper surface opening is fitted into the upper part of the tank main body container 9A in a close contact state to form a double bottom structure. This double bottom structure portion 9C becomes an auxiliary tank portion 9C. An outward flange 9P formed at the upper end of the main tank container 9B is placed on the stepped portion 9Q on the inner surface of the tank body container 9A, and the main tank container 9B is held in a state of floating in the tank body container 9A. The tank container 9B is detachable from the tank body container 9A. As a result, the main tank container 9B forms a main tank part, and an auxiliary tank part 9C whose upper surface is closed by the main tank container 9B is formed at the inner bottom part of the tank main body container 9A. As will be described later, the auxiliary tank unit 9C has a volume for storing ice-making water necessary for one to three ice making operations, and is also a portion that supplies ice-making water, and is also referred to as a supply tank unit. When the volume of the auxiliary tank portion 9C is set to one time, not the opening time of the on-off valve 61 but the auxiliary tank portion 9C itself determines the supply amount. In this case, it is also called a measuring tank portion.

  In addition, the water supply container 9 is closed by a cover 9D in which the upper surface opening of the main tank container 9B is removable. The cover 9D is a combination in which a downward groove 9T formed in the peripheral edge of the lower surface is detachably fitted to the upper end of the tank main body container 9A, and the cover 9D is configured to be fastened to the tank main body container 9A by a detachable hook device 9R. is there. The water supply container 9 includes an air passage 9E so as to supply air to the auxiliary tank portion 9C. This forms the recessed part 9E in the up-down direction in the front left part and the rear part of the main tank container 9B. A gap 9E is formed by the recess 9E and the inner peripheral surface of the tank body container 9A, and this gap 9E acts as an air passage portion 9E. In the first embodiment, the air passage portion is formed by forming the vertical recess 9E in the main tank container 9B. However, if the structure is allowed to be slightly complicated, the tank body container 9A side A recess may be formed in the vertical direction. In addition, an air passage 9E is formed between the tank main body container 9A and the main tank container 9B, but the space above the main tank container 9B and the auxiliary tank section 9C pass through the bottom wall of the main tank container 9B. The structure which installed the pipe which communicates may be sufficient.

  A small-diameter supply hole 9H is formed in the bottom wall of the main tank container 9B in order to naturally supply ice making water in the main tank container 9B to the auxiliary tank portion 9C. With the upper surface opening of the main tank container 9B closed by a cover 9D having a water injection port 9K, the upper end opening of the air passage 9E communicates with the space above the main tank container 9B. The water inlet 9K is in a state of being closed by an openable / closable lid 9M which is a part of the cover 9D. Water can be injected into the main tank container 9B by pulling out the water supply container 9 from the refrigerator 1 and opening the lid 9M, but can also be performed by removing the cover 9D.

  With the cover 9D attached to the tank main body container 9A, the water supply container 9 is inserted into the small chamber 46 by sliding on the heat insulating partition wall 28, so that the water supply container 9 fits into the concave portion of the synthetic resin upper plate 29 and is held at a predetermined position. Is done. The predetermined position holding mechanism of the water supply container 9 is stable by adopting a configuration in which an elastic member slightly projecting upward from the synthetic resin upper plate 29 of the heat insulating partition wall 28 is engaged with an engaging part at the bottom of the water supply container 9. The elastic member is pushed downward by pulling the water supply container 9 forward against the elastic member, and the water supply container 9 can be pulled out from the small chamber 46.

  When the water supply container 9 is locked to the elastic member and held at a predetermined position, a switch provided on the inner side of the back wall 32 of the refrigerator compartment 3 is turned on. An ice making cycle described later can be started.

  The water supply container 9 has a circular water supply port 60 formed at the bottom of the auxiliary tank portion 9C at a position directly below the supply hole 9H on the bottom wall of the main tank container 9B, and is made of a synthetic resin that opens and closes the water supply port 60 by vertical movement. The on-off valve mechanism P provided with the on-off valve 61 is provided. The opening / closing valve 61 is formed with a valve portion 61A for opening / closing the supply hole 9H on the bottom wall of the main tank container 9B at the upper portion thereof, and the valve portion 61A is fitted in a conical spreading seat portion formed at the lower end of the supply hole 9H. Make a dome shape to fit. The on-off valve 61 is formed with a circular projecting portion that enters the water supply port 60 on the lower surface thereof, and an O-ring-shaped annular seal packing 64 is provided around the circular projecting portion. And the adhesion between the peripheral portion of the water supply port 60 are improved. In order to guide the up-and-down movement of the on-off valve 61, a plurality of guide pieces 95 are arranged at equal intervals around the on-off valve 61 from the bottom of the auxiliary tank portion 9C.

  The on-off valve 61 may be of a type that closes the water supply port 60 by its own weight. However, if the closing function of the water supply port 60 is weak, the on / off valve 61 may be lowered by the bias of the spring 65 to close the water supply port 60. . The spring 65 fits into a groove formed around the dome-shaped valve portion 61 </ b> A and is held by the on-off valve 61.

  When the water supply container 9 is stored in the refrigerator 1, in a position directly below the water supply port 60, a substantially vertical water supply path 51 </ b> A that penetrates the heat insulating partition wall 28 and opens toward the upper surface of the ice tray 7 </ b> B. Is forming. The lower end of the water supply channel 51A opens to a position facing one of the ice making chambers on the rear side of the ice tray 7B. The water supply channel 51A is formed by a water supply pipe 51 having an ice making water receiving portion 65 that spreads in a funnel shape so that the receiving of the ice making water flowing down from the water supply port 60 is good. It is fixed by adhesion in a through pipe portion 29A integrally formed with the synthetic resin upper plate 29 so as to penetrate the heat insulating partition wall 28. The water supply pipe 51 forming the water supply path 51 </ b> A having a circular cross section is in a state of slightly protruding below the heat insulating partition wall 28.

  The on-off valve 61 is opened and closed by an operating member 90 with a permanent magnet 63 housed in the water supply channel 51A so as to be movable up and down. The permanent magnet 63 is configured in a direction in which a pair of permanent magnets 63A and 63B that are spaced apart from each other are repelled from each other, and as an example, the permanent magnets 63A and 63B are disposed with the S poles facing each other. Has been.

  A solenoid 66 is provided around the operating member 90 so as to correspond to the permanent magnets 63A and 63B. The solenoid 66 is held by a holder 68 and fitted to the outside of the through pipe portion 29A so as to be positioned around the water supply channel 51A in a state of being housed in the recess 30A of the synthetic resin lower plate 30 of the heat insulating partition wall 28, The holder 93 is fixed to the synthetic resin lower plate 30 with screws 94. The energization control to the solenoid 66 is performed in connection with the supply control of the ice making water to the automatic ice making machine 7 controlled by the control circuit unit provided in the refrigerator 1.

  As will be described later, when the operating member 90 is raised and the on-off valve 61 is opened, a flow-down passage for ice-making water is formed in a substantially vertical direction between the periphery of the operating member 90 and the water supply pipe 51. Therefore, a lower member 90B having a circular outer shape whose cross section is smaller than the inner diameter of the water supply pipe 51 having a circular cross section, and an upper member 90A having a circular cross section coupled to the upper end of the lower member 90B. The upper member 90A has an outer shape that is locked to a portion of the ice-making water receiving portion 65 of the water supply channel 51A, and the lower member 90B has a shape that the outer shape gradually decreases downward. The upper permanent magnet 63A is held by the upper member 90A, and the lower permanent magnet 63B is held by the lower member 90B.

  When the solenoid 66 is not energized, the operating member 90 is in a lowered position where the water supply channel 51 is closed, and the upper member 90A is configured to block the water supply channel 51 at the top. For this reason, since the cold air | flow distribution of the freezer compartment 5 and the refrigerator compartment 3 is interrupted | blocked through the water supply channel 51A, it can prevent the freezing of the freezer compartment 5 falling.

  The upper end portion of the upper member 90A of the operating member 90 forms a dome-shaped convex portion 90C that fits into the conical concave portion 61B formed on the lower surface of the on-off valve 61, and the convex portion 90C is the concave portion 61B. The operation of opening the on-off valve 61 upward becomes accurate by entering.

  The lower end of the actuating member 90 looks into the lower end of the water supply channel 51A in a slightly projecting state, and prevents the ice making water flowing down from flowing down to accurately guide the ice making water to a predetermined ice making chamber of the ice making tray 7B. Yes. Therefore, the lower end portion of the operating member 90 is formed in a tapered shape. More specifically, the lower end portion of the lower member 90B has a tip shape reduced in a conical shape toward the center thereof, and a plurality of recesses 90D whose depths become deeper downward are formed on the outer surface. The upper and lower ribs 90E formed at intervals and formed between the recesses 90D have a shape converged at the center of the conical tip.

  With such a shape, the ice making water flowing down the water supply channel 51A formed around the operating member 90 flows down while adhering to the peripheral surface of the operating member 90, and the ice making water is formed by the rib 90E at the place where the water supply channel 51A exits. Is turned off and flows downward through the depression 90D, so that the ice making water can be accurately guided to a predetermined ice making chamber of the ice tray 7B.

  In order to prevent the remaining water in the water supply passage 51A from freezing, the heat generated by the solenoid 66 is transmitted to the water supply passage 51A. For this reason, the aluminum foil 72 as the heat conductive layer 72 is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the through pipe portion 29 </ b> A, and the heat generated by the solenoid 66 is transmitted into the water supply channel 51 </ b> A through the aluminum foil 72.

  At the bottom of the main tank container 9B, a filter 92 is detachably held by a holding rib 91 formed in the main tank container 9B so as to cover the supply hole 9H of the main tank container 9B. The main tank container 9B is in a mounted state in which the outward flange 9P is locked to the step portion 9Q of the tank main body container 9A. Therefore, the main tank container 9B can be taken out from the tank main body container 9A by removing the cover 9D. For this reason, since the inside of the tank main body container 9A including the auxiliary tank portion 9C can be cleaned and the filter 92 can be removed, the inner and outer surfaces of the main tank container 9B can be easily cleaned. Furthermore, since the on-off valve 61 can be removed, the inside of the water supply container 9 can be easily cleaned.

  FIG. 6 shows a state in which the solenoid 66 is not energized, the on-off valve 61 is lowered and the water supply port 60 is closed. In this state, when the solenoid 66 is energized, an S pole is formed on the solenoid 66 and an N pole is formed on the bottom of the solenoid 66, and the operating member 90 is driven upward by the interaction with the permanent magnets 63A and 63B of the operating member 90. The on-off valve 61 is pushed upward by the member 90 to compress the spring 67 and the on-off valve 61 opens the water supply port 60. The on-off valve 61 opens the water supply port 60 and closes the supply hole 9H on the bottom wall of the upper main tank container 9B by the valve portion 61A. This state is shown in FIG. The relationship between the solenoid 66 and the permanent magnets 63 </ b> A and 63 </ b> B is such that the on-off valve 61 performs an attracting action to drive the operating member 90 up so as to open the water supply port 60, and the magnetic force by the solenoid 66 and the permanent magnet of the operating member 90. This is a relationship of performing a suppressing action so as to prevent the operating member 90 from popping out upward by the interaction of 63A and 63B. The permanent magnets 63A and 63B may be arranged so that the N poles face each other, and the solenoid 66 may be configured such that the N pole is formed on the upper side and the S pole is formed on the lower side when the solenoid 66 is energized.

  The auxiliary tank unit 9C stores ice-making water required for one ice making, and there is no problem as long as the entire amount of the one-time supply is quickly supplied to the ice making tray 7B. However, the final amount of several cubic centimeters cannot be supplied properly. In order to supply water properly up to the final amount of several cubic centimeters, the inner bottom surface of the auxiliary tank portion 9C is increased toward the water supply port for ice-making water provided at the bottom of the water supply container 9 (water supply port 60 described later). Although there is a method of inclining, when the internal volume of the water supply container 9 is not reduced, the height of the water supply container 9 is increased by this steep inclination. For example, the upper space of the water supply container 9 is placed in a storage part for other articles. In the configuration used for the above, the height of the upper space is reduced, and a predetermined article cannot be stored.

  Further, the height of the water supply container 9 may be limited depending on the structure of the refrigerator. In this case, in order to put a predetermined amount of water into the water supply container 9, the plane area of the water supply container 9 is increased. The amount of water required for one ice making is a specified amount of water that makes the ice tray 7B almost full. However, the amount of water for ice making required for one ice making makes it difficult to obtain the head (water level). There is a way to increase the water supply time in order to supply water to the last several cubic centimeters properly, but this makes the ice making time substantially longer, which is more efficient. Good ice making cannot be achieved.

  Therefore, even when the height of the water supply container 9 is restricted, it is desirable that the ice making water required for one ice making can be properly supplied within a predetermined time to suppress a decrease in ice making efficiency. In order to solve this problem, in the first embodiment, a certain amount of water head (water level) can be obtained by storing the amount of ice-making water required for ice making several times by the automatic ice making machine 7 in the auxiliary tank unit 9C. Therefore, even when the system for supplying ice-making water in the water supply container 9 is supplied over a certain period of time, the supply time for ice-making water required for one ice making can be made relatively short, and the supply amount fluctuation is small. be able to.

  In this case, since the flow rate of the ice making water supplied from the water supply port 60 to the ice tray 7B depends on the water level of the auxiliary tank unit 9C, when the auxiliary tank unit 9C has a capacity for storing a large amount of ice making water. After the main tank container 9B is emptied, the fluctuation in the flow rate of the ice making water between the high level and the low level of the auxiliary tank 9C becomes large, and the ice making water supplied to the ice tray 7B is increased. The fluctuation of the amount becomes large, which is not preferable. For this reason, the amount of water for ice making required for one ice making may be stored in the auxiliary tank portion 9C. However, since the water level is low as described above, problems such as a long time for supplying ice making water become long.

  In order to solve this, as described above, in order to reduce the supply amount fluctuation supplied from the auxiliary tank unit 9C even when the ice making water is supplied within a certain time by the timer control, In the auxiliary tank portion 9C, an amount of ice making water required for several times of ice making by the automatic ice making machine 7 is stored. In the above embodiment, three times the amount of ice making water required for one ice making is 80 cubic cm, that is, less than four times of ice making so as to secure the amount of water for ice making required for three times of ice making. I try to store cubic centimeters. As a result, water can be supplied in a state in which the amount of supplied water is less variable.

For this reason, the auxiliary tank section 9C has a larger number than the amount of water for ice making required for one ice making by the automatic ice making machine 7 after the main tank container 9B is empty and the ice making water supplied from the supply hole 9H is exhausted. It has a capacity to store the amount of water for ice making required for each ice making. Specifically, when the main tank container 9B is emptied by the ice making operation and the ice making water supplied from the supply hole 9H is exhausted, the auxiliary tank unit 9C has a larger amount of water for ice making than that required for three ice making operations. Store much less than 4 times of ice making. If the amount of ice making water necessary for ice making operation four times or more is stored, the water level becomes high, and the decrease in the amount of water supply due to a change in the water level that decreases with each supply of ice making water becomes large. Then, since the main tank container 9B is emptied by the ice making operation and the ice making water supplied from the supply hole 9H disappears, the amount of ice making water required for one ice making operation is supplied from the auxiliary tank portion 9C for each ice making operation. However, even when 80 cubic centimeters, which is the last water for ice making, is supplied by the ice making operation, the volume of the auxiliary tank portion is set so that an amount smaller than the amount of water for ice making remains in the auxiliary tank portion 9C. Therefore, the last water supply for ice making can be supplied properly.

  Thus, since 80 cubic centimeters, which is the last water for ice making, has been supplied, the auxiliary tank 9C still has a smaller amount than the amount of water for ice making. The supply of water for ice making can be performed properly. It should be noted that storing an amount of four or more ice pieces is not preferable because the influence of the water level increases.

  The ice making operation of the automatic ice making machine 7 includes an ice making process and a deicing process controlled by a control circuit unit provided in the refrigerator 1. When a sufficient amount of ice-making water is injected into the water supply container 9 and stored in a predetermined position of the refrigerator, the ice-making process starts when the ice-making start switch is turned on manually. 66 is energized for a predetermined time, the operating member 90 is raised, the on-off valve 61 opens the water supply port 60, and a predetermined amount of ice making water required for one ice making from the auxiliary tank portion 9C to the ice tray 7B automatically falls due to natural fall. Water is supplied.

  Ice making is performed by the control circuit unit after this water supply, and when a certain period of time has elapsed by the timer means of the control circuit unit, or when the ice tray sensor detects the temperature at which the ice tray 7B has lowered the formation of ice, The deicing process is started by the control circuit unit, the electric mechanism 7A is started, the ice tray 7B is reversed and twisted, the ice in the ice tray 7B is dropped into the ice storage container 8 below, and then the ice tray 7B is returned. The ice making operation cycle is started by supplying water again and entering the ice making process.

  The ice-making water in the main tank container 9B is supplied from the supply hole 9H to the auxiliary tank unit 9C by natural fall. The inner diameter (cross-sectional area) of the supply hole 9 </ b> H is considerably smaller than the inner diameter (cross-sectional area) of the water supply port 60. The supply hole 9H assists the ice-making water in the main tank container 9B with an ice-making water supply speed that is sufficiently slower than the ice-making water supply speed at which the on-off valve 61 opens and supplies ice-making water from the water supply port 60 to the ice tray 7B. It is formed in a size suitable for dropping and supplying to the tank portion 9C. As an example, the inner diameter (cross-sectional area) of the supply hole 9H is a hole having a diameter of 3 mm. Therefore, per unit time, the amount of ice-making water supplied from the supply hole 9H is sufficiently smaller than the amount of ice-making water supplied from the water supply port 60 to the ice-making tray 7B, and the time until the auxiliary tank unit 9C is full is several. Minutes, set to about 2 minutes.

The time until the auxiliary tank portion 9C becomes full is determined by the automatic ice making machine 7 after the predetermined ice making process is completed and the deicing process is performed, and a predetermined amount of ice making water necessary for the next ice making process is supplied. As described above, the opening / closing valve 61 is opened and is sufficiently longer than the time for supplying ice-making water when the water is supplied from the water supply port 60 to the ice tray 7B, and is shorter than the time required for the ice making process. It is a problem if the time until the auxiliary tank portion 9C becomes full is too long. That is, when the main tank container 9B is empty or the amount of water for making ice in the auxiliary tank portion 9C becomes insufficient, the water supply container 9 is taken out of the refrigerator 1 and the cover 9D is opened to enter the main tank container 9B. The ice making water is injected, but the ice making water in the main tank container 9B is supplied to the auxiliary tank portion 9C through the supply hole 9H, and the auxiliary tank portion 9C stores a predetermined amount of ice making water necessary for one ice making process. Time becomes too long, the waiting time until the ice making process is started becomes long, and adaptability becomes worse in summer when a lot of ice is required. Considering these, the size of the supply hole 9H is set so as to be an appropriate time.

  As described above, when ice-making water is supplied from the water supply port 60 to the ice tray 7B by opening the on-off valve 61, the ice-making water in the main tank container 9B falls from the supply hole 9H. Since the amount of ice-making water supplied from the water supply port 60 to the ice-making tray 7B is not adversely affected by the ice-making water falling from the supply hole 9H because it is extremely small compared to the amount supplied from the mouth 60 to the ice-making tray 7B. . For this reason, the energization time for the solenoid 66 is sufficient if the amount of time required for one ice-making water stored in the auxiliary tank portion 9C to be supplied to the ice-making tray 7B can be secured.

  As one example, the specified water storage amount of the main tank container 9B is 850 cubic cm, the specified water storage amount of the auxiliary tank portion 9C is 200 cubic cm, and the amount of ice making water required for one ice making is 80 cubic cm. It is. Further, the diameter of the supply hole 9H is 3 mm, the water supply time to the ice tray 7B is 20 seconds, and it takes about 100 minutes for the predetermined ice to be formed on the ice tray 7B after being supplied to the ice tray 7B. The supply time of the ice making water amount required for one ice making supplied from the main tank container 9B through the supply hole 9H is set to about 2 minutes. As a result, the solenoid valve 66 opens the water supply port 60 by energizing the solenoid 66 for a predetermined time at the beginning of the ice making process, and the amount of ice making water required for one ice making is supplied from the auxiliary tank portion 9C to the ice making tray 7B. During the ice making process, ice making water is supplied from the main tank container 9B through the supply hole 9H to supply the specified amount of water to the auxiliary tank portion 9C for the next ice making process, thereby enabling a smooth ice making cycle. Can be achieved.

  When the on-off valve 61 is opened, since a sufficient amount of air is supplied from the air passage 9E to the auxiliary tank 9C, the supply of ice-making water from the water supply port 60 to the ice tray 7B is smooth. The shortage of ice making water in the auxiliary tank 9C is supplemented by supplying ice making water in the main tank container 9B to the auxiliary tank 9C through the supply hole 9H. When the specified amount of water accumulates in the auxiliary tank portion 9C, ice making water also enters the air passage 9E, and its level is the same as the ice making water level L of the main tank container 9B.

  In the refrigerator 1, the refrigerant compressed by the compressor 20 is condensed by the condenser 21, then depressurized through an expansion valve or a capillary tube, evaporated by the evaporator (cooler) 24, and returned to the compressor 20, and again the compressor A refrigeration system that compresses at 20 and repeats the same circulation is configured. The cold air cooled by the evaporator (cooler) 24 is circulated by an air blower 25 as shown by an arrow. That is, the cold air sent out from the blower 25 is supplied from the cold air outlet 37 at the upper back wall of the freezer room 5 to the ice tray 7B of the freezer room 5 and the ice making room 6, and the cold air inlet 38 at the lower back wall of the freezer room 5 is supplied. Then, the refrigerant is returned to the cooler chamber 26 and circulated again by the evaporator (cooler) 24. Further, the cold air sent out from the blower 25 is supplied to the cold air supply passage 35 through the cold air supply passage 36, circulates in the cold air passages 35 </ b> A formed on the left and right sides of the cold air supply passage 35, and the back wall 32 of the refrigerator compartment 3. Is supplied to the refrigerator compartment 3 from the cold air outlet 39 formed in the above.

  The cold air supplied to the refrigerating room 3 is sucked from a cold air suction port 40 formed at one lower part of the back wall 32 of the refrigerating room 3 and flows downward through a cold air passage 41 formed at the rear of the freezing room 5. It blows out to the vegetable compartment 4 from the cold air outlet 42 opened at the rear part of the compartment 4. The cold air blown into the vegetable room 4 cools the vegetables in the vegetable container 15 and returns to the cooler room 26 from the cold air inlet 43 opened at the upper part of the vegetable room 4 or at the rear part of the vegetable room 4, and again the evaporator. (Cooler) circulates cooled by 24.

  The present invention is a refrigerator with an automatic ice making machine, but the arrangement relationship between the refrigerator compartment and the freezer compartment is not limited to the above-described form, and can be applied to various forms without departing from the scope of the claims.

It is a front view of Example 1 refrigerator. It is explanatory drawing which looked at the refrigerator main body of Example 1 from the front. It is a vertical side view of Example 1 refrigerator. It is a perspective view of the water supply container of Example 1. FIG. It is a disassembled perspective view of the water supply container and water supply channel part of Example 1. FIG. It is explanatory drawing by the cross section of the state which the on-off valve of the water supply container of Example 1 closed. It is explanatory drawing by the cross section of the state which the on-off valve of the water supply container of Example 1 opened. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an operation member of Example 1.

Explanation of symbols

3 ... Refrigeration room 5 ... Freezing room 6 ... Ice making room 7 ... Automatic ice making machine 7B ... Ice tray 9 ... Water supply container 9A ... Tank body container
9B ・ ・ Main tank container (Main tank part)
9C ・ ・ Double bottom structure (auxiliary tank)
9E ・ ・ Gap (recess, air passage)
60 ... Water supply port 61 ... Open / close valve

Claims (8)

The main tank part (9B) and the auxiliary tank part (9C) provided in the water supply container (9), the water supply port (60) provided at the bottom of the auxiliary tank part (9C), and the water supply port (60) An open / close valve (61) that opens and closes and discharges water in the auxiliary tank section (9C) downward by natural fall when water is supplied, and an air passage section (9E) for supplying air to the auxiliary tank section (9C) when water is supplied ) With a refrigerator with an automatic ice maker,
The water supply container (9) has a double bottom structure by fitting a main tank container (9B) in a tank main body container (9A), the main tank container (9B) is the main tank part (9B), and the two A refrigerator with an automatic ice making machine, wherein the heavy bottom structure portion (9C) is the auxiliary tank portion (9C).   A gap (9E) is formed between the tank main body container (9A) and the main tank container (9B), and the gap (9E) is used as the air passage part (9E). A refrigerator with an automatic ice maker according to 1.   The refrigerator with an automatic ice making machine according to claim 2, wherein a plurality of the gap portions (9E) are formed.   The refrigerator with an automatic ice making machine according to claim 2, wherein the gap (9E) is formed before and after the water supply container (9). The main tank part (9B) and the auxiliary tank part (9C) provided in the water supply container (9), the water supply port (60) provided at the bottom of the auxiliary tank part (9C), and the water supply port (60) An open / close valve (61) that opens and closes and discharges water in the auxiliary tank section (9C) downward by natural fall when water is supplied, and an air passage section (9E) for supplying air to the auxiliary tank section (9C) when water is supplied ) With a water supply container (9) of a refrigerator with an automatic ice maker,
The main tank container (9B) is fitted into the tank body container (9A) to form a double bottom structure, the main tank container (9B) is the main tank part (9B), and the double bottom structure part (9C) Is the auxiliary tank section (9C).   A gap (9E) is formed between the tank body container (9A) and the main tank container (9B), and the gap (9E) serves as the air supply section (9E). 5. A water supply container according to 5.   The water supply container according to claim 6, wherein a plurality of the gap portions (9E) are formed.   The water supply container according to claim 6, wherein the gap (9E) is formed before and after the water supply container (9).

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