JP4097650B2 - Refrigerator with automatic ice machine - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a refrigerator with an automatic ice maker, and more particularly to a technique for making an automatic ice maker detachable from a refrigerator.

Some automatic ice makers for refrigerators have a configuration in which the ice tray can be attached and detached (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In Patent Document 1, a thermistor is attached to an ice tray, the temperature of the ice tray is detected by the thermistor, and the process proceeds to the deicing process. It is related to technology.
JP 2000-88410 A

As described above, the invention of Patent Document 1 is a technique for facilitating the attachment and detachment of the ice tray and the thermistor. However, the electric mechanism that rotates the ice tray remains in the refrigerator. For this reason, when the ice making chamber is used as a normal freezing chamber for storing food, the remaining portion becomes an obstacle and the usability is poor. In addition, the configuration for effectively assembling the ice tray and the electric mechanism section and the mounting relationship to the refrigerator, and the points that consider the ease of inspection and repair of the ice tray and the electric mechanism section are unclear. Not.

In view of these points, the present invention makes it possible to remove the ice tray and the electric mechanism section that rotates the same simultaneously outside the refrigerator, making it easy to assemble, repair, and inspect the automatic ice maker, and to clean the ice tray. Provide easy technology. Moreover, the structure which is easy to remove and store an automatic ice making machine from a refrigerator is provided. In addition, the automatic ice making machine is removed to make the ice making room easy to use as a normal freezing room for food storage.

In the first invention of the present application, an automatic ice making machine including an electric mechanism and an ice tray rotated by the electric mechanism is provided in an ice making chamber in a refrigerator, and can be pulled out in the front-rear direction below the ice tray. In the refrigerator with an automatic ice maker, in which an ice storage container is provided and ice making water is supplied to the ice tray, the ice making chamber is a freezing temperature chamber, and the electric mechanism and the ice tray are located above the ice storage container. The housing member is supported by the left and right ends of the housing member that are placed on the rail function support portions provided on the left and right sides of the ceiling portion of the ice making chamber, and are in contact with or close to the ceiling surface of the ice making chamber. said releasably and housed rotatably supported at the ice making chamber of the slide in the front-rear direction, the connector provided in the housing member so as to power supplied to the electric mechanism, drawers and yield of said housing member Wherein the configured relationship to desorb the connector of the refrigerator main body side with the.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, an automatic ice making machine including an electric mechanism and an ice tray that is rotationally driven by the electric mechanism is provided in an ice making chamber in a refrigerator, and can be pulled out in the front-rear direction below the ice tray. In the refrigerator with an automatic ice maker, in which an ice storage container is provided, and ice making water is supplied to the ice tray, the ice making chamber is a freezing temperature chamber, and the electric mechanism and the ice tray are housed above the ice storage container. The housing member is supported by a rail function support portion provided on both left and right sides of the ceiling portion of the ice making chamber so that the housing member abuts or approaches the ceiling surface of the ice making chamber. A connector provided on the housing member is supported so as to be detachable and retractable by sliding in the front-rear direction of the ice making chamber, and supplies power to the electric mechanism. Accordingly, it is configured to be attached to and detached from the connector on the refrigerator body side, and on the drive unit side of the ice tray, the drive side coupling portion protruding from the ice tray and the rotational drive shaft of the electric mechanism are detachably fitted and coupled. The protruding shaft protruding from the driven portion side of the ice tray has an upper bearing portion formed on an upper portion of a bearing hole formed in the housing member, and a lower bearing portion formed on an upper surface of a holding member attached to the bearing hole. In this support state, the holding member pushes the driven portion side of the ice tray with the bias of the spring so that the drive side coupling portion and the rotary drive shaft are coupled to each other. The ice tray can be detached from the housing member by moving the holding member rearward against the biasing force of the spring .

In the first invention, since the electric mechanism and the ice tray are removed from the refrigerator by pulling out the housing member by sliding, the assembly of the electric mechanism and the ice tray can be integrated with the housing member, and the assembly and repair of the automatic ice maker, It is easy to check and clean the ice tray. Then, by pulling out the ice storage container and the housing member, since the ice storage container and the housing member do not remain in the ice making chamber, it can be widely used as a normal freezing chamber. In addition, the housing member is located above the ice storage container and is provided at a position where the housing member is disposed in contact with or close to the ceiling surface of the ice making chamber, so that the automatic ice making machine can be disposed on the ceiling portion of the ice making chamber, Even when the ice making chamber is used as a freezing chamber with the housing member removed, the support portion of the housing member does not interfere with the storage and removal of articles from the ice making chamber, and the ice making chamber can be used effectively. . Further, since the power supply line to the electric mechanism is detached from the connector as the base member is pulled out and stored, the automatic ice making machine can be pulled out and stored without any trouble.

In the second invention, in addition to the effect of the first invention, the holding member pushes the driven portion side of the ice tray by the bias of the spring to maintain the coupling between the drive side coupling portion and the rotary drive shaft, thereby making the ice tray In order to achieve stable support, the attachment of the ice tray to the housing member and the removal of the ice tray from the housing member can be performed by moving the holding member back and forth. For this reason, it is easy to attach and remove the ice tray, and the ice tray can be detached from the housing member by moving the holding member to the rear against the bias of the spring. Can be washed with water, and the electric mechanism can be prevented from being splashed with water.

In the present invention, the electric mechanism and the ice tray constituting the automatic ice making machine can be detached from the refrigerator and stored at the same time. It is a structure that can be accompanied. Examples of the invention are described below.

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described. 1 is a front view of the refrigerator of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of the refrigerator main body of the present invention viewed from the front, FIG. 3 is a longitudinal side view of the refrigerator of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the water supply container of the present invention. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the water supply container and the water supply channel portion of the present invention, FIG. 6 is an explanatory view with a cross section of the water supply container of the present invention in a closed state, and FIG. 7 is an illustration of the water supply container open / close valve of the present invention opened. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of one specific structure of the refrigerator portion of the automatic ice making machine of the present invention, FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of the ice making chamber portion of FIG. 2, and FIG. 10 is the present invention. FIG. 11 is a perspective view in which the cover of the housing member of the present invention is removed, and FIG. 12 is a perspective view in which the cover is attached to the housing member of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the housing member of the present invention as viewed from the rear, and FIG. FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the bearing hole of the driven side bearing portion of the rear portion of the ice tray of the present invention as viewed from the left rear, and FIG. 16 is the driven portion of the rear portion of the ice tray of the present invention. The perspective view which looked at the bearing hole of the side bearing part from the right rear, FIG. 17 is the perspective view which looked at the bearing hole of the driven side bearing part of the rear part of the ice tray of the present invention from the ice tray side, FIG. FIG. 19 is a perspective view of the other side of the holding member of the present invention, FIG. 20 is a top view of the holding member of the present invention, and FIG. 21 is a view of the present invention. 22 is a cross-sectional view of the driven-side bearing portion of the ice tray, FIG. 22 is an exploded perspective view in which the power connector is disconnected from the automatic ice maker of the present invention, FIG. 23 is an enlarged view of the support portion of the housing member of the present invention, and FIG. These are explanatory drawings of the state which provided the partition plate in the ice storage box of this invention.

The refrigerator 1 according to the first embodiment has a configuration in which a main body 2 having a front opening 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 main 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 a vegetable container 1 supported so that it can be pulled out in the front-rear direction by means of a support device 18 with left and right rails and rollers provided in the vegetable compartment 4.
5 is closed by a pull-out door 11 that is drawn forward together. 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. 22
Is an evaporating dish for evaporating defrosted water, which will be described later, by the heat of the condenser 21. The evaporating dish is placed on the condenser 21 and can be pulled out from the lower front of the refrigerator body 2. Compressor 20, condenser 21,
The evaporating dish 22 is 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. Evaporator (cooler) 2
The defrosted water No. 4 is guided to the evaporating dish 22 through the drain pipe and 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
Inserted from the front opening of the refrigerator main body 2 into the groove formed in the front and rear direction on the left and right side walls of the inner box (inner wall plate) 2B of the refrigerator main body 2 and the groove of the front opening formed on the rear wall of the inner box (inner wall plate) 2B It is the structure attached.

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, and the cold air supply passage 36 is an introduction portion of the cold air supplied from the blower 25 at the lower part, and the upper part is The arrangement communicates with the cold air supply passage 35. The damper device 5 is provided in the cold air supply passage 36.
0 is attached, and the damper device 50 operates to open and close the cold air supply passage 36 by the control circuit unit based on the temperature sensing of the sensor for sensing 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 freezing room 5 which is a freezing temperature zone, an ice making chamber 6 having a front opening which is maintained at a freezing temperature on the left side by a partition plate (partition plate) 47 and a freezing chamber 5A which is maintained at a freezing temperature on the right side are formed. In the ice making chamber 6, an automatic ice making machine 7 is arranged at the upper part, and an ice storage container 8 having an upper surface opening is arranged below the automatic ice making machine 7. The ice storage container 8 is supported by a rail 6A provided on the left and right side walls of the ice making chamber 6 so as to be detachable by being drawn in the front-rear direction. A recess 6A1 is provided in a part of the rail 6A, and a protrusion formed on a part of the ice storage container 8 is fitted and positioned in the recess 6A1. The automatic ice making machine 7 includes an electric mechanism 7A and an ice tray 7B that is rotationally driven by the 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 openings of the ice making chamber 6 and the freezer compartment 5A can be opened and closed by separate doors. In this case, it can be configured such that it can be opened and closed by each drawer door supported so as to be able to be pulled out in the front-rear direction with respect to the left and right rails provided in the ice making chamber 6 and the freezer compartment 5A. If the ice storage container 8 can be pulled out together by pulling out the drawer door of the ice making chamber 6, and the container in the freezing compartment 5A can be pulled out together by pulling out the drawer door of the freezing compartment 5A. The ice making chamber 6 and the freezer compartment 5A can be used independently, improving convenience and reducing air leakage associated with opening and closing of the door.

Reference numeral 9 denotes a water supply container (also referred to as 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, and the inside of the refrigerator compartment 3 is partitioned by a partition wall 45. It is arrange | positioned at the formed small chamber 46, it cools with the temperature in the refrigerator compartment 3, and the water supply container 9 can be taken out ahead of the refrigerator 1 with the handle 9S by opening the front door 10 of the refrigerator compartment 3.

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, blower 2
5 is supplied to the ice tray 7B of the freezing chamber 5 and the ice making chamber 6 from the cold air outlet 37 on the upper back wall of the freezing chamber 5, and is cooled from the cold air suction port 38 on the lower back wall of the freezing chamber 5. It returns to the chamber 26 and circulates 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. Chamber 4
It blows out to the vegetable compartment 4 from the cold air outlet 42 opened in the rear part. 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 ice making water may be pumped up from the water supply container 9 by a pump and supplied to the ice tray 7B of the automatic ice maker 7. In the embodiment, however, the ice making tray 7B of the automatic ice maker 7 is supplied through the water supply channel 51A by the natural fall method. The structure supplied to is shown. The ice tray 7B is divided into a plurality of ice making chambers 7B1 such as four rows, two rows, six rows and two rows with the longitudinal direction as the row direction.
It is made of synthetic resin from which 12 to 12 square ices are 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.

The water supply container 9 of the present invention is close to or substantially in close contact with the front, rear, left and right walls of the tank body 9A so as to close the upper surface opening of the tank body 9A having a rectangular upper surface opening that is longer than the width. A main tank container 9B having an upper opening is fitted into the upper part of the tank body 9A, and an outward flange 9P formed at the upper end of the main tank container 9B is placed on the step part 9Q on the inner surface of the tank body 9A. 9B is held in a state of floating in the tank body 9A, and the main tank container 9B is detachable from the tank body 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 on the inner bottom part of the tank body 9A. As will be described later, the auxiliary tank portion 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 for each time.

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 on the peripheral edge of the lower surface is detachably fitted to the upper end of the tank body 9A. The cover 9D is a hook device 9 that can be freely engaged and disengaged.
It is the structure fastened to the tank body 9A by R. The water supply container 9 includes an air passage 9E so as to supply air to the auxiliary tank portion 9C. This is because a recess 9E1 penetrating vertically is formed in the rear part of the main tank container 9B, and an air passage 9E is formed between the tank main body 9A and the main tank container 9B. A configuration in which a pipe penetrating the wall and communicating with the space above the main tank container 9B and the auxiliary tank portion 9C may be employed.

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.

When the cover 9D is attached to the tank main body 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 is fitted into the concave portion of the synthetic resin upper plate 29 and held at a predetermined position. The The predetermined position holding mechanism of the water supply container 9 includes the heat insulating partition wall 2
8, the elastic member slightly protruding upward from the synthetic resin upper plate 29 is locked to the locking portion at the bottom of the water supply container 9, so that the water supply container 9 can resist the elastic member. By pulling forward, the elastic member is pushed downward, 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, the back wall 3 of the refrigerator compartment 3
A switch provided inside 2 is turned ON, and an ice making cycle described later can be started by the control circuit unit based on the ON of this switch.

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 in the bottom wall of the main tank container 9B.
A dome shape is formed so as to fit into a conical spreading seat formed at the lower end of H. On-off valve 6
1 is formed with a circular protruding 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 protruding portion, and the on-off valve 61 and the water supply are provided by the annular seal packing 64. The adhesion with the periphery of the mouth 60 is 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.
If the closing function is weak, a method may be adopted in which the water supply port 60 is closed by being lowered by the bias of the spring 65. 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, at a position directly below the water supply port 60, the heat insulating partition wall 28 is vertically penetrated in the vertical direction so as to open toward the upper surface of the ice tray 7 </ b> B. A water supply channel 51A in the vertical direction is formed. 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 51 </ b> A has a circular cross section, and is formed by a water supply pipe 51 having an ice making water receiving portion 65 that extends in a funnel shape so that the ice receiving water flowing down from the water supply port 60 is good. The water supply pipe 51 is fixed to the through pipe portion 29A integrally formed with the synthetic resin upper plate 29 so as to penetrate 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 a pair of permanent magnets 6 spaced apart from each other in the vertical direction.
3A and 63B are configured to repel each other. As an example, the S poles of the permanent magnets 63A and 63B are arranged to face each other as shown in the figure.

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 described later, when the operating member 90 rises and opens the on-off valve 61, the inner diameter of the water supply pipe 51 is formed so that a flow-down passage for ice-making water is formed between the periphery of the operating member 90 and the water supply pipe 51. The cross section having a smaller diameter has a circular outer shape, and the upper portion has an outer shape placed on the portion for receiving ice-making water 65 of the water supply channel 51A. Thereby, in a state where the water supply container 9 is removed from the refrigerator,
Since the operating member 90 can be removed upward from the water supply channel 51A, the receiving member 65 of the ice making water in the operating member 90 and the water supply channel 51A can be cleaned. The upper end portion of the operating member 90 forms a dome-shaped convex portion 90C that fits into a conical concave portion 61B formed on the lower surface of the on-off valve 61, and the convex portion 90C is formed in the concave portion 61B. By entering, the operation of opening the on-off valve 61 upward becomes accurate.

The bottom of the main tank container 9B has a filter 9 in a state of covering the supply hole 9H of the main tank container 9B.
2 is detachably held by holding ribs 91 formed in 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 body 9A, and therefore can be removed from the tank body 9A by removing the cover 9D. Therefore, the inside of the tank body 9A including the auxiliary tank portion 9C can be cleaned, and the filter 9
Since 2 is also removable, it becomes easy to clean the inner and outer surfaces of the main tank container 9B. 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 and the spring 6
The on-off valve 61 opens the water supply port 60 while compressing 7. 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.
Shown in

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, and the operating member 90
And the on-off valve 61 opens the water supply port 60, and a predetermined amount of ice making water required for one ice making is automatically supplied from the auxiliary tank portion 9C to the ice tray 7B by natural fall. The reduced amount of ice making water in the auxiliary tank portion 9C due to this water supply is supplied to the auxiliary tank portion 9C by naturally dropping from the main tank container 9B through the supply hole 9H.

After the water supply to the ice tray 7B, ice is made by the control circuit unit, and when a predetermined time has elapsed by the timer means of the control circuit unit, or the ice tray sensor detects the formation of ice.
When the temperature of B is detected, the control circuit unit starts the deicing process, the electric mechanism 7A is started, the ice tray 7B is reversed and twisted, and the ice 124 in the ice tray 7B is moved to the lower ice storage container. 8
Then, the ice tray 7B is returned, and water is supplied again to enter the ice making process and the ice making operation cycle is performed. The amount of ice in the ice storage container 8 includes an ice detecting lever 7C that descends from the dotted line position of FIG. 8 toward the solid line position by the electric mechanism 7A for each ice making process. The ice detecting lever 7C is disposed on the side of the ice tray 7B in the frame-like portion 101 so as not to obstruct the rotation of the ice tray 7B. When the amount of ice in the ice storage container 8 becomes full, the ice detecting lever 7C is restricted from descending by the ice, so this state is electrically detected and the ice making tray before entering the next ice making process. 7B
It is a mechanism to stop water supply to

As described above, the automatic ice making machine 7 includes the electric mechanism 7A and the ice tray 7B that is rotationally driven by the electric mechanism 7A. An assembly of an electric mechanism 7A and an ice tray 7B that is rotationally driven by the electric mechanism 7A is configured to be removable by pulling it out of the refrigerator including automatic attachment / detachment of the power supply line to the electric mechanism 7A. The ice making machine 7 can be detached by pulling the electric mechanism 7A and the ice tray 7B together to the front of the refrigerator 1.

In the automatic ice making machine 7, the electric mechanism 7A and the ice tray 7B are attached to the housing member 100 formed with the frame-like portion 101 surrounding the electric mechanism 7A and the ice tray 7B in the housed state. The connector 103 is detachably connected to the connector 102 provided on the second side, and the left and right side portions 100A of the housing member 100 are placed on the support portions 104 provided on the left and right side portions in the ice making chamber 6. The housing member 100 can be pulled out forward of the ice making chamber 6, and the housing member 100 can be stored in the ice making chamber 6. With such a configuration, the automatic ice maker 7 including the electric mechanism 7A and the ice tray 7B is provided.
Can be removed to the front of the refrigerator with a drawer, and can be stored in the refrigerator.

A specific configuration related to this will be described below. A portion 30A to which a partition plate 47 is attached is formed in the intermediate portion of the synthetic resin lower plate 30 of the heat insulating partition wall 28 constituting the ceiling wall of the ice making chamber 6 and the freezing chamber 5A, and the ceiling of the ice making chamber 6 on the left side thereof is formed. Support portions 104 are formed integrally with the synthetic resin lower plate 30 so as to perform a rail function in the front-rear direction on both the left and right sides of the wall portion. The support portion 104 is formed at three locations on the left and right at the same level in the figure because of the molding method of integrally molding with the lower plate 30, and the left and right portions 100 </ b> A of the housing member 100 of the automatic ice maker 7 are front and rear. It is the structure mounted so that it can be pulled out in the direction. For this reason, the three support portions 104 on the left and right sides can also be referred to as rail portions 104.

The portion of the housing member 100 beside the frame-like portion 101 that surrounds the ice tray 7B includes the electric mechanism 7.
A connector 103 for supplying electric power to A through the lead wire 103A is attached. The connector 102 on the refrigerator body 2 side is attached to the synthetic resin lower plate 30. Left and right portions 1 of the housing member 100 onto the support portion 104 to accommodate the automatic ice making machine 7 in the refrigerator 1
By placing and pushing 00A, the connector 103 is connected to the connector 102 in a state where the automatic ice maker 7 has reached a predetermined position in the refrigerator 1. In order to facilitate the pushing-in of the housing member 100, the combination of the housing member 100 and the support portion 104 has a slight flexibility, so that the connector 103 and the connector 102 can be coupled to each other slightly. Therefore, the connector 103 and the connector 102 are smoothly connected.

As a specific configuration, the connector 102 is constituted by a protruding pin, and the connector 103 is in the form of a hole into which the protruding pin is inserted. However, even if the housing member 100 is slightly displaced up and down and left and right by pushing the housing member 100, The protruding pin of the connector 102 is the connector 1
The hole 103 of the connector 103 has a shape that is slightly widened so that the connector 103 can easily enter, and the housing member 100 is formed with a recess 100 </ b> F that is widened so that the connector 102 enters with a margin. The connector 103 is attached to the back of the recess 100F. Further, the connector 103 has a flexible mounting structure so that it can move slightly in the vertical and horizontal directions. Thus, by sliding the housing member 100 onto the support member in the ice making chamber 6, the connector 102 enters the recess 100F and is connected to the connector 103. Further, in order to pull out the automatic ice making machine 7 forward of the refrigerator, the connector 103 is automatically detached from the connector 102 as the housing member 100 is pulled forward.

An electric heater 130 is provided in the vicinity of the connector 102 in order to prevent the connector 102 and the connector 103 from freezing and becoming undetachable. Housing member 1
In order to maintain the state where 00 is stored in the predetermined 12 of the refrigerator, a convex portion that is locked to one rear end portion of the support portion 104 is formed on the front portion of the left and right portions 100A of the housing member 100. Can be achieved. Further, the support portion 104 is located above the support rail 6A of the ice storage container 8 and has a configuration that does not interfere with the operation of pulling the ice storage container 8 forward of the refrigerator along the support rail 6A and removing it.

The housing member 100 has an electric mechanism 7A portion, a lead wire 103A, and a connector 1 on the upper surface.
Cover 100D constituting a part of the housing member 100 is attached with screws, and finger hooks 100B are formed in the left and right side portions on the front side of the cover 100D so as to be recessed. On the lower surface of the housing member 100, a handle portion 100 </ b> C that is recessed to form another finger-hanging portion is formed at a position corresponding to the finger-hanging portion 100 </ b> B.
By pulling the housing member 100 forward by placing a finger on the finger rest portion 100B, the automatic ice maker 7 can be easily pulled out forward of the refrigerator. The housing member 100
An opening 100E is formed at a position where ice-making water flowing down from the water supply pipe 51 is supplied to the ice-making tray 7B.

Under the electric mechanism 7A, an electric mechanism portion cover 101 that holds and covers the electric mechanism 7A.
A is arranged and attached from above the housing member 100 by fixing means such as screws. Since the electric mechanism portion cover 101A has a recess of the handle portion 100C formed on the front side of the electric mechanism 7A on the lower side of the housing member 100, the electric mechanism portion cover 101A is formed in a shape along the depression. Although the mechanism unit cover 101A forms the upper surface and the rear surface that are part of the recess of the handle portion 100C, the mechanism portion cover 101A may form the entire recess of the handle portion 100C.

The left and right support parts 1 of the ice making chamber 6 can be removed by pulling the automatic ice making machine 7 forward of the refrigerator.
Although the housing member 100 is placed on 04, the ice tray 7B is provided so that it can be easily cleaned.
Is easily removable from the housing member 100. As its structure, the drive side end of the ice tray 7B on the side of the electric mechanism 7A is provided with a drive side coupling portion 106 that is coupled to the rotation drive shaft 105 so as to rotate together with the rotation drive shaft 105 protruding from the electric mechanism 7A. Rotation drive shaft 105
Is configured to be detachably fitted with a non-circular coupling structure so that the motor does not idle around the driving side coupling unit 106.

A synthetic resin housing member 1 is provided at the driven side end of the ice tray 7B opposite to the electric mechanism 7A side.
A projecting shaft 108 rotatably supported by a bearing portion 107 provided in the frame-shaped portion 101 of 00 is provided, and the projecting shaft 108 is configured to be detachably combined with the bearing portion 107.

The bearing portion 107 is press-fitted into the bearing hole 120 so as to form an upper bearing portion 109 formed above the bearing hole 120 formed in the frame-shaped portion 101 portion and a lower bearing portion 111 with respect to the upper bearing portion 109. The holding member 110 held in this manner constitutes a bearing portion on the driven side of the ice tray 7B.

Projecting ribs 112 </ b> A extending in the axial direction of the bearing portion 107 are provided on the left and right sides of the holding member 110.
112B, and grooves 113A and 113B into which the protruding ribs 112A and 112B are fitted are formed on the frame-like portion 101 side. Further, on both the left and right sides of the holding member 110, slits 114A are formed so that the upper portions of the protruding ribs 112A and 112B have flexibility, and an elastic portion 115A is formed on the slit 114A. Projections 116A and 116B are formed on the elastic portions 115A and 115B, respectively, and the height of the projections 116A and 116B is determined by the bearing hole 1.
In order to facilitate the insertion of the holding member 110 into 20, the shape of the insertion tip side is inclined low. The intermediate portion of the spring 118 is held by the protrusion 114B on one side of the holding member 110, and the spring 11
8 is inserted into the hole of the holding member 110, and the pressing end 118 </ b> B of the spring 118 is inserted.
Extends upward.

In such a configuration, the holding member 110 is prepared in a state where the pressing end 118B of the spring 118 is pushed and hooked below the protrusion 116A. In the horizontal state in which the ice making chamber 7B1 of the ice tray 7B faces the upper surface, the drive side of the ice tray 7B is coupled to the drive side coupling portion 106 so that the rotary drive shaft 105 is inserted. Then, with the protruding shaft 108 pressed against the upper bearing portion 109, the holding member 110 is inserted into the bearing hole 120 below the protruding shaft 108 from the opposite side of the ice tray 7B. Along with this insertion, the left and right projecting ribs 112A and 112B are formed in the grooves 113A and 113B.
The protrusions 116A, 116 are pushed by being pushed into the bearing hole 120 in a state of being fitted to B.
B is pushed by the side wall of the bearing hole 120 so that the elastic portion 115A bends inward, and finally the elastic portion 1
The protrusions 116A and 116B enter the locking recesses 117A and 117B formed on the side wall of the bearing hole 120 by the restoring force of 15A. The protrusions 116A and 116B are on the insertion tip side (ice tray side)
Therefore, the holding member 110 can be easily inserted into the bearing hole 120, and the protrusions 116A and 116B can easily enter the locking recesses 117A and 117B.

With the projections 116A and 116B entering the locking recesses 117A and 117B, the spring 11
8 is disengaged from the lower hook of the projection 116A.
The pressing end 118 </ b> B is locked inside the spring locking portion 119 that is formed to protrude from the bearing hole 120 by the restoring force of 18. By this locking, the holding member 110 is moved by the spring 118 to the ice tray 7.
The ice tray 7B side end 110A of the holding member 110 is biased in the direction B, and the rear portion 7B of the ice tray 7B.
2 is pressed to hold the connection between the rotary drive shaft 105 and the drive side coupling portion 106 on the drive side of the ice tray 7B. In this state, on the driven side of the ice tray 7B, the lower bearing portion 111 is formed by the holding member 110 with respect to the upper bearing portion 109, and the protruding shaft 10 of the ice tray 7B.
A cylindrical driven-side bearing portion 107 that supports 8 is formed. Accordingly, the ice tray 7B can be rotated by the electric mechanism 7A.

In this state, the protrusions 116A and 116B enter the locking recesses 117A and 117B at positions from the front of the locking recesses 117A and 117B.

In a state where the housing member 100 is pulled out to the front of the refrigerator and taken out, the ice tray 7B
Is removed from the frame-like portion 101 of the housing member 100 by pulling the holding member 110 rearward from the bearing hole 120 against the spring 118, so that the front end 110A of the holding member 110 is removed from the rear portion 7B2 of the ice tray 7B. The pressing force that pushes the ice tray 7B forward is released, and the ice tray 7B is moved rearward by pulling the holding member 110 until the projections 116A, 116B approach the rear ends of the locking recesses 117A, 117B. Can do. By this series of operations, the ice tray 7B is not held on the driven side, and the ice tray 7B can be moved rearward, so that the connection between the rotary drive shaft 105 and the drive side coupling portion 106 on the drive side of the ice tray 7B can be released. The ice tray 7B can be removed from the frame-like portion 101 portion of the housing member 100. As a result, the electric mechanism 7A remains in the housing member 100 and the ice tray 7B.
Can be removed from the housing member 100, the ice tray 7B can be brought to a sink or the like and washed with water or the like.

Reattachment of the ice tray 7B to the frame-like portion 101 portion of the housing member 100, and the rotation drive shaft on the drive side of the ice tray 7B with the holding member 110 pulled backward from the bearing hole 120 against the spring 118 105 and the drive side coupling portion 106 are coupled, and the upper bearing portion 1
In a state where the protruding shaft 108 is pressed against 09, the holding member 110 is returned to the ice tray 7 </ b> B side by the force of the spring 118 by releasing the tension of the holding member 110 against the spring 118. 110A pushes the rear part 7B2 of the ice tray 7B forward. For this reason, the rotation drive shaft 105 and the drive side coupling portion 106 on the drive side of the ice tray 7B are kept connected, and the lower bearing portion 111 with respect to the upper bearing portion 109 on the driven side of the ice tray 7B.
Is formed by the holding member 110 to form a cylindrical driven side bearing portion 107 that supports the protruding shaft 108 of the ice tray 7B. As a result, the ice tray 7B can be rotated by the electric mechanism 7A.

The amount of ice in the ice storage container 8 is detected by the ice detecting lever 7C that moves up and down by the electric mechanism 7A for each ice making process, and when detecting that the ice is full, the next ice making process is stopped.

Since the ice tray 7B is inverted to approximately 180 °, the housing member 100 has the ice tray 7B.
The frame-like portion 101 formed so as to surround is in a state of projecting downward as compared with the right side portion. For this reason, the inside of the ice storage container 8 immediately below the frame-like portion 101 is restricted to have a lower height than the part inside the ice storage container 8 on the right side, and is not suitable for storing articles having a high height. For this reason, the partition plate 122 which partitions the inside of the ice storage container 8 into the left and right is detachably provided at a position substantially corresponding to the right end portion of the frame-like portion 101 portion. With this partition plate 122, the ice storage container 8 has an ice storage chamber in which the ice 124 falling from the ice tray 7 </ b> B can be stored in the left chamber immediately below the frame-shaped portion 101, and the right chamber has a cup higher than the ice 124. A relatively tall article such as ice 123 can be stacked and stored.

In such a configuration, the ice storage container 8 is left with the housing member 100 left in the ice making chamber 6.
The housing member 1 can be pulled out forward and the ice storage container 8 remains in the ice making chamber 6.
00 can be pulled forward. For this reason, for example, as shown by the dotted line in FIG. 8, the ice detecting lever 7 </ b> C is set so that the standby position is located above the lower end of the frame-shaped portion 101 and does not contact the frame-shaped portion 101 portion. The front wall can be made lower. As described above, in a configuration in which one of the ice storage container 8 and the housing member 100 is pulled forward, the other is not pulled out together with it, the housing member 100 is moved forward to take out the automatic ice maker 7 to the front of the refrigerator. When the cup ice 123 is pulled out, the right end of the frame-shaped portion 101 may push the cup ice 123 or the like forward depending on how the cup ice 123 or the like is stacked.

In order to prevent this, a relatively large curved surface (R surface) 12 is provided on the right side of the front end of the frame-like portion 101.
5 is formed. The curved surface (R surface) 12 is obtained by pulling the housing member 100 forward.
Even if 5 hits the cup ice 123 or the like, the cup ice 123 or the like slides along the curved surface (R surface) 125 to escape, so that the cup ice 123 or the like is not pushed forward.

Further, the left and right end portions of the housing member 100 are placed on the support portion 104. In order to prevent water droplets adhering to this portion from freezing and being unable to pull the housing member 100 forward, The contact area between the left and right end portions of the member 100 and the support portion 104 is reduced. In the figure, protrusions 126 projecting laterally and downward are formed at the left and right ends of the housing member 100, but the upper and side surfaces of the support portion 104 corresponding to the left and right ends of the housing member 100 are directed toward the housing member 100. It is also possible to use a method of forming protruding protrusions.

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 refrigerator forms without departing from the technical scope of the present invention. .

It is a front view of this invention refrigerator. Example 1 It is explanatory drawing which looked at the refrigerator main body of this invention from the front. Example 1 It is a vertical side view of this invention refrigerator. Example 1 It is a perspective view of the water supply container of this invention. Example 1 It is a disassembled perspective view of the water supply container and water supply channel part of this invention. Example 1 It is explanatory drawing by the cross section of the state which the on-off valve of the water supply container of this invention closed. Example 1 It is explanatory drawing by the cross section of the state which the on-off valve of the water supply container of this invention opened. Example 1 It is one sectional view of the concrete structure of the refrigerator part concerning the automatic ice making machine of the present invention. Example 1 It is an enlarged view of the ice making chamber part of FIG. Example 1 It is the perspective view which looked at the state which supported the automatic ice making machine of this invention on the housing member from the downward direction. Example 1 It is the perspective view which removed the cover of the housing member of the present invention. Example 1 It is the perspective view which attached the cover to the housing member of this invention. Example 1 It is the perspective view which looked at the housing member of this invention from back. Example 1 It is the perspective view which removed the electric mechanism part cover of this invention. Example 1 It is the perspective view which looked at the bearing hole of the driven side bearing part of the rear part of the ice tray of this invention from the left rear. Example 1 It is the perspective view which looked at the bearing hole of the driven side bearing part of the rear part of the ice tray of this invention from the right rear. Example 1 It is the perspective view which looked at the bearing hole of the driven side bearing part of the rear part of the ice tray of the present invention from the ice tray side. Example 1 It is a perspective view of the state which fits the holding member of this invention in the bearing hole of a driven side bearing part. Example 1 It is a perspective view of the other side of the holding member of the present invention. Example 1 It is a top view of the holding member of the present invention. Example 1 It is sectional drawing of the driven side bearing part of the ice tray of this invention. Example 1 It is the disassembled perspective view which cancelled | released the connection of the electric power feeding connector to the automatic ice maker of this invention. Example 1 It is an enlarged view of the support part of the housing member of this invention. Example 1 It is explanatory drawing of the state which provided the partition plate in the ice storage box of this invention. Example 1

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Refrigerator 2 ... Refrigerator main body 3 ... Refrigeration room 4 ... Vegetable room 5 ... Freezing room 5A ... Freezing room 6 ... Ice making room 7 ... Automatic ice making machine 7A ... Electric mechanism 7B ... Ice tray 8 ... Ice storage container 9 ... Water supply container 24 ... Cooler 25 ... Blower 28 ... Heat insulation partition wall of refrigerator compartment and freezer compartment 29 ... Upper plate 30 of heat insulation partition wall・ ・ Lower plate of heat insulation partition wall 31 ・ ・ Heat insulation material 47 ・ ・ Partition plate (partition plate)
51..Water supply pipe 51A..Water supply channel 60..Water supply port 61..Open / close valve 66..Solenoid 90..Operating member 100..Housing member 100B, 100C..Fingering portion 100F..Dimple 101..Housing 102 ..Refrigerator side connector 103 ..Automatic ice machine side connector 104 ..Supporting part 105 ..Rotating drive shaft 106 ..Drive side coupling part of ice tray 107 ..Drive side bearing part of ice tray 108. Projection shaft 109 ·· Upper bearing portion 110 ·· Holding member 111 ·· Lower bearing portion 122 ·· Partition plate 125 ·· Curved surface (R surface) of the front end corner of the housing
126 .. Projection of housing

Claims (2)

An automatic ice making machine having an electric mechanism and an ice tray rotated by the electric mechanism is provided in an ice making chamber in a refrigerator, and an ice storage container provided so as to be drawable in the front-rear direction is provided below the ice tray. In the refrigerator with an automatic ice maker, ice making water is supplied to the ice tray, the ice making chamber is a freezing temperature chamber, the electric mechanism and the ice tray are supported by a housing member above the ice storage container, and the housing The left and right ends of the member are mounted on rail function support portions provided on the left and right sides of the ceiling portion of the ice making chamber, and are in contact with or close to the ceiling surface of the ice making chamber and slide in the front-rear direction of the ice making chamber. is removed and housed rotatably supported at the connector provided in the housing member so as to power supplied to the electric mechanism, the refrigerator body with the drawer and accommodating the housing member Refrigerator with an automatic ice making machine, characterized in that it is configured in relation to desorption of the connector. An automatic ice making machine having an electric mechanism and an ice tray rotated by the electric mechanism is provided in an ice making chamber in a refrigerator, and an ice storage container provided so as to be drawable in the front-rear direction is provided below the ice tray. In the refrigerator with an automatic ice maker, ice making water is supplied to the ice tray, the ice making chamber is a freezing temperature chamber, the electric mechanism and the ice tray are supported by a housing member above the ice storage container, and the housing The left and right ends of the member are mounted on rail function support portions provided on the left and right sides of the ceiling portion of the ice making chamber, and are in contact with or close to the ceiling surface of the ice making chamber and slide in the front-rear direction of the ice making chamber. The connector provided on the housing member so as to be detachably supported and housed and to supply power to the electric mechanism is connected to the refrigerator body as the housing member is pulled out and housed. The drive part side of the ice tray is detachably fitted to and coupled to the drive side coupling part protruding from the ice tray and the rotary drive shaft of the electric mechanism. A projecting shaft projecting from the driven portion side is a bearing formed by an upper bearing portion formed on an upper portion of a bearing hole formed in the housing member and a lower bearing portion formed on an upper surface of a holding member attached to the bearing hole. In this supported state, the holding member pushes the driven portion side of the ice tray with the bias of the spring to maintain the coupling between the drive side coupling portion and the rotary drive shaft, and the spring. A refrigerator with an automatic ice making machine, wherein the ice tray can be detached from the housing member by moving the holding member to the rear against the biasing force .

Images