JP6513397B2 - Container seal structure, water supply apparatus for automatic ice making apparatus, and refrigerator equipped with the water supply apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a seal structure between a container and a lid for closing the opening of the container, and relates to a water supply device having the seal structure and including a water storage container for storing ice making water.

  As a prior art of the present invention, there is a water supply apparatus for supplying water from a water supply tank installed in a refrigerator to an ice tray of an ice making apparatus using a pressure reducing effect by compressed air blown out from an air pump. This water supply apparatus sucks the water in the water supply tank in a liquid or mist state by the pressure reduction that occurs when the compressed air blown out from the air pump passes through the pressure reducing means, and introduces the sucked liquid or mist into the gas-liquid separation means . The liquid is collected in the gas-liquid separation means, and the mist is separated from the air by the gas-liquid separation means to become a liquid, and these are sent to the ice making tray to perform ice making (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP, 2005-326117, A

In the invention described in Patent Document 1, since the pressure reducing means is used, the pressure reducing means, the compressed air inlet passage for the pressure reducing means, the water suction passage from the water supply tank, and the outlet passage are required above the water supply tank. The liquid separation means is required and the structure is complicated.
In addition, the suction pipe that sucks the water in the water supply tank into the decompression unit penetrates the water purification box and is fixed to the lid, the sealing material is fixed to the lid, and the sealing performance between the tank body and the lid is secured. .

  As in this patent document 1, if a seal material is adopted for the seal between the tank body and the lid, the seal material becomes unsanitary due to the occurrence of mold and adhesion of impurities, so the seal material is removed. Need to be cleaned, and it takes time and effort.

  An object of the present invention is a water storage container including a lid attached to an opening of a container main body having an opening opening upward for storing ice making water and closing the opening of the container main body, the container main body and the lid And providing a technology for sealing in a watertight state by a structure that does not use a sealing material such as packing.

The seal structure of the container of the present invention is
A container body having an opening that opens upward;
A lid attached to the opening of the container body and closing the opening of the container body;
An annular engagement groove is provided in either one of the upper surface opening peripheral edge portion of the container main body and the lower surface peripheral edge portion of the lid, and a bendable annular engaging protrusion is inserted into the engaging groove in the other, inner walls constituting the engagement groove is Rutotomoni an inclined surface toward the front Symbol engaging groove at the upper end, it extends toward the bottom side of the inner wall from the end of the inclined surface, and the engaging projection with the contact surface, the gap width between the outer wall constituting the inclined surface and the engagement groove is wider than the gap width between the contact surface and the outer wall,
The engagement projection is elastically deformed when the lid is attached to the container body, and enters the engagement groove from the inclined surface side to abut on both the contact surface and the outer wall. together, when removing the lid from the container body while elastically deformed, Ri relationship der exiting to the inclined surface from the engagement groove,
The height of the inner wall is lower than the height of the outer wall .

The present invention is a water supply apparatus for an automatic ice making apparatus,
The water storage container for storing ice making water is
A container body having an opening that opens upward;
A lid attached to the opening of the container body and closing the opening of the container body;
An annular engagement groove is provided in either one of the upper surface opening peripheral edge portion of the container main body and the lower surface peripheral edge portion of the lid, and a bendable annular engaging protrusion is inserted into the engaging groove in the other, inner walls constituting the engagement groove is Rutotomoni an inclined surface toward the front Symbol engaging groove at the upper end, it extends toward the bottom side of the inner wall from the end of the inclined surface, and the engaging projection with the contact surface, the gap width between the outer wall constituting the inclined surface and the engagement groove is wider than the gap width between the contact surface and the outer wall,
The engagement projection is elastically deformed when the lid is attached to the container body, and enters the engagement groove from the inclined surface side to abut on both the contact surface and the outer wall. together, when removing the lid from the container body while elastically deformed, Ri relationship der exiting to the inclined surface from the engagement groove,
The height of the inner side wall is lower than the height of the outer side wall .

The lid is made of a flexible synthetic resin, the engagement groove is provided on the container body, the engagement protrusion is provided on the lid, and the inclined surface is on the upper end portion of the inner side wall of the engagement groove It is characterized by being formed.

The width of the engagement groove is larger than the thickness of the engagement protrusion, and the end portion of the engagement protrusion is opposite to the inclined surface at the end of the attachment of the lid to the container body. Contact with the wall of the

The main body of the container body has a main tank portion for storing ice making water, and a measuring tank portion for storing ice making water having a predetermined volume to be supplied to the ice making tray of the automatic ice making device,
A water storage container storage unit for storing the water storage container in a removable manner is formed in a refrigeration chamber, and an ice tray of the automatic ice making apparatus is disposed in the ice making unit,
A pump device for sending compressed air to the measurement tank portion is disposed in the water storage container storage portion;
The water storage container is detachably connected to an air outlet of the pump device according to storage in the water storage container storage unit. A refrigerator including the water supply device according to claim 1.

  In the present invention, when the lid is attached to the container main body, the engaging protrusion slides into the sliding engaging groove while being elastically deformed while the engaging protrusion is in contact with the wall of the engaging groove. Seal the body and lid. For this reason, expensive packing cost can be reduced compared with what attaches sealing materials, such as packing, for a seal between a container main part and a lid. Furthermore, since no sealing material such as packing is provided, the occurrence of mold can be suppressed, and this sealing portion can be easily cleaned, which makes it hygienic. In addition, since the lid can be easily removed from the container body by removing the hooks, the inside of the container body can be easily cleaned.

  Even when the container body is made of rigid synthetic resin and made robust, the lid is made of a flexible synthetic resin such as ABS resin, etc., the engaging groove is provided on the container body, and the engaging projection is covered By providing it on the body, it is easy to fit when attaching the lid to the container body. Furthermore, by forming the inclined surface on the upper end of the inner wall of the engagement groove, the engagement projection provided on the lid can be disposed slightly inside of the outer surface of the lid, so the lid is attached to the container body In this state, the engagement projection can be made invisible from the outer periphery of the water storage container.

  In addition, the width of the engagement groove is larger than the thickness of the engagement protrusion, and the tip of the engagement protrusion contacts the wall of the engagement groove on the opposite side to the inclined surface when the lid is attached to the container body. By being in contact, the engagement protrusions are in contact with both walls of the engagement groove in a bent state at the inclined surface. For this reason, the sealing location of a cover body and a container main body will be two places, and the sealing effect improves.

It is a front view of the refrigerator 1 of 1st Embodiment provided with the water supply apparatus of the automatic ice making apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a front view for demonstrating the internal structure of the refrigerator 1. FIG. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal side view of the refrigerator 1; It is a cross-sectional perspective view for demonstrating the relationship between the water supply apparatus which concerns on this invention, and an automatic ice maker. It is a cross-sectional perspective view for demonstrating the slide structure of the water storage container of the water supply apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is an appearance perspective view of a water storage container concerning the present invention. It is a vertical side view for demonstrating the internal structure of the water storage container which concerns on this invention. It is a longitudinal side perspective view which shows a supply hole part in a cross section in order to demonstrate the internal structure of the water storage container which concerns on this invention. It is a vertical side view which shows a supply hole part in a cross section in order to demonstrate the internal structure of the water storage container which concerns on this invention. It is an exploded view perspective view of a reservoir container concerning the present invention. It is a top perspective view of the container main body of the water storage container which concerns on this invention. It is a top view of the container main part of the water storage container concerning the present invention. It is a perspective view from one direction of the partition of the water storage container concerning the present invention. It is the perspective view from the other direction of the partition of the water storage container which concerns on this invention. It is a perspective view from the lower part of the partition of the water storage container concerning the present invention. It is a top perspective view of the state which inserted the partition in the container main body of the water storage container which concerns on this invention. (A) is a top view of the state which inserted the partition body in the container main body of the water storage container which concerns on this invention, (B) is an enlarged view of C circle of (A). It is a perspective view of the float of the water storage container concerning the present invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the supply hole part explaining the relationship of the float of the water supply apparatus which concerns on this invention, and a barrier. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the feed hole part explaining the other embodiment of the barrier of the water supply apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the front-back direction of the partition for demonstrating the air discharge groove part in the measurement tank part of the water storage container which concerns on this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the left-right direction of the partition for demonstrating the air discharge groove part in the measurement tank part of the water storage container which concerns on this invention. It is an expanded sectional view explaining the packing attaching part of the front part of the measurement tank part of the water storage container concerning the present invention. It is an expanded sectional view explaining the packing attaching part of the rear part of the measurement tank part of the water storage container concerning the present invention. It is an expanded sectional view explaining the packing attaching part of the left-hand side part of the measurement tank part of the water storage container concerning the present invention. It is an expanded sectional view explaining the packing attaching part of the right-hand side part of the measurement tank part of the water storage container concerning the present invention. It is an expanded sectional view of annular packing of a measurement tank part periphery concerning the present invention. It is an expanded sectional view for description in the state which inserts a partition on the annular packing attached in the container main body which concerns on this invention. It is an expanded sectional view explaining the state where the partition pressed the annular packing in the container body concerning the present invention. It is an expanded sectional view explaining the state which fits a lid to the container main part of the water storage container concerning the present invention. It is an expanded sectional view explaining the sealed state of the front part of the container main part of a reservoir container concerning the present invention, and a lid. It is an expanded sectional view explaining the sealed state of the left-hand side of a container main part and lid of a water storage container concerning the present invention, a right-hand side part, and a back side part. It is an expanded sectional view explaining other seal forms of a container main part and lid of a water storage container concerning the present invention. It is an exploded perspective view of a pump device concerning the present invention. It is an external appearance perspective view explaining the relation between the air pump unit concerning the present invention, and gasket 63B. It is an appearance perspective view of a pump device concerning the present invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional side perspective view for demonstrating the internal structure of the pump apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is an enlarged longitudinal cross section for explaining the contact state of the back end face of gasket 63B of a pump device concerning the present invention, and the front wall of main part case. It is a rear perspective view of a pump device in the state where a back plate of an air pump unit concerning the present invention was removed. It is an exploded perspective view explaining the relation between the back plate of the air pump unit concerning the present invention, and a dustproof filter. It is a perspective view of a backplate in the state where a dustproof filter was attached to the upper part of a backplate of an air pump unit concerning the present invention. It is a front view of the back plate of the air pump unit concerning the present invention. It is AA sectional drawing of FIG. It is a right side view of a pump device concerning the present invention. It is BB sectional drawing of FIG. It is a front view which shows the refrigerator compartment of the refrigerator 1 of 2nd Embodiment. It is a vertical side view of refrigerator 1 of a 2nd embodiment. It is a cross-sectional top view of the refrigerator 1 of 2nd Embodiment.

The present invention is a water supply apparatus of an automatic ice making apparatus, which is attached to an opening of a container main body having an opening which opens upward for storing ice making water, and includes a lid for closing the opening of the container main body. A container is provided with the technique of sealing in a watertight state by the structure which does not use sealing materials, such as packing, between container main bodies and a lid body.
Hereinafter, an embodiment of a water supply device of an automatic ice making device according to the present invention will be described.

First Embodiment
FIG. 1 is a front view showing a refrigerator 1 of a first embodiment provided with a water supply device of an automatic ice making apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a front view for explaining an internal configuration of the refrigerator 1 . Is a vertical side view of the refrigerator 1;

  Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 1, among the directions parallel to the sheet of FIG. 1, the vertical direction of FIG. 1 is referred to as “vertical direction”, and the horizontal direction of FIG. 1 is referred to as “horizontal direction”. Further, a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 1 will be described as “front-rear direction”. In the description, one of the vertical directions is referred to as "upper", and the other as "lower". One in the left-right direction is called the "left" and the other is called the "right". Of the front and rear directions, the front direction is called "front", and the other is called "rear".

  The refrigerator 1 is configured such that the interior of the refrigerator main body 2 having an opening formed on the front surface is partitioned by a partition wall to form a plurality of storage chambers, and the front surface of each storage chamber can be opened and closed by a door. The refrigerator main body 2 has an outer case 2A and an inner case 2B, and has a heat insulating structure in which a foam heat insulating material 2C is filled between the outer case 2A and the inner case 2B. In the refrigerator main body 2, each storage room is divided and provided in order of the refrigerator compartment 3, the freezer compartment 4, and the vegetable compartment 5 from the top.

The opening of the refrigerator compartment 3 is opened and closed by a refrigerator compartment door 10 rotatably attached to one side of the refrigerator body 2 via a hinge. The opening of the freezer compartment 4 is formed to be openable and closable by a door 12 rotatably provided on one side of the refrigerator body 2 via a hinge. The opening of the vegetable compartment 5 is provided in front of the vegetable receptacle 15 and the vegetable receptacle 15 supported so as to be extractable in the front-rear direction by a support device 18 consisting of left and right rails provided in the vegetable compartment 5 and left and right rollers. It is closed by a drawer type door 11.
The opening of the freezer compartment 4 may be configured to be able to be pulled out in the front-rear direction by the freezer container, the support device 18 and the drawer type door, as in the vegetable compartment 5.

  The refrigerator 1 includes a compressor 20 of a refrigerant performing a refrigeration cycle, a condenser 21 of the refrigerant of the refrigeration cycle, and an evaporation pan 22 for evaporating defrost water described later by heat of the condenser 21. The compressor 20, the condenser 21, and the evaporation pan 22 are installed in a machine room 23 provided at the lower part of the refrigerator body 2. The evaporation pan 22 is placed on the condenser 21 and is movable forward from the lower front of the refrigerator body 2.

  The refrigerator 1 includes a cooler 24 of a refrigeration cycle installed in a cooler chamber 26 formed on the back of the freezer chamber 4 and cold air cooled by the cooler 24 as a refrigerator room 3, a freezer room 4, a vegetable room It further includes a blower 25 circulating to 5 and a defrosting glass tube heater 27 of the cooler 24. Defrosted water of the cooler 24 is led to the evaporating dish 22 through the drain pipe and evaporated in the evaporating dish 22.

  The refrigerator compartment 3 and the freezer compartment 4 are divided by the heat insulating partition wall 28. As shown in FIG. 4, the heat insulating partition wall 28 is a bottom plate 29 of the injection-molded refrigerator 3 made of a synthetic resin, a ceiling plate 30 of the injection-molded refrigerator 4 made of a synthetic resin, a bottom 29 and a ceiling It is comprised by the heat insulating material pinched | interposed between the board 30 and. The heat insulating material is realized by polystyrene foam or the like which is previously formed into a predetermined shape. The heat insulating partition wall 28 is inserted from the opening of the refrigerator main body 2 into a groove formed extending in the front-rear direction on the left and right side walls of the inner box 2B of the refrigerator main body 2 and a groove formed in the rear wall of the inner box 2B. Installed.

  The refrigerator 1 includes a back wall member 32. The back wall member 32 is a back wall member of the refrigerator compartment 3 disposed on the front side of the back wall behind the refrigerator main body 2, and is made of a synthetic resin back plate and a heat insulating material such as polystyrene foam attached to the back side thereof. Composed of a combination. The back wall member 32 forms a cold air supply passage 35 in the vertical direction on the back side of the refrigerator compartment 3 and a cold air passage 35 A provided in the left-right direction of the cold air supply passage 35.

  At a rear portion of the heat insulating partition wall 28, a cold air supply passage 36 penetrating the heat insulating partition wall 28 up and down is formed. The lower part of the cold air supply passage 36 is an introducing part of the cold air supplied from the blower 25, and the upper part is in communication with the cold air supply passage 35. A damper device 50 is attached to the cold air supply passage 36. The damper device 50 operates to open and close the cold air supply passage 36 according to a command from the control circuit unit based on the detection result of the sensor that detects the temperature of the refrigerator compartment 3. By the opening and closing operation of the damper device 50, the flow rate of cold air is controlled, and the refrigerator compartment 3 is maintained at a predetermined temperature.

  The inside of the freezer compartment 4 is divided by the partition plate 47 into an ice making unit 6 constituting an ice making chamber and a freezer compartment 4A. The ice making unit 6 is provided with an automatic ice making machine 7 and an ice storage box 8. The automatic ice making machine 7 includes an electric drive mechanism 7A and an ice tray 7B which rotates forward and reversely on a substantially horizontal axis extending in the front-rear direction by the electric drive mechanism 7A. Below the ice tray 7B, an ice storage box 8 whose upper surface is open is disposed. The ice making unit 6 is an area in which the ice making water supplied from the water storage container 9 described later is frozen to produce ice. The ice making unit 6 has a temperature substantially equal to that in the freezing chamber 4, for example, a freezing temperature range of about 20 ° C. below freezing.

  The ice tray 7B is divided into four, five, or six ice making compartments in a row, with the longitudinal direction extending in the longitudinal direction as a row, and arranged in two rows on the left and right to make 8 to 12 square ice pieces Made of synthetic resin. The ice storage box 8 is made of white, transparent, semi-transparent or other color synthetic resin, and has a box-like shape with an upper opening whose depth is longer than the lateral width.

  A pair of rails 6 </ b> A is provided on the left and right side walls of the ice making unit 6. The ice storage box 8 is supported by the rail 6A so as to be able to be pulled out in the front-rear direction. The ice tray 7B is rotationally driven by the motor mechanism 7A to supply the ice made to the ice storage box 8.

  The ice storage box 8 can be pulled forward by opening the door 12. The openings of the ice making unit 6 and the freezer compartment 4A may be configured to be openable and closable by separate doors.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the automatic ice making device A according to the present invention has an automatic ice making machine 7 and a water supply device B. The water supply apparatus B includes a water storage container 9 and a pump device 60 for supplying compressed water for sending ice making water from the water storage container 9 to the water storage container 9. The water supply device B is disposed in the water storage container storage portion 46 provided in a part of the cold storage room 3.

  The water storage container 9 for storing the ice making water to be supplied to the ice tray 7B is disposed in the water storage container accommodating portion 46 of the small room in which the inside of the cold storage room 3 is divided by the dividing wall 45. The water storage container storage portion 46 is a partial region of the refrigerator compartment 3 and the refrigerator compartment 3 is cooled to a cooling temperature of, for example, 2 to 4 ° C. which does not freeze. For this reason, the water storage container storage unit 46 is also cooled to substantially the same temperature. With the front door 10 of the refrigerator compartment 3 opened, the water storage container 9 can be taken forward by the handle 9T on the front surface, with the upper surface of the bottom plate 29 as a sliding surface.

  The water storage container accommodation unit 46 and the ice making unit 6 are partitioned by the heat insulating partition wall 28. In the heat insulating partition wall 28, the ice making water supply passage 51 is vertically formed so as to vertically flow so that the ice making water supplied from the water supply device B naturally flows down. The ice making water supply passage 51 forms an inlet portion of the ice making water supply passage 51 by means of the water supply pipe 51P. The ice making water is supplied from the water storage container 9 to the ice making tray 7 B of the automatic ice making machine 7 through the ice making water supply path 51.

First, the water storage container 9 will be described.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional perspective view for explaining the relationship between the water supply device according to the present invention and the automatic ice making machine. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional perspective view for explaining the slide configuration of the water storage container of the water supply device according to the present invention. FIG. 6 is an external perspective view of a water storage container according to the present invention. FIG. 7 is a longitudinal side view for explaining the internal configuration of the water storage container according to the present invention. FIG. 8 is a longitudinal side perspective view showing the supply hole portion in cross section in order to explain the internal configuration of the water storage container according to the present invention. FIG. 9 is a vertical cross-sectional side view showing the supply hole portion in cross section in order to explain the internal configuration of the water storage container according to the present invention. FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of the water storage container according to the present invention. FIG. 11 is a top perspective view of the container body of the water storage container according to the present invention. FIG. 12 is a plan view of the container body of the water storage container according to the present invention. FIG. 13 is a perspective view from one direction of the partition of the water storage container according to the present invention. FIG. 14 is a perspective view from the other direction of the partition of the water storage container according to the present invention. FIG. 15 is a perspective view from below of the partition of the water storage container according to the present invention. FIG. 16 is a top perspective view of the water storage container according to the present invention with the partition inserted in the container body. Fig. 17 (A) is a plan view of the water storage container according to the present invention with the partition inserted in the container body, and Fig. 17 (B) is an enlarged view of circle C in Fig. 17 (A).

The water storage container 9 of the present invention has a container body 9A having an opening 9A2 that opens upward, and a lid 9C that is attached to the opening 9A2 of the container body 9A and closes the opening 9A2 of the container body 9A.
The water storage container 9 is further contained in the container body 9A, and the internal space of the container body 9A is measured by storing the ice making water of a predetermined capacity to be supplied to the main tank portion 90 storing ice making water and the ice tray 7B. It has a partition wall which is divided into the tank portion 91 and in which a supply hole 92 communicating with the main tank portion 90 and the measuring tank portion 91 is formed. In the embodiment, the partition wall is constituted by a partition body 9B which is detachably accommodated in the container main body 9A, and a supply hole 92 communicating with the main tank portion 90 and the measuring tank portion 91 is formed in the partition body 9B.
The water storage container 9 further includes a compressed air introducing portion 91A in communication with the measuring tank portion 91, and an ice making water outlet portion 91B in communication with the measuring tank portion 91 and guiding the ice making water in the measuring tank portion 91 to the ice tray 7B. Have. The compressed air supplied to the compressed air introduction portion 91A is supplied by a pump device 60 described later.

  In such a configuration, as a technique for achieving the object of the present invention, the water storage container 9 arranges the compressed air introducing portion 91A on one side of the measuring tank portion 91, and measures the supply hole 92 and the ice making water outlet portion 91B. Arranged on the other side of the tank 91.

  Further, as a technique for achieving the object of the present invention, the supply holes 92 are provided to be separated from the compressed air introducing portion 91A more than the ice making water leading portion 91B.

Further, as a technique for achieving the object of the present invention, the measuring tank portion 91 is in the form of a quadrilateral, and the compressed air introducing portion 91A is disposed at any corner portion, and the supply holes 92 are provided at the diagonal corner portions. Place.

Furthermore, as a technique for achieving the object of the present invention, the partition body 9B includes a supply hole 92 and a compressed air introducing portion 91A.
And the ice making-up water lead-out portion 91B, and is detachable in the container main body 9A.

Hereinafter, the specific structure of the water storage container 9 of this invention is demonstrated.
The form of the water storage container 9 can apply the thing of various shapes and structures, such as circular shape, an elliptical shape, an oval shape, a quadrilateral shape, and a polygonal shape. In addition, various forms such as circular, oval, oval, quadrilateral, and polygonal shapes can be applied to the form of the measurement tank portion 91 for storing ice making water pushed out to the ice tray 7B by the compressed air of the pump device 60. .

  In the present invention, regardless of the form of the water storage container 9 and the form of the measurement tank portion 91, the water storage container 9 includes the supply hole 92 and the compressed air introducing portion 91A communicating with the measurement tank portion 91. And an ice making water lead-out portion 91B communicating with the measuring tank portion 91 and guiding the ice making water in the measuring tank portion 91 to the ice tray 7B. As one of the techniques, the compressed air introducing part 91A is disposed on one side of the measuring tank 91, and the supply hole 92 and the ice making water leading part 91B are disposed on the other side of the measuring tank 91.

  Preferably, the supply hole 92 is provided to be separated from the compressed air introduction portion 91A more than the ice making water discharge portion 91B. As shown in FIG. 17A, the distance L2 to the center of the supply hole 92 is longer than the distance L1 to the center of the ice making water lead-out part 91B with respect to the center of the compressed air introducing part 91A. .

  As shown in FIG. 12 and the like, in the case of a quadrangular shape in which the measuring tank portion 91 forms four corner portions K1 to K4 in top view, the compressed air introducing portion 91A is disposed at any corner portion, and Supply holes 92 are arranged at diagonal corners.

  As a preferred arrangement, the compressed air introduction portion 91A to the measuring tank portion 91 is arranged at one corner portion K1 of the two corner portions K1 and K4 of one side HR among the four corner portions K1 to K4. Do. Further, the ice making water lead-out portion 91B is disposed at the corner portion K2 closer to the compressed air introducing portion 91A out of the two corner portions K2 and K3 on the other side HF side facing the one side HR and compressed air The supply hole 92 is disposed at the corner K3 on the side far from the introduction portion 91A.

  As illustrated, in the case where the measuring tank portion 91 has a rectangular shape forming four corner portions K1 to K4 in top view, it has a pair of short sides HF, HR and a pair of long sides HS, HT in top view A rectangular shape is measured, and among corner portions where a pair of short sides HF, HR and a pair of long sides HS, HT intersect, one corner portion K1 of corner portions K1, K4 on the short side HR side is weighed The compressed air introducing portion 91A to the tank portion 91 is disposed. Further, of the other short side HF side corner portions K2 and K3, the ice making water outlet portion 91B is disposed at the corner portion K2 closer to the compressed air introducing portion 91A, and the corner portion on the side farther from the compressed air introducing portion 91A. The supply holes 92 are arranged in K3. Similar to the peripheral shape of the measuring tank portion 91, an annular packing 117 described later has a rectangular shape including a pair of short sides and a pair of long sides in top view.

  In the water storage container 9 of the present invention, when the ice making water is supplied from the measuring tank 91 to the ice tray 7B, the water for making ice in the main tank 90 is prevented from flowing excessively to the measuring tank 91. The float body 93 is provided so as to be able to open and close the supply hole 92 in accordance with the water level of the ice making water of the portion 91. As a result, the float body 93 closes the supply hole 92 until the water level of the ice making water of the measuring tank portion 91 reaches the predetermined low water level. For this reason, the float body 93 can prevent the flow down from the main tank portion 90 to the measuring tank portion 91 through the supply hole 92. Furthermore, the float body 93 can prevent a portion of the ice making water stored in the measuring tank portion 91 from flowing back to the main tank portion 90 through the supply hole 92.

  As described above, the compressed air introducing part 91A is disposed on one side of the measuring tank 91, and the supply hole 92 and the ice making water leading part 91B are disposed on the other side of the measuring tank 91. Further, the measuring tank portion 91 has a quadrilateral shape, and the compressed air introducing portion 91A is disposed at one of the corner portions, and the supply hole 92 is disposed at the diagonal corner portion. As a result, the supply holes 92 and the ice making water lead-out portion 91B are disposed apart from the compressed air introduction portion 91A. Therefore, the influence of the compressed air introduced from the compressed air introducing portion 91A on the float body 93 can be reduced, and the operation of the float body 93 closing the supply hole 92 is stabilized. Furthermore, by providing the supply hole 92 further away from the compressed air introduction part 91A than the ice making water lead-out part 91B, the open / close operation of the float body 93 can be further stabilized, and the compressed air leaks from the supply hole 92. You can prevent.

Usability of the water storage container 9, productivity, securing of the volume of the main tank portion 90, securing of the volume of the measuring tank portion 91, accommodation of the refrigerator 1 and storage ratio of the water storage container 9 In consideration of the above, as one preferable embodiment, the water storage container 9 has a rectangular shape whose length in the front-rear direction is longer than the lateral width.
Hereinafter, the water storage container 9 of this form will be described in detail.

As illustrated, the water storage container 9 has a length (depth) in the front-rear direction that is the long side compared to the length (horizontal width) in the left-right direction that is the short side. In the shape of a long rectangle, and the overall shape is a rectangular shape long in the front-rear direction.

  According to this shape, the water storage container 9 is inserted into the container main body 9A having an opening portion 9A2 which opens upward forming the main tank portion 90 long in the front-rear direction for storing ice making water, and is inserted into the container main body 9A Immediately below the portion 90, there are provided a partition body 9B for partitioning the measurement tank portion 91, and a lid 9C detachably attached to the container body 9A so as to close the opening 9A2 of the container body 9A.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the measuring tank portion 91 has a rectangular shape long in the front-rear direction in top view, and corner portions K1 to K4 at four corners form a circular arc. As shown in FIG. 17A, the compressed air introducing portion 91A is disposed on one side of the measuring tank portion 91, that is, on the short side HR on the rear side of the short sides HF and HR located on the front and rear. Further, the supply hole 92 and the ice making water lead-out portion 91B are disposed apart from each other on the other side of the measuring tank 91, that is, the short side HF on the front side among the short sides HF and HR located in the front and back.

  In this specific arrangement, as shown in FIG. 17A, compressed air is introduced into one of the corner portions K1 and K4 of the left and right corner portions K1 and K4 of the rear short side HR among the short sides HF and HR located at the front and rear. The section 91A is arranged. Further, the ice making water lead-out portion 91B is disposed at the corner portion K2 closer to the compressed air introduction portion 91A among the left and right corner portions K2 and K3 of the front short side HF, and the side far from the compressed air introduction portion 91A Supply holes 92 are arranged at the corner K3. The ice making-up water lead-out portion 91B and the supply hole 92 are separated from each other, and the supply hole 92 is disposed farther from the compressed air introduction portion 91A than the ice making-use water lead-out portion 91B. In the measuring tank portion 91, a specified amount of ice making water necessary for one ice making by the automatic ice making machine 7 is stored. The prescribed amount required for one ice making is the amount by which the ice tray 7B reaches the prescribed water level.

  Also in the case of the water storage container 9 of this form, similarly to the above, the influence of the compressed air introduced from the compressed air introducing portion 91A on the float body 93 can be reduced, and the operation of the float body 93 closing the supply hole 92 is stable. Do. Further, by providing the supply holes 92 more apart from the compressed air introducing portion 91A than the ice making water leading portion 91B, a more stable operation can be obtained.

  As shown in FIGS. 13 to 15 and FIG. 17A, the supply hole 92, the compressed air introducing portion 91A, and the ice making water leading portion 91B are formed to penetrate the partition 9B. Therefore, the mutual arrangement of the supply holes 92, the compressed air introducing portion 91A, and the ice making water leading portion 91B can be easily determined.

  As shown in FIG. 4, FIG. 5 and FIG. 7, the compressed air introduction path 94 for introducing the compressed air of the pump device 60 into the measuring tank portion 91 is a compressed air introduction portion 91A formed in the partition 9B. The compressed air guiding pipe 96 which extends backward from the body 9C and is detachably connected to the air discharge port 63 of the front face of the pump device 60, and the upper end communicates with the compressed air guiding pipe 96 via the annular packing 116 and the lower end And the compressed air introduction pipe 97 provided upright on the partition 9B so as to communicate with the compressed air introduction portion 91A. In the embodiment, the compressed air introduction pipe 97 is integrally formed with the compressed air introduction portion 91A in the partition body 9B, and has a circular shape with the same diameter as the circular compressed air introduction portion 91A (there is a gentle draft on molding). The compressed air introduction pipe 97 of the

  The ice making water lead-out passage 95 for leading ice making water from the measuring tank portion 91 to the ice tray 7B is provided upright on the partition 9B so that the ice making water lead portion 91B communicates with the ice making water lead portion 91B. The ice making-up water lead-out pipe 99, the ice making-up water guiding pipe 98 erected on the container main body 9A so that the lower end faces the ice making-use water supply passage 51, the upper end of the ice making-use water lead-out pipe 99 And a communication passage 100 communicating with the communication channel. Thereby, the ice making-up water lead-out passage 95 constitutes a passage bent upward in an inverted U-shape or a portal shape.

  As shown in FIG. 7, in order to press the ice making water of a specified amount necessary for one ice making to the ice making tray 7B by the compressed air of the pump device 60, from the partition 9B to communicate with the ice making water outlet pipe 99. An ice making water lead-out portion 91B is formed by the opening at the lower end of the downwardly extending outlet pipe 99P. The opening at the lower end of the outlet pipe 99P opens at a position close to the inner bottom surface of the measuring tank portion 91. Between the inner bottom surface 9A1 of the measurement tank portion 91 corresponding to the inner bottom surface 9A1 of the container main body 9A and the lower end of the outlet pipe 99P, an interval TP for the ice making water to flow out is formed. In the embodiment, the circular ice-making water outlet pipe 99 and the circular outlet pipe 99P form a series of pipes having the same inner diameter. For this reason, the circular outlet pipe 99P rises with the same diameter as the circular ice-making water lead-out portion 91B (there is a gentle draft in molding), and is communicated with the circular ice-making water lead-out pipe 99.

  In the embodiment, the outlet pipe 99P communicates with the ice making water outlet pipe 99 at the same inner diameter as the ice making water outlet pipe 99, and is integrally molded with the partition 9B.

  As shown in FIG. 13 to FIG. 17A and FIG. 17B, the communication passage 100 is an open communication passage with an upper surface opening except the lower half of the cylindrical body extending in the lateral direction. The communication passage 100 is provided at an upper end portion of the ice making water guiding pipe 98 with an opening portion 100A of an upper surface opening that expands in a square bowl shape, and an opening of the upper side opening extending forward from the upper end portion of the ice making water lead pipe 99. It comprises the buttocks 100B. The opening 100A forms a notch-like connecting wall 100M in the rear wall. The beveled portion 100B has a tip portion 100P in which the bottom wall and the left and right walls are enlarged, and forms a connecting groove 100N on the outer periphery on the root side of the tip portion 100P.

  As shown in FIGS. 16, 17A and 17B, the opening portion 100B is mounted on the opening portion 100A by the insertion of the partition body 9B into the container main body 9A, and the connection wall 100M is in the connection groove 100N. To fit. In this state, in a state where the tip end portion 100P of the opening portion 100B enters the inside of the opening portion 100A, both are connected to form a continuous communication path 100. The top opening of the communication passage 100 is closed by the lid 9C attached to the container body 9A, and the communication passage 100 extends in the lateral direction. The communication passage 100 inclines low from the ice making water outlet pipe 99 side to the ice making water guiding pipe 98 side. For this reason, the flow of the ice making water from the measuring tank portion 91 to the ice making water supply path 51 is good, and the water removal is good.

  When the container body 9A, the partition 9B, and the lid 9C are formed by synthetic resin molding, the compressed air introduction passage 94, ice making water lead-out passage 95, etc. related thereto are integrally molded by synthetic resin. In this case, if the entire ice making water lead-out passage 95 including the communication passage 100 is used as the underdrain passage, the molding die, molding method and the like become complicated, resulting in a large cost increase. As described above, the ice making-up water lead-out passage 95 constitutes a passage bent upwards in an inverted U-shape or in the shape of a portal, and the communication passage 100 is an open portion 100A of the upper surface opening on the ice making water guiding pipe 98 side. Since the opening portion 100B on the upper surface opening side of the ice making water outlet pipe 99 is formed, the molding die, molding method, etc. are simplified and the cost can be reduced also when molding each part as described above. Can be achieved.

  Although there is also a method of using a seal packing at the connecting portion between the opening portion 100A and the opening portion 100B, in such a case, water remaining in the seal packing portion may rot and cause mold. In the present invention, as described above, with the insertion of the partition body 9B into the container main body 9A, the tip end portion of the opening portion 100B is mounted on the tip end portion of the opening portion 100A, and the tip end portion 100P of the opening portion 100B. Is in the state of entering into the opening portion 100A. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the water leakage of the ice making water flowing through the ice making water lead-out passage 95 without using the sealing packing. Further, if the partition body 9B is removed from the inside of the container main body 9A, it is possible to wash the opening portion 100A and the opening portion 100B, so that the generation of mold can be prevented. Furthermore, since the opening portion 100A and the opening portion 100B can be connected with the insertion of the partition body 9B, the connection work of the both opening portions is simplified. As a result, the connection and separation of the portion of the communication passage 100 is facilitated, and the cleaning is also facilitated, so the assembly and disassembly are facilitated, and the communication passage 100 is a sanitary one.

In addition, the cold water of the ice making unit 6 ascends back to the measuring tank portion 91 by rising the ice making water supply path 51 by forming a passage bent upward in an inverted U-shape or a gate shape upwards. There is an effect that can be suppressed. Furthermore, the compressed air introduction path 94 is configured to rise from the compressed air introduction portion 91A, and the ice making water leading path 95 is a flow of rising and falling ice making water drawn out from the ice making water lead portion 91B. For this reason, the ice making water of the measuring tank 91 is the air of the ice making water supply passage 51 and the pump device 60 due to the vibration when storing the water storage container 9 in the water storage container storage 46 or when opening or closing the refrigerator door 10. Leakage to the discharge port 63 can be prevented.
In order to improve the leakage prevention effect, the bottom surface level 100 L in the communication passage 100 and the bottom surface level 96 L of the compressed air guiding pipe 96 are slightly higher than the ice making water filling level WL in the water storage container 9. The ice-making water filling level WL in the water storage container 9 is, in other words, the ice-making water filling level of the main tank portion 90, and is set to the level of the horizontal side 104A provided at the lower part of the water supply port 104.

Next, the relationship between the supply hole 92 and the float body 93 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 15, the supply hole 92 is shaped to have an enlarged portion 92A at the center of the rectangular hole. As shown in FIGS. 17A and 18, a substantially T-shaped support portion 93A having a size passing through the rectangular supply hole 92 is provided at the center of the upper surface of the float body 93. Therefore, with the support 93A passing through the supply hole 92 from below along the rectangular shape of the supply hole 92, the float 93 is turned approximately 90 degrees to engage the locking side 93 P of the upper end of the support 93A. Is locked to the upper edge of the enlarged portion 92A of the supply hole 92, and holds the float 93 in a state where it does not fall. In this state, the longitudinal shaft portion 93Q of the support portion 93A is loosely fitted to the enlarged portion 92A of the supply hole 92. For this reason, the float body 93 can move up and down by the water level of the measuring tank portion 91.

  With this configuration, before the water level of the measurement tank portion 91 reaches a predetermined full state, the float body 93 descends, and the ice making water of the main tank portion 90 passes from the periphery of the support portion 93A through the supply hole 92, Flow naturally down to the measuring tank portion 91 through the periphery of the float body 93. When the water level of the measuring tank 91 rises to full, the float 93 rises, and when the measuring tank 91 becomes full as shown in FIG. 19, the upper surface of the float 93 is supplied, as shown in FIG. It abuts on the lower surface of the partition 9 B around the hole 92 and closes the supply hole 92.

  By the start of the ice making process, the pump device 60 is operated, and the compressed air flows in from the compressed air introducing portion 91A, and pushes out the ice making water of the measuring tank portion 91. The water level in the measuring tank portion 91 gradually decreases with the pushing, but the float body 93 keeps the supply hole 92 closed until the measuring tank portion 91 reaches a predetermined low water level. Thus, the buoyancy of the float body 93 is set. As a result, it is possible to limit the extrusion of the ice making water by an amount exceeding the specified amount extruded from the measuring tank portion 91.

  When the water level in the measuring tank portion 91 drops and reaches a predetermined low level, the float body 93 opens the supply hole 92. At that time, the float body 93 does not immediately descend but descends with a slight delay. Do. That is, due to the adhesion of water existing between the upper surface of the float 93 and the lower surface of the partition 9B, the float 93 keeps the supply hole 92 closed. When the balance between the weight of the float body 93 and the adhesion action is lost, the maintenance action disappears, and the float body 93 finally descends to open the supply hole 92. Even if a small amount flows down from the supply hole 92 by opening the supply hole 92, then at this time, a substantially entire amount of ice water for making a defined amount has already been pushed out to the ice tray 7B. Even if this small amount flows down from the supply hole 92, it hardly affects the extrusion of the specified amount of ice making water.

  In the embodiment, the prescribed amount required for one ice making is 80 cc, and the measuring tank portion 91 has a volume for securing this prescribed amount. The predetermined amount of 80 cc of extrusion necessary for one ice making is determined by the operation time of the air pump 61. In the example, it is obtained by running for 15 seconds.

Next, the stabilization configuration of the closing operation of the supply hole 92 by the float body 93 will be described.
FIG. 18 is a perspective view of the float of the water storage container according to the present invention, FIG. 19 is a longitudinal sectional side view of the supply hole for explaining the relationship between the float and the barrier of the water supply apparatus according to the present invention; FIG. 7 is a longitudinal side view of the feed hole portion illustrating another embodiment of the barrier of the water supply device.

  While pushing out the ice making water from the measuring tank portion 91 by the compressed air, it is desirable that the float body 93 stably close the supply hole 92. However, with the water level of the ice making water of the measuring tank 91 lowered, the ice making water of the measuring tank 91 is taken out by taking out the food from the refrigerator 1, storing the food in the refrigerator 1, or other factors. If it swings, the float body 93 swings due to the influence. When the supply hole 92 is opened by this swing, there is a concern that the ice making water in the main tank portion 90 may flow excessively to the measuring tank portion 91 through the supply hole 92.

In view of the above concerns, in order to stabilize the operation of the float body 93 closing the supply hole 92, a barrier 121 surrounding the periphery of the float body 93 is provided.
Hereinafter, this configuration will be described.

As shown in FIG. 8, FIG. 9, and FIG. 19, the barrier body 9 </ b> B which is a partition wall which divides the main tank portion 90 and the measuring tank portion 91 is provided with a barrier 121 surrounding the float body 93.
By normal operation, the float body 93 descends to open the supply hole 92 so that the ice making water of the main tank portion 90 flows into the measuring tank portion 91 through the supply hole 92. For this purpose, the lower end portion 121B of the barrier 121 forms a gap G between the inner bottom surface of the measuring tank portion 91, that is, the inner bottom surface 9A1 of the container body 9A. By this interval G, the ice making water flows out into the measuring tank portion 91 to constitute the ice making water outflow portion 122.

  In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 8, 9 and 19, the float body 93 has a circular shape depending from the partition 9B, and the barrier 121 also has a circular shape. The barrier 121 is integrally formed on the lower surface of the partition 9B. As described later, with the partition 9B inserted at a predetermined position in the container body 9A and maintaining the normal state, the ice making water flowing down from the supply hole 92 has a gap of about 1 mm around the float 93. As a result, it flows smoothly into the measuring tank portion 91 from the interval G. It is preferable that the distance G be a minimum distance that can ensure this flow. In the embodiment, the distance G is 1 mm, but if it is in the range of 0.8 mm to 1.5 mm, the object can be achieved effectively.

  In a state where the inside of the measuring tank portion 91 is filled with ice making water, the ice making water in the measuring tank portion 91 is pushed out by the compressed air flowing in from the compressed air introducing portion 91 A, and the water level in the measuring tank portion 91 decreases. Until the water level drops below the lower end 121B of the barrier 121, the water level in the barrier 121 does not decrease, so the float body 93 keeps the supply hole 92 closed as shown in FIG. Then, when the water level falls below the lower end 121B of the barrier 121, the float body 93 opens the supply hole 92, but at that time, the float body 93 does not immediately descend but descends with a slight delay. That is, due to the adhesion of water existing between the upper surface of the float 93 and the lower surface of the partition 9B, the float 93 keeps the supply hole 92 closed. When the balance between the weight of the float body 93 and the adhesion action is lost, the maintenance action disappears, and the float body 93 finally descends to open the supply hole 92. Even if a small amount flows down from the supply hole 92 by opening the supply hole 92, at that time, a prescribed total amount of ice-making water is substantially pushed out of the measuring tank portion 91 to the ice tray 7B.

  In this manner, the flow of ice making water from the main tank to the measuring tank can be reduced while the ice making water of the measuring tank is pushed out by the compressed air by the float body 93 and the barrier 121 around it.

  As shown in FIG. 19, the lower surface of the float body 93 is at the same position as or slightly above the lower end portion 121 B of the barrier 121. By this, as described above, until the water level is lower than the lower end 121B of the barrier 121, the float body 93 can stably maintain the state where the supply hole 92 is closed by the ice making water in the barrier 121. Further, in a state where the float body 93 is lowered, a gap through which ice making water flows can be secured between the upper surface of the float body 93 and the partition body 9B.

  Thus, by providing the barrier 121, even if the ice making water of the measuring tank portion 91 swings, the float body 93 is protected from the influence thereof. For this reason, the float body 93 closes the supply hole 92 stably until the water level of the measurement tank portion 91 falls to a predetermined low water level. In the embodiment, the float body 93 can maintain the supply hole 92 in a stable closed state until the water level drops below the lower end 121B of the barrier 121.

  That is, by providing the barrier 121, the float body 93 stably closes the supply hole 92 until the water level of the ice making water of the measuring tank 91 falls to a predetermined low water level. Can be prevented from being supplied to the measuring tank portion 91 from the main tank portion 90, even if it is rocked.

  As shown in FIG. 20, when the lower end of the barrier 121 hanging down from the partition 9B abuts on the inner bottom surface 9A1 of the container main body 9A, a part of the lower end of the barrier 121 forms an ice making water outlet 122 by notch. . In this case, the ice making water outflow portion 122 may be formed on the opposite side to the side of the compressed air introduction portion 91A.

  Also, as another form, although not shown, the substantially semi-peripheral portion 121A of the entire periphery of the barrier 121 is integrally formed with the partition body 9B so as to hang down from the partition body 9B. The portion 121B is integrally molded with the container body 9A so that the portion 121B rises from the inner bottom surface 9A1 of the container body 9A. By inserting the partition body 9B into the container main body 9A, the half circumference portions 121A and 121B are combined, and the entire circumference of the barrier 121 is obtained. In this case, the upper end of the portion 121B abuts against the partition 9B, and the portion 121A forms the gap G of the ice making water outlet 122 between the lower end and the inner bottom surface 9A1 of the container body 9A. In this case, the ice making water outflow portion 122 may be formed on the opposite side to the side of the compressed air introduction portion 91A.

Next, a technique for smoothly supplying ice making water from the main tank unit 90 to the measuring tank unit 91 will be described.
In order to push out the ice making water stored in the measuring tank 91 well by the compressed air of the pump device 60, the measuring tank 91 is formed between the inner bottom surface 9A1 of the container body 9A and the partition 9B. The measuring tank portion 91 is made full by the ice making water necessary for ice making. In this case, when the ice making water of the main tank portion 90 naturally flows down, the float body 93 is pushed down through the supply hole 92 and flows into the measuring tank portion 91, the air in the measuring tank portion 91 must be well pushed away. For example, the measuring tank portion 91 can not be full.

In order to solve this, an air discharge groove 125 for escaping the air in the measuring tank 91 to the compressed air introducing portion 91 A is formed on the upper surface in the measuring tank 91.
FIG. 21 is a longitudinal cross-sectional side view of the partition body for explaining the air discharge groove portion in the measurement tank portion of the water storage container according to the present invention. FIG. 22 is a longitudinal sectional side view of the partition body for explaining the air discharge groove portion in the measurement tank portion of the water storage container according to the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 7, FIG. 10, FIG. 13 to FIG. 15, FIG. 17A, FIG. 21 and FIG. 22, the upper wall of the measuring tank 91 is the partition 9B, so the lower surface of the partition 9B. The air discharge groove 125 formed by expanding upward is communicated with the compressed air introduction portion 91A. The position of the air discharge groove 125 is arranged along the side of the measuring tank 91 where the compressed air introducing portion 91A and the ice making water outlet 91B are arranged so as to be apart from the supply hole 92, and the outlet pipe It is formed in a straight line from the outer surface of 99 P to the center of the compressed air introduction pipe 97.

  As illustrated, the air discharge groove 125 is a sloped groove that gradually deepens upward toward the central portion of the compressed air introduction portion 91A. Further, in order to improve the flow of air toward the compressed air introducing portion 91A, the groove width of the air discharge groove 125 is wider on the compressed air introducing portion 91A side than the outlet pipe 99P side far from the compressed air introducing portion 91A. The preferred groove width is a shape that gradually widens toward the compressed air introduction portion 91A. The shape of the air discharge groove 125 in the illustrated embodiment is such that it inclines so as to be gradually deeper toward the compressed air introduction portion 91A, and the groove width is a shape that gradually widens toward the compressed air introduction portion 91A. .

  As described above, the outlet pipe 99P is opened so that the ice making water lead-out portion 91B communicates with the position close to the inner bottom surface of the measuring tank portion 91, and the air is discharged to the upper position considerably away from the ice making water lead portion 91B. Grooves 125 are provided. Therefore, as the ice making water of the main tank portion 90 flows into the measuring tank portion 91 under natural flow, the air in the measuring tank portion 91 is compressed air from the compressed air introducing portion 91A in the air discharge groove 125. It is discharged to the introduction pipe 97 and discharged from a dustproof filter 63D described later.

  With this configuration, the ice making water of the main tank portion 90 flows favorably to the measuring tank portion 91 under natural flow, and the float body 93 is filled with the ice making water of the measuring tank portion 91 as the measuring tank portion 91 becomes full. The upper surface of the float body 93 abuts against the peripheral edge of the supply hole 92 to close the supply hole 92, and the inflow of ice making water from the main tank 90 into the measuring tank 91 is stopped.

  In particular, in order to allow the compressed air of the pump device 60 to effectively push out the ice making water stored in the measuring tank 91, the measuring tank 91 is filled with ice making water necessary for one ice making operation. Even in the configuration, the air remaining in the upper part in the measuring tank portion 91 is favorably pushed out from the air discharge groove 125 toward the compressed air introducing portion 91A. Can be filled with the necessary amount of ice making water.

  As shown in FIG. 22, the air discharge groove 125 is formed with a bulging groove 125A which further bulges the central portion upward along the entire length toward the central portion of the compressed air introduction portion 91A. . The bulging groove 125A is formed in communication with the compressed air introducing portion 91A.

  The air discharge groove 125 is formed to gradually incline upward toward the compressed air introduction portion 91A while expanding the groove width, so the bulging groove 125A also gradually increases upward toward the compressed air introduction portion 91A. The groove width is also expanded while being deeply inclined.

  Therefore, when the ice making water of the main tank portion 90 flows into the measuring tank portion 91 under natural flow, the air in the measuring tank portion 91 is efficiently collected in the air discharge groove 125. Since the air discharge groove 125 has the bulging groove 125A, the air in the measurement tank portion 91 collected to the air discharge groove 125 is collected to the bulging groove 125A, and the compressed air which is the uppermost position of the bulging groove 125A. It is led to the introduction part 91A side.

Next, the seal configuration of the peripheral portion of the measuring tank portion 91 will be described.
FIG. 23 is an enlarged sectional view for explaining the packing holding portion at the front of the measuring tank portion of the water storage container according to the present invention. FIG. 24 is an enlarged sectional view for explaining the packing holding portion at the rear of the measuring tank portion of the water storage container according to the present invention. FIG. 25 is an enlarged sectional view for explaining the packing holding portion on the left side of the measuring tank portion of the water storage container according to the present invention. FIG. 26 is an enlarged sectional view for explaining the packing holding portion on the right side of the measuring tank portion of the water storage container according to the present invention. FIG. 27 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the annular packing at the periphery of the measuring tank portion according to the present invention. FIG. 28 is an enlarged cross-sectional view for explaining a state in which the partition body is inserted onto the annular packing attached to the inside of the container body according to the present invention. FIG. 29 is an enlarged cross-sectional view for explaining a state in which the partition presses the annular packing in the container body according to the present invention.

  As illustrated, in order to reliably separate the main tank portion 90 and the measuring tank portion 91, an annular packing 117 around the circumference of the measuring tank portion 91 between the inner bottom surface 9A1 of the container main body 9A and the partition 9B. Provide The annular packing 117 is shaped to form the outer shape of the measuring tank portion 91, and has a form corresponding to the form of the measuring tank portion 91.

Next, the seal configuration of the measuring tank portion 91 by the annular packing 117 will be described.
In the present invention, each part is easily disassembled so that each part in the water storage container 9 can be washed with water. Therefore, the partition body 9B forming the measuring tank portion 91 can be detachably inserted into the container main body 9A, and the annular packing 117 is also detachable accordingly. The annular packing 117 is made of flexible silicone rubber in order to improve sealing performance, releasability, durability and the like.

  In order to divide the main tank portion 90 and the measuring tank portion 91 by the flexible annular packing 117, the partition is usually attached with the annular packing 117 attached to the peripheral portion of the partition 9B. A method is adopted in which 9B is inserted into the container body 9A. In this method, in order to hold the annular packing 117 at the peripheral edge of the partition 9B, a mounting groove and a mounting flange are formed, and the annular packing 117 is fitted and attached to that part. In this installation, the flexible annular packing 117 stretches during the installation operation, which causes an extra part. In that case, the annular packing 117 is removed and the attaching operation is performed again, which is troublesome for completing the attaching operation of the annular packing 117.

  In addition, even when the annular packing 117 is attached to the peripheral edge of the partition 9B in a normal state, as described above, a rectangular shape that is long in the front and rear direction and surrounded by the rear wall and the left and right walls of the container main body 9A. In the case of forming the measuring tank portion 91 in the region, when the partition body 9B is inserted into a predetermined position in the rear region of the container main body 9A, the annular packing 117 is caused by friction with the rear wall and left and right walls of the container main body 9A It is difficult to insert the partition 9B into a predetermined position, and the annular packing 117 may come off from the partition 9B due to the friction with the rear wall and the left and right walls of the container body 9A.

  In view of such a point, the present invention provides a configuration in which the mounting can be simplified in a normal state and the normal sealing state can be ensured even when a flexible silicone rubber annular packing 117 is employed. For this reason, before inserting the partition body 9B into a predetermined position in the rear area of the container body 9A, the packing holding portion 90P for attaching the annular packing 117 to a predetermined position in the rear area of the container body 9A is annularly formed in the container body 9A. After the annular packing 117 is attached to the packing holding portion 90P, the partition 9B is inserted into a predetermined position in the rear region of the container main body 9A.

An arrangement adapted to that scheme is described below.
As shown in FIGS. 10 and 12 and the like, the measuring tank portion 91 has a rectangular shape long in the front-rear direction, which is one of four sides in top view, and corner portions K1 to K4 at four corners form an arc. This is a shape according to the shape of the container body 9A, and is long in the front-rear direction in a top view over substantially the entire rear half region of the container body 9A surrounded by the rear wall and the left and right walls of the container body 9A. An area of a rectangular measuring tank portion 91 is formed. As shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, the area of the measuring tank portion 91 is formed by a dividing wall 90K that goes around the front, rear, left, and right of the hollow by recessing the bottom wall of the rear half region of the container body 9A.

  As described above, the measuring tank portion 91 has a rectangular shape that is long in the front-rear direction in top view according to the shape of the container main body 9A, and forms the measuring tank portion 91 effectively utilizing the inside of the container main body 9A. For this purpose, at the front of the measuring tank portion 91, the dividing wall 90K is formed by the front wall of the recess of the container body 9A. Further, at the rear portion of the measuring tank portion 91, the dividing wall 90K doubles as the lower portion of the rear wall 90B of the container body 9A, and at the left side of the measuring tank portion 91, the lower portion of the left wall 90R of the container body 9A is In the right side portion of the measuring tank portion 91, the dividing wall 90K is also used as the lower portion of the right side wall 90L of the container main body 9A.

  The annular packing 117 has a mounting groove 117D opened downward between the outer annular rib 117R1 and the inner annular rib 117R2 as shown in FIG. 7, FIG. 8, FIG. 9, and FIG. A fin portion 117T extending to the bottom and a shoulder portion 117Q formed by a recess so as to have a low level difference below the root portion of the fin portion 117T are formed. The partition body 9B is formed with a pressing flange 9BF formed at the peripheral edge of the lower surface to press the fin portion 117T so as to press the upper surface of the annular packing 117, and an annular support projection 9BT inside thereof.

  As shown in FIG. 7, FIG. 8, FIG. 9, FIG. 23 to FIG. 26, FIG. 28, FIG. 29, along the front, rear, left and right partition walls 90K formed in the bottom of the container body 9A as described above, A packing holding portion 90P for holding the packing 117 detachably is formed. The packing holding portion 90P forms an annular groove 90P2 that opens upward around the periphery of the measuring tank portion 91. The annular groove 90P2 is formed between a dividing wall 90K that encircles the measuring tank portion 91 and an annular protrusion 90P1 that rises in parallel with the inside and has a rectangular shape that is long in the front-rear direction in top view. Furthermore, an annular abutment portion 90P3 is formed along the inside of the annular projection 90P1. Thus, the annular groove 90P2 is formed as a groove having an outer wall which is the partition wall 90K and an inner wall which is the annular protrusion 90P1 and which opens upward.

  With this configuration, as shown in FIG. 7, FIG. 8, FIG. 9, FIG. 28, FIG. 29, the annular packing 117 is inserted from the top opening of the container main body 9A, and the mounting groove 117D fits into the annular projection 90P1. The outer annular rib 117R1 is fitted in the annular groove 90P2, and the inner annular rib 117R2 is attached to the packing holding portion 90P in such a relationship that the outer annular rib 117R1 abuts on the abutting portion 90P3 located inside the annular protrusion 90P1. By this mounting, the locking projection 90P11 formed on the inner side surface of the annular projection 90P1 is fitted in the locking groove 117D1 formed in the mounting groove 117D, and the annular packing 117 is prevented from coming off from the packing holding portion 90P.

  In this state, the partition 9B is inserted from the upper surface opening of the container body 9A into the rear half region in the container body 9A surrounded by the partition wall 90K that goes around the front, rear, left, and right along the rear wall and the left and right walls of the container body 9A. The pressing flange 9BF on the peripheral edge of the lower surface of the partition 9B is pushed down to a state in which the pressing flange 9BF abuts on the upper surface flat portion 117T of the annular packing 117. In this state, the partition 9B is supported on the annular packing 117, and the rectangular area surrounded by the annular packing 117 is the area of the measuring tank portion 91.

  With the annular packing 117 attached in this manner to the packing holding portion 90P, and the partition 9B inserted in the container main body 9A and placed on the annular packing 117, as described later, the lid 9C is attached to the container main body 9A. The container body 9A and the lid 9C are coupled by the hook device 101. By this connection, the lid 9C presses the partition 9B, and accordingly, the support projection 9BT of the partition 9B abuts on the shoulder 117Q of the annular packing 117, and the annular packing 117 is on the measuring tank 91 side. The pressing flange 9BF of the lower surface peripheral edge portion of the partition 9B presses the fins 117T while preventing it from falling down. The tip end portion of the pressing flange 9BF is bent obliquely downward, whereby the tip end portion of the fin portion 117T is pushed, elastically deformed, and bent downward.

  Thereby, the annular packing 117 forms a seal portion at a plurality of places, but as a main seal portion, as shown in FIG. 29, the annular packing 117 is bent at the fin portion 117T and is located above the outer annular rib 117R1. At the same time, the outer tip of the fin portion 117T is in close contact with the partition wall 90K at the top of the annular groove 90P2 (this is called the seal portion 1), and the annular projection 90P1 and the attachment groove 117D are in close contact (this is called the seal portion 2) The outer annular rib 117R1 is in close contact with the bottom of the annular groove 90P2 (this is called the seal portion 3), the inner annular rib 117R2 is in close contact with the contact portion 90P3 (this is called the seal portion 4), and the annular packing 117 is It is held in the compressed state by the holding unit 90P. Thus, the annular packing 117 is prevented from falling inward by the support projection 9 BT of the partition 9 B, and is mainly sealed by the four parts of the seal portions 1 to 4 and sealed by the annular packing 117. In the above-described area, a measuring tank portion 91 partitioned from the main tank portion 90 in a watertight and airtight manner is formed.

  Further, the packing holding portion 90P is provided with a holding projection 90P4 for holding the lower inner side of the inner annular rib 117R2 at the inner side of the contact portion 90P3 with a space from the annular projection 90P1. Therefore, when the annular packing 117 is pressed by the pressure of the partition body 9B as described above, the lower portion of the inner annular rib 117R2 of the annular packing 117 is held by the holding projection 90P4 as shown in FIG. The lower part of 117 can be prevented from shifting inward, and the flexible annular packing 117 can be held in the proper position, the seal around the measuring tank 91 becomes sufficient, and the circumference of the measuring tank 91 is the main tank 90 And the water-tight and airtight area.

  As described above, since the annular packing 117 can be held in the proper position and the seal around the measuring tank 91 is sufficient, the structure suitable for pushing out the ice making water of the measuring tank 91 by the compressed air of the air pump 61 It becomes a thing.

Next, the assembly of the partition 9B into the container body 9A will be described.
When assembling the water storage container 9, the annular packing 116 is attached to the upper end opening of the compressed air introduction pipe 97, and the annular packing 115 is attached to the periphery of the lower end of the ice making water guiding pipe 98. Further, as described above, the annular packing 117 is attached to the packing holding portion 90P so as to go around the peripheral portion of the measuring tank portion 91 in the container main body 9A.

  The partition 9B holding the float 93 in the supply hole 92 is inserted into the container body 9A from the top opening of the container body 9A and placed on the annular packing 117 attached to the packing holder 90P. By this, both are connected in the state which the front-end | tip part of the opening part 100B mounts in the front-end | tip part of the opening part 100A, and the continuous open communication path 100 is formed. In this state, the lid 9C is put on the container body 9A so as to close the top opening of the container body 9A, and the container body 9A and the lid 9C are coupled by the hook device 101.

  As a result, the open communication passage 100 is covered by the lid 9C, and the partition 9B is pushed by the lid 9C toward the inner bottom surface 9A1 of the container main body 9A. By this, the annular packing 117 is compressed by the partition body 9B and the packing holding portion 90P, and the measuring tank portion is reliably separated from the main tank portion 90 between the inner bottom surface of the container main body 9A and the partition body 9B. 91 are formed.

  Thus, the partition 9B is pressed toward the inner bottom surface 9A1 of the container main body 9A by the lid 9C. The partition 9B is pressed by the point P where the compressed air introduction pipe 97 and the compressed air induction pipe 96 are connected via the annular packing 116 and the point Q where the top opening of the communication passage 100 is closed by the lid 9C. , And the support post portion 103 provided upright on the partition body 9B is provided so that the pressure of the partition body 9B is averaged. As a result, since the location P, the location Q, and the support portion 103 are arranged at the triangle point, the pressure of the partition 9B by the lid 9C is averaged, and the annular packing 117 is compressed substantially uniformly. The measuring tank portion 91 surrounded by the annular packing 117 in a watertight and airtight manner is formed between the partition body 9B and the inner bottom surface 9A1 of the container main body 9A immediately below the portion 90.

  As described above, since the partition 9B is held by the lid 9C, a fixing device such as a screw for attaching the partition 9B to the container main body 9A is unnecessary. For this reason, if the partition 9B is pulled up from the container main body 9A if the lid 9C is removed, the annular packing 117 can also be removed, so cleaning of the lid 9C, container main body 9A, partition 9B, and annular packing 117 is easy. Further, the main tank 90, the measuring tank 91, the float 93 and the barrier 121 can be easily cleaned by removing the partition 9B. Furthermore, the ice making water discharge passage 95 and the air inflow portion 94 can be easily cleaned.

Next, a mechanism for attaching the lid 9C to the container body 9A will be described.
As shown in FIG. 6, FIG. 7, and FIG. 10, the container body 9A and the lid 9C are coupled by hook devices 101 provided on the left and right and the rear of the container body 9A and lid 9C. Further, the lid 9C can be removed from the container main body 9A by releasing the hook device 101. The hook device 101 is configured such that the container body 9A and the lid 9C are resiliently engaged with the locking portion 101C of the container body 9A by the back side locking portion 101B of the lever 101A rotatably provided on the lid 9C. Combined. Such a hook device 101 is a known configuration.

Next, a water seal structure between the container body 9A and the lid 9C will be described.
FIG. 30 is an enlarged sectional view for explaining a state in which the lid body is fitted to the container body of the water storage container according to the present invention. FIG. 31 is an enlarged cross-sectional view for explaining the sealed state at the front of the container body and the lid of the water storage container according to the present invention. FIG. 32 is an enlarged cross-sectional view for explaining the sealed state of the left side, the right side and the rear side of the container body and the lid of the water storage container according to the present invention. FIG. 33 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing another form of seal between the container body and the lid of the water storage container according to the present invention.

  When the water storage container 9 is installed in the water storage container storage unit 46, for example, it is necessary to prevent the ice making water injected into the water storage container 9 from leaking. For this reason, the fitting portion between the container main body 9A and the lid 9C has a sealing configuration without providing the annular packing. The seal configuration will be described below.

  The seal portion according to the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 30 to 33, forms an engagement groove 111 in either one of the upper surface opening peripheral portion of the container main body 9A and the lower surface peripheral portion of the lid 9C, And the upper end of the wall constituting the engaging groove 111 is provided with an inclined surface 112 directed into the engaging groove 111, and the engaging protrusion 110 At the time of attachment of the lid 9C to the main body 9A, the inclined surface 112 is slipped into the sliding engagement groove 111 while being bent. As a result, the peripheral edge of the top opening of the container body 9A and the lid 9C are kept watertight.

  Although it is possible to form only the engagement protrusion 110 in a bendable annular shape, it is not practical because the manufacturing cost is high. Therefore, as an embodiment in which manufacture is easy, shape maintenance of the water storage container 9 is good, and considering that it is suitable for handling etc., the engaging groove 111 is annularly formed in the container body 9A upper surface opening peripheral part. Is made relatively hard so as to be made of hard synthetic resin in order to keep the overall shape including the engaging groove 111 stable. Further, the engagement protrusion 110 is annularly formed on the back side of the lid 9C so as to correspond to the engagement groove 111, and the lid 9C including the engagement protrusion 110 is entirely flexible like ABS resin etc. Made of a synthetic resin. Further, on the upper end of the inner side wall 111 </ b> A of the engagement groove 111, an inclined surface 112 in the direction of falling into the engagement groove 111 is formed. As shown in FIG. 7, the compressed air guiding pipe 96 is integrally formed with the lid 9 </ b> C so as to project rearward from the lid 9 </ b> C at a position higher than the engagement protrusion 110.

  When the lid 9C is attached to the container body 9A, the lid 110 is disposed along the inner side of the outer wall 111B of the engagement groove 111 which goes around the left and right sides and the rear of the container body 9A. 9C is put on the container body 9A. In this state, the tip end of the engagement protrusion 110 abuts on the inclined surface 112 directed into the engagement groove 111 formed at the upper end of the inner side wall 111A of the engagement groove 111. In this state, the lid 9C can be coupled to the container main body 9A by operating the lever 101A of the hook device 101 to elastically lock the back side locking portion 101B to the locking portion 101C of the container main body 9A. .

  Since the width of the engagement groove 111 is set to be slightly larger than the thickness of the engagement projection 110, the tip of the engagement projection 110 abuts on the inclined surface 112 by such a coupling operation of the lid 9C to the container body 9A. The engagement protrusion 110 elastically deforms along the inclined surface 112, whereby the engagement protrusion 110 enters the engagement groove 111 while bending inward of the engagement groove 111.

  The engagement projections 110 have flexibility similar to the lid 9C, so that a restoring force acts on the bending. Thereby, in the front portion of the water storage container 9, as shown in FIG. 31, the tip end portion of the engagement protrusion 110 abuts on the inner side wall 111A of the engagement groove 111 at the lower portion P1 of the inclined surface 112. Further, in the left and right portions and the rear portion of the water storage container 9, as shown in FIG. 32, the tip end portion of the engagement protrusion 110 abuts the inclined surface 112 at the lower portion P1 against the inner side wall 111A of the engagement groove 111. By these abutments, this portion becomes a fitting seal portion between the container body 9A and the lid 9C.

  Further, another seal form of the container body 9A and the lid 9C is shown in FIG. 30 and FIG. In this case, as described above, the lid 9C is covered on the container main body 9A, and the lever 101A of the hook device 101 is operated to lock the back side locking portion 101B to the locking portion 101C of the container main body 9A. Lid 9C is coupled to main body 9A. By this coupling, the tip of the engagement projection 110 is elastically deformed along the inclined surface 112 as described above, whereby the engagement projection 110 is bent into the engagement groove 111 and into the engagement groove 111. enter in.

  The tip portion of the engagement protrusion 110 abuts on the inner side wall 111 A of the engagement groove 111 at the lower portion P 1 of the inclined surface 112. In addition, there is also a case where the tip end portion of the engagement protrusion 110 abuts on the outer side wall 111 B of the engagement groove 111 at a portion P 2 opposite to the inclined surface 112. The contact between the engagement protrusion 110 and the engagement groove 111 forms a fitting seal portion between the container body 9A and the lid 9C. When the front end of the engagement protrusion 110 abuts on both the P1 portion and the P2 portion, the water sealing effect is improved by providing two water sealing points between the lid 9C and the container main body 9A.

  As shown in FIG. 7, FIG. 9, and FIG. 31, in order to facilitate removal of the lid 9C in a state where the left and right hook devices 101 of the water storage container 9 and the hook devices 101 at the rear are removed. A gap 118 extending upward is formed between the front wall 9C1 of the lid 9C and the rear wall 9T1 of the handle 9T. By this, after removing the left and right hook devices 101, the rear hook device 101 is removed, and the lower end of the front wall 9C1 of the lid 9C by lifting the rear of the lid 9C with respect to the container main body 9A That is, the lid 9C can be rotated by an amount corresponding to the gap 118 with the contact portion between the front portion of the engagement protrusion 110 and the front portion of the engagement protrusion 110 as a shaft portion. For this reason, it becomes easy to remove lid 9C from container body 9A.

Next, the pump device 60 will be described.
FIG. 34 is an exploded perspective view of a pump device according to the present invention. FIG. 35 is an external perspective view for explaining the relationship between the air pump unit according to the present invention and the gasket 63B. FIG. 36 is an external perspective view of a pump device according to the present invention. FIG. 37 is a longitudinal side perspective view for explaining the configuration of the pump device according to the present invention. FIG. 38 is an enlarged longitudinal cross-sectional view for explaining the contact state between the rear end surface of the gasket 63B of the pump device according to the present invention and the front wall of the main body case. FIG. 39 is a rear perspective view of the pump device with the back plate of the air pump unit according to the present invention removed. FIG. 40 is an exploded perspective view for explaining the relationship between the back plate of the air pump unit according to the present invention and the dustproof filter. FIG. 41 is a perspective view of the back plate in a state where a dustproof filter is attached to the upper portion of the back plate of the air pump unit according to the present invention. FIG. 42 is a front view of the back plate of the air pump unit according to the present invention. FIG. 43 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. FIG. 44 is a right side view of the pump device according to the present invention. 45 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line B-B in FIG.

The pump device 60 is attached to the rear of the water storage container storage unit 46, that is, to the back of the water storage container storage unit 46.
As illustrated, the pump device 60 is configured such that the air pump unit 60U is covered with an outer case 65. The air pump unit 60U includes an air pump 61, an air lead-out pipe 63A forming an air lead-out path for leading out the compressed air sent out from the air pump 61, and a dustproof filter 63D made of non-woven fabric. It is a configuration housed inside.

  A dustproof filter 63D is provided in an air inflow path communicating with the air intake port of the air pump 61 for dust prevention of air taken into the air pump 61. The upper surface and the rear surface of the main body case 62 are opened, and the rear surface of the main body case 62 is closed by the rear plate 62R coupled to the main body case 62 as described later. Further, the top surface of the main body case 62 is closed by a dustproof filter 63D held by the back plate 62R.

  The air outlet pipe 63A has a support portion 63A3 on the upper surface for mounting the air pump 61, a vertical passage portion 63A1 extending substantially vertically downward therefrom, and a substantially horizontal extension from the lower end of the vertical passage portion 63A1. And a lateral passage portion 63A2 penetrating through the hole 62D of the front wall 62F. The support portion 63A3 is inserted from the rear surface opening of the main body case 62 into a support groove 62M1 horizontally formed in the front-rear direction at the upper part of the left and right side walls of the main body case 62 at a position lower than the arrangement position of the dustproof filter 63D.

  The pump device 60 has a gasket 63 B to connect with the compressed air guiding pipe 96 of the water storage container 9. The gasket 63B is held between the air pump unit 60U and the outer case 65 and protrudes to the front of the pump device 60 as described later.

  The gasket 63B is made of silicone rubber having elasticity, and has a cylindrical shape in which an air discharge passage 63C elastically connected to the air lead-out pipe 63A is formed in the center. The gasket 63B is accommodated in a cylindrical case 64 opened on the front side and the rear side. The air discharge port 63 at the front of the air discharge path 63C forms an insertion portion for inserting the compressed air guiding pipe 96 of the water storage container 9 described later in an airtight state by a plurality of elastic circular annular ribs 63C1.

  There are various forms of the air pump 61, but a known piezoelectric element air pump is suitable as one suitable for miniaturization. The piezoelectric element type air pump 61 arranges a diaphragm having a piezoelectric element opposite to the inlet opening at the upper end of the air lead-out pipe 63A, applies a voltage of a predetermined frequency to the piezoelectric element, and vibrates the diaphragm to the air lead-out pipe 63A. It operates to deliver compressed air.

The assembly of the air pump unit 60U and the exterior case 65 will be described.
The locking projection 62A protruding upward of the main body case 62 is locked to the locking claw portion 65R of the outer case 65, and in this state, the mounting portion 62B protruding downward from the main body case 62 is a fixing portion 65B of the outer case 65 Fasten with a hex screw NJ. In this state, the cylindrical case 64 accommodating the gasket 63B is made to correspond to the insertion hole 65A of the front wall 65F of the outer case 65, and a pair of left and right engaging members protruding outward of the cylindrical case 64 from the front of the outer case 65. The stop claws 64A are made to correspond to the left and right notches 65C formed in the insertion holes 65A of the front wall 65F of the outer case 65, and the cylindrical case 64 is pushed in in this state. By this pressing, the annular protrusion 62F2 formed on the front wall 62F of the main body case 62 is fitted in the circular groove formed on the rear end surface of the gasket 63B. Further, the rear end face of the gasket 63B abuts on the circular recesses 62F1 and 62F3 formed at the inner and outer positions of the annular protrusion 62F2 of the front wall 62F of the main body case 62.

  As shown in FIG. 38, the rear end face of the gasket 63B abuts against the recess 62F1, the recess 62F3 and the annular projection 62F2 of the front wall 62F of the main body case 62, and the rear end edge of the air discharge passage 63C. The chamfering R portion 63B1 recessed forward along the entire circumference and the corner R portion 63AR protruding forward to the pipe tip outer peripheral portion of the horizontal passage 63A2 of the air outlet pipe 63A interfere with molding variation It is possible to prevent the deterioration of the sealing performance due to

  With the gasket 63 B stored in the cylindrical case 64, the gasket 63 B is set on the front wall 62 F of the main case 62, and is rotatably stored in the outer case 65. Then, the cylindrical case 64 is rotated so that the locking claws 64A turn to the back side of the front wall 65F of the outer case 65. The rotation of the cylindrical case 64 is performed until the code M1 written on the front wall 64B of the cylindrical case 64 faces the code M2 written on the front wall 65F of the outer case 65. This position is rotated approximately 90 degrees. In this state, the gasket 63B is slightly compressed, whereby the rear end of the gasket 63B is in close contact with the front wall 62F of the main body case 62, and the front end of the lateral passage 63A2 of the air outlet pipe 63A is the gasket 63B. In close contact with the rear end of the air discharge passage 63C, the lateral passage portion 63A2 of the air lead-out pipe 63A and the air discharge passage 63C form a series of substantially horizontal air passages. For this reason, in the pump device 60, a substantially L-shaped air lead-out passage is formed by the vertical passage portion 63A1, the horizontal passage portion 63A2, and the air discharge passage 63C.

Next, a structure in which the dustproof filter 63D is disposed on the top of the main body case 62 will be described based on FIGS. 39 to 45. FIG.
As described above, the pump device 60 for assembling the air pump unit 60U and the outer case 65 has the dustproof filter 63D in the air inflow path communicating with the air intake port of the air pump 61 for dustproofing the air taken into the air pump 61. Have. The dustproof filter 63D is supported on the top of the back plate 62R coupled to the main case 62 so as to close the rear opening of the main case 62. Hereinafter, this configuration will be described in detail.

  As shown in FIG. 40, the back plate 62R is made of synthetic resin, and has a main portion 62R1 and a filter holding portion 62FH rotatably coupled to the upper end portion of the main portion 62R1. The filter holding portion 62FH includes a first filter holding portion 62R2 rotatably coupled to the upper end portion of the main portion 62R1 with the first hinge portion H1 and a second hinge portion H2 at the other end portion of the first filter holding portion 62R2. And a second filter holding portion 62R3 rotatably connected. The first hinge portion H1 and the second hinge portion H2 are formed by simultaneously forming the main portion 62R1 and the filter holding portion 62FH integrally with synthetic resin, while simultaneously thinning the thickness.

  The first filter holding portion 62R2 has a filter accommodating portion FK which is formed to be recessed to accommodate the dustproof filter 63D. The second filter holding portion 62R3 protrudes a filter support portion FT for supporting the dustproof filter 63D in the filter housing portion FK. The first filter holding portion 62R2 and the second filter holding portion 62R3 form air passages AR1 and AR2 in a grid shape, respectively. Therefore, the periphery of the air passage AR1 is the filter housing portion FK, and the periphery of the air passage AR2 is the filter support portion FT. Furthermore, the filter holding portion 62FH has a flange FR that protrudes in the left and right sides and extends in the front-rear direction. In the embodiment, the flange FR is configured by flanges FR1 and FR2 extending in the front-rear direction and projecting to the left and right sides of the first filter holding portion 62R2 and the second filter holding portion 62R3, respectively.

  The dustproof filter 63D is housed in the filter housing portion FK in a state where the first filter holding portion 62R2 and the second filter holding portion 62R3 are opened with respect to the main portion 62R1 by the first hinge portion H1 and the second hinge portion H2. In this state, by closing the first filter holding portion 62R2 and the second filter holding portion 62R3 so as to overlap each other by the second hinge portion H2, the filter support portion FT enters into the filter housing portion FK, and the first The dustproof filter 63D is held between the filter holding portion 62R2 and the second filter holding portion 62R3. When the first filter holding portion 62R2 and the second filter holding portion 62R3 overlap, the left and right locking claws KT1 formed on the first hinge portion H1 side of the first filter holding portion 62R2 are the same as those of the second filter holding portion 62R3. It is hold | maintained by latching to the edge part FR21 on the opposite side of 2nd hinge part H2 of flange FR2 on either side by elastic force. As shown in FIGS. 41 and 43, the filter holding portion 62FH holding the dustproof filter 63D in this manner is in a state where the air passages AR1 and AR2 face each other via the dustproof filter 63D. Further, the left and right flanges FR1 and FR2 are in a state in which they overlap with each other.

  As described above, the filter holding portion 62FH in which the first filter holding portion 62R2 and the second filter holding portion 62R3 overlap each other is pivoted forward substantially horizontally by the first hinge portion H1 with respect to the main portion 62R1. With this rotation, the locking claw KT2 formed at the rear end of the second filter holding portion 62R3 is resiliently locked to the locking portion KB1 recessed at the upper front of the main portion 62R1. The filter holding portion 62FH is held substantially horizontally at the upper end portion of the main portion 62R1.

  As described above, the back plate 62R in which the filter holding portion 62FH is held substantially horizontally at the upper end of the main portion 62R1 is formed in the support groove 62M2 formed substantially horizontally in the front-rear direction at the top of the left and right walls The left and right flanges FR are inserted from the rear opening of the main body case 62. Along with this insertion, ribs RB formed to protrude to the left, right, and lower portions of the peripheral portion of the main portion 62R1 intrude along the inside of the left and right side walls and the lower wall of the main body case 62. Then, the locking claw KT3 formed in the lower part of the main portion 62R1 elastically locks the locking portion KB2 formed in the bottom wall of the main body case 62 by depression. Further, along with this insertion, the locking claws KT4 formed at the left and right end portions of the main body portion 62R1 are resiliently locked to the locking portions KB3 which are formed in the left and right side walls of the main body case 62.

Thus, the main body portion 62R1 of the back plate 62R is closely coupled to the main body case 62 so as to close the rear surface opening of the main body case 62, and the inner side surface of the main body portion 62R1 is on the rear end surface of the support portion 63A3. In close contact. Further, in this state, the upper surface of the main body case 62 is closed by the filter holding portion 62FH which holds the dustproof filter 63D. In this state, the inside of the main body case 62 is separated into upper and lower spaces by the support portion 63A3, and the air intake port of the air pump 61 communicates with the upper space thereof.
In the known piezoelectric element type air pump employed for the air pump 61, an air intake and an air outlet for compressed air exist on the lower surface. Therefore, an air passage connecting the air intake to the upper space is formed by the gap between the air pump 61 and the support portion 63A3. Further, the air outlet of the air pump 61 communicates with the inlet opening at the upper end of the air outlet pipe 63A. Therefore, the air around the main body case 62 sequentially passes through the air passage AR1, the dustproof filter 63D, and the air passage AR2 and flows into the air intake of the air pump 61. The compressed air compressed by the air pump 61 is delivered from the air outlet of the air pump 61 to the air outlet pipe 63A.

  As described above, the pump device 60 in which the air pump unit 60U and the exterior case 65 are assembled is attached to the attachment portion 67 provided at the back of the water storage container accommodation portion 46. The attachment portion 67 is formed of a recess in which a portion of the back wall member 32 is recessed rearward. The mounting portion 67 has a support base portion 66 on which the pump device 60 is placed, and a locking portion for resiliently locking the locking claw portions 65G of the left and right walls of the outer case 65. The locking portion is formed by locking holes or locking protrusions formed on the left and right side walls of the mounting portion 67. The support base 66 bends the bottom plate 29 of the refrigerator compartment 3 upward. In order to attach the pump device 60 to the mounting portion 67, the lead wire extended from the pump device 60 to the back side is connected to the power supply line on the refrigerator main body 2 side, and this power connection portion is disposed on the back side of the pump device 60 . The bottom 65E of the exterior case 65 of the pump device 60 is placed on the support base 66, and the gripping claws 65G of the left and right walls are engaged with the fingers while gripping the grips 65W of the left and right walls of the exterior case 65 with fingers. Resilient to the part. Thus, the pump device 60 is attached to the attachment portion 67. Further, the attachment portion 67 is formed as an opening into which the rear portion of the pump device 60 is inserted in a part of the back wall member 32, and the engagement claws 65G are resiliently engaged with the engagement portions formed on the left and right sides of this opening. Alternatively, the bottom 65E of the outer case 65 may be placed on the support base 66. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to prevent the water from being applied to the power supply connection portion existing on the back side of the pump device 60 even when the liquid is spilled in the refrigerating chamber 3.

  By mounting the pump device 60, the air discharge port 63 of the air discharge path 63C is exposed to the water storage container storage 46. Further, the air of the cold air passage 35A or the cold storage room 3 is sucked into the air pump 61 through the dustproof filter 63D through the rear surface opening of the outer case 65.

  The water supply apparatus B arranges the pump device 60 on the side of the refrigerator main body 2 and detachably connects the water storage container 9 to the air discharge port 63 of the pump device 60. The water storage container 9 is water for ice making of the main tank portion 90. Is a method of flowing into the measuring tank portion 91 under natural flow, and is a method of pushing the ice making water stored in the measuring tank portion 91 to the ice tray 7B by the compressed air of the pump device 60.

  In this method, there is a concern that the piezoelectric element type air pump 61 may get wet due to the water being applied, so that the air pump 61 may not be exposed to water. That is, even if the ice making water in the water storage container 9 flows back to the compressed air guiding pipe 96, the ice making water does not reach the air pump 61 through the air passage from the air pump 61 to the air discharge port 63. In addition to damping, the compressed air of the air pump 61 is smoothly supplied to the measuring tank portion 91 as an air passage. For this reason, the air passage supplied to the compressed air guiding pipe 96 from which the air discharged from the air pump 61 protrudes from the water storage container 9 in a substantially horizontal state rearwardly passes the compressed air from the longitudinal passage through the lateral passage. It is a structure leading to the pipe 96.

  Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 37, the air passage through which the air discharged from the air pump 61 is supplied to the compressed air induction pipe 96 is the air passage in the air outlet pipe 63A, and the air outlet pipe It is formed by the air discharge path 63C formed in the gasket 63B to which 63A is connected. The gasket 63B is made of silicone rubber and the air discharge path 63C is formed in a straight line, taking into consideration the connection relationship with the compressed air induction pipe 96, durability and ease of molding, etc. The pipe 63A is configured as an L-shaped bent air passage.

  The air passage in the air lead-out pipe 63A has a passage configuration bent in an L-shape by the longitudinal direction passage portion 63A1 and the lateral direction passage portion 63A2. Specifically, the lower horizontal passage portion 63A2 forms, together with the air discharge passage 63C, a substantially horizontal extending horizontal passage communicating with the compressed air guiding pipe 96, and is substantially vertically upward from the horizontal passage portion 63A2. The extending vertical passage portion 63A1 causes the rising energy of the ice making water to collide with the crossing portion 63A4 of the vertical passage portion 63A1 and the horizontal passage portion 63A2 to be attenuated, and lifts the vertical passage portion 63A1 by the remaining energy. Even if it does, it forms a vertical direction passage of such a length that it does not reach the air pump 61. The lengths of the vertical passage portion 63A1 and the horizontal passage portion 63A2 are confirmed and set by a preliminary test in the water supply apparatus B of the embodiment.

  As described above, the compressed air introduction path 94 of the measurement tank portion 91 includes the compressed air induction pipe 96 detachably connected to the air discharge port 63, the compressed air introduction portion 91A formed through the partition 9B, and the upper end It is formed of a compressed air introduction pipe 97 erected on the partition 9B so that the lower part communicates with the compressed air guiding pipe 96 and the lower end part communicates with the compressed air introducing part 91A.

  For this reason, the path of the ice making water in the measuring tank portion 91 backflowing back to the compressed air introduction path 94 extends in a substantially horizontal direction after rising the compressed air introduction pipe 97 provided substantially vertically from the compressed air introduction portion 91A. The backflow energy of the ice making water is attenuated also in the path of the compressed air introduction path 94 through the compressed air induction pipe 96 to reach the air discharge port 63, and it further flows in the horizontal direction and collides with the intersection 63A4 and is attenuated. Do. In the embodiment, as shown in the drawing, the longitudinal passage portion 63A1 can exhibit a sufficient effect with about twice the lateral passage portion 63A2.

Next, a configuration will be described in which the ice making water of a specified amount is smoothly pushed out of the measuring tank portion 91 by the small-sized air pump 61.
In order to smoothly supply a specified amount of ice making water from the measuring tank portion 91 to the ice tray 7B by the compressed air from the pump device 60, the ice making water leading portion 91B having a circular diameter of the circular compressed air introducing portion 91A. Greater than the diameter of

Thus, a compact air pump 61 having a small air discharge pressure like a piezoelectric element-type air pump, due to the pressure relationship between the inlet side and the outlet side of the measuring tank portion 91 by compressed air from the pump device 60. Even in this case, the action of pushing out the ice making water from the measuring tank 91 is good, and the ice making water having a specified amount can be smoothly supplied from the measuring tank 91 to the ice tray 7B. Therefore, a small piezoelectric element vibration type can also be adopted as the air pump 61, and the air pump 61 can be disposed in the cold air supply passage 35 at the back of the water storage container housing portion 46. It becomes easy to secure.
In order to obtain this effect, the inner diameter of the circular compressed air introduction pipe 97 which rises with the same diameter as the compressed air introduction portion 91A is from the inner diameter of the circular ice-making water lead pipe 99 which rises with the same diameter as the ice making water lead-out part 91B. Too big.

Next, injection of ice making water into the water storage container 9 will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the circular water supply port 104 is formed through the lid 9C at a position corresponding to the main tank portion 90 at the front upper surface thereof. It is closed by an openable and closable rotary cap 105. When water for ice making is poured from a water supply pipe or the like through the water supply port 104 in a state where the lid 9C is attached to the container body 9A, if the water injection vigorously rushes directly into the supply hole 92, ice is made to flow into the measuring tank 91 There is a risk that the water supply will exceed the specified amount. In order to prevent this, the water supply port 104 is arranged at a position far from the supply hole 92. In the embodiment, the water supply port 104 is a position corresponding to the front region of the main tank portion 90 which is out of the upper surface region of the measuring tank portion 91. Thus, it is possible to prevent the water from spouting from the compressed air guiding pipe 96.

As a result, even if the water supply water or the like is injected from the water supply port 104, the water injection collides with the main tank portion 90 immediately below the water supply port 104 and the momentum of the water injection is attenuated. It will be stored in the measuring tank part 91 by natural flow from the supply hole 92, and a specified amount will be stored.
The ice-making water filling level WL in the water storage container 9 is, in other words, the ice-making water filling level of the main tank portion 90, and is set at the level of the horizontal side 104A provided at the lower part of the water supply port 104. Therefore, whether or not the ice making water is full in the water storage container 9 is visually judged to be full in a state where the water is filled to the full level WL.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the activated carbon 119 supported by the support legs 120 is disposed above the supply hole 92 in the main tank portion 90. As a result, when the ice making water of the main tank portion 90 flows from the supply holes 92 into the measuring tank portion 91 under natural flow, the flowing ice making water passes through the activated carbon 119 and is purified.

Next, means for installing the water storage container 9 at a predetermined position of the water storage container storage unit 46 will be described.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional perspective view for explaining the slide configuration of the water storage container of the water supply device according to the present invention.
In the embodiment, the water storage container 9 is configured to be insertable and extractable by slide. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5 to FIG. 11 and FIG. 16, leg portions 9 K projecting downward from the bottom surface of the container body 9 A are integrally formed on the container body 9 A on both left and right sides of the bottom of the water storage container 9. The left and right legs 9K each include a front leg 9K1 and a rear leg 9K2, and the left front leg 9K1 and the rear leg 9K2 are disposed on the same straight line in the front-rear direction. The right front leg 9K1 and the rear leg 9K2 are also arranged on the same straight line in the front-rear direction. The right front leg 9K1 and the left front leg 9K1 are laterally symmetrical and in a left-right symmetrical arrangement, and the right rear leg 9K1 and the left rear leg 9K1 are laterally symmetrical. It is a symmetrical arrangement. The front legs 9K1 and the rear legs 9K2 are arranged in a straight line in the form of a plate extending in the front-rear direction on both left and right sides.

  The upper surface of the bottom plate 29 of the refrigerator compartment 3 forming the bottom surface of the water storage container storage portion 46 constitutes a rail portion so that the leg portion 9K of the container body 9A slides on the bottom surface of the water storage container storage portion 46. The rail portion can be formed by grooves on the upper surface of the bottom plate 29 on which the left and right legs 9K slide, but other means can also limit left and right blurring when the water storage container 9 is inserted and pulled out. .

  In the embodiment, guide walls 46 K extending in the front-rear direction are formed on the left and right of the bottom surface of the water storage container storage unit 46 by bending of the bottom plate 29 of the refrigerator compartment 3. The dimension between the left and right guide walls 46K is slightly larger than the dimension between the outer sides of the left and right legs 9K. Therefore, the bottom surface of the water storage container housing 46 along the inner side surface of the left and right guide walls 46K acts as a rail on which the leg 9K slides.

In this rail portion, the depressions 46Y1 and 46Y2 in which the left and right front legs 9K1 and the rear legs 9K2 fall are formed by bending the bottom plate 29 of the refrigerator compartment 3 when the water storage container 9 is accommodated at a predetermined position. Do.
Further, with the water storage container 9 housed in the predetermined position, the locking step 46A functioning as a stopper so as not to move forward, the part of the bottom plate 29 of the refrigerator compartment 3 upward between the left and right guide walls 46K It bends and forms. Thus, the groove 46Z between the left and right guide walls 46K and the locking step 46A constitutes a rail portion on which the left and right legs 9K slide.

  In this configuration, an annular packing 115 is attached to the periphery of the lower end portion of the ice making water guiding pipe 98 to prepare the water storage container 9 into which a predetermined amount of ice making water has been injected. The water storage container 9 is inserted in the rear while sliding the bottom surface of the water storage container storage portion 46 in a relationship in which the left and right rear side leg portions 9K2 are inserted into the left and right grooves 46Z. By this insertion, the left and right front legs 9K1 and the rear legs 9K2 fall into the corresponding recesses 46Y1 and 46Y2, respectively.

  As a result, the compressed air guiding pipe 96 is inserted into the insertion portion 63C1 of the air discharge port 63 on the front surface of the pump device 60, and is connected in an airtight state by the elasticity of the annular rib 63C1 of the gasket 63B. In this connected normal state, a locking portion 9A3 which is formed to project downward from the bottom front of the container body 9A is located on the rear side of the locking step 46A. As a result, movement of the water storage container 9 from the water storage container storage unit 46 forward is limited. In this state, the water storage container 9 is installed at a predetermined position of the water storage container storage unit 46.

  As in the case of the bottom plate 29 of the refrigerator compartment 3 as described above, if the support base 66 on which the exterior case 65 is placed and the slide of the water storage container 9 are formed on the same member, the water storage container 9 is inserted into the pump device 60 And, there is an effect that it becomes easy to set the withdrawal operation relationship to the regular state.

  In a state where the water storage container 9 is installed at a predetermined position of the water storage container storage unit 46, the lower end of the ice making water guiding pipe 98, which is an ice making water outlet, has a diameter larger than the diameter of the lower end of the ice making water guiding pipe 98 It faces the upper end opening of the ice making water supply passage 51 which spreads like a funnel upward. In this state, an annular packing 115 attached to the periphery of the lower end portion of the ice making water guiding pipe 98 is provided so that the ice making water can be introduced without leakage from the lower end of the ice making water guiding pipe 98 into the ice making water supply passage 51. The relationship is such that the upper end opening peripheral edge portion of the ice making water supply path 51 is in contact.

Next, the ice making operation will be described.
As described above, with the water storage container 9 inserted and installed at a predetermined position of the water storage container storage unit 46, the automatic ice making machine 7 starts the ice making operation by the operation of the ice making start switch provided on the operation panel 127 of the refrigerator 1. Do. When the ice making operation is started, a preset operation of the automatic ice making machine 7 such as whether or not the ice making tray 7B is in a predetermined state is performed by the operation of the control unit. After the preset operation, the air pump 61 is operated for a predetermined time, compressed air flows from the compressed air introduction path 94 into the measuring tank portion 91, and ice making water of the measuring tank portion 91 is pushed out into the ice making water leading path 95, It is introduced into the ice making cell 7B11 which is one of the ice making cells 7B1 of the ice making tray 7B through the ice making water supply path 51. Since the plurality of ice making cells 7B1 of the ice making tray 7B communicate with each other in the communication path formed in the upper part of the partition walls of the ice making cells 7B1 with each other, the ice making water introduced into a predetermined ice making cell 7B11 overflows at the overflow. It flows from the communication passage to the adjacent ice making cell 7B1 sequentially, and the ice making water level of each ice making cell 7B1 becomes substantially even. In this state, as described later, the ice making process is started by the detection of the infrared sensor 110, and the ice making water in the ice making tray 7B can be frozen.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, an infrared sensor 110 is disposed on the upper wall of the ice making unit 6 to detect whether or not ice is generated in the ice making cell 7B1 of the ice making plate 7B. The infrared sensor 110 is a known thermopile type infrared sensor. The thermopile type infrared sensor measures the temperature of water in a predetermined ice making cell 7B11 in a predetermined cycle by the operation of a control unit (not shown), and the temperature measured by the infrared sensor 110 is a predetermined low When the temperature is reached, the control unit determines that ice has been generated in the ice tray 7B.

  Although there are various methods for detecting whether the ice making water of the measuring tank 91 has been introduced into the ice tray 7B, one method is to use this infrared sensor 110 to make the ice making water of the measuring tank 91 into the ice tray 7B. It can detect whether it has been introduced. In that case, in the embodiment as described above, the specified amount 80 cc of the measuring tank portion 91 is pushed to the ice tray 7B by the operation of the air pump 61 for 15 seconds. The control unit reads the output of the infrared sensor 110 when 15 seconds have elapsed, and if the temperature in the ice making cell 7B11 rises to a predetermined temperature or more due to the inflow of ice making water, it determines that water is supplied and performs the ice making operation. Get started.

  When the infrared sensor 110 detects that a predetermined amount of water has been supplied to the ice tray 7B, the ice making process is started, and ice is generated in the ice making cell of the ice tray 7B. As described above, when the infrared sensor 110 detects the temperature at which ice is generated in the ice tray 7B, the operation of the control unit drives the ice tray motor of the electric mechanism 7A to turn the ice tray 7B in reverse. After the ice in the ice making cell 7B1 is dropped to the lower ice storage box 8, the ice making tray 7B is returned to the original horizontal state again. In this state, the air pump 61 operates again to start the same ice making process as described above.

  The state where the water storage container 9 is inserted and installed at a predetermined position of the water storage container storage unit 46 may be detected by detecting with a position detection switch disposed on the back side wall or the like of the water storage container storage unit 46. In that case, the signal of the position detection switch is input to the control unit, and the ice making operation is enabled. In this state, the automatic ice making machine 7 starts the ice making operation as described above by the operation of the ice making start switch provided on the operation panel unit 127 of the refrigerator.

  There is also a method in which this position detection switch is not provided. It operates the ice making start switch to give an ice making operation start command to the automatic ice making machine 7, and the control unit operates the air pump 61 for a predetermined time (15 seconds in the embodiment), and then the control unit outputs the infrared sensor 110 If the temperature inside the ice making cell of the ice tray 7B is a temperature below the freezing point when there is no inflow of ice making water, it is judged that there is no water supply, and the LCD or LED light provided in the operation panel 127 of the refrigerator 1 etc. Display on the display unit of This display indicates that the water storage container 9 is not inserted into a predetermined position of the water storage container storage unit 46 or that the water storage container 9 is inserted into a predetermined position of the water storage container storage unit 46 but is out of water It is.

  The ice making operation of the automatic ice maker 7 ends when the ice storage box 8 is full. In this full state, as shown in FIG. 4, an ice detecting lever 7K is provided which is lowered from the upper side into the ice storage box 8 every time the ice making operation is completed by the electric mechanism 7A. When the ice detecting lever 7K is prevented from lowering by the ice in the ice storage box 8, the control unit detects a rapid increase in the load current applied to the electric mechanism 7A, and determines that the ice storage box 8 is full.

  In the case of supplying water for making ice to the water storage container 9, etc., the water storage container 9 is lifted by the handle 9T provided on the front surface of the water storage container 9 until the locking portion 9A3 comes off from the locking step 46A. The compressed air guiding pipe 96 can be pulled away from the air discharge port 63 of the pump device 60 by pulling out 9 to the front of the water storage container accommodating portion 46.

  As described above, in the water storage container 9, the measuring tank portion 91 is formed between the water storage container 9 and the inner bottom surface of the container main body 9A by the partition 9B being pressed downward by the lid 9C attached to the container main body 9A. The formation of the measuring tank portion 91 is facilitated, and an attachment device for fixing the partition 9B to the container main body 9A is not necessary. Therefore, if the lid 9C is removed, the partitioning body 9B can be pulled out of the container main body 9A, so the container main body 9A, the partitioning body 9B and the lid 9C can be easily cleaned, and further, the compressed air introducing passage 94 and the ice making water outlet passage 95 Can be easily cleaned. In addition, since the upper end opening of the ice making water supply passage 51 is exposed to the water storage container containing portion 46 in a state where the water storage container 9 is pulled out from the water storage container containing portion 46, the inside of the ice making water supply passage 51 can be easily cleaned. Become.

Second Embodiment
46-48 show Example 2 provided with the water supply apparatus of the automatic ice maker for refrigerators which concerns on this invention. FIG. 46 is a front view showing the refrigerator compartment of the refrigerator 1 of the second embodiment. FIG. 47 is a longitudinal sectional view of the refrigerator 1 according to the second embodiment. FIG. 48 is a cross-sectional view of the refrigerator 1 according to the second embodiment. In these drawings, the foamed heat insulating material 2C of the refrigerator main body 2 is in a state of being omitted.

  In the refrigerator body 2 of the second embodiment, the inside of the refrigerator body 2 is partitioned such that a refrigerator compartment 3 is at the top, a freezer compartment 4 is below it, and a vegetable compartment 5 is at the bottom. Mainly different from the refrigerator 1 of the first embodiment, in the lower part of the freezer compartment 4, the main freezer compartment 4S having a large volume is formed, and in the upper part, an ice making unit 6 on the left and a freezer compartment 4A on the right Compartment formation. An ice tray 7B of an automatic ice maker 7 is disposed at the top in the ice making section 6, and an ice storage box 8 with an upper opening is disposed below the ice tray 7B.

  In this arrangement, the opening of the refrigerator compartment 3 is not a single door, but is a double door type which is opened to the left and right by the refrigerator compartment doors 10A and 10B. The opening of the vegetable compartment 5 is closed by the drawer type door 11 with the same configuration as that of the first embodiment. In addition, the opening of the ice making unit 6 has the same configuration as that of the vegetable room 5, and the ice storage box 8 supported in a forward and backward direction with respect to the left and right rails provided in the ice making unit 6 together with the door 12A. It is the composition made into a drawer type pulled out to the front. The opening of the freezer compartment 4A has a configuration similar to that of the vegetable compartment 5, and with the door 12B the container supported so as to be extractable in the front-rear direction with respect to the left and right rails provided in the freezer compartment 4A is pulled forward The configuration is a pullout type. In addition, the opening of the main freezer compartment 4S has a configuration similar to that of the vegetable compartment 5, and together with the door 12C, a container supported so as to be extractable in the front-rear direction with respect to left and right rails provided in the main freezer compartment 4S. It is the composition made into a drawer type pulled out to the front.

  The water supply apparatus of the automatic ice making apparatus according to the present invention in the refrigerator 1 of the second embodiment has the same configuration and the same function as those of the first embodiment. And the description thereof conforms to the first embodiment.

The present invention is effective when applied to various forms of refrigerator, and is not limited to the forms described in the first and second embodiments. For this reason, it is applicable to the refrigerator of various forms within the scope of the meaning of the present invention.
Further, the partition body 9B for partitioning the inside of the container main body 9A into the main tank portion 90 and the measuring tank portion 91 achieves the object of the present invention and the effects of the present invention can be obtained. Not exclusively. Therefore, the main tank container forming the main tank portion 90 in the container body 9A is detachably accommodated in the container body 9A, and the measuring tank is disposed between the bottom wall of the main tank container and the bottom wall of the container body 9A. The form which forms the part 91 may be sufficient. In the case of this embodiment, the bottom wall of the main tank container corresponds to the partition 9 B, and serves as a partition wall that divides the main tank portion 90 and the measuring tank portion 91. Therefore, the supply hole 92 may be formed in the bottom wall of the main tank container, the float body 93 may be provided, and the barrier 121 may be provided. Furthermore, a compressed air introduction passage 94, ice making water discharge passage 95, and an air discharge groove 125 are provided on the bottom wall of the main tank container.

A · · · Automatic ice making device B · · · · Water supply device 1 · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · refrigerator room 4 · · · · · · Freezing chamber 6 ······ Ice making unit 7 ······· Automatic ice making machine 7 B ··· Ice making tray 8 ····· Ice storage box 9 ······ Water holding container 9 A ·· ... container body 9A3 inner bottom surface 9B of the ... locking portion 9A1 ···· container body ..... partition body 9BF ···· pressing flange 9BT ···· support projections 9C ···· · Lid 9T · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 28 lid · · · · · partition wall 32 · · · back wall member of the cold storage room 46 · · · water storage container housing portion 46A · · · · · locking step 51 ······ Ice supply water supply passage 60 ··· Pump unit 60 U ··· Air pump unit 61 ··· Air pump 62 ··· Main body Sleeve 62FH: filter holder 62M1: support groove 62M2: support groove 62R: back plate 62R1: main portion of back plate 62R2: first filter holder 62R3: first 2 Filter holding portion 63 ··· Air discharge port 63A · · · Air outlet pipe 63A 1 · · · Longitudinal passage 63A 2 · · · Horizontal passage 63B · · · · · · Gasket 63C · · · Air discharge passage 63D ······ Dustproof filter 65 ··· Outer case 90 · · · · Main tank portion 90P · · · · Packing holding portion 90P 1 · · · Annular projection 90P 2 · · · annular groove 90P 3 · · · contact portion 90P4 ··· Holding projection 91 ··· Measurement tank section 91A · · · Compressed air introduction section 91B · · · Ice making water discharge section 92 ··· Supply hole 93 ··· Float body
94 ··· Compressed air introduction path 95 ······ Ice discharge water discharge path 96 · · · Compressed air induction pipe 97 ··· Compressed air introduction pipe 98 · · · Ice water induction pipe 99 ----- ice water deriving pipes 99P ... outlet pipe 100 ... communicating passage 100A · · · Hirakimizo portion 100B · · · Hirakimizo 104 ... water supply port 105 .... cap 110 .... engaging protrusion 111 ... engagement groove 111A · · · engaging groove of the outer wall 112 ... inclined surface 115 .... annular inner wall 111B · · · engaging groove Packing 116 · · · Ring packing 117 · · · Ring packing 117D · · · Mounting groove 117Q · · · Shoulder 117R1 · · · outer annular rib 117R2 · · · inner annular rib 117 T · · · · · · · · · · · · Barrier 122 ・ ・ ・ ・ Water flow for ice making Part 125 .... air discharge groove 125A ··· bulging groove

Claims (5)

A container body having an opening that opens upward;
A lid attached to the opening of the container body and closing the opening of the container body;
An annular engagement groove is provided in either one of the upper surface opening peripheral edge portion of the container main body and the lower surface peripheral edge portion of the lid, and a bendable annular engaging protrusion is inserted into the engaging groove in the other, inner walls constituting the engagement groove is Rutotomoni an inclined surface toward the front Symbol engaging groove at the upper end, it extends toward the bottom side of the inner wall from the end of the inclined surface, and the engaging projection The gap width between the inclined surface and the outer wall constituting the engagement groove is wider than the gap width between the contact surface and the outer wall,
The engagement projection is elastically deformed when the lid is attached to the container body, and enters the engagement groove from the inclined surface side to abut on both the contact surface and the outer wall. together, when removing the lid from the container body while elastically deformed, Ri relationship der exiting to the inclined surface from the engagement groove,
A container seal structure , wherein the height of the inner side wall is lower than the height of the outer side wall . The water storage container for storing ice making water is
A container body having an opening that opens upward;
A lid attached to the opening of the container body and closing the opening of the container body;
An annular engagement groove is provided in either one of the upper surface opening peripheral edge portion of the container main body and the lower surface peripheral edge portion of the lid, and a bendable annular engaging protrusion is inserted into the engaging groove in the other, inner walls constituting the engagement groove is Rutotomoni an inclined surface toward the front Symbol engaging groove at the upper end, it extends toward the bottom side of the inner wall from the end of the inclined surface, and the engaging projection The gap width between the inclined surface and the outer wall constituting the engagement groove is wider than the gap width between the contact surface and the outer wall,
The engagement projection is elastically deformed when the lid is attached to the container body, and enters the engagement groove from the inclined surface side to abut on both the contact surface and the outer wall. together, when removing the lid from the container body while elastically deformed, Ri relationship der exiting to the inclined surface from the engagement groove,
The water supply apparatus of an automatic ice making apparatus , wherein the height of the inner side wall is lower than the height of the outer side wall . The lid is made of a flexible synthetic resin, the engagement groove is provided on the container body, the engagement protrusion is provided on the lid, and the inclined surface is on the upper end portion of the inner side wall of the engagement groove The water supply device of the automatic ice making device according to claim 2, characterized in that it is formed. The width of the engagement groove is larger than the thickness of the engagement protrusion, and the end portion of the engagement protrusion is opposite to the inclined surface at the end of the attachment of the lid to the container body. The water supply apparatus of the automatic ice making apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the water supply apparatus is in contact with a wall of the water supply apparatus. The main body of the container body has a main tank portion for storing ice making water, and a measuring tank portion for storing ice making water having a predetermined volume to be supplied to the ice making tray of the automatic ice making device,
A water storage container storage unit for storing the water storage container in a removable manner is formed in a refrigeration chamber, and an ice tray of the automatic ice making apparatus is disposed in the ice making unit,
A pump device for sending compressed air to the measurement tank portion is disposed in the water storage container storage portion;
The water storage device according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the water storage container is detachably connected to an air outlet of the pump device according to storage in the water storage container storage unit. Refrigerator equipped with.

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