JP6567992B2 - Auger ice machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an auger type ice making machine that delivers ice pieces discharged from an ice discharge port to an ice storage chamber by rotation of an agitator, and in particular, is discharged as flake ice (shaved ice-like ice). The present invention relates to an auger type ice making machine equipped with an agitator suitable for delivering ice pieces.

  The agitator in the auger type ice making machine of the present invention includes a push-out surface having a forward inclined posture in which the lower end is positioned upstream from the upper end on the downstream side in the rotational direction of the agitator in the push-out blade piece. An agitator having an extruded surface in an inclined posture is disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1. In the auger type ice making machine disclosed in Patent Document 1, the agitator is disposed in a horizontal L-shaped ice passage extending from the ice compression passage in the blow shooter to the ice piece outlet, and is connected to the upper end of the auger. And two extrusion blades (extrusion blade pieces) provided on the side surface of the rotating shaft. The extrusion blade includes a main body fixed to the rotation shaft, a roof portion that is bent on the upper edge of the main body in the rotation direction downstream side, and a bent portion that is bent on the outer edge of the main body in the rotation direction upstream side. The extrusion blade main body is provided with a vertical extrusion surface, and the roof portion is provided with an extrusion surface in a forward inclined posture on the downstream side in the rotation direction.

JP 2007-155184 A

  As in the auger type ice making machine disclosed in Patent Document 1, when a push-out surface that is inclined forward is provided on the downstream side in the rotation direction of the extrusion blade in the agitator, flake ice that is pushed out from the ice discharge port by the rotation of the agitator is pushed into the extrusion surface. Since the horizontal pushing force can be applied to the flake ice, the flake ice can be efficiently and accurately sent to the downstream side of the ice passage. However, in the auger type ice making machine of Patent Document 1, since the rotating shaft of the agitator is formed in a straight shape, horizontal pushing force is applied to the flake ice extruded from the auger along the rotating shaft between the extrusion blades. The flake ice rises along the rotation axis and can easily get over the upper end of the extrusion blade. In this way, when flake ice gets over the extrusion blade, the amount of flake ice delivered per rotation of the agitator is reduced by the amount overtaken, so that the amount of flake ice corresponding to the delivery capacity of the agitator is not delivered. The transmission efficiency is reduced.

  In addition, when the flake ice receives a pushing force from the extruded surface of the roof portion, a pushing force in the downward direction acts on the flake ice in addition to the horizontal direction. Therefore, there is a possibility that ice pieces of flake ice that move up and down in the vertical passage of the ice passage are compressed and bound, and ice blocks are generated. Also, in the vicinity of the extruded blade main body and the bent portion of the roof part, flake ice that receives horizontal pushing force from the main body collides with flake ice that receives horizontal and downward pushing force from the roof part. There is also a risk that ice pieces will be bound to form ice blocks. As described above, when ice blocks are generated in the flake ice, it is impossible to provide the ice user with the ice ice having a uniform ice property. Further, when an excessively large ice block is generated, it is difficult to smoothly feed the ice block to the downstream side of the ice passage, and there is a possibility that members forming the extrusion blade and the ice passage may be damaged.

An object of the present invention is to provide an auger type ice making machine provided with an agitator that further improves the delivery efficiency as compared with a conventional agitator provided with an extruding blade piece provided with an extruding surface in a forward inclined posture.
An object of the present invention is to provide an auger type ice making machine capable of delivering flake ice more efficiently than conventional agitators, and further capable of delivering flake ice with uniform ice properties to an ice storage chamber. is there.

  The auger type ice making machine of the present invention includes an ice making cylinder 15 whose peripheral surface is covered with a cooler 18, a discharge cylinder 16 disposed at the upper end of the ice making cylinder 15, and an auger 17 that is rotationally driven inside the ice making cylinder 15. An agitator 36 that rotates along with the auger 17 and sends flake ice pushed out from the ice discharge port 33 at the top of the discharge cylinder 16 from the ice passage 35 toward the ice storage chamber 5 is provided. The agitator 36 includes a disc-shaped base portion 39 connected to the upper end of the auger 17, and one or more extruded blade pieces 41 projecting radially outward from the periphery of the base portion 39. On the peripheral surface of the base portion 39, an upwardly expanding receiving surface 40 is provided, and a forward inclined posture is provided in which the lower end is positioned upstream from the upper end on the downstream side in the rotational direction of the agitator 36 in the extruded blade 41. An extrusion surface 42 is provided.

  The ice passage 35 includes a bottomed cylindrical cup portion 60 that receives flake ice delivered by the rotation of the agitator 36, and a guide tube 61 provided on the peripheral wall of the cup portion 60. The bottom wall inner surface 64 of the cup part 60 and the tube bottom surface 65 of the guide tube 61 are formed so as to be smoothly continuous. The discharge tube 16 is inserted into the mounting opening 63 provided in the bottom wall of the cup part 60, and the ice discharge port 33 is located at the same level as or above the bottom wall inner surface 64 of the cup part 60. preferable.

  The receiving surface 40 is formed over the top and bottom of the base portion 39. The vertical dimension of the base end part of the extrusion blade piece 41 is set to be equal to or larger than the vertical dimension of the base part 39. The corner 43 between the extrusion surface 42 and the receiving surface 40 is rounded.

  Around the base portion 39, a plurality of extruded blade pieces 41 having the same shape and the same size are projected at equal intervals.

  A screw hole 46 provided in the base portion 39 of the agitator 36 is screwed into a screw shaft 47 provided at the upper end of the auger 17. A pair of operation surfaces 52 for screwing the agitator 36 into the screw shaft 47 is formed on the opposing peripheral surface of the operation shaft portion 51 protruding from the upper surface of the base portion 39.

  The auger 17 includes an auger shaft 19 that is rotatably supported by a shaft support structure, and a spiral blade 20 that is fixed around the auger shaft 19. A ventilation passage 54 is provided in a vertically penetrating manner along the central axis of the auger shaft 19. A vent hole 53 communicating with the screw hole 46 is formed in the operation shaft portion 51 of the agitator 36. The inside of the ice making cylinder 15 and the ice passage 35 are communicated with each other through a ventilation passage 54 and a ventilation hole 53 so as to be freely ventilated.

  An auxiliary ventilation hole 56 communicating with the ventilation hole 53 is formed in at least one of the pair of operation surfaces 52.

  In the auger type ice making machine of the present invention, the agitator 36 includes a disk-like base portion 39 connected to the upper end of the auger 17 and one or more extrusions projecting radially outward from the periphery of the base portion 39. The wing piece 41 was included. Further, a receiving surface 40 having an upper spread shape is provided on the peripheral surface of the base portion 39, and a forward inclined posture in which the lower end is positioned upstream from the upper end on the downstream side in the rotational direction of the agitator 36 in the extrusion blade piece 41 is set. An extruded surface 42 was provided. In this manner, when the receiving surface 40 having an upwardly expanding shape is provided on the peripheral surface of the base portion 39, the flake ice pushed out from the ice discharge port 33 is received by the receiving surface 40 and guided to change its direction. On the other hand, the flake ice rising along the base portion 39 can be sent out in the radial direction by applying a pressing force in the horizontal direction. Accordingly, it is possible to suppress the flake ice from getting over the extruded blade 41 along the base portion 39 by the horizontal pushing force by the receiving surface 40. Further, when the extrusion blade 42 is provided with the extrusion surface 42 that is inclined forward, the extrusion force in the horizontal direction is applied to the flake ice while the extrusion surface 42 receives the flake ice extruded from the ice discharge port 33. Can act. Thus, the flake ice can be efficiently sent outward in the radial direction while preventing the flake ice from getting over the upper edge of the extrusion blade 41 on the extrusion surface 42. As described above, according to the present invention, the receiving surface 40 having an upwardly expanding shape is provided on the peripheral surface of the base portion 39, and the lower end of the pusher blade 41 in the rotation direction of the agitator 36 is upstream from the upper end. Combined with the push-out surface 42 in the forward inclined position located on the side, the problem of reducing the amount of flake ice delivered per rotation of the agitator is reliably solved as in the conventional agitator. it can. Therefore, the amount of flake ice commensurate with the delivery capacity of the agitator can be accurately delivered to improve the supply efficiency.

  If the inner surface 64 of the bottom wall of the cup portion 60 constituting the ice passage 35 and the bottom surface 65 of the guide tube 61 are smoothly continuous, a step or the like that prevents the flake ice from being fed is formed in the ice passage 35. Therefore, the flake ice received by the cup portion 60 can be smoothly delivered from the cup portion 60 to the guide tube 61 by the rotation of the agitator 36 in the flake ice state. When the ice discharge port 33 is located at the same level as or above the bottom wall inner surface 64 of the cup portion 60, the flake ice pushed out from the ice discharge port 33 is pushed out by the extrusion surface 42 and the receiving surface 40. It falls to the bottom wall inner surface 64 of the cup part 60 with its own weight, receiving the pushing force by. The fallen flake ice is smoothly sent out toward the guide tube 61 by the agitator 36. Therefore, the flake ice is compressed inside the cup portion 60, and there is no room for the ice pieces to bind together, so that the flake ice having uniform ice properties can be accurately delivered toward the ice storage chamber. Further, it is possible to prevent damage to the extruded blade 41 and the ice passage 35 due to the formation of ice blocks.

  The receiving surface 40 was formed over the upper and lower sides of the base part 39, and the vertical dimension of the base end part of the extruded blade 41 was set to be the same as or larger than the vertical dimension of the base part 39. In addition, the corner 43 between the extrusion surface 42 and the receiving surface 40 is rounded. For example, when the corner portion 43 is not rounded, the flake ice in the region near the corner portion 43 is pressed by the downstream surface in the rotational direction received from the pushing surface 42 and the base portion 39 received from the receiving surface 40. There is a possibility that the pressing force from two directions having different pressing forces in the radially outward direction may act and be compressed. In addition, the flake ice delivered from the extrusion surface 42 and the flake ice delivered from the receiving surface 40 may collide. However, by rounding the corner 43 as in the present invention, flake ice stays in the corner 43 and is compressed or avoided from colliding and can be smoothly sent in the direction in which the pushing force is applied. The formation of ice blocks can be effectively prevented.

  When a plurality of extruded blade pieces 41 of the same shape and size are provided around the base portion 39 at equal intervals, the pushing force is made uniform by each extruded blade piece 41 and further pressed against the flake ice at a constant cycle. Since the output can be applied, it is possible to stabilize the flake ice delivery by the rotation of the agitator 36.

  When a pair of operation surfaces 52 for screwing the agitator 36 into the screw shaft 47 is formed on the opposed peripheral surface of the operation shaft portion 51 protruding from the upper surface of the base portion 39, the operation surface 52 is picked with fingers or the operation surface 52. A screwing operation can be performed by attaching a tightening tool such as a spanner. Therefore, the operation part at the time of screwing operation can be clarified and the screwing operation of the agitator 36 can be easily performed.

  When the inside of the ice making cylinder 15 and the ice passage 35 are communicated with each other through the ventilation passage 54 provided in the auger shaft 19 and the ventilation hole 53 formed in the operation shaft portion 51, the internal pressure of the ice making cylinder 15 becomes high and low. When fluctuating, it is possible to eliminate fluctuations in the internal pressure of the ice making cylinder 15 by discharging air to the ice passage 35 or supplying air into the ice making cylinder 15. Accordingly, the auger type ice making machine can be made silent by suppressing the generation of the pumping sound generated in the ice making cylinder 15 with the sudden change of the internal pressure. The factors that cause the pressure in the ice making cylinder 15 to change include supply of ice making water into the ice making cylinder 15, growth of ice on the inner wall surface of the ice making cylinder 15, and compression of ice pieces scraped by the spiral blade 20. Can be mentioned.

  If an auxiliary ventilation hole 56 communicating with the ventilation passage 54 is formed in the operation surface 52, for example, even when flake ice enters the ventilation hole 53 and is closed, the inside of the ice making cylinder 15 and the ice can be connected via the auxiliary ventilation hole 56. Since the passage 35 can be freely communicated with the passage 35, the generation of the pumping sound generated in the ice making cylinder 15 can be further reliably suppressed.

It is a vertical front view which shows the agitator of the auger type ice making machine which concerns on this invention, and its periphery structure. It is a vertical front view of an auger type ice making machine. It is a side view which shows the apparatus structure in a machine room. It is a cross-sectional top view which shows the relationship between an agitator and a discharge cylinder. It is the sectional view on the AA line in FIG. It is the BB sectional view taken on the line in FIG. It is a partial front view which shows the modification of an extrusion blade piece.

(Example) FIGS. 1-6 shows the Example of the auger type ice making machine based on this invention. In the present embodiment, front and rear, left and right, and upper and lower follow the cross arrows shown in FIGS. 2 to 4 and the front and rear, left and right, and upper and lower indications shown near each arrow.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the auger type ice making machine includes a square box ice making machine body 1 and a top plate 2 that covers the entire top surface and can be used as a cooking table. The ice making machine main body 1 includes an ice storage box 3 formed of a box whose peripheral wall is formed of a heat insulating material, and a machine room 4 provided on the left side of the ice storage box 3. Inside the ice storage box 3 is an ice storage chamber 5. The ice storage box 3 has a take-out opening for taking out ice on the front surface, and the take-out opening can be opened and closed by a swinging front door. An ice making unit for generating ice is housed inside the machine room 4, and a detachable machine room panel 6 is mounted on the front surface of the machine room 4.

  The ice making unit includes a unit base 9 made of a horizontal base plate, a compressor 10, a condenser 11 and an auger unit 12 mounted on the unit base 9, and a refrigerant pipe (not shown) connecting them. . The compressor 10 is arranged on the rear side of the unit base 9, the condenser 11 is arranged on the front side, and the auger unit 12 is arranged between the both units 10 and 11. By removing the machine room panel 6, the entire ice making unit can be pulled out from the machine room 4, so that maintenance work can be easily performed.

  The auger unit 12 includes an ice making cylinder 15, a discharge cylinder 16 disposed at the upper end of the ice making cylinder 15, and an auger 17 that vertically penetrates both the cylinders 15 and 16 and is driven to rotate inside the ice making cylinder 15. Around the outer peripheral surface of the ice making cylinder 15, a cooler (evaporator) 18 constituting a refrigeration apparatus is wound together with the compressor 10, the condenser 11, and the like. Covered. By driving the compressor 10 and supplying the refrigerant to the cooler 18, the ice making water in the ice making cylinder 15 is cooled and freezes on the inner wall surface. The auger 17 includes an auger shaft 19 that is rotatably supported, and a left-handed helical blade 20 that is fixed around the auger shaft 19. The auger shaft 19 is a shaft-supporting structure provided on the discharge tube 16. The upper small-diameter shaft portion pivotally supported by the shaft and the lower large-diameter shaft portion to which the spiral blade 20 is fixed are configured as stepped shafts. By rotating the auger 17, the ice blades are scraped off by the spiral blade 20 on the inner wall surface of the ice making cylinder 15, and the ice pieces are conveyed to the upper discharge cylinder 16 while being further compressed. The ice making cylinder 15 and the cooler 18 are covered with a unit cover 12a.

  The auger 17 is driven to rotate counterclockwise in a plan view by a motor 23 arranged adjacent to the ice making cylinder 15, and the rotation of the motor 23 is decelerated by a speed reducer 24 arranged below the ice making cylinder 15. Is transmitted to the auger shaft 19. The ice making cylinder 15 and the motor 23 are fixed to a speed reducer 24, and the speed reducer 24 is fixed to the unit base 9 through a lower frame 25 having a hat-shaped cross section. The condenser 11 and the upper end of the ice making cylinder 15 are fixed by a step-like upper frame 26, and a water supply unit 27 for supplying ice making water to the ice making cylinder 15 is arranged in the middle of the upper frame 26. Although not shown, a water supply pipe connecting the ice making cylinder 15 and the water supply unit 27 is provided with a solenoid valve, and the supply and shut-off of the ice making water are controlled by opening and closing the solenoid valve. In FIG. 2, symbol S is a full ice detection switch that detects the full ice in the ice storage chamber 5 fixed to the ceiling of the ice storage chamber 5, and the full ice detection switch S is detected by the flake ice stored up to the vicinity of the ceiling of the ice storage chamber 5. When operated, the supply of ice-making water from the water supply unit 27 is shut off and ice-making is stopped. Moreover, in FIG. 3, the code | symbol C is a control box which controls the whole ice making machine.

  A first drain pan 28 is provided at the upper end of the ice making cylinder 15 to receive the dew condensation water around the discharge cylinder 16. A second drain pan 28 is provided below the speed reducer 24 to receive the dew condensation water around the ice making cylinder 15. A drain pan 29 is provided. Condensed water from the first drain pan 28 is caused to flow down to the second drain pan 29 by a flow-down pipe 30 (see FIG. 2). Is discharged outside. The end of the upper frame 26 on the ice making cylinder 15 side is connected and fixed to the first drain pan 28 (see FIG. 3).

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, three ice discharge ports 33 are provided in the upper portion of the discharge cylinder 16. The ice discharge port 33 is an outlet of an ice compression passage 34 that extends from the inner upper end of the ice making cylinder 15 and recompresses the ice conveyed upward while being compressed by the auger 17. It is formed at intervals. In the present embodiment, the ice compression rate in the ice compression passage 34 is set to be small, and the shaved ice flake ice is pushed out from the ice discharge port 33. If the ice compression rate in the ice compression passage 34 is set to be large, the ice pieces compressed in the ice compression passage 34 are bound together, and columnar ice is pushed out from the ice discharge port 33. By crushing the columnar ice, ice block-shaped chip ice can be generated. Thus, in the auger type ice making machine, flake ice or chip ice can be generated by changing the ice compression rate in the ice compression passage 34 without changing other configurations.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, flake ice pushed out from the ice discharge port 33 is sent to the ice storage chamber 5 from the ice passage 35 by rotating together with the auger 17 at the upper end of the auger shaft 19. An agitator 36 made of stainless steel is provided. The agitator 36 is disposed at the upstream end of the ice passage 35, and exerts a pushing force on the flake ice by rotation and sends it to the downstream side of the ice passage 35. The agitator 36 includes a disc-shaped base portion 39 connected to the upper end of the auger shaft 19, and a receiving surface 40 having an upwardly extending shape is provided over the entire circumference of the peripheral surface of the base portion 39. Specifically, the receiving surface 40 is formed over the top and bottom of the base portion 39 as an upwardly expanding tapered surface. According to such a receiving surface 40, flake ice pushed out from the ice discharge port 33 is received and guided by the receiving surface 40, and a horizontal pushing force is applied to the flake ice. The flake ice rising along the base portion 39 can be sent outward in the radial direction, and the flake ice rising along the base portion 39 can be prevented from getting over the extrusion blade piece 41.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, four extrusion blade pieces 41 protrude from the periphery of the base portion 39 outward in the radial direction. Each extrusion blade piece 41 is formed in the same shape and the same size, and is provided around the base portion 39 at regular intervals. The entire extrusion blade piece 41 has a square plate shape in which the vertical dimension is set to be the same as the vertical dimension of the base portion 39 and the tip surface is formed as a vertical surface. As shown in FIG. 1, each extruded blade piece 41 is inclined in a state where the lower portion of the blade piece 41 is located on the upper side in the rotational direction from the upper portion when viewed from the tip side. As a result, on the downstream side in the rotational direction of the agitator 36 in the extrusion blade piece 41, a planar extrusion surface 42 is provided in a forward inclined posture with the lower end positioned upstream from the upper end. According to such an extrusion surface 42, while the flake ice pushed out from the ice discharge port 33 is received by the extrusion surface 42, a horizontal pushing force is applied to the flake ice so that the flake ice is extruded blade pieces. The flake ice can be sent radially outward while preventing the upper edge of 41 from getting over.

  As described above, when four extruded blade pieces 41 of the same shape and size are provided around the base portion 39 at equal intervals, the pushing force is made uniform by each of the extruded blade pieces 41, and the flakes are flakes at a constant cycle. Since the pushing force can be applied to the ice, the flake ice can be sent out stably by the rotation of the agitator 36. In the present embodiment, the extrusion surface 42 is in a forward inclined posture inclined by 17 degrees with respect to the vertical plane. Further, the receiving surface 40 is inclined by 14 degrees with respect to the central axis of the agitator 36.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the corner 43 between the extrusion surface 42 and the receiving surface 40 is rounded. For the flake ice in the area near the corner 43, the pressing force by the pushing surface 42 and the pushing force by the receiving surface 40 in different directions act, so that the ice pieces are compressed or collided with each other. Is likely to occur. Therefore, by rounding the corner 43 as in the present embodiment, flake ice stays in the corner 43 and is compressed or avoided from colliding and can be smoothly fed in the direction in which the pushing force is applied. The formation of ice blocks can be effectively prevented.

  As shown in FIG. 5, a screw hole 46 is provided in the base portion 39 of the agitator 36, and a female screw portion is screwed into the screw hole 46 up to the majority. Further, at the upper end of the auger shaft 19, a fully threaded screw shaft 47 having a diameter smaller than that of the small diameter shaft portion of the auger shaft 19 is provided. The agitator 36 is integrally connected to the auger 17 by screwing the screw hole 46 into the screw shaft 47. In a state where the agitator 36 is connected, the stepped portion at the lower end of the screw hole 46 is received by the upper surface of the small diameter shaft portion of the auger shaft 19 and can rotate along with the auger 17 without rattling. The screw structure composed of the screw hole 46 and the screw shaft 47 is composed of a right-hand thread, and the screw structure does not loosen even when the agitator 36 that rotates counterclockwise receives the extrusion reaction force from the flake ice. A boss 48 is formed on the lower surface of the base portion 39, and the boss 48 covers the base end portion of the screw shaft 47 to protect the screw structure.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, an operating shaft portion 51 protrudes from the upper surface of the base portion 39. The upper end surface of the operation shaft portion 51 is formed in a horizontal plane, and a pair of parallel operation surfaces 52 for screwing the agitator 36 into the screw shaft 47 is formed on the opposing peripheral surface of the operation shaft portion 51. As described above, when a pair of parallel operation surfaces 52 are formed on the opposing peripheral surface of the operation shaft portion 51, the operation surface 52 is picked with a finger or a tightening tool such as a spanner is applied to the operation surface 52 to perform a screwing operation. be able to. Therefore, the screwing operation of the agitator 36 can be easily performed.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a vent hole 53 communicating with the screw hole 46 is formed in the operation shaft portion 51 of the agitator 36. The screw hole 46 is formed in a vertically penetrating manner along the central axis of the operation shaft portion 51 so that one end opens at the bottom of the screw hole 46 and the other end opens at the upper end surface of the operation shaft portion 51. The auger shaft 19 is provided with a vent passage 54 that communicates with the inside of the ice making cylinder 15 along the center axis thereof. The vent opening 55 at the upper end of the vent passage 54 is formed at the upper end surface of the screw shaft 47. Is open. As a result, the inside of the ice making cylinder 15 and the ice passage 35 communicate with each other through the ventilation passage 54 of the auger shaft 19 and the ventilation hole 53 of the agitator 36 so as to be freely permeable. In the pair of operation surfaces 52, auxiliary ventilation holes 56 communicating with the ventilation holes 53 are formed so as to penetrate in the horizontal direction. The inside of the ice making cylinder 15 and the ice passage 35 are also in the auxiliary ventilation holes 56. It communicates freely. The auxiliary vent hole 56 is provided such that its upper half faces the vent hole 53 and its lower half faces the screw hole 46.

As described above, when the inside of the ice making cylinder 15 and the ice passage 35 are communicated with each other in a freely ventilating manner, for example, supply of ice making water into the ice making cylinder 15, growth of ice on the inner wall surface of the ice making cylinder 15, scraping with the spiral blade 20. When the internal pressure of the ice making cylinder 15 is going to fluctuate between high and low due to compression of ice pieces
The internal pressure fluctuation of the ice making cylinder 15 can be eliminated by discharging the air to the ice passage 35 or supplying the air into the ice making cylinder 15. Thereby, generation | occurrence | production of the pumping sound which arises in the ice making cylinder 15 with the sudden change of internal pressure can be suppressed. In addition, when the auxiliary ventilation hole 56 communicates the inside of the ice making cylinder 15 and the ice passage 35 so as to be freely ventilated, for example, when flake ice enters into the ventilation hole 53 or the auxiliary ventilation hole 56 and is blocked. However, if at least one of them can be ventilated, the inside of the ice making cylinder 15 and the ice passage 35 can be communicated with each other, so that the generation of the pumping sound generated in the ice making cylinder 15 can be further reliably suppressed. Further, when the vent hole 53 is opened at the upper end surface of the operation shaft portion 51 and the auxiliary vent hole 56 is opened at the operation surface 52, the vent hole 53 and the auxiliary vent hole 56 are formed on different planes orthogonal to each other. Therefore, the possibility that both holes 53 and 56 are simultaneously closed can be reduced.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the ice passage 35 is continuously provided on the bottomed cylindrical cup portion 60 that receives the flake ice delivered by the rotation of the agitator 36 and the peripheral wall of the cup portion 60. A guide cylinder 61 is provided. The cup part 60 and the guide tube 61 are integrated as a guide body 62 made of a plastic molded product. The cup part 60 is pushed out from the ice discharge port 33 and receives flake ice sent out by the rotation of the agitator 36. The guide cylinder 61 guides the flake ice received by the cup portion 60 to the ice storage chamber 5 side. The guide tube 61 is formed in a square pipe shape with rounded corners and is inclined downward toward the ice storage chamber 5. The bottom wall inner surface 64 of the cup portion 60 and the tube bottom surface 65 of the guide tube 61 are smooth. It is formed to be continuous. A mounting opening 63 is provided in the bottom wall of the cup portion 60, and the guide body 62 is integrated with the discharge cylinder 16 by mounting the upper end of the discharge cylinder 16 to the mounting opening 63 and fixing it to the support bracket 66. Has been. The ice discharge port 33 in this state is located slightly above the bottom wall inner surface 64 of the cup portion 60.

  As described above, when the ice discharge port 33 is positioned above the bottom wall inner surface 64 of the cup portion 60, the flake ice extruded from the ice discharge port 33 is pushed by the extrusion surface 42 and the receiving surface 40. While receiving the output, it falls to the bottom wall inner surface 64 of the cup portion 60 by its own weight. The fallen flake ice is smoothly delivered toward the guide tube 61 by the rotation of the agitator 36. Further, if the bottom wall inner surface 64 of the cup portion 60 and the tube bottom surface 65 of the guide tube 61 are smoothly continuous, a step or the like that prevents the flake ice from being fed is not formed in the ice passage 35. The flake ice received by the cup portion 60 can be smoothly delivered to the guide tube 61 by the agitator 36 in the flake ice state. Therefore, the flake ice is compressed inside the cup portion 60, and there is no room for the ice pieces to bind together, and flake ice having a uniform ice property that does not always contain ice blocks can be accurately delivered toward the ice storage chamber. Further, it is possible to prevent damage to the extruded blade 41 and the ice passage 35 due to the formation of ice blocks.

  The downstream end of the guide tube 61 is connected to a chute 67 made of a plastic molded product whose end portion penetrates the side wall of the ice storage box 3. In this embodiment, in addition to the cup portion 60 and the guide tube 61, The chute 67 also constitutes the ice passage 35. The chute 67 is formed in a similar shape that is slightly larger than the guide tube 61, and is externally fitted to the end portion of the guide tube 61 in a state of being inclined downward toward the downstream side. When a chute 67 having a similar shape that is slightly larger than the guide tube 61 is externally attached to the guide tube 61 in this manner, a step or the like that prevents the flake ice from being fed may be formed at the connection portion between the guide tube 61 and the chute 67. Absent. Therefore, the flake ice that has been guided to shift by the guide tube 61 is smoothly delivered to the ice storage chamber 5 via the chute 67.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a cup lid 70 is provided in the upper opening of the cup portion 60, and the cup lid 70 includes a pair of shaft arms 71 and a swing shaft 72 provided on one of the opposing edges (left edge). It is made of a plastic molded product integrally provided with an operating arm 73 provided on the other (right edge) of the opposite edge. The cup lid 70 is configured such that the pivot shaft 72 is pivotally supported by a shaft support hole 74 provided on the outer surface of the cylindrical wall of the cup portion 60 so that the cup lid 70 can be pivoted and opened. It is held in the closed position by the urging force of the compression spring 76 provided between the spring receiving frame 75 that crosses back and forth. A stop switch 77 comprising a hinge lever type limit switch is provided above the tip of the operation arm 73, and the cup lid 70 swings upward against the urging force of the compression spring 76, so that the cup 60 When the upper opening is opened, the stop switch 77 is operated by the operation arm 73. When the stop switch 77 is turned on, the supply of ice-making water from the water supply unit 27 is shut off and ice making is stopped. The cause of the operation of the stop switch 77 is, for example, a case where the ice making operation of the auger unit 12 is continued in a state where the full ice detection switch S is broken or the switch S is frozen and cannot detect full ice. is there. In this case, the ice stored in the cup portion 60 of the ice passage 35 lifts the cup lid 70 against the urging force of the compression spring 76, and the stop switch 77 is operated.

  FIG. 7 shows a modified example of the extruded blade piece 41. There, the extrusion blade piece 41 was extended vertically so that the vertical dimension of the extrusion blade piece 41 was larger than that of the base portion 39, and the extrusion surface 42 was enlarged as compared with the previous embodiment. By enlarging the extrusion surface 42 in this way, a larger pushing force can be applied to the flake ice on the extrusion surface 42, so that the flake ice can be delivered to the ice storage chamber 5 more accurately. In addition, in this modification, although it extended up and down of the extrusion blade piece 41, you may extend only one of up and down. The portion of the extruded blade 41 extending downward may be separated from the boss 48 or may be connected to the boss 48.

  As described above, according to the agitator 36 in the auger type ice making machine of this embodiment, it is possible to prevent the flake ice from getting over the extruded blade piece 41 along the base portion 39 by the horizontal pushing force by the receiving surface 40. The flake ice can be efficiently delivered outward in the radial direction while preventing the flake ice from getting over the upper edge of the extrusion blade 41 on the extrusion surface 42. As described above, the receiving surface 40 having an upwardly expanding shape is provided on the peripheral surface of the base portion 39, and before the lower end is positioned upstream of the upper end on the downstream side in the rotational direction of the agitator 36 in the extruded blade piece 41. In combination with the provision of the inclined pushing surface 42, the problem that the amount of flake ice delivered per rotation of the agitator 36 is reduced as in the conventional agitator 36 can be reliably solved. Therefore, the amount of flake ice commensurate with the delivery capacity of the agitator can be accurately delivered to improve the supply efficiency.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the four extrusion blade pieces 41 are provided in a protruding manner has been described. However, at least one extrusion blade piece 41 may be provided on the peripheral surface of the base portion 39. The tip surface of the extrusion blade piece 41 is formed as a vertical surface, but it may be formed as an outer curved surface, an inner curved surface, or a wavy surface, or may be inclined with respect to the vertical surface. The vertical width of the piece 41 can be formed so as to expand or narrow as it goes from the proximal end to the distal end. Moreover, the extrusion surface 42 does not need to be flat, and may be an externally curved surface or an indented curved surface. In short, the shape of the extrusion blade piece 41 can be changed as appropriate if the extrusion blade piece 41 includes the extrusion surface 42 that has a forward inclined posture in which the lower end is located upstream of the upper end. The receiving surface 40 does not need to be provided over the upper and lower sides of the base portion 39, and may be an externally curved surface, an indented curved surface, or a stepped inclined surface. The chute 67 of the ice passage 35 can be omitted. In this case, the guide cylinder 61 is extended and the guide body 62 is formed so that the terminal portion penetrates the side wall of the ice storage box 3.

5 Ice storage chamber 15 Ice making tube 16 Discharge tube 17 Auger 18 Cooler 19 Auger shaft 20 Spiral blade 33 Ice discharge port 35 Ice passage 36 Agitator 39 Base portion 40 Receiving surface 41 Extrusion blade piece 42 Extrusion surface 43 Corner portion 46 Screw hole 47 Screw shaft 51 Operation shaft portion 52 Operation surface 53 Vent hole 54 Ventilation passage 56 Auxiliary vent hole 60 Cup portion 61 Guide tube 63 Mounting opening 64 Bottom wall inner surface 65 Tube bottom surface

Claims (7)

An ice making cylinder (15) whose peripheral surface is covered with a cooler (18), a discharge cylinder (16) disposed at the upper end of the ice making cylinder (15), and an auger (rotation driven) inside the ice making cylinder (15) 17) and the auger (17) and the flake ice pushed out from the ice discharge port (33) at the top of the discharge tube (16) from the ice passage (35) toward the ice storage chamber (5). It has an agitator (36) for delivery,
The agitator (36) includes a disc-shaped base portion (39) connected to the upper end of the auger (17), and one or more extruded blade pieces projecting radially outward from the periphery of the base portion (39). (41)
On the peripheral surface of the base portion (39), an upwardly expanding receiving surface (40) is provided, and in the extruded blade piece (41), on the downstream side in the rotational direction of the agitator (36), the lower end is located upstream of the upper end. An auger type ice making machine, characterized in that it is provided with a push-out surface (42) which is in a forward leaning position. The ice passage (35) includes a bottomed cylindrical cup portion (60) for receiving flake ice delivered by rotation of the agitator (36), and a guide tube (61) provided on the peripheral wall of the cup portion (60). With
The bottom wall inner surface (64) of the cup portion (60) and the cylinder bottom surface (65) of the guide cylinder (61) are formed to be smoothly continuous,
The discharge tube (16) is inserted into the mounting opening (63) provided in the bottom wall of the cup part (60), and the ice discharge port (33) is the same as the bottom wall inner surface (64) of the cup part (60). The auger type ice making machine according to claim 1, which is located above the upper part. The receiving surface (40) is formed over the top and bottom of the base portion (39),
The vertical dimension of the base end part of the extrusion blade piece (41) is set equal to or larger than the vertical dimension of the base part (39),
The auger type ice making machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a corner (43) between the extrusion surface (42) and the receiving surface (40) is rounded.   The auger type ice making machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a plurality of extruded blade pieces (41) having the same shape and the same size are provided around the base portion (39) at equal intervals. A screw hole (46) provided in the base part (39) of the agitator (36) is screwed into a screw shaft (47) provided at the upper end of the auger (17).
A pair of operation surfaces (52) for screwing the agitator (36) into the screw shaft (47) is formed on the opposing peripheral surface of the operation shaft portion (51) protruding from the upper surface of the base portion (39). Item 5. The auger type ice maker according to any one of items 1 to 4. The auger (17) includes an auger shaft (19) rotatably supported by a shaft support structure, and a spiral blade (20) fixed around the auger shaft (19).
A ventilation passage (54) is provided in a vertically penetrating manner along the central axis of the auger shaft (19),
A vent hole (53) communicating with the screw hole (46) is formed in the operation shaft portion (51) of the agitator (36),
The auger type ice making machine according to claim 5, wherein the inside of the ice making cylinder (15) and the ice passage (35) communicate with each other through the ventilation passage (54) and the ventilation hole (53) so as to be freely ventilated.   The auger type ice making machine according to claim 6, wherein an auxiliary ventilation hole (56) communicating with the ventilation hole (53) is formed in at least one of the pair of operation surfaces (52).

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