JP7174641B2 - Ice storage detector - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an ice storage detection device, and more particularly, to an ice bin that stores ice supplied from an ice maker and is positioned in association with the ice bin to ensure that the required amount of ice has been deposited in the ice bin. The present invention relates to an ice storage detection device capable of detecting a

2. Description of the Related Art In cafes, restaurants, kitchens, etc., ice machines for automatically making various types of ice are widely used. This ice making machine is additionally provided with an ice storage for storing ice produced by the ice making mechanism. That is, in the ice storage, cubic ice cubes and half-moon ice with a half-moon cross section produced by the ice-making machine (collectively referred to as ice blocks) are released and sequentially accumulated in each deicing cycle. . An ice storage detection device for detecting that a required amount of gradually accumulated ice blocks has been stored is disposed in relation to the ice storage to stop the ice-making operation of the ice-making machine or stop the rotation of an ice crusher, which will be described later. It is designed to control the

JP-A-2005-291621 Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 5-94673

Since the present invention relates to an ice storage detection device, the problem of the ice storage detection device in a general ice making machine that manufactures ice blocks and the problem of the ice storage detection device in an ice storage with an ice crusher are separately described below. explain.

(Issues related to the ice block ice maker)
First, a conventional ice storage detection device installed in an ice-making machine that produces a large number of cube-shaped ice blocks (ice cubes) will be described. FIG. 18 shows a stack-on type ice making machine 20 in which an ice making unit 14 having a closed cell type ice making mechanism 10 and a refrigerating mechanism 12 is placed in an ice storage compartment 18 having an ice storage compartment 16 defined therein. . The ice storage 18 is composed of a heat-insulating box body filled with heat-insulating material between an inner box and an outer box. An opening for taking out ice blocks is provided on the front side of the ice storage 18, and the opening is always closed by an opening/closing door 24. As shown in FIG.

The ice-making unit 14 has a first chamber 28 and a second chamber 30 separated left and right inside a housing 26 constructed by arranging panels on each side of a frame-shaped main body. The ice-making mechanism 10 is arranged in the first chamber 28 formed on the left side, and the refrigerating mechanism 12 including a condenser, a compressor, a fan motor, etc. is arranged in the second chamber 30 formed on the right side. there is When the ice making unit 14 is placed on the upper portion of the ice storage compartment 18, the first compartment 28 and the ice storage compartment 16 below are spatially communicated with each other. An ice discharge passage 32 is defined between the ice making mechanism 10 and the freezing mechanism 12 to allow the ice blocks 22 discharged from the ice making mechanism 10 to pass through the ice storage chamber 16 . Also, on the ceiling surface of the ice storage chamber 16, an ice storage detection device 36 having a detection lever 34 that hangs down inward of the ice storage chamber 16 is provided. The presence or absence of the ice block 22 is determined by the rocking displacement of the lever 34, and the operation control of the ice making mechanism 10 is performed according to the detection state (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

As shown in FIG. 19, the ice storage detection device 36 has a main body portion 38 arranged on the ceiling surface of the ice storage chamber 16 and in the vicinity of the ice discharge passage, and is pivotally supported by the main body portion 38 so as to be swingable. , the detection lever 34 suspended inwardly of the ice storage chamber 16, and a detection switch 40 disposed on the main body 38 and having a contact 40a opened and closed by the swinging displacement of the detection lever 34. As shown in FIG. When the amount of ice cubes 22 stored is small and the detection lever 34 is not in contact with the detection lever 34, the detection lever 34 is in a normal position suspended from the main body 38, and the contact 40a of the detection switch 40 is open. However, when ice blocks 22 gradually accumulate in the ice storage chamber 16 as the ice making operation is repeated, the ice blocks 22 press the detection lever 34, causing the detection lever 34 to swing obliquely upward (forward in the swing direction). . As a result, the upper end of the detection lever 34 pushes the detection switch 40 to close the contact 40a. That is, when the detection lever 34 swings from the normal position to the detection position, it is determined that the ice storage chamber 16 is full of ice, with ice blocks 22 stored up to a predetermined position. 10 ice making operation is stopped.

Incidentally, when the ice cubes 22 are removed from the ice storage chamber 16 with a scoop or the like, or when the ice cubes 22 are stirred to eliminate arching or blocking of the ice, the ice cubes 22 are unevenly distributed along the path along which the detection lever 34 swings. Sometimes I end up doing it. In this case, the detection lever 34 is blocked by the block of ice 22 existing in the swinging path, and cannot be swingably displaced. As a result, although the ice block 22 has accumulated to a predetermined position in the ice storage chamber 16, the ice storage detection device 36 does not detect the full ice state, and the ice making operation of the ice making mechanism 10 continues. It will be. That is, unless the ice storage detection device 36 reliably detects the full ice state of the ice blocks 22, the ice release passage 32 may be blocked by the excessively stored ice blocks 22, or the ice making mechanism 10 may be damaged due to overload. There is In order to prevent this, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-291621 discloses that a shielding plate 75 is provided behind the detection lever 36 in the swinging direction, as indicated by a broken line in FIG. A countermeasure is disclosed for ensuring the swing locus of the .

As described above, a large number of ice blocks 22 produced by the ice making machine and dropped into the ice storage compartment 18 come into contact with the detection plate 44 of the detection lever 34 and shake the detection lever 34, as shown in the schematic plan view of FIG. move. However, if the ice block 22 is small or there is not enough force to release the ice block, the force for pushing the detection lever 34 may not be sufficient to actuate the detection switch 40 in some cases. If this is left as it is, as schematically shown in FIG. 20, the ice block 22 will eventually wrap around the detection plate 44 of the detection lever 34 behind the detection plate 44, restricting the movement of the detection plate 44 and making it impossible to detect the storage of ice. There is In this case, the ice-making operation of the ice-making machine continues to produce ice blocks, which causes the failure described above.

Also, the ice blocks 22 from the ice-making mechanism 10 fall into the ice storage 18 and accumulate in various behaviors. That is, the ice blocks that have fallen into the refrigerator gradually pile up to the lower portion of the detection plate 44 of the detection lever 34 in a mountain shape. As shown in FIG. 21, depending on the state of accumulation of ice blocks 22 in the refrigerator, the detection plate 44 may be caught by the ice blocks coming from the front in the swinging direction and become inoperable. In such a case, even if the shielding plate 75 described above secures the rocking locus behind the detection plate, it may not be effective and appropriate ice storage detection may not be possible.

(Issues related to ice bins with ice crushers)
Depending on the demand for ice blocks, the ice blocks produced by the ice making machine are stored in the upper (first) ice storage, and the ice blocks are crushed by an ice crusher to obtain crushed ice, and the obtained crushed ice is stored in the lower (second ) There is an ice-making facility that stores ice in the ice storage. In this case, the ice storage detection device is arranged near the ice crusher. For example, FIG. 22 shows a stack-on type ice storage, which includes an upper first ice storage 46 for storing ice blocks 22 falling from an ice making unit (not shown) placed on the top, and a first ice storage 46 for crushing the ice blocks 22. It basically consists of an ice crusher 50 located in the middle having an ice crusher 48 and a second ice storage 52 in the lower stage for storing the crushed ice crushed by the ice crusher 48 . As shown in FIG. 24, the ice crusher 50 is provided with an ice storage detection device 54 for detecting the accumulation of crushed ice stored in the second ice storage 52 .

That is, as shown in FIG. 22, the top of the upper first ice storage compartment 46 is fully open to collect and store the ice blocks (ice cubes) produced and released by the upper ice-making machine. Also, as shown in FIGS. 23 and 24, the ice crushing unit 50 located in the middle has a hopper 56 that slopes obliquely downward. It is designed to As shown in FIG. 24, the bottom of the hopper 56 is formed with a rectangular opening 58 extending in the horizontal direction. , and the obtained crushed ice is dropped and supplied to the second ice storage 52 . The ice crusher 48 includes a horizontally long cylindrical body 62 that is rotationally driven by a motor 60 shown in FIG. and fixed blades 66 arranged in the same direction. By the rotation of the cylindrical body 62, the ice blocks in the lower part of the hopper are crushed between the rotating blade 64 and the fixed blade 66, become crushed ice, and pile up in the second ice storage 52 (Fig. 25). reference).

FIG. 24(b) is an enlarged view of the portion surrounded by the dashed line X in FIG. The ice storage detector 54 comprises a detection switch (microswitch) 68 that sends an ice storage detection signal to the control circuit of the ice maker, and a swingable detection lever 72 that is pivotally supported by a pivot pin 70 near the microswitch 68 . Consists of One of the detection levers 72 hangs down from the pivotal portion and faces below one end of the cylindrical body 62 (the right side in FIG. 24(b)). The other side of the detection lever 72 is positioned so as to be able to press the detection piece 68a of the microswitch 68. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 25, the crushed ice crushed by the ice crusher 48 falls and accumulates in the second ice storage 52, and gradually piles up in a mountain shape to press the detection lever 72. As shown in FIG. As a result, the detection lever 72 rotates counterclockwise about the pivot pin 70, pushes up the detection piece 68a of the microswitch 68, and signals that the second ice storage compartment 52 is full of crushed ice. It is sent to the controller to stop the rotation of the ice crusher 48 . Observing the accumulated state of crushed ice in the second ice storage 52, as shown in FIG. The ice block is crushed mainly in the central portion, which is about half of the opening 58 . The reason for this is that the ice crusher 48 has a structure in which most of the ice blocks sent from the lower portion of the hopper 56 are likely to be concentrated in the central portion of the ice crusher 48 .

In addition, since the crushed ice is generally small in size and light in weight, the crushed ice clusters cover the detection lever before the crushed ice completely pushes the detection lever, making it impossible to swing, and the stored ice detection operation is not performed. Therefore, instead of the conventional detection lever type ice storage detection device, there is also a means for detecting by the conductivity between electrodes. That is, when the crushed ice, which is a conductor, is interposed between the two electrodes, a current flows between the electrodes, so that it is determined that the heap of crushed ice has reached the level at which the electrode is installed and the planned amount of ice has been stored. However, since the ice block which is the basis of the crushed ice is generally made by spraying ice-making water into the ice-making chamber, impurities are removed and the purity is extremely high. At this time, since the conductivity of the ice block is small, malfunction may occur with the electrode method that detects the level of conductivity. Furthermore, there is a method of detecting ice with an optical sensor consisting of a light emitting element and a light receiving element, but the light emitting part and the light receiving part may condense due to the humidity inside the refrigerator, preventing the transmission of light and causing a malfunction.

That is, as shown by small arrows and large arrows in FIG. 25, most of the crushed ice that is crushed by the ice crusher 48 and falls is unevenly distributed in the center. For this reason, the crushed ice that has fallen into the second ice storage 52 is piled up in the shape of a mountain, and the mountain is formed centering on about half the width of the aforementioned opening 58 . Ideally, when the crushed ice is piled up in the mountain shape indicated by the solid line A, the detection lever 72 of the ice storage detector 54 is pushed by the crushed ice to activate the detection switch 68 . Actually, however, the lower end of the detection lever 72 has not reached the deposition position indicated by the solid line A. The detection lever 72 becomes swingable when the heap of piled ice blocks reaches the position indicated by the dashed line B. As shown in FIG. Therefore, in order to form a mountain of crushed ice up to the position of the dashed line B where the detection lever 72 can operate, even if the crushed ice by the ice crusher 48 exceeds the position of the solid line A, the crushing of these ice blocks should be continued. There must be. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 25, the top of the crushed ice pile crosses the top of the solid line A, enters the opening (lower opening) 58 of the hopper 56, and further enters the ice crusher 48. . For this reason, crushing of the ice block and re-crushing of the crushed ice are performed at this portion at the same time. In addition, the crushed ice that is blocked by the crushed ice group accumulated below the ice crusher 48 and has no place to go is pushed out to both sides of the main crushing width described above and accumulates in the second ice storage 52, and is piled up in the mountain shape. Expand your base.

If this state continues, the heap of crushed ice accumulated at the opening 58 of the ice crusher 48 will be compressed from above, and the compressive force will eventually push the detection lever 72 of the ice storage detection device 54, causing the microswitch to move. 68, which stops rotation of the ice crusher 48; However, since a large compressive force is applied when the ice crusher 48 crushes the ice block, an overcurrent flows in the motor 60 that drives the cylindrical body 62, and the protection device of the control circuit operates to stop the ice crusher 48. There is Also, arching is likely to occur between the crushed ice packed in the opening 58 of the ice crusher 48 in a compressed state and the top of the crushed ice piled up in the shape of a mountain in the second ice storage 52 . If this arching occurs, even if the crushed ice is taken out of the second ice storage 52 and the accumulation level is lowered, the detection lever 72 in the ice storage detection device 54 will not return to its original position, and the ice crusher 48 will not resume rotation. is also pointed out.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention provides an ice storage detector that can accurately detect the level of ice accumulated in an ice storage that stores ice blocks and crushed ice discharged from an ice maker or an ice crusher without malfunctioning. for the purpose.

In order to solve the above problems and achieve the intended purpose, the invention according to claim 1,
A detection switch that is placed in an ice storage that stores a large number of ice blocks discharged from an ice-making machine, and that ice blocks that have reached a predetermined storage amount presses and swings a detection plate of a detection lever, thereby linking the detection switch to the detection lever. In the ice storage detection device that detects the completion of ice storage,
located in front of the surface of the detection plate of the detection lever that contacts the ice block, between the ice release path to the ice storage and the detection plate, and extending across the detection plate in the width direction A shield plate is provided to block contact with the ice block with respect to the detection plate,
The gist is that the shield plate is arranged so that the detection plate of the detection lever is pressed when the ice blocks accumulated in the ice storage go over the upper end of the shield plate.
According to this configuration , since the shielding cover is present in front of the swinging direction of the detection lever, the dropped and discharged ice blocks are shielded by the shielding cover. Therefore, there is no inconvenience that the ejected ice block directly hits the detection lever and causes the detection switch to malfunction.

In addition, the present application includes technical ideas as follows.
an upper ice storage for storing ice blocks discharged from an ice-making machine arranged above;
an ice crushing unit that includes a hopper that receives ice blocks from an upper ice storage, and that crushes the ice blocks in the hopper by an ice crusher provided at the lower opening of the hopper and drops the ice blocks downward as crushed ice;
a lower ice storage that is arranged below the ice crushing unit and stores crushed ice crushed by the ice crusher and falling;
an ice storage detection device that is arranged in the vicinity of the ice crusher and detects with a detection lever that the crushed ice has reached a predetermined storage amount in the lower ice storage,
The detection lever is arranged so as to face a path along which crushed ice falls from the ice crusher, and the detection switch is turned on and off each time the fallen crushed ice presses the detection lever,
determining that the crushed ice is being stored in the second ice storage while the detection switch is repeatedly turned on and off due to falling of the crushed ice;
When the detection switch is no longer repeatedly turned on and off and remains on or off for a predetermined period of time, it is determined that the required amount of crushed ice has been stored in the lower ice storage, and the operation of the ice crusher is stopped. The gist is that it was constructed.
According to this configuration , the detection switch is repeatedly turned on and off each time falling crushed ice hits the detection lever, and the ice storage is detected by continuing the on state or the off state for a predetermined time. There is no need to press the detection lever at the top of the accumulated ice mountain, and ice storage can be reliably detected.

In addition, the present application includes technical ideas as follows.
an upper ice storage for storing ice blocks discharged from an ice-making machine arranged above;
an ice crushing unit that includes a hopper that receives ice blocks from an upper ice storage, and that crushes the ice blocks in the hopper by an ice crusher provided at the lower opening of the hopper and drops the ice blocks downward as crushed ice;
a lower ice storage that is arranged below the ice crushing unit and stores crushed ice crushed by the ice crusher and falling;
an ice storage detection device that is arranged in the vicinity of the ice crusher and detects, with a detection lever, that crushed ice has reached a predetermined storage amount in the lower ice storage,
The detection lever is disposed obliquely below the direction in which the crushed ice is released by the ice crusher and near the top of the crushed ice piled up in a mountain shape,
The gist of the invention is that a shielding plate is arranged to prevent the released crushed ice from directly hitting the detection plate of the detection lever.
According to this configuration , by providing the shielding cover in the direction in which the crushed ice is discharged from the ice crusher, it is possible to prevent the discharged crushed ice from hitting the detection lever directly, and the detection lever can be detected only by the ice that has climbed over the shielding cover. is operated, the accuracy of ice storage detection can be improved without malfunction.

According to the ice storage detection device of the present invention, it is possible to reliably detect the accumulation level of ice blocks and crushed ice stored in an ice storage.

1 is a schematic perspective view of an ice storage detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which (a) shows a shielding cover having left and right side plates and an opening window in the center; 1 shows an oblong shielding cover extending to the . FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of the stored ice detector shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the stored ice detection device shown in FIG. 2, showing a state in which an ice block causes the detection lever to swing. FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a modification of the stored ice detector shown in FIG. 2; FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing behavior when a detection plate of a detection lever is pushed by an ice block in the stored ice detection device shown in FIG. 2 ; FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the stored ice detection device shown in FIG. 2, showing a state in which the detection plate is in close contact with the rear surface of the shielding cover; FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a modification of the detection lever in the ice storage detection device shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 8 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a state in which a detection lever according to the modification of FIG. 7 is in contact with the rear surface of the shielding cover; FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of an ice crusher with an ice crusher according to another embodiment of the present invention, showing a state in which the detection lever of the ice storage detection device is positioned in the path of the crushed ice; FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the detection lever shown in FIG. 9 and a pile of crushed ice; FIG. 11 is an explanatory view showing a state in which a block of ice comes into contact with the detection lever in the relationship shown in FIG. 10 so that the detection lever cannot swing; FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing the operation of the detection lever shown in FIG. 9; FIG. FIG. 16 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the ice crusher and the second ice storage shown in FIG. 15; 14 is an enlarged view of a portion indicated by a dashed line Y in FIG. 13. FIG. Fig. 10 is a perspective view showing an ice storage detection device according to still another embodiment of the present invention, showing a rearward view of an ice crusher having an ice crusher and a second ice bin on which the ice crusher is mounted; FIG. 16 is a perspective view showing the positional relationship between an ice crusher and an ice storage detector provided in the ice crushing section of FIG. 15; FIG. 15 is a partially cut-away perspective view of the ice storage detection device shown in FIG. 14 and a shielding cover disposed in association therewith; 1 is a partially broken front view of a conventional ice-making machine for making ice blocks; FIG. FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram of a conventionally known ice storage detection device used in the ice making machine of FIG. 18; FIG. 20 is a schematic plan view for explaining a state in which ice blocks wrap around behind the detection plate of the detection lever in the stored ice detection device shown in FIG. 19 ; FIG. 21 is a schematic side view showing the behavior of ice blocks with respect to the detection lever shown in FIG. 20; 1 is a perspective view of an ice bin with a prior art ice crusher; FIG. FIG. 23 is a perspective view of the ice crusher placed in the middle in FIG. 22, showing a state in which the ice crusher is arranged in the lower opening of the hopper. FIG. 24 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the ice breaking section shown in FIG. 23, showing a conventionally known ice storage sensing device positioned proximate the longitudinal end of the ice crusher; FIG. 25 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the ice crushing unit shown in FIG. 24 and the second ice storage in which the ice crushing unit is placed, wherein the solid line A and the two-dot chain line B show the accumulated state of crushed ice.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Next, the ice storage detection device according to the present invention will be described with reference to a preferred embodiment and with reference to the drawings. As described in the problem to be solved, this ice storage detection device has a different structure depending on whether it is installed in an ice maker that makes ice blocks such as ice cubes or in an ice storage that stores crushed ice. , will be explained separately below. The same reference numerals are given to the same members as those of the ice making machine and the ice storage according to the prior art, and the explanation thereof is omitted.

(About the ice block ice machine)
18, in the embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. A shielding cover 76 is provided on the side of the camera.

For example, as shown in FIG. 2, a predetermined width of ice block is placed in front of the trajectory of the detection lever 34 swinging back and forth around the pivot pin 77, that is, on the side where the ice blocks 22 are discharged into the ice storage compartment 16 of the ice storage compartment 18. A shielding cover 76 made of plate material has its upper end fixed to the ceiling surface 78 of the ice storage compartment 18 and the other end suspended. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 2, the shielding cover 76 separates the detection plate 44 (the surface that comes into contact with the ice block) of the detection lever 34, and the rocking trajectory of the detection lever 34 is reliably secured. . Therefore, when the ice blocks 22 dropped and released from the ice making mechanism 10 into the ice storage compartment 18 accumulate in the ice storage compartment 16, part of the ice block group does not wrap around behind the detection plate 44 of the detection lever 34. , can achieve reliable ice storage detection. Also, as described above with reference to FIG. 21, there is no risk that the ice block 22 will accumulate to the bottom of the detection plate 44 and block the detection plate 44, making the detection lever 34 unable to swing.

The shielding cover 76 may be a plate material that extends at least in front of the detection lever 34 in the direction in which the detection plate 44 swings and in the longitudinal direction (lateral direction) of the region. In this case, as shown in FIG. 1(b), a horizontally long shielding cover 76 that shields the area below the swinging area of the detection plate 44 is supported, for example, by an L-shaped stay 42 on its left side. is preferred. The width (longitudinal length) of the shielding cover 76 shown in FIG. 1B is set to be larger than the width of the detection plate 44 shown in plan in FIG. This is because the shielding cover 76 prevents the ice block 22 from going around the back side of the detection plate 44 of the detection lever 34 . Note that the front in the swinging direction of (the detection plate 44 in) the detection lever 34 described above refers to the side where the ice blocks 22 discharged from the ice making machine 20 fall into the ice storage chamber 16 and accumulate there.

The shielding cover 76 shown in FIG. 1 is provided with side plates 76a and 76b on its left and right sides, so that it covers three sides (front, left and right) of the detection plate 44, so that the rocking trajectory of the ice block 22 is formed. assuredly secured.

1 and 2, the shielding cover 76 has a rectangular opening window 79 so that the ice blocks 22 accumulated in the ice storage chamber 16 can pass from the front and press the detection plate 44. has opened. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the opening window 79 allows some of the ice blocks 22 from the heaped pile of ice blocks 22 to pass to the back side of the shielding cover 76, and presses the detection plate 44. It works.

When opening the opening window 79 in the shielding cover 76, as shown in FIG. It is preferable to leave Here, the lower edge 44a of the detection plate 44 of the detection lever 34 is located below the lower edge of the opening window 79 of the shielding cover 76. As shown in FIG. In this way, by providing the interval t between the lower edges of the detection plate 44 and the opening window 79, as shown in FIGS. By utilizing the force (dropping energy) of falling over the window 79, the detection lever 34 can be easily swung, and the storage of ice can be reliably detected.

In addition to providing the opening window 79 in the shielding cover 76 as described above and providing the space t between the opening window 79 and the lower ends of the detection plate 44, for example, as shown in FIG. It is preferable that the detection surface of the detection plate 44 is inclined slightly upward with respect to the rear surface of the shielding cover 76 in the standby state for detection of stored ice. This is because if the detection plate 44 and the rear surface of the shielding cover 76 were in surface contact as shown in FIG. This is because surface tension acts between the detection plate 44 and the shielding cover 76, and the detection lever 34 cannot swing, making it impossible to detect stored ice or lowering detection accuracy.

In order to more reliably solve the problem of surface tension due to the close contact between the members 44 and 76, as a modification of the present invention, the members 44 and 76 are arranged in line contact as shown in FIGS. is proposed. For example, as shown in the perspective view of FIG. 7 , side plates 44 b and 44 c are formed on both sides of the detection plate 44 of the detection lever 34 so as to cross the detection plate 44 and face the rear surface of the shielding cover 76 . That is, the detection plate 44 of the detection lever 34 facing the opening window 79 of the shielding cover 76 from the back side is provided with a pocket portion 80 for receiving the ice block 22 coming through the opening window 79 . By providing the side plates 44b and 44c on both sides of the detection plate 44 in this manner, the front edges of the side plates 44b and 44c line the back surface of the shielding cover 76 as shown in FIG. Contact. In other words, the two members 44 and 76 are in contact with each other not by surfaces but by lines, so that the contact between the two members 44 and 76 due to the surface tension described above is eliminated, and the detection lever 34 reliably swings to carry out the detection operation. Furthermore, since the detection plate 44 has a pocket portion 80 surrounded by the side portions 44b and 44c, the ice blocks 22 arriving through the opening window 79 of the shielding cover 76 are accumulated in the pocket portion 80, and the accumulated ice blocks are accumulated in the pocket portion 80. There is an advantage that the weight of the group allows the detection lever 34 to swing easily.

(For ice bins with ice crushers)
A preferred embodiment of an ice storage sensing device attached to a crushed ice bin will now be described with reference to FIGS. 9-12.

22 to 25, the detection lever 72 of the ice storage detection device 54 faces the side of the opening of the ice crusher 48, so that the ice is accumulated in the second ice storage 52. There is the aforementioned difficulty that ice storage cannot be detected unless the crushed ice rises and is compressed by the ice crusher 48 .

Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, the detection lever 72 of the ice storage detection device 54 is positioned so as to face the path along which the crushed ice is released from the opening 58 of the ice crusher 48 and falls into the second ice storage compartment 52. It is positioned. That is, by positioning the detection lever 72 in the path along which the crushed ice successively falls from the opening 58, even if the crushed ice is reduced in size and has a small mass, the crushed ice collides with the detection lever 72. The detection lever 72 swings easily each time. Therefore, the detection switch 68 repeats ON/OFF of the contact.

While the detection switch 68 is repeatedly turning the contact on and off, it is determined that crushed ice is discharged from the ice crusher 48 to the second ice storage 52 and is being accumulated. However, if the detection switch 68 is no longer repeatedly turned on and off and continues to be on or off for a predetermined time (for example, 5 seconds), the second ice storage 52 is full of crushed ice and the detection It is determined that the lever 72 has stopped swinging, and the rotation of the ice crusher 48 is stopped. That is, the ice storage detection is not performed depending on whether the detection switch 68 is turned on (ON) or turned off (OFF). Since the stored ice is detected depending on whether the state is not repeated, erroneous detection can be prevented.

As shown in FIG. 10, the pile of crushed ice accumulated in the second ice storage 52 gradually rises and pushes up the detection lever 72, so that the detection switch 68 linked to the detection lever 72 is turned on. state will continue. However, as shown in FIG. 11, depending on the degree of accumulation of the pile of crushed ice, some crushed ice may clump behind the detection lever 72 to form an ice ball 81 . At this time, both sides of the detection lever 72 are blocked by crushed ice, and depending on the situation, the detection lever 72 may stop in a standby state for ice storage detection, and the detection switch 68 is maintained in an OFF state. It will be. For this reason, as described above, whether the detection switch 68 is in the ON state or the OFF state, the completion of ice storage is determined by continuing this state for a predetermined time. Incidentally, when the crushing of ice blocks by the ice crusher 48 progresses and the amount of ice blocks in the first ice storage 46 decreases, separate means detects this state and operates an ice-making machine (not shown) to move the ice blocks into the first ice storage. The storage 46 is replenished.

Next, the operation of the ice storage detection device 54 shown in FIG. 9 will be described with reference to the flow chart of FIG. When the motor 60 of the ice crusher 48 is started (turned on) in FIG. 12, the ice crusher 48 starts rotating in step S1, crushes the ice blocks and discharges the crushed ice to the second ice storage 52 as shown in step S2. . As shown in FIG. 9, the released crushed ice swings the detection lever 72 each time it collides with the detection lever 72 to repeatedly turn on and off the detection switch 68 .

Also, in step S3, the timer starts measuring a preset time (for example, 5 seconds). This timer repeats the mode of starting time measurement of the same set time when the time measurement of the set time is up. Then, in step S4, it is always confirmed whether or not the contact of the detection switch 68 has been switched on and off. Returning to the step S3, the timer repeats the start of time measurement. However, if the confirmation result in step S4 is NO (negative), it is confirmed in step S6 whether or not the timer has timed up. If the confirmation result in step S6 is NO (negative), the clock is continued. The ice storage of the warehouse 52 is completed.

FIGS. 13-17 illustrate another embodiment of an ice storage sensing device 54 for use with an ice bin having an ice crusher 48 as described with respect to FIGS. 22-25.

In particular, as shown in FIG. 14 (the portion surrounded by circle Y in FIG. 13), the detection lever 72 of the ice storage detection device 54 is positioned obliquely downward in the direction in which the crushed ice crushed by the ice crusher 48 is discharged. The detection plate 74 of the lever 72 is faced, and as shown in FIG.

Also, the crushed ice crushed by the ice crusher 48 in the ice crushing unit 50 falls vigorously to the rear in FIG. 13 because the ice crusher 48 rotates counterclockwise. For this reason, part of the crushed ice may jump toward the detection plate 44 of the detection lever 72 due to the force of the crushing. When a portion of the crushed ice flies and directly presses the detection lever 72, the detection switch 68 swings and erroneously detects the completion of ice storage. Therefore, in order to prevent the crushed ice crushed by the ice crusher 48 from jumping directly toward the detection lever 72, a shield plate 82 shown in FIG. It is arranged between the detection plate 74 and the detection plate 74 .

Here, the reason why the detection lever 72 of the ice storage detection device 54 is arranged at the position described above will be further explained. 13 and 14, the cylindrical body 62 of the ice crusher 48 rotates counterclockwise, and its rotating blade 64 and fixed blade 66 crush the ice blocks from the hopper 56 into crushed ice. The crushed ice packs are affected by the rotating direction (counterclockwise) of the rotary blade 64 and fall slightly backward on the right side in FIG. Among the crushed crushed ice, large grains of ice are likely to gather at the rear, while small grains of ice and ice that has become sherbet-like during crushing fall directly below the cylindrical body 62 . For this reason, if the detection lever 72 is arranged in the rearward direction, which is the falling direction of the large crushed ice crushed by the ice crusher 48, the fall of the crushed ice can be detected more reliably. The detection lever 72 is located near the top of the mountain-shaped crushed ice piled up in the second ice storage 52 . Therefore, when the top of the group of ice blocks grown in mountain shape in the second ice storage 52 reaches the top level of the shielding plate 82, some of the crushed ice crosses the shielding plate 82 and pushes the detection lever 72. It will be. As a result, the detection switch 68 is turned on to detect that the second ice storage compartment 52 is full of crushed ice.

Also, most of the crushed ice crushed by the ice crusher 48 falls slightly backward as described above, but some of the crushed ice may fly to the detection lever 72 due to the momentum of the crushed ice. As described above, the shielding plate 82 is arranged to block the path of the crushed ice so that the detecting lever 72 does not detect the crushed ice that flies with such force, as shown in FIGS. 17 and 14. Street.

18 ice storage, 20 ice machine, 22 ice block, 34 detection lever, 36 ice storage detection device,
40 detection switch, 44 detection plate, 44a lower edge,
46 first ice storage (upper ice storage), 48 ice crusher, 50 ice crusher,
52 second ice storage (lower ice storage), 54 ice storage detection device, 56 hopper,
58 opening (lower opening), 68 detection switch, 72 detection lever, 74 detection plate,
76 shielding cover, 79 opening window, 79a lower edge, 80 pocket portion,
82 shielding plate, t interval

Claims (4)

It is placed in an ice storage that stores a large number of ice blocks released from the ice maker , and ice blocks that have reached a predetermined storage amount press the detection plate of the detection lever and cause it to swing, thereby linking with the detection lever . In the ice storage detection device in which the detection switch detects the completion of ice storage,
It is located in front of the surface of the detection plate of the detection lever that contacts the ice block, between the ice release path to the ice storage and the detection plate, and extends across the detection plate in the width direction. and providing a shielding plate that blocks contact of the ice block with the detection plate ,
The shield plate is arranged so that the detection plate of the detection lever is pressed when the ice blocks accumulated in the ice storage go over the upper end of the shield plate.
An ice storage detection device characterized by: The shielding plate is a plate-shaped member arranged in front of the swinging direction of the detection lever , and the shielding plate is provided with an opening window that allows the passage of the ice block ,
The lower edge of the detection plate of the detection lever is positioned below the lower edge of the opening window of the shield plate , and is between the lower edge of the detection plate and the lower edge of the opening window . 2. The ice storage detection device according to claim 1, wherein a space (t) of a predetermined dimension is ensured between the two. The detection plate of the detection lever that faces the opening window of the shield plate from the back side is formed with a pocket portion that forms a space between the shield plate and the block of ice arriving through the opening window. 3. The ice storage detection device according to claim 1 or 2 . The detection plate of the detection lever is located on the back side of the shielding plate in the state of waiting for the storage detection of the ice blocks , and the surface of the detection plate that contacts the ice blocks facing the shielding plate is The stored ice detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the ice storage detection device is inclined so as to extend upward with increasing distance from the shielding plate .

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