JPH01134185A - Ice machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To automatically mass-produce ice blocks in the shape closely akin to crushed ice, by so arranging the constitution as to sprinkle raw water for ice on the exterior a recess which has a downward cone so as to produce ice blocks. CONSTITUTION: Each recess 13 of an ice making plate is cooled to a low temperature capable of ice making with a cooling pipe 4, while each nozzle 14 of a sprinkler 12 jets raw water for ice, and it is sprinkled equally on the peripheral wall of the recess 13. This sprinkled raw water freezes gradually while it flows down the peripheral wall from its upper part, and unfrozen raw water drips down. This way, ice grows on the peripheral wall of the recess 13, and ice blocks having enough thickness in irregular form are produced, sticking fast to the peripheral wall. The completion of this production is detected with a detector such as a timer, or the like, and a solenoid valve for ice separation is opened, whereby the temperature of the wall of the recess 13 of an ice plate 11 goes up, and the ice blocks sticking fast to the peripheral wall separate from it, and are accumulated within an ice receiving vessel. This way, massive ice blocks in the shape closely akin to crushed ices can be automatically mass- produced.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention is capable of mass-producing ice cubes in a shape similar to "sliced ice" obtained by crushing large ice cubes with the tip of a cone. Regarding ice machines.

(Prior art) In places such as restaurants, cafeterias, coffee shops, bars, etc., where large quantities of small ice cubes are needed for use in cold drinks, ice makers known in the art, such as those disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 62-17767, are used. The company mass-produces cube-shaped ice cubes and uses them instead of conventional ice cubes.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) By the way, ice cubes made with conventional ice making machines have a uniform rectangular parallelepiped shape, and it is obvious that they were mass-produced by machines, so they tend to give off a frivolous feel. Due to this, there is a limit to its widespread use, and there is a desire in the industry for a device that can mechanically produce ice cubes in the same shape as the traditional hand-made ice cubes. Originally, it is characterized by being irregular and not having the same shape, whereas automatic ice makers are fundamentally impossible because they have a structure that produces ice with a uniform shape. This has continued to this day.

In response to these facts, the present invention has led to the invention of an ice maker that can realize the mechanical mass production of split ice, which was considered impossible in the prior art. The system is characterized by a unique configuration of the sprinkler system, and is intended to improve the customer's image by giving customers the same profound feeling that can be obtained by hand.

(Means for Solving the Problems) As is clear from the examples shown in the accompanying drawings, the present invention provides a plurality of concave portions α and α having tapered and pointed conical surfaces such as conical surfaces and pyramidal surfaces. An ice-making plate αυ in which ice cubes are dispersed and recessed on the same side is provided in such a manner that each of the four parts α■ and α hot water protrudes downward, and each concave portion α hot water is provided.

Ice is made by attaching cooling pipes (4) to each of the α-turbines, and surrounding and attaching a water sprinkler (2) capable of uniformly distributing water to the outer peripheral wall of the recess (13). It consists of a machine.

(Function) When the water sprinkler (2) applies water to the concave concave ice-making surface that forms a downward conical surface, the amount of water sprinkled will inevitably become somewhat uneven, and the dynamics of the water flowing down along the conical surface will also change. Therefore, the shape of the frozen part along the conical surface and the thickness of one layer are indeterminate and vary depending on the position.

Furthermore, once an amorphous shape occurs, the ice becomes thicker along the lower surface of the irregularly flowing water, so that the ice collects in thicker areas, and as the water flows lower, it forms thicker areas like the lines of a mountain range. This causes a change in the thinness of the ice, and thus the ice cube that leaves the concave α-fathom becomes irregular in shape and has an outer shape that approximates that of cracked ice.

This ice block has a conical shape such as a cone or pyramid as its core, but its outer shape varies each time the ice is made and is irregular, resulting in an irregularly shaped ice block.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described based on the accompanying drawings.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show the main structure of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 shows an overview of the overall structure, including a compressor (1) and an air-cooled condenser (2). , an expansion valve (3), a cooler (4) acting as an evaporator, an accumulator (5)
), refrigerant piping 2M ice/snow electromagnetic valve 7) which connects these devices cyclically is installed, and the ice removal system is connected in parallel to the series circuit of the condenser (2) and expansion valve (3). a refrigeration system with an attached bypass circuit (6), a water tank (8), a water pump (9) for pumping up and pressurizing the ice layer raw water stored in the water tank (8), and this water pump (9). The ice making machine is composed of a water raw water supply device consisting of an ice log pipe 0 for sending the ice layer raw water pumped up by the ice layer to a water sprinkling device (2) to be described later, an ice making plate αD, and a water sprinkling device 0. This is as shown in Figure 3.

The ice making plate αυ is a part that simultaneously generates a plurality of ice cubes resembling ice cubes, and is made of, for example, a copper plate.

A flat metal plate with good heat conductivity is used as a material, and a plurality of concave portions α3) and U having a conical surface are integrally recessed by pressing, etc., and are dispersed on the same surface side. It is formed on a template.

The recess (2) has a tapered shape with a pointed tip and has a conical surface as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and is recessed so that the recess (0) is aligned with the same surface and protrudes. .

In addition to the conical surface, the recess 03 may have a triangular pyramidal surface as shown in FIG. 4, or may be a pyramidal surface with an irregular cross section.

The ice making plate αυ with the above structure has cooling pipes (4) attached inside each of the recesses α hot water and α hot water, respectively, and is cooled to a low temperature below freezing. ) may be formed into a ring shape or a coil shape and fixed in close contact with the inner wall of the recessed portion α.

Note that the ice making plate αυ may have a structure of two plates joined together, and a cooling pipe integrated type may be formed by forming grooves for refrigerant circulation in the joining plate inside the recess αυ.

On the other hand, the water sprinkler (2), as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, is provided with a ring-shaped pipe having an appropriate diameter surrounded by the outer circumferential wall of the recess (l), so that the water is distributed evenly. This structure has a structure in which nozzles αa are interposed at a plurality of locations, and the fountain direction of the nozzles α is directed toward the upper part of the outer circumferential wall of the recess (2), and the ring-shaped pipe is connected to the main river raw water pipe αl. It is connected to the tip.

The ice maker according to the present invention has the configuration described above, and the operation mode will be explained next.

The refrigeration system is operated by driving the compressor (1) and the condenser (2) fan, and the raw water supply device for water is simultaneously operated by driving the water pump (9) to start ice-making operation.

Each recess Q31 of the ice making plate 0υ. αj is cooled by a cooling pipe (4) to a low temperature at which ice can be made, while raw water for water is ejected from each nozzle aa, αa of the water sprinkler @ and uniformly sprayed on the outer circumferential wall of the recess α hot water and α different.

This sprayed raw water gradually freezes while flowing down the outer peripheral wall from the upper part, and unfrozen raw water drips downward (see Fig. 5).

In this way, ice grows on the outer circumferential wall of the recess αj, resulting in the state shown in FIG. 6, and as described above, an irregularly shaped ice block having a sufficient thickness is formed in close contact with the outer circumferential wall.

The completion of this ice block generation is detected by a detector such as a timer,
With this detection signal, the condenser (2) fan and water pump (9)
) and open the ice removal solenoid valve (7).

In this way, the hot gas leaving the compressor (1) passes through the ice removal bypass circuit (6) and flows into the cooling pipe (4), and the ice making plate a
As a result of increasing the temperature of the concave α turbidity wall of υ, the ice cubes that had adhered to the wall melted on the adhesion surface and broke off, falling in the form shown in Figure 7 and depositing in the water receiving tank (not shown). do.

As shown in the cross section of FIG. 8, this detached ice block has thick parts and thin parts, so that it has an external shape similar to crushed ice. However, there will be a cone-shaped cavity inside.

(Effects of the Invention) The present invention generates ice blocks by dispersing ice layer raw water on the outer surface of the concave portion α1 having a downward conical surface, and the generated ice blocks have a shape similar to that of crushed ice and are thick. It is possible to obtain the same ice cubes as those produced artificially while using an ice maker that automatically mass-produces the ice cubes.

Moreover, even though the ice is made mechanically using an ice maker, it is possible to obtain ice with irregular and different shapes each time it is made.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 3 are partially cutaway perspective views of essential parts according to an embodiment of the present invention, the same is a cross-sectional view, and a schematic diagram of the overall structure, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view of essential parts of an ice making plate according to another embodiment of the present invention. 5 to 7 are explanatory diagrams sequentially showing the process of ice making and ice removal, and FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along the line A--A in FIG. 7. (4)...Cooling pipe, aυ...Ice plate, 02)...
- Water sprinkler, α■... recess.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An ice-making plate (11) in which a plurality of concave portions (13) each having a conical surface with a tapered and pointed tip such as a conical surface or a pyramidal surface are recessed and distributed on the same side. Recess (13), (
13) is arranged to protrude downward, and each recess (
13), cooling pipes (4) are attached in each of the recesses (13), (13), and a water sprinkler (12) capable of uniformly distributing water onto the outer peripheral wall of the recess (13) is installed in each recess (13), (13). An ice maker characterized by being enclosed and attached.