JPH01181058A - Ice-making chamber for refrigerating chamber and the like - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To produce stably clear ice through elimination of the influence of atmosphere outside an ice-making chamber, by a method wherein an openable heat insulating door body is provided to the front opening part of the ice-making chamber. CONSTITUTION:An ice-making device 21 is provided at an upper stage with a first ice-making chamber 22 to produce clear ice and at a lower stage with a second ice- making chamber 23 to produce ordinary ice. The first ice-making chamber 22 has an outer wall, except a bottom and a front, surrounded with a heat insulating material 24, and a top surface at the back of which a heater 25 and a heating plate 27 are disposed. A heat insulating door body 29 openably arranged to the front opening part of the first ice-making chamber 22 has a heat insulating material 29b inserted in an outer frame 29a made of resin. In relation to an external thermal influence on the interior of the first ice-making chamber 22 in a process of making clear ice, since an opening part is closed by the heat insulating door body 29, making of clear ice is progressed on a stable condition without being affected by the thermal influence. An amount of heat leaking past the first ice-making chamber 22 to the outdoor is decreased to improve the heating efficiency of the heating plate 27.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ice-making device that is disposed in a freezer compartment of a refrigerator and is particularly capable of producing transparent ice.

Conventional technology Conventionally, in household refrigerators, etc., an ice making device that stores an ice tray is placed in one section of the freezer compartment, and the water in the ice tray is frozen by the cooling effect of the cold air flowing through the ice making device to make ice. It is common practice to generate .

However, with this ice generation method, when ice is generated, the water in the ice tray progresses from the contact surface between the ice tray and the water and the contact surface between the cold air and water to the center. As a result, gaseous components and impurities dissolved in the water are trapped in the center of the ice, resulting in opaque ice with a cloudy center, which is sensually suitable for beverages such as whisky. It wasn't.

Therefore, there has been a need for transparent ice for a long time, and a method as shown in FIG. 6, for example, has been considered for an apparatus for producing it. The contents will be explained below according to the drawings.

1 is a refrigerator main body, and a freezer compartment 3. The lower part is divided into a refrigerator compartment 4. Reference numeral 6 indicates a cooler for the refrigeration cycle, and 6 indicates a forced ventilation blower, which are connected to the freezer compartment 3, respectively.
is located on the back of the.

7 is an ice making device placed at the bottom of the freezer compartment 3;
A first ice-making compartment 8 for producing transparent ice is provided in the upper stage, and a second ice-making compartment 9 for producing regular ice is provided in the lower stage. The first ice-making chamber 8 is surrounded by a heat insulating material 1o on the outer wall except for the bottom and front surface, and there is an aluminum heating plate 12 on the top surface with a heater 11 disposed on the back surface, and an aluminum heating plate 12 on the bottom surface. Cooling plates 13 made of aluminum are respectively arranged. Reference numeral 14 denotes a ventilation passage formed below the cooling plate 13, with an angle of 15°16
are the first ice making compartments 8. and 8. respectively. They are a first ice tray and a second ice tray that are housed in the second ice tray 9. Further, 17 is a discharge duct for forcing the cold air cooled by the cooler 5 into the ice making device 7 by the blower e, and the discharge duct 17 is connected to the ventilation passage 14 and the second air passage by means of a discharge port 18 formed at the lower end. It communicates with the inside of the ice making room 9. 19 is the freezer compartment 3
This is a return duct for returning the cold air discharged into the cooler 5 to the cooler 5. Reference numeral 20 denotes a transparent ice-making switch, which is configured so that once the switch is turned on, the heater 11 is energized for a predetermined period of time.

In this configuration, the cold air cooled by the cooler 5 is supplied to the freezer compartment 3 and the refrigerator compartment 4 by the forced ventilation action of the blower 6, and at the same time is supplied to the second ice making device 7 through the discharge port 18 of the discharge duct 17. It is discharged into the ice making compartment 9 and the ventilation passage 14. The cold air guided into the second ice making compartment 9 is then
The second ice tray 16 is directly cooled, and the water inside is frozen sequentially from the water surface and the remaining surface that contacts the second ice tray 16 to produce normal ice. However, as mentioned above, the ice produced in this way is cloudy and does not become transparent. On the other hand, the cold air guided into the ventilation passage 14 cools the cooling plate 13. Therefore, in order to make transparent ice, the user stores the first ice tray 16 filled with water in the first ice making compartment 8 and turns on the ice making switch 20. 11 starts a heating action via a heating plate 12, and a cooling or freezing action starts from the lower surface via a cooling plate 13. Further, since the outer wall of the first ice tray 16 except the lower surface is covered with the heat insulating material 10, it is not affected by the cooling effect from the freezing chamber 3, and the freezing action progresses in one direction from the lower surface to the upper surface. This freezing effect is indirect cooling via the cooling plate 13, and in addition, a heating effect is added by the heater 11, which has been set to an appropriate capacity in advance, so that the freezing speed is sufficiently slow. Therefore, the speed at which the frozen surface of the ice moves is slower than the upward diffusion speed of the gaseous components in the water, and the dissolved concentration of the gaseous components in the water near the frozen surface becomes diluted, reducing the chance of bubble generation. Furthermore, even if air bubbles are generated, the freezing speed is slow, so the generated air bubbles are not trapped in the water. If the freezing speed is controlled to approximately 3w/h or less in this way, the gaseous components in the water will be degassed from the surface of the frozen ice to the outside air, so the ice that is finally formed will contain almost no air bubbles. Obtains clear ice. Further, the heater 11 is automatically de-energized after a predetermined time has elapsed, with some margin given to the time required to complete ice making.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in such a configuration, since the front of the first ice-making compartment 8 opens into the freezing compartment 3, the front part of the first ice-making tray 16 stored in the freezing compartment is The inconvenience is that the freezing conditions for producing transparent ice are unstable, resulting in poor transparency, such as the cooling effect of the cold air inside the freezer compartment 3, or the influence of outside air entering the compartment when the door of the freezer compartment 3 is opened and closed. was there.

The present invention solves the above problems.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide an ice making device capable of producing stable and transparent ice by eliminating the influence of the atmosphere outside the ice making room.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, an ice making device such as a refrigerator according to the present invention is provided with a heat insulating door that can be opened and closed at the front opening of the ice making compartment.

Function: According to the present invention, with the above-described configuration, the heat insulating door provided at the front opening of the ice making chamber blocks the influence of heat from the external atmosphere into the ice making chamber.

EXAMPLE Hereinafter, an ice making apparatus such as a refrigerator according to an example of the present invention will be explained with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5. still.

Conventionally, the same configurations are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

21 is an ice making device provided at the bottom of the freezer compartment 3, and the box body 21
The first one is framed by a and produces transparent ice in the upper layer.
ice making compartment 22, and a second ice making compartment 22 in the lower stage for producing regular ice.
An ice making room 23 is provided.

The first ice making chamber 22 is surrounded by a heat insulating material 24 on the outer wall except for the bottom and front surface, and a heater 26 and a heating plate 27 are provided on the top surface and the back surface.

Reference numeral 29 denotes a heat insulating door body provided at the front opening of the first ice making chamber 22 so as to be openable and closable, and a heat insulating material 29b is inserted inside an outer frame 29a made of resin.

In this configuration, external heat influence 5 on the inside of the first ice making compartment 22 during the process of producing transparent ice, such as cooling influence from the freezing compartment 3 and outside air intrusion heat caused by opening and closing the door of the freezing compartment 3, etc. In this case, since the opening is closed by a heat insulating door 29 provided at the front opening of the first ice-making compartment 22, which can be opened and closed, transparent ice can be produced under stable conditions with almost no thermal influence. I am made to do so. At the same time, the first ice making compartment 22
The amount of heat leaking out of the mold is further reduced, and the heating efficiency of the heating plate 27 is increased.As a result, the capacity of the heater 25 can be reduced, and power consumption is also reduced.

Effect of the invention As described above, according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

(1) Since the opening of the ice-making compartment is closed with an insulated door, transparent ice can be produced under stable conditions without being affected by external heat. Furthermore, since the heat insulation and sealing properties are improved, the heating efficiency of a heating device such as a heater is increased, and power consumption can be reduced.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a sectional view of an ice making device such as a refrigerator showing an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a front view of the ice making device of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a sectional view of a refrigerator equipped with the ice making device of Fig. 1. 4 are cross-sectional views of a refrigerator equipped with a conventional ice-making device. 13...Cooling plate, 16...First ice tray (ice tray), 21...Ice making device, 22...
...First ice making compartment (ice making room), 24...Insulating material, 25...Heater (heating device), 27...
...Heating plate, 29...Insulating door body. Name of agent: Patent attorney Toshio Nakao and 1 other person13
Ice-making tray (Ice-making tray) 2 No-Ice-making equipment 22-%1's splitting blade (Rikikei Goga) z7-orJ handling z9-insulation Jha Fig. 1/3--,, +, first edition 15-%1 ice making m (ice tray) Fig. 2 13- Cold illumination

Claims (1)

[Claims] a cooling plate; an ice-making compartment partitioned with the cooling plate as the bottom and an open front; an ice-making tray stored in the ice-making compartment and placed on the cooling plate; and a heating device provided on the top surface of the ice-making tray. An ice-making device for a refrigerator, etc., comprising: a heating plate equipped with a heating plate; a heat insulating material disposed within the outer wall of the ice-making compartment except for the bottom and front; and an insulating door body provided at the front opening of the ice-making compartment that can be opened and closed. Device.