JPH01196478A - Automatic ice making machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To manufacture a multitude of spherical ice blocks having the same size continuously, by a method wherein an ice making chamber is constituted of a first ice making chamber, consisting of a multitude of first recessed ice making small chambers consisting of downwardly opened recesses, and a second ice making chamber, sprung up when it is separated maximally upon ice removing operation until second ice making small chambers are faced downward. CONSTITUTION:An ice making chamber 10 for manufacturing a multitude of spherical ice blocks having required diameter is constituted of a first ice making chamber 11, arranged so as to be slanted, and a second ice making chamber 12, operable freely from the lower part thereof. A multitude of first recessed ice making small chambers 13 are recessed on the lower surface of the first ice making chamber 11 so as to be faced downward with a required line-up pattern. When a refrigerating system is operated, heat exchange between evaporated refrigerant is promoted in an evaporator 14 and the first ice making chamber 11 is cooled to a temperature below a freezing point. Upon ice removing operation, hot gas is supplied to the evaporator 14 by the opening of a hot gas valve HV in a control circuit to heat the first ice making chamber 11. When the second ice making chamber 12 is pivoted clockwise about a turning axis 16, the first ice making small chambers 13 may be opened under a condition that the second ice making small chambers 15 are faced downward.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application This invention relates to an automatic ice maker, and more specifically, it relates to an automatic ice maker, and more specifically, it is an automatic ice maker that can produce ice cubes other than the conventionally known regular hexahedral ice cubes, such as spherical ice cubes and polyhedral (diamond) ice cubes. This invention relates to an automatic ice-making machine that can continuously produce large quantities of cut-shaped ice cubes.

BACKGROUND ART In various industrial fields, automatic ice making machines that continuously produce large quantities of ice cubes in the shape of regular hexahedrons, ice cubes of a required thickness, and other ice cubes are suitably used depending on the application. For example, the ice making machine that produces the ice cubes described above is: (1) A large number of cube-shaped ice making compartments are defined downward in the ice making compartment, which can be opened and closed from below with a water tray, and from the water tray. The so-called closed cell method, in which ice-making water is injected into each ice-making chamber and ice cubes are gradually formed in each ice-making chamber, and ■ A large number of ice-making chambers that open downward without the need for a water tray. The so-called open cell type ice making machine that directly supplies ice making water and forms ice cubes in the ice making compartment is also used as an ice making machine that continuously produces ice cubes and is equipped with an evaporator connected to the refrigeration system. A flowing type ice making plate is widely used in which an ice making plate is arranged at an angle and ice making water is supplied flowing down onto the front or back side of the ice making plate to form ice sheets on the surface of the ice making plate. Furthermore, the water flowing down on the inner wall surface of the cooling cylinder is frozen to form an ice layer, and this ice layer is scraped with the cutting blade of a rotating auger to obtain flaky ice, or the ice made by the ice making machine described above is used. An ice-making method is also used in which ice cubes are crushed to obtain fine-grained crushed ice.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention As mentioned above, ice manufactured by automatic ice making machines according to various conventional methods includes cube-shaped ice cubes, sheet ice, other flaky ice, and crushed ice. Of these ice cubes, only the ice cubes mentioned above have the required shape and can be floated on top of drinks or used as a cooling bed for various foodstuffs. However, modern coffee shops, restaurants, and other eating and drinking establishments have advantages over other businesses of the same type in a variety of ways, and are able to attract customers. They are making strenuous efforts to differentiate themselves so that they can focus on their own sales. As a link to this, for example, there is a trend to use spherical ice instead of the conventionally widely distributed ice cubes, thereby providing customers with immediate new changes.

As a means for producing this spherical water, for example,
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 8-60177, an ice making tray is known which is configured such that a saucer having an appropriate number of arbitrarily shaped recesses and a lid having a recess corresponding to the recess of the tray can be fitted into the ice tray. There is. this is.

A spherical ice block is obtained by storing the ice cube tray in a freezer compartment of a refrigerator for a required period of time with the spherical space defined by both concave portions filled with water, and freezing the water in the space. be. In addition, spherical water can be produced by injecting water into a bag made of an elastic thin film such as a rubber sheet and storing the bag in a freezer or immersing it in antifreeze, or by cutting a block of ice with a knife. Some attempts have been made to produce spherical water.

However, none of the above-mentioned methods for producing spherical water can continuously produce a large amount of spherical water, and is inefficient as it requires complicated manual labor and time.
It is not suitable for commercial use, and because it is stored in a freezer or immersed in antifreeze to statically freeze, it becomes cloudy due to the presence of microscopic air contained in the water. Disadvantages have been pointed out, such as not being able to obtain clear blocks of transparent ice and reducing commercial value. Therefore, even though the demand for automatic ice making machines that can continuously produce large quantities of uniform and transparent spherical water and ice cubes shaped like ridges has not yet been put into practical use. It is.

Purpose of the Invention The present invention has been proposed in order to suitably solve the problems inherent in the prior art described above, and has a simple structure, yet can produce uniform and transparent spherical water. It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic ice making machine with a novel configuration capable of continuously producing a large number of polyhedral ice cubes.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to overcome the above-mentioned problems and suitably achieve the intended purpose, the present invention provides a system in which the ice-making water stored in the ice-making water tank is force-fed to the distribution pipe via a pump, and the ice-making water is transferred to the refrigeration system. Ice making water that is injected into an ice making compartment that is cooled by a connected evaporator from a fountain hole drilled in the distribution pipe to form ice blocks within the ice making compartment, but which does not freeze in the ice making compartment. In an automatic ice making machine configured to return water to the ice making water tank for recirculation, the ice making machine is fixedly arranged in an inclined state inside the ice making machine body, the evaporator is provided on the back side, and the water is opened downward. A first ice-making compartment is provided with a plurality of first ice-making compartments each having a concave portion; A plurality of second ice-making chambers each having a concave portion that can be closed correspondingly to define an ice-forming space therein are provided, and the second ice-making chambers are oriented downward at maximum separation during deicing operation. It is characterized in that the ice-making compartment is constituted by a second ice-making compartment that can be raised until the ice-making compartment is raised.

Embodiments Next, the automatic ice making machine according to the present invention will be described below with reference to preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings. In addition,
According to the automatic ice making machine according to the present invention, in addition to the spherical ice 1 shown in FIG. 5(a), it is also possible to produce diamond-cut polyhedral water 2 as shown in FIG. 5(b). In this example, a case will be explained in which a large number of spherical ice cubes of the same size are continuously manufactured.

(Regarding the ice-making mechanism) Figure 1 shows the main ice-making mechanism of the automatic ice-making machine according to the present invention.
It is schematically shown in the state of ice making.

Ice making chamber 1 for producing a large number of spherical ice cubes having a required diameter
0 basically consists of a first ice-making compartment 11 arranged at an angle, and a second ice-making compartment 12 that can be freely opened and closed from below.

The first ice-making compartment 11 is configured as a rectangular structure made of metal having good thermal conductivity, and the first ice-making compartment 11 is a rectangular structure made of metal having good thermal conductivity.
(not shown) is fixed at the upper part of the interior in an inclined position at a required angle. In the lower surface of the first ice-making chamber 11, a large number of first ice-making chambers 13 which are opened downward are recessed in a desired alignment pattern. Each of the first ice-making compartments 13 is formed as a hemispherical recess, the diameter of which is, for example, 33,
Therefore, the depth of the recess is set to 1.51.

The upper surface of the first ice making compartment 11, that is, each first ice making compartment 13
An evaporator 14 made of a tube that constitutes a part of a refrigeration system (described later) shown in FIG. 2 is closely fixed to the top of the evaporator 14. Heat exchange with the vaporized refrigerant is promoted, and the first ice making chamber 11 is cooled to below freezing point. Further, during the deicing operation, hot gas is supplied to the evaporator 14 by opening the hot gas valve HV in the control circuit shown in FIG. 4 to heat the first ice making chamber 11.

At the top of each of the required first ice-making compartments 13 in the first ice-making compartment 11, there is an ice-making detection thermometer Th as ice-making completion detection means.
□ is provided. This ice-making detection thermometer Thi is installed in the control circuit shown in FIG. 4, and during ice-making operation, it closes its contact Q-a and opens its contacts c-b, and when the ice-making operation ends, the It is set so that contact c-a can be opened and contact c-b can be closed. Further, a deicing detection thermo Th as a deicing completion detecting means is disposed at the top of another first ice making compartment 13, and this deicing detection thermo Th indicates that the first ice making compartment 13 is in a cooling state. The contact is set to be opened only in certain cases, and closed when the ice is separated from the ice making compartment 13 and the temperature rises.

Immediately below the first ice-making compartment 11, there is a second ice-making compartment which closes the first ice-making compartment 11 from diagonally below during ice-making operation and which can be widely opened from the first ice-making compartment 11 during de-icing operation. A chamber 12 is provided. This second ice making room 1
2 is constructed as a rectangular structure made of a good thermal conductor, and a number of second ice-making chambers 15 forming hemispherical recesses corresponding to the first ice-making chambers 13 are recessed upward in a required alignment pattern. ing. The diameter of the 211th ice chamber 15 is also -
31 as an example, and the depth of the recess is set to 1.5 cm. Therefore, when the second ice-making compartment 12 is closed with respect to the first ice-making compartment 11, the two ice-making compartments 13.15 correspond to each other, and a spherical space with a diameter of 31 is defined therein.

As mentioned above, in order to allow the second ice making compartment 12 to be opened widely relative to the first ice making compartment 11, the upper end of the second ice making compartment 12 is attached to the pivot 16 at a fixed location above the inside of the ice maker housing. It is attached to a bracket 45 which is pivotably supported via a . Therefore, when the second ice-making chamber 12 is rotated largely clockwise about this pivot 16, the second ice-making chamber 15 is turned downward and turned over, as shown in FIG. 3(a). , the first ice-making compartment 13 can be opened.

Furthermore, by rotating the second ice making chamber 12 counterclockwise around the pivot 16, the first small ice making chamber 13 can be opened.

In addition, as the opening/closing driving means for the second ice making chamber 12, a motor (actuator motor) A with a reducer shown in FIG. 1 is used.
A motor AM is preferably used, and a cam lever 17 and a lever piece 37 are coaxially fixed to the rotating shaft of this motor AM. A coil spring 18 is elastically engaged between the tip 17a of the cam lever 17 and the front end of the second ice making chamber 12. The cam surface 17b formed at the base of the cam lever 17 is dimensioned so as to be able to engage with the side upper surface of the second ice making chamber 12 that closes the first ice making chamber 11. Further, the tip 17a of the cam lever 17 is connected to the third
As shown in Figure (a), the size is set so that the second ice making compartment 15 can be turned downward by engaging with the upper surface of the side of the second ice making compartment 12 that opens the first ice making compartment 11. ing.

Furthermore, the first ice making chamber 11 is provided with a changeover switch S2 shown in the circuit diagram of FIG. The switching force can be applied from the a-b side to the contact a-c side.

A heater H for promoting ice removal is closely buried around the bottom of the second ice making chamber 15, and as shown in the control circuit of FIG.
When the ice making chamber 12 is spaced apart from the first ice making chamber 11 to the maximum extent possible, the heater H is energized. Also, the second ice making room 1
A temperature detection thermometer Th is disposed at a required location of the second ice making chamber 12, so that the temperature of the second ice making chamber 12 can be monitored.

Furthermore, a through hole 12a of a required diameter is bored at the bottom of each second ice making compartment 15 in the second ice making compartment 12, so that ice making water can be supplied and unfrozen water can be discharged from a distribution pipe 24, which will be described later. It looks like this.

On the back side of the second ice-making chamber 12, a distribution pipe 24 having a pressure chamber 23 is arranged close to it with a slight gap.
4 is provided with a fountain hole 25 that can correspond to each of the 211th ice compartments 15, and as shown in FIG. When this happens, each of the water fountain holes 25 is configured to face the through hole 12a formed in the second ice making chamber 15 in a corresponding manner.

A side plate 49 extending downward is fixed to each peripheral lower edge of the back surface of the second ice making chamber 12 to form a rectangular dam. As shown in FIG. 3, this rectangular weir consisting of the side plate 49 is used to supply water when the second ice-making chamber 12 is turned over significantly and the back surface of the second ice-making chamber 12 is directed diagonally upward. By storing a required amount of water supplied from the pipe 27 and overflowing the excess water, it functions to promote the separation of the spherical ice 1 from the second ice making chamber 15.

As shown in the figure, an ice-making water tank 19 is installed directly below the first ice-making compartment 11 and the second ice-making compartment 12. That is, the ice making water tank 19 is provided below the housing of the ice making machine,
A water guide plate 48 is provided that extends obliquely upward from the tank body. The lowermost edge of the water guide plate 48 is bent downward and faces above the upper end of the tank 19, and unfrozen water is guided to the tank 19 via this bent edge, and the water is de-icing. The ice cubes slide down on this water guide plate 48 and can be collected in the water storage (see Figure 3 (C)).
, Incidentally, the water supply pipe 21 led out from the ice-making water tank 19 is
It is communicated with the pressure chamber 23 via the water supply pump 22, and water is supplied to the tank 19 by opening the water supply valve Wv.
This is done via a water supply pipe 27 connected to an external water system.

(About the refrigeration system) FIG. 2 shows a schematic configuration of the refrigeration system in the ice maker. The vaporized refrigerant compressed by the compressor CM passes through the discharge pipe 34, is condensed and liquefied in the condenser 28, and is then transferred to the dryer. After being dehumidified in step 29, the pressure is reduced in capillary tube 30, and it flows into evaporator 14 where it expands and evaporates all at once, exchanging heat with first ice making chamber 11, and forming each first ice making small chamber 13. Cool to below freezing. The vaporized refrigerant evaporated in the evaporator 14 and the unevaporated liquefied refrigerant flow into the accumulator 31 in a gas-liquid mixed phase state, where they are separated into gas and liquid. The gas phase refrigerant then returns to the compressor CM via the suction pipe 32,
The liquid phase refrigerant is stored in the accumulator 31 .

Further, a hot gas pipe 33 is branched from the discharge pipe 34 of the compressor CM, and this hot gas pipe 33 is communicated with the inlet side of the evaporator 14 via a hot gas valve HV. This hot gas valve HV is controlled to be opened only during deicing operation and closed during ice making operation. That is, during deicing operation, the hot gas valve HV is opened and the high temperature refrigerant discharged from the compressor CM is sent to the evaporator 1 via the hot gas pipe 33.
4 and heat each first ice-making chamber 13, the circumferential surface of the spherical water generated inside the chamber is melted, and each ice block is caused to fall by its own weight. Further, the high temperature refrigerant flowing out from the evaporator 14 flows into the accumulator 31,
The liquid phase refrigerant staying in the accumulator 31 is heated to evaporate and is returned to the compressor CM through the suction pipe 32 as a gas phase refrigerant. Note that the symbol FM in the figure indicates a fan motor for the condenser 28.

(About the electrical control circuit) An example of the control circuit that operates the device shown in this example is as follows:
In Figure 4, a fuse F and a water storage detection switch S are provided in series between the power supply line R and the connection point, and between this connection point and the power supply line T. , normally closed contact X-1b of compressor CM alone and relay X
The fan motors FM are connected in parallel.

Further, during the deicing operation, the terminal a of the changeover switch S2, which is energized by the tilting of the second ice making chamber 12, is connected to the connection point, and the changeover contact of the changeover switch S2 is connected to the power supply line T. The following elements are connected in parallel.

■Timer T ■Series system of ice-making detection thermometer Th□ contact C9 contact a, relay X normally closed contact X-2b, and pump motor PM.

In addition, when the changeover contact of the changeover switch S2 is connected to the pump motor P
A normally closed contact Tb of a timer T is interposed between the timer T and M.

■Normally open contact X-1a of relay X, contact of ice-making detection thermometer Th, normally open contact Ta of timer T, and relay X in series.

■Series system between normally open contact X-2a of relay X and hot gas valve HV. Furthermore, a deicing detection thermometer Th is interposed between the normally open contact X-2a of the relay X and the tilting drive terminal m of the actuator motor AM, and the terminal of the motor AM is connected to the line T. There is.

Further, the changeover contact C of the changeover switch S2 is connected to the return drive terminal n of the motor AM via the contact a-b side of the temperature detection thermometer Th. Further, between the contact point C of the temperature detection thermometer Th3 and the line T, a water supply valve Wv and a heater H are connected in parallel. Note that the timer T
starts accumulating the required set time at the start of the ice-making operation, and when the required set time expires, opens the normally closed contact Tb and closes the normally open contact Ta. There is.

(About the operation of the embodiment) Next, the operation of the ice maker according to the embodiment will be explained. First, the automatic ice maker is powered on (the power switch is not shown). At this time, since no ice blocks are stored in the water storage, the water storage detection switch S1 is closed, and the changeover switch S2 is connected to the contacts a and b. 1st ice making room 1
1. Since the temperature is maintained at about room temperature, the ice making detection thermometer is connected to the contact C-a side. The deicing detection thermometer Th2 has a contact that closes when the temperature of the first ice making chamber 11 is above a predetermined value and opens when the temperature is below a predetermined value, and the contact is closed while ice making operation is in progress. are doing.

Furthermore, the temperature detection thermometer Th3 closes the contacts a and c when the temperature of the second ice making chamber 12 is below a predetermined value, and closes between the contacts a and b when the temperature is above a predetermined value, and the temperature detecting thermometer Th3 is such that when the temperature of the second ice making chamber 12 is below a predetermined value, the contacts a and b are closed. During the process, contacts a and b are closed, and contacts a and Q are opened.

Therefore, at the same time as the power is turned on, compressor CM and fan motor F
M, energization to the pump motor PM is started and ice making operation begins, whereby the refrigerant is circulated in the evaporator 14 provided in the first ice making compartment 11 and the first ice making compartment 11 is cooled. The ice-making water 20 from the ice-making water tank 19 is pumped to the distribution pipe 24, and the water fountains 25 in the distribution pipe 24 and the through holes 12 formed in the second ice-making chamber 12
a into each corresponding second ice-making compartment 15. Note that the timer T starts accumulating the required set time at the start of the ice-making operation.

The injected ice-making water comes into contact with the inner surface of the first ice-making chamber 13 and is cooled, moistening the second ice-making chamber 15 in the second ice-making chamber 12 located below. The water falls through the through hole 12a, and the water guide plate 48
The ice is then returned to the ice making water tank 19 and subjected to circulation again. As this ice-making water circulation is repeated, the overall temperature of the ice-making water stored in the tank 19 gradually decreases. In addition, the second ice making room 12 has a part in the 111th! Himuro 11
At the same time, the unfrozen water cooled in the second ice-making compartment 15 is in contact with and circulated, so that the second ice-making compartment 12
Similarly, the temperature itself gradually decreases to below the freezing point.

First, a portion of the ice-making water freezes on the inner wall surface of the first ice-making chamber 13 to form an ice layer, and the unfrozen water returns to the ice-making water tank 19 through the through hole 12a, which also serves as a return hole, repeating the cycle. In the meantime, the growth of the ice layer further progresses, and finally spherical ice 1 is gradually generated in the spherical space defined by the first ice making compartment 13 and the second ice making compartment 15.

Also, during this time, the timer T times up, opens the normally closed contact Tb, and closes the normally open contact Ta. As described above, when the ice making in the first ice making compartment 13 and the second ice making compartment 15 progresses and the temperature of the first ice making compartment 11 falls to a required temperature range, the ice making detection thermometer Th is switched from the contact c-a side to the contact c-b side, and energization to the pump motor PM is stopped.

In addition, the relay X is energized via the normally open contact Ta, which is currently closed, and its normally closed contact X-1b is opened to stop energizing the fan motor FM. Further, by opening the normally open contact X-1a, the relay or self-holding is performed, and by closing the normally open contact X-2a, the hot gas valve HV is opened, and the high temperature refrigerant discharged from the compressor CM is transferred to the evaporator. 14 (see timing chart in FIG. 6). As a result, the first ice-making chamber 11 is heated, and the frozen surface between the inner surface of the first ice-making chamber 13 and the spherical ice starts to melt, and the bonding force between the spherical ice 1 and the first ice-making chamber 13 is reduced. let

Then, the de-icing detection thermometer Th detects the temperature rise in the first ice-making chamber 11 and closes its contact, so that the tilting drive terminal m of the actuator motor AM is energized, and the cam lever 17 is rotated. , a cam surface 17b formed at the base.
forces the upper side surface of the second ice making chamber 12 downward. As already mentioned, since the spherical ice in the first ice making compartment 13 has been thawed, the second ice making compartment 12 is
It is forcibly separated from the ice making compartment 11 and begins to tilt clockwise. The second ice-making compartment 12 includes a second ice-making compartment 15.
As shown in FIG. 3(a), the spherical ice 1 is kept frozen until it is turned almost upside down to a position with its back surface facing diagonally upward. At this time, the second
The lower half of the spherical ice 1 exposed from the ice making chamber 15 is located above the water guide plate 48 of the ice making water tank 19.

At the timing when the second ice-making chamber 12 reaches its maximum rotational position, the lever piece 37 presses and biases the changeover switch S2, as shown in FIG. Switch to Q side. As a result, the drive of the actuator motor AM is stopped, the relay X is deenergized, the normally open contact X-1a is opened, and the self-holding of the relay X is released. In addition, the normally closed contact X-1b closes and starts energizing the fan motor FM, and the normally open contact X-2
a opens, hot gas valve HV closes, refrigerant supply to evaporator 14 is resumed, and cooling of first ice making chamber 11 is started.

Since the spherical water 1 is still attached to the second ice-making compartment 12, the temperature detection thermometer Th3 remains not switched to the contact point a-Q side. Therefore, by switching the changeover switch S2 from contacts a-b to contacts a-c, the water supply valve Wv is opened, and external tap water at room temperature is supplied from the water supply pipe 27 to the back surface of the second ice-making compartment 12. As mentioned above, a rectangular weir is formed on the back side of the second ice making chamber 12 by the side plate 49, so as shown in FIG. After the excess water is stored and the temperature of the second ice making chamber 12 is increased, and the excess water overflows, the water guide plate 4
8 and is guided and collected into the ice-making water tank 19. The water introduced into the tank 19 raises its water level, and when it reaches a predetermined water level, it is discharged to the outside from the overflow pipe 50. In addition, when the water supply valve Wv is opened, the heater H is also energized to actively heat the second ice-making chamber 12, melting the ice in the second ice-making chamber 15 and the spherical water 1, and As shown in Figure 3 (c), the chamber wall and the spherical water 1
When the ice is removed, the spherical water 1 falls due to its own weight, slides down along a water guide plate 48 provided directly below it, and is guided and collected in a water storage (not shown).

In this way, when all the spherical water 1 leaves the second ice making chamber 15, the temperature of the second ice making chamber 12 remains at the water supply pipe 27.
It gradually rises due to the influence of external tap water supplied from outside. Each second ice making compartment 1 in the second ice making compartment 12
When the ice blocking the through hole 12a drilled in 5 is melted, tap water falls through the through hole 12a and is guided to the ice making water tank 19 via the water guide plate 48 ( Third
(See figure (d)). Further, the temperature detection thermometer Th detects a temperature rise in the second ice making compartment 12, and switches from the contact a-c side to the contact a-b side. As a result, the water supply valve W
At the same time, the return drive terminal n of the actuator motor AM is energized. Therefore, the motor AM reversely rotates to drive the cam lever 17, and the coil spring 18 elastically engaged between the lever 17 and the second ice making chamber 12 causes the second ice making chamber 12 to move counterclockwise. By rotationally biasing and returning to the tilted state, the first ice making compartment 13 of the first ice making compartment 11 is again closed from below.

Incidentally, due to the reverse rotation of the motor AM, the cam lever 17 also rotates in the reverse direction, and the changeover switch S2 is pressed and energized to switch from the contact ac side to the contact ab side to restart the ice making operation. By the way, in the second ice making chamber 12, from the time when the changeover switch S2 changed from the contact a-b side to the contact a-c side during the previous deicing operation, the switch S2 changes again to the contact a-c side.
Until switching from the side to the contact a-b side, cooling is performed in a no-load state, and the temperature drops to below the ice-making completion temperature. Therefore, the ice-making detection thermometer Th1 also has its contact point c.
The contact has already been switched from the -a side to the contact c-b side. In this state, the changeover switch S2 changes from the contact a-c side to the contact a-
When switched to the b side, since the ice making detection thermometer Th□ has detected the completion of ice making, the deicing operation is started again, and thereafter a hunting state occurs in which cooling and heating in the first ice making chamber 11 are repeated.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the timer T starts accumulating the required set time at the start of the ice-making operation, and does not accept the signal from the ice-making detection thermo Th1 unless the set time expires (sixth In other words, when the changeover switch S2 is switched to the contact a-b side, the ice-making detection thermometer Th is switched to the contact c-b side, but the normally open contact Ta of the timer T is switched to the contact c-b side. Since is open, relay X is not energized. Therefore, the normally open contact X-2a of the relay X continues to be in the open state, and the normally closed contacts X-1b and normally closed contacts This will continue to be done.

In addition, since the normally closed contact Tb of the timer T is closed, the pump motor PM is energized, and the ice making water whose temperature has increased in the ice making water tank 19 is transferred to each water fountain 25 in the distribution pipe 24 and the second The ice is injected through the through holes 12a formed in the ice making chamber 12 into the corresponding second ice making chambers 15. This ice-making water whose temperature has increased comes into contact with the first ice-making compartment 11, which has been supercooled to below the ice-making completion temperature, and is rapidly cooled, and the temperature rises in the first ice-making compartment 11 through heat exchange. . When the temperature of the first ice-making chamber 11 reaches the ice-making completion temperature or higher, the ice-making detection thermometer Th1 switches from the contact c-b side to the contact a-a side, and this system also connects the pump motor PM. Electricity is applied.

When the mine hits, the set time limit of timer T times up, the normally closed contact Ta closes, and the normally closed contact Tb
will be released. Therefore, the pump motor PM is energized only from the contact a-a side of the ice-making detection thermometer Th.

When the ice making operation and deicing operation described above are repeated and a predetermined amount of spherical ice is stored in the water storage, the water storage detection switch S is opened and the operation of the ice maker is stopped.

In addition, in the illustrated embodiment, the first ice making chamber 1 is
Even if the second ice-making compartment 12 is separated from the second ice-making compartment 12, the spherical ice 1 remains frozen in the second ice-making compartment 15, and as the deicing operation progresses, the spherical ice 1 will fall from the second ice-making compartment 15. De-icing control was performed. However, on the contrary, when the second ice making compartment 12 is detached from the first ice making compartment 11 during the deicing operation, the spherical ice 1 is frozen in the first ice making compartment 13, and as the deicing operation progresses, the spherical ice 1 is frozen. The spherical ice 1 may be controlled to fall from the first ice making chamber 13.

Effects of the Invention As explained in detail above, the automatic ice making machine according to the present invention continuously produces a large number of transparent and clear spherical ice of a predetermined diameter, and is suitable for various industrial uses. It should be used effectively. Furthermore, in the illustrated example, explanation has been given on the case of manufacturing spherical ice, but by changing the inner surface shapes of the first ice-making chamber and the second ice-making chamber, multifaceted ice as shown in FIG. 5(b) can be mass-produced. It is also suitable for use.

In addition to uses in restaurants and coffee shops, spherical ice can also be used as a golf ball, for example, since the ice is dense and extremely hard. in this case,
When used at a hitting practice range, the spherical ice that is hit melts into water, which has the advantage of saving time and effort in collecting the balls.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a schematic configuration of the ice making mechanism of an automatic ice maker according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is a circuit diagram of a general refrigeration system in an automatic ice maker, and Figs. 3 (a) to (d). is an explanation showing over time a state in which the second ice-making compartment is largely turned and separated from the first ice-making compartment, and then spherical ice is discharged from the second ice-making compartment toward the water storage in the apparatus according to the embodiment. 4 is a circuit diagram showing an example of an ice making control circuit for controlling the operation of the device according to the embodiment, FIG. 5(a) is an explanatory diagram showing spherical ice, and FIG.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing multifaceted ice, and FIG. 6 is a timing chart when the ice making apparatus according to the embodiment is operated and controlled by the ice making control circuit shown in FIG. 4. 11...First ice making room 12...Second ice making room 13.
...First ice making chamber 14...Evaporator 15...Second ice making chamber 19...Ice making water tank 22...Pump
24... Distribution pipe 25... Fountain hole patent applicant Hoshizaki Electric Co., Ltd. Applicant's agent Patent attorney Yoshiki Yamamoto 11...
First ice making compartment 12...Second ice making compartment 13...First ice making compartment 14...Evaporator 15...Second ice making compartment 19...Ice making water tank 22...Pump 24... Distribution pipe 2S... Fountain hole 1S A') 2-Fl(3,4 FI05 (at (bl

Claims (1)

[Claims] [1] Ice-making water stored in an ice-making water tank (19) is sent under pressure to a distribution pipe (24) via a pump (22), and is cooled by an evaporator (14) connected to a refrigeration system. Ice-making water is injected into the ice-making compartment from the fountain hole (25) drilled in the distribution pipe (24) to form ice cubes in the ice-making compartment, and the ice-making water that has not frozen in the ice-making compartment is is the ice making water tank (19
) is fixedly arranged in an inclined state inside the ice maker body, the evaporator (14) is provided on the back side, and the evaporator (14) is provided on the back side, and the evaporator (14) is provided from a recess opening downward. a first ice-making compartment (11) having a plurality of first ice-making compartments (13) recessed therein; Each of the ice-making chambers (13) is correspondingly closed from diagonally downward to provide a number of second ice-making chambers (15) each consisting of a concave portion that can define an ice-forming space inside, and the ice-making operation is performed. An automatic ice-making machine characterized in that the ice-making compartment is constituted by a second ice-making compartment (12) that is raised until the second ice-making compartment (15) is oriented downward when the second ice-making compartment (15) is maximally separated. [2] A spherical ice forming space is defined inside the first ice making chamber (13) and the corresponding second ice making chamber (15) by facing each other. The automatic ice making machine described in 1. [3] The first ice-making chamber (13) and the corresponding second ice-making chamber (15) face each other, thereby defining a polyhedral ice-forming space therein. The automatic ice making machine described in 1.