JPH0120614Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (Field of industrial application) This invention relates to the improvement of ice-making machines, and in particular, the ice-making plate body made of a heat-transfer material and the spacer made of a heat-insulating material are stacked alternately. In an ice maker in which a large number of ice making compartments are partitioned by stacking them one on top of the other, ice cubes of a fixed shape can be produced in each of the ice compartments.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 1, such an ice making machine includes an ice making plate main body 1 made of a heat conductive material such as aluminum and having a plurality of vertical partition walls 1b protruding from a surface 1a; A vertical partition wall 2a is provided in a protruding position corresponding to the vertical partition wall 1b of the main body 1, and adjacent vertical partition walls 2a, 2a are provided.
Spacers 2 each having a chevron-shaped cross section and made of a heat insulating material such as resin with a horizontal partition wall 2b provided therebetween are stacked alternately to form an ice making compartment 3 with one side open.
By installing a cooling pipe 4 on the back surface of the main body 1 in a thermally conductive manner, the water flowing down from the upper water spray tank 5 is frozen in each of the ice making compartments 3,
Accordingly, it has been proposed that the ice making capacity can be freely changed and selected (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 58-28964).

(Problem to be solved by the invention) However, in this proposal, in order to prevent the ice made in the upper and lower ice-making chambers 3 and 3 from stacking up and down, the upper and lower surfaces 3a and 3b of the ice-making chamber 3 are The horizontal partition wall 2b of the spacer 2 is made of a heat insulating material, so the cooling effect from the cooling pipe 4 does not reach the upper and lower surfaces 3a and 3b. As shown by the chain line in FIG. 1, the ice A produced is insufficiently formed on the upper and lower surfaces. Further, even when ice cubes are removed from the ice making chamber 3 after ice making, there is a drawback that the ice cannot be removed quickly because there is no heat transfer effect from the upper and lower spacers 2.

In order to deal with the above-mentioned problems, the present invention has been developed to cover not only the surface of the ice-making plate body made of a heat-transfer material and the wall surface of the vertical partition wall protruding from the surface, but also the lateral side of the spacer made of a heat-insulating material. By configuring the surface of the partition wall to have an appropriate heat transfer effect and a cooling effect, the water supplied into the ice-making chamber is also cooled from the top and bottom surfaces of the chamber, allowing each ice-making chamber to have a uniform shape. The main purpose of this system is to make it possible to produce ice cubes efficiently and quickly, and also to quickly remove the ice.

Furthermore, in this case, it is conceivable to construct the heat transfer surface formed on the surface of the horizontal partition wall in the spacer with a metal plating layer, but in that case, the plating on the resin surface would increase the cost, and Because the surface of the plating layer is water repellent, it takes time for the surface to become accustomed to water, and during that time, water flow is poor.
This can easily cause deformed ice and water dripping. Furthermore, the plating layer has a relatively poor heat transfer coefficient, and is not sufficient to shorten the ice removal time, especially when the temperature difference between the ice and the hot gas is large. From this, the heat transfer surface can be formed inexpensively and easily, and
The purpose is to eliminate the occurrence of deformed ice, water dripping, etc. by forming it from a material that is easily compatible with water and has a good heat transfer coefficient, and to further shorten the ice removal time.

(Means for solving the problem) In order to achieve the above purpose, the solution of the present invention is as follows:
As shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, there is an ice-making plate main body 14 made of a heat transfer material with vertical partition walls 12 protruding from the surface 11 at regular intervals, and ice-making plate main bodies 14 made of a heat-conducting material, and vertical partition walls 12 located on the main body 14 corresponding to the vertical partition walls 12. A large number of ice-making compartments 18 are partitioned by alternately stacking vertical partition walls 15 and spacers 17 made of a heat insulating material and having a horizontal partition wall 16 with a chevron-shaped cross section provided between adjacent vertical partition walls 15, 15. and an ice-making plate 10 having a cooling pipe 23 thermally held on the back surface of the ice-making plate main body 14,
The ice making machine is assumed to make ice by causing water to flow down into the ice making chamber 18. And the above-mentioned spacer 1
Upper and lower engaging portions 17a and 17b are provided which are cut out in a stepped manner across the upper and lower surfaces of the vertical partition wall 15 and the upper and lower surfaces of the base of the horizontal partition wall 16 of No. 7. On the other hand, the spacer 17 has upper and lower surface portions 32a and 32b that are continuous and in close contact with the upper and lower surfaces 16a and 16a of the horizontal partition wall 16, and the upper surface portion 3
A pair of upper side wall portions 32 extend upward from both ends of the spacer 2a and are in close contact with the side surfaces of the vertical partition wall 15 of the spacer 17.
c, 32c, and an upper engaging portion 17 of the spacer 17 that continuously protrudes outward from the upper ends of both upper side wall portions 32c, 32c and the upper end of the upper surface portion 32a.
an upper flange portion 32d that fits flush with and engages with the other upper surface portion of the spacer 17; and a base portion of the horizontal partition wall 16 of the spacer 17 that extends downward from the rear end of the upper flange portion 32d. Upper locking part 32 that engages with the back surface
e, a pair of lower side wall portions 32f, 32f extending downward from both ends of the lower surface portion 32b and in close contact with the side surfaces of the vertical partition wall 15 of the spacer 17, and both lower side wall portions 32f, 32f. The lower end and lower surface portion 32 of
The spacer 17 continuously protrudes outward from the lower end of b.
A lower flange portion 32 that fits flush with the other lower surface portion of the spacer 17 and engages with the lower engaging portion 17b of the spacer 17.
g, and a lower locking portion 32h that extends upward from the rear end of the lower flange portion 32g and engages with the back surface of the base of the horizontal partition wall 16 of the spacer 17. 32 is provided. Thus, the heat transfer surface member 32 has its upper and lower flange portions 32
d, 32g are the upper and lower engaging portions 17a, 1 of the spacer 17.
7b, and the upper and lower locking parts 32e, 32h are locked to the back surface of the base of the horizontal partition wall 16, and the upper and lower flange parts 32d, 3
2g, the upper and lower surfaces 1 of the horizontal partition wall 16 of the spacer 17 are pressed against the upper and lower end surfaces of the ice-making plate body 14 so as to be in heat conductive contact with the ice-making plate body 14.
6a, 16a.

(Function) As a result, the water supplied to the ice making chamber 10 is appropriately cooled by the heat transfer surface member 32 from the upper and lower surfaces of the chamber 10, and the water supplied to the ice making chamber 10 is cooled by the heat transfer surface member 32 made of a thin metal plate. Because it is easy to adapt to water, it is cooled with good water flow, and ice cubes of a certain shape can be produced quickly and efficiently. Furthermore, during ice removal, the ice is removed quickly due to the good heat transfer effect from the heat transfer surface member 32.

Further, in this case, the heat transfer surface member 32 elastically deforms the upper and lower surface portions 32a and 32b and expands vertically, and the surface of the horizontal partition wall 16
6a, 16a, the upper and lower flange portions 32d, 32g are fitted into the upper and lower engaging portions 1 of the spacer 17.
7a, 17b flush with each other, and the upper and lower locking portions 32e, 32h are locked to the back surface of the base of the horizontal partition wall 16, and are secured and fitted. Further, the heat transfer surface member 32 is brought into pressure contact with the upper and lower end surfaces of the ice-making plate main body 14 due to the assembly structure in which the ice-making plates 14 and the spacers 17 are stacked alternately, and the heat-transfer surface member 32 is brought into pressure contact with the upper and lower end surfaces of the ice-making plate main body 14, and the ice-making surface member 32 is brought into contact with the upper and lower end surfaces of the ice-making plate body 14 at the upper and lower flange portions 32d and 32g. Board body 1
4, the assembly of the heat transfer surface member 32, that is, the spacer 17 and the horizontal partition wall 16
A heat transfer surface can be easily formed on the surfaces 16a, 16a.

(Effects of the invention) Therefore, according to the invention, a large number of ice-making compartments can be partitioned on the surface by stacking the ice-making plate body made of a heat-transfer material and the spacer made of a heat-insulating material. In the ice making machine, the cooling tube is heat-conductingly held on the back side of the ice-making plate body, and a cooling tube made of a thin metal plate is installed on the surface of the horizontal partition wall in the spacer that forms the upper and lower surfaces of the ice-making compartment. Since the thermal surface member is fitted with its flange portion in contact with the ice-making plate main body, water for ice-making in each ice-making chamber flows from the surface of the ice-making plate main body and the wall surface of the vertical partition wall of the main body. In addition, cooling is also effected from the surfaces of the horizontal partition walls in the upper and lower spacers, so that ice cubes of a constant shape corresponding to the shape of each ice-making chamber can be rapidly produced in each ice-making chamber. Moreover, since the heat transfer surface on the surface of the horizontal partition wall of the spacer is constructed by fitting a heat transfer surface member made of a thin metal plate, the heat transfer surface can be formed easily and inexpensively, and the heat transfer surface can be formed easily and inexpensively. Since the surface easily adapts to water and allows good water flow, deformed ice and water dripping do not occur, making it possible to further improve the production of ice cubes having the predetermined shape. Furthermore,
When ice cubes are separated from the ice-making compartment by supplying hot gas to the cooling pipe, the ice is heated from the top and bottom surfaces of the ice-making compartment, so that ice can be removed quickly. In particular, since a metal thin plate has a better heat transfer coefficient than a metal plating layer, it is effective in shortening the ice removal time when ice and hot gas have a large temperature difference.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described based on FIG. 2 and subsequent figures.

2 and 3 show a cylindrical ice making machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, 10 is a cylindrical vertical ice making plate, and the ice making plate 10 has a surface 11 with a width interval of ice cubes to be produced. An ice making plate main body 14 has a plurality of vertical partition walls 12 projecting thereon and a concave portion 13 for holding a cooling pipe on the back surface thereof, and a vertical partition wall 15 is located at a position corresponding to the vertical partition wall 12 in the main body 14. A spacer 17 having a chevron-shaped cross section and a horizontal partition wall 16 provided between the adjacent vertical partition walls 15 and 15 is used as the spacer 1.
The ice-making plate bodies 14 are stacked alternately so as to be sandwiched between the partition walls 12 and 17, and
A large number of ice making chambers 18 each having one side open are defined by sections 15 and 16. Here, the ice making plate main body 14 is formed by cutting a drawn material made of a heat transfer material such as aluminum into a dimension corresponding to the vertical width of the ice cube to be manufactured, and the main body 14
A heat insulating member 19 is attached to the tip of each vertical partition wall 12 in . Further, the spacer 17 is formed by joining upper and lower halves formed of a heat insulating material such as synthetic resin, and the insides of each of the vertical and horizontal partition walls 15 and 16 in the spacer 17 are formed into a communicating hollow shape. In addition, an open cylindrical portion 15a communicating with the hollow interior is provided at the tip of two predetermined vertical partition walls 15, and a columnar body 15b is provided protruding from the tip of the other vertical partition wall 15. has been done.

Further, in FIG. 2, 20 is a water supply pipe connected to the cylindrical portion 15a of a predetermined vertical partition wall 15 of the spacer 17 located at the uppermost stage, and 21 is a water supply pipe connected to a predetermined vertical partition wall 15a of the spacer 17 located at the lowermost stage. A drain pipe 22 connected to a cylindrical portion (not shown) in the partition wall is a U-shaped communication pipe connecting the corresponding cylindrical portions 15a, 15a in each spacer 17, whereby the water supply pipe 20 A series of de-icing water passages are formed which sequentially pass through the interior of each spacer 17 and reach the drain pipe 21. In addition, the ice making plate main body 14
A meandering cooling pipe 23 is thermally fitted and held in the recess 13 provided on the back side of the
a, 23a are connected to a refrigerant circulation system (not shown).

Further, reference numeral 24 denotes an annular water sprinkling tank disposed above the ice-making plate 10, and an inlet 25a of ice-making water that is force-fed from a pump (not shown) to a water supply and drainage section 25 provided on one side of the tank, and In addition, the tank 24 has a plurality of water sprinkling holes 24a drilled in its bottom surface, and a semi-cylindrical projection at a predetermined position on the side surface of the tank 24. 24b is provided, and the protrusion 24b
The top and bottom ends of a coupling band 26 formed of a spring material are respectively locked to the columnar body 15b of the spacer 17 at the lowermost stage, thereby coupling the watering tank 24 to the ice-making plate 10. It is done like this. In addition, each ice-making plate body 1 constituting the ice-making plate 10
4 and spacer 17 are the uppermost and lowermost spacers 1
The upper and lower ends of a coupling band 27, which is also made of a spring material, are respectively locked to the cylindrical portions 15a, 15a of the cylindrical portions 7, 17, thereby being integrated.

In addition, 28 is a water tank installed below the ice-making plate 10, and 29, 30, 31 is a unit of the ice-making plate 10 and water tank 24, which are combined as described above, in an ice-making machine case (not shown). 29 is a supporting member that supports the ice-making plate 10 from below, 30 is a hanging member installed inside the case, and 31 is a connecting member between both members 29 and 30. be.

As shown in FIG. 4, each of the spacers 17
A heat transfer surface member 32 made of a degreased thin metal plate such as aluminum or stainless steel is attached to the surfaces 16a, 16a of the horizontal partition wall 16 by fitting. The heat transfer surface member 32
As shown in FIG. 5, upper and lower surface portions 32a, 3 of the spacer 17 are closely connected to the surfaces 16a, 16a of the horizontal partition wall 16 and continue in a substantially V-shape.
2b, upper side wall portions 32c, 32c extending upward from both ends of the upper surface portion 32a and in close contact with the side surfaces of the vertical partition wall 15 of the spacer 17;
c, 32c and the upper end of the upper surface portion 32a, and are stepped down by the thickness of the thin metal plate on the upper surface of the vertical partition wall 15 of the spacer 17 and the upper surface of the base of the horizontal partition wall 16. An upper flange portion 3 that engages with an upper engaging portion 17a formed with a notch shape.
2d, an upper locking portion 32e that extends downward from the rear end of the upper flange portion 32d and engages with the back surface of the base of the horizontal partition wall 16, and an upper locking portion 32e that extends downward from both ends of the lower surface portion 32b and engages the spacer 17. Lower side wall portions 32f, 32f that are in close contact with the side surfaces of the vertical partition wall 15, and lower ends and lower surface portions 32b of the both side wall portions 32f, 32f.
protrudes continuously outward from the lower end of the spacer 17 and engages with a lower engaging portion 17b that is similarly formed with a step-down notch on the lower surface of the vertical partition wall 15 and the lower surface of the base of the horizontal partition wall 16. It consists of a lower flange portion 32g and a lower locking portion 32h that extends upward from the rear end of the lower flange portion 32g and engages with the back surface of the base of the horizontal partition wall 16. Therefore, the upper and lower surface portions 32
a, 32b are elastically deformed and pushed apart vertically and fitted into the surfaces 16a, 16a of the horizontal partition wall 16, so that the upper and lower flange portions 32d, 32g are fitted into the upper and lower engaging portions 17a, 17b of the spacer 17. The upper and lower locking portions 32e and 32h are engaged flush with each other, and the upper and lower locking portions 32e and 32h are locked to the back surface of the base of the horizontal partition wall 16, and are prevented from coming off. Furthermore, the heat transfer surface member 3
2 are brought into pressure contact with the upper and lower end surfaces of the ice-making plate main body 14, whereby the upper and lower flange portions 32d, 32
It is in thermally conductive contact with the ice-making plate main body 14 at g. In this case, the heat transfer surface member 32 connects the ice making plate body 14 by fixing the cooling pipe 23 and the ice making plate body 14 at the intermediate spacer 17 by expanding the pipes.
4, and the uppermost and lowermost spacers 17 are pressed together by attaching the uppermost and lowermost spacers 17 with a coupling band 26.

According to the above configuration, each ice making chamber 18 partitioned by the vertical partition wall 12 of the ice making plate main body 14 and the vertical and horizontal partition walls 15 and 16 of the spacer 17 in the ice making plate 10 has an upper water sprinkling tank 24. Water for ice making flowing down from the horizontal partition wall 1 of the spacer 17
6 and the surface 11 of the ice-making plate main body 14 into the lower chamber.
By being cooled by the cooling pipe 23 held at
Heat is absorbed from the wall and it freezes.

In that case, the horizontal partition wall 16 in the spacer 17
A heat transfer surface member 32 is placed over the surfaces 16a, 16a, and the member 32 is attached to the upper and lower flange parts 3.
2d and 32g are brought into contact with the ice making plate main body 14, so that the water supplied into the ice making chamber 18 is supplied to the surfaces 16a and 16 of the horizontal partition wall 16.
Even when the ice is transmitted through the heat transfer surface member 32, a suitable amount of heat is absorbed to the ice making plate main body 14 or the cooling pipe 23 side. Therefore, in the ice making compartment 18, as mentioned above, not only the surface 11 of the ice making plate body 14 and the wall surfaces of the left and right vertical partition walls 12,
Surface 16 of horizontal partition wall 16 in upper and lower spacers 17
Ice is also generated from the ice making chamber 18a and 16a, as shown by the chain line in FIG.
Ice cubes A′ with a constant shape corresponding to the shape of are quickly produced.

Moreover, since the heat transfer surface member 32 is made of a degreased thin metal plate, it is easily compatible with water and has good water flow, which prevents the occurrence of deformed ice and water dripping, thereby effectively achieving the above effects. I can demonstrate it.

In addition, when ice is removed, hot gas is supplied to the cooling pipe 23 to remove the ice in each ice making compartment 18. At this time, too, heat is transferred via the heat transfer surface member 32, so the ice is removed. can be done quickly.
In particular, the temperature difference (20 to 80 degrees Celsius) between the temperature of the ice making compartment 18 (ice temperature = 0 degrees Celsius) and the temperature of the evaporator (hot gas temperature = 20 to 80 degrees Celsius; average 50 degrees Celsius) at the time of ice removal.
50℃ on average) is larger than the temperature difference (20℃) between the ice making compartment 18 temperature (0℃) and the evaporator temperature (refrigerant temperature = -20℃) during ice making. Compared to a plating layer or the like, the difference in heat transfer coefficient due to the thin metal plate has a greater effect on the amount of heat transfer, which is advantageous because the ice removal time can be significantly shortened.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view of the main parts of a conventional ice maker. Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of each part showing an embodiment of the ice maker of the present invention, Fig. 3 is a front view of the main part of the embodiment, and Fig. 4 is a main part of the embodiment taken along the line shown in Fig. 3. The enlarged longitudinal sectional view, FIG. 5, is a perspective view of the heat transfer surface member. 10...Ice making plate, 11...Surface, 12...Vertical partition wall, 14...Ice making plate body, 15...Vertical partition wall,
16...Horizontal partition wall, 16a...Horizontal partition wall surface, 1
7... Spacer, 17a... Upper engaging part, 17b...
Lower engaging portion, 18... Ice making compartment, 23... Cooling pipe,
32... Heat transfer surface member, 32a... Upper surface portion,
32b...Lower surface part, 32c...Upper side wall part, 32d...Upper flange part, 32e...Upper locking part, 32f...Lower side wall part, 32g...Lower flange part, 32h... ...Lower locking part.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] An ice-making plate main body 14 made of a heat transfer material and having vertical partition walls 12 protruding from a surface 11 at regular intervals, and the main body 1
Vertical partition walls 15 located corresponding to the vertical partition walls 12 in 4 and spacers 17 made of a heat insulating material having a horizontal partition wall 16 with a chevron-shaped cross section provided between the adjacent vertical partition walls 15, 15 are stacked alternately. As a result, a large number of ice-making chambers 18 are formed into sections, and the ice-making plate 10 is provided with a cooling pipe 23 thermally held on the back surface of the ice-making plate main body 14, and ice is made by flowing water into the ice-making chamber 18. In the ice maker, upper and lower engaging portions are formed with step-down notches across the upper and lower surfaces of the vertical partition wall 15 of the spacer 17 and the upper and lower surfaces of the base of the horizontal partition wall 16. 17a,
17b, while the upper and lower surfaces 16 of the horizontal partition wall 16 of the spacer 17 are provided.
a, 16a, and a pair of upper surface portions 32a, 32b that extend upward from both ends of the upper surface portion 32a and are in close contact with the side surfaces of the vertical partition wall 15 of the spacer 17. Side wall portions 32c, 32
c, and continuously protrudes outward from the upper ends of both upper side wall parts 32c, 32c and the upper end of the upper surface part 32a, and connects to the upper engaging part 17a of the spacer 17 with other upper surface parts of the spacer 17. An upper flange portion 32d that fits flush and engages with the upper flange portion 3;
Horizontal partition wall 1 of spacer 17 extending downward from the rear end of 2d
6, a pair of lower side wall portions 32f extending downward from both ends of the lower surface portion 32b and coming into close contact with the side surfaces of the vertical partition wall 15 of the spacer 17; 32f, and both lower side wall portions 32
f, 32f and the lower end of the lower surface portion 32b, and is fitted into the lower engaging portion 17b of the spacer 17 flush with the other lower surface portion of the spacer 17. A metal member comprising a lower flange portion 32g that engages with the lower flange portion 32g, and a lower locking portion 32h that extends upward from the rear end of the lower flange portion 32g and engages with the back surface of the base of the horizontal partition wall 16 of the spacer 17. A heat transfer surface member 32 made of a thin plate is provided, and the upper and lower flange portions 32d and 32g of the heat transfer surface member 32 are connected to the upper and lower engaging portions 17 of the spacer 17.
a, 17b, and the upper and lower locking portions 32e, 32h are locked to the back surface of the base of the horizontal partition wall 16, and the upper and lower flange portions 32
d and 32g, the spacer 17 is fitted onto the upper and lower surfaces 16a, 16a of the horizontal partition wall 16 of the spacer 17 while being pressed against the upper and lower end surfaces of the ice-making plate body 14 so as to be in thermally contact with the ice-making plate body 14. An ice maker that is characterized by: