JPH0151750B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (a) Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to an ice maker, and more particularly to a water supply method in a so-called inverted cell ice maker.

(B) Prior art In general, water is supplied to this type of ice maker to wash away the thin water that adheres to the surface of the water tray when the water tray is tilted after ice making, and to supply water for the next cycle of ice making to the water tank. This is done to supply water to people.

By the way, in the conventional water supply method, the water supply for cleaning takes an unnecessarily long time, and the water for the next cycle is supplied to the water tank during the return movement of the water tray. However, there were problems such as the water supplied to the water tank being wasted and water being insufficiently supplied, which caused cloudy ice, and water was not being supplied efficiently.

(c) Purpose of the Invention The main purpose of the present invention is to efficiently supply water for washing water dishes and water to a water tank for making ice in the next cycle, thereby significantly saving water. The invention also aims to eliminate the production of cloudy ice and produce clear ice by ensuring the minimum amount of water necessary for ice making in a water tank.

(D) Structure of the Invention The present invention is an inverted cell ice maker, which starts sprinkling water on the surface of the water tray while the water tray is tilted upon completion of ice making;
Watering is temporarily stopped when the water tray finishes tilting, watering is resumed at the same time as the water tray finishes backward movement and the next ice-making process starts, and watering is stopped when the water tank reaches a predetermined water level. This is the water supply method for the ice maker.

(E) Embodiment Figure 1 shows a partially cutaway side view of the ice maker of the present invention, showing a large number of ice maker compartments 1 that open downward.
A, the cooler 1 has a refrigeration system evaporation pipe 2 arranged on the outer surface of the upper wall, each ice making compartment 1A is closed off from below with sufficient margin, and a fountain corresponding to each ice making compartment 1A is installed on the surface. A water tray 5 with holes 3 and return holes 4 formed therein.
, a water tank 6 fixed to the water tray 5 and communicating with the return hole 4, and a circulation pump that circulates the water in the water tank 6 from the water fountain 3 to each ice making compartment 1A via a water supply pipe 7 and further a distribution pipe 8. 9, a drive device 11 including a deceleration motor 10 capable of forward and reverse rotation for tilting and reciprocating the water tray 5, a water sprinkler 13 that sprinkles water on the surface of the water tray 5 when the water supply valve 12 is opened, and a water tank 6. Float 14 in float tank 14A communicating with the bottom of
The water level switch 14C is actuated by the water level switch 14C, and the water level detection device 14, which detects a predetermined water level in the water tank 6, constitutes a so-called inverted cell type ice maker. Then,
A drive cam 17 having first and second arms 17A and 17B extending in opposite directions is connected to the output shaft of the deceleration motor 10 supported on a mounting plate 16 fixed to the support beam 15. The other end of the coil spring 18 attached to the end of the first arm 17A is connected to the side of the water tray 5, and the rear part of the water tray 5 is supported on a rotating shaft 19. Further, 20 is switched by the second arm 17B of the drive cam 17 which rotates counterclockwise due to the forward rotation of the deceleration motor 10, and the power supply to the deceleration motor 10 is cut off to move the water tray 5 to a predetermined inclined open position. The deceleration motor 10 is stopped at
This is a seesaw type control switch that is switched by the first arm 17A of the drive cam 17 that rotates clockwise due to the reversal of the rotation speed, and cuts off the power to the deceleration motor 10 to stop the water tray 5 at a predetermined horizontal closed position. be.

Next, the electric circuit of the present invention will be explained based on FIG. 21 is an electric compressor of the refrigeration system, and 22 is a timer for controlling the end of the ice-making operation, which has a timer contact 22A that closes the contact when a predetermined time has elapsed. 23 is a deicing end detection thermostat that controls the end of the deicing operation, and when the temperature of the cooler 1 falls to a predetermined temperature, it switches to the L contact 23A, and when the temperature rises to the predetermined temperature, it switches to the H contact 23B. 2
A first relay 4 is connected in series with an ice storage switch 25 that closes a contact when a predetermined amount of stored ice is detected, and has a normally closed first relay contact 24A and a normally open first relay contact 24B. 26 is the second relay,
Normally closed second relay contacts 26A, 26B and 26C
and normally open second relay contacts 26D, 26E and 26.
It has F. A third relay 27 has a normally closed third relay contact 27A and normally open third relay contacts 27B and 27C. 12 is the water supply valve, which has a normally closed third relay contact 27A and a normally closed second relay contact 2.
6C and the series circuit of the water level switch 14C.

20A1 and 20A2 are the control switches 20
The tilting contacts 20B1 and 20B2 are the reciprocating contacts of the control switch 20. Reference numeral 10 designates the deceleration motor which rotates forward or reverse depending on the switching of the control switch 20, 9 the circulation pump, 28 the condenser air cooling fan, and 29 the hot gas valve. Note that the water level detection device 14 is mechanically provided with a differential to prevent water from being supplied during ice-making operation.

Next, the operation of the present invention will be explained. Water dish 5 is the first
As shown by the solid line in the figure, the ice making compartment 2 is in a horizontal state with it closed, and when the power is turned on, the normally closed first relay contact 24A, the normally closed third relay contact 27A, the normally closed second relay contact 26C, and Water level switch 14C
The water supply valve 12, which is energized via the
Water is sprinkled onto the surface of the water tray 5 from the water tray 5, and water starts to be supplied to the water tank 6 mainly through the return hole 4. In addition, the electric compressor 21 operates to cool the cooler 1, and the normally closed first relay contact 24A, the tilting contact 20A1,
Furthermore, the circulation pump 9 and the condenser air cooling fan 28 are operated via the normally closed second relay contact 26A to start ice making operation, and then, when the water level in the water tank 6 reaches a predetermined water level, the ice making operation is started by the float 14B. The contact of the water level switch 14C is opened, cutting off the power to the water supply valve 12, stopping water sprinkling, and ending the water supply operation to the water tank 6.

Thus, the water in the water tank 6 passes through the water pipe 7 and the distribution pipe 8 and is sprayed from each water fountain 3 into each ice making compartment 2.
The remaining water that does not freeze in the ice making chamber 2 is returned to the water tank 6 from the return hole 4, and the water circulation operation is repeated.
During this process, when the temperature of the cooler 1 drops to a predetermined temperature, the deicing completion detection thermostat 23 activates the H contact 23.
The timer 22 is started by switching from B to L contact 23A, and when the predetermined time set by the timer 22 has elapsed, the timer contact 22A closes and the second
The relay 26 is energized and the second relay contact 26 is normally closed.
A, 26B, and 26C are opened, and normally open second relay contacts 26D, 26E, and 26F are closed. As a result, the circulation pump 9 and the fan 28
stops and ends the ice-making operation, the third relay 27 is energized to open the normally closed third relay contact 27A, close the normally open third relay contacts 27B and 27C, and open the hot gas valve 29. Then, the cooler 1 is heated with hot gas and the operation for deicing the ice formed in the ice making compartment 2 is started. Further, at this time, the deceleration motor 10 is energized via the timer contact 22A and the tilting contact 20A2 to rotate forward, and the drive cam 17 rotates counterclockwise. Along with this, the water tray 5 starts to tilt, and when a portion of the ice-making water remaining in the water tank 6 is drained during the tilting of the water tray 5, the water level switch 14C is closed; Normally closed first relay contact 24A, L contact 23A of de-icing completion detection thermostat 23, timer contact 22A, tilting contact 2
0A2, the water supply valve 12 is energized through the normally open second relay contact 26F and the water level switch 14C to open the water supply valve 12 and start sprinkling water from the sprinkler 13 onto the surface of the water tray 5. Wash off any thin ice stuck to the Thus, the second arm 17B of the drive cam 17 moves the control switch 20 to the tilting contact 20A.
1 and 20A2 to double acting contacts 20B1 and 20B
2, the power to the deceleration motor 10 is cut off, and the water tray 5 finishes its tilting at the tilted position where the ice making chamber 2 is opened, as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. is cut off, and watering to the water tray 5 is temporarily stopped. In this state, water is left in the water tank 6 at a level as shown by the dotted line X in FIG. 1 to prevent dry operation when the circulation pump 9 is started in the next cycle.

When the ice leaves each ice making compartment 2 and the deicing completion detection thermostat 23 detects a predetermined temperature rise in the cooler 1 and switches from the L contact 23A to the H contact 23B, the timer 22 is energized. is cut off, and the timer contact 22A returns to normal. As a result, the second relay 26 is de-energized, the normally closed second relay contacts 26A, 26B and 26C are closed, and the normally open second relay contacts 26D, 26E and 2 are closed.
6F is opened, but since the third relay 27 is energized at this time and the normally closed third relay contact 27A is opened, the water supply valve 12 is not energized at this point. On the other hand, the double acting contact 2 of the control switch 20
0B1, the deceleration motor 10 is energized via the normally closed second relay contact 26B and now rotates in the reverse direction, causing the drive cam 17 to rotate clockwise. Along with this, the water tray 5 starts to move backward, and when the first arm 17A of the drive cam 17 switches the control switch 20 from the backward movement contacts 20B1 and 20B2 to the tilting contacts 20A1 and 20A2, the deceleration motor 10 is deenergized. After being cut off, the water tray 5 again completes its return movement and stops at the horizontal position where the ice making chamber 2 is closed, as shown by the solid line in FIG. When the operation ends, the excitation of the third relay 27 is also released and the normally closed third relay contact 27A is closed, so the water supply valve 12 opens in the same way as when the power is turned on, and the water tray 5 is discharged from the sprinkler 13. Water is sprinkled on the surface and water is supplied to the water tank 6. At the same time, cooler 1
cooling is also started, and the circulation pump 9 and fan 28 are also operated to start the next cycle of ice-making operation. Thereafter, when the water level in the water tank 6 reaches a predetermined water level, the water level switch 14 is activated by the float 14B as described above.
The contact point C is opened, the power supply to the water supply valve 12 is cut off, and the operation of supplying water to the water tank 6 is completed.

(f) Effects of the Invention The present invention starts sprinkling water onto the surface of the water pan while the water pan is tilting, and temporarily stops water sprinkling when the water pan finishes tilting, thereby shortening the water supply time for cleaning the water pan. At the same time, by supplying water to the water tank for ice making in a horizontal state with the water tray blocking the ice-making chamber, all the water sprinkled on the surface of the water tray can be stored in the water tank without being drained. This has the advantage of eliminating unnecessary wastewater and significantly saving water.

In addition, since the predetermined water level in the water tank is detected while the ice making operation is in progress, that is, when the circulation pump is operating, there is no shortage of water, and the advantage is that it can provide clear ice and improve its quality. It is played together.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway side view of an ice making machine embodying the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an electric circuit diagram of the present invention. 5...Water dish, 6...Water tank, 12...Water supply valve.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A cooler having a number of divided ice-making chambers that open downward, a water tray that closes each ice-making chamber from below, a water tank fixed to the water tray, and a drive device that tilts the water tray. In an ice maker equipped with a water sprinkler that sprinkles water on the surface of the water tray and supplies water to the water tank, and a circulation pump that circulates the water in the water tank to each of the ice making compartments, during the tilting of the water tray upon completion of ice making. Start sprinkling water on the surface of the water tray, temporarily stop watering when the water tray finishes tilting, restart watering at the same time as the water tray finishes its backward movement and starts the next ice-making process, and A water supply method for an ice maker, characterized in that watering is terminated when water is supplied to a predetermined water level.