JPH02143072A - Ice removing structure for automatic ice making machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To separate ice blocks from second ice making chambers smoothly by a method wherein water from as external source is reserved in a water reservoir to dip respective ice making small chambers of a second ice making chamber and excessive water is overflowed from a dam, upon ice removing operation. CONSTITUTION:A water pan 38, arranged so as to form groove passages 72 below a second ice making chamber 12 and supplying ice making water into respective ice making small chambers 13, 15 of first and second ice making chambers 11, 12, defines a water reservoir 65 surrounding the second ice making chamber 12 by a rear part 64, left and right sides 61 and a dam 62. Upon ice removing operation, a water supplying valve WV is opened to pour city water into the water reservoir 65 and fill up the water reservoir 65 as well as the groove passages 72 so as to be overflowed from the dam 62 whereby the rear surfaces of the second ice making chamber 12 and the second ice making small chambers 15 are dipped and heated to melt the frozen surfaces of the first ice making chamber 11 and sperical ice blocks 1. Next, the second ice making chamber 12 is separated from the first ice making chamber 11 and is inclined by pivoting a cam lever 17. The ice blocks may be reparated easily from the second ice making small chambers.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application This invention is directed to an automatic ice making machine that can fully automatically produce large quantities of ice cubes in the form of, for example, spheres or polyhedrons. The present invention relates to a deicing structure configured to smoothly remove ice from the ice making room.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In various industrial fields, automatic ice making machines that continuously produce large quantities of dice-shaped ice cubes, ice sheets of a required thickness, and ice flakes are suitably used depending on the application.

For example, as an ice maker for producing ice cubes as described above, (1) A large number of cubic ice making compartments are defined downward in the ice making compartment, which can be opened and closed from below with a water tray, and ice making water is poured from the water tray. A so-called closed cell system in which ice cubes are gradually formed in each ice making compartment by injection and supplying ice to each ice making compartment.

(2) A so-called open cell system is known in which ice-making water is directly supplied to a large number of cube-shaped ice-making chambers that open downward, and ice cubes are formed in the ice-making/h chambers. In addition, ice makers that continuously produce sheet ice or fine crushed ice, and auger-type ice makers that continuously produce ice flakes are also in use.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention As mentioned above, most of the ice produced by various conventional ice making machines are cube-shaped ice cubes, sheet ice, other flaky ice pieces, and crushed ice. Only the above-mentioned ice cubes have the required shape and can be floated on drinks or used as a cooling bed for various foodstuffs (board ice also has a shape, but (Usually cannot be used with the same dimensions.)

However, in recent years, coffee shops, restaurants, and other food and beverage establishments are making strenuous efforts to differentiate themselves from other companies in order to gain an advantage over similar businesses in various ways and attract customers6. For example, instead of the conventionally widely used ice cubes, ball-shaped (spherical) ice cubes are used.
As a result, there is a tendency to try to provide immediate new changes to customers.

However, since this spherical water is widely used for eating and drinking, its commercial value will decrease unless it is clear and transparent ice cubes without cloudiness due to aeration. It also needs to be able to be produced in large quantities, but there has been no automatic ice-making machine for spherical water that meets this type of requirement. Therefore, the inventor of the present application engaged in the development of an ice making machine capable of producing a large amount of transparent and clear spherical water, and having obtained a mechanism that fully satisfies the above requirements, the inventor developed the basic concept in January 1988. On the 29th, he filed a patent application for his invention, an "automatic ice maker."

The ice maker according to the previous application had: ■ a large number of first ice-making chambers that opened downward, a 1V3 ice chamber equipped with an evaporator on the back, and ■ a large number of second ice-making chambers that opened upward. The ice-making chamber basically includes a second ice-making chamber, and during ice-making operation, both ice-making chambers close correspondingly to define a space in which irregularly shaped water such as a sphere is formed. In the ice making machine according to this basic structure, during deicing operation, the spherical water that has frozen in the first ice making chamber can be actively melted and peeled off by passing hot gas through the evaporator. However, since the ice-making machine is further equipped with a second ice-making chamber, the problem to be solved is how to smoothly remove the frozen spherical water from the second ice-making chamber defined therein.

Purpose of the Invention The present invention has been proposed in view of the above-mentioned problems to suitably solve the problems. It is an object of the present invention to provide a deicing structure with a novel configuration that can smoothly remove spherical or polyhedral ice blocks.

Means for Solving the Problem W In order to overcome the above-mentioned problems and suitably achieve the intended purpose, the present invention provides a method for injecting ice-making water into an ice-making chamber to form ice cubes in the ice-making chamber and freezing them. This automatic ice maker is designed to recirculate ice-making water that has not reached the desired temperature.The ice-making machine is equipped with an evaporator on the back, is fixedly placed inside the machine, and has a number of first ice-making chambers of a desired shape that open downward. Ice making room and this@
a second ice-making compartment, which is disposed so as to be movable toward and away from the first ice-making compartment, and has a desired shape and is capable of closing each of the first ice-making compartments correspondingly from below;
A second ice-making compartment formed with a large number of ice-making compartments, a holder disposed below the second ice-making compartment for supplying ice-making water to the first ice-making compartment and the second ice-making compartment, and a periphery of the surface of this water tray. A water reservoir that surrounds the second ice-making compartment and is defined by a rear part and a side part extending to the edge, and a dam part disposed near the front end of the side part with the rear part and the second ice-making compartment in between. It consists of
The second ice making chamber is immersed in the stored water and surplus water is caused to overflow by supplying water supplied from the outside to the water droplet portion during deicing operation. .

Embodiments Next, the deicing structure of an automatic ice maker according to the present invention will be described below with reference to preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a deicing structure according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the second ice-making chamber shown in FIG. 1 observed from the back side, and FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view schematically showing the main ice-making structure of the automatic ice-making machine according to the present invention in an ice-making state. In the embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 12 (
An automatic ice making machine that continuously produces the spherical ice 1 shown in a) will be explained, but by simply changing the internal shape of the ice making chamber described later, it is possible to produce the diamond-cut polyhedral ice 2 shown in FIG. 12(b). can also be easily accommodated.

(li# Regarding ice structure) As schematically shown in Fig. 3, the ice making compartment 1o that produces a large number of spherical ice having a required diameter consists of a first ice making compartment 11 arranged horizontally, and a first ice making compartment 11 disposed horizontally. 11 and a second ice-making compartment 12 that can be opened and closed from below. ! A rectangular first ice-making chamber 11 made of metal with good thermal conductivity is provided inside and above the housing (not shown).
are arranged and fixed horizontally, and a large number of first ice cube chambers 13 are recessed downward in the first ice making chamber 11 in a required alignment pattern. Each first ice-making chamber 1.3 is formed as a hemispherical recess, and has a diameter of 3Q11 and a depth of 1.5 an, for example. On the top surface of the first ice-making compartment 11, a refrigeration system (
The evaporator 14 led out from the evaporator 14 (not shown) is closely fixed in a meandering manner, and the operation of the refrigeration system promotes heat exchange of the vaporized refrigerant in the evaporator 14, cooling the first ice making chamber 11 to below freezing point. .

Immediately below the first ice making chamber 11, a second ice making chamber 12 made of a metal with good heat conductivity such as copper is provided so as to be tiltable as described below. 6. In other words, the second ice making compartment 12 has a second ice making compartment 11 recessed in the first ice making compartment 11. 1 Corresponding to the ice-making compartment 13, the second ice-making chamber 13 also has a hemispherical recess.
A large number of I ice chambers 15 are recessed upward in a required alignment pattern. The diameter of this second ice-making chamber 15 is also, for example, 31 cm, and the depth of the recess is set to 1.5 cm. Therefore, when the second ice-making compartment 12 is closed from below 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 3a11 is defined within each compartment.

As described above, the second ice-making chamber 2 is constructed as a block body made of a heat-conducting metal such as copper, and each of the second ice-making chambers 15
A water tray 38 for spraying and supplying ice-making water to the ice-making chamber 12 is integrally fixed to the outer bottom of the second ice-making chamber 12 via bolts 60 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, on the surface of the second ice-making compartment 12 opposite to the surface on which the second ice-making compartments 15 are formed (facing the water tray 38), there are two adjacent second ice-making compartments 15. A groove 71 is formed between them. That is, each of the second ice-making compartments 15 is surrounded by a groove 71 on the bottom surface, and during deicing operation to be described later, tap water supplied via the water supply valve Wv is defined between the groove 71 and the surface of the water tray. The groove passageway 72 is filled with water.

It is configured to accelerate the heating of the second ice making compartment 15.

In addition, in the predetermined position of the groove 71 in the second ice making chamber 12,
A support 73 having the same depth as the groove 71 is provided in a protruding manner, and the bolt 60 is inserted into a hole 73a formed in the support 73. The second ice-making chamber 12 is bolted to the water tray 38 with the tip of the support 73 and the hole 12a (described later) in contact with the surface of the water tray 38.

The water tray 38 has a rear end that stands up at a right angle to the rear portion 6.
4 is formed at the open end of this rear part 64 and is pivotally supported by a pivot 16 to a fixed portion of the ice maker housing (not shown) so as to be tiltable and rotatable, and is rotated together with the second ice maker 12 by an actuator motor AM to be described later. dynamically energized. That is,
When rotated clockwise as shown in FIG. 8, the second ice-making chamber 12 integrally fixed to the water tray 38 opens the first ice-making chamber 13.

Also, if it is rotated counterclockwise, the second
The ice making chamber 12 closes the first small ice making chamber 13.

On the back side of the water tray 38, fountain holes 25 communicating with each of the second ice making chambers 15 are correspondingly bored, and a distribution pipe 24 for supplying ice making water to these fountain holes 25 also meanders on the back side of the water tray 38. It is located. Further, below the water tray 38, an ice-making water tank 19 for supplying ice-making water to the distribution pipe 24 is integrally provided.

As shown in the figure, a through hole 12a is bored at the bottom of each second ice making compartment 15 in the second ice making compartment 12, and when the water tray 38 and the second ice making compartment 12 are fixed, each water fountain hole 25 is opened. The dimensions are set to correspond to the through hole 12a. And this through hole 12a.

During the ice-making operation described below, ice-making water is supplied to the ice-forming spaces defined in both ice-making chambers i3 and 15, and ice-making water that has not yet frozen in the spaces (hereinafter referred to as unfrozen water) is supplied. ). In addition, a return hole 26 is bored adjacent to each fountain hole 25 of the water tray 38,
The unfrozen water discharged from the through hole 12a is returned to the ice making water tank 19 through the return hole 26.

Side portions 61, 61 are formed on both sides of the water tray 38, and extend a predetermined length upward from the surface of the water tray.
One end of 61 is in close contact with the rear portion 64. Also water plate 3
As shown in FIG. 1, a dam part 62 is provided in front of the dam part 62, which is set to be lower than the side part 61 by a predetermined dimension. has been done. That is, the inner surface of the water tray 38 has one side portion 6.
1° 61, a water reservoir portion 65 surrounded by the dam portion 62 and the rear portion 64 is formed. In this water reservoir part 65, the second
An ice-making compartment 12 is housed therein, and the outer side of the second ice-making compartment 12 and the both sides 61, 61 . Damping part 62 and rear part 64
A waterway of the required dimensions is defined between the two.

A drain hole 63 of a required diameter is bored in the water tray 38 between the front end of the second ice making chamber 12 and the dam 62. The amount of water discharged from this drainage hole 63 is set to be smaller than the amount of water supplied from the outside to the water reservoir 65 during deicing operation, and therefore, if the water supply continues, water will flow into the water reservoir 65. It gradually accumulates. The water stored in the water reservoir 65 fills the water channel defined around the second ice-making chamber 12 and the groove passage 72, and heats each of the second ice-making compartments 15. Further, a part of the water stored in the water reservoir 65 flows down from the drain hole 63 to the ice-making water tank 19, and the other water overflows from the upper end of the dam 62 and flows from the front side of the water tray 38. It is arranged so that it flows into the tank 9. The height of the damming part 62 is set lower than the height from the surface of the water tray to the top surface of the second ice making chamber 12, so that the water stored in the water reservoir part 65 is It overflows from the upper end of the dam 62 before reaching the upper surface of the second ice making chamber 12 . Furthermore, water is supplied to the ice-making water tank 19 by opening the water supply valve Wv of the water supply pipe 27 connected to the external water supply system.

(Regarding the water pan tilting mechanism and water circulation system) The actuator motor AM for tilting the water pan 38 is equipped with a speed reducer, and the cam lever 17 and the lever piece 37 are fixed to the rotating shaft thereof so as to extend in the radial direction. tip 1
A coil spring 18 is elastically engaged between 7a and the front end of the water tray 38. A cam surface 17b formed at the base of the cam lever 17 is dimensioned to be able to cam engage with the upper surface of the side portion 61 of the water tray 38. Further, a changeover switch S2 is disposed at a fixed portion that supports the first ice making chamber 11, and when the lever piece 37 is rotated by the rotation of the motor AM accompanying the deicing operation, the changeover switch S2 is changed over. The motor AM is stopped, and the navigation water tray 38 is stopped in a tilted state. It also functions to switch the refrigeration system valve and circulate hot gas to the evaporator 14.

Water supply pipe 2 led out from the bottom side of the ice-making water tank 19
1 communicates with a pressure chamber 23 provided on the side of the tank via a water supply pump 22, and further communicates from the pressure chamber 23 with the distribution pipe 24. Therefore, from the ice making water tank 19 to the pump 2
2 is injected into each of the second ice making compartments 15 through the water fountain holes 25 drilled in the distribution pipe 24 and the through holes 12a drilled in the second ice making compartment 12. It is supplied. In addition, during the ice-making operation to be described later, unfrozen water that has not frozen in both ice-making compartments 13.15 can be returned to the ice-making water tank 19 through the first hole 12a and the return hole 26 formed in the water tray 38. It looks like this.

(Regarding the temperature-sensing mechanism) A temperature-sensing section (
A temperature sensing section of a de-icing detection thermometer Th, which functions as a de-icing completion detecting means, is disposed at a different position on the top surface of the first ice-making chamber. Furthermore, the second ice making room 1
A temperature-sensing part of a thermometer Th is disposed on a required side of the thermometer Th, and the main body of the thermometer Th that emits an electric signal is a water tray 3.
8.

(Regarding the water guide plate) A drain tray 69 is provided below the ice making water tank 19 to receive ice making water and discharge it to the outside of the machine.

A water guide plate 67 fixed to the shaft 68 above the drain tray 69
is coming. During the ice making operation, this water guide plate 67 has a positioning member 7 that extends and hangs down from the fixed part of the housing.
tank 1 as shown in FIG.
It is stopped at a position close to the open tip of No.9. In this state, when the ice-making water in the tank 19 overflows, this water flows through the water guide plate 67 as shown in FIG.
After flowing down along the back surface of the drain plate 69, it is discharged to the outside of the machine. Further, during deicing operation, as shown in FIG. 8, if the water guide @68 to which the water guide @67 is fixed is driven counterclockwise by a driving means (not shown), the water guide plate 67 can be tilted. It collapses onto the upper surface of the second ice-making compartment 12 in the state (described later) and blocks each of the second ice-making compartments 15. As shown in FIG. 9, the hydrophobic water falling from the $1 ice making compartment 11 is caused to slide down on this water guide plate 67 and is smoothly guided to the ice storage chamber (not shown).

Note that when the water tray 38 (second ice making compartment) returns to its original position, the water guide plate 67 is pressed by the water tray 38 returning to the horizontal state and rotates clockwise, as shown in FIG. , comes into contact with the positioning member 70 and stops. This water guide plate 6
7 can be tilted by moving the center of gravity using #68 as a fulcrum.

Next, FIG. 11 shows a modification of the second ice making chamber 12 adopted in the deicing structure according to the present invention, and the second ice making chamber 12 is made of a thin material such as a sheet metal, and the thin material has a hemispherical shape. A large number of second ice-making chambers 15 each having a shape of a recess are provided upward in a desired alignment pattern.

To explain in more detail, each of the second ice making compartments 15 is as follows.

A recess is formed on the back side of the thin material, and a required groove 71 is formed between the other adjacent second ice making compartments 15 on the back side.
is formed. The 21st ice chamber 12 is fixed with the top of each second ice making compartment 15 in contact with the water tray 38, and between the groove 71 and the surface of the water tray 38, an external water supply is provided during the deicing operation. A groove passage 72 is defined that functions as a water flow passage.

Further, a through hole 12a communicating with the fountain hole 25 of the water tray 38 is bored at the top of each second ice making compartment 15.
a is the WJ*ice lJs chamber 13. during the ice making operation described later.
It functions to supply ice-making water to the ice-forming space defined by 15 and to discharge unfrozen water that has not yet frozen in the space.

Function of the embodiment Next, the function of the de-icing structure according to the embodiment will be explained. First, during ice-making operation, as shown in FIG. 3, the second ice-making chamber 12 closes the first ice-making chamber 11 from below, and each first! liI
The ice compartment 13 and each of the second ice making compartments 15 are associated with each other to define an ice forming space therein. When the automatic ice maker is turned on in this state, ice making operation starts and the first ice maker
Refrigerant is circulated and supplied to the evaporator 14 provided in the first
The ice making compartment 11 is cooled. In addition, the ice making water from the ice making water tank 19 is pumped to the distribution pipe 24, and the ice making water is pumped to the distribution pipe 24.
The ice is injected into the spherical air II defined in both ice making/J% chambers 13.15 through the four water fountain holes 25 and the through hole L2a of the second ice making chamber 12.

The injected ice-making water contacts the inner surface of the first ice chamber 11 and is cooled, moistens the second ice-making/JX chamber 15 located below, and then is discharged from the spherical space through the through hole 12a. This unfrozen water is returned to the ice-making water tank 19 through the return hole 26 formed in the water tray 38 and is circulated again. Then, while the circulation of ice making water is repeated, the tongue 19
The temperature of the entire ice-making water stored therein gradually decreases, and the temperature of the second ice-making chamber 15 also gradually decreases.

First, a portion of the ice-making water freezes on the inner wall surface of the first ice-making/JX chamber 13 and an ice layer begins to form (see Fig. 4), and unfrozen water flows from the through hole 12a and the return hole 26 to the tank 19. During repeated operations, the ice layer continues to grow, and as shown in FIGS. ice 1
is generated. In addition.

When the ice making operation is terminated at the timing when the ice making state shown in FIG. 4 is reached, hollow spherical ice as shown in FIG. 12(c) is obtained. The hollow ice obtained in this way can contain ingredients such as cherries in its inner space.

By adding beverages such as juice and ornamental materials such as flower petals, new demand for ice can be stimulated.

Furthermore, the perforated parts of this hollow ice (the fountain hole 25 and the return hole 26
By placing the part corresponding to ) on your lower lip and blowing,
(It can also be used even when closed.

You can get a unique taste.

To explain the progress of ice making in more detail, the second ice making chamber 12
As mentioned above, since it is made of a good thermal conductor made of metal such as copper, good heat conduction from the first ice making compartment 11 is achieved, and proper cooling between the first ice making compartment 11 and the arrangement is quickly achieved. temperature. For this reason.

At the same time as a water layer is formed in the first I2 ice compartment 11, an ice layer is also formed in the second ice making compartment 12, resulting in the state shown in FIG. Also, the 21st! ! ! By forming the groove 71 on the back side of the ice chamber 12, the volume of the second ice making chamber 12 is reduced, which has the advantage of reducing the heat load and improving the cooling efficiency.

As shown in FIG. 6, when the production of one spherical ice is completed and the temperature of the first ice making chamber 11 drops to a required temperature range, this temperature drop is detected by the ice making detection thermo Th.

The circulating supply of ice-making water is stopped, and the supply of refrigerant to the evaporator 14 is continued. Then, as shown in FIG. 7, the water supply valve Wv is opened to start supplying water to the water reservoir 65 formed on the surface of the water tray 38.

Since the amount of tap water supplied via the water supply valve Wv is large compared to the amount flowing down from the drain hole 63 to the tank 19, the water level in the water reservoir 65 gradually rises and finally reaches the dam part of the water tray 38. 62, resulting in an overflow. The water surface level of the water reservoir section 65 when overflowing is the same as that of the second ice making chamber 12.
By setting the temperature so that the water reaches the vicinity of the upper end, the tap water at room temperature can mainly heat the second ice making chamber 12.

At this time, each second ice making compartment 15 in the second ice making compartment 12
Since the groove 71 is formed around the groove 71, the groove passage 72 defined between the groove 71 and the surface of the water tray 38 is filled with water, which causes the water to flow into the second ice making compartment 12. A sufficiently large contact area is ensured.

Therefore, the heat exchange efficiency between the water and the second ice making chamber 12 is improved,
The time required for deicing operation can be shortened.

The overflow water from the dam 62 is transferred to the water tray 38.
The water flows down into the tank 19 from the tip. The water level in the tank 19 gradually rises due to the water flowing in from the tip of the water dish and the water flowing down from the drain hole 63, and the water overflows from the tip of the tank in a short time, causing the water guide plate 67 to be in the standby position. It is discharged from the drain tray 69 to the outside of the machine along the same direction.

The second ice-making chamber 12 is heated by the tap water stored in the water reservoir 65 and the groove passage 72, and the temperature rises.
The freezing power between the wall of No. 5 and the raw water decreases. Furthermore, the adhesion force of the ice formed on the surface adjacent to the first ice making chamber 11 is also weakened. When the temperature of the second ice-making compartment 12 rises in this way, this temperature is increased by the thermostat Th.

is detected and closes the water supply valve Wv, and at the same time, the actuator AM is energized and starts rotating counterclockwise in FIG. 3. Due to this.

As shown in FIG. 8, the cam lever 17 rotates, and the cam surface 17b formed at its base forcibly presses the upper side surface of the water tray 38 downward. As already mentioned.

The second ice-making compartment 12 is heated by tap water, and the adhesion force between the first ice-making compartment 11 and the spherical ice 1 is reduced, so the water tray 38 and the second ice-breaking compartment 12 are heated by the 1'I! 1 Himuro 11
It is strongly separated from M and begins to tilt diagonally downward. By tilting the water tray 38 and the tank 19, the ice-making water in the tank 19 and the water in the water reservoir are disposed of to the outside.

During the tilting of the water tray 38, by pushing a reversing lever (not shown) integrally provided with #168 with a part of the water tray assembly, the water guide plate 67 is reversed, and the water tray 38 is rotated. Tilt while leaning. At the timing when the water tray 38 tilts to the maximum, the lever piece 37 presses and biases the eight changeover switches.

This causes the motor AM to stop its rotation and stop the tilting of the water tray 38. As mentioned above, the water guide plate 67 is
The upper surface of the 21st!2nd ice chamber 12 is covered to provide a smooth surface for sliding ice blocks down.

Furthermore, by switching the switch S2, the condenser fan motor (not shown) is stopped, the hot gas valve (not shown) is opened, and hot gas is supplied to the evaporator 14. heating has been done.

As mentioned above, the first ice making chamber 11 starts melting of the frozen surface between the inner surface of the first ice making chamber 13 and the spherical ice 1.
Since the cooling continues until the ice chamber 8 is tilted and opened, the freezing force (adhesion force) between the spherical ice 1 and the inner surface of the first ice making chamber 13 is strong, and when the ice chamber 211O is opened, the spherical ice 1 is
As shown in the figure, it is firmly attached to the first ice making/Jl chamber 13. However, hot gas is circulating in the evaporator 14 from earlier.

The temperature of the first ice making chamber 11 is rising. When the temperature is increased to such an extent that the first ice-making chamber 13 is formed, as shown in FIG.
The ice between the small chamber wall and the spherical ice 1 is broken and falls under its own weight,
It lands on the surface of the water guide plate 67 that is tilted and is on standby, and is slid down and collected into a water storage (not shown).

In this way, when all the spherical ice 1 leaves the first ice making chamber 13, the temperature of the first ice making chamber 11 rises all at once due to the hot gas circulating in the evaporator 14, as shown in FIG. When the deicing detection thermo Th detects this temperature rise, the deicing operation is completed and the motor AM reversely rotates to drive the cam lever 17. Therefore, the lever 17
A coil spring elastically engaged between the water tray 38 and the water tray 38 rotates the water tray 38 and the ice making water tank 19 counterclockwise and returns them to the horizontal state. Chamber 11 is closed again from below.

Next, the cam lever 17 is rotated by the reverse rotation of the motor AM.
The refrigeration system valve also rotates in the opposite direction, presses and energizes the changeover switch S2, switches the refrigeration system valve, and stops the supply of hot gas to the evaporator 14. Also, the water supply valve W■ is opened to supply new ice-making water to the tank 19 whose water level has decreased. Then, the ice making operation is restarted and the above-described operation is repeated.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION According to the de-icing structure according to the present invention, the first ice-making chamber includes a first ice-making chamber that opens downward, and a second ice-making chamber that opens upward. It is related to an ice-making machine that basically has two ice-making compartments and a water tray that supplies ice-making water to the one-car ice-making compartment and generates ice blocks in the ice-forming space that is internally defined by opening the one-car ice-making/JX compartment. A water droplet portion forming a second ice making chamber is defined on the surface of the water tray, and tap water supplied from the outside is supplied to the water reservoir portion during deicing operation. After the external tap water is stored at the required water level in the water storage section, it overflows, thereby causing the second
To heat an ice making compartment and to smoothly remove spherical or polyhedral ice blocks frozen in a second ice making compartment in a short time. Therefore, the time required for deicing can be shortened, ice making capacity can be improved, and
Energy saving can be effectively achieved by preventing wastage of tap water and electricity supplied for deicing.

Furthermore, although the case has been described in which external tap water is directly used as the heating means, it is also possible to supply hot water that has been heated in advance with a heater, water heater, or the like.

Further, although the production of spherical ice has been described, the present invention is not limited to this, and it goes without saying that it can be implemented to produce polyhedral ice having other shapes.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show a deicing structure according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing the deicing structure according to the embodiment, and FIG. 2 shows a second ice making compartment shown in FIG. 1. FIGS. 3 to 10 are longitudinal cross-sectional views showing the schematic structure of the ice making mechanism according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, respectively, and FIG. Figure 4 shows the initial state when the second ice-making compartment is closed to the first ice-making compartment and ice-making operation has started. Figure 4 shows the state in which ice-making has progressed and hollow spherical ice is formed in both ice-making compartments. Figure 5 shows a state in which approximately solid spherical ice is formed in the ice-making chamber of one car and the water level of the ice-making water in the tank is decreasing as the ice-making process approaches completion. 7 shows a state where ice making is almost completed and solid spherical ice is formed in both ice making chambers, and 7 @ shows a state where ice making is completed and the water supply valve is opened, and the water level rises in the water reservoir and the dam is closed. This shows the state in which water overflowing from the water flows down along the back surface of the water guide plate and is discharged from the drain tray to the outside of the machine.
The figure shows a state in which the actuator motor is energized to tilt and open the second ice-making compartment in the direction of rotation, and the water guide plate is collapsed onto the top surface of the 210th ice compartment to block each of the second ice-making compartments, and the 9th
The figure shows the state in which spherical ice falls from the first ice-making compartment and slides down the water guide plate located at an angle directly below it. In Figure 10, after deicing is completed, the second ice-making compartment is moved counterclockwise. FIG. 11 shows the state in which the water guide plate is also returned to its original position as the rotation starts to return.
FIG. 12(a) is a schematic perspective view of a modified example of the ice-making compartment viewed from the rear side, and FIG. 12(a) is an explanatory diagram showing spherical ice.
Figure 2 (b) is an explanation showing multifaceted ice, a clear diagram, and Figure 12 (c)
is an explanatory diagram showing hollow spherical ice. 11...First ice making room 12...Second ice making room 13.
...First ice-making chamber 15...Second ice-making chamber 61...Side section 64...Rear section 4...Evaporator 8...Water tray 2...Weir stop section 5...Water reservoir section

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] [1] An automatic ice-making machine in which ice-making water is injected into an ice-making chamber to form ice cubes in the ice-making chamber, and ice-making water that has not yet frozen is recirculated, Evaporator (1
4), which is fixedly arranged inside the machine and has a number of first ice-making compartments (13) of a desired shape that open downward; a second ice-making chamber (12) formed with a large number of second ice-making chambers (15) of a desired shape that are arranged so as to be detachable and capable of correspondingly closing each of the first ice-making chambers (13) from below; a water tray (38) disposed below the second ice-making compartment (12) and supplying ice-making water to the first ice-making compartment (13) and the second ice-making compartment (15); The rear part (64) and side parts (61, 61) extending to the peripheral edge of the surface, and the rear part (64)
and a damming part (62) disposed near the front end of the side parts (61, 61) with the second ice making compartment (12) in between, and surrounding the second ice making compartment (12). (65), and by storing a required amount of water supplied from the outside during deicing operation in the water reservoir (65),
A deicing structure for an automatic ice maker, characterized in that an ice maker (12) is immersed in stored water and surplus water is allowed to overflow. [2] The damming part (62) formed on the water tray (38) is lower than the height from the surface of the water tray to the top surface of the second ice making compartment (12), and the side part (61, 61) 2. The deicing structure for an automatic ice maker according to claim 1, wherein the deicing structure is set lower by a predetermined dimension, and the water stored in the water reservoir (65) overflows from the upper end of the dam (62). . [3] A drainage hole (63) is bored in the water tray (38),
Claim 1: The amount of water discharged from the drainage hole (63) is set to be smaller than the amount of water supplied from the outside to the water reservoir (65).
Or the deicing structure of the automatic ice maker described in 2.