JPH0221172A - Automatic ice making apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To produce transparent ice by a method wherein a heating means for preventing water at the lower part of an ice making vessel from being frozen during the ice making operation and also a water discharge hole for discharging water at the lower part of the ice making vessel upon completion of the ice making operation are provided at the bottom of the ice making vessel. CONSTITUTION:When an ice making operation is started, water in a water feed bottle 25 in a cold room 22 is poured into an ice making vessel 28 through a water feed pump 26 by a fixed quantity at every operation, and the water thus poured into the vessel begins to be frozen from its upper portion by chilled air in a refrigeration room 21. The water at the parts of the communicating hole 39 of a vessel partition 36 and a water discharge hole 38 is left as it is due to a heater 41. Further, the water in a water discharge pipe 30 is also left as it is due to a heat insulating material 40 for the vessel. Various kinds of impurities such as water-soluble salts and water-soluble gas, which cause opacity of ice are contained in the portion of water left as it is, and an icing portion is turned into transparent ice. This state is detected by a thermister 46, and the water left is discharged through the water discharge hole 38. Ice thus produced is stored in an ice storage box 47 by turning an arm 29. When this operation is repeated, transparent ice can be produced.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] This invention is installed in the freezing chamber of a household refrigerator to automatically produce transparent ice and to automatically store the transparent ice in a water storage box. [Prior Art] Fig. 8 and GS diagram relate to a retractable automatic ice making device.
(b) In Figure 91, which is a road map, (4) is a removable water storage box, (5) is an ice making unit, which is stored in the freezer (6). Inside the ice making unit (5).

There is an ice tray (5a) with a motor attached to the - side and a stopper on the other end.A water pump (81) and a water bottle (3) are connected to the ice making unit (5).α2 is a freezing detection switch that turns on when the water in the ice tray (5a) freezes. a3 is a holding switch that turns on when the motor αB is rotated and the ice tray (5a) is rotated a predetermined amount. I is a hold switch that turns on when the water in the ice tray (5a) is turned on A water supply switch that turns on when the ice level is gone and turns off when water is supplied.A is a weight detection switch that turns off when the amount of ice in the water storage box (4) becomes constant.

Next, the operation will be explained. The water from the water supply bottle (3) passes through the water supply pump (8) and accumulates in the ice tray (5a).

The cold air from the freezer (6) freezes all the water in the ice cube tray (5a) and turns it into ice. When ice is detected by the ice detection switch, the rotatably mounted ice tray (5a) is activated by motor a.
It starts rotating by υ, and when it is rotated 1110 degrees, the other side engages with a stopper and is twisted, and when it is twisted, the ice inside falls into the water storage box (4). .

When the ice tray (5a) further rotates, it disengages from the stopper, rotates further, and returns the ice tray (5a) to its original state, turning off the holding switch a3 and turning on the water supply switch α4, and water supply. The above operation in which the pump (8) is activated and a predetermined amount of water is supplied is repeated.

Note that when the amount (specific weight) of ice in the water storage box (4) becomes constant, the motor will no longer rotate.

When the ice is removed, the motor (Ill) rotates again to perform the above operations.

In the circuit, especially when purchasing a refrigerator, water supply water,
To wash the ice tray (5a) with fresh water.

When the movable contact of the 4-position switch an is connected to the contact d, the solenoid valve (7) or the water supply pump (8) is continuously energized, and the ice tray (5a) is connected until the weight detection switch (I) is turned off. Supply water to l'9 and place ice cube tray (5
When a) becomes full, water flows down into the water storage box (4).

Continuous water supply reduces cleaning time.

On the other hand, regarding the quality of ice during automatic ice making, several types of ice makers that make clear ice have been put into practical use for commercial use, and their ice making methods can be classified into the following three types, one of which is One is one that sprays water from below onto a downward facing ice cube tray that is cooled by a refrigerator, another one uses a pump to flow water from above onto a cooling plate installed at an angle, and one more. The method involved inserting a cooled stick into a stirring water tank from above, and none of these methods could be used to make ice in the freezer compartment of a household refrigerator.

Also, if you pour tap water into a regular ice cube tray that comes with a refrigerator and freeze it, the resulting ice will have finely dispersed air bubbles and look white, taste bad, melt quickly, and The ice made in this way contains various kinds of soluble salts and dissolved gases. As for the influence of these impurities, calcium carbonate and calcium bicarbonate cause sand-like precipitates to form in the water, causing cracks in the ice. Magnesium carbonate and magnesium bicarbonate create similar problems. Magnesium sulfate and magnesium chloride not only turn ice a dull green or gray color, but also prolong freezing time. (Soda carbonate and bicarbonate) Even a small amount of IJum can cause cracks in ice.

The same goes for sodium sulfate, chloride) and IJium. Ferric oxide produces a yellow or colored precipitate.

Aluminum oxide also forms precipitates.

By the way, when we conduct a component analysis of transparent ice made at an ice factory, etc., we find that the content of the above-mentioned impurities is significantly lower than that of the water used, and the composition is close to that of pure water. This is because the ice making method at an ice factory or the ice making method using the above-mentioned commercial ice maker does not use 100% of the supplied water as is.

This is because only a portion of the water is used to concentrate impurities in the remaining water. On the other hand, when making ice with a conventional ice tray, all of the water is frozen, so there is a transparent part on the outer periphery of the ice, but in the center there is white ice that contains many impurities. It is something that can be done.

Now, the ice making container in the refrigerator generally has a square plate-like container with
It is divided into a plurality of small chambers by a partition 9 wall, and water is filled in the small chambers and stored in the freezing chamber.

When ice is made using such an ice making container, the ice is opaque and has a poor appearance. The reason for this is thought to be that the water in the ice-making container first freezes near the water surface, which traps air bubbles in the water. It may be possible to eliminate air bubbles in the water before they occur.

That alone is not enough to increase transparency,
In addition, there was a problem in that it took a long time to make ice.

In the case of automatic ice making, like the ice making container of a general refrigerator,
Since all the water is frozen, white ice with many impurities is formed in the center.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

Conventional automatic ice making devices are constructed as shown below, and because they freeze all of the water, there is a problem in that the water containing minute impurities freezes, producing cloudy white water.

This invention was made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its object is to provide an automatic ice-making device that can make transparent ice.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The automatic ice making device according to the present invention comprises an ice making tray, a heating means provided at the bottom of the ice making tray to prevent water at the bottom of the ice tray from freezing during ice making, and the ice making device. A drainage hole is provided at the bottom of the ice tray to drain water from the bottom of the ice tray when ice making is completed.

[Effect]

The automatic ice making device in this invention is used after water is supplied.

The ice cube tray freezes from the top and drains the water when it is still water at the bottom.

[Embodiments of the invention]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1st
FIG. 2 is a front view and a side view.

In the figure, the refrigerator H■ has a freezer compartment L21) and a refrigerator compartment (sha) separated by a partition (c), and a water bottle (c) and a water pump (4) are installed in the refrigerator compartment. It is connected to the freezer compartment +21) by a water supply pipe.

Freezer room C! υ has ice making device Q4 hole, motor (b),
The arm is composed of an arm, an ice tray (2), a 0-plate partition, a drainage hole (to), and the arm is rotated by a motor of 0η.
It seems to stir the inside of the ice cube tray. The drain hole (to) installed in the center of the bottom of the ice tray (to) is connected to the drain pipe (7).

Connects to the refrigerator compartment through the middle partition, and connects the solenoid valve l.
3Ilt-, it is connected to the tray (B) portion located at the bottom of the cooler 0!9, and the tray portion is the lowest in terms of position.

Figure 3 is a detailed view of the ice tray. In Figure 1, there is a tray partition (to) in the area where water accumulates inside the ice tray (c) for the purpose of forming ice to a certain size. It is installed at the bottom of the plate partition.

There is a communication hole (2), and the water that collects in the ice tray (c) is connected to the bottom through the communication hole (2). Also, on the outside of the ice tray (to) and below the position of the communication hole (to).

Except for the drainage hole (to) and drain pipe (to), 1 tray insulation material (41) is attached, and the ice tray (to) and tray insulation material (41) are attached.
A heater @υ is placed evenly between the ice tray and the ice tray.

Next, the operation will be explained. The water accumulated in the water bottle (c) will be removed by the operation of the water pump (to) when ice making starts.
A certain amount of water is poured into the ice cube tray through the water supply pipe. The water that has accumulated in the ice tray (to) begins to freeze from the top Q due to the cold air and continues to freeze from the bottom, but the heater @
The portions of the communication hole (end) and drainage hole (end) of D do not freeze and remain water. Furthermore, due to the dish insulation material 00, water remains in the drain pipe (toward) as well.

Impurities such as various soluble salts and dissolved gases that cause ice to become cloudy are concentrated and precipitated at the end.

As mentioned above, if the top part of the ice tray (c) is frozen and the bottom part of the communicating hole (to) is in a state of water, impurities will still enter the water part, so it will have already frozen. The frozen part becomes transparent ice. The state (temperature) at this time is detected by a thermistor (described later), and the solenoid valve Gυ is opened.

The remaining water is drained from the drain hole (to) through the drain pipe (7).
Drain into the tray (b). After the water is drained, an arm connected to the motor 0η rotates to take out the ice and store it in the water storage box @η. After the arm holder has rotated back into place.

Water supply is started again, and the above-described operation is repeated.

In addition, FIG. 5 shows a circuit diagram, and FIG. 6 shows an operation chart. In FIG. 0, the control board (41) is shown.

It is connected to the refrigerator ■ by the refrigerator side connection (c), and is connected to various parts from the control board (foundation). Figure 8 shows the above operations in the water supply → ice making → drainage → water separation process.
Each part (water pump (a), heater (4υ), motor (b), solenoid valve Oυ, thermistor [4[9]) is shown.

Further, in the above embodiment, the drain pipe is connected to the tray (b) when draining water, but it may be connected directly to the drain pan located at the bottom of the refrigerator (1).

That is, in FIG. 4, the frost on the normal cooler (to) is melted into water using a defroster heater (not shown).

It passes through the tray (B), passes through the drain hose (43), and is stored in the drain pan @J for forced evaporation. At that time, the temperature near the tray (B) is usually quite low.

A heater is required because there is a risk that ice will freeze and accumulate in the tray (b) before the drain is sufficiently drained, but if you drain directly into the drain pan, the length of the drain pipe will be longer, but the temperature at which it will freeze will be lower. Since it is not a belt, it does not require a heater and has the same effect.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of an ice tray showing still another practical example of the present invention, in which a drainage groove θl tapered toward a drainage hole is provided at the bottom of the ice tray. There is. Therefore, the water accumulated at the bottom of the ice cube tray (to) will decrease when draining, but
Water flows from the communication hole (to) to the drain groove (41), flows through the drain groove (41), and is discharged from the drain hole (to).

All water is drained and water remains in the ice cube tray so that it freezes and does not interfere with subsequent repeated operations.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to this invention, there is provided an ice tray, a heating means provided at the bottom of the ice tray to prevent water from freezing at the bottom of the ice tray during ice making, and a heating means provided at the bottom of the ice tray to prevent water from freezing at the bottom of the ice tray when ice making is completed. Since it has nine drainage holes for draining water, it has the effect of making it possible to make transparent ice.

Further, by providing a drain groove tapered toward the drain hole at the bottom of the ice tray, the water in the ice tray can be completely drained, so that repeated ice making operations are not hindered.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a front view of an automatic ice making device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the top side, FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged view of the ice tray portion, and FIG. 4 is another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view showing an example, FIG. 5 is an electric circuit diagram, FIG. 6 is an operation chart, and FIG. 7 is a sectional view of an ice tray showing still another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram of a conventional automatic ice making device, and the YSCS diagram is an electric circuit diagram. In the figure, @ is an ice tray, (to) is a drain hole, and CD is a heater. In each figure, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An ice-making tray, a heating means provided at the bottom of the ice-making tray to prevent the water at the bottom of the ice-making tray from freezing during ice-making, and a heating means provided at the bottom of the ice-making tray to prevent the water from freezing when the ice-making is completed. Automatic ice maker with a drainage hole to drain water from the bottom of the tray. 2. The automatic ice making device according to claim 1, characterized in that the bottom of the ice tray is provided with a drain groove tapered toward the drain hole.