JPH03221769A - Water supplier for ice maker - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce noise and the number of parts used by providing a valve to supply water in a tank from an opened flow outlet to an ice making tray. CONSTITUTION:A water tank 13 is set detachably at a position upward of an ice making tray 8 and near an ice making room within a refrigerating room 5. The water in the tank 13 flows out from a water supply port 13a and is received in a water reservoir 15. The water further flows from the reservoir 15 through a water passing port 19 and a flow inlet 18 into a water storing part 16, where it is stored. At this time, when the reservoir 15 is full of water indicating a prescribed water level, the water flow out of the water supply port 13a stops. In this state, when power is supplied to an electromagnetic solenoid 23 for a prescribed time period, a plunger 24 is attracted upward, making a flow-in valve 25 close the flow inlet 18 and a flow-out valve 26 open a flow outlet 20. As a result, the water in the water storing part 16 is supplied from the outlet 20 through a water supply pipe 27 into the ice making tray by a prescribed amount. Accordingly, no water supply pump is needed, which contributes in reduction of the number of parts and noise.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a water supply device for an automatic ice making device for supplying water to an ice tray of the automatic ice making device.

(Prior Art) An automatic ice making device installed in a household refrigerator 1 has an ice making device main body equipped with an ice tray and a mechanism for inverting the ice tray in the ice making compartment, and a refrigerator compartment that does not freeze. A water supply device is disposed in the ice tray, and water is supplied to the ice tray by the water supply device to make ice, and after the ice is made, the ice tray is inverted by the mechanism section to release the ice and store the ice, and then, The operation of supplying water to the ice-making l and making ice is repeated, thereby automatically making ice. The water supply device generally includes a cartridge-type water tank, a water tray that receives and stores water from the water tank, and a water supply pump that pumps up the water stored in the water tray. It consists of a water supply pipe that leads the water to the ice cube tray.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) In the conventional configuration described above, the water supply device is located below the ice tray, so in order to supply water from the water supply device to the ice tray, water from the water tank must be supplied. It is necessary to pump up the water and supply it to the ice cube tray, which has the disadvantage that the pump noise generated when the water pump is activated becomes harsh to the ears.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a water supply device for an automatic ice-making device that can supply water to an ice-making tray without using a water supply pump, which can reduce noise and reduce the number of parts.

[Configuration of the Invention (Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention provides a water supply device for supplying water to an ice making surface of an automatic ice making device disposed in an ice making room, and the ice making room has five parts. a water tank located above the ice tray in the storage chamber; a water storage container arranged to receive and store water and having an outflow port at the bottom; and a water storage container arranged to open and close the outflow port, and by opening the outflow port, water in the water storage container flows out from the ice tray. The structure includes a valve for supplying water to the air.

(Function) According to the above-mentioned means, although the water tank and the water storage container are arranged above the ice tray, water is transferred to the water storage container using the flow of water due to the difference in height between the water storage container and the ice tray. can be supplied to the ice cube tray. Therefore, since there is no need to pump water for water supply, there is no need to use a water supply pump.

(Embodiment) Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to tjS3.

First, in Fig. 2, the inside of Refrigerator II 1 is divided into a plurality of chambers horizontally and vertically, and the left section is divided into a first freezer compartment 2, an ice-making compartment 3, and a second freezer compartment 4 in order from the top. In addition, the right side is a refrigerator compartment 5, a vegetable compartment 6, and a bottle compartment 7 in order from the top.

As shown in FIG. 3, in the ice making chamber 3, an ice making device main body 10 of a well-known configuration including an ice making tray 8 and a mechanism section 9 for inverting the ice tray 8 is disposed, and the ice making device body 10 stores the produced water. A water storage container 11 is removably housed therein.

The ice making compartment 3 is the refrigerating compartment 5, which is a storage compartment with a hole.
Inside, as shown in FIG. 1, a water supply device 12 for supplying water to the ice making unit 8 is disposed.

This water supply device 12 is configured as follows.

That is, 13 is a cartridge type water tank, which is removably set in the refrigerator compartment 5 above the ice making tray 8 and near the ice making compartment 3, and has a valve for metered water supply at the bottom (Fig. (not shown) is provided.

Reference numeral 14 denotes a water storage container, which includes a water receiving portion 15 for receiving water from the water tank 13, a water storage portion 16 provided at the bottom of the water receiving portion 15 for storing a certain amount of water, and the water receiving portion 15 and It is comprised of the water storage part 16 and the guide cylinder part 17 provided so that these may be penetrated in an up-down direction. Of these, an inlet 18 is formed in the guide cylinder portion 17 at a portion corresponding to the bottom portion 15a of the water receiving portion 15.
A water inlet 19 is formed above and below 8, an outlet 20 is formed in a portion corresponding to the bottom 16a of the water storage portion 16, and a water inlet 21 is formed above the outlet 20. Further, a cylinder part 22 for venting air is formed above the water storage part 16 at the bottom part 15a of the water receiving part 15.

Reference numeral 23 denotes an electromagnetic solenoid provided at the upper part of the guide 'gJ section 17, and a plunger 24 of this solenoid is inserted into the guide cylinder section 22 so as to be movable up and down. The plunger 24 is provided with an inflow valve 25 that opens and closes the inflow rl18 at the middle portion in the vertical direction, and an outflow valve 26 that opens and closes the outflow port 20 at the lower end. Therefore, the electromagnetic solenoid 23
is normally in a power-off state, and is energized for a certain period of time when water is supplied to the ice tray 8. Electromagnetic solenoid 23
When the power is cut off, the plunger 24 is located at the lower position as shown by the solid line, and in this state, the inflow valve 25 opens the inflow port 18 and the outflow valve 26 closes the outflow port 20. There is. When the electromagnetic solenoid 23 is energized, the plunger 24 is drawn upward, and in this state, the inflow valve 25 closes the inflow port 18 and the outflow valve 26 closes the outflow port, as shown by the two-dot chain line. 20 will be opened.

The water supply pipe 27 connected to the lower end of the guide tube 17 passes through the partition wall 5a between the refrigerator compartment 5 and the ice making compartment 3, and its tip end is connected to the ice making ff11 in the ice making compartment 3.
8, facing from above.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be explained.

The water in the water tank 13 flows out from the water supply port 13a and is received by the water receiving part 15, and the water received by the water receiving part 15 flows out from the water supply port 13a.
The water flows into the water storage section 16 through the water inlet 9 and the inlet 18 and is stored therein. At this time, when the water stored in the water receiving part 15 reaches a certain water level with the water forming a groove in the water storing part 16,
Outflow of water from the water supply n13a of the water tank 13 is stopped.

In this state, when the electromagnetic solenoid 23 is energized for a certain period of I+, 17, the plunger 24 is attracted and moved upward.
11. When the inflow valve 25 closes the inflow port 18. '? The outflow valve 26 opens the outflow port 20. Then, the water storage section 16
The water inside is supplied from the outlet 20 to the ice tray 8 via the water supply pipe 27, and therefore a certain amount of water stored in the water storage section 16 is supplied to the ice tray 8.

Then, when the electromagnetic solenoid 23 is de-energized, the plunger 24 is moved downward, and the inflow valve 25 is opened at the inflow port]8.
At the same time as opening, the outflow valve 26 becomes in a state where the outflow port 20 is connected to I and Jl, and water is stored in the water storage section 16 again.

On the other hand, the water supplied to the ice making IIu8 is cooled in the ice making 1[TI8 to make ice, and when ice making is completed, ice making is performed by turning and twisting the ice making...18 by the mechanism section 9, and the ice is released. falls into the water storage container 11 and is stored there. After that, the ice tray 8 is returned to the original horizontal position by the mechanism section 9, and the electromagnetic solenoid 23 is energized to supply the water in the water storage section 16 to the ice tray 8 again to repeat the operation of making ice. Ice is created automatically.

According to this embodiment, since the water tank 13 and the water storage container 14 are arranged above the ice tray 8, the flow of water due to the difference in height between the water storage container 14 and the ice tray 8 can be utilized. water can be supplied from the water storage container 14 to the ice maker [1118]. Therefore, it is not necessary to use a water supply pump to pump up water to supply water to the ice making IJi 8, so there is no pumping noise caused by the water supply pump, which contributes to noise reduction.

FIG. 4 shows the second embodiment of the present invention, and the first embodiment shows the second embodiment of the present invention.
This embodiment differs from the embodiment in the following points. That is, a spiral groove 28 is formed on the upper outer circumferential surface of the plunger 24, and four portions 29 that fit into the groove 28 are provided on the inner surface of the guide cylinder portion 17.

With this configuration, when the plunger 24 moves downward, the gate 29 slides relatively along the groove 28, causing the plunger 24 to rotate, and the inlet 18 and Even if dirt should adhere between the inflow valve 25 and the outflow port 20 and the outflow valve 26, it will be removed from between them.
There is an advantage in that garbage can be prevented from accumulating between the outlet port 8 and the inlet valve 25 and between the outlet port 20 and the outlet valve 26.

FIG. 5 shows the third embodiment of the present invention, and the first embodiment
The difference from the embodiment is the 14th order. That is, the water storage section 16
The lower surface of the upper wall 30 (corresponding to the bottom of the water receiving portion 15) is formed into a tapered surface 30a so as to be gradually higher from the outer circumference to the center.

With this configuration, when water flows into the water storage section 16, the air in the water storage section 16 is easily discharged along the tapered surface 30a, thereby eliminating air stagnation within the water storage section 16. Therefore, there is an advantage that a constant amount of water stored in the water storage section 16 can be ensured at all times.

Furthermore, FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment of the present invention, which differs from the first embodiment in the following points. That is, the upper surface of the bottom portion 31 of the water storage portion 16 is formed into a tapered surface 31a that becomes gradually lower from the outer peripheral portion to the central portion.

With this configuration, when water is supplied from the water storage section 16 to the ice tray 8, the water is guided to the outlet 20 by the tapered surface 31a, so it is highly certain that no water remains in the water storage section 16. It has the advantage of being able to be discharged.

Note that the chambers and 15 in which the water supply device 12 is installed are not limited to the refrigerator compartment 5, but may be placed in a vegetable compartment or the like as long as it is above the ice cube tray 8 and does not freeze. .

[Effects of the Invention] As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, the water tank and the water storage container are arranged above the ice cube tray, and the It?
Since water can be supplied from the water storage container to the ice making I11 by using the water flow caused by the difference in height between the water container and the ice tray, there is no need to use a water supply pump to pump up water for water supply, and the number of parts is reduced. When the pump noise is reduced, there is no pump noise, which has the excellent effect of contributing to quieter operation.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figures 1 to 3 show a first embodiment of the present invention, with Figure 1 being a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the main parts, Figure 2 being a diagonal U-view of the refrigerator, and Figure 3 being a side view of the ice making device main body. be. FIG. 4 is a diagram equivalent to FIG. 1 showing a second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5 is a diagram equivalent to FIG. 1 showing a third embodiment of the invention, and FIG. 6 is a diagram equivalent to FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 1 showing a fourth embodiment. During opening, 3 is the ice making room, 5 is the refrigerator room, 8 is the ice tray, 10 is the ice making device itself, 12 is the water supply device, 13 is the water tank, 14
16 is a water storage container, 16 is a water storage part, 18 is an inlet, 20 is an outlet, 23 is an electromagnetic solenoid, 25 is an inflow valve, 26 is an outflow valve, and 27 is a water supply pipe.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A device for supplying water to an ice tray of an automatic ice making device installed in an ice making compartment, and located above the ice tray in a storage chamber different from the ice making compartment. a water tank; a water storage container located in the storage chamber below the water tank and above the ice cube tray to receive and store water from the water tank, and having an outlet at the bottom; A water supply device for an automatic ice making apparatus, comprising: a valve that is provided to open and close the outlet, and by opening the outlet, the water in the water storage container is supplied from the outlet to the ice tray.