JPH0336856Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Purpose of the invention] (Field of industrial application) The present invention relates to an automatic ice maker that repeatedly makes and removes ice continuously.

(Prior Art) Automatic ice makers that automatically repeat ice making and ice removal continuously are used in commercial refrigerators, home refrigerators, and the like. This type of special public interest vehicle rotates and twists the ice tray during the ice removal process.
An automatic ice maker disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 10212 is known. This automatic ice maker includes an ice tray made of flexible material such as soft plastic, an ice detection device such as a thermistor or a thermal reed switch that is integrated with the ice tray, and a drive device such as a motor that rotates the ice tray. and a control device that is connected to the ice-making detection device and operates the drive device, and after the ice-making water supplied to the ice-making tray has completely made ice, the ice-making state is detected by the ice-making detection device. The drive device is operated by the control device to rotate and invert the ice tray, and at the same time, the driven end of the ice tray is restrained and twisted to cause the ice block to fall, and then the ice tray returns to the horizontal position. Then, water supply, ice making, and ice removal are repeated again.

(Problems to be solved by the invention) In the conventional technology, an ice making detection device such as a thermistor or a thermal reed switch is provided integrally with the ice making tray to detect ice making, and wiring is connected between the ice making detection device and the control device. It is necessary to apply Therefore, it is necessary to mold the ice making tray and provide a mounting seat for the ice making detection device so that the temperature can be easily detected, which increases the number of processing steps. Furthermore, when a thermistor, thermal reed switch, or the like is used as an ice-making detection device, the number of parts is large, and the device is expensive and lacks reliability. When the ice tray is removed for maintenance, the wiring must also be removed, which poses problems such as being complicated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and provide an automatic ice-making machine that can improve the reliability of ice-making detection, is easy to maintain, and is inexpensive.

[Structure of the idea]

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention provides shape memory alloys 23 and 24 whose transformation point is the completion temperature of ice making in the ice making tray 13, and an ice making detection device that responds to the memorized shape of the shape memory alloy. A switch 25 is provided.

(Function) When the ice-making water W contained in the ice-making tray 13 is completely ice-made, the shape-memory alloys 23 and 24 assume the memorized shape, and the ice-making detection switch 25 is activated.

(Embodiment) An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a freezing chamber through which cold air is blown, and one of the freezing chambers 1 is provided with a base frame 2, a bearing cylinder portion 3 is formed on the outer wall of this base frame 2, and a substrate 4 is provided inside. . A rotating body 5 is supported between the bearing cylinder portion 3 and the base plate 4. A through hole 6 is provided in the center of this rotating body 5.
is formed, and a gear portion 7 is provided on the outer periphery. A motor 8 provided in the base frame 2 is connected to the gear portion 7 via a gear 9, etc., so that the rotary body 5 can be rotated forward and reverse by a predetermined angle. Then, the base of the shaft 11, which has a small-diameter fitting portion 10 formed at its tip, is fitted into the through hole 6 in a fixed state in the rotational direction. These rotating body 5, motor 8, gear 9, and shaft 11 constitute an ice tray drive device 12, which will be described later.

Reference numeral 13 is an ice making tray made of a flexible material such as a soft synthetic resin such as polyethylene, and has a plurality of ice making recesses 14 whose upper surfaces are open and arranged adjacent to each other with a partition wall 15 in between. A driving side support part 18 and a driven side support part 19 are provided at both longitudinal ends of the ice making recess 14, that is, a driving end 16 and a driven end 17, and a peripheral side wall part 20 is provided at each widthwise end. form into a shape. The shaft 11 is located in the center of the drive side support part 18.
A shaft hole 21 that fits into the fitting portion 10 is formed, and an attachment hole 22 is formed in the center of the driven side support portion 19 into which the tip protrusion of the rotating body 5 fits. The mounting hole 22 of the driven side support part 19 is removably fitted into and supported by the tip protrusion of the rotary body 5 so as to be freely rotatable and slidable, and the shaft hole 21 of the drive side support part 18 is fitted into the protrusion of the shaft 11. They are inserted into and removed from the portion 10, rotated through mutual angles, and fitted and supported in an axially fixed state.

Reference numerals 23 and 24 denote first and second shape memory alloys that are integrally molded in the longitudinal direction of the peripheral side wall portion 20. These shape memory alloys 23 and 24 are alloys that once memorize a certain shape and return to the original memorized shape even if the shape is deformed when a predetermined temperature is reached. Nickel-titanium (Ni-Ti) alloy, copper-zinc-aluminum (Cu-Zn-Al) alloy, gold-cadmium (Au-Cd) alloy, etc. are used.

The first shape memory alloy 23 has a low-temperature transformation temperature set at approximately -10°C, which is the temperature at which the ice-making water W becomes complete ice, and has a shape memory so that the driving end 16 side faces upward and the driven end 17 side faces downward. In addition, it is bidirectional in which the high temperature side transformation temperature is set at the temperature of the ice-making water W, approximately 15° C., and the shape is memorized so that it becomes a straight line.

Similarly, the second shape memory alloy 24 has a low-temperature transformation temperature set to a temperature at which it becomes complete ice, and stores its shape so that the driving end 16 side faces downward and the driven end 17 side faces upward. The transformation temperature on the high temperature side is set to the temperature of , and the shape is memorized so that it becomes a straight line.

Reference numeral 25 denotes an ice making detection switch having an operating piece 25A, which is connected to the first and second shape memory alloys 2.
An ice making tray 13 is provided on the outer wall of the base frame 2 so as to be able to come into contact with it when the ice making trays 3 and 24 reach the low-temperature transformation temperature, and a lead wire 26 of this ice making detection switch 25 is connected to a control unit 27. .

28 is an ice tray 13 protruding from the outer wall of the base frame 2;
29 is an engaging part that restrains the driven end 17 of the ice storage container 30 during rotation and gives a twist, and 29 is an ice storage detection arm that detects the presence or absence of ice I in the ice storage container 30. An ice accumulation detection switch is provided, and this ice accumulation detection switch is connected to the control section 27. A water supply gutter 31 supplies ice-making water W to the ice-making tray 13 by a pump (not shown) controlled by the control unit 27 .

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

When the ice storage detection arm 29 detects that the predetermined amount of ice I is not stored in the ice storage container 30 , the control unit 27 supplies ice-making water W from the water supply gutter 31 to each ice-making recess 14 . The stored ice-making water W starts to make ice with cold air. Then, the ice-making water W becomes complete ice, and the first and second
When the shape memory alloys 23 and 24 reach the low-temperature transformation temperature, the first shape memory alloy 23 assumes the memorized shape, with the driven end 17 facing downward and the driving end 16 facing upward, as shown in FIG. Become. on the other hand,
The second shape memory alloy 24 has a driven end 17 side facing upward, a driving end 16 side facing downward, and ice making tray 13.
The whole thing is slightly twisted. As a result, the side of the peripheral side wall 20 near the driven end 17 presses the actuating piece 25A of the ice-making detection switch 25, and by pressing the actuating piece 25A, the control unit 27 can detect that ice-making has been completed. The control section 27 drives the motor 8, and the rotational force of the motor 8 is transmitted to the drive side support section 18 via the gear 9, rotating body 5, shaft 11, and fitting section 10. Rotate clockwise. At this time, the driven end 17 is locked to the engaging part 28, and as the ice making tray 13 rotates, the ice making tray 13 is twisted and reversed, and the ice I in each ice making recess 14 is brought into a slightly floating state. Ice I is put into the ice storage container 30. At this time, the ice storage detection arm 29 rotates upward.

When ice removal is completed in this way, the control unit 27 reverses the motor 8 to return the ice tray 13 to the horizontal state, and then the water supply gutter 31 returns to each ice making recess 14.
Ice-making water W is supplied at the same time. At this time, depending on the temperature of the ice-making water W, the first and second shape memory alloys 2
3 and 24 are heated and reach the high-temperature transformation temperature, each shape memory alloy 23 and 24 assumes a previously memorized linear state, corrects the distortion of the ice tray 13 that occurred after twisting, and horizontalizes the ice tray 13. can be maintained.

Note that when a predetermined amount of ice I is stored in the ice storage container 30, the ice storage detection arm 29 detects this and stops ice making until a certain amount of ice I is consumed.

As described above, the first and second shape memory alloys 2 have their low-temperature transformation temperatures set to the temperature at which they become complete ice.
3 and 24 on the ice tray 13, and the ice tray 1
Since the ice-making detection switch 25 is provided on the outside of the ice-making tray 13, when the transformation temperature is reached, the ice-making detection switch 25 is actuated by slightly twisting the ice-making tray 13, thereby detecting the completion of ice-making. Therefore, there is no need to attach a thermal reed switch or the like for detecting ice making to the ice making tray 13, which improves the reliability of ice making detection, and also allows maintenance work by allowing the ice making tray 13 to be taken out without removing the lead wire etc. during maintenance. It's easy to do. In addition, the number of parts is reduced, making it possible to manufacture at low cost and easy to assemble.

Furthermore, by setting the high-temperature transformation temperature of the first and second shape memory alloys 23 and 24 to the temperature of the ice-making water W, even if the ice-making tray 13 is distorted due to twisting after ice removal, When the ice-making water W is supplied, the first and second shape-memory alloys 23 and 24 assume a pre-memorized shape, that is, a linear shape, and the distortion of the ice-making tray 13 can be removed. Therefore, the ice tray 13 is maintained in a predetermined state during water supply, and uniform ice cubes can be produced. Also the first and second
Since the shape memory alloys 23 and 24 are integrated with the ice tray 13, there is no risk of damaging the ice blocks I during ice removal, and high quality ice blocks can be produced.

Moreover, the first and second shape memory alloys 2
3 and 24 are bidirectional with a low-temperature side transformation point and a high-temperature side transformation point, so they can exhibit ice-making detection function and strain correction function, reducing the number of parts, reducing manufacturing costs, and facilitating assembly. Work can be omitted.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the one embodiment described above, and various modifications are possible. For example, the shape memory alloy may be provided not in the longitudinal direction of the ice making tray but on the drive side and the driven side support parts, and the shape memory alloy whose transformation point is set at the perfect freezing temperature and this shape memory alloy may be used separately to make ice. The ice tray may be provided with a shape memory alloy whose transformation point is set at the temperature of the water.

[Effect of idea]

The present invention provides an ice making responsive shape memory alloy whose transformation point is the temperature at which it becomes complete ice in the ice making tray, and an ice making detection switch that responds to the memorized shape of the shape memory alloy. Using memory alloys can improve the reliability of ice-making detection and also simplify maintenance work.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 1 is a partially cutaway front view, Fig. 2 is a side view when the ice tray is horizontal, and Fig. 3 is a partially cutaway front view when ice making is completed. 4 is a side view of the ice tray when it is inverted, and FIG. 5 is a plan view. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Freezer compartment, 12... Drive device, 13... Ice making tray, 14... Ice making recess, 17... Driven end, 2
3, 24... Shape memory alloy, 25... Ice making detection switch.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A flexible ice-making tray with a plurality of ice-making recesses formed therein is installed in a freezer compartment, and an ice-making detection device detects the completion of ice-making, and a drive device inverts the ice-making tray and restrains the driven end near the area. In an automatic ice maker that twists the ice to release ice and releases the constraint to return to its original state, the ice tray is provided with a shape memory alloy whose transformation point is the temperature at which it becomes complete ice. An automatic ice maker characterized by being equipped with an ice making detection switch that responds to the shape of the ice.