JPH0356870Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] Industrial application field This invention is an automatic jet ice making machine that generates ice cubes by jetting ice-making water into the corresponding ice-making chamber from a water fountain hole drilled in a water tray. In the above, the ice making water distribution channel formed in the water tray can be easily cleaned to effectively prevent the formation of incomplete ice, and the size of the ice cubes can be changed by changing the dimensions of the ice making chamber. The present invention relates to a water tray structure that can economically meet the demands of users.

BACKGROUND TECHNOLOGY An injection-type automatic ice-making machine that produces a large number of ice cubes by spraying ice-making water from below into a large number of ice-making compartments that open downward is suitably used in kitchen facilities such as coffee shops and restaurants. . Since the present invention relates to an improvement of the water tray structure used in this jet-type automatic ice maker, in order to contribute to the understanding of the present invention, the general structure of the ice maker will first be explained with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9. do. FIG. 7 shows an ice making mechanism of an automatic injection ice making machine, and an ice making chamber 1 in which a large number of ice making chambers 12 opening downward are defined in a checkerboard pattern inside a casing (not shown).
0 is placed horizontally. An evaporator tube 14 that communicates with the refrigeration system is closely arranged in a meandering manner on the upper surface of the ice-making chamber 10, and the ice-making chamber 12 is forcibly cooled by circulating a refrigerant through it during ice-making operation. .

Directly below the ice making chamber 10, a water tray 18 including an ice making water tank 16 is pivotably supported by a support shaft 20 so as to be tiltable. This water tray 18 is held horizontally and parallel to the ice making chamber 10 during ice making operation,
During deicing operation, the ice making chamber 12 is opened by being biased by an actuator (not shown) and tilting clockwise about the support shaft 20.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 11, the water tray 18 according to the prior art has a U-shaped member 22 with an open top and bottom.
It basically consists of a receiving plate 24 arranged horizontally in the space defined by this U-shaped member 22, and a pressure chamber 26 and a distribution pipe 28 arranged on the back side of the receiving plate 24. There is. This water tray 18 is preferably integrally molded by injecting a plastic material such as synthetic resin into a mold. At the center of the back surface of the receiving plate 24, as shown in FIG. 11, a main distribution pipe 28a led out from the pressure chamber 26 is formed and extends straight.
From both sides of this main distribution pipe 28a, the U-shaped member 22
A plurality (four in the drawing) of subordinate pipes 28b are formed into branches, which are perpendicular to the side plates 22a, 22a. The distribution pipe 28 and the pressure chamber 26, which are composed of the main distribution pipe 28a and the sub-distribution pipe 28b, are both open at the bottom for the purpose of demolding from the mold. It is closed by a lid 30 to define a flow path for ice-making water that is pumped by a pump 32.

Water fountain holes 34 are bored in the receiving plate 24 at predetermined intervals at positions corresponding to the centers of the ice-making compartments 12 of the ice-making compartment 10 and communicating with the distribution pipe 28. A return hole 36 is bored at a position adjacent to 34 and avoiding the distribution pipe 28. A water sprinkler 38 connected to an external water supply system is disposed above the water tray 18, and the water sprayed onto the surface of the water tray from the sprinkler 38 is distributed through the return hole 36 and the front open end of the water tray 18. It falls from the ice-making water tank 16 (on the side opposite to the pivot point by the support shaft 20) and is used as ice-making water thereafter.

The ice-making water stored in the tank 16 is passed through the suction pipe 40.
It is sucked in by the pump 32 through the pump 32, and is forced into the pressure chamber 26 through the illustrated discharge pipe 42, tube body 44, and pipe 46. The pressure chamber 26 is connected to the distribution pipe 2
8, and therefore the ice-making water is distributed through the distribution pipe 28.
The ice is injected into the corresponding ice-making chamber 12 from a large number of water fountain holes 34 formed in the receiving plate 24 through the ice-making chambers 12 .

Since the ice-making chamber 12 is cooled to below freezing point by the operation of the refrigeration system, a portion of the ice-making water that is circulated and supplied into the ice-making chamber begins to freeze in a layer on the inner wall surface of the ice-making chamber 12. The ice-making water that has not yet frozen (unfrozen water) falls from the return hole 36 formed in the receiving plate 24 of the water tray 18 and enters the ice-making water tank.
6 and is recycled again. When the ice-making operation progresses and the required ice cubes are generated in the ice-making compartment 12, a sensor detects this and supplies hot gas to the evaporation pipe 14 by switching the valve, and energizes the actuator to close the water tray. 18 and the ice-making water tank 16 begin to tilt. As a result, the ice cubes are discharged from the ice making chamber 12, slide diagonally downward on the water tray 18, and are stored in an ice storage (not shown).

Problems to be solved by the invention As mentioned above, in the jet type automatic ice maker, the water tray 18
The ice-making water pressure-fed to the pressure chamber 26 of the main distribution pipe 2
After passing through the ice cubes 8a and the sub-pipe pipes 28b, the ice is injected into the corresponding ice-making compartments 12 through the water fountain holes 34 formed in the receiving plate 24. However, when ice-making operation is carried out for a long period of time, limescale and other calcium components such as limescale contained in the ice-making water gradually accumulate on the inner walls of the pressure chamber 26 and distribution pipe 28, which serve as the ice-making water flow path. The deposition period varies depending on the quality of the ice-making water). Moreover, since the pressure chamber 26 and the distribution pipe 28 are integrally formed with the water tray 18, it is almost impossible to clean the inside thereof. Therefore, the flow path area of the distribution pipe 28 becomes smaller over time due to the accumulation of limescale, and eventually the pressure of the ice-making water pumped by the pump 32 decreases and the water fountain 34 becomes clogged, causing the ice-making chamber 12 to become smaller. There was a drawback that incomplete ice was formed due to lack of ice inside and insufficient circulation of ice-making water. Furthermore, due to insufficient water flow, cloudy ice with air mixed in is produced, resulting in the problem that clear, high-quality ice cubes cannot be obtained.

Furthermore, in the conventional automatic ice making machines described above, even if they are of the same model, it is often necessary to change the size of the ice cubes produced in response to a user's request. In this case, since the dimensions of the ice cubes are approximately the same as the internal dimensions of the ice making chamber 12, this can be accommodated by changing the molding dimensions of the ice making chamber 12. For example, when it is necessary to obtain ice cubes smaller in size than the ice cubes obtained from the ice making compartment 12 shown in FIG. 9, as shown in FIG. Must be replaced.

By the way, the fountain hole 34 bored in the water tray 18 is
As is clear from the drawing, it is important that the ice making water be located directly below the center of each ice making chamber 12, and by injecting ice making water from this central position, homogeneous ice cubes can be created in the corresponding ice making chamber 12. can be generated. However, as mentioned above, in response to a user's request, the ice making chamber 10, which defines a small ice making chamber 12,
If the ice making compartment 1 after this replacement is
2 and the corresponding position of the water fountain hole 34 drilled in the existing receiving plate 24 are not aligned perpendicularly, resulting in a discrepancy. In other words, the conventional ice making compartment 12 and water tray 1
8, there is always a correspondence relationship with respect to the drilling position of the fountain holes 34, and when replacing the ice making chamber 12 with a different size ice making chamber 12, the water tray 18 with the fountain holes 34 drilled at corresponding intervals will be replaced. It needed to be replaced.

However, since the water tray 18 is also replaced when the ice making chamber 10 is replaced, the position of the corresponding water fountain hole 34 must be changed each time the ice making chamber 10 is prepared to accommodate ice cubes of various sizes. This means that a water tray 18 is required, which has the drawback of increasing manufacturing costs and manufacturing costs for molds and the like. Further, each of the above-mentioned members needs to be stored according to their dimensions, which poses problems such as requiring a large space for storing the members and making inventory management complicated.

Therefore, for custom-made products produced in small quantities, in order to reduce mold costs, the receiving plate 24 in which the fountain hole 34 and the return hole 36 are bored is manufactured as a separate piece, and this is manually glued to the water tray 18. It is also being fixed. However, in this case, the ice-making water passages such as the pressure chamber 26 and the distribution pipe 28 are in a sealed state, and the drawback that cleaning is difficult remains unsolved.

Purpose of the invention The present invention was proposed in order to suitably solve the above-mentioned various drawbacks inherent in the water tray structure of the injection type automatic ice maker. so that cleaning can be done easily,
By keeping the water pressure of the ice-making water injected into each ice-making chamber constant so that transparent, high-quality ice cubes without deformation can be produced, and when changing the dimensions of the ice-making chamber (changing the dimensions of the ice cubes), It is an object of the present invention to provide a new water tray structure that can be used economically without replacing the entire water tray.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to overcome the above-mentioned problems and suitably achieve the intended purpose, the present invention provides an ice-making compartment that defines a number of ice-making compartments that open downward; It is equipped with a water tray that is closed so as to be tiltable and openable from below and has a fountain hole and a return hole corresponding to each ice-making chamber, and an ice-making water tank attached below the water tray, and the ice-making water tank is equipped with an ice-making water tank attached to the bottom of the water tray. Ice cubes are produced by force-feeding the ice-making water to a pressure chamber provided in a water tray, and injecting and supplying the ice-making water to each ice-making chamber through the fountain hole bored in a distribution path connected to the pressure chamber. In the automatic ice maker, the water tray is provided with an upwardly opening distribution channel consisting of a main water channel connecting the water tray to the pressure chamber and a number of secondary water channels branching from the main water channel; By separately constructing the receiving plate in which the fountain hole and the return hole are bored, and detachably arranging the receiving plate in the main body of the water tray, the upper opening of the distribution channel is closed by the receiving plate. , characterized in that the water fountain hole provided in the receiving plate is located in the distribution channel.

Embodiments Next, a preferred embodiment of the water tray structure of the automatic ice maker according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the same members already shown in the injection type automatic ice maker described in connection with FIGS. 7 to 9 will be designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed explanation thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing the water tray structure according to the present invention, and the water tray 18 basically consists of a water tray main body 1
8a and a receiving plate 18b having the fountain hole 34 and return hole 36 formed therein. That is, the water tray main body 18a has four side plates 4.
A pressure chamber 5 and a distribution passage 50 consisting of a gutter-like member with a square cross section and opening upward are provided inside this rectangular frame.
2 are integrally molded with resin. The pressure chamber 52 is formed inside a side plate 48 located on the rear side of the water tray 18, and is connected to a main water supply channel 50a, which will be described later, which forms a part of a distribution channel 50, and is connected to a pipe 46 led out from the pump 32. It's communicating. Also, distribution path 5
0, as shown in the figure, there is a main water channel 50a extending in the center of the rectangular frame, and a number of secondary water channels 50b (main water channels) branching left and right at predetermined intervals from the main water channel 50a in a dendritic manner. In the embodiment, it is composed of 4 pieces).

Further, a stepped portion 54 is formed at the same level on the inner surface of the rectangular frame constituting the water tray main body portion 18a, and a receiving plate 18b, which will be described later, is placed on the upper surface of the stepped portion 54, which has a rectangular shape as a whole. So, this receiving plate 18
b, the pressure chamber 52 and distribution channel 50, which are open upward, are closed in a watertight manner to define an ice-making water flow channel inside (the watertight structure will be described later). The stepped portion 54 is provided with an appropriate number of screw holes 54a for bolting the receiving plate 18b.

Next, the receiving plate 18b, which constitutes a separable part of the water tray 18, is made of a flat resin plate with a required thickness. A required number of fountain holes 34 and return holes 36 are bored in a pattern that matches the above. For example, even if the ice-making compartments 10 have the same size standard, if the ice-making compartment 10 has four rows of ice-making compartments 12 as shown in FIG. Four rows of fountain holes 34 are bored in the receiving plate 18b so as to be located in the center thereof (receiving plate indicated by the symbol A in FIG. 1). Also the first
As shown in FIG.
are correspondingly drilled (receiving plate designated B in FIG. 1).

In this case, as shown in FIG. 2a, when the receiving plate 18b is disposed on the water tray main body 18a,
The fountain holes 34 bored in four or five rows in the receiving plate 18b are sized so as to face the main water channel 50a or the secondary water channel 50b. Further, the return hole 36 is formed in the main water channel 5 when the receiving plate 18b is similarly arranged in the water tray main body part 18a.
The dimensions are set so that the unfrozen water via the return hole 36 is directed to the lower opening of the water pan body 18a, avoiding the lower opening and the secondary waterway 50b. It can fall and be collected in the ice-making water tank 16. It should be noted that the receiving plate 18b of type A or type B shown in FIG. The bolt 58 is provided so that it can be inserted and tightened using a bolt 58 as shown.

When the receiving plate 18b is attached to the water pan main body 18a, the upper opening of the distribution channel 50 and the pressure chamber 52 can be closed in a watertight manner by the receiving plate 18b. structure has been adopted. That is, the distribution path 5 in the water tray main body portion 18a
A taper 60 is formed at the upper end of the opening of 0, and the taper 60 is inclined and directed downward.
A protruding rib 62 is formed corresponding to the opening pattern of the main water channel 50a and the secondary water channel 50b described above,
This protruding rib 62 is formed with a reverse taper 62a that is inclined and expands downward. Then, by attaching the receiving plate 18b to the water tray main body 18a, the taper 60 tightly fits into the reverse taper 62a, thereby watertightly closing the upper opening of the distribution path 50 and the pressure chamber 52. .

3 to 6 show another embodiment of a tight fitting structure in which the upper openings of the distribution passage 50 and the pressure chamber 52 are closed in a watertight manner by the receiving plate 18b,
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, a semicircular groove 64 is recessed in the upper end surface of the upper opening of the distribution passage 50 and the pressure chamber 52, and a protruding rib 62 of the receiving plate 18b is recessed.
A semicircular groove 66 is recessed in the lower end surface of. A packing 68 having a circular cross section is inserted between the grooves 64 and 66 in a compressive manner. Further, FIG. 4 shows an example in which packing is used in the same manner as the embodiment shown in FIG. is formed flat, and a packing 70 having an H-shaped cross section is inserted between both end surfaces in a compressive manner.

Furthermore, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, a recess 72 is formed on the upper end surface of the openings of the distribution passage 50 and the pressure chamber 52, and the lower end surface of the protruding rib 62 of the receiving plate 18b is tightly fitted into the recess 72. Convex portion 74 that can be combined
is formed. Further, in still another embodiment shown in FIG.
A step 78 is formed on the lower end surface of the protruding rib 62 of 8b, and is capable of closely fitting into the step 76, so that a so-called inro joint is formed.

Next, the actual assembly of the water tray structure according to the embodiment configured as described above will be explained. First, at the stage of assembling the ice maker, the ice maker 10 to be used is selected. For example, if relatively large ice cubes are to be produced, an ice-making chamber 10 having four rows of ice-making chambers 12 as shown in FIG. 9 is selected. Furthermore, since the water tray 18 is constructed separately into a water tray main body 18a and a receiving plate 18b, the receiving plate 18b, which is provided with a water fountain 34 that is compatible with the ice making chamber 10 described above, is provided with the reference numeral A in FIG. 1, for example. Select the receiving plate 18b indicated by .

Then, this receiving plate 18b is attached to the water tray main body part 18a.
The projecting ribs 62 protruding from the back surface of the receiving plate 18b are aligned with the upper opening ends of the main water channel 50a, the secondary water channel 50b, and the pressure chamber 52 provided on the water tray body 18a. At this time, the second
As shown in FIG.
0 to close the upper opening of the distribution channel 50 and the pressure chamber 52 in a watertight manner. Then, a bolt 58 is inserted into the through hole 56 of the receiving plate 18b, and a screw hole 54 drilled in the stepped portion 54 of the water tray main body 18a is inserted.
By screwing into the holes a, the receiving plate 18b is securely fixed to the water tray main body 18a.

Further, after the ice making machine is assembled and shipped to the user, if the size of the ice cubes is changed at the user's request, the ice making chamber 10 is replaced to accommodate the change in the size of the ice making compartment 12. That is, as described above, if the dimensions of the ice-making chambers 12 are changed, the center-to-center length of adjacent ice-making chambers 12 will change, and therefore the position of the water fountain 34 will need to be changed. Therefore, in this case, ice maker 1 to be replaced
A receiving plate 18b having a water fountain hole 34 corresponding to the ice-making chamber 12 provided at 0 is selected and replaced with the receiving plate 18b that has been used so far. As described above, in this embodiment, when the ice making chamber 10 is replaced, the receiving plate 1
Since only the water tray 8b needs to be replaced, the mold cost can be reduced compared to replacing the entire water tray, and no storage space is required, making it extremely economical.

In addition, in an injection type automatic ice maker, if ice making operation is continued for a long period of time, calcium content such as limescale and limescale will gradually accumulate on the pressure chamber 52 formed in the water tray 18 and on the inner wall surface of the distribution channel 50. If this is left untreated, normal ice cubes cannot be produced, as described above. Therefore, in such a case, the receiving plate 18b, which forms a part of the water tray 18, is removed from the water tray main body portion 18a by removing the bolts 58. Then, as shown in FIG. 1, the main water channel 50a, the secondary water channel 50b, and the pressure chamber 52 are completely opened. Therefore, the inside can be easily cleaned.

Effects of the Invention As explained above, according to the water tray structure of the jet automatic ice maker according to the present invention, the receiving plate having the fountain hole and the return hole is manufactured separately from the water tray main body. By making the receiving plate removably attachable to the water tray main body, the interior of the pressure chamber and distribution channel provided in the water tray can be easily cleaned. Therefore, ice-making water is always injected and supplied to the ice-making chamber at a constant pressure, thereby preventing the formation of deformed ice with missing corners or cloudy ice, and making it possible to produce high-quality ice cubes that are transparent and of uniform size.

Also, if you want to change the size of the ice cubes, you can do this by simply replacing the receiving plate where the water fountain hole and return hole are drilled when replacing the ice maker, so there is no need to replace the entire water tray. There is no. That is, there is no need to manufacture or store a large number of water trays corresponding to ice-making compartments of different sizes, and it is possible to reduce manufacturing costs and inventory management expenses.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the water tray structure of an automatic jet ice maker according to the present invention, and FIG.
Figure 2b is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the water pan in an assembled state; Figures 3 to 6 are the upper parts of the receiving plate, water supply channel, and pressure chamber. FIG. 7 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view showing the ice making mechanism of an automatic ice maker according to the prior art; FIG. A plan view of the tray, FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along the line - in FIG.
FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the back side of the water tray shown in FIG. 8. 10... Ice making room, 12... Ice making small room, 16...
Ice-making water tank, 18...Water tray, 18a...Water tray main body, 18b...Reception plate, 34...Fountain hole, 36
... Return hole, 52 ... Pressure chamber, 50 ... Distribution path,
50a...Main waterway. 50b...Subway waterway.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] [1] An ice-making chamber 10 defining a large number of ice-making chambers 12 that open downward, the ice-making chambers 12 being closed so as to be tiltable and openable from below, and each ice-making chamber 12 having a A water tray 18 having a corresponding fountain hole 34 and a return hole 36, and an ice-making water tank 16 attached below the water tray 18 are provided, and the ice-making water of the ice-making water tank 16 is provided in the water tray 18. An automatic injection type that generates ice cubes by force-feeding the ice-making water to the pressure chamber 26 and spraying the ice-making water to each ice-making chamber 12 through the water fountain hole 34 formed in a distribution path 50 connected to the pressure chamber 26. In the ice making machine, the water tray 18 is equipped with an upwardly opening distribution channel 50 consisting of a main water channel 50a connecting to the pressure chamber 26 and a number of secondary water channels 50b branching from the main water channel 50a. Main body part 18a
and a receiving plate 18b in which the fountain hole 34 and the return hole 36 are bored, and the receiving plate 18b is removably attached to the water tray main body 18a, so that the upper opening of the distribution channel 50 is While being closed by the receiving plate 18b,
The water fountain hole 34 provided in the receiving plate 18b is the distribution channel 50.
A water tray structure of an automatic jet ice maker, characterized in that the water tray is configured such that the water tray is located inside the water tray. [2] The water tray main body 18a is basically constructed as a flat box with a rectangular opening opening upward, and the distribution passage 50 is integrally formed at the bottom of the box. By fixing the receiving plate 18b to the rectangular opening of the water tray main body 18a using a plurality of fixing means 58, a protruding rib 62 protruding from the upper opening end of the distribution channel 50 and the back surface of the receiving plate 18b is fixed. A water tray structure for an automatic jet ice maker according to claim 1, wherein the water tray structure is closely engaged with the lower end to define a flow path for ice making water.