JPH038925Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] a. Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to an ice-making machine, and particularly relates to a novel improvement for preventing temperature rise in the circulation path of ice-making water.

b. Prior Art In conventional water storage ice makers, ice-making water stored in a water tank is generally supplied to an ice-making member using a circulation pump, etc., so that ice is gradually produced in the ice-making member. be.

What is shown in FIG. 4 shows a typical configuration of a conventional example.

Water in a water storage tank 2 provided in the ice maker body 1 and having a first water storage part 2a and a second water storage part 2b passes through an outlet pipe 6 connected to an opening 4 in the bottom part 3 and covered with a heat insulating material 5. , is sucked in through the suction port 7a of the circulation pump 7 connected to one side of the outlet pipe 6, and is then passed through the circulation hose 8 connected to the discharge port 7b of the circulation pump 7 and covered with the heat insulating material 5 to the fountain pipe 9. It is ejected from the fountain hole 9a.

The circulation hose 8 connects to the side wall 10 of the ice maker main body 1.
is exposed outside the side wall 10 from the exit hole 10a, and again,
It is provided in the side wall 10 through the inlet hole 10b, and the outlet pipe 6 is communicated with the water level detection section 12 through the connecting pipe 11.

The water fountain pipe 9 is located in a water receiving tank 13 disposed at an upper position in the ice maker main body 1, and a return pipe 14 is located in an opening 13b formed at the bottom 13a of the water receiving tank 13. is installed,
The lower end 14a of this return pipe 14 is located within the second water storage section 2b. The first and second water storage parts 2a and 2b are partitioned by a partition plate 15,
Communication hole 15a formed in the lower part of this partition plate 15
are connected to each other.

A cooler 16 is installed in the upper part of the water receiving tank 13.
An ice making member 17 having an ice making member 17 is held in a suspended state via a fixing means 18, and ice making water 19 spouted from each fountain hole 9a of the fountain pipe 9 passes through a guide hole 20a of an ice guide plate 20 to the ice making member. 17 ice making compartments 17a.

c. Problems to be solved by the present invention In the conventional configuration as described above, the circulation pump 8 on the discharge side and the return pipe 14 on the return side, which constitute the circulation path of water from the water receiving tank 13, are each provided separately. As a result, the piping space becomes large, and even if covered with a heat insulating material 5, the energy loss becomes large. Furthermore, since the circulation hose 8 is exposed to the outside of the ice maker body 1, heat exchange between the ice making water flowing inside the circulation hose 8 and the outside air is not complete despite the provision of the heat insulating material 5. This could not be prevented, and the temperature of the ice-making water rose by the time it reached the fountain pipe 9, resulting in poor ice-making efficiency.

Furthermore, outside air enters into the refrigerator through the inlet hole 10b of the side wall 10, raising the temperature inside the refrigerator, reducing ice making efficiency, and melting stored ice.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems,
As disclosed in Publication No. 85168, a configuration has been proposed in which the suction pipe and the discharge pipe are in contact with the suction pipe of the refrigeration equipment, but the temperature of the suction pipe of the refrigeration equipment is different at the start of ice making and at the completion of ice making. In addition, the refrigeration capacity changes due to changes in the ambient temperature, so in general, before ice making is completed or when the ambient temperature becomes low, the temperature of the suction pipe will be below 0℃, and the temperature will not come into contact with the suction pipe. The temperature of the suction and discharge pipes was to be lowered to below 0°C, the ice-making water flowing through each pipe was to gradually freeze, and finally each pipe was to be closed. Furthermore, it is difficult to control the refrigeration equipment so that the temperature of the suction pipe does not fall below 0°C, but even if it is controlled so that the temperature does not fall below 0°C, if the ambient temperature changes,
On the other hand, the temperature of the suction pipe may rise to 0°C or higher, and in particular, from the start of ice making to the middle of ice making or when the ambient temperature is high, it may rise to 5°C to 10°C. This also warms the ice-making water flowing through the discharge pipe, resulting in an extremely low ice-making efficiency. Furthermore, since the discharge side and the return side of the ice-making water circulation path are provided separately, the same problems as described above cannot be solved.

d Means for solving the problem The purpose of this invention is to provide an extremely effective means for quickly eliminating the above-mentioned drawbacks, and the gist of this invention is to A water storage tank and a water receiving tank provided in the main body,
A circulation pump connected to an outlet pipe provided at the bottom of this water storage tank, and a discharge pipe connected to a discharge port of this circulation pump and piped through the outlet pipe and the opening at the bottom of the water receiving tank. , a water fountain connected to the upper end of the discharge pipe, an ice making member disposed at the upper part of the water receiving tank for receiving ice making water from the water fountain and making ice, and a cooling member for cooling the ice making member. The unfrozen ice-making water that falls from the ice-making water component is transmitted along the outer periphery of the discharge pipe and falls into the water storage section. This ice maker suppresses the temperature rise of ice making water, increases ice making efficiency, and minimizes piping space.

e Function The ice making water in the discharge pipe discharged from the circulation pump flows down to the outer periphery of the discharge pipe through the gap between the bottom opening of the water receiving tank and the discharge pipe, and the ice making water in the discharge pipe is constantly passed through the discharge pipe. Since the ice-making water is maintained at approximately the same temperature as water, the ice-making water passing through the discharge pipe hardly exchanges heat with the outside air, and ice-making water at a predetermined temperature can always be supplied to the ice-making member. f
Embodiments Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the ice making machine according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

The same or equivalent parts as in the conventional example will be described using the same reference numerals.

In FIG. 1, the reference numeral 1 indicates the ice maker main body, which includes an outer box 42 for holding an inner box 40 surrounded by a heat insulating material 41, a door 43, a top plate 44, and The refrigerator room 45 includes a compressor, a condenser, a cooling fan, etc. (not shown).

Furthermore, the water in the water storage tank 2 provided in the ice maker body 1 and having a first water storage part 2a and a second water storage part 2b is connected to an opening 4 in the bottom part 3 of the water storage tank 2, and is connected to an insulating material 5.
The suction is carried out through the outlet pipe 6 covered with a heat insulating The fountain hole 9 of the fountain pipe 9 passes through the discharge pipe 8 covered with the material 5.
It is ejected from a.

The discharge pipe 8 penetrates the inside of the lead-out pipe 6 almost coaxially with a gap _D1 , and the lead-out pipe 6 is communicated with the water level detection section 12 via the connecting pipe 11. The water level is detected by a water level switch 12a provided in the water level detection section 12, and the inner diameter of the lead-out pipe 6 is larger than the inner diameter of the discharge pipe 8, so that a sufficient amount of circulating water can be ensured.

The water fountain pipe 9 is located in a water receiving tank 13 disposed at an upper position in the ice maker main body 1, and the water fountain pipe 9 is located in an opening 13b formed at the bottom 13a of the water receiving tank 13. A discharge pipe 8 passes through the fountain pipe 8 substantially coaxially with a gap D ₂ , and is connected to the fountain pipe 9 . Therefore, this discharge pipe 8 is configured so as to hardly exchange heat with the outside air.

The first and second water storage portions 2a and 2b are partitioned by a partition plate 15 and communicated with each other through a communication hole 15a formed in the lower part of the partition plate 15.

A cooler 16 is installed in the upper part of the water receiving tank 13.
An ice making member 17 having an ice making member 17 is held in a suspended state via a fixing means 18, and ice making water 19 spouted from each fountain hole 9a of the fountain pipe 9 passes through a guide hole 20a of an ice guide plate 20 to the ice making member. 17 ice making compartments 17a.

A cutting frame 22 is fixed to the lower surface of the ice making member 17 with bolts 23 via the fixing means 18 made of a heat insulating material, and a hot gas pipe 24 and a device for detecting the completion of ice making and ice removal are attached to the cutting frame 22. A temperature detection section 25 is attached for this purpose.
Furthermore, the fixing means 18 includes the ice making member 17
A bolt 30 is attached to a receiving plate 29 which is provided integrally with the flange 26 of the water tank 13 and is provided via a bolt 28 to the extended wall 27 of the water receiving tank 13.
Fixed by

Further, in the configuration shown in FIG. 2, a shielding plate 31 is provided on the outer periphery of the discharge pipe 8 so as to be located inside the second water storage section 2b, and the shielding plate 31 is provided in the water receiving tank 1.
When the amount of water flowing down from the gap D ₂ of the opening 13b of 3 is large, bubbles are formed when the ice-making water falls into the second water storage section 2b, and when the air from these bubbles is sucked into the circulation pump 7, smooth ice making water is produced. This is provided to prevent ice making water from circulating. Therefore, since the other configurations are the same as those shown in FIG. 1, their explanation will be omitted.

In the above configuration, the case where the ice maker according to the present invention is operated will be explained.

First, after opening the door 43 and supplying an appropriate amount of water into the water storage tank 2, the door 43 is closed to start ice-making operation, and the ice-making compartment 17a is cooled by the cooling action of the refrigerant supplied to the evaporator 16. Ice-making water is supplied from the second water storage section 2b of the water storage tank 2 to each ice-making chamber 17a by a circulation pump 7 through a discharge pipe 6, a discharge pipe 8, and a fountain hole 9a of a fountain pipe 9 to each ice-making chamber 17a.

This ice-making water is cooled in each ice-making compartment 17a, passes through the guide hole 20a of the ice guide plate 20 and the tip of the ice guide plate 20, falls from the opening 13b of the water receiving tank 13, and flows along the outer periphery of the discharge pipe 8. It flows down like a film and returns to the first water storage section 2b. Therefore, there is no need to separately provide a return pipe from the water receiving tank. When the above-described operation is repeated for a certain period of time, the temperature of the ice-making water gradually decreases, and when the temperature reaches nearly 0° C., a portion of the ice-making water supplied into each ice-making chamber 17a begins to freeze. Therefore, in the above-mentioned state, since the discharge pipe 8 does not exchange heat with the outside air, the ice-making water that is continuously flowing down the outer circumference of the discharge pipe 8 causes the ice-making water that rises inside the discharge pipe 8 to be supplied. The temperature is also kept at an ideal 0°C and rarely rises above this level.

Furthermore, as the supply of ice-making water to each ice-making compartment 17a continues, the ice in each ice-making compartment 17a grows more and more, and immediately before ice-making is completed, each adjacent ice-making compartment 17a
The ice pieces in a are connected to each other and reach the cutting frame 22. As a result, the temperature of the cutting frame 22 drops rapidly, and the temperature detection section 25 detecting the temperature issues a signal indicating the completion of ice making, and the supply of ice making water to each ice making chamber 17a is stopped and the ice making cycle is completed. Thereafter, the deicing cycle begins, and when a hot gas valve (not shown) is opened, high temperature gas is supplied to the hot gas pipe 24 and deicing begins. still,
Heating means such as a heater can also be used instead of hot gas.

As the deicing cycle progresses, the ice in each ice making compartment 17a melts at its contact surface and gradually begins to fall due to its own weight, and the connected ice cubes are cut into individual ice cubes by the heated cutting frame 22. is cut off. These ice cubes slide down along the ice guide plate 20 and reach the ice storage section 3.
Ice is stored on the second ice storage plate 33. Each ice making room 17a
When all the ice inside has finished falling, the temperature of the entire ice making member 17 rises rapidly, so the temperature detection section 25 detects the temperature, closes the hot gas valve, and returns to the ice making cycle described above.

Due to the design dimensions partitioned by the partition plate 15,
The volume ratio of each water storage section 2a and 2b is determined, and during the ice making cycle, the water cooled by the cooling action of the evaporator 16 is transferred to the second water storage section 2, which has a smaller volume.
b and each ice making compartment 17a,
The ice-making water supplied to the ice-making compartment 17a reaches 0°C in a short time.
is cooled to Also, depending on the amount of ice made, the second
Although the amount of water in the water storage section 2b decreases, the shortage is replenished from the first water storage section 2a via the communication hole 15a. The ice-making water in the first water storage section 2a is directly cooled by the cold air of the ice cubes in the ice storage section 32 and ice-melting water falling through holes (not shown) in the ice storage plate 33, and after the start of the ice-making operation. , the ice cubes grow in a short time and the ice making cycle ends.

FIG. 3 shows still another embodiment of the ice making machine according to the present invention, in which one end of a pipe-shaped water storage tank 46 is connected to the bottom of the water receiving tank 13, and the other end is connected to a lead-out pipe 6. It is connected to the. A discharge pipe 6 whose one end is connected to the circulation pump 7 is provided almost coaxially within the outlet pipe 6 and the pipe-shaped water tank 46, and the other end passes through the bottom of the water receiving tank 13 and is connected to the fountain pipe 9. has been done. A water supply port 48 whose other end is connected to an external water supply system 47 is opened in the water receiving tank 13, and the water supply is controlled by appropriate means. A drain valve 49 is provided at the lowest end of the outlet pipe 6, and when the drain valve is opened, ice-making water in the water receiving tank 13, pipe-shaped water storage tank 46, discharge pipe 8, fountain pipe 9, and pump motor 7 is drained. It is constructed so that it can be easily discharged from the machine.
The rest of the configuration is the same as the previous embodiment. A case will be described in which the ice making machine according to this embodiment is operated in the above configuration. First, water is supplied from the external water supply system 47 to the water receiving tank 13 through the water supply port 48, and the supplied water fills the outlet pipe 5, the pipe-shaped water storage tank 46, and the water receiving tank 13, and detects that a predetermined amount of water has been supplied. Stop water supply. Next, ice-making water is sprayed by the circulation pump 7 through the discharge pipe 8 and the fountain pipe 9 into the ice-making chamber 17, which has been cooled by an appropriate cooling means, and is frozen. The unfrozen water in the ice making compartment 17 passes through the ice guide plate 20 to the water receiving tank 13.
Return to The returned unfrozen water is sucked again by the circulation pump 7 and the circulation is repeated. Therefore, in this embodiment, the water receiving tank 13, the pipe-shaped water storage tank 4
6 and the outlet pipe 6 are used as a water storage tank for storing ice-making water, and the discharge pipe 8 is provided inside the tank, so that the piping space can be reduced and energy loss in the circulation path can be reduced.

The ice making member 17 is provided in each cup-shaped ice making chamber 1.
7a, but it can be applied to all ice making methods, such as the so-called open cell type, in which the ice making chamber is built into an ice tray with its opening facing down, or the plate type, which makes sheet ice.

Since the ice maker according to the present invention has the above-mentioned structure and function, the discharge pipe can be maintained in a state where it hardly comes into contact with the outside air, and the ice-making water flowing inside the discharge pipe can exchange heat with the outside air. Therefore, the water temperature hardly rises, and the ice making efficiency is extremely good.

Furthermore, since all the discharge pipes are inside the refrigerator and there are no openings that communicate with the outside air, outside air does not flow into the refrigerator, improving ice-making efficiency and preventing stored ice from melting.

The discharge pipe is cooled by the stored ice-making water and the returned ice-making water and is maintained at the ideal temperature of 0°C without using any control device, which lowers the temperature of the ice-making water and improves ice-making efficiency. is maintained.

Since the discharge pipe is cooled with ice-making water, it is not affected by changes in ambient temperature or the refrigeration system, and problems such as ice formation, closing, and heating in the discharge pipe do not occur.

Furthermore, the ice maker itself can be manufactured at an extremely low cost because there is little insulation material for the discharge pipe, there is no need to shut off outside air because there are no through holes in the refrigerator, and the structure is simple and can be applied regardless of the ice making method. It is.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the overall structure of the ice maker according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing another embodiment of the ice maker shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing another embodiment of the ice making machine of the present invention. ,
FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a conventional configuration. 1...Ice maker body, 2...Water tank, 2a...First water storage part, 2b...Second water storage part, 3...Bottom, 4
...Opening, 5...Insulating material, 6...Leading pipe, 7
... Circulation pump, 8 ... Discharge pipe, 9 ... Fountain pipe, 12 ... Water level detection section, 15 ... Partition plate,
17... Ice making member, 22... Cutting frame.

Claims (1)

[Scope of claim for utility model registration] (1) Water storage tank 2, 46 provided in the ice maker body 1
and a water receiving tank 13, a circulation pump 7 connected to the outlet pipe 6 provided at the bottom 3 of the water storage tanks 2 and 46, and a discharge port 7 of the circulation pump 7.
b, a discharge pipe 8 which is connected to the outlet pipe 6 and extends through the opening 13b of the water receiving tank 13, a water fountain 9 connected to the upper end of the discharge pipe 8, and the water receiving tank 1. An ice making member 17 disposed at an upper position in the water receiving tank 13 for receiving ice making water from the water fountain 9 and making ice, and an evaporator 16 for cooling the ice making member 17. The ice-making water falling from the opening 13b is transmitted along the outer periphery of the discharge pipe 8 and falls into the water tank 2, and the water in the water tank 2 moves inside the discharge pipe 8. Featured ice maker. (2) The ice maker according to claim 1, wherein the discharge pipe 8 is inserted into the outlet pipe 6 from a side wall thereof.