JPH0517464U - Ice tray mounting structure - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] Without impairing the function of continuously making ice,
Make the ice tray easily removable with one touch. [Structure] An ice tray is rotated by a predetermined angle during ice separation, and rotation of a portion of the ice tray on the side of the first support portion is restricted during the predetermined angle. The first supporting portion of the ice tray is received by the U-shaped receiving member, the second supporting portion is connected to the drive shaft so as to be slidable in the vertical direction, and the connecting portion allows the second supporting portion to be retracted upward by the guide member. To guide you.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to an ice tray mounting structure for continuously producing ice using an ice tray, and particularly to a refrigerator for home use.

[0002]

[Prior Art]

 Conventionally, in an ice maker of a domestic refrigerator, water is automatically supplied to an ice tray made of synthetic resin and having a substantially rectangular shape in a plan view, and when it is detected by a temperature sensor that the ice tray is frozen, it is connected to one side of the ice tray. It is known that the ice tray is rotated by the built-in ice removing device to twist the ice tray, which elastically distorts the ice tray so that the ice is peeled off and dropped into the ice storage container below. ing.

[0003]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 In such an ice making machine, one end of the ice tray is connected to the drive shaft of the ice separating device, and the other end is pivotally supported to the ice making chamber.In that case, the ice tray is connected to the drive shaft. It is assembled while being axially supported in the ice making chamber, and once the assembly is completed, the ice tray alone cannot be attached or detached.

However, since the ice tray is made of synthetic resin, dirt is likely to adhere to it. In particular, dirt that has adhered during the assembly stage and during storage must be removed before using the refrigerator, but since the ice tray cannot be removed, easy cleaning is impossible. Therefore, immediately after the start of use, there is a problem that the ice must be thrown away many times until the stain is completely removed. Also, with long-term use, water stains will adhere, but even in that case it cannot be washed, which is not desirable in terms of hygiene. Another problem is that the ice tray cannot be replaced with the conventional structure, so it is not possible to change the size of the ice according to your preference.

Therefore, in order to solve these problems, conventionally, for example, in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 64-35373, a fixed shaft portion 14 is provided at one end of an ice tray 13 and at the other end thereof, a retractable coil spring is provided. While the movable shaft portion 16 biased in the protruding direction by 17 is provided, a U-shaped support body 8 is provided in the ice making chamber, and the shaft portions are provided in the insertion holes 10a and 11a formed at both ends of the support body 8. 14 and 16 are respectively inserted to make the ice tray 13 rotatable, and the movable shaft portion 16 is retracted against the biasing force of the coil spring 17 when necessary, whereby the movable shaft portion 16 and the fixed shaft portion 14 are It has been proposed that the ice tray 13 be removed by removing the ice tray 13 from the insertion holes 10a and 11a.

In this proposal, since the ice tray 13 can be attached and detached, the ice tray 13 can be easily washed and the ice tray 13 can be replaced. However, the removal of the ice tray 13 requires an operation of retracting the movable shaft portion 16, which is difficult to handle.

The present invention is intended to solve such a conventional problem, and provides a technique capable of easily attaching and detaching an ice tray with one touch without impairing the function of continuously making ice. It is an object.

[0008]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 In order to achieve the above object, the solution means of the present invention is a U-shaped receiving member in which a first supporting part and a second supporting part are provided at both ends of an ice making tray, and the first supporting part is provided in an ice making chamber. The second support portion is connected by a groove extending vertically with respect to the drive shaft and a fitting portion that meshes with the groove, guides the connection portion, and retracts the second support portion upward. An allowable guide member is provided in the ice making chamber, and a drive control device is provided for controlling the rotation of the drive shaft so that the ice tray rotates at a predetermined angle when the ice is removed. The stopper is provided to restrain the rotation of the.

[0009]

[Action]

 With the above structure, the drive control device controls the rotation of the drive shaft, and the ice tray is rotated by a predetermined angle from the ice making position during ice removal. In that case, the rotation of the first supporting portion side of the ice tray is restricted by the stopper in the middle of the predetermined angle, so that the ice tray is twisted and elastically deformed by the rotation of the drive shaft thereafter, and the ice is It peels off and falls downward.

When the ice tray is lifted up when the ice tray is in the ice making position, the first support portion is disengaged from the receiving member and the second support portion, the groove of the drive shaft, and the fitting portion are slid. Then, the second support portion is disengaged upward from the guide member. Also, by the reverse operation, the first support portion rides on the receiving member and the second support portion is connected to the drive shaft. This makes the ice tray removable.

In this case, the reaction force acting on the receiving member from the first supporting portion due to the twisting is directed substantially downward, so that the first supporting portion does not jump upward from the receiving member during ice removal. Further, since the groove and the fitting portion do not face the vertical direction during ice removal, the guide member prevents the groove and the fitting portion from sliding, and the second support portion does not come off the drive shaft.

[0012]

【Example】

 Examples will be described below. In FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 1 denotes an inner wall forming an ice making chamber, and an ice tray 10 made of synthetic resin and having a substantially rectangular shape in plan view is arranged in the ice making chamber. The ice tray 10 is provided with a large number of ice storage compartments 11. A first support portion 20 and a second support portion 30 are fixed to both ends of the ice tray 10, respectively.

On one side of the ice making chamber, a U-shaped receiving member 40 as shown in FIG. 3 is integrally provided on the wall 1 of the ice making chamber, and the first supporting portion 20 is mounted on the receiving member 40. On the other hand, a drive shaft 50 is provided on the other side of the ice making chamber and is connected to the second support portion 30. That is, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the end surface of the drive shaft 50 is provided with a groove 51 extending in the vertical direction when the ice tray 10 is in the ice making position, while the second support portion 30 is provided. A fitting portion 31 that meshes with the groove 51 is formed at the end portion of the. The fitting portion 31 is formed by making the left and right sides of the second support portion 30 flat.

Further, a casing 71 of a drive control device 70, which will be described later, is integrally provided with a cylindrical guide member 60 as shown in FIG. 4, and a connecting portion between the second support portion 30 and the drive shaft 50 is provided. I'm guiding. An evacuation hole 61 is provided in the upper portion of the guide member 60. The withdrawal hole 61 has a shape that substantially corresponds to the projected shape of the second support portion 30 on the horizontal plane when the ice tray 10 is in the ice making position, and allows the second support portion 30 to be withdrawn upward. Is.

Reference numeral 70 denotes a drive control device that controls the rotation of the drive shaft 50 when the water in the ice tray 10 freezes and the ice tray 10 is rotated from the ice making position shown in FIGS. 1 and 5 to a predetermined position. It is rotated by an angle (for example, 160 degrees) and positioned at the ice-free position shown in FIG. Here, the determination as to whether or not the ice is being released is made based on the output signal of a temperature sensor (not shown) provided in the ice tray 10.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 80 denotes a horizontal stopper, and 90 denotes a twist stopper, which are provided integrally with the ice making chamber inner wall 1, respectively. As shown in FIG. 5, the horizontal stopper 80 contacts the bottom wall of the ice tray 10 to position the ice tray 10 at the ice making position. As shown in FIG. 6, the twist stopper 90 contacts the bottom wall of the ice tray 10 in the middle of the predetermined angle (for example, 130 degrees) to restrain the rotation of the portion of the ice tray 10 on the first support portion side. It is a thing. Therefore, when water is supplied to the ice tray 10 from an automatic water supply device (not shown) and the water freezes, the ice tray 10 rotates and its first support portion side portion comes into contact with the torsion stopper 90 and the rotation is restricted. Then, when the drive shaft 50 is further rotated, the ice tray 10 is twisted and elastically distorted, and the ice is separated from the housing portion 11 and drops into an ice storage container (not shown) below.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, an auxiliary stopper 62 is formed on the inner wall of the guide member 60 so as to protrude radially inward. The first surface 62a of the auxiliary stopper 62 is in contact with the fitting portion 31 of the second support portion 30 when the ice tray 10 is in the ice making position for positioning when returning to the ice making position. The second surface 62b abuts the fitting portion 31 when the ice tray 10 is in the ice removing position, and regulates the second support portion 30 from rotating over the ice removing position.

Therefore, in the above embodiment, when the ice tray 10 is lifted upward while the ice tray 10 is in the ice making position, the first support portion 20 is disengaged upward from the receiving member 40, and the second support portion 20 is removed. The fitting part 31 of the support part 30 slides from the groove 51 of the drive shaft 50, and the second support part 30 is disengaged upward from the guide member 60. Also, by the reverse operation, the first support portion 20 rides on the receiving member 40 and the second support portion 30 is connected to the drive shaft 50. As a result, the ice tray 10 can be easily attached and detached with one touch, the ice tray 10 can be easily washed, and the ice tray 10 can be replaced to change the size of ice.

In that case, the reaction force acting on the receiving member 40 from the first support portion 20 by the twist is a line perpendicular to the line connecting the twist stopper 90 and the first support portion 20 in FIG. The first support portion 20 does not project upward from the receiving member 40 when the ice is removed because the first support portion 20 faces downward, that is, substantially downward. Further, the fitting portion 31 is prevented from sliding from the groove 51 due to the fact that the fitting portion 31 does not fit into the evacuation hole 61 during ice removal and the function of the second surface 62b of the auxiliary stopper 62 prevents the fitting portion 31 from sliding from the groove 51. The part 30 does not disengage from the drive shaft 50. Therefore, the function of continuously making ice is not impaired.

In the above embodiment, the groove 51 is provided in the end surface of the drive shaft 50 and the fitting portion 31 is provided in the end portion of the second support portion 30. On the contrary, the groove 51 is provided in the end portion of the drive shaft 50. A fitting portion may be provided and a groove may be provided on the end surface of the second support portion 30. Further, although the groove is one and the fitting portion is composed of a pair of left and right flat surfaces, a plurality of grooves may be provided, and a plurality of fitting portions may be provided depending on the number of grooves.

[0021]

[Effect of the device]

 As described above, the mounting structure of the ice tray of the present invention receives the first supporting portion of the ice tray by the U-shaped receiving member, and connects the second supporting portion to the drive shaft so that the second supporting portion can be slid vertically. Since this connecting part was guided by the guide member so that the second support part could be retracted upward, the ice tray can be easily attached and detached with one-touch without any loss of the function of continuously making ice. It can be easily washed and the size of ice can be changed by changing the ice tray.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment,

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a cross section of the embodiment,

FIG. 3 is a side view showing the receiving member of the embodiment,

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a guide member of the embodiment,

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing the ice tray in the ice making position of the embodiment,

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing the ice tray in the ice separating position of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Ice tray 20 First support part 30 Second support part 31 Fitting part 40 Receiving member 50 Drive shaft 51 Groove 60 Guide member 70 Drive control device 90 Twisting stopper

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A first support portion and a second support portion are provided at both ends of an ice tray, and the first support portion is received by a U-shaped receiving member provided in an ice making chamber, and the second support portion is with respect to a drive shaft. Are connected by a vertically extending groove and a fitting portion that meshes with this groove,
A drive control device is provided in the ice making chamber that guides the connecting portion and allows the second support portion to retract upward, and controls the rotation of the drive shaft so that the ice tray rotates at a predetermined angle during ice removal. The first part of the ice tray is installed in the middle of the predetermined angle.
An ice tray mounting structure comprising a stopper for restraining rotation of a supporting portion side portion.